The Simple Things

Thank you Mary Southerland for today’s message.

Now as they went on their way, He entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home  (Luke 10:38, NIV)

Balance always requires a fierce and ruthless examination of priorities. Our true priorities are not just lists of activities. They are candid reflections of our heart desires. What we deem important receives the most time, energy, attention and resources. The importance of right and balanced priorities is illustrated by the life of Martha.

Jesus knew that He was always welcome in the home of Martha. Scripture tells us that Jesus “had no place to lay His head,” but He often came to this home when He needed to rest or get away from the demanding crowds. At the age of thirty, the Son of God left His natural home and there is no record of His ever returning to live there. He often went to Bethany, to the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and even spent His final week on earth there. Jesus didn’t have to wonder if He was welcome in this home or if Martha was “ready” for His presence. He knew she was. Can He say the same about us?

Seeking God begins with recognizing who He is and then inviting Him into our lives as Lord and Savior. If He is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all. For some of us, the problem is not that we lack a personal relationship with God. Our problem is that we are not “making room” for that relationship. Balance comes when we yield to His plan in the everyday moments of life

One summer our family went to Pennsylvania where we visited Amish country. I have always been fascinated by the Amish people and enjoyed every minute spent in their beautiful and carefully ordered world. As our visit came to an end, I wanted to buy a souvenir to remind me of the peaceful days we had spent there, but everything I picked up was too expensive. Being a committed shopper, I was not about to let that stop me.

We travelled up and down the small hidden back roads of each community, looking for the Amish products known only to a few and to those relentless shoppers who were willing to persevere. I was beginning to lose hope when I spotted the small, white sign posted on the fence of a quaint and absolutely perfect house. “Amish Crafts” it said. This was it!

As we climbed out of the car, a sense of peace settled around us like an old familiar blanket. Our voices immediately dropped to a whisper as we tiptoed up the narrow stone path and gently opened the screen door. When we stepped onto the porch filled with beautiful Amish crafts, a woman welcomed us with a beautiful smile and introduced herself as Mary. She invited us to browse and to let her know if we needed any help. I have to admit that I was almost rude in my pathetic attempts to catch a glimpse of her home through the porch windows. Reading my mind, she graciously offered, “Would you like to come in and look around?” I thought she’d never ask!

Mary’s home revealed a world very different from mine and an uncommonly simplistic lifestyle I desperately longed to experience. The house was sparsely furnished with only the necessities. Mary described her life and daily routine with words like “calm, uncomplicated, peaceful and serene.” When I asked why she had chosen such a lifestyle, she sweetly responded with words of wisdom I will never forget, “I have discovered that when my life and my heart get too crowded, there is not enough room for God.” Exactly!

An unbalanced life is too crowded for God. It is so easy to relegate our spirituality to religious activity when all He really wants is to spend time with us. He wants to wipe away every tear.  God longs to share every hurt and celebrate every victory. The Father yearns to wrap His strong arms around us, bringing the peace and balance we so desperately need.

Instead, we often relinquish control of our life to unworthy demands dictated by a world that operates in “urgent” gear. We forget what is really important. The important rarely barges in while the urgent is always an offensive intruder. Certainly, there are times when the important is also urgent – but we must learn to discern between the two. We wrongly conclude that a busy life is automatically a productive life and think that a full schedule will surely produce a full heart.

I have great news! He loves who you are more than He loves what you do. Seek Him today. Make room for Him. He is waiting.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

 

How to Build Belief on an Unshakable Foundation

Thank you Encouragement for Today for today’s message….

What we believe shows in the way we act, the decisions we make, and the choices we pursue. Over a decade ago, I learned this important lesson from a winsome woman I met at a women’s retreat. Her name was Ruth.

Ruth stood out in the retreat crowd not only because of her lustrous gray hair but also because of the cluster of younger women around her. They were talking with her, doting on her, and soaking in every word she said, so I headed over to meet this woman who drew in like a magnet.After listening to this delightful woman talk for a while, I asked her, “What’s your secret? Over the years, how have you continued to grow in the Lord, stay positive and exude joy?” Her answer was simple yet profound,

“Be today who you want to be tomorrow.”

As she spoke, I remembered a conversation from a girls-night-out with some women from my church. Conversation flowed freely from one topic to the next as I got to know the women across from me. We talked about our kids, our homes and our work. Ironically, both women had done specialized nursing with geriatric patients.

I started to question them about their work and their patients. Finally I asked, “Why do you think that so many older people, particularly women, seem to struggle with negativity as they age?” Both looked at me in surprise and said that I was incorrect. They were unanimous in their theory of how aging affects personality.

“Aging only magnifies who you already are,” my friend said.

“Yes,” chimed in the other, “If you are kind when you are young, then you’ll be even kinder as you age. If you think positively when you’re young, then you will also have that habit as you age. But if you are a complainer when you are young, then you’ll get worse as you age. If you are unforgiving when you are young, then you’ll become very bitter as you age.”

