Monday Morning Memo: Lost...and Found!

It was just an earring.  In fact…it was a really cheap earring.  It was one of those that you buy hooked to a card…with several other pairs.  Regardless of the cost, it was an earring I liked and wore often.  So, when it came up missing a few weeks ago…I was bummed.

I had put both earrings on that morning but discovered during the day that one was gone.  I had just been outside clearing leaves away from my plants, so I figured it had fallen off as I was working.  Knowing it was a long shot that I could find it…I went outside anyway and retraced my steps.  Much to my chagrin…it was nowhere to be found.

I debated as to whether I should keep the one lone earring that was left, but finally decided to hold onto it for at least a few weeks, just in case Dan spotted it as he was working outside.  Maybe, just maybe, he would see something shiny and the lost would be found.

Fast forward two weeks.  I went to visit my mother-in-law who lives in a retirement home and as I was leaving, I stopped to talk to the receptionist.  While we were visiting, a woman walked into the home with her young boys and she approached the front desk.  I heard her tell the receptionist that they had been walking past the facility and found an earring.  She thought maybe it belonged to one of the residents and wanted to make sure and turn it in.  I thought that was really nice of her and I left and went home.

Later, I began thinking about what had happened that day.  Since I was convinced I had lost my earring here at home, I hadn’t given it any thought that the earring which was turned in was the one I had lost.  But as I thought back to the day when the earring went missing, I realized I had gone to see my mother-in-law that morning, before working outside.  Now, my interest was piqued!

A couple days later, armed with the earring I had in my possession, I returned to the Home and asked the receptionist if she still had the earring.  There it was on her desk and as she picked it up…I took my earring out of my pocket.  It was a match!  I stood there in shock.

What are the odds that all the events of that day lined up?

1.    I just happened to go see my mother-in-law the day the earring was turned in.  The facility was actually closed due to Covid, but since I am considered an Essential Caregiver, I was allowed entrance.

2.   I stopped to talk with the receptionist before leaving.  Confession here…I’m usually in a hurry to leave because you know…I have things to do   But for some reason that day I stood and talked with her for quite some time.  If I would have left immediately like I usually do…I wouldn’t have been there when the earring was brought in.  As a result, I never would have known it was there.

3.   The woman and her young boys just happened to be walking past the facility that day and just happened to see this earring which had been laying there for two weeks.  Instead of leaving it on the ground…or throwing it away…they took the time to take it into the Home…at exactly the same time I was standing in the lobby.

4.   The earring was not damaged at all…even though it had been outside where cars are constantly driving in and out.  The only thing wrong was that the back of the earring was missing…but I could easily replace that.

 

Isn’t it amazing that God cares about even the little things in our life?  Isn’t it amazing that with all the horrendous, earth-shattering happenings that are going on in our world…He still takes the time to show us how much He loves us? 

For me, I think God allowed all this to happen to remind me that He sees me…He knows everything about me and cares about every detail.  Oh, how I needed this reminder and maybe you do too.  If you are feeling alone…He sees you.  If you are feeling lost…He never leaves your side.  If you need direction…He will guide you every step of the way.  Oh, how He loves you and me!

“For the mountains may move
    and the hills disappear,
but even then my faithful love for you will remain.
    My covenant of blessing will never be broken,”
    says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

Isaiah 54:10

By the way…if you haven’t already done so…please check out my latest videos on my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, where we are studying the Fruit of the Spirit.  The last lesson in this series will be posted this week…so make sure you are all caught up! You can check them out at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA

Monday Morning Memo: Do or Don't: Blessed Either Way

Well, it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this week.  Once again, the months this year have seemed to just fly by…and I’m guessing that’s a sign that I’m getting old...well at least old-er 

I think it is so important for us to be intentional in making sure we don’t just rush through Thanksgiving to get to Christmas.   I happen to believe if we take time to really count our blessings now, we just might have a different perspective on Christmas.  When we realize what is really important in life and contemplate on how much we have been blessed, I’m guessing it will be easier to focus on the birth of our Savior.

I’m not naïve enough though, to think that everyone finds it easy to recognize his or her blessings.  There may be some of you who have so much pain in your past, so much heartache, that this week only reminds you of what you don’t have instead of what you do have.  Your spouse may have decided he or she didn’t want to be married anymore.  You may have lost a loved one, which left a hole in your heart that words just can’t describe.  Your child may have chosen a path that is against everything you believe in and the pain you feel has left you drained.  Your job, which you thought would always be secure, was taken out from under you and it has left you wondering how the bills will get paid.  And in an instant, your health began to fail and it is all you can do to face another day.

You don’t need me to tell you that our plans are often thrown out the window and our journey takes a sharp detour that makes no sense.   Unfortunately, life happens and we can’t always control what is going on around us.

So, what do we do when the pain from our past keeps us from moving forward and being able to count our blessings?  I saw a quote recently from C.S. Lewis and I shared it on Facebook. It is so fitting and I love the analogy, “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars.  You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.”  There comes a time and a place where we just have to let go of those things that have entrapped us.  Until we loosen our grip, we will just be left hanging and there will be no way for us to dwell on what we DO have instead of what we DON’T have.

