Monday Morning Memo: The "Who" of Life

The last few weeks have included some painful moments, as I have waited for the discomfort of a pinched nerve to ease.  I’ve had to slow down and change some of my behavior which doesn’t come easy for me.

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 that 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 that 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. 

I may have shared this phrase with you 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 person who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, 'Oh no, they're up!'"  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 that 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: Surrender

Once again, I’ve had a word rambling around in my head.  It’s a word that isn’t always easy to fulfill or live out and I’m guessing that’s why it’s been on my mind.  The word? Surrender.  The dictionary has several definitions, but the one that jumped off the page at me was, “to give oneself up into the power of another : to yield.”

We are living in a time when very few really want to surrender.  We think that to surrender is a sign of weakness…of giving up…of letting someone else win.  “Why should I be the one to give in?  Why should I surrender my rights?  I’ve worked hard to get where I am…I’m not giving in to anyone.  There is no way I’m letting you tell me what to do!”  Sound familiar to anyone?  

This may come as a shock to some of you  …but I can be pretty bull-headed…so I might have had one or more of those statements going through my mind at various times over the years.  To surrender might mean that I will have to give up some of my rights and that isn’t always easy to swallow.  It might mean that what I want to do…won’t be what I’m supposed to do…and that can easily rub me the wrong way.

Of course, there is really only one person I have to totally surrender to…and that is my Jesus.  The reason is that if I am completely, unequivocally sold out to Him and He asks me to surrender my ways or my rights for someone or something else, I will do it willingly because I will want to serve Him in every way.

I think I sometimes struggle with this because I feel like I’m missing out on something if I have to give up my desires or plans.  But this dictionary definition of surrender has me wondering if it can be applied to my surrendering to Jesus.   If I apply it spiritually, could it be that if I allow Him to have complete control of my life, I’m not going to lose anything, I’m going to gain more!  It said, “to give oneself up into (emphasis mine) the power of another : to yield.”  Hmmmm…when I give everything over to my Lord, I’m not living under His power…I’m living into His power!  My power is exchanged for His power as I yield to Him and I don’t know about you…but I’m just guessing His power is a whole lot better than anything I can ever muster! 

Last week I read some verses in Romans 8 in The Message which said, “ It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!”  Wow that gives me goosebumps!  When we surrender to Christ, His power is in us and as I shared a couple weeks ago, the power that He used to part the Red Sea is the same power that we have available to us.  Oh, if we could only grasp that truth.

If you are struggling with surrendering completely to Christ today, let me ask you a few questions.  How’s that going for you?  Are you at peace?  Are you feeling led and empowered by Him…or are you feeling lost and weak?  We serve a Savior that is able to do far more with what you have than you can…so why not let Him take the wheel of your life completely today.  You just might discover that surrendering completely to Him isn’t so bad after all…and is the best decision you will ever make! 

Monday Morning Memo: The Robe

The year was 2001 and to say I was in a dark valley…is an understatement.  The prior November, I had a back surgery to “clean up” a herniated disc the day before Thanksgiving.  That evening, as I returned home, the disc re-herniated.  Less than a month later…just four days before Christmas…I returned to the operating room to once again, have the disc “cleaned up”.  That surgery was deemed a success and life returned to a little more normalcy.

But the following spring, as I was getting ready to walk out on the platform to lead our church service on a Sunday morning, I bent down to pick up some paper and the disc re-herniated once again.  After this third time, I told my surgeon that he was either going to put a zipper in my back…or he was going to fuse the disc because I couldn’t live this way any longer.

Discouragement filled my soul and at times I wondered if God was even around.  Did He know what I was going through?  Did He understand the pain I was in?  Had he deserted me and left me to get through this valley on my own?  Of course, during my lucid moments…I knew the answers to those questions…but pain, medicine and exhaustion had really taken a toll on my body and mind…and it was easy to become disheartened.

Then, something happened that just blew me away. It wasn’t a miraculous healing…but it was an event that God used to let me know that He hadn’t forgotten about me and that He was just a breath away.  And what really astonished me was that He used someone to be “Jesus with skin on” to me who lived miles away.

