Are you tuned in?

Unless you live under a rock, I’m sure you heard about the romance and wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. Not only the USA but the entire world has followed their courtship, whirlwind romance and finally their highly anticipated wedding. According to Forbes.com, “29 million people tuned in to the wedding across 15 different broadcast and cable networks. That represents a bit less than a tenth of all U.S. residents. They go on to say, “though if you were following the wedding on social media you probably figured every person in the country had a vested interest in whether Meghan wore this designer or not.” So, when they say, “the world is watching,” in this case they meant it literally. I didn’t watch the wedding, but I did watch some highlights and playbacks the following day. Many people I know held wedding watch parties. Tons of people American and British got up at the crack of dawn, hoping not to miss one second of the impending nuptials. The world was as they say, “tuned in.” That got me thinking, what if as many people all over the globe were that “tuned in,” to God’s word? What if 29 million people made it their business to live just one day in anticipation of Christ’s return? What if a bit less than a tenth of all U.S. residents lived by, loved and shared the good news of Jesus Christ? I would say that would be quite a feat and certainly a blessing. With that many people willing to watch a royal wedding, with absolutely nothing to gain from it; I wonder how many are not only willing but would make it their business to stay tuned in to the things of God and His purpose for their lives, when there is eternal life and so much more to gain. Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Think about it.

What do you hear?

If you use social media at all, I’m sure you heard of the latest debate craze over the recording where some people heard Laurel and some heard Yanny. When I first listened, I heard Yanny, but then I read the comments and saw someone say listen to the lower octave, being a singer, I knew what that meant so I started it over and listened again then I could hear Laurel AND Yanny faintly. The third time I listened I could no longer single out the word Yanny and could only hear Laurel. This debate went on for days on several social media outlets and even made national news being played on many TV daytime and late-night talk shows. People were amazed just, like with the gold and white or blue and black dress; that someone could participate in the exact same activity and hear or see something totally different than them. But isn’t that the way of the world? From political opinion to religion even down to simple taste for certain food and drink our opinions and experiences always vary. The country right now is more than divided politically so I won’t even go there. Here is one point I want to reflect on. When it came to the recording many heard the same thing, many heard something different. In offices and homes all over the world the discussion was being had, “what do you hear?” Eventually the maker of the recording let us in on the secret. Both words were playing one in a low octave and one high. Those who have tendency to hear high pitch heard the high Yanny and vice versa. But when it comes to the choices we make for our lives we need not base them on what everyone else, hears, sees or thinks. Considering all that has been said have you heard, the love of Jesus is real and is for every man? Have you heard that Jesus died and rose that man might have opportunity to be pardoned from sin? Hebrews 3:12-15 (NKJV) say; “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” On the day your eternity comes calling, you won't be able to say "Lord, someone told me, but I heard wrong." You are responsible for your soul's eternal home. It won't matter what everyone else heard around you. Have you heard the calling of Jesus in your heart? Will you answer? Think about it.

A glittery coffin!

People say there are only two things sure in life, death and taxes. I don’t know about the latter, but the former is correct. Death is sure. The bible says, Hebrews 9:27 NKJV, ”And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” I recently saw an ad for “glittery coffins,” made and sold in the UK. The advertising company makes coffins that can be categorized as nothing short of spectacular! They offer options such as full glitter coffins in a variety of colors. They even sell personalized coffins with names and jewels on them where clients can design their eternal box themselves. Looking at their options I wondered, “Who would care about having a glitter coffin?” I mean don’t get me wrong, they are very pretty, and I don’t want to be buried in a plain wooden box but the question is does it really matter what your coffin looks like? At the end of the day, you will be a dead body lying in a pretty casket all dress up and going nowhere but back to the dirt. The important point I’m trying to make is this, a glittery casket is fine for a dead body to rest but when you die where will your soul rest? So many times, I have heard people say, “God doesn’t look at the outside He judges the heart,” then shouldn’t we make our heart for God our focus? I know there are times we want to dress up our situations, so no one can tell what we are really going through and at times that is what may be best. But always remember no matter how dressed up you are or how glittery your coffin in the end God will judge your life and deeds. Don’t be caught with a filthy soul lying in a beautiful casket, trust me eternally…you won’t benefit. Think about it.

The Humpty Dumpty Syndrome

I’m sure you know the classic tale of Humpty Dumpty. The fictitious egg character who had the courage to climb a huge wall. I wonder what made Humpty climb the wall in the first place. Was he trying to get up high and be nosy, was there something on the or over the wall he needed to retrieve? I wonder why he decided to climb such a high wall knowing he was a fragile individual with no assistance…can we really make it to the top alone? Once he got on top, he did as many of us do, he fell down. When he fell his fall was noted in the story as “a great fall.” Have you even had a great fall or fail in your life? What took place next is what I want to focus on. When Humpty was down, there was no one in his kingdom (circle/family) that could put him back together again, regardless of how hard they tried. This says to me that despite how high we get, there are a few things we need to remember. One, we may not want to admit it, but we need others during our time of elevation. There must be someone in your family or your circle who an at the very least lift you up in prayer during this time. It is dangerous in my opinion to climb to the top alone, you want to know why…because when you get there you are going to want to share the journey and triumph with someone! Two, we are going to fall/fail, it’s a part of life. Even big dreamers have nightmares. Don’t be afraid to try because you think you may fail, because if you don’t try due to fear, you have failed already. Three, there will be times when NOONE can put you back together, it’s in these times you must depend completely on God. I dare to say, we must depend completely on God at all times anyway! Do what Humpty neglected to do; don’t be to prideful to ask for help on your way to the top, don’t be afraid to fail, and finally depend on God at all times. Think about it! Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

You'll never know...until you go.

