Thanksvember 7 - New Beginnings

Today, as I reflect on yesterday's election I am thankful for new beginnings. I have another chance to pray for President Obama more than I did his last term. I have another chance to pray for our country and leadership more than I did over the last four years. To be honest with you, in my life until elections became at the forefront of the news, I hadn't been praying for our President like I should have been. So I am thankful today for another chance to do so. 

As I wrap up my time serving at Lifeway, I am thankful for the new beginning at Praying Pelican Missions. To have this opportunity to not only serve on the mission field, but to help others do the same excites me and refreshes my spirit. I am thankful that God doesn't call the equipped, but rather equips the called, because only He can strengthen me for this new journey.

But I don't have to wait for an "official new beginning" to make changes to my life. Each and every day I have a new beginning, another chance to bring glory to God. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!" Every day is another chance to live the day for His glory.

There is a passage in Ephesians 4 that speaks on new beginnings too that reiterates this idea of each day being a new beginning. Ephesians 4:23-24 reads, "You are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth." The tense in this passage is present perfect, which means that it is a continuous thing, so each day we are renewed and each day we put on our new self - the one like Christ. So each day, let's agree to praise God for another opportunity to serve Him and I am going to take this opportunity to genuinely pray for our President that God would give him guidance and wisdom as he leads our country. Thank you Jesus for new beginnings!