FACE T O FA CE
Good Morning Baby New Year Virginia Hughes Good morning, baby new year. You sweet, tiny child up so early and arriving full of demands: What’s my name? Where’s my food? What are my resolutions? What new goals have we set? Are we going to read through the Bible this year? Are we, huh-huh-huh? Oof, you are so loud and needy. Stinky too, but oh so cute! There, there; it is going to be ok. No need to cry little one. Here we are to love and hold you, calm and mold you. We have planned for you, and we are ready. We will listen and walk and thereby know how to care for your every need. While we listen and walk, we will sing and pray on our way, knowing worship is our very best work.
Welcome the new year with a decision to listen to Scripture every day. The active word of God resonates in a fresh way when we listen. God spoke to his chosen leaders and prophets. Jesus spoke to his followers and listening crowds. When he couldn’t preach, Paul sent letters meant to be read aloud to the churches. Spoken words land differently from words read silently. Especially for those who read a lot and
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tend to skip a little here and there due to distractions and familiarity. Scripture reaches us in meaningful ways when read aloud. And to accomplish this, read passages aloud to yourself and to each other, or listen to recordings. Listen in the blissful quiet of an early morning or the restful evening at the end of the day. Tune into Scripture recordings while you walk, which brings us to the next plan for the new year, walking.
WE WILL WALK
We walk in Christ’s teachings by obeying his words. And I am also writing about actual physical walking here. Unless you have been ordered not to, walking is good, right? We hear it all the time. It’s good for you. Get up and walk.