Thursday, January 23, 2014
Old Blue
The seats are tattered.
The headlight is busted. The
grill is cracked. The thermometer is
broken. The tire has a hole in it. All of these malfunctions plus a few more
make up “Old Blue”. Old Blue has been
sitting, quite lonely, unappreciated, and uncared for, for the last 2
years. Barely maintained, license and
insurance, that’s it, I didn’t drive it that was Danny’s baby, I had my
own. Well after last weeks collision
things changed. Old Blue is undergoing a
face lift and joining the family~again.
But before I tell that story, I have to tell you what God has done for
me! And the reason I have to tell you is
because He wants me too. To show you how
He cares for His children. This child in
particular.
After Danny died, I had to find a job. I had bills to pay! As most everyone does! If you like to eat, and we do, then work we
must. So as with everything else in my
life, I asked God to help me with my bills.
My car payment was quite high- 450$ monthly, One of those bills that you
struggle to meet every month. So I
prayed especially for the car payment. I
am thinking God will make ends meet, He always does. So last week after I wrecked, I worried! I worried that insurance wouldn’t cover everything. As things began to unfold I began to see my
prayers answered. First, I have to
thank God for my wreck; He did keep me safe after all! The damage to my car was so much that it was
totaled. I found out through a random
conversation with my sister that I had GAP insurance, which pays the difference
you owe on a vehicle if it is totaled (and just for the record, I don’t believe
in randomness with God). That was
Danny. I would not have bought
that. I also discovered I had (Danny
again) purchased an extended warranty on my car. Yesterday, State Farm called me to say they
were going to give me 19800$ for my car.
I owe 17400$ and I have a 250$ deductable. So it will not only pay it off completely, I
am getting money back! Oh yeah, the GAP
insurance and extended warranty? Getting
money back on that too because it is being cancelled early. My big monthly payment that I prayed for a
solution? God took care of it! Gone!
Plus He gave me extra cash to get my car, Old Blue restored like
new. And that car insurance bill? It’s going to be much less without that car
on it! So He has done way beyond what I
asked.
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
Now to him, who is
able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the
power at work within us.
He even went a little further! It’s no secret I have the best brothers in
the world. Not only are they talented in
that they can fix anything, anytime, anywhere, but they have the biggest hearts
and they aren’t afraid to use them. The
night of my wreck, Steve and Lonnie both came to my rescue. Then Steve loaned me his car to drive while
he worked on Old Blue and Lonnie paid for it!
I know God works in mysterious ways and sometimes it’s hard to see the
good for all the bad. But God is making
this very clear! No mystery here! I asked and He supplied! So I had a concussion and a few bruises, nothing
that won’t heal. Sometimes God has to
knock us around a little to get the job done.
Psalm
121:5-8 (NIV)
5 The Lord
watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will
keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
As I was driving to work I couldn’t help but think of Danny
and the 176,000+ miles he had put on this car.
Of all the places he had been in it.
Vacations we had taken in it. The
many miles he drove to work to Clifton Forge, VA! How he complained about that drive! Then after he moved to Smoot with only a 5
minute drive, he told me one day he actually missed that drive because he used
that hour drive to and from work to talk to God. That was a lot of his prayer time.
I gripped the steering wheel and adjusted my seat the same
way he did thousands of times! I looked
out over the dash the same way he did.
Seeing the same things he saw. I
try to see things the way he saw them.
And I have to say, I view them with more patience and a less critical or
judgmental eye.
1 Peter 3:4 (NIV)
4
Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a
gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight
Danny was a gentle giant, with a quiet spirit. God brings beauty from ashes every time! So as I look at my car crash, I have so much
to thank God for. #1 for keeping me
safe, #2 taking care of my financial needs, #3 allowing my brothers to let God
work through them so that not only am I blessed, but they will be also, because
they will reap what they sow!
Galatians 6:7 (NIV)
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
And lastly, I am thankful for the reminder of Danny’s travels in his little blue Subaru and the opportunity to take a few minutes to look at life as he did. Had I not wrecked, Old Blue would still be on the sidelines and I would still be in a rush from here to there. We get so busy in life that our prayer time suffers. But I will forever be in prayer in my “Old Blue Subaru” as I sit in the tattered seats, gripping the steering wheel and looking out over the dash just as Danny did…and I can thank God for my trials because that is when the light, His light, shines the brightest.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NIV)
6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light
shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory
displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Sledding
Are we doing what God wants us to do? Are we where He wants us to be? How do we know? I thought I was doing what He wanted; Going
to church, working in the church, being a compassionate person and trying to
help others. I could feel Him telling me
this way or that way. I could hear
Him! I feel like I am in the center of
His will but it doesn’t seem like I am getting anywhere. It’s like the saying 2 steps forward and 1
step back. I don’t really feel like I am
going backwards but it feels like I am just stagnant. Sitting here doing what
He tells me but I am not going anywhere.
