You are probably aware during a basketball game; the crowd tries to distract the player when at the free throw line with loud hollering. Or when a baseball player is up to bat, the crowd in the stands will chant, hey batter, hey, batter, swing to distract the batter from using their best judgment of when to contact the ball. 

These tactics keep players from scoring. However, most players know of this ploy to keep them from being successful and have prepared themselves for such distractions.

Distraction is a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else.

We have many distractions going on in our lives. Some can be avoided by simply turning off our cell phone alerts. My phone will ding with every text message, youtube video I subscribe to, and email I receive. Amazingly, I do get some things done with all these interruptions. 

Though, there are some distractions that we cannot simply turn off. 

It has been this way for me since the beginning of the year. 

Have you ever noticed that when we set out to do something specific, the distractions of life can become our mental focus?

One would need to pay attention, or these distractions can divert us from our intended course.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (or distract from their purpose). 1 Peter 5:8

The principalities of darkness know and have to bow to the name of Jesus. And when a person knows their identity in the resurrected Messiah and uses their given authority, through the blood, to cut off the demonic, the distractions may seem more frequent—doing everything in his power to get your eyes off the Throne of God. 

I once had a pastor tell me; Georgia, the enemy, cannot keep you from eternal life once you acknowledge and accept the gospel of Jesus. But he can make your life like a pinball bouncing from bumpers and ramps if you look at him. 

He is nothing but a dancing distraction in front of you. Be wise; know that he is trying to manipulate you, however, do not take your eyes off Jesus.  

Colossians 3:1-2 MSG

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is happening around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

So how do we do this? 

Here are a few practices and scriptures I walk through when I feel I am losing sight.

First, if I have to be honest with myself and ask, am I rehearsing an offense in my heart? If I am, I must repent and give that offense to God. Rarely does picking a scab off a wound bring healing. It only makes it bleed again. 

Hebrews 12:15 TPT

Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s grace. And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many.

Second, I need to ask: Does what I believe now go against what I know to be God’s accurate word?

2 Corinthians 10:5 AMP

We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,

Third, I ask myself, am I trying to control the situation or person? Controlling is, for sure, a place where we should avoid finding ourselves.

Manipulation and control are from Satan, and we do not partner with that spirit. But if I find myself trying to control something or someone that isn’t my place to do, it costs me lots of frustration and energy. Ultimately it derails me from my purpose.  

Dancing distractions: Bitterness, lies of what the truth is, trying to control, and losing sight of the purpose. 

I won’t go into all the details of my life these past few weeks; I will only say there have been many dancing distractions attempting to get my eyes off the Throne and the purposes God has set me out to do. 

I chose to stop this pinball craziness. Rejoicing in the Lord, I will sing to Him whose name is above all names. And I solidified in my heart that I (nor my family) have not been abandoned.  

Only a few mentally plan to be in this spot my brothers and I find ourselves. However, we each knew that would come a day when we would have to lay to rest our beloved mom.

You might have memories of my mom, Margo. Family or friends, everyone agrees she was kind to everyone she met, and her smile would light up everyone she gave it to.

One memory I have is when I decided to lay out in the sun after hanging clothes out on the clothesline. To my surprise, mom asked if she could lay with me. This may not seem so unusual to most, but my mom was always doing something; in the household of eight, there was always something to do. So for her to stop doing to ‘be with me’ for a moment hardly ever happened.

Of course, I laughed when she just down on my blanket and folded up her ¾ sleeves as high as they would go and her pants up to her knees. And though we didn’t talk about anything that I can remember. I just felt close to her at that moment.

I had made a post shortly after mom passed about not looking at the would of, could of, should of- of the past, or looking at the future with regret – because that would take me to a place of sadness and, truthfully, bitterness. That is what I thought I needed to do to get through this season.

But the Thursday morning of her viewing, I had awoken with a name in my thoughts. This person isn’t someone I usually “follow” I heard of his worship songs, but I looked his name up because of my history of how the Lord shows me things.

I wanted to know if this person had a teaching or message. I got online and searched for the most recent post. I found it, and the message’s title is The walk of Grief.

I want to share a few things that have stirred my heart while I listened.

Emotions are complex – so grieving is complex. For me to deny my feelings, I am denying the Trinity to bring healing – I am restricting myself from growing.

