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!

Monday Morning Memo: Once Again...Miracles

Since I am currently recuperating from surgery, I hope you will allow me to re-share this devotional with you today (as if you have a choice!).  I so appreciated all your prayers for me this past week.  Surgery went as planned and we are hopeful that it will have a positive impact on my health.  

 

I first shared this devotional with you in 2021…but I realized that I have acquired new readers since then who haven’t read about this miraculous event.  And if you are like me…since it’s been five years…even if you read it the first time, you may have forgotten it.  So, sit back and relax…and be reminded that we serve a God of miracles! 

 

Oh, how I dreaded the appointment.  I had prayed for good news…but honestly, I didn’t think we would get it.  I guess I lacked faith…I really didn’t think deep down that God would answer my prayers and the prayers of so many.

 

Let me give you the Reader’s Digest version to that which I’m referring.  Seven and a half weeks ago, my 93-year-old mother-in-law fell and shattered her ankle.  It was bad…really bad.  Surgery was performed and because of Covid restrictions, I was the only one who would get the report from the doctor.  He explained to me that he had to “build” her an ankle…there really wasn’t much left of her natural one.  And to make it worse, she has Multiple Myeloma, making her bones extremely soft, which didn’t help his prognosis.  

 

He told me that she wouldn’t be able to put any weight on that foot for at least 2-3 months and it could easily be much longer.  I then asked the million-dollar question, “Will she ever walk again?”.  He lowered his head, took a deep breath, and replied, “Maybe”.  I remember just sitting there for a few moments after he walked away…thinking how hard this would be on Mom.  She would hate not being able to get around on her own and be confined to a wheelchair.  We were all in for a long road ahead.

 

Three weeks after her surgery, we returned for her first check-up.  The doctor showed us the x-ray so we could see the screws and plates that were now a part of her anatomy.  Once again, he explained that she had a long recovery ahead and brought up again the fact that her bones were so soft.  He told us to return in a month for another x-ray and to see how much healing had occurred.  He said he would re-evaluate at that time whether she could start putting any weight on that foot…but he didn’t hold out much hope.

 

For the next four weeks we prayed.  Many of you prayed, for which we can never thank you enough.  I personally prayed that the next set of x-rays would amaze her doctor…that he would be surprised at how much healing had occurred.  But again…as much as I wanted this to be the case…my faith was weak in believing it would really happen.

 

That appointment was last Wednesday and that was the one I was dreading.  Mom was convinced that he would tell her she could start putting weight on her foot and I thought she was in for a big disappointment.  All day long I tried to think of what I would say to her after we met with the doctor…what words I would use to encourage her and to help her not to be discouraged.  I wished that someone else could take her for that appointment…because I just couldn’t bring myself to watch her be so devastated when she didn’t get the news she so desperately wanted to hear.

 

The x-ray was taken and we waited to meet with the doctor to get the results.  He walked in the room and we exchanged some small talk and then the conversation went like this:

 

Dr: “Well, the ankle looks good…I think she can start wearing a shoe on that foot.”

 

Me: “Great, so does that mean she can start putting a little weight on it?”

 

Dr: “No, that means she can start walking.  Her ankle is completely healed.”

 

Let me interject at this point…because I was now in complete shock.  I know my mouth was wide open and my eyes had to be like saucers.

 

Me: “What do you mean by being completely healed?”

 

Dr: “Look at this x-ray.  Four weeks ago, you can clearly see where the break was.  On today’s x-ray, we can’t even see the break at all.  Her ankle looks normal…it is completely healed.  She doesn’t even need to come back to see me.  She can resume walking because her ankle is healed.”

 

By this point, tears were rolling down my cheeks.  My first words were “Praise the Lord!” and then I told the doctor that many people had been praying and that I believed Mom was healed because of those prayers and this was a miracle.  The doctor totally agreed.  He said the amount of healing that occurred in her ankle in four weeks was not normal…that it had to be a result of prayer.

 

I’ve wondered at times why we don’t see miracles today like they witnessed in Biblical times…well I’m here to tell you…I’ve now witnessed a modern-day one!  We feel humbled and blessed beyond measure that God touched Mom in such a powerful way.  And believe it or not…this isn’t the first miracle for Mom.  When she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma seven years ago, they said she had two…maybe three years left on this earth…but of course she has proved them wrong.  

 

I don’t know what or who you are praying for today…but I’m here to remind you that we serve an all-powerful God who is still in the miracle business.  Keep praying.  Keep believing.  Keep trusting.  Keep putting your faith in the God who can and will do far more than you can even imagine.  He alone is worthy of our praise and we give Him ALL the glory for the great things He has done!

 

“He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.”

Job 5:9

 

Monday Morning Memo: Today, Tomorrow & Beyond

Once again…I’ve been thinking about how often we use the word “but” in our day.  I know it’s time to get up…but I’m just too tired.  I love my job…but my boss is just too hard on me.  I’m so thankful for my kids…but they sure drive me crazy sometimes.  I know the person who works next to me needs the Lord…but I’m sure I’m not the one to tell him.  We say one thing…but  we often feel the need to clarify what we said.

