What Distracts Us From Who is Most Important

While taking my 14-year-old grandson to school yesterday, he asked me whether I had read C.S. Lewis' book, "The Screwtape Letters", as it is his required reading for English this semester. I hadn't, though I have great respect for C.S. Lewis' notoriety as one of the premier writers of his times and, even now, his compelling ability to really make us think deeper and open our minds to the idea that Satan is warring daily to distract us from a deeply committed relationship with God. Brennan was endeavoring to convince me of also reading Lewis' "The Great Divorce" that was his summer required reading. Suddenly, this year, he is captivated by Lewis' writings. I love it!

"The Screwtape Letters' gives the correspondence of the worldly-wise devil and assistant to Satan, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, a novice demon who is in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man (The Patient). Of course, I hadn't read it -- I, who am the "sugar and spice and everything nice" reader by choice. I told him I had judged a student at a Speech & Debate Competition who was performing in the character of Screwtape for his Open Interpretation speech. He was a brilliant actor and in "character" as Screwtape and portrayed him all too well, that I was uncomfortable with the "darkness" he conveyed. I didn't rank him too high because, as a Christian organization, it seemed so foreboding and I suggested, in my notes, that it may be prudent for him to consider the "God" character instead of the "Devil" character.

As I heard Brennan's take on the book and how it had affected him, it made me wish that I had read the book prior to hearing that young man's speech. Brennan explained: "Nana, have you ever been in church and were praising and worshipping God? Your attention was fully on Him, and then the thought comes to you "What should I have for lunch today?"' That is what this book is about -- how the enemy is always distracting us from keeping our attention on God."

"Screwtape tells Wormwood to keep "the patient" from thinking whenever possible since reason will only encourage the patient to accept Christianity with greater fervency. Wormwood should try to prevent the patient from thinking about the history of Christianity, and instead influence the patient to focus excessively on the ugliness and imperfection of his peers and of family, especially his mother.

Brennan's new open mind about a real devil and our REAL GOD made him want to think twice about decisions he makes and the attitudes he has and the way he interacts with others. It made him realize that there is a tug-of-war going on for our souls. John 10:10 says it clearly "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Yesterday, my mind opened a little more to the real possibilities that we are the target of the enemy and if he can devise ways to keep us from the abundant life Christ came to give us, he will. As my Brennan had an "aha" moment with this book and the deeper message within, maybe we should all consider the schemes, plots, strategies and tactical warfare that the enemy of our souls wishes to use against us. Consider it to the point, that he loses, because we are persuaded, convinced, unequivocally on God's side and we will not be persuaded otherwise. "Lord I'm keeping my eyes on you, following you, my Lord!

Regaining Focus in a World of Distractions

My word for today is DISTRACTION: a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something or someone else; interruption, disturbance, interference, hindrance

This post today is longer than my "usual" long post (yikes!) but this message impacted me so much I just had to pass it on -- almost verbatim. My pastor started his message with these words from an anonymous author, but worthy of acclaim because of its significance to us and our world today:

“Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his demons, he said, “We can’t keep the Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from biblical values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, continual experience with Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their Christian lifestyles, but steal their time so they can’t gain experience with Jesus Christ."

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or CD player whenever they drive. To keep their cell phones, TVs and their computers going constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their emails and mailboxes with junk mail, advertisements, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

"It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for their God or their families and friends. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives. The question is, has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge!"

Pastor Rudy went on: “In today’s readings, we saw that Jesus was busy casting out spirits, then He went to Peter’s home to heal His mother-in-law, and then He met the crowds. It was a busy day. The next morning, He went to a solitary place to pray. It must have been away because the disciples told Him that the people were looking for Him. Then He traveled through Galilee. You always see Jesus drawing away from the crowd to go and pray; to wait on the Lord, to develop His relationship with His Father. Do we remember why Jesus was here in the first place? Do we remember where there is fuel for our daily tasks? He is God who gives strength to the weak. He will renew their strength. Why did Jesus go to the synagogue every week? Why did He go to quiet places to pray? Why did He withdraw from the disciples? Because that is what helped Him keep on track and to receive His strength."

