The Name of Jesus

It's been a yucky day. It's been rainy and cold all day in Birmingham, Alabama. (For those of you who don't know, I like sunny, warm weather.) My children haven't been minding well lately, especially today. I'm starting to feel the overwhelmingness (is that a word??...) that comes with the onset of the holidays. I haven't been sleeping well due to my husband's newly-developed snoring habit; therefore, I am tired and grumpy. I've dealt with guilty-mom syndrome all day. My knee has hurt all day from falling off a ladder Saturday evening, so I haven't been able to run (which is usually my way of relaxation and release). It's been an all-around yucky kind of day.

So I stole some time to just sit at the computer with the earphones in to listen to some worship songs while I read some passages from Psalms. Then I dove right on into some Christmas music! I listened to Natalie Grant's, David Phelps's, Celtic Woman's and Josh Groban's versions of O Holy Night. One line kept sticking in my mind:

in His name all oppression shall cease.

How true! As I listened to songs about Jesus, I noticed a change in my demeanor. I started to relax. My grumpiness dwindled. My mom-guilt disappeared.

The very name of Jesus is power. Healing power. Restorative power. Changing power. Take-a-deep-breath-and-relax power.

Why didn't this occur to me at 9 a.m. today? I probably would've had a much better day.

Tomorrow's agenda: start the day with Jesus. Ending it with Him is good, but I know starting it with Him is much better!