"Come on. It's time to go!" These words must have spilled from my mother's lips thousands of times in the years I was growing up. Pushing my brother and me to get out of bed, get to school, or get going for other necessary tasks. When I became a mother, I found myself using the same cattle-prodding verbiage with my own children.       
      Procrastination. Common for kids. Common for adults, too!    
      Here it is--already nearly the end of January 2020. Some of us made the "I'm going to get going" promises to ourselves at the beginning of the year. I know I'm already "behind the clock" on mine. Perhaps you know this feeling, too.       
    We hear it "time and time" again: the word time. A frequent part of speech. We may not like to think about it, but our lives revolve around timepieces: the time of day displayed on our cell phone, watch, alarm, or clock on the wall.    
     We have a cuckoo clock in our living room. Sometimes I watch the pendulum as it swings back and forth as it ticks away. It never stops moving. Time moves forward. It's a sober reminder of the gift we've been given: the time we've been allotted each day.   
     When we use time wisely, we accomplish much. And if we don't make good use of our time, it's lost. There is no way to make it up.   
     At some point, our time on earth will be complete. God will call. "It's time to go," He'll say.  Will we be ready? There will be no prodding. We'll either be ready--or not--when that day comes, when we come face-to-face with our Lord.    
     Maybe it's time to think about what we wish to accomplish while we have the opportunity to do so.  
    May we each use our time wisely--the way God would want us to--using this precious gift that He has given us. 
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"Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." - James 4:14
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1
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The unknown is a scary place, isn't it, whether venturing out into space or venturing into the depths of our own space here on the planet. We face unknowns the moment we awaken each morning.

As much as we feel concerned about our lives when we wake up, it seems we rarely give much thought to what our minds and bodies might experience at night while we sleep. (An exception, however, could be a health issue or insomnia). For myself, I know that the last thing on my mind when I go to sleep is wondering how my body will fare through the night. I believe this is the case for most of us.  

How is it that we can be trusting enough to go to sleep and not worry?  After all, even at night our brains remain active. Our bodies engage in countless chemical reactions as it works to maintain a balance between all systems, REM sleep allows for dreams and the work of our subconscious, and we inhale life-giving oxygen which keeps our organs and tissues alive without our being aware of it. 

If we can trust that will be okay while we are asleep, why is it that we have so many concerns when we awaken? Of course, our conscious mind is at work making choices about how we carry out the work that makes up our lives, however, we make this complicated by worrying about the unknowns. 

Maybe it's time for us to adopt the trust we have when we lay down at night, and let that trust spread into our waking hours?  God, the Creator of all life in our universe, does not abandon us. We are watched over by night--and by day. 

A Bible verse from Joshua 1:9 is just one of many verses that demonstrates our need to trust. The Lord says,  "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

May your nights--and your days--be trusting ones, even in the land of the unknown!
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        Our granddaughter loves anything that sparkles: glittery hair bands, t-shirts with color-changing sequins, and matching sparkle shoes and purses. She beams from ear to ear with a bright smile that comes from joy deep within.       
         One afternoon, our granddaughter's aunt came to visit. Noticing her aunt had donned a sparkly new ball cap (and wore a favorite rhinestone trimmed shirt and gleaming bracelet), our granddaughter exclaimed, "Aunt B., you're sparkly all over!"  
        She was right. Aunt B was sparkly all over, but she was sparkly on the inside, too. The moment Aunt B walked into a room, she'd exuded warmth, joy, and compassion for whoever was around her and could bring a smile to even the most glum face. Her heart shined brightly.     
       We are encouraged to shine brightly, too. In Matthew 5:14, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus began to teach disciples. Part of his instruction had to do with shining brightly. He told his disciples, "You are the light of the world," and later added, "...let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." 
        In this new year, you can be "sparkly all over," too--especially when you let the light within you shine brightly! 
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