What is YOUR Motivation for Change?

What is YOUR Motivation for Change?
The Great Escape -- so, I’ve been in Austin with my family since last week. Talk about change – from my quiet, non-eventful life, to nearly non-stop activity with this crew. My quiet peace zone at home has certainly been interrupted, which is fine with me.

My second to the oldest grandson, Bear, asked for a date-night with me. Be still my heart. He drove to downtown Austin for a take-out meal fit for a queen. We enjoyed our “date” out by the pool and commenced to go to the theater (rather, the theater room) to see an epic movie “The Two Popes”. (Recommend it!) The attention to his planned night touched me so much. Then I loved spending time with his adorable girl friend when she came down on Sunday.

The youngest grandson, Bryson, age 13, still wants to sleep with me. I hope that doesn’t end any time soon. Sweet memories of chattering about this and that, praying together, and falling to sleep. And, yesterday taking a trip to nearby Reimer's Park. He had told his Dad “Nana would be inspired with a blog if she were here.” And, yes I was!

Oldest grandson, Braden, and his precious wife, Ruth, spent three days with us. I loved catching up with their dreams, aspirations and hopes. Sweet Ruth worked many extra hours as a neonatal NICU nurse during the quarantine and right in the middle of it had to have an appendectomy. She’s doing great, and she’s oh, so precious! I love the love these grands have for each other, playing games and spending time together.

Number #4 grandson, age 15, called on his mama and I to assist in two of his school projects. During this homeschooling, the students are doing virtual learning and reports or speeches that would usually be given in the classroom. This creative one, Brennan, had two presentations to give. His mom and I were his film crew. She was the camera-gal; I was the teleprompter supervisor. Oh, my, the hilarious times we had on Take 1, Take 2, Take 52, etc. And, oh, the precarious places were our locations! Thank goodness, this Nana has still got game!

Thanks for letting me bring you up-to-speed at the Wuerch's Austin ranch. The greatest take-away from my get-away from isolation-days has been how much sweeter are the days than I ever hoped for before. Gratitude just gets stronger for those things that don’t come as easy as they were before. There’s something about realizing that what seemed to be the greatest upset in our own personal lives, became a lot easier and faster to deal with than what we ever thought.

Sincerely – changes needed to be made. God probably shakes His head as He thinks “Why do my kids get so caught up on so much that is just temporary?” There is one guarantee in life: CHANGE will happen. Change is something we tend to fear and become anxious about because we feel out of control. But we have this blessed assurance. God NEVER changes. "I am the Lord, and I do not CHANGE.” (Malachi 3:6). He walks with us in every season of life -- no matter how easy or difficult. We can choose to accept CHANGE because God has a plan for our lives – to give us hope, a great future, and to prosper us. If we trust in God and allow the CHANGE to mature us in our faith and to grow us in becoming more like Him in how we respond and act, then we are promised that “Everything will work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)

God orders our days. He knows the seasons we are exiting from and He also knows those we are about to enter. It’s a new day – yesterday is gone. Why don’t we awaken to the assurance that He KNOWS ALL and if we’ll board His ways, we’ll travel higher, further and safer than we could ever imagine. I think I hear Him saying to us “I’ve got this so let go and let Me carry you through each CHANGE. Relax. Enjoy the ride. Trust Me!”

Who Said I'm Not a Dog Lover?

Five years ago, Payton, my then 13-year-old grandson, was quite the entrepreneur repairing and selling cell phones. He earned enough money to purchase his Australian Shepherd pedigreed puppy that came with a pretty hefty price tag! They lived in the Seattle area and had to drive a couple of hours north to see and purchase him, but left him until he was old enough to be weaned from his mama. What a twosome they were!

I was a dog-liker, not a dog-lover. I lived in Tulsa and was visiting them. When I saw "Buddy" for the first time, Payton had sprayed his Papa’s (my husband’s) favorite cologne on him to be sure I was attracted to the little guy. I was. It probably didn’t take the cologne, but it sure made me want to cuddle him even more.

Fast forward five years this month, and these two “buddies” have grown up! And, so have I. Now, my visits to the Wallace’s include Buddy meeting me at the door with tail wagging and running to the back door – his indicator for me to pitch the tennis ball to him. He loves it. And, I love him! Did you catch that? I became a dog lover! What’s that about?

We are creatures of habits when we say “I’ll never have a dog or cat or we’ll remark “I’ll never eat that food or go to that place, or sit through that concert, etc., but then the habits get tossed out the window when a “shift” takes place in our thinking. Suddenly new likes and habits are acquired. Maybe you can think of something that you’d never do and you’re smiling as you read this post, because you did it and love it. The fact is life is about CHANGE.

Thank God. He never changes. He is the one constant we can assure ourselves of daily. "I am the Lord, and I do not change.” Malachi 3:6. “He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13: 8.

I love hearing stories of people who said, “I’ll never be able to give up smoking” and with grit and determination, today, they are literally “smoke-free”! And stories of an abused woman who thought she would never have a new life, and through Christ’s mercy and her tenacity, is now an overcomer.

