Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My old self is dead and in its place, God has made me a new creature. As part of progressive sanctification, growing into this newness is an ongoing, life-long process of dying to my flesh and living according to my new man. But I also get to rejoice now that Christ has made me new! I am no longer dead in my sins but I am new and alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1,5). Through Christ\u2019s redemption, a spring-like renewing has come to my heart!<\/p>\n
Second, the new life of spring reminds me of the new heaven and new earth God is preparing for His children to enjoy eternally.<\/p>\n
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Revelation 21:1-5<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The temperatures, sunshine, colors, sounds and scents of each new spring are wonderful. I love hearing the return of singing birds, smelling the blooming hyacinths and lilacs, and seeing the bright cheeriness of daffodils. If each new spring carries with it such beauty, can you imagine the wondrous beauty of God\u2019s brand new creation, the new heaven and the new earth?\u00a0 The renewal of this earth every spring fades in comparison to God making everything new in the new Jerusalem.\u00a0 Our pain will be past, our fellowship with God will be perfect and we will be living in a brand new place worshipping our worthy Savior.\u00a0 May I long for this more passionately than I long for spring after a long winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is it about spring that is so wonderful? Obviously, the warmer temperatures and longer days of sunlight are most welcome.\u00a0 More than that though is the new life popping up.\u00a0 The grass is getting its green hue back, the tress are starting to bud, and those ugly, dead-looking bulbs you planted in the fall… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":3451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[166,74,11872],"yoast_head":"\nSpring Meditations - Vision of Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spring Meditations - Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is it about spring that is so wonderful? Obviously, the warmer temperatures and longer days of sunlight are most welcome.\u00a0 More than that though is the new life popping up.\u00a0 The grass is getting its green hue back, the tress are starting to bud, and those ugly, dead-looking bulbs you planted in the fall... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-18T14:00:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-03-30T20:16:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20170523134120\/crocus.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"854\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jennifer Cantu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jennifer Cantu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/\",\"name\":\"Spring Meditations - Vision of Hope\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-18T14:00:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-30T20:16:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Spring Meditations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/\",\"name\":\"Vision of Hope\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3\",\"name\":\"Jennifer Cantu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png\",\"caption\":\"Jennifer Cantu\"},\"description\":\"Jennifer Cantu works as a counselor and Shift Supervisor at Vision of Hope. She received her biblical counseling certification from ACBC in 2014. In addition to working at VOH, Jennifer counsels women through Faith Church\u2019s counseling ministry. She is very thankful for ministry opportunities to help, teach and encourage women with God's Word.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/author\/jfaulkner\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Spring Meditations - Vision of Hope","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Spring Meditations - Vision of Hope","og_description":"What is it about spring that is so wonderful? Obviously, the warmer temperatures and longer days of sunlight are most welcome.\u00a0 More than that though is the new life popping up.\u00a0 The grass is getting its green hue back, the tress are starting to bud, and those ugly, dead-looking bulbs you planted in the fall... read more","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/","og_site_name":"Vision of Hope","article_published_time":"2017-04-18T14:00:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-03-30T20:16:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":854,"url":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20170523134120\/crocus.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jennifer Cantu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jennifer Cantu","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/","name":"Spring Meditations - Vision of Hope","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-04-18T14:00:37+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-30T20:16:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2017\/04\/18\/spring-meditations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Spring Meditations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/","name":"Vision of Hope","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3","name":"Jennifer Cantu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png","caption":"Jennifer Cantu"},"description":"Jennifer Cantu works as a counselor and Shift Supervisor at Vision of Hope. She received her biblical counseling certification from ACBC in 2014. In addition to working at VOH, Jennifer counsels women through Faith Church\u2019s counseling ministry. She is very thankful for ministry opportunities to help, teach and encourage women with God's Word.","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/author\/jfaulkner\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3450"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3460,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions\/3460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}