The simplest of tasks were difficult for me during that time, because every movement caused me pain.  So, one day as I was putting on my robe (which was full length and heavy) I remember wishing I had thought ahead to purchase a short, light-weight robe for my time of recovery.  Honestly, it was more of a fleeting thought…not one that I dwelled on…but just an idea that came across my mind.

The next day, my husband brought in a package that had just arrived.  I wasn’t expecting anything, so I was curious as to what it was.  Inside, I found the most beautiful, short, light-weight robe I had ever seen, along with a note from our cousin, Cheryl, who lives in Ohio (I live in Indiana).  In the note, she said she knew this was a hard time for me and she wanted to make this robe so that I could make-believe I was on a tropical island relaxing on the beach during my time of recovery.  I remember just sitting there with my mouth wide open and tears in my eyes.  Cheryl had made this robe for me…before I even realized I needed it…and God made sure it arrived at just the right time!

Don’t we serve an awesome God?  Something as minor as a robe is important to God…because I am important to Him.  He cares about every detail of my life and He promises to give me just what I need…exactly when I need it.  Oh, what He gives me isn’t always what I think I need…or when Ithink I need it…but His timing and His plan is always perfect!

Over these past 19 years, this robe has gotten me through many more surgeries (and every summer!) and I still think of Cheryl each time I put it on.  I am so thankful that she was listening when God planted the idea in her mind to make this for me to make my recovery a little easier and remind me that He, and others, cared.

Are you going through a valley?  Do you find yourself asking the same questions that I was asking during my dark days?  I want to encourage you to let Him know your hurts and struggles and allow Him to work out the details of His plan for your life.  I have a feeling that if you are watching, He will bless you in ways that you can’t even imagine, as He shows His love and concern for you.

Maybe you aren’t going through a valley at this time, but God is urging you to do something to help someone in need.  He may want you to be a blessing, just like Cheryl was to me.  I want to urge you to answer His call and take the time to make a difference.  Who knows…what you do for them just might continue to bless them for many years to come!

“Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.”

Hebrews 13:16 (The Message) 

Monday Morning Memo: OUR God

Last week I shared with you about our limitations…shortcomings…and inadequacies and how God can use them for His glory as the impossible is accomplished.   It reminded me of something Chuck Swindoll wrote: “When God is involved, anything can happen.  The One who directed that stone in between Goliath’s eyes and split the Red Sea down the middle and leveled that wall around Jericho and brought His Son out of the tomb, takes a delight in mixing up the odds as He alters the obvious and bypasses the inevitable.”

WOW.  I continue to work on wrapping my head around these statements.  I know that they are true; but to really comprehend them and believe them in my heart is sometimes another story.  If I really believe these words, then why are there still times I worry and fret over things in my life?  The God who parted the Red Sea is MY God.  The God who directed David to use a slingshot to kill a giant is MY God.  The God who caused a wall to crumble just by telling people to march around it, is MY God.  The God who allowed His Son to be crucified on a cross for my sins and then raised Him from the dead to give me eternal life with Him, is MY God!  But let my current situation get stressful and complicated, and I can immediately start worrying that MY God can’t handle things.  What a waste of time and energy!

I don’t know how you are feeling these days, but I find myself feeling at times like I am facing a “Red Sea” experience.  This crazy world is swirling around us and each day brings with it another new mandate or restriction or new “fact” concerning this crazy virus.  It can make my head spin that’s for sure.  But I keep reminding myself that no matter what is thrown at me, MY God is bigger.  MY God isn’t taken by surprise.  MY God isn’t wringing His hands with worry.  And believe it or not…MY God isn’t hiding in quarantine…He is still everywhere and is very capable to make a way for me through the “sea” no matter what is in my path.  

Is there a “giant” in your path that has you scared and running the other way?  Are you coming up against a brick wall on your journey and you just can’t see a way around it?  Do you feel like everywhere you turn you are being “crucified” and treated unfairly?  Does this virus have you frightened and feeling panicky?  Is God asking you to step way out of your comfort zone and you are shaking in your boots?  Look UP!  Put your trust in the God who specializes in the impossible! He’s not wringing His hands…He’s not wiping sweat off His brow, wondering how in the world you are going to make it through…and He’s surely not giving up on you.  

