The Thaw God Brings

“He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.” 
Psalm 147:16-18 NIV

Our God is able to melt an icy, frozen earth. Can he not also melt a stone cold heart? Yes, God can bring the thaw.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 NIV

*Has God ever melted your heart on a particular issue or towards a particular person? Who can you pray for now, asking God to melt his or her heart?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, came out yesterday. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*Flickr photo by Muffet, Creative Commons License

Finding Renewed Treasure

I made Christmas shopping easy for my husband this past Christmas season. Since my Bible of fifteen years was sporting loose pages in the front and back, I knew it was time to part with it and break in a new one before I started leaving the Word of God as a trail behind me—though that’s not such a bad idea, is it?!

I searched the internet, found the exact Bible I wanted, ordered it, and then informed him that it was his Christmas gift to me. We both win, right? :) But when we get right down to it, I’m the bigger winner. His satisfaction in getting out of Christmas shopping lasted only a short time. The satisfaction I’m finding in the gift—the Word of God—blooms each day.

I don’t know about you, but I’m an underliner. You can just imagine what my old Bible looked like after fifteen years. Getting a new one with no markings felt a little scary. I thought for sure I would miss my notes and underlines and feel rather lost without them.

On the contrary, something entirely different has happened. I feel excited as I read. Each passage seems fresh, almost new. Verses well-known to me and loved dearly have taken on an aura of renewed treasure as I read them as if for the first time—words untouched by my handy pen, words I consider once more as I underline again.

I pray I will continue to look at the Word of God with fresh eyes, even long after I get my new Bible broken-in. I pray that I will come to it excited about what I may discover, expectant over what the Lord might reveal to me. I pray that the satisfaction I’m finding in the gift—the Word of God—will continue to bloom within me each day.

Is it time for you to take a fresh look at some familiar passages? I guarantee you will find renewed treasure. Definitely a winning proposition!

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty.” Jeremiah 15:16

*Flickr photo by Savio Sebastian, Creative Commons License

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, will come out the first week in February. Sign-up is free and to the right!