If you find yourself struggling today as you begin your week, I’d like to make a suggestion.  Find time today to write down at least 2 things you are thankful for and then tomorrow and Wednesday do the same thing.  By the time Thursday rolls around, you will begin your day of thanksgiving with at least six blessings on which to focus.  When your past begins to overshadow you again, take out this list and read it out loud.  Read it over and over until it is ingrained in your mind.  

If even this assignment seems to be more than you can handle…take time to write down what you DON’T have.  Let me give you some examples of what I mean, by sharing some of the things I don’t have:

I don’t have cancer

I don’t have to worry that I won’t have anything to eat at my next meal

I don’t have to live on the street in the cold in a cardboard box….

Understand what I mean?  Sometimes when we start listing what we DON’T have…we can begin to realize the blessings we DO have.

I think you will find that with each blessing you write down or with each “don’t” you record, your grip on the past will start to loosen.  With each entry, you will begin to find it easier to move to the next “rung” and you will start making forward progress.  Your past will no longer have such a tight hold on you.

I would be amiss today if I didn’t let you know that one of my largest blessings is YOU. YOU have blessed me over and over again by your encouragement and support of my ministry and without YOU, my life wouldn’t be as full and rich as it is.  So today I want to make sure and thank YOU for taking the time to read my posts each week, for your words and notes of encouragement, for sharing my writing with your friends and for your acceptance of me even if you don’t agree with everything I share.  I have been truly blessed and I’m thanking the Lord today for YOU! 

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.”

Philippians 1:3

 

By the way…if you haven’t already done so…please check out my latest videos on my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, where we are studying the Fruit of the Spirit.  The next lesson will be posted this week…so make sure you are all caught up!  You can check them out at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA

Monday Morning Memo: Accomplishing the Impossible

I recently read this statement, “Accomplishing the impossible begins with seeing the invisible.”  These words have my mind churning.  I read something like this, and I immediately agree with what it says…but then living it out doesn’t come so easy.

Why is it so hard for me to see the invisible…especially when it comes to trusting God?  I trust a lot of other things that I cannot see.  I trust that there is a sun in the sky even when it is completely covered by clouds.  I trust there is going to be air to breathe as I go throughout my day, but I can’t see it.  Many times in my life, when I have been pushed into an MRI machine, I have trusted that the pulses of radio wave energy, which I cannot see, will take pictures of areas inside my body.

But trusting an invisible God, even though I have seen the effect of the power of His hand, is much more difficult.  When it comes to trusting Him, I want something tangible.  I want proof.  I want facts.  I want details.  And of course…I want results!

I have a feeling I am not alone in this, and I wonder how often God shakes His head at our ways.  Knowing how much He loves us and how much He wants the very best for us, I can’t help but believe He is saying, “Please my dear child, trust the invisible…because it is much more wonderful than anything you can even imagine or see with your own eyes.” 

I think part of the problem is that we bring God down to our size, instead of realizing how big and powerful He really is.  Nothing is impossible for Him.  Nothing makes Him wring His hands.  Nothing catches Him off guard or even makes Him break a sweat. Absolutely nothing.

What is it in your life today that just seems impossible?  What do you want to see accomplished but you just can’t make yourself step out in faith because there isn’t anything tangible to hold onto?  Remember the size of your God.  What you cannot see…He sees clearly.  What you cannot do…He has already done.  What you cannot achieve on your own…He already has it accomplished and is just waiting for you to step into His plan.  I happen to believe when we do this and when the fog finally clears, what we will behold will be worth the first step into the unknown.

“We don’t yet see things clearly. 

We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. 

But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! 

We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, 

knowing him directly just as he knows us!”

1 Corinthians 13:12 (MSG)

By the way…if you haven’t already done so…please check out my latest videos on my YouTube channel, Image Seeker, where we are studying the Fruit of the Spirit.  The next lesson will be posted tomorrow…so make sure you are all caught up!  You can check it out at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA

Monday Morning Memo: The Wandering Mind...

Do you have problems with your mind wandering?  I sure do.  There are times when I sit down to write my weekly devotional and the next thing I know, I’m thinking about what I need to put on my grocery list, what I’m fixing for dinner or better yet, what restaurant Dan should take me to next   My mind doesn’t wander because I don’t like writing, because I do.  It’s just that I have a lot going on in my life and it is often hard to just focus on one thing.

In my reading this past week, I came across this statement, “Whatever occupies your mind the most becomes your god.”  I read a similar statement several years ago and it convicted me then just as this statement did several days ago.  Both times it made me give some thought to what brainwaves occupy my mind the most.  Are my thoughts wholesome?  Are they selfish?  Are they vindictive?  Are they spiritually based or worldly based? 

The key words in this statement are “the most”.  In other words, all of us have times when our mind wanders and we have trouble focusing, but this is asking us to contemplate what thoughts occupy our mind the most.   They may not be bad thoughts, but whatever they are shows what our main focus is and what our “god” is.  Thinking about our favorite hobby or sport is ok, but if that is the thing we think about the most, it is then our god.  Thinking about making more money is not a bad thing, but if the majority of our thoughts are consumed with getting rich, money then becomes our god.  Exercising is a good thing but, believe it or not, I’ve actually known people who are obsessed with it and as a result, their own bodies become their god. 

