Monday Morning Memo: A Raving Success

I love to cook and bake, which isn’t always a good thing.  Since I started grinding my own wheat a little over a year ago, I’ve baked more bread than I probably have my entire life and while that’s good…it isn’t always the best thing for the waistline .

 

I love to look for new recipes, especially on the Internet, that have rave reviews from other cooks.  I take time to read their thoughts on whether the recipe should be made just as written, or whether they think it is better with their own personal “tweaking”.  I always laugh though when a reviewer says they just loved the recipe…but then go on to list change after change they made to it.  In other words, they didn’t make the original recipe, they made up their own recipe!

 

It never ceases to surprise me though, when I make one of these tried and true concoctions, and we hate it.  Sometimes hundreds of other cooks say that this combination of ingredients is the best thing since sliced bread, and we can hardly swallow it.  I have to chuckle when my husband always says the same line when he doesn’t like my new dish: “You don’t ever have to make this again.”  That’s my cue that this particular recipe needs to be destroyed 

 

Does this failure stop me from trying new recipes?  Absolutely not.   Do I give up and tell myself that I guess I wasn’t meant to be a cook and I should resort to just serving TV dinners?  Of course not (especially since my husband hates them!).  Just because this new dish or bread wasn’t a success, doesn’t mean my next attempt won’t be a raving success.

 

Just like I wouldn’t give up cooking because of a failed attempt, I shouldn’t give up easily in other areas of my life when I fall short.  Unfortunately, I see it happening too often in the lives of those with whom I come in contact.  They try for a new job and don’t get it, and they feel like a failure and give up.  They discipline their child and the end result is not what they were expecting, so they throw up their hands and let their son or daughter do whatever he or she wants.  They step out of their comfort zone to attempt something new for Christ and their actions are not met with rave reviews, so they resort to just being a “pew warmer”.

I’m afraid our society puts a lot of pressure on people to make sure they never fail at anything. Even young kids are all given a medal in many sports, because they don’t think kids should experience any loss.  But we all have times of failure or loss and we need to learn how to handle those times.   

 

None of us like to fail at anything.  But our failures shouldn’t define us as a person.  We need to remember that it isn’t the failure that will destroy us but our attitude towards the failure.  I read this quote from Chuck Swindoll, “We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.” 

 

There is so much truth in these words.  Our attitude is key when we come up against a failure or life throws us a curveball.  Will we beat ourselves up or will we stand back up, dust ourselves off and resolve to try again?  Remember that Matthew 19:26 tells us, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Do you believe that today?  If so…make sure your focus stays on Him as you endeavor new and challenging opportunities that will help you grow to look more like Christ.  You just never know when one of these ventures will turn out to be a raving success!

Monday Morning Memo: NO Assumptions

Yep, I must be getting old and yes, I probably should be a little embarrassed to admit what I’m going to admit to you today.  But that’s never stopped me before J

 

Here’s my big admission…I had no clue that yesterday was the day for the time change.  Never crossed my mind.  Dan and I had mentioned it in conversation a couple times that it was coming up…but I don’t recollect an actual date being talked about.  But again, I am aging so maybe I just forgot.  Sure, I knew we changed time…but I thought it was more in the spring…and not while it was still winter.

 

The crazy thing is that usually more than one person will post on social media the day before the time-change day to remind their friends to spring forward or fall backward…whichever is appropriate.  But this time?  My friends let me down.  Yes, if you consider yourself to be my friend…I’m here to tell you that it’s your fault I didn’t know.  Now if I’m honest…I wasn’t on Facebook much on Saturday, but still, you know my age and you should have made a point to remind me J   

 

Before you picture me getting to church an hour late, I’m sure you will be relieved to know that we were even early to church.  Fortunately, I had set the alarm on my phone to go off at 5:30 am, and since it automatically changes time, it did its thing appropriately.  The funny thing was that I have another very old clock on my nightstand, and it said 4:30 am when I got up and that still didn’t trigger my mind to think of the time change.  I just figured that when I dusted this past week, I must have accidently hit the “hour” button and messed up the time.  Yes, the men in white coats are probably on their way now to get me…

