Monday Morning Memo: Big Shoes to Fill

I had the privilege this past Saturday to participate in a celebration service for my Aunt Berdaline.  She passed away in March at the young age of 96 and was an amazing woman.

I have been blessed with an awesome Christian heritage.  There have been many faithful ones who have been ushered into heaven before me…but have left me with such a wonderful example of what it looks like to be a totally devoted follower of Christ.  Aunt Berdaline was one of those who showed me, by her daily devotion to her Jesus, how I am supposed to be living…how everything I do…should be done for His glory and to impact eternity.  

I hear people say that they have served throughout the years, but because they are now retired, they will let the younger people take over.  I don’t think my aunt ever got the memo on that thought.  Right up until she left this earth…she was ministering and witnessing to everyone who entered her room.  Every CNA…every nurse…every employee…knew that she was willing to listen to them, that she cared about them and was willing to pray with them.  She had note cards with each person listed and the concerns they had…so she could continually pray for them.  She spent an hour every Saturday night…praying for pastors who would be standing behind their pulpit on Sunday morning.  This woman was a true intercessor…lifting so many others up to God’s Throne.  

All I could think of this past weekend was what huge shoes she left to fill on this earth.  As one intercessor is ushered into heaven, if we don’t pick up where they left off, there may be those who won’t spend eternity with Jesus.  Each of us needs to do just what my aunt did…reach out to everyone we meet…letting them know that we love them and that there is a Savior who loves them more than they can imagine.  No matter what age we are…we are to never “retire” from caring…loving…and sharing about Him. 

My prayer is that when God calls me home…I will leave big shoes to fill.  I know I have a long way to go to be there…but I sure hope I won’t ever retire from wanting to make a difference in the lives of others.  My heart aches for those who may not know my Jesus and are waiting for someone to reach out to them.  I don’t ever want to become complacent or lazy…expecting someone else to make a difference in eternity so I don’t have to.  I want to be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that those who need to hear will hear from me.

Will you join me?  Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone to do whatever it takes to make a difference in eternity?  I sure hope so…because I know I have so much to learn and maybe you will be someone I can learn from as we are on this journey with Jesus.  Let’s work together to make sure that when we are called “Home”…we leave HUGE shoes to fill! 

“I can’t impress this on you too strongly. 

God is looking over your shoulder. 

Christ himself is the Judge, 

with the final say on everyone, living and dead. 

He is about to break into the open with his rule, 

so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. 

Challenge, warn, and urge your people. 

Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple.”

2 Timothy 4:2 (The Message)

 

BY THE WAY…Do you live your life in fear?  Do you find yourself consumed with worry?  Make sure and check out my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, because I have  a new series entitled, “Facing Fears, Worries & Futures”.  We are looking at what the Bible says concerning living life without fretting about what might happen today or tomorrow…because God is in control and is powerful enough to handle anything that we might face!  The first video in this series is up and I will be sharing the second video tomorrow.  To access this series, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA and  subscribe today so you won’t miss any of the lessons in this new study!

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

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Monday Morning Memo: A Mistake? NEVER!

Have you ever felt like you were a mistake?  Maybe you have never put those exact words to your thoughts…but there have been times when you wondered why in the world the God of the universe thought the world needed YOU.

I think if we are truly honest, many of us have had times such as this.  Times when we compared ourselves to those around us and came to the conclusion that God must have been extremely tired the day He created us.   We read Facebook and Instagram posts from our friends and their lives are so much more exciting than ours.  They are getting promotions, going on trips and having meaningful, heart-warming conversations with their kids.  This is all while we are stuck in the same ho-hum job, never leaving our town, let alone the state or country to vacation and our goal each day is just to make sure our kids are still breathing when we turn the lights out each night.

I think when these negative thoughts creep into our minds we need to remember a few things.  First, God honestly doesn’t care whether we are a brain surgeon or a street sweeper.   When we stand before Him someday, I really don’t think we will get more jewels in our crown because we had a more prestigious job than our neighbor.  God is going to care more about what we did with our job to reach others for Him.  Were we faithful wherever He placed us?  Were we the best employee in the company, always doing our share of the work…or were we known to be the slacker and complainer? 