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word “but”, because I’ve caught myself saying it quite often lately.  Oh, I don’t admit it out loud so others can hear…but it sure has been a word on repeat in my mind.  Why?  Because this week I am having another surgery which we hope will be the beginning of a turn-around for my health. The problem is that the scenario that keeps running through my mind is:  Hopefully this surgery will begin a healing journey for me…but…what if it doesn’t?  I know I just need to trust…but…and then I’ve given an excuse as to why it’s too hard.  I know I need to trust God with my health…but…I’ve been through so much and what if this surgery doesn’t help?    I know I need to trust God for whatever happens today, tomorrow and beyond…but…I’m so scared of what might occur that will be out of my control.

 

Bingo.  Once again it comes back to wanting to be in control.  To completely trust Him, means that I take my hands off this situation I am facing, and allow Him to be the One with the steering wheel.  It means that I don’t just say that I trust Him, and then keep taking the reins back over, trying to manipulate Him to do what I think is best.  It means that I trust Him to work out every detail…in His timing…and for His honor and glory.

 

When I look at this logically, I must ask myself, Why?

 

1.      Why wouldn’t I trust Him with my health, since He is the One who “made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.”  (Psalm 139:13)  

 

2.    Why wouldn’t I trust Him with my today, tomorrow and beyond, since His Word tells me to, “Trust in the Lord with all my heart; do not depend on my own understanding.  Seek his will in all I do, and he will show me which path to take.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

So today, I know I need to trust God.  Period.  No ands, ifs or buts.  No excuses, no rationalizations, no manipulation.  He alone is worthy of my complete trust, and honestly, He really doesn’t need any help from me 

 

What about you?  Do you find yourself saying that you trust God…but…your actions show something entirely different?  Why not leave the driving to Him today.  Your path may not take you where you think you should go…but…I’m confident your destination will put you exactly where He wants you to be. 

Monday Morning Memo: Privileges and Consequences

Several weeks ago, I stood in a hallway of an area high school, waiting for my grandson’s basketball game to begin.  Across from me was a woman with her son, who appeared to be around 12.  He had a basketball in his hands and was bouncing it against the wall.  This wouldn’t have been so bad, but there were framed pictures hanging right below where the ball was hitting on the wall. 

The mother finally noticed what he was doing and told her son to stop.  He continued, without skipping a beat.  She again told him to stop, and he paused for a second, looked at her, and then returned to what he was doing.  After a while, the mother (very exasperated at this point) told him once again to stop and this time he walked behind her and went back to throwing the ball against the wall.  Finally, the mother just gave up and let him do what he wanted to do.  Let’s just say, it was all I could do to not go over and grab him by the scruff of his neck and let him know who was the adult.

Now it’s been a while since I had to parent children, but I still have memories of when our three children were at home and I had to be the adult.    Unfortunately, children tend to have selective hearing skills and often only hear what they want to hear.  There is one way though to see if your child has chosen to have selective hearing skills and that is to say to them, “Hey, who wants ice cream?”  If they immediately say, “I DO!” you can be pretty sure they are probably making the choice not to hear you when you tell them to do something.  Very few children have to be asked over and over again if they want something that is a delectable delight or is a fun adventure.

 

We came to the realization with our children that they usually did hear us the first time and so we decided that there would be a consequence if they didn’t obey the first time.  We had to figure out what the one thing was that each child really didn’t want to lose and then if they chose not to obey, that one privilege was taken away.  For example, if one of our children loved electronics and made the decision not to obey us, those electronics were taken away from them for an undisclosed length of time.

 

The reason we didn’t tell them how long they would be without their “privilege” was because we realized that if we told them a week, that child would behave beautifully for a week until they got their privilege returned to them and then their bad habit would return.  So, we told them that when we saw a consistent change in their behavior, they would regain their privilege.  I can remember being asked, “How much longer?” several times because it really was hard on them to not know when their privilege would be returned.

 

Do you know what?  All three of our children survived and soon learned to listen the first time they were told to do something.  We didn’t even have to count…which is a huge pet peeve of mine.  I will probably get flack for this, but it really bothers me when I hear a parent tell their child to do something and when they choose not to listen, the adult starts counting.  “One…two…three…four…five…and I’ve heard some go up as far as ten and many times nothing happens at that point.  The adult stops counting and the child still chooses not to listen.  Why?  Because that little darling is smarter than you think and they know that you will tire of counting!  

 

Parenting is hard…really hard…and you will face many challenges along the way.  I know that it isn’t always easy being the “bad guy” to your children because we all want our children to think we are the greatest and we want to be their friend.  But we need to remember that children are actually happier when they have boundaries and limits and that one of our jobs as a parent is to make sure they learn to respect and honor those who have authority over them. 

 

Ephesians 6:2-3 tells us, “Honor your father and mother” – which is the first commandment with a promise – “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”  Most children are not going to automatically learn to honor their parents and those in authority without our guidance.  We must be consistent and loving in our discipline because we know that this is what God wants for them.  Learning this will become a life skill that will go with them the rest of their lives.  If we can keep that in mind now when they are young, there is a higher probability that as adults they will have a positive influence on our world in the years to come.  And that will make these trying days oh so worth it!