 

So, while I’m sure this post has been captivating to read so far…you are probably wondering why I’m making this unflattering confession.  The reason is this:  while I got ready for church yesterday morning, all I could think about was the fact that I didn’t know because no one specifically told me that the time change would be on March 7th.  Should I have figured it out myself?  Yes, I probably should have, and fortunately, not knowing wasn’t a life and death situation…but the fact is that I didn’t know because no one made a point to warn me.  At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

 

The rest of the day, I just kept wondering how many people don’t know about Jesus, because I have failed to tell them.  Yes, they probably should investigate and try to learn everything about Him on their own…but what if they don’t?  What if I just assume they already know…or that someone else will surely tell them (isn’t that our pastor’s responsibility?)…but neither of those things happen and they are never told or never shown what a life with Christ looks like?  Am I really a true friend if I just say things which I know won’t “step on their toes”?

 

In this scenario, the outcome is much more devastating than me not knowing about the time change.  This scenario impacts eternity…it may affect whether someone spends eternity in heaven or in hell.  When I think about this…it shakes me to the core…because I don’t want to stand before Christ someday and have Him say, “LuAnn, why didn’t you tell them?  Why didn’t you care enough to make sure they knew that I died for them?  Why?”

 

Time is of the essence.  All we have to do is look around at the world events which are taking place to know that the days may be short before we all stand before Him.  I need to be willing to tell those who may not know that there is a Savior who loves them more than they can imagine. I dare not assume.  And as your friend I need to make sure you know…neither should you. 

 

Monday Morning Memo: At HIS Feet

I have the privilege of being a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.  My responsibility is to lead the Prayer Team for our area.  One of the things we do is put together a Prayer Calendar each month, which we share with the entire area team which currently consists of 19 people. 

This past week, I was working on the March calendar and the words “Spend time at HIS feet” just kept going through my mind.  I’m guessing the reason these words were on my mind was because Satan had been on a rampage for a few days…trying to get me discouraged.  So, I stopped and took some time to study on why we should spend time at the feet of our Jesus. 

Matthew 11:28-30 tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Sitting at the feet of Jesus provides the calmness and peace we so desperately need in this world.  When Satan is on a rampage…taking the time to sit at Christ’s feet is where we can find comfort and rest. In a noisy, crazy world filled with distractions, spending time in His presence offers peace for our weary souls. It is during this time when we can bring our burdens to Him and He assures us that He will give us rest. When we intentionally choose to sit at His feet, His love can heal our hearts and transform our anxiety into joy as we surrender our worries to Him.

Proverbs 1:5 says, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” Taking the time to sit at His feet, allows us to learn from Him and receive His guidance for our lives.  Sitting with Him is an act of worship where we focus exclusively on Him and allow His wisdom to permeate our minds.  This time will draw us closer to Him and allow us to look more and more like our Savior.  We need this time to learn to recognize His voice so we can receive His direction in our lives.

We read in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” When we take the time to sit at His feet, we will be overcome with His love and grace.  He offers us unconditional love that can heal our hearts and souls.  We can be transformed during this time and become vessels of His grace to those around us.  We can find freedom from those things in our past which Satan throws in our face which weighs us down, and we can receive Christ’s forgiveness and compassion.  It is only by sitting at His feet that we can grasp the full depth of this divine love and extend that same grace to others.

So, why wouldn’t we want to spend time sitting at His feet?  We would be crazy not to.  So, let’s be intentional in the coming days to spend time receiving His calmness and peace so our joy can be restored.  Let’s make it a time of worship where we listen for His guidance and direction.  Let’s bask in His love and grace…throwing off those things from our past that weigh us down…and then let’s extend that love and grace to those of whom we come in contact.

 

Yes, the more I think about it…there’s just no better place to be…than at HIS feet.

 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we

ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within

us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21