[Discoveries] 12-06-08 New plans -- Matthew 1:18

[Inspiration in Your Inbox]

/*For those struggling financially ...*/
/*Wealth comes in many forms. The capacity to love is one form of 
wealth. Gratitude is a form of wealth. Optimism is a form of wealth. The 
ability to experience wonder and awe is a form of wealth. And the list 
goes on. My family teases me because I'm always exclaiming, "What a 
beautiful day!" But I like 'em all. Hot, cold, sunny, cloudy, rainy, 
foggy, snowy -- they all hold beauty to me. You bank account may be 
empty, but that doesn't mean your heart needs to be.*/

/*This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was 
pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was 
found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. -- Matthew 1:18*/

Mary and Joseph had big plans. They were looking forward to sharing life 
together. But suddenly they come to an unexpected intersection and 
collide with the plans of God. It was not a head-on collision. They 
weren't going in the wrong direction. They just didn't have the whole 
picture.

God came along and made their plans much bigger and better.

In the movie, Amadeus, composer Antonio Salieri writes a musical 
composition to welcome the younger, but greater composer, Wolfgang 
Amadeus Mozart. After performing the piece, Salieri offers a copy of the 
score to Mozart. But Mozart waves it aside. Mozart has heard it once; 
therefore, it is locked in memory. Instead of accepting the composer's 
work, Mozart sits down to the keyboard and begins rewriting the piece. 
"Did you think of this?" he asks Salieri who stands shrinking beside 
him. "How about this?" he says as he plays new variations, each one 
clearly superior to anything Salieri could have written.

While Mozart is tactless and rude, he is also a genius. He could take 
any composition and turn it into a masterpiece.

Our best plans may seem big and bright to us. But they are awkward until 
we allow God to rewrite them. He comes up with variations that turn our 
lives into masterpieces. Jesus enters our world, and nothing thereafter 
is the same.

Be encouraged!
Dwight

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