Dream In Soul – Creativity for the Kingdom:

The changing year symbolizes a fresh start and changes in one’s life for many: setting aside, or into perspective, errors, failures and disappointments for a new outlook and course of action. Here are some devotions that may inspire you to renew your mind as we round onto an untrodden path in the New Year:

*StreamingFaith.com listed this powerful piece as the daily devotion for December 31st. In it the author challenges us to take the reins of responsibility and obedience for what we know God has commanded us to do. He says:

“Ladies and gentlemen, whether you and I are ready or not, 2010 is here. For many of us, this will be a year that many of the things we have prayed for throughout this year will come to pass.

“However, for those of us who are still holding on to things (and people) God has told us to get rid of, and for those of us who have allowed 2009 to be a year where our apathy and discontentment for where our lives are right now get the best of us, then what in the world are we going to do when the ‘horses’ arrive?”

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with the horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?” Jeremiah 12:5-6

Click here to read the full devotional on Milan Ford’s website.

This devotion encourages us to, “leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him…”:

“You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 52:12

“…As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us…”

Click here to read the full devotional.

As you’re inspired by these devotionals remember the unchangeable truth – with God all things are possible, and with Him at the lead, and as we follow, our journey will be on course. With Him we can have unbridled hope, for we know the path He’s illuminating, though a little at a time, is directing us toward the future He has planned for us (as we’re reminded in Jeremiah 29:11). Seek Him – He is the way.

Happy New Year! May God’s blessings and love shower down on you!

*Note: If you’re celebrating the New Year festivities at home, you can watch night services from several churches on StreamingFaith.com.

“Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.” – Oswald Chambers, from “My Utmost for His Highest”

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers is an awesome devotional for anyone who wants to grow in Christ. Today’s reading is based on Isaiah 35:7 and is about the visions God gives us:

Visions Become Reality
The parched ground shall become a pool . . . — Isaiah 35:7

“We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.

Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.

God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint…”

Click here to read today’s full devotional.

This passage really struck my heart, and it is an encouragement that God is molding and shaping us into the vision He’s given. Though our minds and hearts may be parched with wondering when and how it can happen, He is always working at us and even putting us through the furnace, making us into His image.

Check out the devotions daily from “My Utmost for His Highest”; they are really food to the soul, and get you thinking more about how to live our lives to the utmost for God’s highest praise.

 "Free at last…"

Those were my thoughts three weeks ago in May when the dean of my school handed me my diploma at graduation. I tried to stay composed but my mind was ready to leap for joy; I was finally finished at the university and onto whatever else God has in store for me.

Though I was ready to be free, I can’t forget how much my college years formed and shaped me into who I am today, and who I am becoming. Through blessings, trials (and tests), I learned several spiritual lessons in and outside of the classroom. Here are just a few of them that I came upon and I am still learning:

First Things Are First – "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

It’s funny how things come into place when you let God navigate your life. I could try all I can to make things happen, and become tired at trying to struggle with His plan.

He gives us free will, but His Will is priceless and perfect. He always knows exactly what we need, even if it doesn’t line up with what we think we want. When we try to force our own self-satisfying way, we hurt, but when we wait on Him, He often gives us more blessings then we thought were possible.

Author C.S. Lewis said it like this: "When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased." When we seek to please God before ourselves, God takes care of your “second things.”

Focus – "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Luke 10: 41-42

While I was in college I was juggling multiple projects, business ventures, and events, and in the whirlwind of it all I had to remember to be content, to be still. We can get so wrapped up with worrying, trying to do more and become more, but the best way to live and know what we’re really supposed to do is to sit to Jesus’ feet, quietly listening to His voice and seeking His face. God tells us, So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

With All Your Heart – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23
This is one verse that got me through many a test and paper my senior year. When “senior-itis” hits and assignments seem purposeless, I reflected on the verse above (and stuck it up on the wall above my desk to keep reminding myself). The Bible reminds us to do everything we do to the glory of God, from the smallest actions, to living out our God-given passions in His name. Whether it is singing, writing, dancing, teaching, and doing well in school, we can do it all as a way of worshiping God. When we focus on doing the best we can even at the tiny tasks, He is glorified. J. Moss reminds us in the song "We Must Praise":

“If I were a writer I would use a pencil. I would use my voice if I were a singer… No matter who or what we are we must praise… If I were an eagle I would use my wings, since I’m a believer I use everything…With our gifts we exalt Thee, merciful, wonderful God. We must praise."

He Lights the Way – This is what the LORD says — your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:17-18

In dark skies, we wonder where God is, but then the clouds part and we realize He was right there, always, guiding the way. We can try so hard to hurry His blessings, and to skip the trial period. Sometimes it is within the furnace that He’s shaping us for what’s to come.

Instead of fighting and trying to be in control, I’m slowly learning in to let go control of my wings, and let my life resume on autopilot, with God at the helm. When I look around, I realize how boundless His possibilities are, and how even when my circumstances look dim, He’s still in control and knows what’s best. Amidst the darkness He’s able to shine His glory.

Though commencement marks end of the college career, to commence really means to begin. These lessons are just the commencement of what God has and will be teaching me. I’m just beginning to enter the journey He has charted. I’m just waiting for His direction…

Note: Now that I’m liberated from school I can finally put this journalism degree to use here at Dream in Soul…

– Julene, Editor and founder of Dream in Soul and SOAR
Visit my personal blog online at www.dreamfleur.com

Happy Resurrection Day! Let’s remember the reason for this day, and the sacrifice God gave because He of His love for us.

In the spirit of the Easter Season and of the ultimate Sacrifice made for mankind, here’s one of my favorite songs, “To Ever Live Without Me”, sung by Jody McBrayer of the group Avalon.

“It was all about a man, it was all about a cross
It was all about the blood that was shed so I would not be lost
It was all about the love, that was bigger than a life
It was all about a freedom that was given through your sacrifice
Because you would rather die than to ever live without me.”
From “To Ever Live Without Me”, by Jody McBrayer