Monday Morning Memo: Not a Village

This will be long and I apologize for that.  But the Lord has laid this on my heart to share…so I will be obedient.

 

There is a saying that many of us have heard often and it is that it takes a village to raise a child.  I’ve also heard that it takes a village for everyone to get through this life…but after this past week…I don’t agree with that statement.

 

I looked forward to the plans for our evening, because we were getting together with our small group from church.  Twice a month we meet and enjoy dinner together, then study God’s Word and end by spending time in praise and prayer.   We were eating a fabulous meal accompanied by wonderful conversation this past week…when I felt my phone buzz.  I checked it and saw that I had a new message in my medical portal.  I debated for a second as to whether I should check it or leave it until the evening was over, but as they say, curiosity kills the cat and I had to find out what new information was waiting for me.

 

I clicked into my account and began reading the message from my pulmonologist.  I read it once and then read it again…because I was not prepared for what I was being told.  I then looked at my husband who happened to be sitting across the table from me, and I’m guessing I had a “deer in the headlight” look.  He knows me well and of course immediately knew something was up.  He asked me what was wrong and I wasn’t even sure I could find the words to say.

 

Of course, at this point, the entire small group was looking at me, and everyone was wondering what was going on.  I proceeded to explain that I had just gotten a message from my pulmonologist and it wasn’t what I was expecting.  As some of you know, I’ve been dealing with pulmonary issues now for 21 months.  It started with bronchitis and I’ve had double pneumonia and then was diagnosed with MRSA in both lungs.  No one has ever been able to figure out how in the world I developed MRSA…but then again…no one has ever been able to figure me out…period.

 

They finally told me that I have focal bronchiectasis in my right lung…which complicates the situation.  I am currently on a new medicine that just became available the day after I was diagnosed with this, and it costs over $7,700 a month.  Thankfully, I qualified for assistance from the Patient Assistant Fund, and they are picking up the cost for me.  I am so blessed.

 

I have lived on antibiotics most of the 21 months, because every time I have gone off them…the infection flares.  I have lost count at the number of doctors I have seen, with each doctor finally telling me that I am a “special” patient and trust me…they don’t mean that in a good way.  My body just doesn’t react like anyone else, and they have not been able to figure out what to do to get me well.

 

They did finally discover that all eight of my sinuses were also filled with infection, so in January I had surgery to clean them all out and it was discovered that I have MRSA in those too.  The surgery was considered a success, and the first two follow-up appointments were encouraging.  But by the third follow-up appointment, I knew before ever walking in the door that the infection had returned.  I had also ended my antibiotic, hoping that I wouldn’t need it again.  But instead, not only had infection returned in my sinuses, but my lungs had flared up big time…telling us that there are still major issues that need to be dealt with.

 

Enter the message from my pulmonologist.  I had messaged him that morning to let him know that my infection had returned and that my lungs were once again not doing well.  I fully expected him to say that he was referring me to Cleveland Clinic, because we had had that conversation at an earlier appointment.  Instead, he told me that he was afraid my options were very limited, and his recommendation was for me to see a Cardiothoracic surgeon and have the right lobe of my lung removed.  To say I felt broadsided with this news…is an understatement.

 

Our small group was amazing.  They let me talk and try to sort out my feelings.  They commiserated with me…which was greatly needed.  I didn’t need them to just say, “Oh well, you know God is in control and He will see you through”.  Yes, that is true…but at that moment…I needed them to empathize with me.  I needed them to try and feel what I was feeling…and they did just that.

 

We ended the meal and went through our time of study.  I then began leading our praise and prayer time and asked what they had to share and one of the members stood up, took her chair, put it in the middle of us and said, “First of all…LuAnn get in the chair.  I’m following the Holy Spirit’s direction…and we are going to pray for you.”  I sat down in the provided chair and our small group gathered around me, laid hands on me and began to pray.  Person after person lifted me up to God’s Throne.  They went to battle for me…asking God to work in a powerful way.  They asked for strength, for peace, for healing, for wisdom, for direction.  They asked God to meet me where I was and lead me to where He wanted me.  As they prayed, I felt peace fill my soul.  I felt surrender fill my emotions.   I felt the presence of my Heavenly Father who created me and knows every cell of my body.  It was so powerful.

 

The next day, I had some family and friends who I knew I needed to update with this information.  They told me they would pray.   One dear friend asked me if she could share my need with some of her friends who I don’t even know and by the end of the day, she told me I had been added to four prayer chains from groups where I know absolutely no one.  I felt SO humbled and blessed.

