joy in january

When I looked out my dining room window to the north this morning, you know what caught my eye? 

Brown. 

That's it! Brown fences, brown lawns, brown, leafless trees, and mostly brown houses. Even my dog was brown. A droopy, dirty American flag swaying in the wind three houses down seemed to be the only color filling the scenery.

The sky was not brown, but it was gray, and the streets were empty and lifeless ... a mirror reflection of my soul.

For me, it's easy to approach January as "the dead month." Not only does all of creation seem to be dead, but the hype of Christmas has passed, year-end sales are but a memory, and life takes on a routine, mundane feeling. It all leaves me wondering, does Joy in January even exist?

It does, of course. And Ruth Harms Calkins sums up the root of the problem beautifully in her poem simply titled January:

It's January, Lord –

the drab, dreary middle –

and my thoughts

are as drab as the miserable month. 

Does everybody hit a January slump,

 or am I the only one?...

The first week wasn't too bad;

there were Christmas thank-yous to write...

a few resolutions to store away...

the huddle of year-end sales. 

But thank-you notes bring no returns,

and resolutions are quickly broken,

and marked-down trinkets fast lose appeal. 

When you said, "Behold, I make all things new,"

did you forget January, Lord? 

Or, in January, do I sometimes forget you?

I was seriously diggin' this poem, right up until that last line! You see, nothing has changed since Christmas ... except for my focus. 

Jesus is still the light of my salvation ... but I forgot. 

He is with me in times of trouble ... but I forgot. 

He will hear me in my time of need if I will humble myself and call on Him ... but I forgot. 

He has been and continues to be my help ... but I forgot. 

Will you come along side me and resolve to remember the Lord's promises through the month of January? 

Let's remember that He has always been and always will remain faithful. Let's remember His kindness toward us. Let's refuse to give in to our bleak, midwinter feelings, and simply remember Jesus and all He has accomplished, is accomplishing, and will accomplish for us. 

Has His mercy ceased forever?
         Has His promise failed forevermore?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
         Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?  Selah 
 And I said, “This is my anguish;
         But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
I will remember the works of the LORD;
         Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all Your work,
         And talk of Your deeds.
Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
         Who is so great a God as our God?

~Psalm 77:8-13 (emphasis mine)

garbage out, goodness in

The mind is a powerful thing.

What we put into it will always work it's way out. Out of our mouth, out of our eyes, in the way we look at others ... it affects the way we treat others, and the way we respond to the way others treat us.

That's why it's so important to limit the ample supply of garbage that gets into our heads. It's everywhere. TV, internet, books, video games, even something as simple as a restaurant slogan.

I've recognized my own need to declutter, refocus, and renew my mind. So for the last week (ah! the reason I've been rather quiet!), I've been working on laying out in written form a plan to renew my mind. It's nothing but a Word document that lists specific (sinful) thought patterns that I've developed, along with Scripture (always right thinking!) beside it.

I don't have any big plan except to keep the worksheet handy throughout the day, and especially during the times I am more susceptible to spiral downward in my thinking (usually when I'm not feeling well).

I don't expect overnight change, but I do expect it to make a gradual difference in my life. I'm actively replacing bad thoughts with right thoughts - my thoughts with God's thoughts. I'm tossing out the garbage, and pouring His goodness in.

Proverbs 23:7 teaches, "For as [one] thinks in his heart, so is he." The only way for me to become more Christ-like is to think more like Christ thinks. So, this is my attempt to set my mind on the right path, stop giving into every emotion in the book, stop making excuses for the way I am, and let God have control over my mind. 

I fully expect God to do His part, if I will do my part. So as I study, please pray for me, that I will be willing to change, that God's Word will permeate my heart so thoroughly that my actions begin to radically change, and that my motivations will become more and more pure. And that God will ultimately use my life for His glory. 

That's a lot of work. 

Only God could do that. 

maybe it's monday ...

This is a perfect reflection of me today. 

It must be Monday!