Then, Pastor Rudy referred to men in our church who went on a three-day retreat to get away from DISTRACTIONS so they could focus on God. He went on…..”Why did 35 retreatants sacrifice time away from their family and 34 team members spend months preparing for this retreat? Why are we so committed to ACTS (the retreat name) at this church? Because if we get this right, then we will be better men, husbands, fathers. These men got it right. They are heroes to their families and to us. They followed the example of Christ to get away from the DISTRACTIONS to renew with God.

Following that message, he went on to say, “Now. I want to talk to you about these men who went away on the ACTS Retreat this weekend. They went away to be with their band of brothers to spend time with Christ – to draw closer in their relationship with Him. These men are heroes to their family and to us. They followed the example of Jesus because after Jesus had ministered and prayed for the sick and fed the multitudes and raised the dead, you will find in scripture that He needed to get away to pray. The priority of Jesus’ solitude and silence is everywhere in the Gospels. It’s how He began his ministry. It’s how He made important decisions. It’s how He dealt with troubling emotions like grief. It’s how He dealt with the constant demands of his ministry and cared for his soul. It’s how He taught His disciples. It’s how He prepared for important ministry events. It’s how He prepared for His death on the cross. Jesus’ solitude is how He went deeper in His love-relationship with God. Our men, this weekend, followed Jesus’ lead. Won’t you follow as well?"

At the end of that message, the entire congregation applauded the message and our heroes AND God, who is speaking to us all about DISTRACTIONS that are robbing us of what's the most important ATTRACTIONS -- our families, our friends, our own physical well being AND our God. As my pastor said, "It's time to get it right!"

Inconvenient Circumstances or Divine Appointments?

I've been taking you with me on my journeys lately -- even beyond my Holy Lands trip. Yesterday I alluded to my sharing God's love to a couple of people -- one being a young man who was the tow truck driver for my car. Here's the back-drop to that story. While driving from a friend's house, I realized I might have forgotten my purse there. I no sooner looked down to see if it had maybe fallen to the floorboard of my car, when I ran into the back of another car. I underestimated how close I was to the car when he stopped in front of me.

A simple distraction resulted in a boatload of inconvenience for me and the other driver -- getting repair estimates, getting rental cars, paying deductibles and other added expenses and lengthy dealings with the insurance company. I've done my best to remain positive through the process but it hasn't come without moments of angst. And I finally picked my car up after over six weeks in the repair shop, we found there were even more issues -- thus the need for a tow truck and now it's in the Buick dealership service department.....all this because I was momentarily distracted.

I think about many other close calls while driving and being distracted when I'd reach for my phone, talk to a passenger, change the temperature in the car, look in the mirror to check my make-up, eat while driving, etc. Seriously, this accident could have occurred many times before. I hope I've learned my lessons well and am completely focused from now on.

On the flip side of inconveniences, however, there are also the opportunities we have for realizing "God moments" that unless this incident had happened, there may not have been the encounter with the service people at the repair shop, or the tow truck driver or the insurance representative or even the other party in the accident. Opportunities to reflect patience, peace and faith in the midst of the storm; opportunities to be a light to someone else who is facing far greater circumstances than what we may be going through; opportunities to pray for that one who is hurting more than me.

Jesus came for interruptions AND distractions. He understood His mission. He was not trying to accomplish His own agenda but was about His Father's business. Our Savior was alert and on the lookout for just such strategic appointments -- what we could call human distractions turned divine.

When I think about Jesus' ministry, I am impressed by how many times He was interrupted. No, he didn't have a car or cell phone to distract Him, but He sure did get distracted by Zacchaeus in the Sycamore tree, by the woman with the issue of blood and the adulterous woman who was thrown at His feet, or the paralyzed man being let down through a roof to "interrupt" Him .

