Fresh

Orange juice...  Freshly Squeezed!
When we were in Turkey, the hotel provided the meals but if you wanted the good, freshly squeezed juice, that was extra!  Heh...  The kids always looked that the oranges and the juice and we talked about why that was so much more special that it was extra.  Well, it's freshly squeezed so that each day it's new.  It's not the sweet Tang and it's not packaged juice from a bottle.  It's just now been cut and squeezed and made into juice.  I guess that's why it's extra.  Fresh.


Well, they took that thought home with them.  For a month or more, Elijah said, "freshly squeezed" after anything and everything.  "Let's have breakfast, freshly squeezed!"  "Let's read a book, freshly squeezed!" Whatever came to his mind...  "freshly squeezed."  To the point that the other kids were sighing and groaning to hear another "freshly squeezed" comment!  :)  I thought it was kinda cute...


Then, of course, I got to thinking about it a little more.  Every morning, we wake up to new mercies, new compassions from the Lord.  "Freshly squeezed!"


Lamentations 3 says:

 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
       for his compassions never fail.

 They are new every morning;
       great is your faithfulness.

Every morning we also get up to a new word from the Lord, if we so choose.  He wants to speak to us and since His Word is alive and active...  it's a good place to go.  He wants to teach us and tell us how He loves us.  Every day.  Not old news, but new, fresh news!  A new, good word for us each day.  

Isaiah 50:4
He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.


My father-in-law used the Lamentation verse when he was here and spoke up at the Fire Bible office.  This brought my mind back to the whole freshly squeezed thought I'd had earlier since they were so similar.  The thing that he pointed out was how overseas, bread is made and eaten.  Most bread around here is fresh.  It's made that day and kept only a day or two.  In America, we save and store bread for a week or more!  So as we watched them make bread and then took it home (and ate it in the car!  yum!), it brought that thought to his mind, too.  God's Word is new for us every day.  Fresh.


Luke 11:3
Give us each day, or daily bread...


Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled!

Lord, let us be hungry and thirsty for You each day.  Wake us up excited for a fresh word from you!  What we are hungry and thirsty for... is probably what we are filled with!