{"id":110,"date":"2012-12-31T16:05:19","date_gmt":"2012-12-31T16:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihsteps.com\/wordpress\/?p=110"},"modified":"2012-12-31T16:05:19","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T16:05:19","slug":"qdo-overs-allowedq-by-tammy-maseberg-january-1-2013-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/?p=110","title":{"rendered":"“DO-OVERS ALLOWED” by Tammy Maseberg, January 1, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDo-over!\u201d\u00a0 Younger brother shouts to his older brother, the pitcher. <\/strong> <\/p>\n

\u201cWhatta ya mean?\u00a0 That was perfect,\u201d says older brother.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\u201cNo it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 It almost hit me in the head.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019d ya swing at it then?\u00a0 Strike three.\u00a0 You\u2019re out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Do-over.\u201d Older brother gives the younger boy another chance to hit a pitch.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The above conversation makes us laugh and, if you have kids, you\u2019ve probably heard it.\u00a0 Or, perhaps you remember this scenario with your siblings when you were growing up.\u00a0 As adults we sometimes want, and need, a chance to start over or a second try at re-doing something that didn\u2019t turn out so well.\u00a0 Everyone has regrets\u2014bad decisions, missed opportunities, and wrong roads taken.\u00a0 We all have those things in the past, things we can look back on and wish we could change.\u00a0 A new year gets everyone thinking about a fresh start.\u00a0 That\u2019s why so many people make resolutions on January 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 There is a sense of new beginnings.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, there are consequences\u2014whether good or bad\u2014to all decisions we make.\u00a0 I want to believe that the majority of choices made in my life, I\u2019ve done with the very best intentions in mind.\u00a0 When faced with a decision, I think most of us will take the best option available based on our abilities and the information we possess at that time.<\/p>\n

What if later on, however, we realize that it wasn\u2019t the best choice?\u00a0 We can take heart because there is good news!\u00a0 God allows \u201cdo-overs.\u201d\u00a0 He lets us make an about-face when we find ourselves traveling the wrong way.\u00a0 Like the older brother in the above conversation, God has great compassion on us.\u00a0 He gives us a new start every day: \u201cThe Lord\u2019s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.\u201d (Lamentations 3:22-23, NAS)<\/em> I love that!\u00a0 When I have a bad day, I know the next morning is going to be new and fresh.\u00a0 Phew!<\/p>\n

God is always faithful when we come to Him and tell him we\u2019ve messed up and would like a second chance.\u00a0 \u201cIf we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d\u00a0 (1 John 1:9, KJV)<\/em> Then, He will help us to move on.\u00a0 Hopefully, the next time we come up against a similar situation, we will turn to the Lord quicker to help us avoid going down that wrong road again.<\/p>\n

Remember that when you come to Christ, you enter into a new life.\u00a0 I love the way The Message puts 2 Corinthians 5:17:\u00a0 \u201c\u2026what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!\u201d<\/em> Webster defines burgeon as this:\u00a0 \u201cto grow and expand rapidly, to flourish.\u201d\u00a0 Yes!<\/p>\n

So, be encouraged as we start a new year.\u00a0 Have hope if you are needing a \u201cdo-over.\u201d\u00a0 God is in the restoration business.\u00a0 He will guide you and love you through the process.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s blessing to you for 2013, Tammy<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your amazing love for me and for the second chances You\u2019ve given me throughout my life.\u00a0 Guide me down the path You have laid out for me so that I don\u2019t have to make too many U-turns.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a92012 Tammy Maseberg All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDo-over!\u201d\u00a0 Younger brother shouts to his older brother, the pitcher. \u201cWhatta ya mean?\u00a0 That was perfect,\u201d says older brother. \u201cNo it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 It almost hit me in the head.\u201d \u201cWhy\u2019d ya swing at it then?\u00a0 Strike three.\u00a0 You\u2019re out.\u201d \u201cNo. Do-over.\u201d Older brother gives the younger boy another chance to hit a pitch. The above […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[29,28],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-word-from-tammy-maseberg","tag-new-beginnings","tag-new-year","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}