I can tell you, I don’t like this feeling. Is this where we “wait upon the Lord”? I want to see miracles! I want to know and feel that I am making a difference
in the world! I want to feel the hand of
God on my life. He is working things out
for me, but do you ever get frustrated at how long it’s taking? I sure do!
I am ready now! I want to get on
with life. It’s so easy to get lost in
memories and before I know it I am sucked into “why? What was the point?” I have many ghosts in my house! It’s a big scary lonely place. Even when it’s full of people, it’s big and
lonely! Or maybe it’s just me that’s
full of ghosts and lonely. I have
friends and I can call them night or day, and I do! But the loneliness almost is
unexplainable. It goes all the way to
the soul. So I do what the Bible says.
Jeremiah
29:13 (ESV)
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your
heart.
My heart feels empty sometimes. Even
knowing all I know about Jesus and His love for me, I still feel empty! Sometimes!
Apparently God is trying to teach me a lesson,
yes another one!
James 1:2-3 (NIV)
Trials and Temptations
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance
He gives me this verse as a warning. He is telling me to buckle up because it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Things are coming my way; maybe not so pleasant things. All different kinds of trials. Sunday night as I read this verse I could just feel the Holy Spirit saying, “You know it’s coming, wait for it, wait for it!” Then BAM! So He does give me warning, which I have to say, in my life, I am beginning to expect the worse at every turn. But I do learn valuable lessons through it. And it only takes one time…lesson learned.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms
I am fortunate to have many friends, many spiritual friends that listen to God and the Holy Spirit. They use their gifts and I am blessed by them. He tells me things through them as well. So to all my friends, thank you! Thank you for allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you. And thank you for taking what God has given you and running with it. Using it! Sometimes it’s just one word that makes a difference.
James 1:22 (NIV)
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
We have to do more than listen, opening our ears, we must DO! With our heart, our hands and feet! And in doing the things the Bible says, we also get this warning.
James 1:19 (NIV)
Listening and Doing
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
With the warning on Sunday, that yes, many trials were coming my way, I have to say, I was prepared. I prayed before I went to bed, when I got up, even during the night. At work- all day! So I was not surprised. And I thanked God! For the warning and the trial. But how easy it would’ve been to not look at it as a lesson learned. So easy to get angry and create a “hazardous” atmosphere. So I listened and I did speak-I mean really? Y’all know me! But that anger thing, the old me would’ve become very angry but because I have Jesus and He lives in me I let Him war it out for me! So today, this morning as I look out my window and see the fresh white snow falling all around, I am thankful! Thankful for God’s grace and how it pours down on me just when I need it, just as the snow falls! I am thankful for His hand in my life, and on my mouth, warning me of the many trials that are coming but also thankful that He has given His word, the Bible, to handle whatever comes my way.
In the Bible Paul encourages Timothy not to give up, second guess his calling, or let anyone look down on him because he is young.
1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
According to Paul, Timothy is God’s man for the job, and God will be with him no matter how difficult that job may get. It’s the same way with us. God has given each one of us a job. We have to sometimes, “wait for it, wait for it-----then BAM!” We are gonna say, Oh yeah, I get it. And no matter what comes our way, He will go with us. He has equipped us to do what He wants us to do, so do IT! Don’t disappoint Him. Step out on Faith. Imagine a fresh field of snow blanketing the ground. You head up the hill with sled in hand. You reach the top and all you see for miles are hills and valleys-up and down-you get on your sled. One foot over the sled and you sit, you are ready to push off and go down that first hill. That’s just like faith. We are ready to push off and go down that first hill. There are going to be many ups and downs, but just like with the sled, you may have to get off and pull or push through an occasional valley and up the hill. But the ride down, my friend, is what makes it all worth it!
Today as you watch the snow, if you are young enough, and crazy enough, get out and take your sled down a hill! But just remember you will have to pull it back up just to do it all over again.
1 John 4:13-15 (NIV)
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.
Luke 6:35 (ESV)
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
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