Monday Morning Memo: NEVER Say Never!

I had said more than once, “Never again”.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love animals.  In fact, growing up I wanted to be a veterinarian until I realized how much math was involved in accomplishing that profession 😊

We’ve had numerous cats and dogs in our home over the years, but when my beloved pug passed away in 2018, I decided that was it.  No more dogs for us.  At this stage of our lives…being semi-retired…owning a pet just wasn’t something I wanted to “deal” with.  We like to be free to travel and do what we want to do and not have to figure out what to do with a dog.  So, while there have been times when I’ve missed having a pet…I was firm on my decision to keep our home free of animals.

Well, let me introduce you to Truman…the dog that made me eat those words when he recently became the newest member of our family.  I wasn’t even looking for a pet…but made the mistake of scrolling through the animals which were up for adoption at our local shelter.  That wasn’t an uncommon thing for me to do, because I love animals and enjoy seeing the different breeds.  I had done this numerous times since 2018, but never once had one tug at my heart…until Truman.  When I first saw him…there was something about him that made me take a second look. 

Several days later…I scrolled through the available pets again and yes, once again…I stopped at this canine.  Honestly, I didn’t want to love this dog because I was so adamant about not having another one...especially a shedding dog! But,  over the next month…Truman kept showing up in my Facebook feed and it was as if he was staring right at me.  I felt a connection to this dog whom I had never met…but just kept reminding myself that he just wouldn’t fit into our current stage of life.

As February came to a close…I still couldn’t get Truman off my mind.  Figuring he had probably been adopted…I checked the shelter’s website and there he was…still speaking to me through his eyes.  So, I did what I do in many situations…I began praying about this mutt.  I told the Lord that I didn’t want to make a mistake…so He was going to have to make it crystal clear to me if I was to adopt him.  I threw out several fleeces (I believe in using those!) and was very specific as to how I needed them answered so I would know.  Every single fleece was answered down to the last detail.

Then, on March 1st…the Lord threw in an extra sign which I didn’t expect.  The shelter posted that they were running a special and all adoption fees were being greatly reduced.  I felt like it was now or never…and I went to meet this dog.  As I expected…I knew when I saw him that he was mine.

Truman entered our home and acted like he had always lived here.  There wasn’t any adjustment period…he was home and he knew it.  We have a connection that really can’t be described or understood…we just know it’s there.

If you are waiting for a big theological lesson in this story…you will be very disappointed.  I just wanted to remind you today that the Lord cares about every aspect of your life.  There is nothing too small to pray about.  I think we often have the misconception that He is only concerned about the big issues in our life and doesn’t want to be bothered about life’s everyday decisions.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  He loves you so much and wants to be the One you turn to when you need guidance…no matter how trivial it may seem.

Yes, Truman is now a part of our family and I’m not entirely sure what the Lord’s plans are for us.  All I know is that for some reason…I was meant to love this goofy, shedding, thankfully well-behaved dog.  Maybe, just maybe…he was brought into my life to remind me once again…just how much my Jesus loves and cares about every aspect of my life.  And the cool thing is…He cares that much about you too ❤️

Monday Morning Memo: Oh, What a Day!

When I work around our home, it is not uncommon for me to have music blaring…especially if I am home alone.  To me, work seems easier if I have great music playing with which I can sing along. 

I love different types of music.  I really enjoy the contemporary songs and choruses…but I also like the old hymns.  I feel I can worship Jesus with either…because if He is my focus and the One who deserves my praise…the song isn’t as important as where my heart is.  

As I get older…the songs that speak of heaven often bring tears to my eyes.  The reason is that as I have more and more loved ones and friends who have already left this earth…heaven gets a little sweeter.  The tug is just a little stronger to want to see my Jesus face to face.  I can’t imagine how wonderful it will be to be called “Home”.  As one of my favorite hymns says: 

When we all get to heaven

What a day of rejoicing that will be

When we all see Jesus

We’ll sing and shout the victory

 

The day is going to come when I will finally be home with the Lord and what an exciting day that will be. I don’t know how you picture your arrival to be in heaven, but I imagine that as I appear on the streets of gold, my Jesus will grab a hold of me and give me the hug of my life! And yes, I plan to sing and shout the victory!

So, my thoughts for you today are quite simple, with just two questions to ask you. Are you ready? If your time on earth would end today, would you be greeted by your heavenly Father as you arrive home…or will you spend your eternity in the torture of hell? These may seem like heavy thoughts to begin your week with, but none of us are promised tomorrow, so it is important we answer these questions today. 

I can’t think about the joy of heaven…without thinking about the fact that there are many who aren’t ready.  Unfortunately, I’m afraid there are those who think they will spend eternity in heaven because their parents were Christians…or because they have always tried to be good and live by the Golden Rule.  I’m also afraid there are those who sit in a pew every Sunday morning who think that their attendance is their “ticket” in.  None of these thoughts could be further from the truth.  Each person must make the decision for themselves to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and no other good deed or faith-filled heritage will reserve your place in heaven.

The choice is yours to make. I can’t make it for you nor can anyone else. It is completely and entirely up to you, so please don’t delay. Jesus wants nothing more than for you to ask Him into your heart.  You can come to Him just as you are…but I guarantee you that once you have truly met Him…you will never be the same again.  

If you haven’t made this decision yet, all you need to do is say a prayer such as this one:

“Dear Jesus, I believe you died on the cross for my sins, were resurrected and are alive and well today.  I believe you are the Son of God and that you deeply love me.  I confess that I am a sinner and I need you to forgive me and cleanse me from my sins.  I accept you as my Savior and want you to create a new and clean heart in me.  I now want to live every day for you and I know I will have eternal life with you because of what you did on Calvary’s cross for me.  Thank you, Jesus.  Amen.”

