all things new...

there's much to be said about god making all things new. much to be said.

this month has been a month of newness for me, but not because i've done loads of never-before-done things, although i did a few. its been a month of newness because the kingdom of god we live in makes old things new and alive again. how can i explain seeing tall pine trees and letting my mouth hang open looking up at east texas winter stars? i've heard my papaw talk about Jesus hundreds of times, but this christmas sitting around his chair with the family who knows best his struggle with cancer the tears came. conversations with cara and kirk and kerra have always meant much to me, but this week they were more and new and different.

God's kingdom is a kingdom of new beginnings and of retrying when we fail. its a life of restarting and getting back on track. and we receive these second and third chances every moment. we are made new with every exhale. its like he's constantly creating the kingdom with new possibilities around us as we live in it and try to grasp it with our lives. no wonder paul writes, "i'm not already perfect, but i press on to make it [jesus] my own, because jesus has made me his own."

and so our stories move forward starting over and over and over and over.