And So It Has Begun...

It's hard to believe that it is the 20th of January. This year is flying by already. I spent the first week of the year at home by myself while my daughter was staying with her dad. I relaxed, watched movies, pottered around the house and slept...a lot. That all now seems like a distant memory to not only my mind but also my body, which has now reverted back to its usual stressed out and aching self.

And so it has begun...

I'm resentful that the relaxed state I was in at the end of my holiday is now a distant memory. I'm resentful that the every day grind steals joy from me so easily. I'm resentful about the fact that it's the 20th of January and I feel like I've lived a whole year in the last two weeks.

And so it has begun...

I'm thankful, however, that I have the awareness of this. I'm thankful that I have identified that I am tired, aching, anxious and stressed out and it's only the 20th of January. I'm thankful that I can now re-evaluate how I do life so that it can be lived a little easier.

And so it has begun...

Yesterday was a horrible day. After a way too late night and waking up to a hot and sticky day, I decided to bite the bullet and undertake a plan that I had been pondering for about 8 months or so. I also decided that God and I needed to talk about some important stuff.

He answered me, in His time, and revealed to me much more than I'd anticipated, and in a different way than I'd ever expected. He is good like that. He is tricky like that. He likes to keep me on my toes. He likes to force me into the different seasons of my life. (Yes Jo P...seasons!)

So after way too many rough hours of being true to myself and making a change that I had not expected I would, the memories of the first week of the year come flooding back. The focus, the vision, the goals that I had set for the year.

I'm running on 4 hours sleep today. My eyes are sore from too much crying yesterday. My body is aching from the humidity. But given all of this, my heart is light and I am at peace because God spoke and I made a change in my life, and I now plan to move forward from the stress and live!

And so it has begun...

The Blessings Continue On...

I cannot get enough of Saviour King by Hillsong United! It was shared with me on the weekend by my sweetie after a couple of tough weeks for us. It's a new song for a new season of renewal of not only our commitment to each other but also our commitment to and focus on a God centred relationship where we honour Him in all that we think, say and do.

I found a YouTube clip with the lyrics, so I've decided that I want to share both with you. Please enjoy, and please read through the lyrics as you listen. You WILL be blessed by the simplicity and reverence of the words sung.

And now the weak say I have strength
By the spirit of power that raised Christ from the dead
And now the poor stand and confess
That my portion is Him and I'm more than blessed

Let now our hearts burn with a flame
A fire consuming all for your Son's holy name
And with the heavens we declare
You are our king

We love you Lord, we worship you
You are our God, you alone are good

You asked your Son to carry this
The heavy cross our weight of sin

I love you Lord, I worship you
Hope which was lost, now stands renewed
I give my life to honor this
The love of Christ, the savior king

Let now your church shine as the bride
That you soar in your heart as you offered up your life
Let now the lost be welcomed home
By the saved and redeemed those adopted as your own

I give my life to honor this
The love of Christ, the savior king

I'm More Than Blessed...

A new song for a new season -

Renewed in Knowedge...

My Heavenly Father knows EXACTLY what I need to read at a time when my life is undergoing a significant change. I am feeling as though part of me is missing given a change of circumstance in my life, but I know that it was what God planned. I have prayed continually asking for guidance in this area and over time, and in His way, He gave me the answer. He strengthened me along the way and prepared me for exactly where I am today. I am not going to be without normal human emotions, but my Father is with me, as is He who needs to be my first love, Jesus the Gentleman. Below is the first passage of Scripture I read today - part of my New Testament reading - and I am truly thankful for these words.

¹If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

²Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

³For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

⁵Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

⁶For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

⁷In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

⁸But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

⁹Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

¹⁰And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

¹¹Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

¹²Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

¹³Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

¹⁴And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

¹⁷And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Colossians 3:1-17, King James Version)

Living a Super Hero's Life...

Yes, that is I...a Super Hero. Or at least my daughter thinks so!

But really...aren’t we all Super Heros? Haven’t we all been through something in our life that has given us super strength to continue fighting the battle? Haven’t we all shed our former existence and embarked on a new life fighting against the evil of this world?

Yes, I dare say we all have. God spoke to me yesterday and told me how only the strongest endure the trials that beset them. He doesn’t allow us to endure anything we cannot handle. I find this to be an honour based on the latest season in my life.

I am now embarking on a life of Super Hero status. I have lived through a long season made up of many short seasons where I dealt with different circumstances, and I am now starting a new life. A life where I am going to share what I have learnt from my previous life so that others don’t have to experience the same thing.

But most importantly, I am starting a new chapter of my life where God is truly at the helm, where Jesus the Gentleman is by my side, and where I will be unashamedly sharing the goodness of this Christian walk with everyone!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. – John 12:25 (NIV)

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. – Romans 6:4 (NIV)

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. – Colossians 3:9-10 (NIV)

These four verses are just a small pick of the promises that are in the Bible about becoming new in Christ. These are all important verses though!

The old has gone
The new has come
Losing your life
Gaining eternal life
Buried with Him
Raised from the dead of our old lives
Shed old ways
Cloaked in newness

God’s promises abound. They are clear; just as His requirements of us are. My requirement – my life changing act of obedience – is to live wholly and solely for Him.

I was told yesterday by my counsellor to “seek ye first the kingdom of God” and then everything else will fall into place. I’ve been doing it back to front, so it’s no wonder I’ve ended up where I am! But Super Hero status is now upon me. I am to suit up in the new me (can you feel an Armour of God post coming?), live out His destiny for me, share the love of Jesus with all whom I encounter, and let God lead.

Up, up and away (sorry, I just had to do it!)...

Freedom...

The inspiration for this photo art came from Christy's "quotable" post. Thanks Christy!

The inspiration for the quote came from the excitement of a new year, a new season, a new vision to behold, and (as my Facebook friends will know) new hair!

(Photo and quote © Paula C Whitehouse, 2010)

2010 : The Year of Vision...

" ' For the vision... will surely come...' "

Habukkuk 2:3 (KJV)

A New Season...

Today begins a new season for me. Not only am I on a "Mummy holiday" for the next week but I am also taking a Facebook holiday. In the last week or so I have removed myself from various areas in cyberspace, so Facebook is the next logical step. As I am connected with many friends and my family there, I don't want to delete myself permanently, so I am deactivating my account for a little while instead.

Psalm 119:37 tells me to "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." (NIV)

While my friends and family on Facebook are not worthless, the time I spend on it sometimes is. So, I am going back to His Word so I can utilise my time (His time!) better in the here and now. He tells us in many places in the Bible how to utilise our time.

1 Peter 1:13 reminds us to prepare ourselves for action and be self-controlled. Colossians 3:2 is an instruction to keep our mind on heavenly things, not earthly things.

The most important piece of wisdom comes from Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (NIV)

The enemy uses many diversions to get us away from God and His purpose for us. Facebook is one of these diversions. We all know what the others are, and I am guilty as charged at spending a few hours too many watching DVDs instead of spending my time with God. And it’s not only God who I need to be spending more time with; it’s other people also; my daughter, my sweetie, friends and family, and me. By me, I mean just having alone time by going for a walk, reading a book, sitting by the ocean admiring His wonders, and so on.

Our God loves us, and He wants us to utilise our time to the best of our ability. Our purpose is for Him. This new season will be the start of something good.