Being my husband that I knew for many years now who loved to clean and fix things right away, I uttered, "Please...Don't tell me you're gonna' mop the floor now if there's a spot?" I jokingly teased. Silence. He kept surveilling the floor in front of him, like...right under me...
 |
| my husband fixing the floor tiles that bubbled up |
"Is our home warranty expired?" was the first question I asked him knowing it might need some work. He said it was. So...He ended up calling in sick and wanted to fix them himself which trait I was thankful for because that saved us a lot of money. I heard him sighed.
My battle from my workplace had been used by the Lord to train me to always draw nearer to Him. Where the people from higher positions meant to end my career, the Lord had turned it into a blessing. If I was contented before, I learned to be more contented as He proved countless times about His provisions. Never too early. Never too late. Everything from Him was truly the best gift. Always in His perfect time. And still is...
Looking at my husband's frustration why things like that happened unexpectedly, I thanked God that He was quick to remind us to not worry and this small problem not be used by the spiritual enemy to dampen both of our spirits. So, there we were, praying about it and committing what needed to be done under His guidance.
It is unavoidable for all of us to go under different amount and kinds of pressures here in this world. But God's Word is here to tell us how to avoid them and even gain victory. It is a matter of trusting His Word, believing in what He can do for us and obeying what His Word says.
My battle is going on for over a year now with the help I pursued still without an accurate date. But with a lot of time on my hands that I'm home and not able to work, God is the One Who allows me to have that amount of time so I can learn and discover that "what I put into my heart is what will also come out." If I don't trust in Him and just make my heart heavy with worries, my blood pressure goes up and anger seeps in which is not pleasing to God in the first place.
My Spirit screamed "No!" to worries and "No!" to making my husband and I react in a negative way. I know better not to have our peace and joy be stolen...No!!! Because He is in our hearts. He is in us!!! That's the truth!!!
"'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country." -Leviticus 26:6 (NIV)
By the way, thanks be to God, the floor tiles did not crack. My husband just needed to clean the underlying pieces of dirt underneath and re-grout. I pray...that the peace from Jesus will find its way in every cracks and crevices of our hearts and replace every worry residing there. That is how we overcome life's pressure...Only with Jesus...
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27 (NIV)
I like this post my friend.
ReplyDeleteGrowing closer to the Lord is what it is all about. I hear ya dear one. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with this post...I am glad to be back to blogging and to my blogger friends. Dee
ReplyDeleteOur enemies cannot steal our joy. That is the benefit of knowing who loves us and reveals everything in our hearts to keep us free and healthy. Rejoicing with you today, my friend.
ReplyDeleteHow does one grow closer to the Lord when you call in "sick" and you are not sick?
ReplyDeleteHow can God enter the mix when deception is present?
With one job in jeopardy, it is critical to hold the second job, in integrity.
If you are well enough to fix a floor, you are well enough to go to work,
use a vacation day, if applicable, or ask for emergency time off (with or without pay).
Our God is big enough to make up any lost funds, as ALL funds are HIS anyway, everywhere.
This post had zero contenders in the race for a long time.
I waited.
And waited.
And waited more....for anyone to shout out "but he isn't wearing any clothes",
a line from a fable "The Emperor's New Clothes", where deceiving weavers produced a garment
that was invisible because nothing was there. They made motions of weaving.
But they told the Emperor "only ignorant people could not see the clothing".
The Emperor could not see any clothing, but did not want to appear ignorant or foolish.
So he went in public with his new duds of nothing, naked as a jaybird, unprotected.
The eyes of an innocent child saw him and said "But he is naked!"
Is it harder to take a personal day or vacation day to meet an emergency?
Yup.
Will God honor that action of honor-worthiness?
Yup.
No Belt of Truth on and the Armor does not protect.
Truth is Jesus Christ. "I am the Way, The Light, the Truth".
This post hurt to read. Christ was in-the-way, and truth suspended temporarily,
to meet needs the way WE would and HE would not.
And it pains me deeply to point this out, while your friends skip over the issue entirely.
"So...He ended up calling in sick and wanted to fix them himself which trait I was thankful for because that saved us a lot of money."
What would Kristian say, if dad worked at home instead of at work, but under the auspice of being sick?
Train up a child, blah, blah....
This concerns me only as I admire your discernment so strongly, and it is missing.
That creates a stronghold for the enemy to enter your life, your home, your jobs (both of you).
What if both jobs were lost?
The Belt of Truth is either on or not.
St. Paul said:
" For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
~~~ Romans 8:38-39
This can separate us....... "saved us a lot of money."
Sorry Rosel. I can't agree on this one as the others do.
Really sorry.
When in battle...that would be ALL Christians ALL the time....deception is near.
So is discernment.
I pray I discern wrong here, and the glow comments above, are correct.
Long time ago at work, I told a supervisor who had been retired that if there was something I did that was not productive at work or if I kept doing same mistakes for her to please tell me in person. That would not hurt me knowing that was how I would be able to progress being a new Correctional Nurse at that time. It was a hard transition from working at the hospital to the prison system.
DeleteI know I didn't need to explain myself nor defend myself. I expect that not all who would come by will either agree with me or not. But I want to let you know that I do appreciate your comment and I actually treasure this because I know you are trying to teach me being more mature in our faith.
Most of my posts I do not prepare ahead of time. Whatever the Lord puts into my heart, I type the same time until I transfer them from Wordpad to posting them in my site. So, what sounded not right to you was true because I did not elaborate and just told my story the way it came to mind.
