There is a saying that I actually “borrowed”
from an eleven year old during my baseball coaching days of Little League. It’s one that most people would like to claim
I suppose.
Whenever Mark got excited about
anything he would say, “I love it when a
plan comes together.” Well, so do I
and wish that would have been the case this past week.
For months I scheduled, planned, organized and
did all I could to get ahead and prepare for the upcoming seasons. With details falling into place it looked
like my diligent efforts would be honored.
The weekend was over and our plans to have a
quiet holiday together were in place.
Hubby had to return videos to the library, run an errand and the rest of
Monday was ours.
There’s no way we could have known what was
about to happen, but there is no doubt that what transpired was divinely
orchestrated. From here hubby gives the
details of the blessed account that changed everything!
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
International – Montreal, QC, Canada; Pathum Thani,
Thailand; Luxembourg; Malaysia; Puerto Rico; Timor-Leste; Venezuela; Denmark;
Nasik, Maharashtra, India; Chile; Paraguay; Iraq; ; Angola; Japan; Kuwait; Singapore;
Algeria; Czech Republic; Peru; Guatemala; Nigeria; Perth, WA, Australia; Portsmouth,
England, United Kingdom; Dnipropetrovsk, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine; Nasik
(Nashik), Maharashtra, India.
USA
– Chisago City, MN; Timberlake & Watership Downs, NC;
Bunker Hill, WV; Eagar & Whiteriver, AZ; Eucha, OK; Frankfort, KY; Fairborn,
OH; Rutledge, TN; Glynco, GA; Bossier City, Grambling & Ruston, LA;
Kalkaska & Jackson, MI; Dartmouth, Fall River, New Bedford &
Springfield, MA; Bismarck & Linton, ND; Russell, VA; Streator, IL; Dubuque,
IA; Hutchinson, KS; Pitman & Vineland, NJ; Abilene & Houston, TX.
I am so thankful for your visit and hope that you come
back each week to participate in the weekly challenges. Join us in our new series as we spend time in
the study of Daily Favor Relationships.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss out on this week's challenge
(below).
Lunch Run
It’s one of the busiest intersections in the
city. Some come to this part of town at lunchtime for the restaurants, others do
shopping or banking … me, the agenda was baked potatoes at Wendy’s.
When honey is hungry and it’s time to eat
that’s when I go to work… I’m the errand runner, that’s my job. It was Monday October 2nd, 2017
and warm that afternoon. Fay and I were working
in the same division when the boss (her) sent me out to run errands. I’m hubby and this is my story.
It was 1:00 pm and I was on my way to pick up
lunch and be back in fifteen minutes.
That was the plan, but we wouldn’t have our meal that day … no we
wouldn’t eat for at least several more hours.
The Story of My Life
The story you are about to read is true, the
names have been changed to protect the innocent … okay, there aren’t any names
to change but it goes with the plot so go with it.
At 1:10 pm I realized that the videos I was
to return to the library were still on my front seat. Getting totally distracted I turned the wrong
way forgetting about them, and drove in the opposite direction toward the
center of town. My first stop was the
bank at the corner of the intersection.
This particular
intersection has a total of ten lanes
converging. After making my transaction
at the bank I pulled out into traffic and into the left turn lane. There was
one car in front of me.
With no delay the car moved forward when the
light turned green and I proceeded to make my turn as well. As I was into my turn I saw a tiny kitten in
the middle of the intersection and jammed on my brakes coming to a jolted stop.
Jumping out of my car (or as close to a jump
as I can muster these days) I quickly tried to corral that little baby. Back and forth, bending up and down I went
trying to capture the critter but it kept escaping my grasp by hiding under the
vehicle.
Out of Reach
Cars and trucks went whipping by on all sides
with no one stopping to see what the matter was or if there was trouble. Weren’t they curious as to why a grown man
was making some ridiculous moves in the middle of oncoming traffic?
There she was, yes I knew it was a female
from her coloring. Such a frightened but
smart little thing; hiding under the car she stayed just out of my reach.
All I could do was focus on trying to get
this kitten out of harm’s way before anything happened. Disregarding the danger I laid down on the
road slowly pulled myself under the car, but within seconds the kitten
disappeared out of sight.
