Five Minute Friday: Tomorrow

And here it goes - take 3 of the Five Minute Friday Challenge

What do I think of when I think of the word tomorrow? 

A verse pops into my mind - His mercies are new every morning.  I often think about that truth when I think of tomorrow.  Some days you just don’t get everything you want to get done.  Sometimes you can’t keep up emotionally with the day.  So I cling to the hope - his mercies are new every morning - tomorrow.  

Secondly I think of Christ being the same, yesterday today and tomorrow (I can still hum the tune of a Bible School song from when I was about 4 that goes with this verse). Tomorrow = forever.  The unknown days ahead.  We cannot predict what will happen tomorrow.  Yet we can trust in the one who holds tomorrow.  

Tomorrow is where our dreams, our hopes, our ambitions dwell.  When we think about tomorrow - we think about what may come.  There is a commercial on TV right now for insurance that asks people to put words they think of when they think of the future.  The words that are yellow represent positive events - the words that are blue represent negative events.  The future board on the commercial has much more yellow than the past.  As we dream about the future - we think about potential.  When we look at our past, we look at what was.  Sometimes in the past we even dwell in the what if or if only.  However, tomorrow is a blank slate and a fresh canvas.  

We can dream about tomorrow.  We can hope for tomorrow.  Tomorrow is a new day.  The possibilities are endless.  Let’s live each day living for tomorrow… for eternity...for forever.  

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I spent a few extra minutes adding links so that my thought process would make a little more sense :)

Blessings
Carolyn E Berlepsch

Five Minute Friday: Relief

When do you remember last sighing in relief? 

About a month ago, my mom mentioned that she had a routine doctor appointment that led to a biopsy. Getting the news and dwelling on it for the next few days caused me much anxiety.  I always think that the waiting game is so terrible when medical test results hang in the balance. 

So I waited and worried (even though I know I am commanded to trust in the Lord and do not be anxious about anything). I struggle with those commands a lot. I've always wrestled with an anxious spirit. I continually work with the Lord, but it is a constant challenge for me.

The truth is that in these days of waiting - I worked on entrusting the results to the Lord. It took time, thinking, processing, praying, and seeking comfort in the Lord's promises. We got great news, earlier than we expected, that revealed that my mom's results were clear. 

This my friends, is when I most recently let out a great sigh relief. 

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart...

Five Minute Friday: Plan

This is my first entry in the Five Minute Friday challenge.  Find out more about it at Katemotaung.com. 

Plan.  We all love to plan. Some like to plan more than others I think.  I would consider myself an average planner.  I don't like to have every minute planned out - especially not when it is leisure time.  I do notice that when I don't have a general plan, I start to wonder what I am doing with my life.  Planning has a lot to do with control.  Planning often makes us feel like we are in control - even when we aren't.  For example, I noticed how winter was driving me crazy because it was messing with my plans.  Every day we would have to consult the weather and see if it changed plans.  Right now I am an afternoon nanny to two elementary school girls.  Snow days would change my day to a full work day.  It would change my to-do list, my meals, my schedule.  Sometimes it's nice to have a change of plans, but sometimes it would drive me crazy.  I noticed myself saying, I can't wait until winter is over so I can maintain control of my plans.  However, its actually not true.  Yes, we can plan and try our hardest to stick to plans, but there are always natural changes.  I read Ann Vonskamp's prayer for today - some of you may know of her 703 prayer plan for Lent this year.  I haven't been following it super close, but today's prayer/tweet was fitting. 

"Today I will thank God for every interruption of my list - as I'll see it as a manifestation of my Lord." 

"By Grace, today I will fast from idolizing my agenda instead of interrupting my agenda because I love Your ways more than mine." 

I think that is an interesting perspective on the word plan.  It's okay to have a plan, but let's not let "our plans" get in the way of His plans.  Sometimes we are just too darn busy for our own good.  

Blessings, 

Carolyn E Berlepsch

P.S. That new years resolution to blog more - even with a theme... hasn't really been happening.  I'm going to keep working on it. Maybe I need a better PLAN :) 

Synonyms Of The Word: treasure

As this journey continues, I am overwhelmed by the deep waters I'm jumping into as I study "treasure". Just a quick glance at the synonyms of the word in some ways makes me want to quit. Goodness, that sounds terrible. That is how I tick though - and I must learn to persevere. Sometimes I obsess so much over perfection and worry about how it will end up that I can easily miss out on the journey. Lord, have mercy on me and show me a different way. Seriously though, I need to learn the one-day-at-a-time method. I must keep studying and writing and hoping for a clear revelation of what I'm studying and writing. Phew. 

Here is what I am asking myself today? 

"Lord, where will treasure show up? Open my eyes to see. Help me to take note of what it is You want to show me."

I cannot write the whole list of synonyms I was exploring today, but here are some that stood out to me. These are ones that I know will show up when studying the Word and being open to the work of the Lord in my life. 

Abundance

Apple of one's eye

Darling

Find

Valuable

Worth 

Pride & joy

Prize

Riches 

Adore

Cherish

Esteem

Guard

Idolize 

Love

Reverence

Worship

Wow! 

I will continue to work on defining treasure as I go.

Here is where I started. I took a look at the dictionary, thesaurus, concordance in the Bible, and the Greek dictionary. It's fascinating. 

Do you have a word for the year? Where are you choosing to start as you begin to study and look for it? 

Until next time. 

Treasures: a map & a new journey

I've read many posts about picking a word for the year. I started this blog last year: treasuring your life. I have wanted that to be a theme. However, this week I really pondered what it would mean to study and write about "treasure" this year. I am excited about it.  

Today is a great day to introduce the theme and make the first post about studying treasure. Why? 

Charles and I are on a mini-vacay in Daytona Beach visiting his dad. Today we went to a tourist gift shop to look around.  We came out with two things: an awesome nautical watch and a 200 piece treasure map puzzle. We finished it much faster than the 1000 piece puzzle over Christmas with my family. Those 800 other pieces made a BIG difference.

Anyways, some of Florida's rich history is about pirates and treasure. A few years ago, I went through a whole pirate museum in St. Augustine. It was fascinating! I sometimes just think of pirates as fictional. Nope, they are real.

Pirates were all about treasure. They would live for it, search for it, fight for it, protect it, and even die for it. 

As I begin this journey for the year, I hope to learn what it means to truly live for the treasure I have that is life. Life with Jesus, life with amazing people, life with abounding blessings, life with transforming struggles, and life with eternal hope. 

So what do I treasure? Do I live for it, search for it, fight for it, protect it, and am  I willing to die for it?  Maybe dying for it sounds extreme, but I think even in a metaphorical since we must die to ourselves to let go of some of the things we treasure in place of the best treasures. 

So, let's think now of the people, places, things we treasure now. 

What do you hope to treasure more? What do you hope to treasure less?

Join me on this adventure. I don't have a printed treasure map of where we are headed, but I do have some leads.