 

I’m here to tell you that after this past week, I’m convinced we don’t need a village.  What we need is an army.  We need an army of people who are willing to storm the gates of heaven with our requests.  We need an army of people who will listen when we need to process…love us when we feel desperation…surround us in prayer when we need to feel their touch on our shoulders.  

 

The dictionary says that an army is a “large organized body of armed personnel trained for war; a body of persons organized to advance a cause.”   We are living in a dark world which is filled with people who are hurting.  They are hurting physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and what they need is an army of people who are willing to surround them.  People who are willing to go above and beyond what is expected to make sure the person knows they are loved and being lifted up to God’s Throne.  People who are willing to arm themselves with the armor of God…ready and willing to get in the middle of the “war” that people are going through.  You and I need an army.

 

I have no idea what is ahead on my journey.  At this point, I have another CT scan scheduled to see what the current status is of my lungs.  Then, we are in the process of getting an appointment with the Cardiothoracic surgeon to see what his opinion is of my options.

 

What I do know is that I am so blessed to have an army to walk this journey with me.  But I realize that many people aren’t as fortunate as I am.  If you are one who doesn’t have an army…I would encourage you to surround yourself with Christian brothers and sisters who will go to battle for you.  I know there are Christians who believe you don’t need to be a part of a local church…but I disagree.  We need that fellowship.  We need that support.  We need that army of people who won’t run away when the going gets tough.

 

Because of this revelation this past week, I am currently working on something that will hopefully be of help to those who don’t know where to start.  For those who need an army and for those who are willing to be an army for people they may not even know.  Time is of the essence my friends, the battle is on and we all need to be willing to pick up God’s armor and go to war with those who are in need.

 

Stay tuned…but while you wait…be the army for someone this week.

 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the 

strength of his might.”

Ephesians 6:10

 

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

Monday Morning Memo: A Raving Success

I love to cook and bake, which isn’t always a good thing.  Since I started grinding my own wheat a little over a year ago, I’ve baked more bread than I probably have my entire life and while that’s good…it isn’t always the best thing for the waistline .

 

I love to look for new recipes, especially on the Internet, that have rave reviews from other cooks.  I take time to read their thoughts on whether the recipe should be made just as written, or whether they think it is better with their own personal “tweaking”.  I always laugh though when a reviewer says they just loved the recipe…but then go on to list change after change they made to it.  In other words, they didn’t make the original recipe, they made up their own recipe!

 

It never ceases to surprise me though, when I make one of these tried and true concoctions, and we hate it.  Sometimes hundreds of other cooks say that this combination of ingredients is the best thing since sliced bread, and we can hardly swallow it.  I have to chuckle when my husband always says the same line when he doesn’t like my new dish: “You don’t ever have to make this again.”  That’s my cue that this particular recipe needs to be destroyed 

 

Does this failure stop me from trying new recipes?  Absolutely not.   Do I give up and tell myself that I guess I wasn’t meant to be a cook and I should resort to just serving TV dinners?  Of course not (especially since my husband hates them!).  Just because this new dish or bread wasn’t a success, doesn’t mean my next attempt won’t be a raving success.

 

Just like I wouldn’t give up cooking because of a failed attempt, I shouldn’t give up easily in other areas of my life when I fall short.  Unfortunately, I see it happening too often in the lives of those with whom I come in contact.  They try for a new job and don’t get it, and they feel like a failure and give up.  They discipline their child and the end result is not what they were expecting, so they throw up their hands and let their son or daughter do whatever he or she wants.  They step out of their comfort zone to attempt something new for Christ and their actions are not met with rave reviews, so they resort to just being a “pew warmer”.

I’m afraid our society puts a lot of pressure on people to make sure they never fail at anything. Even young kids are all given a medal in many sports, because they don’t think kids should experience any loss.  But we all have times of failure or loss and we need to learn how to handle those times.   

 

None of us like to fail at anything.  But our failures shouldn’t define us as a person.  We need to remember that it isn’t the failure that will destroy us but our attitude towards the failure.  I read this quote from Chuck Swindoll, “We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.” 

 

There is so much truth in these words.  Our attitude is key when we come up against a failure or life throws us a curveball.  Will we beat ourselves up or will we stand back up, dust ourselves off and resolve to try again?  Remember that Matthew 19:26 tells us, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Do you believe that today?  If so…make sure your focus stays on Him as you endeavor new and challenging opportunities that will help you grow to look more like Christ.  You just never know when one of these ventures will turn out to be a raving success!

