Wellspring. Karen Moore

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      January 1

      Come to the Water

       All of you who are thirsty, come to the water!

      —Isaiah 55:1

      As you celebrate the beginning of a brand new year, it feels like time is back on your side. With a new burst of energy, you're able to reassess your priorities, look at where you've been and where you want to go, and you're invited once again to drink from the well of living water. Slip away then from the muddy shores of the past and step into today where you can make a clean start. You may still be parched from yesterday, or a bit thirsty from all that you have left undone, but you're not going on alone from here.

      Thomas Fuller once said, "We never know the worth of water till the well is dry."

      Let us seek to understand the "worth" of living water this year for we have a fountain of joy to drink from, a well that is everlasting. We only need to come and take a daily dip into this pool to be refreshed and renewed continually.

      As you change the date on your calendar to reflect a new year, clear the dryness in your throat by refreshing yourself with God's living Word and his everlasting waters. Allow him to wash over you with the goodness and love he has already prepared. It's a New Year and a new chance for you to quench your thirst. Come to the water!

      In the Flow

       Dear Lord, as I start another year, remind me that you are with me every step of the way. Wash away the things in my past that I no longer need and renew my life and my Spirit in your precious Name. Amen.

      January 2

      How to Be Happy

       Even if the forest falls and the humbled city is laid low, those who sow beside any stream will be happy, sending out ox and donkey to graze.

      —Isaiah 32:19-20

      What does it take for you to feel happy? Isaiah offers a little insight into raising your happiness quotient when he says, "sow beside any stream and you will be happy." Sowing beside a stream puts you in the flow and connects you to the Source of all that brings life and sustains you. It means you have chosen to plant your values and your dreams, your hopes and aspirations in a place where they can be nurtured and grown. It is a place that fills your spirit with expectant joy.

      St. Augustine reflected on happiness in this way. He said, "Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness." When your heart is connected to the One who can wash you anew, cause you to come clean and to start again with honest effort and joy, you have every ingredient for happiness.

      The New Year has just begun. Happiness is ready to embrace you, ready to reveal its secrets as you walk into the waters of the Living Savior. He will guard your heart and mind and keep you steadily on the path of true joy. Be happy today.

      In the Flow

       Father in Heaven, help me plant my hopes and dreams firmly in your care this year. As I seek to find greater happiness through you and the treasures you place in my heart, hold me close. Amen.

      January 3

      Go Ahead, Take a Chance!

       Send your bread out on the water because, in the course of time, you may find it again.

      —Ecclesiastes 11:1

      It's not easy to figure out when to take a risk or when to start something new. Even making an effort can seem overwhelming, and yet, something nags at you, insisting that it's time, that today is a new day and even if you didn't make it work before, you can now. Think of the Nike slogan that implores you to "just do it!"