Refresh

A new year ~months of the unknown make up the calendar.  But the old and the known we sometimes drag into the new when circumstances don’t change.

So the only change has to be us . . .

Sometimes the only thing that will look different in a new year is how we’ve changed from the year before.  And the one before that.  That’s why I journal – it keeps a measure and a record of life and how God has led and sustained me.  How real He is on every page.  Even the dark ones that are hard to re-read.

Winter can wear a soul down.  The short dark days run into each other and then there’s the hectic holiday season that slipped past way too fast. Or a lingering diagnosis that hangs on faithfully and gives no hope. It becomes easier to retreat to the negative.  So how can we walk into this year with hope and a different perspective?

Honest feelings – right now I have a full day of to-do.  I don’t like it. First I remember that this would be my husband’s birthday – he fought hard to have the ones he celebrated.  So it begins with melancholy memories that have to intentionally shift to the good part. Also, I’m spending the morning praying for those dear ones (and there are quite a few) who are enduring chemo and need hope for what this year will bring back for them.  And of course, there’s my own bag I drag that needs to be laid before the altar on a daily basis to remain sane.

All of us need a reboot to refresh a winter dry soul. If you’re a word-of-the-year person, I want to encourage you to embrace and focus on it in the days ahead.  Find a word or verse to put before you – it works!  So, my word is REFRESH for 2024. I like the sound of it.  And I like the meaning of it. The word #404 is ana meaning (again) and pseucho (the Greek noun for to breathe again, to revive the soul).

So I’ll breathe deep today . . .

A dear friend knows how to keep me on track and sent a text the other (busy) morning and asked “How will you refresh today?”  The only genuine answer I had was “just fit it in.”  So for all of us, if we’re seeking change and new beginnings instead of skidding deeper into the old rut we must make the choice to pay attention to our soul and encourage ourselves and others.

Staying in shape spiritually means taking time (and making the choice) to plan sacred space. God delights in restoration but we have the responsibility to receive it.  A few ways to revive when struggling with the scramble . . .

Feed your soul.  Jeremiah experienced joy in the midst of his weeping from feeding his soul with the promises.  Jeremiah 15:16

Calm your soul – nothing soothes the soul like having a conversation with the Shepherd.  Pray the Psalms and journal God’s loving favor like King David.  Write it down.

Exercise your soul – take God at His Word and stretch your soul to trust during times of despair.

Share your soul and refresh others, pour the sweet fragrance of Jesus out all over – continually.

Let’s jumpstart now as we walk into January.  Refreshment is a human need.  Make time for beauty.  Spend time alone but make time for friendships.  Declutter your soul on paper – journal the self-reflection.  And bow in prayer often.

Choices are the only way we can make it happen ~ and may you be richly blessed in this new year!

Repent and turn back that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.  Acts three-nineteen

The law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul.  The testimony of the Lord is sure.  Psalm nineteen-seven