Search the Vehicle
On the other side of the intersection to the
right of me was a car waiting for the light to change so it could move. I could see a few people in it shouting
directions, but I couldn’t hear them due to the NASCAR racers that were blowing
past me.
Getting out from under my car a man in a
pick-up truck pulled up next to me pointing as he kept driving, “The cat went
up inside your engine!”
“Great” I thought! Now what am I going to do? I don’t want the cat running back into the
road, and with the motor on how can I move the vehicle?
Getting back into my car I began to drive as
slow as possible, aggravating the motorists behind me. Completing my turn out of the intersection I
pulled into the empty parking lot only a few feet past the light and
immediately shut off the engine.
Pulling in right behind me was the car across
the lane with the two ladies and a teenage boy who were trying to tell me what
they witnessed. Opening the hood the
four of us started looking for the kitten and all around the car to see if she
would try to make a run for it.
No one saw her, but then I spotted this form
curled up in a small pocket beneath the hood hinge. Motioning to the young man to come over to me
I pointed to the prize find. “Look … there.”
She was shaking and growling as I leaned in
to retrieve the foundling. Her little
whiskers had been singed by the hot engine, but other than that she was
purr-fectly fine! Placing the kitten on
my chest I thanked the kind strangers for their help and got back in the car.
Embraced in my arms the feline loudly
expressed her discontent. What was I to
do? By now it was 1:30 p.m. and my
craving for a baked potato with broccoli, cheese, sour cream and oozing with
butter didn’t sound appealing after dodging traffic for the past twenty
minutes.
Calling home from the parking lot I informed
my wife that I couldn’t do the rest of the errands and was coming home. Not long into our conversation Fay asked, “What is that noise? What’s the matter?”
She didn’t seem alarmed but was inquiring
about the background sounds, which she would soon find out when I arrived home
packing something other than lunch.
God's Angels Given Charge
Our plans for a quiet holiday literally came
to a screeching halt that day when God placed a creation of His before my
husband’s eyes. When he described the
event (leaving out his Dragnet version) I kept replaying it in my mind.
At first I didn’t understand why he moved the
car, but then I could see how he had no choice but to trust God to keep
everyone involved safe. How did that
kitten get in that situation and not be harmed or destroyed? I knew immediately.
"For the angel of the Lord is
a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him." (Psalm 34:7)
Every day we pray Psalm 91 over our family
including the animals in our charge. We
place angels all around us as scriptures declare. It was God’s angels that protected my husband
and the kitten during that busy time in that ten lane intersection.
“Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:9-11 NKJV)
When we trust God as our protector and refuge
it enables His Word to go into action.
My husband didn’t have time to stop and pray for protection, favor and
blessings … he had to be ready to act, believing God would keep His promise in
the relationship He had with the person who believes Him.
God also honored my husband’s compassion for
His animal and acknowledged his act of kindness as something He would do. In other words, God expects man to care for
His animals in righteousness. Those who do not value the life of one of God’s
creatures He sees them as evil.
“A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." (Proverbs 12:10 NKJV)
“A man who is right with God cares for his
animal, but the sinful man is hard and has no pity." (Proverbs 10
NLV)
I like what the Message Bible says concerning
the relationship God has with His animals.
“Every creature in the forest is Mine, the wild animals on all the
mountains. I know every mountain bird by name; the scampering field mice are My
friends.” (Psalm 50:10 MSG)
If God loves and cares for the animals, our
relationship with animals should reflect that of our Maker.
“Your righteousness is like
the mountains of God; Your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast
You save, O Lord. “ (Psalm 36:6 ESV)
O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom
have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea,
great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both
small and great.” (Psalm 104:24-25 ESV)
This brings us to the next blessing in Life
in God’s Garden. Relationships!
If you haven’t read the first blessings discussed you can
here.
The Ten Blessings of
Eden – continued.
Ninth Blessing – God blessed mankind with
relationships, with Himself, animals and one another. No matter how you look at it, we were not
supposed to be without companionships throughout our entire life.
Let’s break it down into three sections.
First God created the relationships He wanted.
God created Adam (male and female aka “Adam” the
word meaning “man”) and animals for Himself.
In reality, He created everything He wanted for His pleasure to lavish
favor upon His creation.
