Breath of Change

I love the God who creates the seasons.  The God whose breath blows the summer breeze upon my face as I lie on the shore of the lake with my family.  The God who stirs the autumn wind to send the colored leaves across my lawn.  The God who shakes the sky until the winter snowflakes fall thick and glorious on my daughter's eyelashes.  And the God who whispers to the earth to wake up from its slumber until the spring flowers poke their heads out of the ground.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and yet He authors change so beautifully. 

And today, as I stand upon one year's closing credits and peek into next year's cover page, I am grateful again for the way He writes the seasons of my life.  On my own, I probably wouldn't choose for things to change.  I wouldn't want to leave the warm predictability of the present for the uncertainties of the unknown.  But, when He leads me there, I can welcome it.  Who else is for me, if not Him?  Who else can I trust, if not Him?

So, I step from one year into the next, my face lifted to the Heavens.  And I wait for the breath.

Ways to welcome the new year and its changes:

• Journal the biggest changes that occured in your life in the past year and give thanks.
• Read Isaiah 55 and pray about what God would like to speak to you through it.
• Sit down with the loved ones in your home and write 3-5 goals you have for your family in the new year.
• Make a list of financial goals with your spouse for the coming year.  See this article for some good ideas.
• Ask the Lord to lead you to a verse to define the next year of your life.  Write it down and put it in a place you will see it often.  Memorize it.  Pray over it.
• Buy a new devotional book and start it on the first day of your new year.
• Place an empty notebook beside your bed.  Begin every morning and end every day by asking the Lord if He has anything to tell you.  Write down what He says.