Mid-days With Lauree

This past weekend, I was with some friends of mine who have 3 small children under the age of 3. I knew that the middle one, who is almost 2, wasn't feeling well. Sweet little boy walks up to his dad with his arms stretched out and in the matter of what seemed like a half a second, he did this combination of a sneeze, cough, and got sick down the front of his shirt followed by telling his dad that he needed a hug. Without hesitation the dad gave his boy a big hug and I'll be honest, I was kind of shocked. This little boy was a mess! Later I asked him why he did and this was his answer: "I embraced him because I want him to remember when he's older that no matter how messy he is, he's got a father in heaven with his arms wide open ready to hold him exactly how he is."The same goes for you.

You may feel out of place a lot of the time, but I'm here to tell you that exactly how you should feel.Over the past 7 years since my husband passed away, I've moved around quite a bit. After a few stops, I got to Texas as fast as I could and as much as I love it, I have to admit I always feel a little out of place. But I think that's exactly where we should land as believers. We aren't residents of earth just trying to make our way to heaven, you and I are are residents of heaven just trying to navigate this temporary home called earth.

You've probably heard the saying that kids are like sponges, and it's true. They consume information and learn things so quickly. But it's not because of something they have, it's actually something they lack: The fear of failing.Over time, we just develop this fear of looking silly or being bad at something, and in turn, we miss out on so many cool new opportunities. I think we'd be wise to recapture some of that child-like wonder. But remember, with great power comes great responsibility. You probably still can't fly.

Gratitude is good for us. Actually, that’s not strong enough. Gratitude is GREAT for us. But did you know that being grateful can literally change you mind? Research shows gratitude benefits us psychologically, physically, and interpersonally. In this study, one group of people were to keep a journal where daily they would jot down thing they we're grateful for and the other group didn't. After the study, everyone involved had an MRI done and those who kept the gratitude journals showed literal growth in certain areas of their brains. Robert Emmons, a professor at the University of California, Davis, is one of the leading experts on gratitude and he had this to say “People are 25 percent happier and more energetic if they keep gratitude journals, have 20 percent less envy and resentment, sleep 10 percent longer each night and wake up 15 percent more refreshed, exercise 33 percent more, and show a 10 percent drop in blood pressure compared to persons who are not keeping these journals.”

You may have heard me mention something call "The 5 O'Clock Refresh" and you may just be thinking, what is it? That's a great question!It happens every weekday at 5pm and it's an hour full of worship music, encouragement, and refreshment. At the end of a long day, it helps to just set aside the stress and refresh your mind and attitude before you make your way to whatever is next! For me it's been a chance to reframe the day's problems and watch them become really small in the light of God.If you've got just a moment this afternoon, I hope you'll join me today for the 5 O'Clock Refresh!

Whatever you are doing in this moment, whether you are at home or at work or somewhere else, is incredibly important. Whatever you're doing is a key piece in the big puzzle that God is putting together using us to get stuff done.Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Words are very important. I think we would all agree with that. God SPOKE the world into existence so we know that words can be powerful. Chances are, our words will never have that much power but what we say matters especially when we have to have those tough conversations. Our words have the power to lift someone up or break them down. When my kids were little, we had this 3 question rule that we would run our words through:-Is it true?-Is it helpful?-Is it my place to say?Typically, it's that third one that catches me because maybe I don't have the relationship with them to be able to speak those words into them or maybe it would be better received from someone else.

I know you know this, but forgiveness is a choice and when you make the choice to forgive that person in your life, the relief is almost instant.

Adding this thing into your routine 3 times a week can reduce your risk of dementia in a drastic way. Listen to find out how!