“For by Him (GOD) all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16
ESV)
The Creator of all things wanted
relationships in which He could enjoy. It has always been His plan to give Daily Favor to His creation whether it is a human or animal. If you want a relationship with God, click
here “Tell Me about Jesus” for more information
on salvation and becoming a child of the Savior.
When He created this world God intended to
provide for both man and beast. Proof of
this love is mentioned to Adam in God’s Garden, which is the next section.
Second God created animals for mankind.
“And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a
helper comparable to him.’ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the
field and every bird of the air…” Genesis 2:18-19 NKJV)
The relationship of animals with mankind wasn’t
the same as it is now (after the fall of man because of sin). Life in God’s garden had different
responsibilities than what we deal with in this age.
We generally put animals in categories, work,
pleasure as in pets, harmful, tame, essential, non-essential or miscellaneous
meaning we don’t know what purpose they serve.
Even though life is different between man and beast outside the Garden
of Eden, there are some things that God intended to last forever between His “creature”
creations.
God desires for us to love animals as He does
and enjoy their fellowship daily regardless of their standing in life. I remember distinctly hearing (in my spirit)
Jesus saying, “I would take time to play
with her.” He was referring to my
cat (the only rescue we had at that time) when we were moving.
The house was in disarray with strangers coming
and going. She was distraught so I took
time out of my duties and sat down on the floor in an empty room with her. I regained her trust and everything worked
out well.
The favor of having animals in our lives doesn't stop
with them just being around or used for our purposes. It is our responsibility
to care for, protect, and yes even at times rescue an animal putting our plans
aside allowing God to show His mercy and blessing on a job well done.
Jehovah wanted this relationship to be so great that He favored
man entrusting him with the privilege of knowing, having dominion over and naming
the animals. God brought and presented
them as individual creations.
“… have dominion over the fish of the sea, over
the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28b NKJV)
“… and brought them to Adam to see what he
would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature that was its
name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to
every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable
to him.” (Genesis 2:19b – 20 NKJV)
Adam would
recognize they were not like him, but had the ability to love and be loyal.
Third He created the female Adam – man.
“And the Lord God caused
a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and
closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into
a woman…” (Genesis 2:21-22 NKJV)
I know you want to read more about this
relationship, but that will come later!
Think on This Challenge:
Just Me and My Mammal
For the past ten days we have had the pleasure of caring
for the one pound four ounce rescue that God put before hubby’s eyes. Hand feeding, burping, bathing and playing
with a four week old is time consuming, tiring and repetitious, but what a
blessing and bundle of fun she has brought to our lives.
 |
| Say hello to Angel Kitty. |
Caring for who we now call “Angel” (you can guess why
that seemed appropriate) has literally brought my husband and I closer together,
along with the other rescues in our care.
We sit side by side on the sofa for each of her feedings laughing,
smiling and enjoying the innocence of new life.
Everything else stops and it’s just us – human(s) and animal(s) building
and renewing relationships of past, present and future.
Did our plan come together? Not exactly, but God's did and that is better than anything we could have imagined. I'd rather be in right standing with Him because His ways are higher than mine.
It was during one of her feedings that this week's think on this challenge came to mind. What would life and your
relationships be like between you and a pet (whether it is current or in the
past) if you never had to feed, shelter, bathe, medicate or tend to them,
because God still did that?
Hmmm … that’s a good one!
Life in God’s garden is a life of favor I could live with
– now and forever! Now would be really good
though, especially since it’s 3:40 a.m. and Angel is running all over the room having
discovered she can jump!
If this article has encouraged or helped you, please
consider sharing it by using the social media icons provided at the end of this
post.
Until next time, favor the life of
animals!
“A righteous man shows favor to My creatures.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
Exploring Creation with Zoology 3
By
Jeannie K. Fulbright
Hardback
pp. 288
As always, all proceeds from this site go to Christian
charity.
Maybe
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
above tab “Tell Me About Jesus”
for more information on salvation and becoming a child of the Savior.
Content
and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
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Life in Gods Garden, Garden of Eden, Garden of Favor, Adam and Eve, Animals, Daily Favor Relationships, Daily Favor Blog, Favored1, Cat Rescue, Challenge, Angel of the Lord, Favored Pets.
