You know, being accountable to
those who are following along this Inward Journey has made me step things up a
notch. Have you found the same thing? I hope so. I’ve found that even though it’s
a bit harder, it has also given me strength knowing others are also doing their
best toward living a life of excellence.
That doesn’t mean we always get
things right, but that we are seeking God to help us do better each day no
matter what the task.
My husband and I were already
working on some things we needed to improve after last week’s
challenge. By the time Daily Favor was
posted I had already worked on several piles of mail like I promised. The trunk on the other hand didn’t get very far, not because of lack of willingness, but snow and ice. He did move some things … from the trunk to the back seat!
As we progressed, there were
other things that distracted our good intentions.
Inward Journey circle is growing and I’m so glad to
be a part of it with you. Please continue to share this site along with praying
for your brothers and sisters of faith following Daily Favor from around the
globe.
Don’t miss out on this week’s challenge
(below). Q & A Section
Mocha
the Siamese Cat
 |
| Mocha December 2013 |
It was Monday evening February 2nd, 2014 at 11:00 pm. We had done our final rounds and put Mocha (kitty) in the potty to do the essentials. Mocha is about 15+ years old, very frail, but still strong willed. He is also fast and determined to have his way.
For those who don’t know, he was given up due to his
lack of bladder control and is now under extensive care being treated for
kidney failure. Not only does Mocha have
a kidney problem, he is visually impaired, has a weak heart and osteoporosis.
Red
Alert
We weren’t sure how it happened and thought his
balance might have been off due to his IV (we call juicing) treatments. The fluid settles in their legs, because
there is hardly any meat on their bones. It
makes it difficult to walk.
Just as we were winding down, we had to go into red
alert mode. Our emergency phone call to
the veterinarian didn’t get through until 2:30 am. The doctor talked to my husband, but Mocha
wasn’t able to see him until 9:00 am.
Immediately my thoughts on last week’s Daily Favor reminded me to “ask”
the Lord what to do.
Watch
& Wait
Normally I wouldn’t go into so much detail, but this
time they kind of unfold my story.
We put our plan into action of what I felt the Lord
was directing. My husband would go to
bed while I took the overnight shift.
I put Mocha in a long box with several towels to keep him warm. Every time I moved he would try to get up, so
I quickly figured out that he had to be right by my side on the sofa.
In my mind I thought that after he was asleep I
could do some work on the computer to help me stay awake, but Mocha would have
no part of that. The only thing I could
do was sit beside him with my hand on his side in order to get Mocha to settle
down and sleep through his pain.
I kept thinking how they couldn’t even stay awake an hour … how am I going to stay awake all night after the day I had? (Reference Matthew 26:40)
Six o-clock seemed to come earlier than usual, and before I knew it once again our routine was in full force.
With the examination complete the doctor told my
husband that Mocha’s break happened simply with his walking. It was already cracked due to the
deterioration of the bones. When asked
what we could do he said, nothing but put him down.
The vet explained how Mocha was too weak for an
operation, that he wouldn’t make it through the surgery and that he would probably
only last a few days without it. He gave
him some morphine for the pain and left the rest to us. All we could do now is
watch and wait.
Wrong
Thinking
Everything has to be monitored, his food intake, potty, medications, etc. There isn’t any time for anything else.
At first I thought that all the other things were the
distraction keeping me from focusing on Mocha, when God told me that wasn’t
true at all. Taking care of special
needs animals was normal for us, and that included Mocha.
What made us think we had gotten off track was our wrong
thinking about Mocha’s diagnosis. The
bad report from the vet didn’t help, but the thoughts that were fed to us by
the devil changed our positive outlook into something awful.
Instead of focusing on Mocha’s strength, we had been
watching and waiting to see if he had crossed over. You can’t live that way.
I cannot blame it all on the vet’s report. My
thinking swayed that way because a friend of ours went home suddenly last Friday
and the funeral was Tuesday.
The word “vigil” was on my mind each night until I
was reminded of when the disciples were in the garden with the Lord. Jesus was watching and waiting on the Holy
Spirit for strength and guidance. His
disciples were supposed to be doing the same thing, but they fell asleep.
While waiting they would have received what they
needed from God. That is what He was teaching
me during that quietness.
Life & Unexpected Workouts
Instead of things calming down the trials
rose. Like the majority of America,
we’re in the middle of an extremely cold winter. Propane gas has been on restriction, so we
have cut back.
In trying to stay warm, Thursday I did laundry all
day long so we could run the dryer. Our
washer is in need of repair and overflows if you don’t catch it in time before
it drains. Of course you realize I had
to make a mad rush to it for every drain cycle all day. I am pleased to say I
got a good workout.
Finally I was able to sit down to work. Mocha was within eye sight, the washer/dryer
somewhat under control and a piece of dark chocolate was smoothly melting in my
mouth. Ouch, what was that? My tooth broke! Oh, that isn’t right, especially with
chocolate.
The same day while my husband was out on an errand,
he removed something from the trunk and closed it. It only took a matter of 5 minutes for the
truck lock to freeze. He had to come all
the way back home to get some vinegar (thanks Mindy for the tip) to put on the
lock so he could open the trunk. (BTW – vinegar freezes, so don’t leave it
outside.)
