Tag: Faith

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on What We Remember

Gary pulled the plastic center of the bathroom faucet off and told me I had to make a new decoration for it because it was worn out. I protested that I had not made that decoration.

“You did!” he assured me.

“I remember thinking how ugly it was when we moved in!” I shot back.

“You were so proud of yourself when you made it!” he countered.

“If I had made it, I would have chosen different colors and it would have looked nicer!”

Seriously, would I have made something like this?

We were both laughing, but we both were sure we were right. Well, he was. I wasn’t so sure. I wondered if I really had made that silly faucet center two years ago, and how I could possibly have forgotten if I did. Was I losing my mind?

It’s happened before. I can’t begin to count the number of times we’ve started to watch a movie and then realized partway in that we had already seen it. The frustrating thing is that I can never remember the ending. As most of the scenes come up, I think Yes, I remember this, but I have no idea what’s going to happen next.

I’ve been thinking more about remembering lately, especially since Gary’s mom has problems with her short-term memory. When we visit her and ask about anything recent, she just furrows her brow for a second or two and responds, “Hmm, I don’t remember.” I wonder what it would be like to never remember what I had just eaten, the conversation I had just had with one of my children, or what I had done earlier that day. Her memory loss doesn’t seem to bother her, though. She’s content with taking one day at a time.

It’s good to see that she hasn’t forgotten the important things. She still remembers her six children and their families. She recognizes them and she knows that she loves them and they love her. At ninety-six years old, maybe that’s enough.

As I get older, I don’t know how long I’ll have my memory. Maybe I’ll forget all of the places I’ve gone and all of the things I’ve done over the years. That’s why I’m glad I have pictures I can look at to remember special trips and events. I’ve filled journals full of my thoughts on all sorts of things. When and if my memory fades, I can spend time looking and reading to remind myself of the life I’ve lived.

They say that many Alzheimer’s patients can still remember songs long after their ability to recognize family members and participate in everyday activities is gone, because key brain areas linked to musical memory are relatively undamaged by the disease.

All of this got me thinking. What do I want to remember?

I want to remember my family.

I want to remember beautiful sunsets.

I want to remember oceans and mountains and canyons.

I want to remember the friends God has introduced me to throughout my life.

I want to remember that God loves me. I want to remember that he has a wonderful plan for my life, even if I don’t understand it at times. I want to remember that even if all of my other faculties are gone, I can still tune into the song of faith God is singing in my soul.

I better write all of this down.

Oh look, I already did! I guess I just forgot.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV)

How’s your memory lately? How can focusing on God help you to remember what’s most important?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Beginning the Year Well

Happy New Year!

It’s the first day of January. We want to eat right, exercise, read the Bible in a year, keep our finances in order, never lose our temper with our kids, have the perfect marriage, and be the best friend anyone has ever had. Everyone’s social media posts inspire us (or depress us) as we see what they plan to do this year.

May I humbly suggest a few ideas that could help us begin the year well?

  1. Live your own life. It can be tempting to compare our own plans to those of our friends, neighbors, and relatives. If we think someone else’s lofty goals seem better than ours it could lead to confusion, desperation, and despair. Pray about what God wants you to tackle, then move ahead, being willing to adjust as he leads you.
  2. Live for others. Make sure to include some ways to help others in the coming year. Self-centered lives seldom bring much joy, but reaching out to others will improve our own emotional well-being and theirs.
  3. Live for God. As a Christian, this is of utmost importance to me. (If you want to know more, go to The Robyn’s Nest and click on “About Me.”) If you are a person of faith, try to set some time aside each day to read the Bible and pray. It can make a world of difference in how we interact with others and react to the circumstances that come up daily.

The first day of the year is exciting, but too often we feel pressure to do everything “just right.” Let’s push aside that pressure, friends, and begin the year well.

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.” (1 Chronicles 16:11–12 NIV)

Are you feeling lots of pressure to do “all the things” in 2021? How can focusing on God help you to begin the year well and feel more relaxed as you do it?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Soft Hearts

The world is a crazy place right now.

