Monday, May 31, 2021

Monday Morning Memo: Uncluttered and Focused

Memorial Day. This is the day when we remember the people who died while serving in our country's armed forces. I admire those who have been willing to serve our country so sacrificially. They not only chose to start a life journey where they would have to leave friends and family, often placed in situations that were far from being comfortable, but then gave the ultimate sacrifice of their life so that you and I can have freedom. We are free because of those who have been brave.

What deeply saddens me is that so many have given their lives for our freedom…but we are now losing many of our freedoms, not because of those outside our country, but because of those inside our country. Bit by bit…day by day…decisions and mandates are being forced on us that are jeopardizing our freedom to follow the Biblical truths that we hold so dear. Our country, which was started on Christian principles, is now so far from where it began, that it is almost unrecognizable. The mantra that is now being shoved down our throats is that “everything goes”…as long as Christianity is not included.

The day is here my friends where it isn’t only the soldiers that serve our country who need to be brave, but we also, as Christians, need to be brave. Our religious freedoms are being taken away, and we need to be willing to stand up for what we know to be the truths given to us by our Lord and Savior. It will not be easy, and it won’t be the popular thing to do, but it is what we have been called to do.

In I Chronicles 29 in the version The Message, I came across these words of David:

“O God, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this generous spirit alive forever in these people always, keep their hearts set firmly in you. And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what you command, live by your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided.”

David asked God to give Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so he would have the strength, wisdom and courage to do what God would call him to do. David recognized that it wouldn’t be an easy road but knew that as long as Solomon kept his eyes on His God and his heart pure, God would be with him every step of the way.

We serve the same God that Abraham, Isaac, Israel, David and Solomon served and what He did for them…He can and will do for us. Our job is to make sure that our hearts are where they should be and that our eyes are focused on Him. He will then give us the strength, wisdom and courage to do what God is now calling us to do.

Today I want to remember those who were brave and gave their all for me. I do not want their ultimate sacrifice to be wasted by not giving my all to make sure our nation returns to its Godly heritage. Let’s make sure that those who are coming behind us will have their Christian freedoms…because we were brave.

Are you looking for a Bible study to do this summer? Check out my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA. The entire study can be found there and you can watch it by yourself or with your small group. Subscribe today so you won’t miss any new studies!

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Monday, May 24, 2021

Monday Morning Memo: Lead Me

Do you know that moment when you read something, and you feel like God put the words there just for you? It’s not so bad when what you are reading gives you a warm fuzzy feeling; but it isn’t nearly as much fun when the words slap you right between the eyes.

This is what happened to me recently. The words? A quote from Corrie Ten Boom: “Don’t bother to give God directions, just report for duty.” Oh man…did I have to read that? Why couldn’t I have read the verse, “Thou shalt not steal”? I don’t ever struggle with wanting to steal. Or why couldn’t God have impressed on me the saying, “Stressed spelled backwards is desserts”? Now THERE is something to make me feel good and celebrate!

No, He led me to read something that made me squirm, because if I reflect on some of my recent prayers, they have sounded more like a to-do list for God, instead of seeking His direction. Why do I do that? Why is it so easy to fall into the trap of telling Him what I think He should do?

I know He wants me to pour out my heart to Him. I know He loves to hear my desires and my dreams; but the problem arises when I am more concerned with what I want than what He wants. When my today and my tomorrow is spent instructing Him to do what would make me happy…there is a problem. The reason is that what I think will make me happy, may not be good for me at all. What I think should happen in the lives of my loved ones, may not be beneficial to them in the long run. He can see my tomorrows and the tomorrows of my family and friends and so it is in Him that I need to put my faith and trust.

As I have reflected on some of my recent conversations with God, I have realized that many of my sentences began with, “Lord, please do…..”, or “Lord, I need you to…” or “Father, they need you to…” I’m beginning to think that maybe my prayer time might be more productive if more of my sentences consisted of, “Lord, open my mind to what you have to say”, and “Father, work your way and Your will in my life and in the lives of my family”. In doing this, I am giving Him free reign to do with me as He sees best.