What could have been deemed "disruptions" found healing and forgiveness as a result of their encounter with Jesus. He did not resent them; He rescued them. There was such an obvious and genuine love emanating from His life that people flocked to Him. He was an attraction to distraction..

I wonder ... are people attracted to me when they encounter me? I remember nurses, doctors and medical staff being so drawn to us in the middle of our most challenging times -- simply because we didn't let the circumstances define us. We defined our circumstances as opportunities to be a light in the darkness.

We have the words of life to share with others. We have the love of Christ to give others. Perhaps, the interruptions and distractions are part of a Master plan that intersects our lives with someone who needs a healing touch -- even if it's right smack dab in one of our most inconvenient circumstances. If we don't show up for the divine appointment -- who will? Hmm -- just maybe my accident was really a divine appointment. That sure makes me feel better, anyway!

"The King will answer, 'Truly I say to you, as you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me." Matthew 25:40

Anxious and Worried

I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about the newest game, Pokemon GO. There are many various opinions about whether it is a fun game which endeavors to get people off their couches and out to get some activity in their lives or that’s it’s an evil scheme to bring harm to children and families. I'm not discussing the pros and cons, but I'm amazed at the things that create instantaneous crazes. It's said that Pokémon GO is the most popular mobile game in American history. In one week’s time, there were over 15 million downloads of the game. The app instructs players to use their mobile devices to catch Pokémon characters in the real world. It has sent multitudes of people into streets, parks, malls and even my church parking lot looking for such virtual creatures.


It seems one of the main reasons for the popularity of Pokémon GO is that it provides a distraction from a world that lives in anxiety and worry about the frightening atrocities that have been happening.

Sunday’s scripture reading at my church was from Luke 10:38-42 – the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha’s home. If you’re a server, by nature, like I am, you can only imagine what that meant: clean the house…to spotless, get out the best dishes, and go shopping so you can serve your personal best meal. I’d be busy for days getting my menu perfected. So, yes, I have a tendency to side in with Martha’s angst about her sister who was just sitting at the feet of Jesus while she did all the work. Mary was grasping hold of every word Jesus spoke. He was the royal Guest of Honor and she didn’t want to miss a thing He had to say or even a moment to be with Him.

On the other hand, dear Martha was feverishly getting all the fixin’s ready to serve His her Lord a meal that could satisfy Him beyond description, and give Him the honor He deserved.

Father Bryan V. Brooks gave me a new perspective about that story. He talked about “Discipleship in our active, daily life.” He went on to say, “When Jesus addressed Martha about her busy-ness, He didn’t speak to her about her hospitality. He said 'You’re ANXIOUS and WORRIED about MANY things. There is only the need for one thing.' Anxious and worried. Not only does it fit the description of Martha , but it describes us as well. We live in anxious times – war, violence, terrorism, politics, unemployment. And these don’t include day-to-day worries about family, work, raising children, caring for a home, running a business, caring for elderly parents, balancing family and budgets. No wonder people seek distractions in sports, in games, in looking for Pokemon GO figures in church parking lots (our church was a location where people gathered at 4 am in the morning to find the creature). The anxiety and worry can have a way of throwing things out of balance – like with Martha. Jesus gives Martha and us a gentle correction in wisdom on how to be His disciples. The one thing to be concerned about is to “listen to Jesus”. Welcoming and accepting Jesus – Jesus as the Christ – Jesus as Lord. THIS is "THE ONE THING that is necessary" – to be His disciples. Disciples where busy-ness and duty is replaced with acts of joy and love. If we have our life in the right order – everything else will fall into place. Our relationship with Jesus will bring to completion the Word of God – Christ in us – the hope of glory. In that order, we’ll live and become faithful disciples of Jesus."

Then, no ANXIETY or WORRY will ever DISTRACT us from what’s most important – sitting at the feet of Jesus, being in the presence of Jesus in awe of Him and His holiness. When we are there, peace and comfort abounds.

