The Game of Life

Come August I get a bit antsy, that is, eager to get back into the classroom, doing fund raisers, winterizing the house or yard, and basically setting my schedule for the New Year.  

Well, these days just about everything got in the way of those “normal” things.  If I could use one word to describe it all, it would be “errrrr."

 

The game of life got a bit more frustrating.

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It Was a Break

 

Have you ever had a week like that? You know, where nothing seemed to be going right? 

Frustration levels have been at a peak this week, all starting with not being able to make a post last week.  For the most part my writing is usually ahead of schedule, because it isn’t focused on my daily living. 

 

However, Daily Favor really cannot be written ahead, because it’s based on what God is doing at the moment in my life.  Basically, I write as He reveals. 

When I realized that Friday’s post wasn’t going to happen, I got really upset.  First with myself thinking I missed something with God, then fussing about my viewers being disappointed, and finally, dealing with feelings of guilt (which we know isn’t of God). 

My husband said, “Tell them you’re on vacation.” … but that wouldn’t have been the truth.  Not that he was suggesting I lie, but hoping people understood and wouldn’t quit following this blog.  I wish it were a vacation; it’s been almost twenty years since I’ve had one of those.  

 

No, it was only a break from writing so I could be with my husband.  So, that’s what I did.  Funny how things work out even when you think they’re a mess.  So let me share how all the foes and foils transpired over my week when I was on a “break.” 

Do You Need A Wheelchair? 

Hubby was scheduled to be in the hospital last week, so we prepared for whatever needed to be done.  He was already in AFIB and was about to have more testing done on his heart. 

I have no idea how it happened, but earlier in the week I somehow twisted my knee possibly tearing a ligament.  The pain was awful and the best thing I could do was to stay off my leg.  By the time we went to the hospital, I was the one limping. 

After we checked in at the front desk, a nurse came to get my husband. Observing my limp she assumed I was the patient, and asked if I needed a wheelchair. Thanking her, I declined the offer and hobbled down the corridor. 

We were thankful that he didn’t have to stay overnight and all seemed to be fine. The results would be given to us within twenty-four hours.  There wasn’t anything else we needed to do except wait, so home we went as quickly as possible. 

Not Much of A Dream

When we got home I plopped myself on the couch to keep my leg elevated.  Hubby decided to take it upon himself to make a cake.  Not just any cake, but a Red Velvet Dream Cake.   

Not ever having this kind of cake, I bought one for $3.00. I’ve never spent that much on a cake mix in my life, but I thought it was a bargain.  The package said it included the icing and a cake pan.  The pan itself I felt was worth that much.  Good deal right? 

While the cake was baking, he moved on to making the frosting according to the box direction.  Only he changed them ever so slightly. Instead of using soft butter, he melted it in the microwave.  The icing was a flop because he didn’t whip it.  Thinking it needed to get cold he popped it in the refrigerator.  

Game Boy 

Let the games begin!  It was late evening by now. Not being able to move about much I got on the computer to play a game.  What’s this? A new one … Cake Mania?  How appropriate.   

Finally getting to where I understood how it worked, the internet shut off.  This had been happening all week, right in the middle of work.  Hubby came over to see if he could fix the problem. 

After he resolved the issue I suggested he take over and stop being a back seat cake baker.  While I was playing he kept calling out the moves for me to make (as if I could make it go any faster). 

It’s not so easy now is it game boy?  Switching seats, now I was the one behind him making the calls.  The only difference though was the laughter in the gallery. 

Customers keep coming for cakes.  Hubby refused to pick up the money so no more people would come in, then he wouldn’t take their order and started talking back to them as they got mad. It was hilarious. 

I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer, listening as he whispered all the orders one-by-one while trying to keep up with the mayhem.

 

“Go ahead, leave.  I’m not making your cake anyway.” And you might as well forget it too. I’m not giving you a menu either. ”… he spouted off to the "virtual" customers as they fumed out the door.  

“I’m not buying any more supplies.”  He said as he trashed all the cakes that were wrong orders, losing $600 in the pretend bakery. I laughed so hard tears were flowing down my face, which only ticked him off more.  It was a perfect time to make my exit to the kitchen. 

When Dreams Go Bad 

Now let me remind you that my husband doesn’t play online games, or any games for that matter.  He has to really be in the doghouse for him to play a board game with me, if you get my drift. 

He was finally determined to beat this game when the internet shut off again.  Hearing this sound “awww” come out of his mouth I came into the living room. It was like a bird told me to say, “You know (little pause here), it’s funny how” … Right then he interrupted me. 

“I know … messing up on the Red Velvet cake tonight.  I’m not a baker!”  Laughing I replied, “You’re not even a virtual one!” 

Seven hours later the icing was still as runny as water!  I said, “I can fix this.”  Sitting at the kitchen table I proudly decorated the single layer dream cake with cream cheese frosting we had in the cupboard. 

Finishing the cake, there was this awful toxic, paint smell wafting from the container. It was bad.  Checking the date I noticed it read November 2011! The Red Velvet Dream Cake was turning into a nightmare.  Apparently neither of us are bakers!  (Don't judge me ... who does a date check on the items in the pantry?  That stuff is good forever, right?)
 

It reminded me when Joseph was in prison and interpreted the baker’s dream! (Genesis 40:16-19 NKJV) 

I cut the top off and we ate it plain.  Not exactly the outcome we had hoped. Oh, and that free baking pan I thought I was getting ... it was cardboard!

Not so El Taco 

On his way home from cardio rehab, hubby stopped off at the local grocery store to get some taco shells for lunch.  He was assembling our culinary delight when he noticed something; they had expired. What is it with food this week? 

