Thank God for Overs

THANK GOD for OVERS

Blogging is a rather new thing for me. About six years ago I started writing inspirational stories. I set a goal of five-hundred words or less, but I didn’t know how I would share them.

Cost was a factor, so my husband encouraged me to start sharing with my email contacts. That satisfied me for a few years, but I wanted to do more.

I had a couple of deep desires: (1) self-publish my stories, and (2) have a web site. Both were fulfilled in the same year.

My older brother and his wife funded the publishing of my book: REFLECTIONS: Inspirational Stories from Everyday Life with BookLocker.com. At the same time, I created a website under the domain name of Author Darlis Sailors.

New Opportunities

This past year a friend told me about BlogSpot.com. Her encouraging articles appear under Fresh Start Momentum.  My youngest brother, a professional writer, suggested I call my blog New Day by Darlis. I loved that idea because I look forward to a fresh start each day.

I look at it this way. Why get stuck in yesterday? Maybe it didn’t go well, but you don’t have to stay in the past---even one day past. Give yourself a new start. God does.

A Source of Hope

One of my favorite scriptures is Lamentations 3:22-23. Since life can only be lived one day at a time, I see it as a source of hope. See if this encourages you, too:  Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

I love the idea of a fresh start. Instead of regrets or self-condemnation, I make it a point to thank God each morning for His new mercies and a chance for “overs.” I don’t know about you, but my days are not generally perfect and I’m not either. A second chance on some things is very much appreciated.

Hope for the Ancients

If you know much about the life of the Apostle Paul, he suffered many hardships as he shared the good news of Jesus Christ. But he must have counted on God’s new mercies each day, too. He wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Read to the end of that chapter and you’ll see why his faith was strong. He focused not on the seen, but the unseen. Think about it. Things we see are temporary, but the unseen is eternal.

Hope for Us Moderns

In the realm of the unseen, faith and hope are powerful energizers. When life gets tough, faith and hope help us persevere. But there’s nothing automatic about them.

The key is to deliberately apply them to your life. As you wake up each morning, let God know you’re grateful for a new day and you’re counting on His fresh mercies. Thank God for “overs.”