Sane, Simple, Sacred: Ready for Take-Off!

Ready for Take-Off!

Bite off more than you can chew,
then chew it.
Plan more than you can do,
then do it. (Anonymous)

These words popped off the page at me when I read them. I don't think they're for everybody. Some people are already energetically involved with life--engaged in service for Jesus. I, on the other hand for whatever reason, had been "stuck" for awhile. Good habits of prayer and planning had weakened. I have confessed it and am in the process of repenting - which means doing a "180".

One tool I am using is my journal. Its blank pages remind me of the demise of my commitment in the past, while each fresh entry reinforces and records my current commitment and progress. I didn't wait until January 1st to begin.

I'm still praying and waiting to see if there is "a word" to focus on in the coming year. I have narrowed it down to two, I believe.

Can you tell I love "new beginnings"?
Can I tell you I am confident that
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"?
(Or as J. B. Philips translates Philippians 4:13:
"I am ready for anything
through the strength of the one who lives within me.")

Do YOU have a "word" for 2012?
Do you get into new beginnings?
Are YOU ready for Take-Off?

*The plane was constructed by a friend of ours. We asked him to make it for one of our grandsons. It's to RIDE on! My husband painted the seat, prop and stripes and sealed the wood.

5 comments:

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage BlogDecember 30, 2011 at 7:09 AM
I have never chosen a word for the year, but am going to pray about it for this year and see....

Deanna
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SueDecember 30, 2011 at 8:06 AM
Thanks for writing what I am thinking about this morning, Rebecca. Like you I love new beginnings. My journal pages are blank from 2011, but this is one thing i want to change, as I use it to keep me in check.And oh! how often I quote Philippians 4:13,one that encourages me so much.
Wishing you and your family a most blessed and Happy new Year.
Sue
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Janettessage.blogspot.comDecember 30, 2011 at 8:24 AM
Right there with you...doing the same thing. I am listening to His voice and some of the words are very strong and some are just plan silly. Maybe the silly is because the Lord wants me to "lighten-up" just a little and let go in order to depended more whole on Him.

Great post...
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EileenDecember 30, 2011 at 9:15 AM
Great post, Rebecca. I've been thinking about this a lot and I think my one big word for 2012 will be SIMPLIFY. Simplify not only the clutter in my surroundings, but more to get rid of the clutter in my mind, my heart and my soul. And also the words "just enough" come to mind. I need to be more aware of the fact that God Always Provides, I need to trust in Him more that all my needs are met and that what He Provides for me and mine is 'just enough'.
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Janie FoxDecember 31, 2011 at 12:00 AM
I have some thinking to do!And some praying. I too, want to do a 180!
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"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

Ready for Take-Off!

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