Up the Sunbeam

-- I'm not sure who originated the idea (anybody know and want to tell me the story?), but many of us who blog have adopted the practice of asking God for a word and a picture to go with it as a theme of focus for the new year.  This is my second time joining in--last year my word was ABIDE and I focused on abiding in my Father's love, looking to Him in eager expectation while I learned to settle down and rest in adoring relationship with Him. Abiding will be a lifelong focus, so I am not dropping last year's theme for a new one, but this is a year of newness for me and that being the case, 2012 needs it's own word.  The word I believe God has been repeatedly bringing to my heart the last couple of weeks as I prayed about my One Word is:   CHALLENGE. At 48, I am not at an age that is typically characterized by new beginnings or launching points, however, 48 or not, I am beginning something new.  I am picking up the reins of a dream I let go of when I ...

From a photographer's point of view, this is not a great picture, but for me, it is a message I need frequently. In April 2007 my husband's company and his job were among the first casualties of what many months later would become the current economic crisis. When we got the news, we were disappointed of course, but immediately started looking for the good in it, and we both had great faith that God was going to use this for our ultimate good. We really didn't worry because we fully believed that God was more than capable of giving my husband a new and better job. We just never imagined how long it would take. We never thought we would lose so much. We never thought God's provision would be so gradual. We never thought we would be in such a precarious position for so long. Before any of this happened, I had taken this picture and created a greeting card with it. Three years later, I feel like I frequently could benefit from sending it to myself! What I ...