I know, there have always been scary, evil, violent things happening, but it feels like it’s gotten worse this year.

If we aren’t careful, we might find ourselves hardening our hearts just to get through it.

It’s understandable. It’s human nature to draw back when we’re confused, frightened, or overwhelmed. And I’m sure most of us are feeling all of those emotions lately.

There’s just one problem, though. Hardening our hearts puts a divide between us and everyone else. Especially when we think differently than other people. We need to have a soft heart if we’re going to interact well with the world around us.

A hard heart keeps us suspicious, cynical, and angry. A soft heart allows us to be trusting, understanding, and compassionate.

We have to keep going to the Lord if we want to have soft hearts. Reading his promises to us in the Bible, thanking him for the blessings in our lives, and praying for the Holy Spirit to work in us are all ways we can get rid of that heart of stone and have soft hearts once again.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26 NIV)

How’s your heart lately? Is it hard because of all of the chaos in the world right now? How can focusing on God help you to have a soft heart instead?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on What’s Behind You

Have you ever looked across the room to see someone smiling and waving at you, but you had no idea who they were?

You tentatively raise your hand to wave, but then you realize they’re actually waving at someone behind you. Oops. You drop your hand and try to act cool, hoping they didn’t see you.

Once Gary and I went back to one of our previous churches for an anniversary celebration. There was a get-together at the community center. We mingled and reconnected. Then, I saw an old friend. She got this big huge smile on her face and looked at me like “There you are! I haven’t seen you for such a long time!” Her arms opened for a hug. I smiled and walked over, got my hug, and talked to her for a minute. Then I realized she was actually after a hug from a man standing a little behind me who had been ill and was finally feeling well enough to get out and see people. How embarrassing!

Things like that have happened to me often enough that I usually assume someone is not waving at me. I tend to look over my shoulder to see who they’re actually trying to greet.

That’s what happened last night when I went to Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Michigan for an author event prior to the Breathe Christian Writers Conference I’m attending this weekend. After I parked, I noticed two women almost at the front doors. One of them raised her arm and pointed in my direction for a second. I squinted and tried to figure out if it was someone I knew. I didn’t think so. So, I glanced back over my shoulder to see who they may be greeting instead.

Imagine my shock when I saw a big old raccoon waddling across the parking lot. He really wasn’t very far from me at all! I walked faster and pulled out my camera to document the attack. Just kidding. He actually went behind some cars and I had to wait til he came back out of hiding before I could get the picture in this week’s graphic.

It got me thinking about what’s behind us and how people point it out.

Of course, when people see someone they know behind us, they’re going to wave at them and smile. We can’t fault them for that and be upset because we thought they were waving at us.

On the other hand, I was almost miffed because those two ladies just pointed vaguely at the raccoon behind me instead of yelling, “Run! There’s a rabid raccoon right behind you!” (He probably wasn’t rabid, but it was a little freaky to see one out at that time of day.)

I started thinking about how God sees us.

He’s always looking right at us, with arms wide open and a look on His face that says He’s thrilled to see us. We never have to worry that He’s actually looking at someone else.

If there is danger behind us, He will consistently point it out. Not a casual, quick gesture that leaves us wondering what He’s pointing at, but a clear, urgent message to warn us (whether we heed that warning or not).

We don’t have to be confused or afraid of what’s behind us, so I guess this week’s title should actually be “Let’s Not Focus on What’s Behind Us.”

Let’s focus on what’s before us, keeping the LORD always in our view. Let’s go where He wants us to go, do what He wants us to do, and trust Him in the midst of whatever happens to us. (Even rabid raccoon attacks.)

“Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” (Psalm 112:6-7 NIV)

Do you ever get stressed out about what’s behind you? How can focusing on God help you to look ahead and trust Him instead?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Wasting Bacon

I had a little “oops” with some bacon this week. Five strips wouldn’t fit on the main sheet pan I was using, so I put them on another pan and set them on the rack below the other pan and set the timer for 20 minutes.

I got busy with something else, and when I went to take it out, I could see smoke coming out of the vent. I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, the charred remains greeted me when I opened the oven door.

