The beginning of May has the world celebrating the appreciation of teachers, nurses, hospitals and mothers along with a few other holidays. Nowhere do I see the celebration of appreciation of your own life or the life of others who do not fall in a specific category.
As the days wear on with me continuing in my husband’s responsibilities, I have come to appreciate what a burden he carries for me as well as others.When I realize what he does on a daily basis as “the usual” stuff, I am so thankful that I don’t have to do those things and that someone else is gifted or willing to take on tasks that I’m not that good at.It makes me appreciate my own life and the gifts God has endowed to me even more.
Transfer the Burden
In Galatians 6 we are asked to bear one another’s burdens to fulfill the law of Christ as we go about being generous and doing good deeds for the Lord.God promises that our deeds won’t go unnoticed and we will be rewarded in due season.Sowing seeds into the Kingdom of Heaven allows us to reap eternally as well as here on Earth.
There are a lot of jobs that frankly I hope I’ll never have to do, but if I had to I pray that I would be willing to carry them out without grumbling. Like Moses we may ask, “How can I alone bear your problems, burdens and complaints?” (from Deuteronomy 1:12 NKJV)
Well we can’t, and knowing that not everyone can do every job, the Lord places a desire for certain tasks in our heart to fit us uniquely.We need to appreciate the skills He has placed in each individual.
God does not call everyone to be mothers/fathers, nurses, teachers or even people who care for pets.He does however call everyone to carry a burden for someone in need, before handing them over to Him.
“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV)
In other words, cast your cares (burdens) on the Lord, because He cares about your life and appreciates what you do for Him.
"Cast your burden(s) on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22 NKJV)
Are you appreciating the favored gifts God has given you to celebrate your own life by sharing those talents with others in order to become a "difference maker"? When was the last time you showed appreciation to those who have shown favor by carrying a burden for you at some point in your life? Obviously, they made a difference in some way.
Life is a precious gift to be celebrated - every life no matter their stance! Every individual matters to God and it should to us as well. Jesus has asked us to make a difference and do something that will count for eternity.What will He have you do for Him today that demonstrates your appreciation for life? Will you become a "difference maker" that get God's attention for granting more favor?
"For those who find Me find life and the LORD will be pleased with them to receive
(gain, obtain, brings out good will)
favor from the LORD."
from Proverbs 8:35
Until next time, appreciate favor when you receive it.
*For those who trust in Jesus Christ, God gives the promise of life here but also the gift of eternal life as an inheritance of being His child. If you would like to have this gift also, click here to learn more.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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 becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1 unless noted. Do not copy.
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Exerpt from original article "Rolled Sleeves, Dusty Knees". Unless noted, scripture reference in series was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway. ImageCreative Common License if not specified. Photo by Favored1/Fay Ann Daniels
Join us for thirty days of thanks, as we enter into God's throne room to show our gratitude for His goodness and blessings through scripture, praise and prayer.
Day 22:
Heavenly Father, I don't know why You wanted someone like me, but I am glad You did. You knew that I would mess up time after time, yet You still created me for Your very own.
Thank You for not giving up on me. Keep me on Your potters wheel; continue working until I become the masterpiece You desire for doing the things You planned for me from the beginning of time.
*For those who trust in Jesus Christ, God gives the promise of life here but also the gift of eternal life (in Heaven; a Kingdom that cannot be shaken) as an inheritance of being His child. If you would like to have this gift also, click here to learn more.
Until next time, favored blessings!
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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 becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Unless noted, scripture reference in series was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway. ImageCreative Common License if not specified.
Welcome, Daily Favor Blog, Favored1, Daily Favor Teaching Blog, Thanksgiving, 30 Days of Thanks, Holiday, National Holiday, Holidays, Fay Ann Daniels, Challenge, Praise, Prayer, Faithfulness, Worship,Gratitude, Good Deeds
At 2 a.m. I was still awake. Sitting up in bed I began my nightly conversation
with the Lord replaying the day’s activities.
“What in the world did I do today? I was busy the entire day, and all I have to
show for it is decorating a little in the living room?”
Continuing to brow beat myself the Lord had me mentally
walk through the day.Practically
falling asleep from exhaustion this took a while.Seriously, I just finished putting the linens
away after the final laundry washing and pretty much couldn’t think past the
last hour!
When I went through the list, there were dozens and
dozens of tasks completed that no one would ever notice or realize needed to be
done but me. Most things only took a few
minutes, while others (like working with the rescue cats) took hours from start
to finish. In between larger tasks came
those small “must do’s” as the day progressed.