Just remember that whatever your obstacle is, OUR God is bigger and stronger and more powerful.  Isaiah 41:10 reminds us, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”  Amen!

Monday Morning Memo: Limitations, Shortcomings & Inadequacies

“She doesn’t have a prayer in passing that class.”  “He doesn’t have a prayer in getting that promotion.”  “They don’t have a prayer in ever reconciling their marriage.”  “I don’t have a prayer in ever being any more than I am today.”  These are just examples of statements that can be made when you feel there isn’t any chance that a certain event will take place.  We’ve all had words to this effect come out of our mouth when something just seemed impossible.

Impossible.  The word is used when we think something is incapable of happening.  Just like when we say that we or someone else doesn’t have a prayer…we are totally giving up that there will be a good outcome when we use the word impossible.

I was thinking this weekend about these words and it made me wonder who or what determines or influences when I give up.  Am I coming to this conclusion because I have hard facts, or do I rush to this assumption because I am taking into account my limitations…my shortcomings…my inadequacies or someone else’s limitations…shortcomings…or inadequacies?  Am I looking at the situation through God’s eyes and His strength and power…or my own?

If I look to the Bible to find my answers, it tells me what I need to know about “not having a prayer”.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  Notice it doesn’t say to pray about only those things of which you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, will work out.  It says to pray about everything!  So even if you doubt something will happen…pray about it anyway!  We ALWAYS have a prayer!

And the impossible?  Mark 10:27 tells us, “Jesus looked at them intently and said, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible.  But not with God.  Everything is possible with God’”.  So whatever situation we say “doesn’t have a prayer”…we are looking at it from our human perspective.  Everything is possible with God!

As this graphic says, Satan doesn’t want us praying because he knows the power that our God has…the power to do the impossible.  Satan knows that God can take our limitations…shortcomings…and inadequacies and use them for His glory as the impossible is accomplished.  And in doing so…Satan’s impact will be lessened and someday my friend, he will be totally defeated!

Have you given up?  Do you feel like there is no hope and your circumstances don’t have a prayer of ever changing?  Look up!  Keep praying!  Keep your eyes on the One who has the power to do the impossible and let’s stop Satan in his tracks!

Monday Morning Memo: Simply Pancakes

We had the joy of having our three grandsons overnight last week.  It reminded me of what I already knew…a 22-month-old, four-year-old and a six-year-old…have tons more energy than I do.  But I was also reminded that it doesn’t take much for them to wrap me around their little fingers and make this grandma’s heart melt.

Let me give you an example.  Ezekiel’s favorite meal at my house is pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon.  So, he will often ask me when he can come eat at our place and when he does, can we have his favorite entrees.  So naturally when they came last week, he wanted to know what was on the menu for breakfast the next day.  Dan and I immediately started listed everything BUT what we knew he wanted…just to see what he would do.  The look on his face told it all…none of those menu choices were what he wanted…he wanted pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon.

The next morning, I opened up our bedroom door to find Ezekiel and Elias standing in the hallway.  Elias said that he was up because he needed to use the bathroom, but Ezekiel followed me into the kitchen.  With a grin that would melt even the hardest heart, he looked at me and said, “Grandma, I got up because I thought maybe I smelled something.  Something like pancakes…waffles…or pie!”  Needless to say, he was soon served his favorite meal and he even got chocolate pie for dinner that evening!

Oh, how I love those precious boys, along with my two adorable granddaughters.  They light up my life like I never knew was even possible.  As their grandma, I so enjoy hearing what they love to eat, or love to do.  I want to know their thoughts and their wishes and I also want them to know mine.  I want to know what is going on in their mind and it blesses me when I have the opportunity to make some of those wishes and desires come true…even if it’s something as simple as pancakes   Getting to know everything about them draws us closer together and helps us to have an even stronger relationship.

I can’t help but think that my heavenly Father feels the same way about me.  It’s hard to imagine, but He loves me more than I love my grandchildren, and I’m guessing that He also enjoys hearing about my wishes and desires.  Yes, since He is all-knowing, He already knows my thoughts…but I believe it gives my Jesus great delight to hear me share my dreams and hopes for the future.  He so longs to have our relationship strengthened, and that will only happen as I spend time with Him, sharing my heart and allowing Him to share His thoughts, desires and plans with me.  