Grief is work, but we don’t do it alone; we do it with our community, our circle. Family or friends, we need a safe place to talk. We have permission to be authentic.

We need to rest. Rest isn’t the absence of activity; it is the absence of control. Will we take refuge in the Lord?
Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord, and do not rely on your opinions. With all your heart, rely on him to guide you (through Grief).
Then it goes on to say vs., 8
Then you will find the healing refreshment your body and spirit long for.

I do believe in the ONE whom God sent: Jesus. And I believe and trust in his word. And I am not ashamed to say; I asked for the miraculous; trust me, some of you were there.

But ultimately, God never overrides a person’s free will. Mom chooses to be with her heavenly father, God. And God is love; it says so in scripture (1 John 4:8, 4:16). Mom is surrounded in love.

The Lord dropped a vision of a resurrection plant (Rose of Jericho) blooming in my heart.

It is a small gray plant that curls its branches and seedpods inward in the dry season, forming a lifeless-looking ball. IT can survive for years in that form, but once moistened (watered), it revives and blooms.

Mom is fully bloomed and more glorious than we have ever seen.
So as we walk out the rest of our life journey, let’s not curl up in a lifeless ball. Let the refreshing water of God’s word refresh you.

Isaiah 12:3 – With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Revelation 22:17 MSG IF anyone thirsty – come – All who will come and drink, drink freely of the water of Life.

It is incredible how a person can go from being excited about the future – looking forward and seeing all the possibilities to feeling and seeing the opposite.

What has changed? Mindsets.

It all has to do with what one rehearses in their mind. Let me share my experiences with my mom during her last seven days before stepping into heaven.

Exhaustion from emotional ups and down the past week wore me out. Bringing enough joy and faith into the room for mom was a heavy task.

It reminded me of when Bob dug a vast bolder from the ground with the backhoe. The wheels on this heavy-duty equipment are tremendous and aired up to maximum pressure. However, when he carried the bolder to place it at the end of the drive – the tires looked flat. The weight of the rock had put so much pressure on the wheels that they seemed to have no air.

The first few days my brother and I were in Montana, I noted all the medical things happening, and the things mom had spoken to me (us). I ensured I communicated everything to my sister-in-law so that she could explain our mom’s condition in laymen’s terms more clearly.

Thinking of these facts put a heaviness on me as I prepared to go to the hospital for another day being at mom’s side. My hope was flattened after three days, like the backhoe tires.

My spirit was becoming crushed with my heart and mind set on the facts, not the truth of God’s word.

Proverbs 12:25 EVS – Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

What things weigh us down? Hopelessness.

Hopelessness swirls in the air around us that it has become the very ingredient in most conversations and the outlook of many. 

Hopelessness is how I began to see my mom’s passing; the outcome for her did not come to be as I (we) would have liked.

But ultimately, my mother is no longer in pain; she is no longer alone and is in the presence of pure, unconditional love (God is love). My faith in this gives me hope to move forward. Thinking the opposite would only crush me to the point of being motionless.

I recently heard a message that said; Fear tolerated is faith contaminated. Fatih is what separates us from the fear running rapidly in this world.

If we can learn to stop and think about what we are thinking, we can cut off the stings of hopelessness that ties us down. 

Romans 5:1-2 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in hope for the glory of God.

So as we walk out this week, let’s keep our key, hope, in our pocket to unlock the doors that keep us from moving forward.

Last week my days were filled with all sorts of communication concerning a family member, which became overwhelming to keep everyone in the loop. Text messages, phone calls, emails, and repeating information to keep everyone updated wore me down. Trying to speak with the different personalities I try to communicate with was very difficult; some like the facts, some like to talk in circles, some are just plain chatty, and repeating themselves exhausted me. 

Then navigating through the responses on how to handle the situation, of course, this isn’t in a room where all parties can talk – no, it is on three-way calls, or,  talking to one person, hang up and repeat all that was said to another.

Emotions got involved, not that feelings are wrong. But, when we allow how we feel to alter our normal behavior or personality, it is time to pull back and evaluate ‘why’ we are getting upset. Then go back to the table (so to speak) and come up with a solution. I am evaluating ‘why’ I let my emotions become strings that the puppet master manipulated my behavior. I am not saying I am not accountable for handling the situation wrong, and I need to ask those involved to forgive my harsh demeanor and words. 

