Just How Big is our God.

Happy Valentines Day. Lots of snow here past couple of weeks. Being from the "south" it's been quite unusual. Lots of working overtime missing family and church. But as I was at work the other day, I went outside to get some motor grader blades in the middle of the heavy snow and could see the snow very good against my black coat. As I was fumbling for my keys to get in the backdoor I stopped to actually look at the individual snowflakes. As long as they did not join together in mid air you could actually see the makeup of the individual flakes. Each one seemed to have six sides but they were all made differently. Then I began to ponder the greatness of God. How he made each one of us individually and no two the exact same. And then I began to look around and my scope of things began to change. I could see how it took somewhere between 10 and 20 snowflakes to cover an area the size of my thumbnail. Then I began to ponder just how many snowflakes it took to make 4" of snow. Then the size and greatness of our God really hit me. How many did it take to affect the entire east coast. WOW!!! and God did all this in just a couple of hours. What a big God we serve. Looking at the individual snowflake you can clearly see that the makeup cannot be random, there is just too much symmetry. How can anyone deny there is a God. Slow down in life this week and try to see all the glory God has set before us that truly testifies how powerful he is. He really is mighty enough to save from an eternal hell. Read Psalms 19:1, 50:6, and 97:6. Think about the one that loved us enough to give His life for us. Happy Valentines Day!!!

Pic courtesy of Google Images.

God honors faithfulness

Well its been a while. So to start this post I first want to say thank you to all who read it on occasion. I have yet to see anyone's post or comments so don't be shy. Now let me start by saying that this is in no way tooting my own horn. This is all for the glorifying of God. I was just thinking how God looks after us when we're faithful. Sometimes God puts tests in our path to see how we'll respond. I think if you'll view life from this prospective then the trials of life will be just a little more meaningful. We've never had much money and there was a short time when I was in between jobs a couple of years ago. Now I didn't say I was poor just never had much money.....there is a difference. I've always been very blessed and rich beyond belief....just not money wise. So with bills bearing down and no income we prayed for enough money to pay the light bill. There seems to be a life lesson and re-occurring theme among all my posts......we always use prayer as a last resort...shameful. Anyway we prayed for the money to pay the light bill. The next Sunday at church there was an envelope in our mailbox. It had a nice little note in it and said "God laid it on my heart to give you this" but it wasn't signed. Of course we had told no one about being in need so we both just looked at each other in disbelief and started to cry. It wasn't enough to cover the light bill, it was more than enough. One little prayer with a quick answer just for my spiritual growth. Who am I that the creator of the universe would take time to be so personal with? Better yet who are we that He would come down from glory and suffer and die for?God has never been more real to me than He is today. Psalms 8::3-4 / 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18

My Dad meets My Father

First of all Happy New Year. I'm going to start this entry with some back story. My uncle (dad's brother) was a rough man. Trust me, I've got stories. But I cannot and will not badmouth my uncle. I loved him very much and have tons of fond memories of him. Anyway, he had gotten very sick. He had lung cancer and already had some of each lung removed a couple of years before. With all this he never quit smoking. He knew his time was coming to an end. We visited with him frequently his last few months witnessing to the point of being shunned somewhat. We would walk in and he would start tearing up and tell us he didn't want to hear that mess today (talking about the gospel). He said there was no way God could forgive him for the things he had done. He was on oxygen and stayed alone. He would often fall asleep on the couch watching westerns. One night he woke up and lit a cigarette with the oxygen still in and boom. It caught fire and almost made it back to the machine. It severely burnt the insides of his throat all the way to his lungs. He had always told his brothers and sisters to make sure they didn't put him on any tubes to keep him alive. We were in UNC hospital in Chapel Hill sitting in a room with my dad, stepmom, 3 aunts and uncles, one doctor, and a lady "Chaplin" (read 1 Timothy Chapter 2). I didn't want to let him go without me knowing he was saved. As I argued with the doctor the "Chaplin" tells me that there are many different ways to get to heaven. I blurted the only thing that came to mind. John 14:6 Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life no man comes to the Father but by me. Anyway I lost the argument and the family honored the wishes of my uncle. I held his hand right up until his last breath. We had gone over the way of salvation earlier and before he died I could almost see a peace in his eyes and he acted like he wanted to tell me something right up until the end. I guess we'll see someday. Now to the point. I had been planting seeds with my dad for 10+ years beginning at my wedding. After the funeral, about a week later, on a Monday evening after getting home from work my wife tells me there's something my dad wants to tell me. So I called him and asked what's up. He says guess what I did last night. What I asked. My dad proceeds to tell me how he went up to the alter and got saved. After his brothers death he had been secretly attending church services at a church over by his house. He's been a different man ever since and I feel closer to him than ever. I'm so thankful that our God is a retroactive God that's not bound by time. Thank you Jesus.