Monday Morning Memo: NO Assumptions

Yep, I must be getting old and yes, I probably should be a little embarrassed to admit what I’m going to admit to you today.  But that’s never stopped me before J

 

Here’s my big admission…I had no clue that yesterday was the day for the time change.  Never crossed my mind.  Dan and I had mentioned it in conversation a couple times that it was coming up…but I don’t recollect an actual date being talked about.  But again, I am aging so maybe I just forgot.  Sure, I knew we changed time…but I thought it was more in the spring…and not while it was still winter.

 

The crazy thing is that usually more than one person will post on social media the day before the time-change day to remind their friends to spring forward or fall backward…whichever is appropriate.  But this time?  My friends let me down.  Yes, if you consider yourself to be my friend…I’m here to tell you that it’s your fault I didn’t know.  Now if I’m honest…I wasn’t on Facebook much on Saturday, but still, you know my age and you should have made a point to remind me J   

 

Before you picture me getting to church an hour late, I’m sure you will be relieved to know that we were even early to church.  Fortunately, I had set the alarm on my phone to go off at 5:30 am, and since it automatically changes time, it did its thing appropriately.  The funny thing was that I have another very old clock on my nightstand, and it said 4:30 am when I got up and that still didn’t trigger my mind to think of the time change.  I just figured that when I dusted this past week, I must have accidently hit the “hour” button and messed up the time.  Yes, the men in white coats are probably on their way now to get me…

 

So, while I’m sure this post has been captivating to read so far…you are probably wondering why I’m making this unflattering confession.  The reason is this:  while I got ready for church yesterday morning, all I could think about was the fact that I didn’t know because no one specifically told me that the time change would be on March 7th.  Should I have figured it out myself?  Yes, I probably should have, and fortunately, not knowing wasn’t a life and death situation…but the fact is that I didn’t know because no one made a point to warn me.  At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

 

The rest of the day, I just kept wondering how many people don’t know about Jesus, because I have failed to tell them.  Yes, they probably should investigate and try to learn everything about Him on their own…but what if they don’t?  What if I just assume they already know…or that someone else will surely tell them (isn’t that our pastor’s responsibility?)…but neither of those things happen and they are never told or never shown what a life with Christ looks like?  Am I really a true friend if I just say things which I know won’t “step on their toes”?

 

In this scenario, the outcome is much more devastating than me not knowing about the time change.  This scenario impacts eternity…it may affect whether someone spends eternity in heaven or in hell.  When I think about this…it shakes me to the core…because I don’t want to stand before Christ someday and have Him say, “LuAnn, why didn’t you tell them?  Why didn’t you care enough to make sure they knew that I died for them?  Why?”

 

Time is of the essence.  All we have to do is look around at the world events which are taking place to know that the days may be short before we all stand before Him.  I need to be willing to tell those who may not know that there is a Savior who loves them more than they can imagine. I dare not assume.  And as your friend I need to make sure you know…neither should you. 

 

Monday Morning Memo: At HIS Feet

I have the privilege of being a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.  My responsibility is to lead the Prayer Team for our area.  One of the things we do is put together a Prayer Calendar each month, which we share with the entire area team which currently consists of 19 people. 

This past week, I was working on the March calendar and the words “Spend time at HIS feet” just kept going through my mind.  I’m guessing the reason these words were on my mind was because Satan had been on a rampage for a few days…trying to get me discouraged.  So, I stopped and took some time to study on why we should spend time at the feet of our Jesus. 

Matthew 11:28-30 tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Sitting at the feet of Jesus provides the calmness and peace we so desperately need in this world.  When Satan is on a rampage…taking the time to sit at Christ’s feet is where we can find comfort and rest. In a noisy, crazy world filled with distractions, spending time in His presence offers peace for our weary souls. It is during this time when we can bring our burdens to Him and He assures us that He will give us rest. When we intentionally choose to sit at His feet, His love can heal our hearts and transform our anxiety into joy as we surrender our worries to Him.

Proverbs 1:5 says, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” Taking the time to sit at His feet, allows us to learn from Him and receive His guidance for our lives.  Sitting with Him is an act of worship where we focus exclusively on Him and allow His wisdom to permeate our minds.  This time will draw us closer to Him and allow us to look more and more like our Savior.  We need this time to learn to recognize His voice so we can receive His direction in our lives.