Many years ago, I realized I was being called into the ministry after my spirit became overwhelmed with the realization that each person I meet will either spend their eternity in heaven or in hell.  So, when my Jesus impresses on me to urge my readers to make a commitment…I will do just that.  Please, make the decision to live for Him in the days to come.  I sure want you by my side when we all get to heaven, because what a day of rejoicing that will be! 

^“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ 

has become a new person. 

The old life is gone; 

a new life has begun!”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Monday Morning Memo: What's Your Nickname?

A couple weeks ago I confessed that I had been reading in Numbers and wasn’t thrilled to be enduring a bunch of statistics…but there are even some sections in the New Testament where I can easily find myself skimming the details.  One of those places is in Mark 3, where the names of the twelve disciples are listed.  I’ve heard their names many, many times and to be honest, I often rush through them because I never really thought their names were that big of a deal.  But when I read them one day, one of the verses really stood out to me.  It was verse 17 where it says, “James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them ‘Sons of Thunder’).”  I don’t know about you…but I think it would have been awesome to have Jesus give me a nickname.  I mean, how cool would that be?

That is, as long as it referred to a positive attribute of mine.  I would have been thrilled if scripture would have listed my name, and then clarified that Jesus nicknamed me “Patient LuAnn” or “Daughter of Peace” or even the title of my first devotional book, Image Seeker.  Any of those would have been amazing.

Unfortunately, many of my attributes aren’t so positive.  If you have read Image Seeker, you may remember that growing up my nickname was Walter Cronkite…yeah…not really what a young girl wanted to be called.  But the name was fitting…because I did talk a lot and I always wanted to beat my siblings in telling news to the world.  In other words…I received the nickname because I was a blabber-mouth!

That “label” is probably ok when you are 10, but it’s not so pretty at the age I am now.  My lack of patience probably isn’t something I would want Jesus to refer to either if He gave me a nickname.  Moreover, neither is my sometimes cynical attitude very becoming.  What if scripture referred to me as “Impatient LuAnn” or “One Who Blabs” or “Skeptical One”.  Maybe I should be thankful that Jesus didn’t list a nickname for me in scripture.

Of course, those around me probably have nicknames for me and I’m confident some of those aren’t really flattering either.  The sobering fact is that the world is watching me…and you…and will label us by what they see us doing and saying.   Will they see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?  Or will they hear us saying one thing…but living out something entirely different?

Now we know that we won’t always make others happy and our ultimate goal should be to please our Savior.  Each of us is a work in progress, and fortunately, Jesus loves us enough to keep chiseling away at those attributes which aren’t very pleasing to Him.  I think as we look more and more like Him, others are bound to see His reflection in us and will hopefully want what we have.  Maybe then they will give you and me the nickname which we all should be striving to receive, “Christ-Follower”.

“Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, 

because my servants must be where I am. 

And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.”

John 12:26

Monday Morning Memo: Living With Expectation

The word that has been rolling around in my head the last few days is “expectation”.  It seems to me that we spend much of our life in “expectation”.  When we are growing up, we live in expectation of becoming a teenager, of being able to drive, of graduating high school, and then going to college.

Many of us then live in expectation of finding a good job, finding a mate, getting married, having children, and then being blessed with grandchildren.  We now have seven, amazing, adorable, multi-talented grandchildren and believe me…we waited in expectation for their births!  

Is there anything wrong with living with expectations?  Of course not.  I think it is good for us to have events to look forward to.  Sometimes it is those anticipated happenings that give us hope and a bright outlook and so it is often good for us to look forward.

But, and you knew there would be a “but”, the problem occurs when we are only living for future times and wasting today.  We can become so focused on our future “possibilities” that we miss the certainties of the present.  How many parents spend years just waiting with expectation for the day when their kids will be in school, only to miss the precious moments of today?   How many people can’t wait until they get that perfect job, and neglect the opportunities they have today to make a difference in the lives of others?  How many adults wait with expectation for the day when they can retire, grudgingly enduring today and making everyone around them miserable in the meantime?

I think we need to remember that there are short-term times that we should approach with expectation.  If I truly want to be more like Christ, I should begin each day in expectation of spending time with Him.  I should be excited.  I should be hungry to learn what He has to teach me.  And believe it or not…I should even have more expectations to meet with Him than I do to see what is posted on Facebook!  

If I desire to look more like Christ, I should also wait with expectation for the times when I gather in His house and hear from one of His messengers.  I believe I should anticipate and look forward every day of the week to what He will teach me during the next time of worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  That means that on Monday morning, I should already be praying for and looking forward to the next Sunday.  Now some of you may be thinking…are you crazy LuAnn?  I should spend the next 6 days in expectation of next Sunday…just because I’m going to church?  Well, if we can wait with expectation for months and even years for events which have no eternal significance...I happen to believe we can do it for six days 😊

I have a challenge for you this week.  Every morning when you wake up, approach your quiet time with the Lord with expectation.  Enter into His presence expecting Him to work within you and through you.  Then, each day, tell the Lord that you are already looking forward to next Sunday. Begin praying for your Pastor that the Lord would work in him or her throughout the week as he or she prepares their sermon.  Begin praying that during your time of worship, you will hear Him whispering in your ear and then be open to His leading.

I believe if we live today with expectation…God will begin to work within us in a mighty way.  I’m excited to hear how He is speaking to each of you and how your life is changing because of listening to Him.  He is expecting to meet with you today…will you be there? 

“I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.”

Psalm 119:147-148