WAIT.....On the Lord.

I have been giving stories of immediate answers to prayers. I have been thinking lately about prayers that take some time to be seen. Most recently my wife was sick. Not one to complain, I had noticed her holding her mid section frequently. She was having pains and wasn't saying anything. One night laying in bed I prayed with her like I did with my boy when he was in the hospital. The next morning I asked how she felt. She said about the same then she expressed to me that she didn't want my view of God to change because He didn't heal her right away. We'll it didn't, but it does make one wonder why it works one time and not the next. Nevertheless I continued to pray for her. She finally decided she needed to see a doctor. Now this is where God's providence and God's timing come in together. My wife worked for her dad when we first met up until she was pregnant with the twins.....14 years ago. So she decides to call her dad and have him set something up with his doctor on her behalf. After being checked out and blood work done and this test and that test, it was determined that she was having really bad heart burn and maybe developing a gall stone. Now my wife doesn't work and she doesn't have insurance so all of this is coming in with single income with three kids. At the end of the doctors visit the doctor said "haven't you worked on my roof before?" She said yes that she used to work with her dad doing carpentry and roofing. When asked how much she owed he said NOTHING and gave her a supply of medication that was free samples. That was two months ago and she has been doing fine for a while now. Praise God for his provisions. God influences the minds of people and convicts hearts to accomplish His will. Look forward to some more stories of God touching the hearts of people to provide for HIS children!!!

Thinking About Family

This time of year I can't help but think about my family. Thanksgiving just past and Christmas is only eight days away. I'm reflecting and thanking God for my many blessings. Circumstances hitting close to home with people loosing loved ones and children being hospitalized making me realize how blessed we truly are just to have good health. That brings me to a memory of something that happened not too long ago. The boys were staying with their Granny and Pa when we get a call saying Timothy (our youngest boy) had broken out in a rash and was vomiting. Thinking allergic reaction, we said rush him to the emergency room. We met them there and he was swelling and very pale now. After a couple of hours in the emergency room and some blood work nothing was found. We had the O.K. to go home as soon as he would pee. Another hour or so passed and still no pee. The nurse concluded that he was dehydrated so in goes another big bag of fluid. After two bags of fluid and still no pee his feet begin to swell really big. He couldn't walk on them they hurt so bad. I couldn't blame him, they looked like two tomatoes that were about to split. So now we're informed that his kidneys weren't working and would have to go to Wake Med. Scared??? yeah!!! Then it hits me. I felt a total loss of control. I'd done all I could do.......except pray. One of them "you idiot" moments. I laid my hand on his forehead and poured my heart out to God. I remembered asking Him to let Timothy pee before he went to Wake Med. I must say that is the only time I have ever prayed for pee!! I felt a real peace about it and as we were waiting for the ambulance to transport him I told my wife he was going to pee before the ambulance got there. Well Timothy was asleep this whole time  because it was after midnight. When the ambulance arrived 20 minutes later Timothy had wet the bed......A LOT! We went on to Wake Med for observation and more tests (they're awesome with kids by the way) . Nothing was ever found to be the cause of his episodes, but I know what it was. It was a lesson for me at Timothy's expense. Now I try to remember Matthew 21:22 FIRST instead of making prayer a last resort. Help us Lord to think of you first in everything we do and say. Thank you Lord for your provision and protection.

God glorifies Himself.......We just have to tell it!

I've been trying to remember some of the better stories of answered prayer in my life. I was thinking about former pastors and former churches lately and remembered an older man that I looked up to. I'm not going to use names so we'll call him Mr. E. Mr. E's wife was very sick. As I recall she had a brain tumor. Our pastor at the time was looked to for guidance. Our pastor reminded him of the verse that says "this kind come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting". So they prayed together for a little more than an hour. Meanwhile while she was in the hospital Mr. E continued to fast and pray with much tears and supplication to God. When the doctors went in and did the pre operational check up the tumor was nowhere to be found. She lived for several more years after that before succumbing to cancer. They're both gone on to be with the Lord since then but I'll never forget what God did to my faith through Mr. E and his wife. Thank you Lord for the time we have to spend with our families and the extra years we're allowed by your grace and mercy.

Open Comments Section

I went in and changed some settings. You should now be able to post without having to sign up as a google account user. Just click the "comments" word at the bottom of any post to leave your story.