How To Make the Best of Our Time

We’re facing a NEW year. Isn’t it great? By the time twelve months have passed, we’re all ready for a new start. Hopes run high for improvements with personal New Year resolutions.

In one of the oldest psalms in the Bible, Moses wrote, “Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). As a caregiver, I can tell you I gratefully experienced God’s loving devotion and new mercies every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

God created time - - - days, years, and seasons - - - but He is not bound to it nor limited by it (Gen. 1:14-18). We’re the ones who live just one day at a time, and each day brings new challenges and a need for more decisions.

In Psalm 90, Moses says our basic life span is 70 years, or perhaps 80 if we’re strong (Psalm 90:10). We often hear of people living beyond 100 years, but the bottom line remains the same. We all live one day at a time, and we cannot count on tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1; James 4:13-17).  

Determine to live your best life this year, one day at a time!

Moses wrote, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).  

And David said that wisdom begins with a healthy fear of the LORD, plus a heart to follow His precepts (Psalm 111:10).

In view of that fact, be wise in perseverance this year:

I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes (one day at a time),

even to the very end (Psalm 119:112).

Pixabay: Time, Time Management, Time Planning, geralt.

 

  

Moving On

Have you ever had anything stolen from you? I have, more than once! Here’s how I responded.

First was the theft of my little blue Corvair. I had parked a couple of blocks away from work. At the end of the day, I walked back and couldn’t find my car.

I walked around a couple of blocks before calling the police. Later, they called saying someone had used my car to commit a robbery, then returned it close to where it had been taken. Surprise!

Years later, our VW camper was stolen. After dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, we were shocked to see our van missing! I waited while my husband walked around a couple of blocks. I understood how he felt.

He drove the area for days before the police informed him it was parked behind some apartment buildings. It was nice to get it back, but it was stripped of all our camping gear, right down to the bare bones. We sold it not long after.

Twice we had our home broken into. The first time, I went overboard on engraving our possessions. I remember thinking nobody’s ever going to steal from me again! Wishful thinking!

We moved to another state, and it happened again. This time, we reported stolen goods; however, nothing ever turned up when the police asked us to check out recovered items.

I decided it was time to move on. First, I poured out my heart to God. Then I asked for His peace and protection. I released the things we had lost and thanked Him for what we had.

If you’re wondering what brought these experiences to mind, it was John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. The thief is Satan.

On the other hand, the same verse says that Jesus has come to give us a better life. Unlike Satan, He will never mistreat us.

A New Year is coming. Has everything gone well for you this past year?

I doubt it, because troubles come to all of us. The question is, will we hang on to disappointments and frustrations, or will we move on and seek God for better things to come?

Why not pursue healthy spiritual growth this year with a daily reading of His Word and Prayer? Have a happy NEW year!

Unsplash by Boliviainteligente, Ano 2026, ano Nuevo2026.  

Morning NEWs

Happy NEW Year! It’s finally arrived. Our comments about it change with age. Young people say, “I can hardly wait!” Older ones say, “Where did the time go?”

Time is an ancient concept set in place by the Creator Himself. From the beginning, Genesis 1:1-2:4 declares that evening and morning make a day. We live our days on a twenty-four-hour basis, helped along by sunrise and sunset.

God is not bound by time, but He certainly understands it. Beyond the Genesis record, some argue for Peter’s statement that with God *one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day (2 Peter 3:8). When it comes to Genesis, I prefer to focus on the orderliness of Creation, not argue over the possible increments of time.

*Fiddler on the Roof, one of my favorite musicals, contains a song sung by Tevye, the Jewish Father. Sunrise, Sunset not only speaks of passing days, but passing years . . . one season following another, laden with happiness and tears

Who changed the counting of time from days to years? Encyclopedia Brittanica (sourced on Google) says the Egyptians were the first to create a “civil calendar” from the lunar one used for agriculture and religion. Their year was three seasons of four months, with thirty days each. At the end of twelve months, they added five intercalary days for a total of 365 days.

We are one of thousands of generations who have greeted a new year. To me, “Happy New Year” is a greeting that reminds me to stop, reconsider my life, and make changes where necessary.

We live our “new” daily. According to Lamentations 3:22-25, God’s love never ends, and because of His faithfulness, His mercies never cease - - - they are new every morning! That gives “have a good day” a whole new meaning.

Have a “Happy NEW Year!” But don’t stop there. Thank God for those daily NEW mercies. They’re not leftovers from last year or even the day before, and they’ll never run out. For that, I’m truly thankful.

*2 Peter 3:8 wording is from The Amplified Bible, and is used by permission of the Lockman Foundation and the Zondervan Corporation, copyright 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. 

*According to Wikipedia, Fiddler on the Roof was written in 1964 by Composer Jerry Bock and Lyricist Sheldon Harrick.

 Photo by FlashBuddy on Pixabay

 

The Lighthouse Principle

THE LIGHTHOUSE PRINCIPLE

Lighthouses have always fascinated me. For one thing, they are always located by large bodies of water. It doesn’t matter if it’s the ocean, river, lake or bay, I’m a fan of water views.

When traveling I always look at postcard racks to familiarize myself with the area. I have never forgotten an oversize postcard that had pictures of lighthouses in Michigan.

It was fascinating because, though all held the same importance, no two were alike in shapes or colors.

Why Bother With Light?

Lighthouses were needed to guide ships safely into port through rocky harbors. Situated in lonely places, they were built to withstand the toughest of weather conditions.

Views from the top were spectacular, but lighthouse keepers did not climb the challenging steps for the view. Their part in the mighty shipping industry was simply to make their light shine. They had no control over who would use the beams or how.

Light Still Needed

We are entering into a New Year. I’m looking forward to it, though I did not make any resolutions for it. If you’re wondering why not, I have a simple answer.

My individual resolutions have a tendency to fall by the wayside after a few weeks. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to become a better person in the new year.

That’s why the famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi caught my attention once again. Here is the part I love:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

Each line of that prayer is a worthwhile goal. But I like that St. Francis called upon God to help him achieve them. I need that same power if I’m going to be a peacemaker or sow love. And what about forgiveness? Is that something I can easily offer on my own?

The Lighthouse Principle

It’s easy to see a world full of darkness rather than goodness and light. That’s why I want to follow the lighthouse principle this year. It may seem like a lonely business, but just as each lighthouse made a difference to ships in its area, each of us make a difference to the people around us.

Jesus spoke of his followers as light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16). His instructions were to light your lamp and put it on a stand to give light to others. Sounds like a lighthouse principle to me.

St. Francis’ prayer has more good things in it. But our light will shine brightly even with the first few lines.