We may waiver in our “I will never……” but God won’t. Maybe today’s a good day to say “I’ll never say never and I’ll be open to any change that makes me love greater and open up myself to whatever possibilities that God has in store for me." May we awaken to the assurance that He KNOWS ALL and if we’ll adapt to His ways, we’ll come to appreciate what we didn’t like before and even fall in love with them. Maybe part of our future includes changes that will cause us to enjoy the ride a little more! I’m throwing in the towel and opening up my mind to possibilities! How about you?

God Never Changes

On Friday, we witnessed a president’s departure and exit from office. On the outside, President Obama and Michelle were composed, gracious, stately (I was always impressed with President Obama’s eloquence of speech and composure), but I suspect, once behind closed doors, they were high 5-ing each other and celebrating that they are free of those ominous responsibilities and the scrutiny of the public.

And at the same time, we witnessed President Trump's “entering” and “embarking” on his presidency with all the wide-eyed wonder, expectancy, anticipation, aspirations, and desire to help our country be a shining star that leads the way in economic growth, world peace, blessings to its citizens, and so many other hopes and dreams. I was glued to the TV. After all, history was being made right before our eyes – history that will be taught to our young children and grandchildren for years to come.

Exits and entrances. Deaths and births. Endings and beginnings. Goodbyes and hellos. Departures and arrivals. Going and coming.
All those synonyms and antonyms (I looked them up) are reminders of what it is for a season to end and new one begin. Isn’t that life? How often have I witnessed the passing of a friend or loved one and within hours or days, in the same family, was the birth of a precious baby in the same family. It is the cycle of life.

Here’s the really good news. God assures us He’s watching over all our seasons – all our exits and our entrances – in passings and births, in ending kindergarten to begin first grade, in exiting high school and entering college, in exiting single life to enter into married life, in leaving one job to begin another one, in departing one country and entering another. Bottom line…..among all the exits and entrances and all the in-betweens, life, in any form…..is just temporary.

We can throw a tantrum, a pity party, a protest, a sit-in, a march, stay in bed and cover our heads, put our heads in the sand, wail, jump up and down and we can resist the changes……but all the while, I’m picturing God shaking His head as He thinks “Why do my kids get so caught up on so much that is just temporary?” There is one guarantee in life…..change will happen. Change is something we tend to fear and become anxious about because we feel out of control. But there is One who doesn’t change, Who walks with us in every season of life—no matter how easy or difficult. The good news is that God has a plan for our lives to hope, to give us a future, and to prosper us. If we trust in God and allow the change to grow us to become more like Jesus Christ in how we respond and act, then we are promised that “All things will work together for good for those who love Him and keep His commandments!” (Romans 8:28)

Just to reinforce how much God loves us and sincerely cares about us and the changes we face, here are scriptures that affirm His steadfast walk with us.

~ "I am the Lord, and I do not change.” Malachi 3:6
~ “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Heb13:8
~ “I will teach you the way you should go; 
 I will instruct you and advise you.” Psalm 32:8
~ “The Lord himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid.” Deut 31:8

Bottom line – God orders our days. He knows the seasons we are exiting from and He also knows those we are about to enter. It’s a new day – yesterday is gone. Why don’t we awaken to the assurance that He KNOWS ALL and if we’ll board His ways, we’ll travel higher, further and safer than we could ever imagine. I think I hear Him saying to us --His kids…..”I’ve got this so let go and let Me carry you through each season. Relax. Enjoy the ride. Trust Me!”

Good Thing God Never Changes…..Because I Sure Do!

I remember how much I wanted to gain weight when I was a teenager. I was so skinny they called me “beanpole”. I even took Raquel Welch's recommendation and took “Wate-On” tablets (for real) because I wanted to look like my peers who had already “filled out” quite nicely (at least in my eyes, they had)." Oh, but things changed. Now I pay close attention to what I eat, how much I eat, and being sure to stay active so that I DON’T gain weight. LOL!

I remember when I oiled my body from head to toe and laid out in the sun to get a tan. Now, I wear 50+ sunblock IF I go out in the sun.

I remember wearing the highest heels. I told someone last week when I was looking for some new shoes with the very low wedge heels, “I’ve graduated from that class (she was buying some stiletto heels), now these are my new "high"!"

I’m guessing that like me, you’ve either just come out of a season of change, or are entering a season of change. And, your changes are even more monumental than the ones I mentioned. It might be your youngest child just graduated from high school. You might be moving to another state or looking for a new job. It might even be your spouse recently passed away.

Change has a way of swirling in and around our lives. Just when we willingly, or even hesitantly, make the adjustments, more changes come. And whether we like the new that’s come, or wish we could run and hide, our feelings don’t change the inevitable.

Facing another change, and handling it well, requires us to be people of great dependence in He Who changes NOT. Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not….”

Just maybe, times of transition are God’s way of setting us up for the opportunity to grow into WHO He WANTS us to become.

I’m learning. I can allow the pressure of transition to transform me. I can permit the rain AND the sunshine in my life to grow His fruit in me. I can daily dish out the fruit found in Galatians 5:22 “The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

In the process of change, WHO are we becoming? During the planting, watering and weeding of change, if we will be faithful during each season, we’ll see beauty grow in our lives. As we lean into God, asking for strength through the peace or through the pain, He will make us into who He’s intended for us to become: We can become God’s definition of BEAUTIFUL.