Following the Lead of Successful Businesses and People

When my family comes to Tulsa, eating at Chick-fil-A is a MUST! It went quickly, but we waited in a long line to place our order at the drive thru window!. Always a crowd there, I said, “This is really a phenomenon!” Then I remembered just why this company is so successful and has grown to be the second largest chicken chain in America. Some would say it's the food. Others point to its clever advertising. (Let's face it, there is something appealing about seeing a cow beg you to "Eat Mor Chikin.") But, Founder Truett Cathy has a different view. He declares that the secret of his success is the company's high quality of people and their attention to customer service.

How do they attract such people? Truett says it all goes back to Chick-fil-A being closed on Sundays. Truett believes everyone should have a day off a week - for church, rest, or to enjoy family. Accordingly, Chick-fil-A has attracted outstanding teams - many industry experts will say its people are the best in the food industry.

And, ONE of the reasons their record-setting drive-thru is so fast, and accurate, is that the team taking orders is in their own private part of the restaurant. Their focus is all YOU and YOUR order, with no other distractions. It's part of their commitment to offer their customers the best experience possible!!

I was thinking about the standards of Chick-Fil-A, compared to our own standards of excellence, or the lack thereof. Do we brand ourselves with personality, wit and quality? Do we work hard, play hard and get adequate rest that we need? Do we honor God by setting aside a day, or time, for Him? Do we REALLY focus on the people in our lives – making them feel important, special and loved, or are we easily distracted with our cell phones or other matters that take away our attention from those who really matter most!

I think it’s time to follow the lead of successful people in business and in life – it just might make the difference we’ve been looking for to move up the ladder of personal and professional success in our own life!

His Sheep Listen to His Voice

Funny cartoon -- but, the message is clear and VERY real to our lives. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" (John 10:27) . Wonder if He had in mind how difficult "listening for His voice" would be in 2014? And, more than ever, we really need to hear His voice. We need His wisdom, comfort, guidance, peace, and direction. Of course, we long to hear His voice, but in the busy-ness, the clamor and the many, many activities and distractions of everyday life, oftentimes, we may be hard-pressed to find that quiet PLACE where we can go for solace, rest and peace, and hear the voice of our Shepherd. And, even when we manage to find that place, "noise" -- our cell phones, iPods, radios, computers, TV, etc. -- keeps us distracted from hearing our Shepherd's voice.

Seems that it's time to find that place where His voice comes through loud and clear to us. Oh, He has that place -- and we can find it, but it's up to us, to disregard the distractions to "Be still -- to hear and know our God." And, I'm not referring to a far off island in the middle of no-where. It's possible to find that place, if only for a few minutes in our day, to "Come away with Him"!

What if everything we're needing -- the decisions we need to make, like, what job should we take; what school our kids should go to; what diet or fitness routine we should be on; what part of town we should live in, etc. All of these answers, and more, are found and answered by our Shepherd -- He Who knows everything about everything. After all, if...."The Lord is my Shepherd, He promised, I would never want......", then maybe we need to "tune-in" to our Shepherd, and "tune-out" what's NOT!

Acknowledging Him = Straight Paths

“Before you arise from your bed in the morning, I have already arranged the events of your day. Each day provides many opportunities for you to learn My ways and grow closer to Me." -- God

Ever look back on your day, and because of so many distractions or needless worry, you realize that you missed the lessons God was trying to teach you? Even the most inconsequential events could be God speaking. I know He is working on me to be “present” with Him throughout my day, to know those little nudges and kisses from heaven, to experience Him in the beauty around me, and to recognize the undeniable times when He sends angelic protection my way. I sincerely want to live, even though I'm in the middle of traffic, or in a long line at the store, or writing checks for this month's bills -- in the KNOWING He's as close to me as a whispered prayer, and in that knowing, I acknowledge Him, and then I recognize His wisdom and direction in what I'm doing -- in ALL MY WAYS.
".....in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:6.