The
Birds of the Field
For me, I can tell you that I have spent most of the
“between” times looking out the kitchen window watching the squirrels and
birds. As they played I was reminded of
the passage that gave me hope and comfort.
Every day I noticed that the birds would come around
10:00 am and by 3:00 pm they were gone. Suet
was already hanging on the fence, but two squirrels were chasing away the
birds.
 |
| "Don't you have anything gluten free?" |
I decided to put melba whole grain toast rounds,
mixed bird seed and bran cereal out on a graham cracker crust pie plate to lure
the squirrels away from the fence for a time.
It was hilarious to watch the squirrels as my
husband scattered the melba rounds in the yard.
He said they were looking at him as if they were saying,
"Don’t you have anything gluten free?”
At one time there were about 50 birds of all sorts
in the yard, but only two cardinals. My husband said my neighbor down the road
had about twenty on her property. I have
a feather to pick with her about that.
In the frigid cold, these birds were hopping about
on the snow, running along the fences and flying onto the shed roof. They were having a grand time diving,
swooping and chasing one another, not giving one thought about anything except
the moment at hand. The birds never
forget God’s covenant to them, so they don’t fret over things.
Throughout the week when feeling overwhelmed, I
returned to the window and stopped to watch the outdoor activity. Immediately, I was reminded of God’s
faithfulness to complete that which He started, and that I had to remain
faithful by trusting Him.
God has been showing me all week that you cannot
achieve excellence without faithfulness.
Instead of running to Him in a panic, I’ve been in continual contact for
every step I’ve needed to take.
My husband said for him, excellence came when he
willingly volunteered to assist the vet in something he didn’t know how to
do. He remained faithful in spite of the
distractions.
 |
| Mocha decided he liked the crate better. |
Mocha is showing us that he is strong even though
his body is trying to tell him something different. He has fight in him, and
isn’t willing to give up on life.
He is learning to walk with something broken even
though it is painful. That’s something
most of us don’t want to do.If things aren’t working out like we want, we quit and ask God to change our circumstances.
God wants us to remain in the good fight of faith so
that we can win. He’s not “putting”
things on us because we did something wrong or that He’s angry with us. Fighting to win is all part of remaining
faithful to God’s plan for us. We don’t
need a plan if we don’t plan on finishing anything.
This morning my husband needed to clean up in a
hurry after tending to the cats. He had
a busy schedule and with the additional medications for some of them he was
running behind, plus Lady had an appointment at 4:00 pm.
He grabbed a wad paper towels and headed off to the
bathroom. “Oh, no you don’t.” I
quickly called out stopping him in his tracks.
Holding out my hand for him to give me the paper towels, I told him to
use a washcloth. As he surrendered his will
to me he said, “The washcloth doesn’t
deserve that!”
I burst into laughter as he hung his head like a
little boy going around the corner. He
just wanted to get it done fast and be on his way. Using a washcloth would take longer, make
work for me and might even end up with stains.
My husband then realized I didn’t care about the dirt, but was concerned
about him.
Most of the time there is no quick fix or easy way
to resolve a situation. Sometimes it’s
hard to surrender our situation to God.
We don’t know how things will turn out, but base our thinking and
beliefs on what we have experienced in the past. As we progress on our journey to change from the inside out, we need to stop thinking the way the world thinks and remember the faithfulness of God.
Bird
Brain
Our believing can only stay strong if we remain in faith … that is “faithful to faith.”
God cares for us just like He does for all His creation. Jesus said that if He cares about the life of a bird, don’t you think He cares for you?
If a birds tiny little brain knows how to trust God to provide and protect them, shouldn’t we take that lesson to heart?
I don’t know what is going to happen with Mocha, but
I do know I’m not waiting for doom and gloom.
With each day I count it a blessing to serve and will faithfully wait
for my instruction from the Holy Spirit.
One of the things Jesus wanted us to remember is
that He is coming. When He does, will He find anyone who has remained
faithful to Him?
This
week’s challenge: Remain Faithful.
We’re taking a new approach on this journey, right? So when circumstances or people tell you to quit and throw in the towel, don’t. If you feel like changing something, don’t unless you know you’re hearing that direction from God.
The Lord has given you strength and the ability to tough out the hard stuff. Remain faithful as you watch and wait to see God work things out for you.
Remember the birds!
When all this was happening this week, someone
questioned my husband about his attitude.
This person had been fighting with the Lord and took it out on his
employees.
With one of the staff looking
on, my husband smiled at the man and said, “I
didn’t get mad at God.” May we be able to say the same.
When you feel yourself starting to lose faith, remember the birds and how God loves and cares for you.
Let the Lord transform your heart to His as
you remain faithful on your journey.
Holiness/Take my Life by Scott
Underwood
Until next time, favor comes through faithfulness.
What's New this week: Footprints in the Sand by Thomas Kinkade
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you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this kind of
favor in your life also. Click on the
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Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provide by Gateway Bible
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