Fire

I re-blog this post every so often, and I review it when I find out that yet again I have been the topic of, or surrounded by, gossip...

I try to share this post again because I really believe that as much a there is a plague upon men who struggle to control themselves and are slaves to pornography and the sin caused by their eyes... there is a plague upon women who are slaves to gossip, slander, backbiting, jealousy and arrogance who make excuses for their secret sin, committed mainly with other women who struggle to control their tongues. I am reminded of 2Timothy 3:1-6

1 But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, 4 traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these! 6 They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions...

In the forests there are tall towers constructed to be hundreds of feet tall. The wind causes them to sway just a little but if you can climb them, the view is amazing. You can see for miles. 

Imagine being on the Eiffel tower or the Empire State building and ripping open a feather pillow, shaking all the feathers out. Of course a few would fall at your feet, but the wind would blow most of the feathers far and wide.  Even if you tried, even if your very life depended on it, you could not recapture all of those feathers. Most would travel to places unseen, unknown. 

Now imagine that all of those feathers, were fire. 

Proverbs 16:27-28

27 Scoundrels create trouble;

their words are a destructive blaze.

28 A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;

gossip separates the best of friends.

Gossip will burn through life like a wildfire, untamed, uncontrollable.  Who can re-gather fire? It can never be re-gathered, it can never be taken back, just like you can never get back the spill of gossip. You could work tirelessly to undo gossip, you could spend hours, days, weeks, even years trying to battle... and it is like a single man trying to put out a forest fire.  

James 3:5-6…5So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!6And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

I am pretty sure everyone has experienced gossip coming back to them about themselves. When that happens, it is always tempting to correct the gossip, to identify the originator and to put them in their place.

But if I try to run it down I will never find rest or peace, it would be just as impossible as chasing down feathers dropped from the tower spire.  It would be just as dangerous as a person who tried to fight a forest fire with a garden hose.

   I have grappled with this and realized that...

...when I  accept God's estimation of me, 
I stop worrying about what people say about me.

When I know I have been the topic of gossip, I often pray that God will recapture all those feathers for me, that he will extinguish the fires that have been set around me.

There is no way that I will ever be able to address it, no way that I could  convince others of the untruthfulness of the words spoken against me or my family. And in trying to undo the tangle of someone else's web - I too would strike a match and light dry kindling - I too would be guilty - I too would cause harm.

Psalm 62:5-6 NLT

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,

    for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.

Goodnight,

Amanda

God is FOR YOU, the same as yesterday!

We go to look at a truck. We have been looking at trucks, everywhere we go we are disappointed. Too old, rusty, overpriced, broke down - we aren't finding any good trucks, and when we do - they are soooo expensive that we can't even consider them. This truck is so nice, much nicer than others we have seen. We are certain we can not afford this truck, that there is no way anyone would sell us this truck. We LOVE the truck, and need a truck. Yet, we ask. "Father, if this is your will - throw the door WIDE OPEN, don't let us miss it. But if this is NOT your will, slam that door so hard and so fast that we won't miss that either!"

We test drive said truck, talk to dealer, spend maybe 45 minutes or so at the dealership and then leave with the understanding that if the lady there can work it out on the terms we could afford she will call us and let us know, and if not that is OK too. About 20 minutes later she calls, they will take our malfunctioning car in trade, they will reduce the price of the truck, they have financing on our terms, come back and sign the papers and we are good to go. (AKA - Door wide open)

Fast Forward 12 days - 

Discovering water on your finished basement floor is not a great way to start the week!

Our hot water heater, which is only a few years old, sprung a leak not only removing hot water from our faucets but leaving said water on the floor of the finished basement.... We realized this on a Sunday evening at about 8pm. Off to the Walmart to purchase a carpet cleaner to try to suck out the water we could.

Monday, I am not even fully awake yet, and I get a call from the middle child, The new truck is broken down on the side of the highway, the NEW TRUCK that we have had for only 12 days! 

I call the dealer, call the insurance agent because the truck is so new to us we don't have the official paperwork yet for the insurance coverage. Roadside assistance will tow the truck, but not the trailer. Kid starts calling to get help with trailer. I take 5 minutes to post on Facebook that we need prayers.  