Looking back on my day, I recall feeling pretty good and singing
carols while hauling stuff from one place to another.
Even when the washer overflowed, instead of
thinking “what a mess” I jokingly said to hubby as he swept the three inches of
water out the back door, “Washed laundry room floor – check!” (As if it was another thing marked off my to
do list!)
The devil was trying to make me feel bad about taking
time to do the things that are temporal and for the most part, don’t really
matter eternally. With office work done,
I had to keep in mind that the things I was doing were for the family and
community, which in God’s eyes, are important.
Having a guilt trip over the events of the day was purely
from the enemy. My soul was at ease no
matter what it looked like to others, knowing I had already committed my works
to the Lord at the beginning of the day asking Him for guidance, favor and
direction concerning the path I should take in everything I did.
“All the ways of a man are
clean and innocent in his own eyes (and he may see nothing wrong with his
actions), but the Lord weighs and examines the motives and intents of the heart
and knows the truth.
Commit your works to the Lord
(submit and trust them to Him),
and your plans will succeed (if
you respond to His will and guidance).”
Proverbs 16:3-4 AMP
Neighbor Watch
Reviewing what we accomplished opened my eyes, revealing what
appear to be facts isn’t necessarily the entire truth. So many things take place in our lives that
others will never see, yet they are vital for everything coming together in the
end.
It’s the same with God working a situation out for our
good. We don’t see all that He is doing
to make things “happen”, but sure enough, He’s at work.
Let me give you an example of God working in our favor if
we obey and commit our life to Him even when we don’t realize it.
Several years ago, a local department store was having an
after Christmas sale. Nothing unusual
except this time holiday lights were marked down 75% - 90%, which NEVER
happens! We didn’t really need any more
lights at that time, but I was thinking “maybe down the road” right?
They were going like hot cakes with one man loading his
cart with most of the type lights we use.
Grabbing the remaining boxes, we were happy with our purchase of less
than $1.00 a package.
Fast forward to 2020 the week of Thanksgiving. In early fall we put up Christmas lights in
our front yard but don’t turn them on until Thanksgiving night. Our new eight-year old neighbor watched along
with his four-year old sister as we tested them making sure all lights we working
correctly.
Adding his insightful opinion on our all white display,
he rode his bike up the driveway and stopped halfway. Looking at our accomplishment he only said
four little words, “Needs a little color!”
My husband and I couldn’t help laughing, but you know … he was right and
that led me into action.
Before the Parade Passes By
For years I’ve wanted to put lights up in our back yard, but
it never happened even with the new lights sitting in a box on the porch. Time was usually the issue, but not this year
because of COVID restraints!
God said that when we commit our plans to Him, He will
always work things out for our good and His glory (despite what the devil is
trying to stop). Well, you know that day
when I was feeling guilty about not getting anything done for Christ, we were
putting up colored lights in the back yard for the community and neighbors to
see when they passed by the street.
There’s a good reason behind this other than being
festive. Due to the gathering boundary restrictions,
the city Christmas parade route has been changed to spread the crowd out farther
passing by the back of where we live! So,
before the parade passes by, the lights have to be in place.
With attention being driven to the colored lights and
displays, people will see the Jesus signs and we’ll be able to give out gospel
packets practically without leaving our home!
When those lights where on sale we didn’t know how they would be used,
but God knew and he gave a little boy the bright idea!
When God Establishes Your Work
There is a passage in Psalms that like Moses, I pray this
over our family daily in asking for God’s will and blessings over our
activities.
“Let Your work appear to Your
servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our
God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands.” (Psalm
90:16-17 NKJV)
No matter what I do (or want to do) I want it to be God’s
will and have His blessing on the project.
If He isn’t a part of what the plan is or have His hand on mine to guide
me, I don’t want to do it, because it won’t amount to anything. Without His blessings there isn’t any favor
on my efforts, which means it was all for nothing and a big waste of time. How uneventful and depressing would that be?
When we bring our ideas to the Lord and He gives us the
go ahead, God makes sure that the work is “established”. He causes it to happen, because it has
lasting or “eternal” value to Him, which brings Him glory.
Other translations transcribe the Hebrew word “beauty” as
God’s gracious favor, confirming the work and endeavors of our hands to prosper
or succeed securely.
The Bible explains that the work of our hands is
important and God will cause our efforts to succeed if they line up with His
Word and Will.They will also fail if all
we want to do is selfish and for our own desires.