At my husband's work, their emergency or urgent calls are allowed to be taken off from their Sick time. He rarely calls in sick. Only when he's sick and for those urgent matters like this I posted about. But he told his supervisor why. He understood knowing that it needed to be taken cared off right away as we weren't sure if there was anything like a higher pressure underneath that was causing the tiles to move. My husband didn't want me to worry and wanted it fixed right away.
When I said "saved us a lot of money"...I wasn't only talking about this post. I was talking about the other incidents from our house that needed repairs and because he loved to try to fix things on his own and not tarry, we were able to save money rather than pay for others' labor when he was able to fix things. Thanks be to God!
I do not expect for the readers, like what I said, to agree with me or not. My only hope and I always pray before posting is for the Lord to guide me and Him be the One glorified, not me. I want to let you know Keystone, it is with love that I am responding and I want to thank you for always being quick to point out something that might be a concern. I appreciate your visits and your time, always encouraging me more...I don't expect for us to agree at all times...but I am grateful for the unity that comes from His love...God bless and I thank you all for visiting me, whether you leave your "footprints" or not.
In raising my daughters, in all their years, there was only ONE spanking.
DeleteIt was too painful for ME to ever do again.
I learned to sit them on the couch, with a Big Ben alarm clock on a nearby chair.
It was set for one hour.
They were to sit with hands folded, silently, for that one hour.
When there was further trouble, I walked in the room, reset the Big Ben alarm for one hour, and started the time all over.
They soon caught on that an hour could be a lot longer than an hour, so behave!
I can count on one hand the number of times I set that clock for all my daughters. It worked.
But I can count on one finger, the number of spankings I gave.
It just killed me too much to administer even a slight tap to a rear end.
Dad's should never be a source of pain. (Daughters find dad's are pain in the teen years, in unimaginable form.) :-D
You received my comment as it was sent...with love.
I was hoping anyone, someone would speak up...a full day. Nothing.
So I did.
And your analysis of why is spot on. I know your posts are God given and for a reason and timely.
Why do you think I return?
Another blogger once told me in the same circumstances, "I appreciate you never let me stray into Denial".
That blogger was very good at denial of the obvious, but could only "see" it if it was pointed out. I did.
Yet, another blogger once told me in the same circumstances to never darken their doorway with my name again.
I honored that wish from that moment (prayers on my own being the exception; they do not know).
Your life story has taken a dimension of spiritual attack, from being so effective, for the Lord, to so many.
Rosel, you are just bad news to Satan!
I will NOT give him an opening with you in any way or form.
When I see your door unlocked, I speak up.
When I see you in peril, I step in.
I already learned I just can not spank as a dad.
But I have a spiritual "Big Ben" alarm clock....for time outs like these.
There is no contact information for me to connect privately.
This is wise, given the job you had, and security measure from folks with long memories, and potential troubles.
By way of this comment, I permit mutual third parties to give you my email, in the event a comment cannot be done as this one.
Please keep it as private as they do.
Your husband is a gifted man to fix things at home.
Your husband is a blessed man to have a wife to cherish, and a Lord to teach him how.
Tell him.....you have folks who comment love and cherish you too. That would be me!
I had no doubt as to how you would receive what I wrote.
But your husband will agree with me, that dad work of discipleship is difficult, in the best of times.
Separately, I was going to tell you of my readings in Lent season before Easter, a quote that made me think of you as I read, and thought of your job dilemma. The page starts "A Gospel Paradox and Mystery: The Cross"
"Sorrow is one of the things that are lent, not given.
A thing that is lent may be taken away; a thing that is given is not taken away.
Joy is given; sorrow is lent"
~~~ Amy Carmichael, Irish Born Missionary
in the book:
Simply Living The Beatitudes
by
Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila Latourrette
I read a little each night and it is all about you, Rosel.
The back cover states:
"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
~~~ Matthew 5:12
I can no longer hear a Big Ben alarm go off.
My alarm vibrates me out of my bed, and shakes my teeth.
But I can hear God whisper in your words,
and feel his Holy Spirit make warm winds from your love for all,
and know He is the proud parent of a Son, our Lord.
So I suspect God has a lot of trouble spanking too. Being a dad is tough, I kid you not!
Love ya, sister!
Keystone
Just a quick reply before I sign off...
DeleteWhack! I felt the pain on my right palm. Years ago. After I spanked my then young child on his rear after discovering that he disassembled all of his car collections. Some had good values. Some were gifts that were saved for by those who loved him... He didn't get that spanking because he did that...He got a spanking from me for turning his back on his father who was trying to tell him something. He cried so much. I told him that he would know...someday...that it hurt me more...That was the only time I did. He grew up to be such a great son. Not causing troubles. Listening to us, his parents.
Discipline is indeed hard...whether it is from a father or mother. It hurts us as parents to see the pain it causes our children. But we know at the same time, it's for their own benefit. Job? I used to enjoy my job. It is not hard but it's the people who makes it hard...I consider it a discipline from His loving hands. They can take away my job but I will choose to keep my joy because I will always have Him!!!Because His hold is the one thing that saves!!!
I am blessed...to have a loving husband and child who are both God-fearing. But even more blessed to always be reminded that despite the changes and insecurities in life, God does not change.
I am blessed to have met many brothers/sisters in His family through blogging. I thank no one but Him Who orchestrates everything in our lives. To Him be the glory. God bless you and protect you also brother!!!
"5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses" - Prov.27:5,6 (NIV)
P.S.
Chewing that nugget you left (Carmichael's)...That's my prayer...to finish this race by His grace for He is faithful to complete any work He started in each of us...It's all about Him...
i like your post. it was a good reminder that all of life's pressures are overcome by trusting Jesus. I needed to hear that today.
ReplyDelete