Though I think about how often this scenario happens regarding all critical issues. Sadly more often than not, when emotions become heightened, people pull out, become unengaged, and throw in the towel.

No wonder people are relucted to get involved in the community in which they live. With the responsibilities, one has with family, work, and home, the thought of adding one more thing to their plate could cause one to turn their back and say, “let someone else deal with it.”

King David probably thought this way from time to time. His memory as a shepherd boy with the green valleys and gentle streams probably had him consider taking his crown off and stepping away from the demands of being a leader. I believe the words he declared when he threw the stone that killed the giant rang in his heart to continue. What were those words? “Is there not a cause? (1 Samuel 17:29 KJV)

“Cause” also means history. Is there not a history to fight for? Is there not a history that we can anchor our faith in? 

You may wonder what this has to do with last week’s emotional week.

I am encouraged and find the energy to continue communicating with my extended family by remembering our history. Yes, we are dysfunctional, but I need the focus on the good each person brings. We all want the same thing; we have different approaches to achieving those things. By giving each person the space to communicate without snarky remarks or disdainful facial expressions, discord loses its power. 

When I know that I will be involved in a conversation of great importance, I humble myself and pray for Jesus to be in the mist; Jesus: Prince of Peace. I humble myself to keep pride out of the conversation and pray the way Jesus instructed in Matthew 6:9-13 “your will be done.”

We all have those testimonies, HIStory, when God answered our prayers. The cities we live in have a history of being great in one way or another. Not great in a prideful way as “look at us.”  But great in being a peaceful, vibrant community. We should let that stir our hearts; then, we find the energy to stand up and step out.

It was dropped in my heart years ago: prayer goes before change.

Let’s learn to work together by changing our approach when stepping out to get involved. We do that with prayer; then, we will see results that bring the outcome that Jesus has obtained for us; victory over darkness. 

Have you ever listened to a recording of your voice? I rarely listen to myself, though anyone who speaks publicly should. The purpose is to learn and grow as a communicator, hearing how you sound to others.

Question: Could we recognize the sound of our voice if we listened to a recording of ourselves in a room full of people?

My voice has a relatively ‘high’ tone, so I need to remember that when I talk to my grandbabies, I don’t need to take it up an octave to engage. Why do we do this when we talk to babies?

As much as I hate to admit it, I can get my feathers ruffled (so to speak), and my angry voice sounds hard, sharp, and short, unlike my normal soft tone.

Another question; Can you hear your own heart when you speak? I am not talking about the beat of our hearts. I am talking about hearing your spirit.

Let me explain

Earlier this morning, I was talking to Tom (not their real name). He has spoken with me sporadically for the past five years. Many times I could ‘hear’ what he was saying. Oddly though, I don’t think he realizes what he is communicating.

At times, over the years, I could hear Tom’s hurt and bitterness. I usually hear a playful yet orphaned little boy, not understanding his value.

Today I said to him; Oh Tom, I hear your heart, don’t you? He looked at me puzzled and playfully laughed and walked away.

I don’t know; maybe he does hear his heart but doesn’t know how to process it.

I have been there many times. I am filling my day with noise, busy doing this and that, so I don’t have to hear my heart speak. For many years I told myself I was too busy. I need to help so-in-so, or I should get this done, or that.

What about you? Do you sometimes turn on some mindless television show to rest your overworked mind? It may be for the noise to drown out the small voice inside.

Years ago, at the end of my day, I would sit and think about how I missed the mark or didn’t get everything checked off my ‘to-do’ list. I even rehearse conversations with others, thinking to myself; oh, I should have said this, or I should have done that.

Torment is what it was, agony. And who do you think would start those thoughts? The enemy of my soul!  

It wasn’t until I stopped racializing my heart’s inner voice, letting little Georgia speak, and allowing Papa God to interact with me that I understood my need for inner healing. It is a process like layers of an onion. But it is liberating! 

Matthew 12:34 b

for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

When we communicate, we should listen so that we can truly hear. I usually apply that to the one speaking to me, but we can also use it ourselves, listening to our heart.