Secondly, when we stand before God, I don’t think He will have a world globe in His hands to mark off where all we traveled in our lifetime.  Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there is anything wrong with taking trips and seeing the world, but if we are basing our happiness on whether we are able to do so, we are going to end up thinking less of ourselves.  God is going to be much more interested in what we did for Him whether we are at home or in an exotic location.  

Third, always try to remember that very few parents post on Facebook or bring up in conversation the difficult times with their children.   We tend to want to look good and have others think we are perfect parents who have it all together but, unfortunately, I’ve never met a perfect parent or a perfect child yet.   When we stand before God, I don’t think He is going to ask us why we weren’t flawless parents.  He is going to be much more concerned about what we instilled in the lives of our precious children.  Were we examples to them of followers of Jesus, whose main goal was to serve Him wherever we were placed using whatever He had given us?  Or did they just see us push and shove our way up the corporate ladder to ensure we had plenty of money and “things” to keep up with our friends on Facebook?

I think we need to remember that whenever we compare our weaknesses to someone else’s strengths, we are going to come up short.  We are all different and each of us has our own strong points and our own weak points.  It is up to us to decide on which we will focus. 

Amazingly, the same God who created mountains and oceans and galaxies looked at me and thought the world needed one of me too.  AND, He thought the world needed one of you too.  Oh, isn’t that mind-blowing?  You and I have never been, nor will we ever be, a mistake!  We were created for a reason to fulfill His purpose in this world.  We just need to decide if we are going to live in such a way where others will see God’s plan being fulfilled, or whether we are going to believe Satan’s lies that we are a mistake. 

YOU were created to be a child of the King.  Wow…it just doesn’t get much better than that!   

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, 

he gave the right to become children of God.”

John 1:12

 

BY THE WAY…Do you live your life in fear?  Do you find yourself consumed with worry?  Make sure and check out my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, because I began a new series last week entitled, “Facing Fears, Worries & Futures”.  We are looking at what the Bible says concerning living life without fretting about what might happen today or tomorrow…because God is in control and is powerful enough to handle anything that we might face!  Click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA and  subscribe today so you won’t miss any of the lessons in this new study!

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

And, if you aren’t on Facebook but would still like to see encouraging posts and notices of new videos…”Follow” me on Instagram.  Just search for “The Image Seeker”

Monday Morning Memo: We Are Not God

If there is one thing that I’ve learned in my life, it is that just when I think I have things figured out…I realize that I don’t.  Just when I think I see the puzzle pieces falling into place, someone or something rearranges them.  But if I look at things realistically, I’m pretty sure that that is just “life” and at my age I should be used to it by now!

I’ve been thinking the last couple of days about how I usually react when a change or detour occurs.  Sometimes I handle it well, but there are times when I think I spend way too much time overanalyzing every detail.  I tend to be a teensy bit of a perfectionist (ok some of you can stop laughing now), and as a result, I feel the need to pick apart the reason for every change.  “What caused this to happen?”  “What did I do wrong to bring about this detour?”  “What incorrect decision did I make to blow God’s entire plan for my life, causing Him to have to totally redraw the blueprints He had for me?”  Yes, sometimes I’m a little “over the top”.

But another thing I’ve learned in my life is that I am not alone in feeling this way.  I talk to a lot of people, and quite often I hear them say similar things.  Their words may be different than mine…but often their underlying theme mimics mine.  In essence, I often hear them say, “Well I really blew it this time when I made the wrong decision and now God is going to make me pay the price.”   

The problem with this type of thought process is that we often tend to fear every decision we make.  We stew and fret and pray until our knees are calloused, but still put off making decisions because we worry that we will make the wrong ones and God will be ticked at us.  I think it is good for us to not always rush into making plans, but there comes a time when we need to trust God, knowing that He knows our heart and wants the very best for us.

This graphic makes me laugh.  Oh, how good it is for me to be reminded that if I think I have blown God’s plan for my life, I need to rest in the fact that I am not that powerful!  In other words, I need to remember that I am not God.  Only God is God, and He is so powerful that He can accomplish in me and through me whatever He deems best…even when I make a wrong decision or mess things up.  Again, He knows my heart and if I have prayed for direction on something in my life, there comes a time when I need to act and move forward.  If it ends up being the wrong decision, my God is powerful enough to still accomplish His plan, even with my mistakes. 