They explained that occasionally diseases that affect the brain will change a person’s personality, thinking and actions. Generally, however, through stories and comments of family members about the early days of their elderly patients, they had found that their original hypothesis held true. Ruth’s answer to my question about the secret to aging well was completely consistent with my friends’ observations. “Be today who you want to be tomorrow.”

I’d like to propose a corrolary truth to Ruth’s today:

What you believe determines who you’ll be.

Aging magnifies what we believe. If we believe that Jesus commands us to use words to build up, then we’ll develop the habit of encouraging words.

If we believe that God is good despite our circumstances, then we’ll develop the pattern of praise in the midst of hardship.

If we believe that He is the provider and healer, then we’ll cultivate patient, expectant waiting (without complaint…ouch!) as we wait for His provision and healing.

If we believe that the fruits of the Spirit given to us are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, then we’ll pursue portraying those traits.

Ruth’s beliefs shone brightly because of the kind of woman she had become. Who she had become reflected what she believed.

Do you desire to be a godly, older woman like Ruth? I do! Then, we’re called to pursue knowing Truth (belief is part of truly knowing!) and living the Truth. It really does change everything– including our aging.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

Do You Ever Feel Distracted?

 

Thank you Encouragement for Today for this message:

I perched on top of my kitchen table and peered into the dimly lit room. My shaking fingers dialed my husband — who was asleep in another state. Why is he always gone when these things happen?

Moments before, right before bedtime, something slammed into the side of my foot. Assuming it was my son’s baseball, I looked down to retrieve the runaway. Instead, I found a tail. A long one. Attached to the body of a giant rat.

Please excuse me while I pause to scream and shake off the shivers …

Somehow, a live rodent had found its way into our house and now my hysteria had snapped my husband awake.

After confirming no one had died, Luke told me to get off of the kitchen table and go to bed. Go to bed? Are you serious?

Ignoring his nonsense, I stayed atop the table and weighed my options.

Weekend: Yes.
Almost midnight: Yes.
Rat trap: No.
Hmmmm.

I knew what I had to do. I climbed down, clenched my teeth, grabbed a shoe and approached the room.

I pushed around toys. Looked under clothes. Scanned the room for any sudden movements …

But I found nothing

It seemed as quickly as the intruder had appeared, he’d vanished. With no other option I carefully moved toward the bedroom.

I poked around on the bed before I slid my toes under the covers. Who knew what might be lurking underneath? As my eyes fell shut I snapped them back open. Did I just see something move?

An event that took just seconds from start to finish eventually claimed hours, even days of my life. I lived distracted.

Your pest likely doesn’t look quite like my furry house guest. But maybe you’ve been distracted by the rat of rage, or the critter of comparison, the intruder of insecurity.

Today’s key verse reminds us we have a spiritual enemy that prowls about and confirms his intentions: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

The Bible names this enemy Satan — the enemy of God determined to cause chaos among God’s people — disturbing, disrupting and distracting us. We all have a pest waiting to wreak havoc in our lives. We just need to decide what to about it. The way I see it, we’ve got three options:

Option 1: Ignore it.

This is the “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” solution. It sort of works, if the pest never appears. Problems arise, however, when he comes out from hiding and into our tidy lives. Enemies often strike when we least expect it, and without a plan we panic.

Option 2: Avoid it.

This choice seems to address the problem at hand, but usually creates new problems along the way. For example, while I tried to convince myself my methods were enough, the reality held me hostage. I peeked around corners before I stepped into rooms, and I jumped at the slightest flash of a shadow. My faulty solution trapped me beneath the weight of my own worry.

Option 3: Prepare for it.

When we choose to prepare for the threat to our souls, we trade distraction for action, and set our souls free. We set up safeguards that unchain us to pursue God and His plans within the boundaries of His protection. Of all our options, this is the only one offering true peace and freedom.

After days spent ignoring and avoiding the problem in my house, I changed my tactics. I prepared for my “enemy.” I called a local pest control company and even adopted a rescue cat. As silly as it sounds, each step of preparation for the next encounter calmed my heart.

I spent less time contemplating where he was and when he might reappear. My fear gave way to freedom, and I no longer lived distracted by the pest. Instead, I grew more invested in the life Jesus spoke of when He said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10b, ESV).

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

You Are (Un)Invited

Thank you LYSA TERKEURST and Encouragement for Today for this message:

The party sounded amazing. The people I’d heard were going are easy to be with, incredibly fun and all have mad skills in the kitchen. And when I saw the invitation posted on a friend’s refrigerator, I smiled at the creative brilliance.

The only problem was I didn’t get one.

I’d checked my mailbox for days.

Every time I walked down the driveway empty handed, I assured my sinking heart that because we live in the country, my mail is always one or two or seven days behind everyone else’s. No big deal.

But three days before the party when the invite still hadn’t arrived, I ran out of assurance. I lost the pep in my rally. And I realized I was, in fact, not on the guest list.

When I ran into one of the hostesses later that day, I lobbed out the equivalent of a Hail Mary throw in the final seconds of a game, “What do y’all have going on this weekend?”

