Your week may be starting off full of the promise and resolve of a brand new year.
Or you may have already screwed everything up in the past 5 days.
Wherever you are, know this: It’s ok. Today is a new day. Today is your second chance. Today you can start again.
Here’s the perfect song to remind you today is a great day for a do-over. It’s called “Start Again” by Counting Crows (the original version of the song is by Teenage Fanclub).
“Start Again” is a simple song that repeats the same refrain multiple times. It’s the story of one person telling another, “Even though it’s complicated, we’ve got time to start again.”
I love how the song loops around over and over again. It’s like with every verse the main character is waking up on a new day reminding himself to put the past behind him and start over.
No matter where you were last night or what you’re facing today, if you’re alive and breathing than you’ve still got time to work it out.
Starting again can be daunting and overwhelming. Starting all over can make you just want to give up.
Remember starting again doesn’t have to mean you’re starting from the bottom. It can be more like starting over in a video game.
When you fail in a video game, you don’t always have to start a level all over again. Most games let you start a new life right where you left off.
God’s grace does the same thing for us. He picks us up where we fell down and let’s us start again on life.
He doesn’t hold grudges. He doesn’t make us earn our way back into His good graces.
He just gives us a night of rest, sets us back on path, and tells us to “Start again.”
I’d love to know: where you are starting again this Monday?
Everyone talks about the transition from Saturday night to Sunday morning being a daunting one. But what about Sunday morning to Monday morning?
On Sunday morning you sing of hope. On Sunday you’re surrounded by fellow believers. On Sunday your tank is recharged.
On Monday morning it can all fall apart. On Monday inbox is full of problems that just can’t wait. On Monday everything that drags you down about your job is right back in front of you. On Monday the weight of commerce brings you back down to earth.
A bit dramatic? Maybe. But for some of us it’s not that far off. Maybe to keep you with a Sunday attitude you need some Monday Morning Music.
Here’s a favorite tune of mine to get my mind right for Monday morning. It’s a song from The Avett Brothers called “Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise”. Don’t let the long title scare you off.
As the lyric goes:
Where nothing is owed, deserved, or expected,
And your life doesn’t change by the man that’s elected,
If you’re loved by someone you’re never rejected,
Decide what to be, and go be it.
Whether you’re starting a new job or walking into a familiar one, make the decision this Monday to be who you were on Sunday. Be the person God already sees you as.
God sees you not as who you are, but you are becoming. He sees past your flaws. God sees you as His beloved child.
When you’re loved by Him, what does the rejection of the world matter? Instead, you are free to reject what the world offers you as a satisfactory way of life. You can release your dreams from the cage and be free to follow them.
As you start off this week it’s time to make a decision. Who will you be? Who do you want to be?
You can change your path. You can be the type of person who influences your entire office and paves a road full of promise leading back to the Creator.
Let’s do it together. Let’s keep Sunday alive on Monday.
I’d love to know – what are you facing down this Monday? How can we support each other as we do the work of a new week?
The work we’ve been avoiding all weekend has piled up.
Sometimes you need the Monday Morning Music to get you going.
Last week I stumbled across a record for 20 cents at Salvation Army – “Catch Bull At Four” by Cat Stevens. On it was the perfect Monday Morning Music – a song called “Silent Sunlight”.
Today is my first day away from my full-time job in almost five years. Yet this song reminded me the work has only just begun.
You may be out of a job as well this morning. Or you may be stepping into a job you’re not in love with. Or you may be stepping into a project you’ve been putting off.
Whatever Monday you’re stepping into, simply sing a song of love and truth into everything you do. Be strong. Be courageous. Do the work. Rest your eyes. Wake up. Do it again.
Keep pushing through, having faith in what the Lord is bringing you into with each new sunlight.
I’d love to know – what are you facing down this Monday? How can we support each other as we do the work of a new week?
POP GOD 