DO YOU HAVE AN EMPTY JAR? If not, I suggest you find one! This January, why not start out the new year
with an empty jar and then fill it with notes about good things that happen! Then on New Year’s Eve at the end of the year
… empty it and see what amazing things happened throughout the entire twelve
months! I have a feeling that at some
point, you will have to go hunting for a larger jar – because the one you
started with will not hold all those special notes!! Now, I have another question for you. (Yes, I’m full of them tonight!) DO YOU HAVE AN EMPTY LIFE? I hope not, but if you do – I propose that
beginning to fill the empty jar with little notes will soon provide a powerful
reminder of just how full your life really is!
And, if your jar remains empty for more than even just a day or two,
that means that you are keeping yourself too isolated … too far away from where
the blessings are flowing. You see, good
things often happen as a result of us helping someone else. So, if we are anywhere close to others, we
will see an entourage of unexpected good things come tumbling in our
direction. Of course, that is not the
purpose of blessing others – that is just God’s law of sowing seeds and
harvesting! Our God has invited us to “ask
and we shall receive!” Surprisingly it
seems He often asks us to give when we feel we have so little or nothing at
all. What we’ve found is when we’re at
the bottom of the barrel of resources, and we take that last little bit to
share with someone else, suddenly … (did I say SUDDENLY?!) God starts pouring
in His blessings from such unexpected sources!
OUR JAR IS EMPTY NO MORE! Close
to the end of our 2012, our jar was filled to overflowing in so many ways! Had we been literally filling a jar last
year, the end-of-year notes would have spilled over the rim. Let me share a few notes we would have
scribbled and tucked down inside with all the others tightly scrunched in
there. “Got to drive less than an hour
to meet up with our oldest son and his wife, and see our 12-year old
granddaughter perform in her team’s synchronized ice-skating competition and
she did g-r-e-a-t!!!” “Were blessed to
travel to celebrate Christmas with our youngest son and his wife and our three
youngest grandsons, ages 7, 4, and 2 – for the first time ever at their
home!” (It’s a little difficult to be
anyplace else for Christmas when you are doing the Christmas Eve service at
your church!!) In the midst of all the
fun noise and laughter and activity, we loved watching the two older boys sing
two songs with the kids at their Christmas Eve service at church. Sunglasses and all … they sang every word and
looked happy to be doing it! That would
have been another note – what a precious thing we got to experience that
usually we are never there for! Presents,
toys, cookies … and a two-day adventure for our little grandsons to go out and
bless others who didn’t have much. They
really got into the groove of telling complete strangers, “Merry Christmas! Jesus loves you!” Tuck another note in the jar! And I got to see my 88-year old mom and two
of my siblings soon after Christmas ~ I’m scribbling another note! Some of our last-minutes notes were a bit
tear-stained ... the goodness of God and others touched our hearts so
deeply! This new year “jar” of 2013 is
almost ALL EMPTY … how will we fill it?
What kind of living will we tuck into it? What experiences of joy will we write
about? What will we say about the
sustaining strength and peace God will give us in the tough times? What new God-adventures and opportunities
will we want to put pen to paper for?
Let’s not leave our 2013 empty … let’s live it to the fullest like God
meant for it to be: life more
abundantly! Begin choosing now what you
will write on your notes … and get ready to record all the incredible surprises
God has in mind! “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord,
thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in
your final outcome.” (Jeremiah 29:11) There … go and find a jar!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
A SPECIAL
THANKS to Wayne and Verla for ministering in the service in Pastor
Doug’s & Debbie’s absence last Sunday!
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
