Monday Morning Memo: Off The Grid

Well I survived.  I shared with my Facebook friends last Thursday that I was going off the grid for a few days.  No phone…no watch…no computer.  Anyone that knows me well knows that that is no easy task for me.  I love to keep in contact with friends and family through texts, calls and e-mails and I love to use my computer to write, so having to go three and a half days without the ability to do any of those things made me twitch a little bit.

The reason I was without these devices was because I attended the Brethren Way of Christ retreat for women.  One of the rules is that you are not to have anything with you that could be a distraction.  As we all know, it is common that whenever you are with another person or a group of people, texts are going off…phones are ringing…and many are searching the Internet.  So it makes sense that removing anything to do with social media is a wise choice.

I was sure that I would miss my phone the most, so I was surprised when that wasn’t the case.  More than anything, it really drove me nuts not having my watch on my wrist.  To not have a clue as to what time is was, made me go just a little stir crazy at times.  I wasn’t a girl scout growing up so I never received any training on telling time by where the sun was and I couldn’t go by how hungry I was…because I just might have eaten quite a bit of candy between meals.  As a result…I never really suffered from hunger.

These few days made me realize how often I look at my watch in a day’s time.  Over and over again I caught myself looking at my arm…only to see the pale, un-tanned skin where my watch usually resides.  Each time I glanced down and realized nothing was there…reminded me of why I was at this retreat.

These past days helped me realize how important it is to remove ourselves periodically from the chaos around us.  We live in a world where the tyranny of the urgent often dictates what we do next and that often leads us to feel somewhat chained to the clock.  We need to get this job done by a certain time…this child run to the next practice…this meal fixed so that another child can get to a game…this report done to share with the Finance Board at church…and this shower taken quickly so we can go to bed and do it all over again the next day.  And all the while…our texts are piling up, our phone is ringing and Google is calling our name to do another search.

No wonder many have high blood pressure and ulcers.  No wonder families are falling apart because members are all going different directions.  No wonder many have lost their focus and have become too busy to spend time with their Savior.

I learned a song at the retreat that shook me to the core every time we sung it.  I had never heard it before but the lyrics brought such soothing to my very harried soul.  It helped my frazzled mind become focused once again as to what is really important.  I urge you to listen to the song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGRCjWNwAg0.

My prayer is that if you find yourself at the same place that I was when I left on this retreat, these words will bring healing to your tired soul.  Jesus is waiting for you at the river…all you have to do is meet Him there.  I can’t begin to tell you how much He longs to spend time with you and how badly He wants to carry your burdens for you. 

Don’t ever forget that He desperately loves you…

and so do I.

The River

By Brian Doerksen

To the river I am going

Bringing sins I cannot bear

Come and cleanse me, come forgive me

Lord I need to meet you there

In these waters, healing mercy

Flows with freedom from despair

I am going, to that river

Lord I need to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready

To surrender every care

Take my hand now, lead me closer

Lord I need to meet you there

Come and join us, in the river

Come find life beyond compare

He is calling, He is waiting

Jesus longs to meet you there

Monday Morning Memo: Blessed and Doubly Blessed

If I didn’t know it before…I sure know it now.  I am blessed.  In fact I am blessed way more than I deserve and it seems like when doubt starts to rear its ugly head in me…God lovingly reminds me once again that I. Am. Blessed.

Let me explain.  We are in a Connection Group from our church.  You may have heard them referred to as Small Groups…we just have a fancier name for them J We are in this group with five other couples and we meet every other Wednesday evening.  We share a snack together, share our praises and prayer concerns and then spend time studying together.  This year’s study is on the book of Revelation…and while I was a little apprehensive at the beginning of having this as our subject…I am loving it!

But to be honest, I think we could do a study on “How to Buy Prunes” and I would be blessed.  Why?   Because we do life together.  The twelve of us really care for each other and I’m confident that they look forward to being together as much as Dan and I do.  These dear souls are our brothers and sisters in Christ and something special happens when we are together.  During our evenings we have laughed…cried…and shared and as a result God has blessed us again and again.

I love our prayer time because it really helps draw us even closer.  During this time we praise God for His answers to our prayers and we share those areas of our lives that still need God to work in a mighty way.  We have seen Him do some amazing things as a result of our prayers, which is a wonderful reminder that our God is alive and well and more powerful than we can even imagine!

But what probably blesses me the most is what happens during the time between our gatherings.  This group doesn’t just come together for an evening every two weeks and then walk out and forget everything until the next meeting rolls around.  They keep lifting each other up in prayer, taking everyone’s requests to our Father in heaven.  Our group knows that whenever they have a need, all they have to do is make a phone call or send out a text or e-mail, and they immediately have eleven other people praying with them. 