We read in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” When we take the time to sit at His feet, we will be overcome with His love and grace.  He offers us unconditional love that can heal our hearts and souls.  We can be transformed during this time and become vessels of His grace to those around us.  We can find freedom from those things in our past which Satan throws in our face which weighs us down, and we can receive Christ’s forgiveness and compassion.  It is only by sitting at His feet that we can grasp the full depth of this divine love and extend that same grace to others.

So, why wouldn’t we want to spend time sitting at His feet?  We would be crazy not to.  So, let’s be intentional in the coming days to spend time receiving His calmness and peace so our joy can be restored.  Let’s make it a time of worship where we listen for His guidance and direction.  Let’s bask in His love and grace…throwing off those things from our past that weigh us down…and then let’s extend that love and grace to those of whom we come in contact.

 

Yes, the more I think about it…there’s just no better place to be…than at HIS feet.

 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we

ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within

us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21

Monday Morning Memo: Seemingly Impossible

I’ve always been amazed at people who can enter a dilapidated, falling down house and see the potential.  They can already see in their mind what the house could look like with some love, elbow grease and sometimes...months and months (maybe even years!) of work.  They know it will be a lot of work to restore this home, but it will be worth it in the end when they can enjoy the fruit of their labor.  I do not have that ability…but I sure wish I did!

 

I can think about other areas of our lives that sometimes need to be restored.  A friendship that has been broken…a falling out with a family member…a marriage that is on the rocks.  Why is it that we are often willing to put hours and hours of work into something with no eternal value…but when it comes to broken relationships…we give up and walk away instead of doing all we can to bring restoration?

 

DISCLAIMER:  Before you continue reading, I want to make sure you know that I understand that sometimes, divorce is the only option.  Sometimes, due to infidelity and/or abuse (physical, mental and emotional)…the only option is to end the marriage.  And sometimes, a person even has to walk away from a toxic friendship…which can at times, be as devastating as a divorce.

 

But, unfortunately, it seems that too often, divorce is considered just because we’ve changed our mind.  Our spouse isn’t making us happy…so we walk away.  The person we work with is a lot more fun than the person we married…so we walk away.  The stress of providing for our family becomes overwhelming…so we walk away.  Our spouse has physical ailments that weren’t expected…so we walk away.  Why?  Because taking our wedding vows seriously and working on restoring the broken-down walls just seems like more work than we are willing or able to do.

 

This past week I came across someone on Instagram who was revealing that she and her husband were divorcing.  One of the comments underneath this post made me want to cry.  A reader said something to the effect, “Well, I think of marriage like an expiration date.  Sometimes it’s just past the time to be together.”  Seriously?  How terribly sad.

  

I think it is easy for us to forget sometimes that we serve a God who is in the restoration business.  He can look at a marriage that is falling apart, that is headed for divorce court and see what it CAN be with forgiveness, love and some elbow grease.   Will it take a lot of work?  Yes, it will.  But God never gives up because He knows it will be worth it in the end when the marriage and family are restored and serving Him together.

 

I can’t help but think that God laid this subject on my heart to share today because someone reading this is thinking of walking away.  They are toying with the idea that their marriage is just too far gone and there isn’t any hope.  Satan is trying hard to divide this marriage, telling those involved that life would be so much easier, and the grass would be so much greener without their spouse, without all the obligations that seem to get in the way of their happiness. Restoration is just seemingly impossible.

 

I want to urge you today to give your marriage to the Lord and allow Him to restore it.  He can take the crumbling pieces and put them together to be even better than you can ever imagine.  Stop struggling on your own and put Jesus in the middle of your relationship and allow Him to make something beautiful out of the ashes.  I guarantee you that HE IS ABLE…but you need to be willing.

 

^“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful 

or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. 

It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the 

truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith,

 is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Monday Morning Memo: Is Peace Possible?

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard comments similar to this lately:  “We sure live in a dark world” or “Our world is scary right now” or “We sure are living in messed-up times”.  I don’t think there are many, whether they are democrats, republicans, libertarians, or anything else, who would disagree with those statements.

 

I’m getting to the place where I hate to turn on the news anymore.  Pushing the “on” button on the remote, fills my mind with reports of atrocious, hate filled murders, unimaginable abuse of children, politicians all shouting they have the answers for our country but, unfortunately, most of those “answers” leave a lot to be desired…and I could go on and on. Add to that our day-to-day stresses of living such as job issues, family difficulties and health issues and it is no wonder that many people are suffering from depression.