Scary? You bet it is; especially for a control freak like me. But I can’t think of anyone in this world that I would rather trust with my today and my tomorrow than the One who created me. So, my plan this week is to enter into His presence, bow down at His throne and just say the words, “Father, I’m reporting for duty. Lead me where you want me to go.”

“Lead me by your truth and teach me, 

for you are the God who saves me. 

All day long I put my hope in you.”

Psalm 25:5 (NLT)

Don’t forget, if you would like to join me in my study of the book of James, you can find my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA. I posted another teaching video this morning, “God’s Power in Us!”. Check it out today!

If you would like encouraging thoughts to help you in your daily walk with Jesus, check out and “Like” my new Facebook page, “Image Seeker”…you can find it at https://www.facebook.com/Image-Seeker-109914611136211/news_feed.

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Monday, May 17, 2021

Monday Morning Memo: Priorities

Have you ever had a day that just dragged on and on? A day where you thought for sure it had to be at least 2:00 pm, but when you checked the clock and realized it was only 10:00 am, you felt like crying. I have. But to be honest, I have more days that just seem to fly by. Days where, if I just had a couple more hours to work on my to-do list, I just might get caught up. The truth is though, if I was given those extra couple of hours, I probably wouldn’t have the energy to do more work anyway 

The question then becomes, “Is what I’m spending my day doing, making a difference in the light of eternity, or is it just busywork?” I can find many worthwhile tasks to fill my day, but are they duties that the Lord wants me to be doing, or are they the things that I want to do?

Many years ago, I heard a statement that so spoke to me, I jotted it down and it has been beside my bed ever since. The statement was, “What you prioritize is what you will eventually worship”. If you asked me what or whom I worship, my immediate answer would of course be, I worship God. I’m surely not like those people that I read about in the Old Testament that just kept returning to their idols to worship. How could they be so stupid to bow down to their man-made statues? Isaiah 2:8 sums up what they were doing, “Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.” It is obvious that they had lost their way; they were more concerned as to what they were doing and what they had achieved, instead of what God had done and what He wanted to accomplish within and through them.

I’m so glad I’m not like them...or am I? When my life is spiraling out of control and I feel overwhelmed, could it be that I feel that way because my priorities have gotten out of whack? Could it be that my agenda has become the idol that I’m worshipping and I have left God out of the picture?

As we near the summer months our schedules can become even more hectic as it fills up with ballgames, barbeques and other outdoor activities. I can see this year being even more crazy, because we are all so anxious for life to return to “normal” from Covid. None of the activities I listed are bad, but we need to be intentional to make sure they don’t become our priority. What message are we sending our children when we make the decision that going to the lake or attending the ballgame on Sunday is more important than worshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ? What message are our friends receiving from us when they hear us say that we don’t have to go to church on Sunday, because we choose to worship God as we are out in nature; it’s just not necessary to go into a church to give praise to our God.

I pray that your summer will be filled with all those activities that the warm weather allows you to experience. However, I also pray that you won’t forget Who should be the center of your attention as you go through each day. Allow God to lead, to guide and to prioritize your day. If you do that, you will be able to look back on the summer months, knowing that what you accomplished DID make a difference in the light of eternity. I just can’t think of a better way to spend your days!

“You must worship no other gods, for the LORD,
whose very name is Jealous,
is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.”

Exodus 34:14 (NLT)

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Monday, May 10, 2021

Monday Morning Memo: In An Instant

It’s one of those calls on my mental “list”. I think everyone has a “list” …it just might look different than mine. It’s a call I didn’t want to receive…but because life is life…the call came anyway. This particular call on my “list” was hearing that a loved one had been hurt. I received one of those dreaded calls this past week.

The phone rang and I was told that my 93-year-old mother-in-law had just fallen, and they were confident that at the very least, she had broken her ankle. In an instant…life changed. My husband and I jumped in the car and headed for the hospital so we could meet the ambulance that was carrying our precious mom.

After a long day in the ER, it was determined that thankfully, nothing else was broken besides her very, misplaced ankle. She was admitted and surgery was performed the next day to put things back together.