Just this past week I shared with them that our grandson was ill and asked if they would be praying for him.  Not only did they pray…but they have contacted me since then to find out how he is doing.  That, my friend, is being “Jesus with skin on”.  That is really caring about those things that concern me and then not just saying they will pray…but actually doing it.  They are teaching me, by their example, what it really means to be in the family of God.

I hear people say sometimes that there just isn’t anything they can do for God.  They say they are too old…or too young…or too busy…or not gifted enough…or too uneducated.  I beg to differ with them because everyone can pray.  God doesn’t care how lofty your words sound or whether what you say is proper English.  God sees your heart and He loves to hear you, His child, lift the requests of others up to Him.  Not only does that bless Him, but it also really blesses those you lift up.  It shows them that you care enough to go to the Father on their behalf.

Another thing that I am learning is that when you lift others up in prayer, you begin thinking less about your own problems.  It’s so easy to get caught up in our daily grind and we can find ourselves wallowing in those things that are wrong in our life and we can quickly become pretty depressed.  But when we can get our eyes off of ourselves and onto the lives of those around us…suddenly our spirit is lifted and we become thankful instead of critical.

If you aren’t a member of a small group of believers, I highly recommend that you seek one out.  Our world can be pretty crazy at times and having brothers and sisters in Christ whom you can do life with is a wonderful way to regain some sanity.  I believe you will soon be blessed as they begin to do life with you and doubly blessed as you have the opportunity to do life with them. Believe me when I say…it’s a win-win situation!

 “This is my commandment: Love each other

in the same way I have loved you.”

John 15:12

 “Give, and you will receive.

Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down,

shaken together to make room for more,

running over, and poured into your lap.

The amount you give will

determine the amount you get back.”

Luke 6:38

Monday Morning Memo: Change Begins at Home

I was reminded this past week that what I say and how I act is often watched by others.  We were blessed to have our two-year-old grandson Elias stay with us for a few days and it never ceases to amaze me how much he picks up from those around him.

We were watching Wheel of Fortune together (yes, I know that proves I’m old!) and one of the contestants solved a puzzle with only two letters showing.  I immediately looked at my husband and said, “How did she do that?”  He of course had no clue how she did it either and we continued to watch the show.

We were so surprised then when after the next puzzle was solved, Elias said, “Grandma, how did she do that?” using the same exact flex in his voice that I had used…putting an emphases on the word “do”.  I looked over at him and it was obvious that he was quite proud of himself for talking just like the grownups!

It’s so cute when he copies something I say or do…most of the time.  But I’m confident that there will be times when it won’t be so cute.  He is watching my every move and hearing my spoken words and I’m pretty sure they won’t always have a positive effect on him.  He is a very smart little boy and I’m guessing that he believes that if grandma behaves in a certain way, it is fine for him to do the same. 

I have heard and read a lot this past week in the media about making sure our children know what is acceptable and what isn’t acceptable.  Many have written articles about how they want to make sure their children know what kind of talk and behavior is appropriate and I couldn’t agree more.  What bothers me though is that many of us are often quick to point out the bad behavior of others to our children, but we fail to make sure that our behavior is what it should be.

Our children and grandchildren are often much smarter than what we give them credit.  What will they think if they hear us telling them not to mimic others, all while we ourselves are not speaking or doing as we should.  We can talk all day about how they should respect their bodies and not allow others to degrade them…but are they getting mixed messages when we are first in line to purchase a book such as Fifty Shades of Grey?  How much will it confuse them if we tell them one thing, but then spend our Saturday night at the latest “R” rated movie that is filled with sexual content?  And, probably the most sobering, how can we tell our children about their worth in God’s eyes, but then condone the killing of innocent babies before they have even had the opportunity to take their first breath on this earth?

So much is going on around us in this world today that is completely out of our control and it is having a huge influence on our children.  Because of this, it is critical that what they see us doing doesn’t conflict with what they hear us saying.  If we tell them that having a relationship with Christ should be our main focus, then they need to see us making it a priority in our life.  If they see that we are too busy to spend time daily with Him or that attending a sporting event or going to the lake often takes precedence over being in church on Sunday…our words won’t have much impact.  If they hear us saying that they need to choose their words wisely but hear us gossiping and using foul or vulgar talk…we might as well not share our words of “wisdom” with them.  And if we tell them that Jesus loves the little children and that they are precious in His sight…we better be willing to do whatever we can to stop the murdering that is going on of innocent lives of the unborn because they are an “inconvenience” to the parent.    

Changing our world begins at home, but if our children are receiving mixed messages from us, how can we expect them to make the right choices and live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.  They must see Him in us first…in our words and in our actions.  May God help us have the courage to make sure what we do is in line with what we say.

 “Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children.

Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.”

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 The Message

 “And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing

bad to say about us.”

Titus 2:7-8 New Living Translation