“The hand of
the diligent will rule (lead or become a leader), but the lazy man will
be put to forced labor.” (Proverbs 12:24 NKJV)
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “we
are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” That sale on lights was the “before” part which
God prepared for this year! In putting them
up, we were “walking” in His good work …which also happened to be fun!
When you let God into your life and plans, He establishes
your work through favor and success.
This Week’s Christmas Challenge:
Consider Your Work
It’s fun to shop for gifts, decorate, bake and do all the
things that go into the making of our version of what Christmas or any holiday should
be.There is no sin in wanting to make
events better, but it is sinful when they take away from doing good works that
lead people to Jesus.
Doing things that are kind count, but not toward eternity. They count for here on earth. Good works that point people to Jesus count
here and for eternity, because our focus in on God not ourselves.
Our challenge this week (and always really) is to ask
ourselves what do we consider the “work of our hands” to be? How important is the work to God, others and to
ourselves?
It’s not wrong to do things for yourself, because
sometimes it’s needed and God delights in giving us the desires of our heart. I’m not referring to those types of things,
but whether or not we are doing something purely for wanting to “leave a legacy”
so that others think highly of us.
How are we using our hands to make a positive difference
in the life of others? Are our actions
bringing eternal security or merely earthly gain?
Furthermore, don’t let satan take you on a guilt trip in what you are
doing for your family and community that demonstrates the love of Christ. It honors and pleases Him.
When we purchased colored lights several years ago, we
didn’t know the plans God had for us or them.
To us, it was a bargain and we couldn’t pass up that great sale! God knew differently.
What is “different” about your life this year, besides
COVID-19? You see, God already knew
about COVID beforehand and has prepared His people for such a time as
this!
Are there good works God can establish through your hands
with His favor? Take a look at what is
happening in your community “before the parade passes by” in your life. Believe in the promises of God. Commit your works to the Lord and they will
be established!
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 becoming a child of the Savior.
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With my husband entering the hospital on April 20th,
2015 I knew that I would have to pick up the slack and take on some
responsibilities that were usually left up to him.
Not a problem I thought; how hard could it be?After all most of the household things I
already did in some minor form, so a few more things to do shouldn’t be a
problem. How soon I learned that rolling
up my sleeves and getting my knees a little dusty would take on a new
appreciation of what my significant other did on a daily basis.
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the bottom of this week’s post.
It has been
almost a month since I’ve taken on the role of my husband’s obligations.I’m handling things better now, but that
wasn’t so when I began this new role playing.
The first day
that I needed to “be hubby” I was feeling rather confident that I could do all
that he did plus my own chores without any real setbacks.Actually it went pretty well the first and
second days, but by the third day I was beyond tired and let’s say not as
resourceful as I should have been.
I had been in
the hospital by my husband’s side for almost three days with the exception of a
few hours to take care of pets and rescues.My husband had set things up so that I didn’t need to do some things for
ten days, excluding feeding the rescue animals and cleaning their areas.
When morning
came I needed to “go do” what he does every day, twice or three times a
day.Feeding, checking for wounds and
playing with the animals are always rewarding. On the other hand, I dreaded cleaning litters, scooping throw-up, and
wiping up “fragrant” packages the rescues left because they aren’t able to make
it to the litter boxes.
By the evening
of day three I was slowing down and starting to cut corners so I could get back
to the hospital.Of course this turned
out not to be a good thing to do.That
night as I sat on a bucket trying to clean the litters I began to cry, “Lord I
can’t do this.Give me strength to do
all I need to for them.”
I heard a voice
in my spirit telling me to do the best I could and it would be alright.At first I thought it was just me looking for
a way to cop out, but as I worked my way through the “duty” I felt God giving
me strength to do what I needed to for each responsibility.
As I took on the
burden of my husband, God took on all my burdens to help me through each
day.Even with lack of sleep and food, the
prayers of the Saints sustained me through it all.
Leaving a
Deposit No One Wanted
On Tuesday, May
5th my husband had been moved to the surgical wing of the
hospital.By now he was more responsive,
but still pretty heavily medicated.Wednesday was a day of progression and he was sitting up in a chair.
We were chatting
when I glanced to my right and noticed a naked body backing into his room.I told him to look the other way and I
quickly went to the door to see who was making a literal appearance.It was a sweet 80ish year old woman who had
gotten lost and thought she was returning to her room.
She was holding
her dressing gown that was saturated in blood in her right hand, and her fully
extended left hand was supporting a bowel deposit that she was carrying down
the hospital hallway.Suddenly a nurse
swat team zoomed in on the situation and rescued the wandering lady.
