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Grateful Friday

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imageLast week I wrote on 43 things for which I’m thankful, that have made life good, in celebration of my 43rd birthday. How truly blessed we always are! Here is another Grateful Friday offering:

March. Yes, again it’s my birthday month and anniversary month, which make it easy to say it’s my favorite, but it’s more than that. Anytime there’s a chance to celebrate anything – another year, another day – we should do just that. March also shows the first signs of spring, and our wait for Easter. And, there’s the fun and stress of March Madness! It’s just a month full of promise, renewal, transition, and the hope for better days.

Writing and sharing. I’m three months in with the blog! I’m so grateful for the words I’ve been given to share, and I pray you are being blessed by them. Though I received formal journalism training, and though I’m a previous founder, writer, and editor of a Christian magazine I published for seven years, I’m still learning and enjoy connecting with other bloggers, faith writers, and designers in the field. I’m excited about the She Speaks Conference, hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries, coming up in July, and for some design assistance, I’ll be taking an online course in Adobe Illustrator, hosted and taught by Lauren Hooker of Elle & Company.

Lazy weekends. Friends, I am a true homebody. I could stay in my house all day and read, watch movies, and eat good food. Give me a weekend when my favorite TV shows are on marathon, and I’m a happy camper. When there’s no housework to do, when the grocery shopping is done, and when I can wrap up in a warm blanket, it’s all the more special. When you have that chance to rest your mind, body and soul, take advantage. Find a quiet room and just be free from the week past, and worry-free of the week ahead.

Beautiful spirits. I received some very nice cards and happy wishes for my birthday. In my love for words, I appreciate sentiments when they ring true from the heart, ones expressed with care and purpose. Empty words are just that – they leave no impression and aren’t felt. For the beautiful spirits and hearts that have given kind words, that build instead of tear down, that make me smile on dreary days, I thank you.

As you reflect on your week, for what can you give thanks? Share in the comments below, and let’s spread the love!

43 Reasons Why Life Has Been Good

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March 16 marked my 43rd birthday! So blessed to see this milestone, and it was one for me!image

It’s not Grateful Friday here on New Day, but I want to share 43 things for which I’m thankful, that have brought me from there to here, and that have made the journey worth it:

42

Melchee

Family

The gift of words and writing

March 15 – the day my Tony and I were married

Ratchford Road

School days

Friends

All the days that taught me hard life lessons

The realization of God’s presence in my life

Work

Turning 30, because it marked the point when I truly began to focus on being me

The pages in my journals

Church

The Golden Girls

Summer Fridays

IHOP

The privilege to vote for the nation’s first black president – #BOPOTUS

Sunsets

Sweet potato pie

Genesis 1:1

John 3:16

Jeremiah 29:11

iNation

Tar Heel Nation

Christmas

Sisters in Christ who’ve blessed my spirit in so many ways

PRAISE!Magazine, which I founded and published from 1996-2003

Simplicity

Peace

Help

Max Lucado books

Mornings

The touch of my grandmother’s hand as she was transitioning to Heaven

What was

What is

What is to come

The Word of God.

The Son of God.

The Spirit of God.

The Love of God.

Larry and Brenda who birthed me physically.

God the Founder, the Father, who birthed me spiritually, who called me to be His.

To Everything There Is a Season

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imageWinter seems to have left its cold, gray days behind. While it was often harsh, I learned to appreciate the quietness of the season, and certainly the beauty. Hot chocolate, warm cookies, and favorite blankets also made the season special.

Our hope now is for spring! Colorful blooms and sunny days await our beholding. Some see spring as a time for newness and starting over, a time of refreshing. A time for life again. The brightness of the season, I would argue, is best captured on Easter Sunday. Dresses, hats, and fun baskets filled with crazy eggs seem to make spring official.

Before the eggs and the hallelujahs of Easter, we face the season of death. Not just reading about Christ’s crucifixion, but looking at the destructiveness of our own sin – the reason Jesus went to the cross to begin with. It is dark and horrible, a place I don’t think one would normally visit voluntarily. But as faith followers, that is what we must do. We have to face the monstrous, distorted look of sin, the look that was put on our Christ as he bore it all for us, before the entire world.

We must face what we were, what He did, before we can face who we are. With Christ’s resurrection, we are raised to life also. We are resurrected. We can face who we now are:

Redeemed.
Saved.
Freed.
Forgiven.

Our hope might now well be for spring, but I’m aiming for something higher in this season. I’m aiming for Jesus and the hope of my salvation. My soul longs to be saved by my Savior, to be raised to new life in Him.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven… (‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ KJV)