First Things First

One of my first and foremost goals of 2014 is a daily challenge: put God first. When I first open my eyes at the start of the day, and before I close them at night to sleep, I want my focus to be on Him. This is truly a challenge. It is so easy to become distracted with the cares of the day and the worries of the future. Christ anticipated this weakness in our humanity when He said:

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Over and over again God tells us that He's got it all under control -- He will take on our burdens (He already has!) and our trust in Him will not be disappointed. And yet... I still fall grievously short of utter trust in the only One who can truly make good on this promise. But I believe this is what Christian living is about: daily we are called to "seek first the kingdom of God" and He has promised to give us the strength to do so.

One of the ways in which I've committed to seeking God daily is by renewing my daily Bible reading with a chronological plan that follows the historical sequence of the books of the Bible. This is a really neat way to get a feel for the timeline of God's story for our salvation and it really helps put the sequence of events into context. Thinking of the Bible as a "novel" of sorts is a concept promoted by two of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien. They often spoke of Scripture as the one "true myth": 

"For this is the marriage of heaven and earth: Perfect Myth and Perfect Fact: claiming not only our love and our obedience, but also our wonder and delight . . ."

(http://www.transpositions.co.uk/2011/12/tolkien-lewis-true-myth-of-the-gospel/)

Being the artist I am, this concept rings especially true for me. There is no need to suspend disbelief while reading the Bible, as though it were a fictional story or fairytale, but how wonderful to read it with the same sense of awe and pleasure that accompanies the most beautiful and wondrous of mythologies. At this point in my reading, I have read the beginning portion of Genesis, jumped to Job, and am now back to the life of Abram/Abraham in Genesis. As I begin each day with these readings (while nursing DS), I am gratified to know that I am connecting not only to my own personal and human history in these beautiful "myths" but also to the ever-present and personal relationship with my Lord who intended these writings to be read by generation upon generation that this true mythology might be the uttermost source of Truth and Life for His people.

2014: Looking Forward

I love the start of a new year, it holds so much potential and possibility! New beginnings are one of my favorite things: the feeling of starting fresh, embarking on a new adventure or project, forgetting failures of the past and forging ahead with renewed resolution.

This is what I love about Sundays as well -- the first day of the week in which we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and a new beginning for all who are in Him. Although feelings are fickle, and the sense of newness fades all too quickly, we can yet trust in the new creation we have in Christ every single day, whether the beginning of the year or the end.

My goals for 2014 are founded in this mentality. As I enter a new phase of life with motherhood (in which sleeplessness and mental exhaustion may figure largely), I will need to rely all the more on the Lord's provisions for my daily needs: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. This has always been the case, of course, but I want to remind myself daily of this truth.

And instead of resolutions this year, I'm giving myself goals to strive for each day, week and month. These goals will help keep me on track when the days feel too busy... or too slow. Consistency and discipline are key in this venture, but the underlying theme is simplicity. I want to focus on what is truly important, rather than the things of this world that all too quickly clutter the heart and mind. No, I'm not cutting myself off from technology (are you kidding?!?), but priorities are important so focusing on the best use of my time and the corresponding technologies are part and parcel of this process.

Instead of sharing these goals all at once, I'm going to spread them out over several posts because there's plenty to say about them and I want to elaborate. In the meantime, this will serve as my first post of 2014 (a few days late)!