Recycling as we know it today began in the 1970s when old aluminum cans were recycled into new ones. Since that time other materials have been recycled, and there have been some astonishing recycling feats. For instance, Keen makes wallets and purses out of pre-consumer (leftover, excess, or obsolete) airbags. Moving Comfort turns the “phenol, ester and oil” excreted from used coffee grounds into yarn, which is then incorporated into the fabric of their activewear. In other instances used skateboards become iPhone cases, recycled plastics turn into backpacks, and recycled aluminum reappears as beautiful handmade bikes (McCarthy).

The ingenuity of people to take discarded objects and create something new and useful is not original at all. God has been doing it since the beginning of time. The greatest and most amazing recycling project ever is God’s ability to take flawed and broken people and transform them into new creations and give them an eternal purpose.

The following verses are just a few which speak to this:

Of Israel he said, ”And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them/ And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh . . .” Ezekiel 11:19

Of those who accept Christ as their savior, he says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

And just as those new items now have a new purpose (airbags to handbags) so do we––to bring glory to God. Even our very existence is to bring God glory.

“Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory.” Is. 43:7

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” I Corinthians 10:31

I would like to leave you with a statement speaker and author Sharon Jaynes makes about God the creator. She says He can create “order from [our] chaos, [and] fashion beauty from [our] brokenness” (Jaynes, Smith, and Southerland).

Remember with God, everything and everyone has value.

* * * *
McCarthy, Erin. “Thirteen Products Made Using Recycled Materials.” mental_floss. Mental Floss, Inc. 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.

Jaynes, Sharon, Gwen Smith, and Mary Sutherland. Knowing God By Name. Multinomah Books: Colorado Springs, CO, 2013. Print.

This Friday will mark the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, and the 58th Presidential Inauguration. (Remember, some of our presidents served two terms, hence the discrepancy.)

The only mandate at the inauguration is the Oath of Office, but tradition has led to other inaugural events as well, such as a morning worship service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, followed by a procession to the Inauguration venue (in recent years in front of the US Capitol), then the taking of the Oaths of Office by both the Vice-President and the President followed by the Inaugural Address. After this ceremony, the previous president will depart the White House. There will then be an Inaugural Luncheon, parade, and finally an Inaugural Ball. It is quite a celebration, at least for the segment of the American people who claim victory, and most of the time for many of the losing faction as well, for at its core, it is a celebration of the democratic process,

However, there is another inauguration that takes place daily that has a unanimous celebration every time, and that is when someone accepts God’s ultimate sacrifice and submits his life to Christ. Luke 15:10 says, “ . . . I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” It doesn’t say some joy, or limited joy, or some angels. It says there “is joy in the presence of the angels.”

So what is the “oath” a person takes at the point of salvation? There are no set words, but it requires the admission of being a sinner, the need for a savior, and the willingness to turn from sin and give Christ control of one’s life.

If you have never taken this “oath”, which immediately admits you into the family of God and gives you the security of eternal life, then just pray this very short prayer–and know that the heavens are filled with joy.

Dear Lord,

I’m a sinner. Please forgive me. Come into my life and cleanse me of my sins. I believe in you as the Son of God, who saved me by dying for me and then rising again on the third day. I turn from sin and trust in You alone as my Savior.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Let the rejoicing and celebration begin.

Though each new year has plenty of potential, we really can’t predict what is going to happen. However, there is one certainty all of us can count on . . . resolutions will be broken, despite our best intentions.

Some may lay the blame on vague resolutions, such as “read or exercise more” or “eat healthier or less,” and we are left wondering if and when we achieved those. Others might say that the resolutions are too grand, too big, or too hard to achieve or sustain, such as “cut out all sweets or lose thirty pounds by summer.”

Both of those thoughts might be true, but I think the problem is a bit more simple. I think we don’t realize that failure is a part of progress. In other words, we have to be willing to take baby steps to reach our goals.

If you watch a baby learn to walk, the first few steps are very halting and unstable, and there are a lot of falls, some of which cause only surprise while others hurt quite a bit. Regardless, I have never witnessed a baby fall and then refuse ever to try to walk again. Instead, after a good cry and some encouragement from a family member, the toddler struggles back to his or her feet to give it another go.

Yet, we as adults give up all the time. When the third week of January comes around and we have slipped in a resolution, we often throw up our hands, count the year a loss, and vow never to make another “stupid” resolution again.

The expression “to take baby steps” means “a tentative act or measure which is the first stage in a long or challenging process.”  But most of us want the result immediately. Not always because we are impatient, but because we don’t want to have to experience the long and difficult process of successes and failures that is required to reach that goal. We want to be rid of fear, or jealousy, or insecurity, or weight, or a bad habit now, not six months from now, and we certainly don’t want to have to work at it.

We approach our spiritual resolutions in the same manner. We want a strong and meaningful prayer life now. We want to be loving and patient and kind without having to go through those experiences that would force us to build those qualities. We want to trust God more, but do not want to go through those situations which would require us to trust Him.

It is true that if we pursue any goal, we will fall and fail at some point in the process. Perhaps, in the first week or two of January it will be every few minutes, but maybe in the last two weeks it will be every every hour and then in February we will make it a day or a week without falling back into an old pattern or lapse into old behaviors.

Don’t let your good intentions go by the wayside because of a setback, and remember Paul’s encouraging words when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). After all, toddlers begin with a parent holding their hands as they attempt to take their first steps, and then the parents hold out their arms in encouragement, willing the child toward them. Our Father does no less. He holds and encourages us as we take our own baby steps toward our goals.

Note: My sister shared the following link with me. It speaks to some of what is discussed above but also much more. It is extremely revealing, and though it focuses on millennials, I think we can all relate to many of Simon Sinek’s points. It is about 15 minutes, but is so interesting, it feels like two! Please copy and paste into your browser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vudaAYx2IcE


“Baby step.” English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. 2017. Web. 4         Jan. 2017.