We are living in such a chaotic world…and it is so easy to spend our time complaining and fretting about the craziness around us.  It’s easy to be so preoccupied with the negative, that we fail to spend time dreaming about our future…allowing ourselves to “think outside the box”…and being willing to do those things that will help see our heart’s desire come to fruition.  You see, as we get to know our Jesus better, we will begin to look more like Him, and His desires will become our desires and it so blesses Him to be able to make those dreams and wishes come true. 

If you get a chance today, why not spend some time really sharing your heart with Jesus.  Instead of just telling Him your list of all the negatives around you…spend time letting Him in on something positive that you would love to see happen in your future.  Take time to dream…take time to wish…take time to share it all with Jesus.  I can’t help but think you will make Him smile and melt His heart.  Trust me on this: if He loves you more than I love my grandchildren…which He does…then He takes great delight in you and oh, how He loves you so!

“The LORD your God is with you, 

the Mighty Warrior who saves. 

He will take great delight in you; 

in his love he will no longer rebuke you, 

but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Monday Morning Memo: Erasing Our Past

If you are reading this today and hoping for a “feel good” moment…you may not get your wish.  I’m not sure when my spirit has been so troubled.  I try hard to be positive when things are going the wrong way…but the current events in the world have at times, made me very frustrated.

There are many things that have me troubled, but right now one of them has me feeling very unsettled.  It is the attempt to erase our country’s history in an effort to end racism.  Do we have events in our past that were wrong?  Of course we do.  But trying to erase them from our history books isn’t the answer.  It is our past from which we learn.  It is our past where we see when we were in error.  It is our past that shows us those things that helped shape us to be who we are today and yes, some of those events aren’t pleasant.  But if we don’t learn from those times…if we don’t share those moments with the next generation…they may not learn from our mistakes…and make them again.

I’m not a trained counselor, but I can’t help but think about what more than likely happens, when a patient shares with their doctor a horrifying event in their past.  Does the doctor tell the patient they just need to forget it completely?  Do they tell them that if they just wipe it from their memory they won’t have to deal with it anymore?  I am doubtful that this would be the answer to their healing.    

Racism is a heart and sin issue and, unfortunately, it has been apparent since the beginning of time.  In fact, there is racism in the Bible.  As an example, Jewish people felt the Samaritan’s were a second-class people who they weren’t supposed to talk to, touch or even be in their presence.  Jesus did the unimaginable when he approached a Samaritan woman at the well (John 4).  Jesus, who was a Jewish man, took time to speak to her and treated her equally and invited her to experience the Living Water so that she could spend eternity with Him.  By His example, we are shown how others are to be treated…but if our heart isn’t right with Him, we will continue to cause division and pain.

Should we tear out pages in the Bible that speak of racism to make sure and erase those events from our past?  Absolutely not…but I fear that is where we are headed.  Again, erasing our past is not the answer…learning from our past and making sure that our heart is right with our Lord is the answer.  We have lost our focus in our country…and our hearts aren’t where they are supposed to be.

Isaiah 2:22 says, “Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.  Of what account is he?”   Reading this, I come to the conclusion that this verse summarizes the main reason we aren’t where we should be.  When our focus is on mankind, mankind will let us down.  As Christians we need to remember that our focus is not to be on a human, but on the One who created us and will never let us down.

Humans can be unreliable, selfish, shortsighted, cruel…yet we often seek after them instead of putting our trust in our all-knowing God.  Psalm 100:5 tells us, “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  HE is good…HE is faithful…HIS love never fails.  

If we believe this to be true, then it is important that we ask ourselves: “Where is my focus?  In whom do I put my trust?  Whose image am I seeking?”  If we are truly seeking Christ…if we truly desire to look like Him in every area of our lives, then there is no place in us for racism.  We need to realize that ALL people are created in God’s image and we are called to love everyone and treat them the same way we desire to be treated.  The world needs to see the love and peace we have as a result of following Him.  It is peace that the world is looking for, but may never experience, unless they see it in us first.  

The answer is not in erasing our history…it is in learning from our past and making sure we are following Christ’s example.  Again, those we come in contact with need to see His peace and love in and through us…not our racism.