Posts Tagged ‘christianity’
Embrace New Beginnings: Daily Grace from God
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.” — Lamentations 3:22–23
Sometimes we get off track. I miss a day, then another. Something I intended to do gets pushed aside because life gets busy, somebody needs us, circumstances change — or I simply get tired and admit, “I will do it later.”
My foster son asked me seven times yesterday to throw the baseball with him. I kept responding, “You got it, buddy. Let me finish this and we’ll do it.” By 9:00p.m., he had stopped asking and it was dark. I told him how sorry I was that we did not get to throw. He smiled and answered, “We can tomorrow!”
There are days when I don’t know if it will happen tomorrow. I start thinking about how far behind I am in my job, writing books, and the demands from others, which seem to pile higher and higher, and of course, I want to exercise and eat right, dress right, and fix my hair. Before long, the overwhelming resolve creeps in to ring loud and clear, “I just can’t do this.”
But this morning, I was reminded of something wonderfully simple:
God is not asking me to go backward and fix yesterday – He is giving me today.
There is so much grace in that. I have a tendency to believe that starting over requires some grand moment: a Monday, a new month, a new year, or a perfectly organized plan.
God tells us that His mercies are new every morning. Which makes it very clear, not every January or Birthday but every morning. There is such comfort in that.
Maybe there is something you’ve let slip. Maybe it’s prayer or time in God’s Word. Maybe it’s taking care of yourself, reaching out to someone you love, going back to church, or pursuing something God placed on your heart a long time ago.
Don’t spend another moment beating yourself up over yesterday – just begin again. Pick up your Bible. Say the prayer. Make the phone call. Take the walk. Write the first sentence. Do the next right thing.
God has always been in the business of new beginnings. He doesn’t need our lives to be perfectly organized before He can work in them. He simply asks us to come as we are.
Perhaps one of the greatest gifts of faith is knowing that as long as God gives us another morning, He has given us another opportunity to begin again.
Today is enough and it began with a baseball, two gloves, a little laughter, and happy young boy who just wants to be a professional player one day.
— Nora
Held in His Hands
There are days when life feels steady, predictable, and peaceful, and then there are days when everything feels just a little too heavy. Our hearts get stretched. Our minds grow tired. Our spirits long for a reminder that we are not carrying life alone.
Holidays are often a culprit in bringing us to a point of desperation. Loss and loneliness contribute deeply to the inability to pull ourselves out of the heaviness.
Scripture gives us one of the most comforting truths: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” — Deuteronomy 33:27
The everlasting arms — not temporary, not conditional, not distant. Everlasting. Always present. Always strong. Always steady.
Sometimes we forget that we are held. We forget that God’s hands didn’t drop us when life got hard. We forget that He is still the One holding every detail, every moment, and every heartache together.
Yesterday, while enjoying family and friends, I found myself drifting into places that brought tremendous sadness. The thoughts seemed to cripple me, and the weight of pain tried to overcome me.
When things feel too heavy, it’s not because God stepped back — it’s because He’s inviting us to lean in. To rest. To trust. To let Him carry what we were never meant to hold alone.
Think about how a parent scoops up a weary child. The child doesn’t earn rest. They don’t explain themselves. They don’t have to be strong or put together. They simply let themselves be held.
That’s what God is asking of us. He knows the pressure you’re under. He knows the prayers you pray in the quiet. He knows the people you love and the burdens you carry. He knows the memories you hold and the pain you don’t often say out loud.
And He whispers, “Come to Me. Let Me hold you.”
Even when you feel overwhelmed, God is not.
Even when you feel unsteady, God is sure.
Even when the future feels uncertain, God has already gone before you.
Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is simply stop… breathe… and fall into those everlasting arms. Let Him be your refuge today. Let Him carry the weight. Let Him strengthen what feels weak. Let Him remind you that you are never, ever walking alone.
Because even when life feels too big, you are safe in the hands of a God who never lets go.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for holding me with everlasting arms. When I feel overwhelmed, remind me that I am not carrying life alone. Help me rest in Your strength, trust in Your timing, and find peace in Your presence. Hold my heart steady today. Amen.
God is just, but where is the justice
“For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” – Isaiah 30:18
It is in the courtroom that this question comes to mind. As a foster mom, I frequent the halls of justice quite often as a silent member of the lives of those I care for 24/7. History. Tragedy. Heartache. Mistakes. Looking the other way. Neglect. Unaware. The topics are all the same with simple twists here and there, all coming back to the same common element: God is just — where is the justice?
I’ve held the hands of littles as we walk to the car. Their every step trusting mine. Their minds confused, scared, unsettled — as the judge folds the file and reaches for another. Lawyers who were just angry at one another, fighting to make this motion or dismissal, laughing moments later about some event they’d all attended or a golf game gone by. And I find myself asking: Lord, do You see this? Do You hear their cries?
But those questions don’t stop in the courthouse. I’ve asked them in hospital corridors, too.
A few years ago, my sister — vibrant, driven, full of purpose — was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, Grade 4. Only months before, she had been named to the Georgia State Board of Nursing, an honor she had longed for and worked so hard to obtain. She had just purchased her own home, bought a new car, and was nearly finished with her Master’s degree. Life was opening up for her in ways she had dreamed of. And then, in the reading of an MRI, it all ended.
And now, our nation mourns a young leader — Charlie Kirk. At just 31 years old, with a wife and two small children, his life was stolen by assassination. He was bold in his faith, fearless in his convictions, and yet vulnerable to the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. The images of his death shook millions. Once again, we find ourselves crying out: Where is the justice? How could this happen?
How do we reconcile these moments? The confusion of children abandoned by the very people meant to protect them. The loss of a sister whose dreams were cut short. The murder of a young husband and father whose voice was silenced too soon. How do we hold the truth that God is just alongside the harsh reality of a world that so often feels cruel and unjust?
The truth is — God’s justice is not always immediate, nor is it always visible. What feels delayed to us is never forgotten by Him. Justice, in His hands, is not only about punishment or reward but about restoration — of hearts, of lives, of creation itself.
Sometimes His justice shows up in quiet ways: the healing of a child’s trust, the mending of a broken heart, the courage of a widow standing strong, or the ripple effect of a life lived faithfully. And other times, it feels hidden — waiting for that day when every wrong will be made right before His throne.
Until then, we wait. We walk by faith. We live justly ourselves, even when the world does not. We cling to His promise that justice will come, even if not in the way or timing we long for.
So when the courtroom feels cold, or the MRI brings devastation, or violence steals a leader in his prime, we anchor ourselves in this: God sees. God knows. God is just. And one day, His justice will roll down like waters, and His righteousness like a mighty stream.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, when life feels unfair and injustice surrounds me, remind me that You are just. Help me trust in what I cannot yet see. Give me strength to walk faithfully and to bring glimpses of Your justice into this world until the day You make all things new. Amen.
notesbynora 