You are probably in change of packing something up in the morning, whether that school lunches for the kids or maybe your bag that help you get out the door on time. For me now that my kids are grown, it's the backpack I take to work with me. Well this morning I noticed that for some reason, my backpack felt so incredibly heavy. Not only was I carrying the things I knew I needed for today, but besides my backpack, I was shouldering the thought of a big meeting later this week and the worry of a tough conversation I've got to have next weekend. I'm carrying more weight then what is needed for today.In case you need this today too, from Matthew 6:34, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

If there is one thing I can tell you with confidence right now, it's that our control is an illusion. This past weekend, I got caught up in that travel mess over the weekend that took me an extra day and several flights to get back home. I tried to do everything in my power to make it home on time, but it just wasn't in my control. So today, I encourage you to join me in leaning heavily on Proverbs 16:9, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

"I need you now."Those are the words the Holy Spirit can take and interpret for your good even if you don't have the strength to get them out. He knows exactly what you mean.

There was this big survey that went out that asked kids what class they wished was being taught right now in school and one answer blew me away with how it stood out from the rest. The #1 class that kids wish they could take is how to be a YouTube/Social Media influencer. I may be alone in this, but I don't this it's because they want instantaneous fame. I think it ultimately boils down to them wanting to be known, loved and accepted. No matter how old you are, I think the gap in understand truly shrinks when we consider our sole purpose: to be known by God and to make his name famous.

When we lift our hands or open our hands in worship, there's something really beautiful that happens inside of us.I remember back to walking with my late husband through his cancer battle and just holding onto a lot stress over things I couldn't control. One day I met with an old friend who could tell that stress was really weighing on me, not just by my demeanor, but by the way my hands were. My hands we're literally clinched by just trying to figure out how to hang on instead of surrendering those worries to God. That friend commanded me to open my hands and use my open-faced hands a visual reminder that God is ready to take that burden and replace it with his presence. We just have let him in.

God made us to love others but for all of us, there is probably one person who we struggle to love most: ourselves. I was just talking to a friend about this exact topic this morning and she made a really valid point: For a lot of us, most days, we have a hard time even liking ourselves so it's pretty hard to wrap our brains around the idea of the creator of the universe, who know all things beautiful, loving us without boundaries or conditions. Our love isn't like God's and I don't know about you, but I'm thankful for that today!

You may not feel alright right now, and you know what? That's okay. Back in 2015, I had a couple of personal losses back to back: my husband passed away in January and then a couple months later, I lost my dad. As you can imagine there were some really low moments in the following months. Moments of just clinging on as time continued to pass. But now looking back on the other side of those moments, I can see clearly where God tenderly carried me through. He showed strength when I couldn't and protected me when I could see his presence in that moment. I am alright and you will be, too.

You may be looking for evidence of just a little bit of good amongst the chaos. I want you to take a listen to this 3 minute story from a man named Neil that might just restore your faith in people.

There are obviously so many prayers needs at this moment so today we are focusing on a different prayer need each hour. Pathway To Victory's Dr. Robert Jeffress leads us in praying for situations that, in one way or another, seem to be affecting all of us including COVID, what's taking place in Afghanistan, the destruction as a result of the earthquake in Haiti and more. This is an opportunity to collectively lift our voices and hearts to God!

A story from pastor Andy Stanley that really lifted my spirits today."Sometimes I just want it to stop. Talk of COVID, looting, brutality. I lose my way. I become convinced that this "new normal" is real life. Then I meet an 87-year-old who talks of living through polio, diphtheria, Vietnam protests and yet is still enchanted with life.He seemed surprised when I said that 2020 must be especially challenging for him. "No," he said slowly, looking me straight in the eyes. "I learned a long time ago to not see the world through the printed headlines, I see the world through the people that surround me. I see the world with the realization that we love big. Therefore, I just choose to write my own headlines:"Husband loves wife today." "Family drops everything to come to Grandma’s bedside." He patted my hand. "Old man makes new friend."His words collide with my worries, freeing them from the tether I had been holding tight. They float away. I am left with a renewed spirit and a new way to write my own headlines."

As a dad of now 4 grown children I can totally relate to the feeling of missing hearing from your kids since they now have lives of their own. Maybe you have grown children of your own who you haven't heard from in a while, I think I've got a quick fix for you.Change the Netflix password. Guarantee you they call soon. Maybe immediately.