June Celebrations

June holds a special place in my heart. I am grateful to be celebrating two incredible blessings this month.

 Many years ago, I sat in a church service in need of salvation. I sensed the prodding of the Holy Spirit to yield my life to Jesus Christ. But I could not make my legs stand and walk to the front of the church for prayer.

 After a week of wrestling with the Holy Spirit’s conviction, I made the trek to the front and knelt, as was the custom in this church. Choosing that path was the best decision I have ever made, and I have not had a single moment of regret. But looking back, I wish I had accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior sooner. His grace and salvation brought about a remarkable change in my life. This month, I celebrate fifty years of walking with the Lord. I am grateful for His constant presence.

 June brings another important date—an anniversary celebration for my husband and me. I met Kenn at the church where I found the Lord around the same time as my coming to Christ. We both visited the same revival, continued to attend that church, and got baptized on the same evening in October. I believe the Lord meant for us to get together! We had our first date in November. We got married the following June. This year marks our forty-ninth anniversary.

 On Facebook, Kenn came across a touching post about a couple who celebrated in a fun way. In anticipation of their fiftieth anniversary, they planned to make the entire year, leading up to their big day, a series of smaller but special occasions. We plan to commemorate our fiftieth in the same way.

 Each month leading up to our golden wedding anniversary, we hope to create lasting memories. Whether we take a spontaneous day trip, an extended vacation, or have a cozy meal at a fancy restaurant, we will rejoice in God’s goodness and blessings upon our marriage. We would not have made it without the Lord. He deserves all the credit.

 A romantic dinner at our favorite steakhouse will mark our forty-ninth anniversary. From there, we have a few trips planned, along with new experiences. Kenn has traveled to every state in the US. I still have a few to add. Our goal is to get to those over this next year too. And a cruise may be the ideal way to celebrate our fiftieth anniversary next year!

 Do you have any recommendations for a monthly celebration leading up to our golden anniversary? Please share in the comments below.

 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God
has given to you and to your house . . .
Deuteronomy 26:11a (ESV)

Photo by Kendall Scott on Unsplash

Autographs

Have you ever met an entertainer or someone famous? Do you remember the excitement you experienced? Maybe you sensed anticipation as you mustered up the courage to ask for an autograph. It’s possible you felt your heart rate increase and a tingling sensation of warmth creep from your neck to your cheeks. Or perhaps, like an autograph seeker I met two weeks ago, you jumped up and down with pure exhilaration.

My husband, two daughters, son-in-law, and I attended my granddaughter’s middle school musical. We waited in the cafeteria after the performance for the cast to greet friends and family. After visiting with my granddaughter for a few minutes, she asked us to wait while she ran off to find someone. She returned with a friend who was also a cast member.

The girl could not contain her excitement. For her, meeting my youngest daughter was a dream come true. And my daughter isn’t even famous! So why was the girl so pumped?

My granddaughter had shared a few songs that my daughter wrote that now live on Spotify and other platforms. This sweet seventh grader was star struck! She could barely speak. She pulled out a crumpled scrap of paper, handed it to my daughter, and asked for her autograph.

The girl’s request thrilled my daughter almost as much. Her hand shook as she signed her name. I couldn’t help but smile at the cuteness of it all. We got a picture of the two of them to remember the special night. An evening filled with joy and cheery grins.

When was the last time you felt that kind of exhilarating joy? You couldn’t help but smile? I’ve met a couple of famous people and gotten their autographs—TobyMac, when he was with DC Talk, and Steven Curtis Chapman. They were fun experiences.

But as exciting as those moments were, they didn’t come close to the thrill I received when I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. I couldn’t wipe a smile off my face for days. And He still thrills me. I love to worship Him in song and rejoice. I sometimes even jump up and down (in the privacy of my home when no one else is around).

When I surrendered my life to Him, He wrote His name on my heart. That’s the greatest autograph anyone can receive. Have you received the Lord’s autograph on your heart?

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson - Unsplash

Under Construction

A toilet in the living room? Yes, and around my house, you may find other oddities as well. Like an overabundance of dust. With construction comes decisions, frustrations, and extra cleanup. But once the remodeling is complete, we will benefit from the rewards these updates bring.