Dealer calls back and says have it towed to them they will look it over. Kid calls, says another friend will tow his trailer and bring him home.  

Then I make it downstairs and realize that this water mess is much larger than I thought. I call the other insurance to ask about coverage, they say no coverage for this. I call a plumber and they can be out by about 4pm, which is amazing considering it's almost noon.  

Husband comes home -his engine in his truck (the old truck) is misfiring. I can hear it from far down the road.

So when the truck breaks down 12 days later I have a choice - I can say 

"Darn truck! I knew that deal was too good to be true! Lousy rotten sales people!" When the heater goes out I can throw a fit and complain, cry and be angry, especially at the insurance company and when even the old truck is misfiring I can be angry at God. "Why did you let all this happen to me!"

or I can say 

"Lord, you led us to that new truck, you threw that door wide open, there is no way that I asked you for a fish and you gave me a snake. I will call the dealer and be kind and calm, this will be ok." and I can look at bigger things, other things and I can say "The Lord is good to me, He always takes care of me, this time is no different." and rather than scream and yell and curse the sky, I can pray for wisdom and peace and the graciousness to handle whatever is thrown at me today.

I heard someone recently teach that God's people in the Old Testament times were "physically blessed" and that people now are just "Spiritually Blessed"...

I have to wonder if God just shakes His head at such comments... this persons assertion is that God doesn't physically bless people in the modern age... look around!

Did you have to weave your clothing? Did you have to hunt your food? Did you have to fight a Philistine? You are physically blessed beyond measure, beyond what anyone thousands of years ago could have even imagined. Beyond the general blessings that most of the modern world gets to enjoy, I am also personally blessed, cared for, and provided for beyond what I can ask or imagine.

God DOES bless his people, miraculously, even today.

My water heater was replaced the next day, at no cost.

The new truck was repaired the same day, within hours, at no cost.

The old truck was repaired the same day, within hours, at no cost.

Not only that - but God uses HIS PEOPLE to pour out his blessings.

Christina and Coleen listened and helped just by listening =) They were kind and calm and encouraging.

Jon came and picked up my son from the side of the road and brought him and his trailer home.

Coleen came and brought me two shop vacs so I could get my basement in order.

Dave came out and consulted on the water heater, gave Drason some basic instruction on installing a new one, and even helped with the company so that it was replaced under warranty.

Andrew diagnosed and repaired the old truck with parts from the old engine.

Marshal took the old water heater back and picked up the new one and delivered it home.

These may seem like small things, it may seem less than miraculous but consider how much these things could have cost. The new truck could have cost thousands to repair (it's a diesel) or even to diagnose. Most diesel mechanics charge at least $70-$100 per hour - it took 4 hours to diagnose and repair. A water heater is about $500, installation of a new one and removal of the old one are about the same - so another $500. Diagnosing and repairing an engine misfire - at least a few hundred dollars, not including parts!

God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He isn't there to trick us, there isn't one God of the Old Testament and one God of the New Testament - He is the SAME GOD! No, things don't always look the same, but He is the same. He does bless us, He uses his anointed ones to pour out the blessings.

There is so much here that I want to unpack for you but it would take more time and writing that I could spare today - so instead I will bullet point it out for you....

1. Prayer before big decisions gives peace and keeps you from shipwrecked faith - imagine moving forward without prayer and assurance on that large purchase - it puts you on shaky ground.

2. You choose who you serve today - will you serve the Lord? If so, then TRUST him. He says over and over that He has good planned for you, He is worthy of your trust!

3. You have the power to build up your home or to destroy it with your words and actions (which stem from your thoughts and feelings) Take captive every thought and don't let them run wild. Did the thought that the truck was sold to me was a lemon cross my mind - for a second the devil whispered that thought - which was immediately captured and dismissed - NO- God is for me, this will be OK!

4. Your kids are watching, they will see - do you trust God or do you freak out? I just had a conversation with the Middle child THE DAY BEFORE THIS HAPPENED about trusting that God has good planned for you - worry is from the enemy.

5. YOU can be the blessing that makes someone else's day more bearable -YOU are the hands and feet of Christ - USE THEM!

Thank you God for turning my bad day into a blessing! Thank you for strengthening and equipping me to combat the fiery darts of the devil and to stand, thank you for making me stand and sending your people to help me stand.