DAYSPRING 2026

A departing, morning moon--
as "day" springs upon us....

If you've thought about choosing a “focus word” for 2026, may I suggest an archaic one--”Dayspring”? Many may recognize the word “Dayspring” as the name of an inspirational greeting card company. But it was a common term in the King James era, so shows up twice in King James-era text:

Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place?(Job 38:12)

The dayspring from on high has visited us. (Luke 1:78)

Before your eyes glaze over--thinking “what in the world does that mean?”--imagine yourself in knickers and long dresses, circa 1600s, and speaking the King's English. Then, “dayspring” was understood to mean “dawn” or “morning.”

As 2026 begins its calendar and solar journey, maybe it's worth a minute or two to consider the implications of these two uses of “dayspring.” The first quote comes out of Job's wrestling with the age-old question, “Why do the righteous suffer?” Job had suddenly gone from rich, healthy, and respected, to despised, diseased, bereft of family and wealth, and seemingly insignificant. He couldn't understand why, and his so-called friends kept insisting that somewhere, somehow, he must have done something bad to deserve “bad” happening his life. That is, until the section beginning here.

In rapid-fire delivery, God reminds Job that He—God--is above-all, holy God, starting with the incomprehensible breadth and depth of earth and all that marks the skies. Surely a man didn't arrange the planets' routes and rotations—God did. God planned, and set in motion, even the fine-tuning of a 24-hour day, from one morning to another. It's enough to take your breath away—and then you realize that even the capacity to breathe and live is the brilliance of a divine Creator.

Hundreds of years later, the term “Dayspring” returned to scripture—this time as a metaphor for the promised Messiah. In more recent translations, “dayspring” is translated as “Sunrise,” but the comparison is clear. The promised Messiah—to be a relative of the old priest Zacharias and his too-old-to-bear-children-wife Elizabeth (but she was miraculously pregnant!)--would be like a sunrise to a sin-darkened world. The coming of a Messiah would mark a new era in God's relationship with humans.

English speakers of four-plus centuries ago didn't have problems understanding the term “dayspring.” Obviously, it meant when “day” sprung into being with the rising of the sun. In Biblical context, it meant a new relationship with God through His Son's brief tenure on earth, teaching created beings about their Creator and His unfathomable love for each of us.

So...before you “spring” into another day of work and home tasks, worries, deadlines, meal prep, cleaning, and all that....consider your purpose. To check off another thing “done”? Or to grab a pause here and there, to look up, and say thank you to the Dayspring (capital D) from on High....

FROZEN ASSETS

'Twas a few frozen days before Christmas, and the local birds were desperate for a meal. Some apparently recalled that I toss treats into my empty bird bath. But it had rained, then temperatures dipped to freezing. The “bird bath” was now a huge frozen ice saucer with tidbits locked inside. The birds landed and flew away in disgust.

Fear not—I lifted out the “ice saucer” and replenished its treats. As the edible tidbits soon disappeared, I thought of how I have found wonderful “tidbits” to strengthen me. Not physically, but spiritually. They're Bible verses of comfort and instruction, providing insight and hope for spiritual growth and difficult times. Maybe some (memorized long ago) are “yours,” too.

When feeling weak and disappointed, to remember that when we are “weak,” He is strong. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When things are scary and out of control, He never leaves: “Fear thou not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:10)

When things you hoped for and dreamed about, don't happen, He feels our disappointment but has a going-forward plan: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)

When we feel like giving up, or are making poor alternative “choices,” or when life turns sour, God doesn't “move on” to the next “counseling client.” He stays by us: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

This past year or so, a friend with life challenges similar to mine has started sharing –also on 3x5 cards--the “aha!” verses she is coming across in her spiritual life-journey. Every week or so, I'll find in the mail an envelope with her latest “great reminder” verse—one that often is extra-meaningful to me as well.

As these verses collect, I rubber-band them and keep them by my living room rocker (where I usually have my Bible-and-prayer time) for memory review. Unlike my local birds, I don't have to teeter on the edge of a birdbath and dip for a few soggy morsels of nourishment. From paper they go to mind, to heart—just where they belong.

WORTH POSTING SOMEWHERE....

I have a shelf just above the top of my desk computer monitor where I've taped inspirational sayings and “don't forget!!!!” reminders. I've recently added this quote.  The author, John Wesley, of course figured significantly in the revival of Christianity after the Dark Ages. I found this Wesley quote in Unto the Hills by the late Billy Graham, whose ministry (like that of Wesley in the 1700s) was a beacon of Biblical truth for our times.

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. (1)

What's unsettling about Wesley's creed was its compulsion to give one's all to Jesus—by all means, in all places, all times, to all people, as long as life allows. To reduce it to a shorter version: “Always glorify Him.”

This of course, runs counter to the temper of our times which emphasizes glorifying the Big Me. Our culture “crowns” people with honors and trophies and, yes, also "crowns"—from rhinestone crowns set on the heads of community festival “queens,” to the heavy, bejeweled ones on people considered “royal” by centuries of lineage.

I have "crowning honors," so to speak, on the wall near my writing area. They're framed honor certificates related to writing. Even though I consider myself a “small pea in the patch” of publishing, it meant something to be so honored. But as I dust the tops of their frames, I realize they won't mean much to my children after I pass away and they're tasked with “gettin' rid of stuff” (as I had to do with my parents' possessions).

Instead I anticipate my audience with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and Prince of Peace, who will assess my life's real impact. That's scary, yet motivating. In that celestial moment, I hope my focus is on His hands, mutilated by the nails that impaled Him on a crude cross.  For He, alone, is the One who while on earth did all the good He could—by all means, all ways, all places, all times, to all people....

Inspiring words. Humbling. And motivating.          

(1) Quoted in Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Devotional Treasury (Word Publishing, 1986),  p. 219.