We are remodeling our two bathrooms. The toilet dwelled in our living room for only a few hours before it found its new home in our hall bath. The old commode worked fine, but when you flushed it, the sound was loud enough to wake a person in the nearby bedroom. Our updated, quieter toilet now sits on a beautiful new tile floor.

After a few trips to the tile store, I think we have made our final decision on floor tile for the master bath too. But choosing paint colors for the cabinets has proven to be the biggest challenge. At first, I wanted the two bathrooms to have different colored cabinets—one a darker blue gray and the other a lighter version. Then I wanted them the same. But after finally deciding on the perfect blue gray, I questioned my decision over and over. What if I don’t like the finished product? And what color should we paint the walls?

Despite hours of frustrating research, I couldn’t settle on a wall color to go with the blue gray cabinets and ended up changing my mind. What color did I decide on instead? White—it’s timeless. I can use blue gray on the walls, or maybe burnt orange and lime green if I change my mind again.

Besides selecting colors and tiles, dust is all over the house and impossible to keep up with. Despite my efforts, I must admit it’s going to stay dusty awhile longer. And this remodeling project, along with the extra mess, serves as a reminder that I am still under construction too.

I decide daily how much time I spend in God’s Word and prayer with the goal of becoming more like Him. If I allow Him to, He will change and beautify the areas in my life that I have neglected.

Sometimes, after praying, I get frustrated when God doesn’t respond as quickly as I would like Him to. He’s working with me on that too. Perfecting me in my faith and trust in Him.

And when I mess up, I create extra cleanup work for myself. When dirt and dust escape through my words, attitude, and actions, I confess and repent so I can draw nearer to the Lord.

It’s not easy being under construction as a Christ follower, but through His remodeling, I will benefit from the changes He designs in me.

How’s your remodeling project coming along?

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6, ESV

Digital Fast

Soon after we moved back to Tennessee, our youngest daughter’s cell phone died. She didn’t know the roads well and depended on her GPS to get her home. She dropped a friend off in a nearby town and took the interstate she thought would lead her to our house. But after several miles, she panicked and wasn’t sure she got on the right road. Without a working phone and unable to contact me, she exited the interstate and stopped at a convenience store to ask for help. She borrowed a store employee’s phone to call home.

Are there any pay phones available today? And if a stranger came up to me and asked if they could borrow my phone, I’d think it a little odd, wouldn’t you? Being without a phone in the day we live can be scary. Scary to the point of suffering from nomophobia—the fear of being without access to a working cell phone.

I’m not admitting to suffering from this condition, but if I leave my house without my phone, I return home to get it. What if I had an accident and needed to call my husband? Or if one of my children had an emergency and needed to reach me ASAP?

But having a phone for calls or texts isn’t the issue. It’s the time spent on other apps that steals my time and attention.

The church I attend is encouraging our church family to partake in a digital fast for Lent this year. Our pastor, Darren Whitehead, wrote a book titled “The Digital Fast: 40 Days to Detox Your Mind and Reclaim What Matters Most.”

We took part in a thirty-day church fast last May too. During that fast, I implemented a few changes, like limiting my time spent on social media. I also turned off social media notifications. This year I’ve turned off all email notifications too. I open my email at different times throughout the day, but don’t pick up my phone every time I hear a ding. With sounds and notifications turned off, I’m not as distracted as I once was.

I’ve also moved my phone away from my bed at night and don’t check email in the morning until after I’ve had breakfast and my devotional time with the Lord. And my goal is to not check my phone for at least 30 minutes before bedtime, but I often forget.

Why do I pick up my phone when I don’t need it? Boredom. And my Google feed, Instagram cat videos, and YouTube seem to fill the void! The consumption of my phone time comes from searching the Internet, spending time on social media, and shopping. For the 40-day fast, I’m staying away from Instagram and YouTube, turned off my Google feed, and because of my writing, check Facebook only once each day.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
Psalm 119:37 (NIV)

There must be a more constructive or creative way for me to spend my time when I’m not writing. That’s a topic for another day.

For now, I’m trying to develop better habits with my phone through a digital fast, so it doesn’t control my life. How is your relationship with your smartphone? Any tips you can share?

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