Luckily, the other pan looked nicely done and it tasted delicious.

But I sure hated wasting that precious bacon.

Bacon’s not cheap, you know. Someone had given us some nice tomatoes, and we already had part of a head of lettuce, so we just had to splurge so we could make BLTs.

A little more thought could have prevented my bacon disaster. Of course, putting them closer to the heat source in the oven would get them done faster. I should have thought of that. I could have moved the rack higher, or watched the bacon to make sure it didn’t burn.

This was just a cooking mistake. No big deal, right? At least the rest of the bacon survived.

I’m afraid there may be other areas of my life where I’m not careful and I “waste the bacon,” so to speak.

Time is precious, but I sometimes squander it with thoughtless activities that don’t do me or anyone else any good.

Words are precious, but I sometimes burn someone with a thoughtless comment (usually my poor husband).

Money is precious, but I sometimes spend it on frivolous things I don’t need (not too often, but when I do I have that feeling of regret, like seeing that burned bacon coming out of the oven).

Thoughts are precious, but I sometimes allow my mind to wander and fixate on negative things that lead to all sorts of bad feelings (and sometimes, actions).

Just a little wisdom and care will help us not to “waste the bacon.”

We can plan our days so we aren’t wasting precious time.

We can pray and think before we speak so we don’t burn anyone with our precious words.

We can stop and consider our purchases so we don’t waste our precious money.

We can take our thoughts captive and make sure they’re good for us so we use our precious thoughts well.

And we can keep an eye on whatever is in the oven so we don’t waste our precious bacon.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ” (Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV)

Have you ever wasted bacon (or anything else) because you weren’t careful? How can focusing on God help you to have those times of waste happen less frequently?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Cheering For the Right Team

It’s football season. We aren’t big into sports, but we went to the Homecoming game tonight.

After we chose our seats, we realized just how close we were to the fans of the opposing team. They were in the next section over, and it was even closer for us because we sat in the top row with the stairs in front of us.

It was pretty uncomfortable, really.

I didn’t feel like I could clap wholeheartedly for our team when the other team’s supporters were sitting right next to me.

It was awkward when they were yelling, “Go! Go! Go!” and I was muttering, “Get him! Get him! Get him!”

Our cheerleaders were way down in front of our student section, and their cheerleaders were in front of the next section over from us. I couldn’t help it when my foot started tapping in rhythm with their cheers once in a while.

If I stopped paying close attention to the game, I almost started clapping when their fans did.

Our team lost, but I’m glad we went to see them play. We saw them make one sweet touchdown (the guy next to me even commented to a friend about how great our quarterback dropped it in there) and it was just good to see those kids working together and trying.

I couldn’t help but think about how we live our lives as I watched the game and pondered our poor choice of seats.

Just think about how much stronger we could be if we chose to sit right in the middle of our team’s section, surrounded by people who were wholeheartedly cheering for the same things we were. We could have our own cheerleaders right in front of us, leading us in encouraging our team. Sure, we could still see the other team and their fans, but we could feel much more secure in our support. We could clap louder, yell like crazy when our team is heading for the end zone, and high five those around us when the touchdown happens.

We have to be all in when it comes to our faith. If we claim to be Christians, there’s no sitting on the edge and expecting our faith to be strong. We’re going to be distracted by what is going on in the world. We may be tempted to tone down our enthusiasm because we’re worried about what the world will think. We might feel offended if we hear an unbeliever criticizing our beliefs or, worse yet, we might scoot over and join them in cheering for many things we previously thought were wrong.

Now, I know this is a very weak analogy. The other team and its fans are not evil, and it’s not the end of the world if our team doesn’t win a football game.

But thinking spiritually, the stakes really are much higher. There is a battle going on between good and evil in the world. We need the help, encouragement, and support of other Christians if we’re going to win the battle. We can’t stay on the edge when it comes to our faith. We have to get right in there and give it our all.

Let’s make sure we’re cheering for the right team. (Go Panthers!)

“He [Christ] is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28-29 NIV)

Are you all in, or are you “sitting on the edge” as far as your faith goes? How can focusing on God help you to always cheer for the right team?