 

The surprising thing is that none of this is new news.  Just pick up the Bible and start reading the Old Testament.  I don’t know if you have noticed, but there aren’t a lot of fun, good-feeling stories there either.  There were many wars, multiple murders, people sacrificing their children, plagues (just to name a few) and none of these events leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.   Just yesterday in our Sunday School class, we looked at Romans 1 in the New Testament…and you would have thought we were reading a current day analogy.  Unfortunately, sometimes reading these Biblical accounts makes a person feel worse when they’re done than when they started.

 

But then, come across Isaiah 2:22 and it says, “Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.  Of what account is he?”   Read and reread that verse, and you may come to the same conclusion that I did that this verse summarizes the main reason we can feel “down-in-the dumps”.  Many times, we become discouraged because we have put our eyes on man and man has let us down.  As Christians we need to remember that our focus is not to be on a human, but on the One who created us and will never let us down.

 

Humans can be unreliable, selfish, shortsighted, cruel…yet we often seek after them instead of putting our trust in our all-knowing God.  Psalm 100:5 tells us, “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  HE is good…HE is faithful…HIS love never fails.  

 

If we believe this to be true, then it is important that we ask ourselves: Where is my focus?  On whom do I put my trust?  If Christ is the answer to these questions, then even when the world is in turmoil around us, we can have peace that passes all understanding.   And it is that peace that the world is looking for, but may never experience, unless they see it in us first.  

Monday Morning Memo: Heavenly+

I have no idea how you are…but you have probably figured out by now that I’m not a good “wait-er”.  If I get in my head that something should happen, I usually think it should happen now.  Or better yet…it should have happened yesterday!

 

I think I can blame our world for some of the reasons I feel this way because we live in an instant society.  Many things I own in my kitchen are there because I want to do things faster.  I own an electric mixer because I don’t want to take the time to stir something by hand.  I own a microwave, because heaven forbid, I would have to wait for something to heat up on the stove.  I own an instant pot, because I want to cook our meal in the fraction of the time that it would take in the oven.  

 

Add Walmart+ into my life, and I usually don’t have to wait more than 48 hours to have something delivered to my door.  Doesn’t it just fry your goose when you go to order something and it says it will take longer than two days to show up at your door?  You mean I have to wait extra days for it to ship?  Outrageous!

 

Don’t you wish God had Walmart+…or for you…maybe Amazon Prime?  Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t be called either one of those things, but it could be called Heavenly+ or Heavenly Prime.  When we need an answer quickly, we could just get on our computer…pull up either website...put our order in and within 48 hours our prayer would be answered.  We could even sign up for updates to be sent to us so we would know exactly when our answer would arrive.  Oh, and if the answer we received wasn’t exactly what we thought it should be, we could send it back, no questions asked.  Ahhhh, what a life that would be!

 

But that’s not reality, is it?  Unfortunately, many times in our lives the only answer we receive from God is to wait.  Ughhhh, I often find that difficult to do.   “Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord”  Psalm 27:14.  “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” Psalm 37:7a.  “But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently”  Romans 8:25. “Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised”  Hebrews 6:15.  Those verses are just a few reminders of how we should wait. 

 

My difficulty in waiting pretty much goes along with my times when I lack trust…which I wrote about a couple weeks ago.  One feeds the other.  But I’m thinking that each time we can successfully wait on God…trusting His timing and His answers…we get one step closer to looking like Him.  And isn’t that what our goal should be?

 

I shared that I was going to really work on trusting God…no ands, ifs or buts…and I think I’ve done some better these past days.  But I’m here to tell you that it hasn’t been easy!  I did have my surgery and so far, they are saying it was successful…but recovery has been slower than what I would choose.  There have been days when I felt like I was on the edge of a cliff and the Lord was whispering in my ear, “Do you trust me LuAnn?  Even in this recovery…do you trust me?”  I found myself answering Him with the words, “Yes, Lord.  I will trust you…without any buts.”  But if I’m honest…some of those times those words were said with gritted teeth 

 

I love the verses in Psalm 5:1-3 which say, “O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning.  Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you.  Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.  Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”  I find it amazing that the King of Kings wants to hear my requests (yes, even when I am groaning) and then I am to wait expectantly.  Because once I have fervently prayed to Him, I am to wait…believing that He will work all things for His good and His glory…and in His timing.  

 

Well, I still wish I could sign up for Heavenly+…but since I can’t…I’ll keep working on waiting, praying and believing.  My answers may not come in 48 hours…but whenever they show up…I’ll know they are perfect for me and won’t need to be returned!