Monday Morning Memo: Heavenly Prime

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 Amazon Prime 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 can’t be sent Amazon Prime?  You mean I have to wait 3 additional days for it to ship?  Outrageous!

Don’t you wish God had Amazon Prime?  Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t be called that, but it could be called Heavenly Prime.  When we need an answer quickly, we could just get on our computer…pull up www.heavenlyprime...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 last week.  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 last week that I was going to really work on trusting God…no ands, ifs or buts…and I think I did much better these past days.  But I’m here to tell you that it wasn’t easy!  I told a friend one day that 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 situation…do you trust me?”  I found myself answering Him with the words, “Yes, Lord.  I will trust you…without any buts.”

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 Prime…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 returned!

Monday Morning Memo: Ands, Ifs or Buts

Have you ever noticed how often we tend to 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”.  The reason is that I’ve heard myself say it over and over again recently.  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 for my loved one’s health…but…I love them so much and I want to just fix this. I know I need to trust God with my health…but…I’ve been through so much and what if I get worse?    I know I need to trust God for whatever happens today and tomorrow…but…I’m so scared of what might occur that will be out of my control.

Bingo.  I have a hard time trusting God…because I want to be in control.  To completely trust Him, means that I take my hands off of any 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 have to 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 loved ones since He, believe it or not, loves them even more than I do.  Not only did He create me, He created them too, and knows everything about them.

3.  Why wouldn’t I trust Him with my today and my tomorrow, 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. Will. 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 J

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: Filling Our Minds

I like to read. In fact, I don’t just like to read…I love to read.  I usually have at least two books going at a time, and sometimes three.  While I have lots of books on my Kindle app, I would still much rather have a book in my hands than read one on a screen.  

And, if you’ve ever been in my home, you know I have many, many of those books that can be held.  Not only do I have books I have purchased, but I also was given my Dad’s books when he moved out of his apartment.  Fortunately, we have a room that has had several purposes over the years, but it finally became my library some years ago so most of my books are in one location.

I usually start my day reading the Bible and often end my day devouring a non-fiction, Christian book that will challenge me in my Christian walk.  I have found in doing this, that reading relaxes me.  If I am stressed and I pick up a book…I often feel my body begin to “chill out”.  If I am discouraged, it never ceases to amaze me how God will put just the right words in front of me to minister to my mind and soul.  

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been reading the Max Lucado books that I own.  All of them were written quite a few years ago, but each one has spoken to me in a powerful way.  They have encouraged me, challenged me and have at times, stepped on my toes. Each of these books have impressed on me how important it is that I fill my mind with God’s truths.  Whether it be through prayer, by reading His Word, listening to Christian music, listening to ministers who speak Biblical truths, or through literature…what I choose to fill my mind with, will make a difference. 

Now, while I’m sure you have found it riveting to read about my love for reading J…you may be wondering why I felt the need to share this with you.  We are living in a world that is unhinged most of the time and it is so easy to become depressed, discouraged and feeling like there isn’t any hope.   Because of this, I think it is important for all of us to pay attention to that with which we are filling our minds.  We all want to feel peace and hope, but if we are feeding on a constant diet of news shows, Facebook posts, raunchy books and movies…I’m afraid we will feel more despair than encouragement.  More darkness than light.

If you are struggling with the health of your mind…why not take note of what you are filling it with today.  Is it true? Is it Bible based?  Is it encouraging?  If not…make choices that will uplift you and draw you closer to the One who created you.  He, my friend, wants to fill you to the brim and overflowing with His peace today and in the days to come. 

“Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling 

your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; 

the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Philippians 4:8

Monday Morning Memo: Mind-Talking

I’m embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t the first time this has happened.  You would think that after it occurred the first time, I would have remembered on subsequent occasions…but I haven’t.

I was sitting at my computer the other day becoming more frustrated by the minute.  No matter what I did…I couldn’t get any sound out of it. At first, I thought there was something wrong with the short video clip I was trying to watch, but when I attempted to listen to other videos, I had the same problem…no sound.  I finally thought that there must be a glitch in my computer, so I turned it completely off and then turned it back on…hoping that would solve my problem.  No such luck.

I was about to walk away from my computer since I was getting so frustrated, when I happened to look at my keyboard and I saw the culprit.  Yes, I’m sure many of you have already figured it out…my earbuds were plugged in.  I unplugged them from my computer, and wouldn’t you know it…I had sound.

It was at that point that my mind-talking began. How stupid can I be?  What is wrong with me?  This isn’t the first time I have done this…when will I ever learn?  I bet other people don’t do such stupid things.  Am I even safe to be alone at all?

I know that my “moment of stupidity” wasn’t anything life-shattering…but why do I often let my errors control my mind?  In this situation, I just wasn’t thinking clearly, but I can spend much more time berating myself than I did trying to find out what the problem was.  Then, add a time when I sin, and I can easily fear that God has his naughty and nice list out and I’m for sure getting checked off Heaven’s roster! 

Please hear me when I say that yes, when we sin, we need to go to our Father and ask for forgiveness…but at that point His grace covers us.  He doesn’t keep bringing it up to make us feel bad about ourselves (Satan is doing that) and He doesn’t love us any less.  But I’ve met so many people who are still dwelling on their past and as a result they are stuck in quicksand.  They are unable to move forward and accept God’s forgiveness because they can’t forgive themselves.

If there is something in your past that is controlling you today…hand it over to Jesus and let Him throw it in the deepest sea.  Then, stop the mind-talking and move on!  There isn’t anything you have done that His grace can’t cover.  Trust me.  If he can forgive this absent-minded writer…who falls short so many times and has to ask for forgiveness…I’m confident His grace can cover you too!

“And I will forgive their wickedness,
 and I will never again remember their sins.” 

Hebrews 8:12

PRAISE THE LORD AND SAY AMEN!!