Monday Morning Memo: Blessed By Do's and Don'ts

Well, this week starts the madness.  It seems like once Thanksgiving week begins…life gets just a little crazy until the end of the year.  Of course, if you go by what you see in area stores, Thanksgiving has been completely forgotten and Christmas decorations have been out since August.

 

I think that 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 that if we take time to really count our blessings now, we just might have a different perspective for Christmas.  When we realize what is really important in life and contemplate on how much we have been blessed, I’m guessing that 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 had 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 that he or she didn’t want to be married anymore.  You may have lost a loved one, which left a hole in your heart and an empty chair at your table, and words just can’t describe how you feel.  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 begins 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 which 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 from C.S. Lewis and I loved 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 must let go of those things which 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 to focus on as you go throughout your day.  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 that I don’t have:

 

I don’t have cancer

I don’t have a broken marriage

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 that we DO have.

 

I think you will find that with each blessing you write down or with each “don’t” that 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 writing 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 that 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

Monday Morning Memo: Our "Who" in Life

I was thinking this past weekend about the different kinds of pain we can experience.  Some pain leads to a blessing, which makes the pain seem worthwhile.  I was blessed to carry three children in my womb, and there were moments during those pregnancies where pain reared its ugly head.  But I can remember that whenever I would complain during my pregnancies, my mom would always say that this was only for a season and when the precious bundle would be placed in my arms, all the pain and discomfort would be worth it.  As was the case many times…my mom was right. 

The problem is that not everything in life is that way.  Not every discomfort, not every pain, and not every time of suffering ends with a joyous moment.  The trials we face aren’t always contained in a nine-month period where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel from the beginning.  In fact, I have witnessed people who have had to face times of testing which have lasted for years.  How unfair is that?  Why do some people seem to skate through life without pain and suffering, while others seem to face misery at every turn? 

If I had the answers to these questions…I would be a very wealthy woman.  God never promised that we would always know the “whys” of life; He only promised that we could know the “Who” of life.  Without exception, those whom I have met who have faced adversities with grace, have demonstrated that their “Who”…Jesus Christ…has remained their constant focus and has overshadowed their need to always know “why”.  

Let’s face it.  It would be much easier to keep our focus on Christ if we didn’t have someone else who is working overtime to keep us distracted.  Satan’s full-time job is to make sure we don’t keep our eyes on Christ, so that we will easily become discouraged, frustrated and want to give up.  He wants nothing more than for us to dwell on our adversities so that others won’t see Christ’s image in us. 

My graphic today shares a phrase with you that I have written about before, but I think it is a good reminder of what our thoughts should be as we begin each day.  It says, “Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, ‘OH NO SHE’S UP’”  Of course, this is also true for men  To be successful in combating Satan’s forces, we must be intentional in putting our complete faith and trust, even during the adversities, in our Lord Jesus Christ.  We must stand firm in making sure that Satan knows we have no intention of giving him any of our allegiance today, tomorrow or in any day to come.  He is a liar…and we need to turn a deaf ear to him and ground ourselves in the truth of God’s Word.

I have no idea what you are going through today.  You may be experiencing physical, mental or emotional pain which has lasted far longer than you ever dreamed it would.  I want to encourage you to not give in to Satan’s taunts that this life is futile.  Today is the Lord’s Day… not Satan’s… and in Him you can find the strength, wisdom and courage it will take to handle this time with grace.  Remember, no matter how long this “season” of life is for you, there will be a great reward someday when we see Jesus face to face.  Oh, what a day that will be!

 

“Put on the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to stand 

against the schemes of the devil”. 

Ephesians 6:11

 

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.  

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  

James 4:7

 

Monday Morning Memo: A Rude Awakening

It was definitely a rude awakening.  A couple weeks ago, at 4:30 a.m., the loudest, closest lightning strike hit our house.  As if that wasn’t bad enough…the loud strike was followed by a long, sizzling sound.  To say Dan and I jumped…is an understatement.  He immediately ran outside to make sure our house wasn’t on fire and fortunately, it wasn’t.

 

The first consequence of the strike was that we had no power.  Dan called the power company and reported it and then all there was to do was wait.  Since we could see lights on in either direction from our home, we assumed we were the only ones without power and we were right.  Several hours later, workers arrived and it was determined that our transformer had had a direct hit.  That’s when we were so thankful that these men knew what to do and were able to hang a new one and get us back in business.

 

Of course, this was just the beginning of our story, because whenever a home is hit like this with lightening…the effects are not always seen immediately.  Some things were obviously fried from the beginning, other things were discovered as time went on, because something can be weakened with the strike and not go out for days, weeks or even months.  At this point, we’ve lost our family room TV, the Apple TV box, our washing machine, the water heater, all eight ceiling can lights in our dining room and our internet.

 

Two things have come to mind since all this occurred.  First, Dan and I have said to each other over and over again…how miniscule our incident with a lightning strike was compared to those who were so impacted by the recent hurricanes.  Many lost everything…their homes, their jobs, their family members.  What we lost was just “stuff”.  Nothing we lost was going to heaven or hell…so with no eternal value it should have no effect on our attitude.