 

We read in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me” and in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”  Scripture makes it very clear that we are to only worship the one true God; He refuses to take second place in our life but as we have talked before, it is our choice.  We can choose what or who our god is, by the decisions we make and by the thoughts that we allow to permeate our mind.  It is our choice to allow our worries, fears and doubts to control us and become our god. As a result, since we cannot serve two masters, we then send the message to God that He is a liar and cannot be trusted.

As you go through this coming week, take notice of what thoughts are occupying your mind the most.  You may even want to write them down so that at the end of the seven days you can have a clearer picture of what or who your god is.  If it isn’t the one true God, then you need to change your priorities and ask the Holy Spirit to control your thoughts.  He is willing, able, and waiting for your decision.   

 

By the way…if you haven’t already done so…please check out my latest videos on my YouTube channel, Image Seeker.  We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit and so far, we have studied love, joy & peace.  The next lesson will be posted tomorrow…so make sure you are all caught up!  You can check them out at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA

Monday Morning Memo: The Insanity Begins...

Well, here we go.  Today, ready or not, is November 1st…which in my mind, is the beginning of the insanity of the holidays.  Thanksgiving will be first and then of course Christmas.  There is food to prepare, family gatherings to attend, gifts to buy and wrap, Christmas cards to sign, school programs to attend, church services to attend (that is, if we have time) and the list goes on and on.  I get tired just thinking about it.  Oftentimes by the end of December we are all just exhausted and frazzled.  

 

Of course, this year may be even worse.  Due to shortages, the media is bombarding us with the need to shop early…hoard early…to make sure all the youngin’s get their heart’s desire for Christmas.  My, oh my, what a catastrophe it would be if they, and us, had just a little less under the tree this year.

 

The tragedy is that it is so easy to get caught up with our activities that we miss out on the true meaning of this time.  Yes, we might find the time to attend church for Thanksgiving and Christmas Sunday, and if we are really feeling religious, we might even attend a Christmas Eve service, but other than that, life pretty much revolves around our family and our agenda.

 

This made me think that maybe we should take some time and remind ourselves what these next 8 weeks should be all about.  What should occupy our thoughts, our time, our money, and our talent?   Here is the Readers Digest version of what’s been rambling around in my head:

 

I believe that Scripture tells us that these weeks (and all weeks) should be filled with three kinds of giving:

1. Thanksgiving:  In Hebrews 12:28 (The Message), we read about the fact that we, as Christians, have been given an unshakable kingdom.  “Do you see what we’ve got?  An unshakable kingdom!  And do you see how thankful we must be?  Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God.”  When was the last time you brimmed with worship because you were so thankful for what you have been given?  When was the last time you even thought about all that God has done for you in sending His Son to die for you, in giving you His unshakable kingdom?  And, allowing you to be His child?

2. Tangible-giving:  2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (The Message) tells us plainly what this means.  This is such a powerful section of Scripture.  Paul tells the believers in Corinth, “Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop.  I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give.  That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting.  God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.  

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.  As one psalmist puts it, ‘He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon.  His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.’

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you.  He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.  

Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians.  It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God.  This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the message of Christ.  You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone.  Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need.  Thank God for this gift, His gift.  No language can praise it enough!” 

 

Did you catch what this kind of giving produces?  This kind of giving produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God.  You won’t have to wonder what to be thankful for if you are giving to others.  You see, you can’t outgive God, so the more you give the more you will be blessed.  And the more you are blessed, the more you will have to give and thanksgiving will begin to ooze out of you!

 

3. Self-giving:  Before we can genuinely give thanksgiving, before we can truly give to others, we must first give ourselves to God.  He must have us completely.  Romans 12:1 & 2 are probably the most well-known verses that talk about self-giving.  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  God wants us to offer ourselves, as living sacrifices – daily laying aside our own desires to follow Him, putting all our energy and resources at His disposal and trusting Him to guide us.

 

How about it?  During these final 2 months of 2021, will you be so caught up in the whirlwind, that you miss the real reason for the season?  Will you allow those around you to drag you down and determine how you spend your time, talent & treasures, or will you be the one to make a positive difference in the lives of others?  

 

My challenge to you for the next 8 weeks:

1.     If you haven’t already done so, accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.  Then let someone know so they can come alongside you and support you as you grow in Him!

 

2.   Commit to giving at least 10% of your income to the Lord.  Remember, you can’t outgive God.

 

3.   Pray that the Lord would reveal how you can begin tangibly giving.  He’s just waiting for you to ask.

 

4.  Intentionally pour thanksgiving on God!  Don’t forget...He IS the reason for the season and deserves your abundant praise!

By the way…if you haven’t already done so…please check out my latest videos on my YouTube channel, Image Seeker.  We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit and so far we have studied love, joy & peace.  You can check it out at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0szlDSgNBtFuzzNLBWzwMA