Toe Mail 

It’s Thursday by now and hubby was attempting to go to work for a few hours.  This would be his first time to do that, and a good opportunity for me to catch up on writing.  About ten minutes after he was gone the phone rang.  Trying to pick up the phone, it slipped through my fingers and dropped to the floor. Of course it was out of reach, why wouldn’t it be! 

Seeing it was my husband I needed to get to it quickly, so I tried to answer it with my big toe.  In my head I kept hearing my husband say. “Swipe it, swipe it.” Then I mashed it with my foot trying to get it to answer. A first for me I assure you. (By the way, it didn’t work.) 

I didn’t know if there was a problem.  Anxiously trying to retrieve it by sliding the phone with my foot (remember I still can’t move my leg), I was able to get it within reach.  By the time I picked it up it had already gone to voice mail, only to notify me that there was no service.

Playing phone tag, we finally got through to one another.  Sharing my dilemma with my husband, this time he was laughing. He informed me that his game plan changed and now he was going to the library. 

Testing in Progress

These things seem silly don’t they?  Sometimes it’s not the big things, but all the little ones adding up that get us frustrated.  They try our patience and cause us to get anxious, so that when a big problem happens we get thrown for a loop. 

The cake thing wasn’t a big deal, but it was time consuming and a waste of money. Even though I was thoroughly entertained (sorry hubby), it threw off our “game” for a time. 

Waiting all week to hear from the doctor made us impatient, especially when we were told it would take only one day.  We’re still waiting.  I wish I had that many hours in my “day,” maybe I’d get more done. 

Being immobilized from the leg injury, the internet going out all week, no phone service, expired food and praying the hospital results were good certainly challenged our faith levels. 

Psalm 139:23 declares that the Lord surely knew about our anxious thoughts, even though we tried to keep them quenched. 

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

“Search me, test me.” Really God? How many times have you asked God to test your faith? Frankly, I can’t say that one is high on my prayer request list. 

Philippians 4:6 reminds us not to be anxious, fret or worry over anything. I would expect that means the little things as well, don’t you? So casting our cares would be right in that mix I’d say. (1 Peter 5:7) 

The Game of Life 

What we can gain from this is that God is always in the game plan, and He doesn’t want us to play the “game of life” all by ourselves. If we refer to the scriptures, God reveals to us through James that there is a way to go about the trials, tests and struggles we encounter each day, whether they are large or small. 

“… when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  

So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NLT) 

Being a perfectionist takes on a whole new meaning after reading that.  Come to think of it, mediocre doesn’t look that bad with all the trials that come with growing to be perfect in faith. 

 

Just how much endurance do we really need?  Apparently, a lot if we want God to step in with the playbook. 

We Can Still Have Cake 

Not everything in life is going to work out the way we planned or hoped.  We don’t always get the breaks we want, but life isn’t supposed to be placed on hold because of some set-backs.  Hey, that’s why they call it “life.” 

That red velvet cake wasn’t what I thought it would be, but I still had cake … a bit different, but it was just as good.  God is willing to give us cake, icing and all (so to speak). He planned for us to have good things through His loving favor, but it all has to do with the way we handle bad situations.  

Our faith is so precious to the Lord that it is valued more than anything else, and satan knows that.  If he can get Christians to cave on the small stuff, then he already knows he can trap us when it comes to big decisions. So we shouldn’t be surprised when a trial passes our way. 

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ …” (1 Peter 1:6-7) 

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”

(1 Peter 4:12)

 

Believe You Have What You Need 

By faith we have to believe that when we ask God for assistance and wisdom to get through the trials we encounter, He will give us what we need.  After we have prayed, we must believe that help is on the way and we have what we need to see us to the next step in life.  

If we pray and don’t believe God heard us, then we will get exactly what we expected – and that is squat, nada, zilch, nothing from the Lord. 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without getting angry at you for asking, and it will be given to him.   

But let him ask in faith believing God will help, not doubting, for he who doubts is unstable in their faith and will not receive anything from the Lord.” (from James 1:5-7 NKJV emphasis mine) 

 

This Week’s Challenge:

The Faith Pawn  

Coming to the end of this post I told my husband I was making good headway, but needed the challenge. He replied, “You have me.”  So there you have it.  How can I top that? 

Life is enough of a challenge, do we need another? No, this week we’re on a break. Not really, but God will have us work on our faith perfection and endurance levels.   

When it comes to winning in life (over the obstacles that are thrown along our path), we’ve got the upper hand on strategy.  The only pawn we need is our faith.  It’s the most precious game piece we have.  The devil knows that, do you? 

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and

knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments

and His ways past finding out!  (Romans 11:33 NKJV)

God declared that the victory is already ours. That means we’re already winners.  Now we need to act like it.  Lots of interference was thrown our way this week (this post would be really long if I told you all that happened), but through our disappointments we smiled, laughed and didn’t let it get us down.  We’re patiently believing God for a good outcome. 

What’s happening in your life that’s throwing your game out of whack? No matter what you’re going through, God’s grace and mercy will see you through if you remain steadfast in your belief.  He will grant favor on your life and care for you, giving renewed hope to your spirit. (Job 10:12 NKJV)

Lord grant me wisdom throughout the day,

and through the trials I will pray,

Your perfect will, in Your perfect way.

 

 

 Perfect Wisdom of Our God (Keith & Kristyn Getty)

 

Until next time, may God grant favor on your situation!

 

“I will favor you with My wisdom.”

Jesus Christ

 

Note: The words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him no place in our lives.

Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness. 

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199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking with God

By Andrew Murray 

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For over twenty years I have studied the teachings of this South African theologian who is considered wise in the Word on prayer. 

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