 

Secondly, this lightning strike has reminded me of the lasting effect my sin can have in life.  I’m tempted to sin, and I can easily justify my decisions and actions by saying that it won’t impact anyone else.  But that is rarely true.  My initial sin is like the lightning strike…I commit it and think it’s a one and done, but I immediately lose some of my power in Christ.  Many times, it also weakens other areas of my life and before I know it, it has affected me and others around me. We may not see the impact for days, weeks or even months…but sin has a way of creating more chaos and damage than we can even imagine.

 

The sobering thing is that my sin can have an impact on eternity.  If my choices and actions make others have a sour feeling about being a Christian…they may never make the life-changing decision to ask Christ to be their Lord and Savior.  I don’t know how you feel, but I never want someone to choose hell over heaven because of my example and my sin.

 

Life has its issues and sometimes we have “inconveniences” that hit at a moment’s notice and how we act and react tells a lot of where our faith lies.  And every day, we have the opportunity to make decisions which can impact heaven or hell.  Unfortunately, it often takes a rude awakening to make us realize this sobering thought.  Today only happens once and we have the opportunity to make it amazing and count towards eternity.  My prayer is that I will keep this at the forefront of my mind…each and every day.

By the way, I had the opportunity to be a guest on our church’s podcast last week as we discussed living our lives “Unhurried”.  I’d love for you to check it out.  Just click this link:  https://hope4thefamily.com/diggingdeeper/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGd7SlleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSskqLrhEhAcyeoozH8VFPADlvJLinFQrJ1O4nU7cbAB7c4HWf3yJC93JQ_aem_YqtOdbEwZzrcxVkJar7eyA

Monday Morning Memo: My God-Wink

If it’s happened once over the last 43 years of our marriage…it’s happened 100 times.  Every time I think it will be different, but it rarely is.  What is it?  Limp celery.  Now I know with the election tomorrow and people starving in many parts of our world, limp celery doesn’t take much precedence…but in the day-to-day world I live in, it drives me nuts.

 

Every time I buy celery, I think it will be different and I will make sure and use it all up before it goes limp, but I often don’t.  So, I then have to make up a bowl of ice water, cut the remaining celery into pieces, and let it soak so it can be saved.

 

But when faced with this heart-breaking dilemma a couple months ago …I did something wild and crazy which I had never done before.  I decided to cut the celery into small pieces and freeze it in small bags.  My brilliant reasoning was that someday I would be making soup and need celery and wa-la… tucked away in the freezer I would already have it ready to go.  Of course in the back of my mind, I figured that if I was honest, I would probably forget it was there and find it 5 years from now and not even recognize what it was 

 

Fast forward to a month later and Dan and I decided to make and can a batch of BBQ sauce.  I checked to make sure I had all the ingredients, and I had everything listed except…you guessed it…celery.  Now for many people that wouldn’t be a big deal, you would just run to the grocery store and buy celery…but we happen to live in the boonies and we are 12 miles from a store…so making an impromptu trip to town isn’t something we usually do. 

 

And then I had that “lightbulb” moment, and I told Dan about freezing celery a month before, but I couldn’t remember how much there was.  I went and checked and there were three cups and I only needed 1.5 cups so we were set and ready to go with our BBQ sauce plan.

 

Now, you would think that I would immediately put on my grocery list to get celery the next time I entered a grocery store, but I didn’t.  So, when I needed to make a big pot of chili a couple weeks later, I once again had all the ingredients except for celery.  I wanted to make a triple batch so when I did the math to figure out how much celery I needed…yep, once again you guessed it…I needed 1.5 cups.  That, of course, was the exact amount I still had tucked away in my freezer.

 

At this point, you are probably wondering why in the world I am sharing all of this with you.  I’m sure it has been riveting for you so far…but you may not have a clue where I am going with all of this.  Well, let me tell you.  Do I think it was just a coincidence that weeks before we wanted to make BBQ sauce, I did something that I had never done in 43 years of marriage (freezing the celery)?  No…I don’t think so.

 

Also, do I think it was a coincidence that I had frozen the exact amount I would need to make not just the BBQ sauce, but also the chili?  Nope, I don’t think so.  I happen to believe that all of this was a God-wink just for me.  I truly believe that this entire process was God-directed to show me that He sees me.  He loves me.  He cares about every aspect of my life…even if it just involves plain old celery!

 

I believe that there is someone today who has actually read to this point and needs to be reminded that God cares about them this much too.  If that person is you…I want you to know that He sees you.  He loves you.  He cares about every aspect of your life…even if it just involves plain old celery!  

 

So, whatever you are facing today…give it all to Him.  Let Him lead you and direct you, because His plan is far better than you can even imagine.  Who knows…maybe He will lead you to do something that you’ve never done in 43 years…just to let you know how crazy He is about YOU!