New Beginnings

I love fresh starts, new beginnings, and clean slates. Every New Year always seems to carry an extra helping of hope. Moving to a new home always inspires large doses of creativity. And meeting new people always holds the secret pondering that perhaps I may have found a bosom friend.

Perhaps that’s why I have nearly 40 journals in my hope chest, with only seven of them completely filled... Or why I have a pile of ingenious ideas without ever having felt the need to see them through... Or why letters written to my friends I often end up snapping a picture of and texting, rather than procuring a stamped envelope… Or why I hand my husband a dessert after only taking two bites…

You see, the beginning of a thing is always my favorite part of any adventure because it’s full of wonder and expectation, ridiculous hopes, and endless possibilities.

But the beginning of any human enterprise does not guarantee its end.

I have regrettably ripped out years of journal entries on account of sloppy handwriting or embarrassing situations. Those are thoughts I could never return to and growth opportunities I can no longer learn from. It's amazing how mistakes and regret and guilt and laziness and pride can crush so many beautiful beginnings.

BUT GOD.

That which God started will be as beautifully, sovereignly, and perfectly continued to its end. The Author of all things is also the Finisher, and He has promised to complete all that He has started. He has begun a good work in me, and He is faithful to complete it. And as I am being completed, may I humbly and faithfully rejoice in this sanctifying process.

And so, as I have this chance to start building my brand on a new platform, I am excited and hopeful in this new beginning. I want to start well, that I might continue with excellence, and finish without regret. Yet I do not wish to rip out any pages that reveal my brokenness. For as long as I am pursuing Christ first, humbly submitting to His pruning process in my life, in my imperfections there is growth, and through my inefficiencies the grace of Jesus will produce a better likeness of Himself.

It is in better understanding Him that I will better understand who He has called me to be. And in that, just as His mercies are new every morning, my every breath is a new beginning of opportunity.

So as I embark on this new adventure, may it be with the old theme in a steadfast desire:

To Know Him More.

#ToKnowHimMore #Growth #Hope #Beginnings

It's DONE!

Practicing Gratitude has been released! Wow!

I have been writing this email in my head for the last few days and I simply can not accurately convey my heart... The birth of a book, I knew, would be an emotional and mental release. I had anticipated the thrill and the hope and the wonder. I had not, however, considered the utter and absolute TERROR.

So now, after fifteen years of practicing prudence in speech and counting the weight of my words before they are spoken, I have written a book. Words encapsulated for all of time with my name claiming ownership. Not simply a conversation that might be forgotten or even an email which may be ignored, but a book in print, written with intention and purpose. Years from now my walk with Jesus may be judged by this little devotional, but more importantly, its pages have the power influence others either toward or away from knowing God more.

In reflection, I am realizing that 'terror' is not the root of the fluttering in my heart nor the tightness in my chest. It's not terror, it's FEAR. Not a 'scared' fear, but a holy reverence in light of the power, authority, and worth of the God I claim to represent. Knowing that I have taken His words and communicated them to others places upon me the responsibility to showcase God as He would be seen. In calling my fellow Christian women to a deeper relationship with God, I am commissioned to handle His truth well, wisely, in context, in reverence, and with all hope to inspire readers to see Him, not me.

Oh, that this book would reflect Jesus well!

So, with the weight of knowing the permanency of my words in printed form, my prayer is that Jesus would use Practicing Gratitude to His glory. May I be a channel for His truth, a beacon of His grace, and a catalyst for the encouragement of others as they are encouraged to know God more. May I continue to stand in holy reverence of His Truth, and may I always be willing to submit humbly to His will for both this book and my life.

Thank you, dear friends, for allowing me the opportunity to share how Jesus has been growing me. Thank you for supporting me in this new journey. Thank you for joining me in the excitement of all Jesus has planned for Practicing Gratitude.

I appreciate you!

With gratitude,

Christin

Crunchy Leaves Show Jesus

Over the last several weeks I have mentioned how much I love Autumn, and that this season is my favorite. It has only been the last couple of days, though, that I realized my favorite aspect of Fall is centered around death.

Now, this is an odd musing, but one at least worth an ounce of consideration… When you think about the changing colors of the maple leaves anticipating the winter chill, you will realize that it is only possible through dying. When the valley is awash with branches full of tangible sunlight glowing red and orange and yellow, it is because the once vibrantly green leaves are being starved.

All Spring and throughout the Summer they have enjoyed the sweetness of nourishment from their tree. But they are now being cut off so that the tree can store energy for the winter, anticipating breathing life into new leaves when Spring descends once again.

Yet in their death, there is a static beauty in the sunset leaves. Even as they break off from the branch, their grip on the tree weakened by the wind, their deathly descent is a gorgeous ballet. As they rest on the ground, shouting a satisfying crunch as I walk through their piles, they offer one of the most cheerful sounds of the season. And then, as they decay and rot, their essence is taken once again into the ground, transferring their life into the soil which will bring forth new sprigs and shoots of wondrous nature in only a few months’ time.

And perhaps that’s me. Cozied up to my comfortable tree of convenience, lazily drinking in the ease. Not many people take notice, because I am just another green leaf, surrounded by other green leaves, drowned out by the cacophony of verdant growth. And yet, when my convenience is stripped away I begin to change. I am transformed from a stagnant living thing, into a dying masterpiece.

And that is when others take notice. My metamorphosis sings in a chorus of other transformed lives, pleading with the passerby to heed the stunning call of the season. It is only my comfort which is steeped away, mearly my convenience that has loosed me. And yet even as every easy thing is drained from me, my purpose is hardly finished. For in my death to comfort, there is hope of joy, and in my resting release, my continued transformation will assist in bringing more life. May I live well, and in every stage of my Creator’s Good Plan may I trust His will, trust His heart, and rejoice in His plan.