Recently my husband decided on a whim to take me on a weekend get-away. We packed a bag and hopped in the car. Since I had no time to plan I decided to book our hotel room through a third party site. The young lady that helped me, over the phone, was super friendly and professional she quickly found what sounded like the perfect room at the price range I was looking for. She even told me there were no cancellation penalties before she took my card number and confirmed my reservation. We were both excited…until we arrived. Pulling into the parking lot we discovered we had booked a motel not a hotel, meaning the doors were on the outside. I knew I was in trouble because for some reason hubby hates these type rooms. He immediately wanted the money back, mind you we had not seen the lobby, the room… nothing. Now, believe it or not; I'm not that picky about these type things, my mind set was…as long as it’s nice and clean I'd be fine. Before we even went in he began visiting other inner room hotels to get their rates. When he found one he liked with an opening; we headed back to the one we had reserved, mind you he had not been inside either establishment. Refusing to even go in, hubby sent me in to find out the process of getting our money back. Guess what…we had been improperly informed, there were no refunds allowed. We were stuck. He was convinced that there was no way, the room could be nice simply because the doors were on the outside. Well we got our key and went in…it was awesome! The hotel had just been bought by new owners and remodeled… he had to admit it was nice, and not at all like he thought just because of the doors being on the outside, he now had a new perspective. I said all that to say specifically to say this to people who “don’t, do church.” You never know until you go. Not all churches are the same. Stop lumping them all together. Stop thinking your new experiences will be exactly like the old ones. No church is perfect, and yes things will happen and issues will arise, just like with our refund, because churches are building filled with people! People with differences, but that is not a bad thing. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” If you can’t tell by now the world is changing, the old folks would say, “Time is winding up.” If nothing else the church can be a source of community, family and protection in these last days, forsake it not. You’ll never know until you go. Think about it.

Let the Dead thing go!

Not long ago, during some at home time with my family, we watched a cartoon call Frankenweenie. This is a story about a young boy, named Victor, who wanted to be a scientist, so he spent all his time in his laboratory with his best friend, his dog Sparkie. The climax of the movie happens when one day after being encouraged to try something new by his father, the young boy goes to play baseball with some neighborhood kids. Since Sparkie is so used to playing fetch, when Victor hits the ball into the street Sparkie runs after it and is hit by a car…he doesn’t survive. At this point Victor becomes very sad and eventually sets out to bring Sparkie back to life, and finally he does! Here is where I became inspired to write this article. See once Sparkie dies instead of moving on with his life Victor, becomes obsessed with bringing Sparkie back. Once he does bring him back he never notices the Sparkie was not the same, he was actually meant to die when he did. Victor goes though a lot of trouble creating the machine that brings Sparkie back, he then has to hide Sparkie the risen dog because he knows people will not understand or accept what he has done; but he doesn’t care. It is more important to him to hold on to the dead dog than to go on with his life. Do you know anyone like this? Are you like Victor…holding on to a dead thing, refusing to let go even though you should? For instance a dead relationship, that you know wasn’t working anyway but you don’t want to be alone so you...hold on to it? Or perhaps you are holding on to hurt feelings for longer than you need to because you just don’t want to move on? Psalms 94:19 says, “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul.” So no matter what old things you are holding on to, delight in the Lord and let that dead thing go. Think about it!

"DON'T do it yourself!"

Recently, while watching HGTV, I saw a show called “House Crashers.” On this show the host goes to a local home improvement store like Home Depot, in search of someone who is in desperate need of renovations. If they are willing, he will follow them home and renovate one room in their house free of charge, and a room of their choice! “I wished he would come to Carrollton and find me!” Anyway, this particular episode, he ran into a female make-up artist. She was preparing to renovate her kitchen. Once they got to her home she decided she would rather use the freebie to get the bedroom oasis of her dreams. Okay, enough background; let me get to the point. This lady, who, considered herself to be “crafty” had in my opinion, and the opinion of the host, the weirdest so called “home improvement,” decorations ever! She stated how much she loved to decorated herself and improve her home. This chic had plastic ivy running up and down her bathroom walls, very eccentric art pieces to say the least. She even had plastic bugs snakes and spiders hot glued to her walls, and boy was she proud! The host instantly wanted to change a lot about her home, as a matter of fact so did I! to make a long story short, at the end, though he wanted to change essentially her entire house, he only got to change one room. The rest were left with her continue to “do it herself,” in my opinion, with unflattering decorations. I said all that to say this; sometimes in our lives, situations need the hand of a professional, namely, Jesus! Though, we are free moral agents, if we didn’t need Jesus and the Holy Spirit, He would not have come, bleed, died and rose again for us all! No matter how good of a job we think we can do in our lives on our own, sometimes we need to “not do it ourselves.” Instead we need to look to Jesus to renovate our lives for the better! Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. To sum it up, step back and look at the “rooms,” that make up your soul. Those rooms can be your relationships, your emotions, and even your attitude. Could any of those use renovation? Well don’t do it yourself, allow Jesus to help redecorate your life! Think about it!