Happy New Year!  It felt like there was a collective sigh as we all said good-bye to 2020.  Quite a year for all of us.  Back in February 2020, (go ahead and check it out again) I wrote a post about how I felt led to focus more on my home/family and step out of some of my YL responsibilities.  When we had prayed over our "map of dreams" in January of last year, I had felt God telling me to put down the name of our home as my map for the coming year.  Little could I know how literal that would become with the following months!  Weeks of quarantine within these walls and then the coming of our niece and nephew to live with us... God had been preparing my heart to be ready for the things He would ask of me in 2020.  It has not been easy to let go and at the same time embrace new things but I'm here and I've made it this far by the grace of God!  

We finished out 2020 surrounded by Ivan's family.  It was a week of games and fun and chaos and food!  Just now getting back into the rhythm of virtual school again (and I'll admit I've been hitting snooze at least 2x every morning).  

Anyone else feeling a little hesitant to sit down and make goals for 2021?  Haven't we learned from 2020 that making plans is futile?  

This morning I read in Ezekiel 11:16-20  (MSG)

"Well, tell them this: 'This is your Message from God, the Master.  True, I sent you to the far country and scattered you through the lands.  All the same, I've provided you a temporary sanctuary in the countries where you've gone.  I will gather you back from those countries and lands where you've been scattered and give you back the land of Israel.  You'll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols.  I'll give you a new heart.  I'll put a new spirit in you.  I'll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart.  Then you'll obey my statues and be careful to obey my commands.  You'll be my people!  I'll be your God!"

Maybe I haven't physically been scattered but it feels like my heart and my emotions have been scattered this past year.  God's message to Ezekiel is of hope and new beginnings.  God calls us back to Him.  Those who hear and respond to God's call are offered a new heart and a new spirit.  I don't know about you but I could use a new spirit.  A renewed spirit.  However, we have a job to do.  Clean house.  (in my case both literally and figuratively!)

Let's clean house.  Open up some of those mysterious containers in the fridge and toss out what's rotting. Step away from your phone and step outside a little more.  Less complaining and more praising.  It takes time to clean.  To really clean.  It's messy and often smelly and sometimes worse before it looks better.  God told Ezekiel He was going to cut out their hearts.  That sounds painful to me.  It doesn't sound like a fairy godmother waving a wand and poof we're all pretty again.  But isn't it so satisfying when the house is clean again?  Let's hear God's call to hope and new beginnings and then get cleaning!

New plants...new beginnings

Family time!  (me... sticking out as usual)

cousins and carrots

January YL Update