Are you berating yourself today, feeling like your decisions or actions have blown God’s plan for your life?  Allow me to let you in on a little secret:  you are not God nor are you that powerful.  Whatever you have done, He is mighty enough to still accomplish His plans in you and through you. 

Are you putting off making a decision because you are petrified that you will make the wrong one?  I want to urge you to take a deep breath and relax.  Spend time in prayer, asking God to give you direction, and then move ahead.  He knows your heart and can see that you want to do His will and so even if you make the wrong decision, He can still work everything out.  Yes, it may mean that you will have an unexpected detour or the puzzle pieces will need to be rearranged…but in the end… your life’s picture will be absolutely perfect because God is just that powerful!

^“And we know that God causes everything to work together 

for the good of those who love God 

and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Romans 8:28

 

BY THE WAY…Do you live your life in fear?  Do you find yourself consumed with worry?  Make sure and check out my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, because I will begin a new teaching series tomorrow entitled, “Facing Fears, Worries & Futures”.  We will be looking at what the Bible says concerning living life without fretting about what might happen today or tomorrow…because God is in control and is powerful enough to handle anything that we might face!  Click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA and  subscribe today so you won’t miss any of the lessons in this new study!

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

And, if you aren’t on Facebook but would still like to see encouraging posts and notices of new videos…”Follow” me on Instagram.  Just search for “The Image Seeker”

Monday Morning Memo: Hand in Hand

In June, we had the privilege of having our two granddaughters (ages 2 and 4) spend a few days with us, and then this past week we were blessed to have our three grandsons (ages 2, 5 & 7) spend a couple days here.  I absolutely love spending time with all of them…but they sure do make me realize why we have our kids when we are young.  I don’t know if you have noticed…but young kids have way more energy than we have!

I love being a grandma.  People told me that it would be wonderful, but I couldn’t completely grasp how great it would be until I held our first grandchild.  He totally stole my heart and then each grandchild that has been added to our family since then, has done the same thing.  And, we are so excited to add yet another one in December and we know that he or she will make our heart swell once again!

One of the things I love to do is to hold the hand of these precious little ones.  It’s a very simple gesture…but I feel emotional every time I have the opportunity.  There is something about having his or her small hand in mine that makes me feel so blessed that I can have a part in their life.  I don’t take that opportunity lightly and I want to spend as much time with each one as I can, building a relationship that will last a lifetime.

I was reminded of this blessing last week when Ezra, age 2, reached out for my hand.  We had some men here doing some work for us and they were unknown to this young one.  As we walked closer to these men, Ezra gripped my hand tighter and tighter.  He wasn’t sure what he thought of them…but I think he knew that grandma would make sure he was safe.  I hope he never forgets that as long as I have breath…I will always be here for him. 

The practical positive of being hand in hand with them is that I am assured they are by my side.  As with most young ones, their legs often want to take them where they shouldn’t go…so if I have their hand in mine, I have more control of their path.  Even though they may not always think that is a good thing…I know it is in their best interest to stay by my side.

I was thinking about this recently when I was reading in Amos 3:3. It asks the question, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”  I like the way this verse is worded in the version The Message, “Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?”  Of course, this is a rhetorical question that is easy to answer.  There is no way two people can walk hand in hand and go in two different directions.  It’s just not possible.  

This is so applicable to our walk with Christ.  If we are going to go on the path that He has planned for us, we must be willing to walk with Him; hand in hand.  When we let go and think we can walk on our own, problems often begin to arise, and we start to lose our way.  We need to realize that even when we don’t feel like walking with Him, it is imperative that we do it anyway, because it is always in our best interest to stay by His side. 

I can’t help but believe that Christ also gets emotional when we want to take His hand and walk with Him.  He loves us so much and wants to continually work on our relationship that will last beyond our lifetime. I know how much I love my children and grandchildren…but that doesn’t even hold a candle to the love that my heavenly Father has for me.  I don’t know about you, but that thought gives me chills… makes me feel so blessed… and makes me never want to let go of His hand.  And when the way gets a little scary…I don’t think He will mind if I squeeze His hand tighter and tighter…because I know with Him I will always be safe and He will always be here for me!

 

 “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,

    and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

    and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8

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!

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

And, if you aren’t on Facebook but would still like to see encouraging posts and notices of new videos…”Follow” me on Instagram.  Just search for “The Image Seeker”