In the Beginning.....

2021 – a new beginning. We know several “in the beginnings”. “In the beginning – God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1) A song from "The Sound of Music" says, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” And, here we are “in the beginning” of this “brand spanking” new year. Okay. Let’s stop right there. What does “brand-spanking new” mean anyway? Inquiring mind that I have -- I had to look it up. It could have come by way of the doctors who traditionally spanked babies immediately after delivery to start them crying and breathing “in their beginning” of life outside the womb. Another alternative “brand new” comes from cowboys branding cattle. Actually, “brand” has been used since 950 AD and means “to make an indelible mark of ownership' with a hot stake or iron. This blog is dedicated to the brand spanking new year that we hope will be indelibly imprinted with “all things brand new with brand new thinking and living”. We made it through last year and we are still here to tell the story of the survival of the fittest. Right now, all around the world, people are in the mindset of “a new beginning”. A clean slate. At the starting gate. Brand spanking new. All around the world, people are taking in the fresh, clean air that 2021 emits. Oh, the potential that this new year holds for us! It’s like “in the beginning” of a blank canvas with so much potential for an artist’s greatest work of art. Wouldn’t it be fasinating to get a glimpse into what God has in mind for us in this new year? I’m one of those people who prays for a “word of the year”. It’s a single word or phrase that Holy Spirit brings to our minds while we’re praying or reading Scriptures. It’s a word that hints at God’s plans and His desires for us in the coming year. Words like peace or joy or patience which are real words that people sense is their aim or goal. Those words are just small glimpses, a splash of color, so to speak, for that blank canvas of the new year. I said at the beginning of 2020 that my word would be PLENTY in 2020. I usually have a rhyming word. What I meant was PLENTY of God’s grace, peace and love. And, that’s what I received. I prayed about this year’s word. I received SON. I desire more of the SON in 2021. I’m sensing an even more intimate and tight relationship with my Savior, best friend and companion, the Son of God. You know – the more we live with someone like our spouse, we take on their characteristics, behaviors and we even start looking like each other. That’s what I pray for this year – becoming more like Him, the Son, every day. Back to the “in the beginning” words that I started with “in the beginning” of this blog today. What are you purposing for this year? What are your hopes and dreams? What are your best wishes for your family? In God’s “in the beginning”, He started creating the world and looked over all He had made and He saw it was very good!” (Genesis 1:31). I know that “in the beginning” of this year, I want to follow God’s lead. The atmosphere I create, the things I do, the way I love and encourage others -- when I see it and when God sees it – I want to see it VERY GOOD! What will your “in the beginning” year and painting look like? Will it be “very good”?