Yes, in an instant…life changed. Any plans that mom had would now have to be sidelined…and any plans we had would have to be changed or re-formatted, because in that instant…a new priority took the center stage. It wasn’t what any of us wanted or had planned for, but regardless, life would now take on a “new normal”.

Life isn’t always fun, is it? Every day isn’t always sunshine and rainbows…there are always a few stormy days thrown in to make things interesting. But I’m guessing it’s those rainy days that impact my life much more than the blue-skyed ones. On the clear days, I don’t need to show that I trust God’s plan for my life or the life of a loved one…because I can usually handle those kinds of days on my own. But when the dark clouds either come on the horizon slowly or are instantly overhead…that’s when it soon becomes evident whether my focus and faith are securely in Him or locked-in on myself.

Even though I know all of that, if I’m willing to be “real” with you, I have to admit that this past week has been hard. Really hard. My mother-in-law has been a mom to me for 40 years, and to see her suffer physically, mentally and emotionally has been awful. I have struggled and questioned God as to why in the world this had to happen to her, especially since she is currently in the middle of cancer treatments. None of this makes any sense to me and I have been angry, frustrated, exhausted and tears have escaped my eyes more than once.

I am still working through my thoughts and emotions and know that for now…I just need to trust God’s wisdom and God’s plan. I know He is big enough to handle Mom in the palm of His hand and will give her what she needs for each day. I also know He is big enough to handle me while I continue to work on keeping my focus on Him and accepting what will bring Him the most glory as we proceed on this new journey.

I don’t know what you are facing today. Your journey may be much more difficult than ours and you may also be struggling with seeing the reason for God’s plan. Let me encourage you to share with Him your anger, frustrations and tears. He is big enough to handle them, while He carries you securely in the palm of His hand and you never know when, in an instant, He will reveal to you why His plan is best. Until He does…I’ll be praying that His peace will comfort you and fill you to the brim and overflowing. We are all on this journey together and what a privilege it is to lift each other up to God’s throne…because as we pray to Him, He always hears us…in an instant!

“He comforts us in all our troubles

so that we can comfort others.

When they are troubled,

we will be able to give them

the same comfort God has given us.”

2 Corinthians 1:4

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Monday, May 3, 2021

Monday Morning Memo: A New Beginning

I so enjoyed our drive to church yesterday morning. We live 20 miles from where we worship and most of our drive is in the country, so there are currently many signs of spring to refresh my soul. How awesome it is to see the brown, drab grass coming alive with beautiful shades of green. The winter wheat that was planted last fall is now pushing its way through the soil. And the best sight to see is what I don’t see…there are no traces of snow 

As I took all of this in during our drive, the words that kept coming to my mind were, “new beginnings”. Winter can feel so long, and it is easy for me to feel like it is never going to end; that the cloudy cold days will always be here and that I will always dread stepping outside, knowing my teeth will be chattering for many miles down the road.

Then, it happens. I have a morning like yesterday when I realize what has been dormant is alive once again and I feel like everything has been given a chance for a new beginning. There is suddenly hope that the sun will shine, the grass will grow, the trees will bud and the temperatures will slowly increase and I will no longer “fear” stepping outside.

The day our Savior rose from the grave, gave all of us a new beginning that never goes away. At that moment, everything changed. Even though we weren’t even born yet, our sins went to the cross with our Lord three days prior and He willingly died with our transgressions on His shoulders. If He had stayed there, it would have been even worse than a winter that never goes away. Our hope, our chance for a new beginning would have been buried with Him, but instead He conquered death, coming alive to give us an ever-lasting hope and a continual opportunity for new beginnings.

Every day gives us that opportunity for a new beginning. No matter what yesterday brought us, today is a new day. No matter what wrong choices we have made in the past, we have the choice to grasp onto a new beginning. Everything you and I have done that isn’t pleasing to the Lord has already been paid for with His blood. He is just waiting for us to ask for forgiveness and then be willing to take a step into our new beginning.

Where are you today? Is your spirit feeling dormant and lifeless? Do you feel as if there isn’t any hope? Look up into the face of your risen King and accept His gift of a new beginning. He has already proven that sin and death cannot overpower Him, so if He already did that, we need to remember that He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20).

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

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