She'll be comin' round the mountain....

Another 2 weeks have passed!! Iactually started this post on Dec. 15th but it's not getting posted until tonight - 12/28. The holidays are just such a whirlwind around our house. Work seemed especially hectic this year. I work for a nonprofit that provides food & emergency assistance to the needy and the needs in this economy have been great. It was a wonderful Christmas though. I hope it was miraculous for each of you. However, I have found myself once again going round and round with things & situations I said I would not do again, plan better for, etc. Am I the only one that gets frustrated because I get into situations where I know I should know better??!! I didn't even get a single Christmas card sent because I was so behind.

It's not just Christmastime. As I listen to conversations going on while waiting in the grocery line, in the aisles at Walmart and at church, I hear many experiencing the same. Why do we keep ending up in the same place? I thought I had gotten past some of the actions that get me to a place of franticness. I thought I had buried some of those habits that eventually bring me to a place that is unhealthy. I was sure I had conquered that old thinking pattern or gotten past that old wound.

After I got back from my youngest daughter's chorus program I thought about this. A mix of 3rd thru 6th graders belted out updated versions of "Jingle Bells", "The Holiday Season" and "Feliz Navidad" to name a few. Everyone loves to hear kids sing at Christmastime (okay maybe not everyone) but I have to admit, some of those songs seem to go on and on and on and on!

There are challenges, habits and patterns in my life that do the same thing...go on and on and on. They seem to keep creeping up even after I thought I learned that lesson or mastered that challenge. Areas like knowing when to say "no" and not overfill my schedule, like not feeling guilty when I do say "no", like not being disappointed when a family member runs over my feelings. Here we go again!

The reality is that on our own, left to our own way of doing things, we'll never move forward. We'll never break out of that cycle of going round and round the same thing or situation. Thankfully, God knew we'd get stuck and stay stuck and He loved us enough to provide a Holy GPS to get us off our redundant human traffic circle. If we'll listen, if we'll ask Him to, the Holy Spirit can and will guide us to break those cycles. He'll show us how to not be wounded by the same things, to prioritize they way He wants us to and thereby allowing for peace in our lives. Deuteronomy 2:3 says, "You have circled this mountain long enough, Now turn north."

Are you ready to listen to what Holy Spirit has to say about the holidays, your schedule, your priorities, YOUR LIFE? Are you ready to BELIEVE that 2009 can be a better, more peaceful, more productive year...a year of getting to know our Lord more intimately... I certainly am!

I have desired to live to please God for many years, but I'm ready for a new level. I'm committing to a new level of AUDACIOUS BELIEF. I'm tired of compassing some of the same mountains and excited that God is allowing me to see it and with that drawing me to BELIEVE for different...for new mountains.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all!

Here's to us all leaning into the Holy Spirit with a kean ear. I BELIEVE we'll hear a new song. For me it definitely will not be "She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes..."