And then I felt as pitiful as the quarterback who watches the opposing team take what would have been his shining star moment and turn it into an interception.

She replied, “We’ve got plans with friends most of the weekend but would love to catch up with y’all on Sunday after church.”

And that’s when the hardest of all the realizations hit me.

We weren’t invited because they simply hadn’t thought to invite us. We weren’t in the circle of “weekend plans with friends.” Immediately, the thought that hopped on me and stuck with super glue tenacity was, I’m not good enough.

I smiled and told her I’d check with Art to see if that might work. I mean checking with my husband was crucial because our schedule was jam-packed full of all kinds of urgent plans with Netflix. And, hey, for a cheap thrill we could always get a jump on paperwork for our tax returns due in four more months.

I didn’t want to feel pathetic, but I did.

Middle school had come for an unwelcome visit bringing with it all the wonky feelings wrapped up in, I’m not good enough.

I seriously thought by my 46th year of life these feelings would be but a vague memory in my distant past.

So, why is it still an option for a grown woman like me to feel like the lonely middle school girl who never got asked to the dance?

Since I had all kinds of thinking time that weekend, I kept pondering that statement sitting on my heart, You’re not good enough. And finally, in the late hours of Saturday night, I had a slight breakthrough.

“Good enough” is a terrible statement. Nobody ever wants their friends to say, “Well, I mean, you’re good enough.” I would never want my boss or my husband or my kids to just say, “You are good enough.” No child would ever want their parent to say, “You’re good enough.”

Absolutely not.

We’re better than good enough. God made us to be amazing people who learn and explore and create and give and delight and love. He made us full of potential and purpose. He tucked His full wonder inside us so we could help others find our God to be wonderful.

He made us to reach out not pull back.

He made us to believe the best before assuming the worst.

He made us to freely give grace, realizing we so desperately need it ourselves.

He made us to add goodness, see the beautiful, and rest in the assurance of His lavish love for us.

Never ever for one second did God look at us and say, “My goal for this one is to simply be good enough.”

So I wasn’t invited to the party. I decided to see that gift of time as a special invitation by the Lord to be with Him.

Dream with Him. Be loved by Him. Be doted on by Him. To be held by Him. James 4:8 says all I have to do is draw near to Him, and He will draw near to me.

Would I still love to be invited to the next party? Of course.

But even if I’m not, having a night with the Lord is good. Very good. Better than good enough.

Because with Jesus I’m forever safe. I’m forever accepted. I’m forever held. Completely loved and always invited in.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

How to Love the Life You Live

Thank you Encouragement for Today and NICKI KOZIARZ for today’s message:

I spent the first few years of my childhood in a small town. We were by no means well off, and we always seemed to have just enough to get by. So rarely was there room in our budget for extras … like the black and white saddle shoes I wanted one year.

My dad was the high school football coach, which meant I spent a lot of Friday nights with my mom and brother in the bleachers. The game itself was anything but thrilling to me. But I didn’t mind going because it meant I was able to watch the cheerleaders. That was exciting!

I would watch and dream of the day I too would get out there in a pleated skirt with pom-poms and make the crowd roar with enthusiasm for our team. The cheerleaders must have known how much I looked up to them because they invited me and my best friend to come cheer with them for one of the last games.

Our elementary schoolgirl excitement was out of control!

High school cheerleaders?! YES!

We practiced in the backyard every chance we could get leading up to the game. And one afternoon, we even put on our uniforms.

But my zeal for this opportunity quickly faded as I looked down at my friend’s feet. She had a pair of brand-new, shiny, black and white saddle shoes!

My thoughts screamed with envy: What? Where did she get those? I need a pair too!

I went to my mom and pleaded for the shoes — but our bank account didn’t match my begging, so no matter what I said, it didn’t matter.

And so began the sowing of the seed of comparison in my life.

This seed reaps nothing but weeds of jealousy, envy and discontent into our lives. I wish I could tell you that was the only time I’ve struggled with the seed of comparison, but it’s not.

Today’s generation seems to be filled with more opportunities to compare ourselves with each other than ever before. We are constantly bombarded with social media feeds that tempt us to compare. Reality TV show us everything BUT reality. And advertisers tease us with promises that their products will provide perfection.

But here’s the deal … I LOVE today’s key verse, because it’s helping me find a rhythm in my soul with this comparison thing.

“Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else” (Galatians 6:4).

The reality is, comparison can compromise the individual calling and beautiful life God has given each of us.

If we spend more time looking at what others are doing or have, we could miss what we have and are supposed to do. Staying focused on what good things are happening in and through us will help keep this inner battle of comparison at bay.

Before that big football game, my mom actually found a pair of black and white saddle shoes I could borrow. No, they weren’t shiny brand-new ones like my friend had; in fact, they were pretty scuffed up and a little tight on my feet! But I was thrilled. I took so much pride in those shoes and I loved them.

Our culture will always try to tempt us with comparison, but God never does. He wants us to love our life just as much as He does. Even if the shoes are scuffed and tight … God helps us love where we are, not where we wish we could be.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!