Trying to
comfort the confused soul, I blocked the way so she couldn’t continue on her
wrong path. Approaching the scene one of
the nurses held out her hand and told the lady, “Give that deposit to me.”She wasn’t wearing gloves or even thought twice about what she had asked
the distressed woman to do. She was given a clean gown and together we
escorted her back to her room three doors down from my husband’s.
I was so
impressed by what the nurse did and thought how petty my complaints were before
the Lord.Would I be willing to take on
that kind of responsibility for life as she did?
Secret Fruit
Later that day
the nurse who collected the holdings came into our room and said, “I’m sure glad it was you who saw that
woman. She had pulled out her catheter including the ball and was bleeding down
the corridor.”The nurse’s statement
was rather strange I thought, especially since I never met her.It wasn’t until the next day that I found out
what she meant.
She had been
watching me as I assisted in whatever I could for the past few weeks. By the
time my husband was moved to the surgical wing, the staff knew who I was
because I seemed to always be there.
When my husband
was sleeping I helped with visitors, answered waiting room phones, checked on
coffee units, counseled, prayed, gave out smoothie recipes, changed linens or
cleaned rooms.For me I just wanted to
stay busy to take my mind off what was happening in my own life. Rolling up my sleeves and getting dusty knees
while mopping floors didn’t seem that significant in lieu of what others were
doing before my eyes.
We found out
that the nurse was a sister-in-law of a man who was in cardio physical rehab
with my husband.He had told her all
about us and that we were Christians.
“But when you do
a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father (in Heaven)
who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:3-4 NKJV)
Our testimony
and works had gone before us. How wonderful that God had allowed us to bear
fruit for Him while we were in the middle of our own storm, because of seeds
previously sown.What we had done in
secret the Lord made public.
Appreciating
Your Life
The beginning of
May has the world celebrating the appreciation of teachers, nurses, hospitals
and mothers along with a few other holidays. Nowhere did I see the celebration
of appreciation of your own life.
As the days wear
on with me continuing in my husband’s responsibilities, I have come to
appreciate what a burden he carries for me as well as others.When I realize what he does on a daily basis
as “the usual” stuff, I am so thankful that I don’t have to do those things and
that someone else is gifted or willing to take on tasks that I’m not that good
at.It makes me appreciate my own life
and the gifts God has endowed to me even more.
Transfer the
Burden
In Galatians 6
we are asked to bear one another’s burdens to fulfill the law of Christ as we
go about being generous and doing good deeds for the Lord.God promises that our deeds won’t go
unnoticed and we will be rewarded in due season.Sowing seeds into the Kingdom of Heaven allows us to reap eternally as well as here on Earth.
There are a lot
of jobs that frankly I hope I’ll never have to do, but if I had to I hope that
I would be willing to carry them out without grumbling. Like Moses we may ask, “How can I alone bear your problems, burdens and complaints?” (from Deuteronomy 1:12 NKJV)
Well we can’t,
and knowing that not everyone can do every job, the Lord places a desire for
certain tasks in our heart to fit us uniquely.We need to appreciate the skills He has placed in each individual.
God does not
call everyone to be mothers/fathers, nurses, teachers or even people who care
for pets.He does however call everyone
to carry a burden for someone in need, before handing them over to Him.
“Therefore,
humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV)
In other words, “Cast
your cares (burdens) on the Lord, because He cares about your life and
appreciates what you do for Him.”
"Cast your burden(s) on the Lord, and He will sustain you;
Jesus has asked
us to make a difference and do something that will count for eternity.What will He have you do for Him today?
This Week’s Challenge:
The Appreciation Challenge
Learning to appreciate those in our lives sometimes goes
less noticed, and that’s why we are going to do something to make a difference
in the life of someone else.
Our challenge this week will be to totally take on all
responsibilities of someone we live with whether it is an adult or child
(except actual jobs in or outside the home), while still doing our own duties.It’s not a switch-a-roo challenge, but doing
it all without complaining task to show the other person how much you
appreciate what they contribute to the family.
Maybe you already have the task of being both mother and
father to your family and taking on those added responsibilities doesn’t seem
challenging.For you, the challenge will
be to take on daily duties of someone else you see every day.
Doing this may seem easy if you only do it for one or two
days. Believe me, if you take this appreciation challenge seriously you will be
thinking differently by day four.
We want to show the Lord we believe that He will give us
the strength, wisdom, knowledge and understanding to bear fruit without
wavering when it gets tough.Rolling up
our sleeves and getting a little dust on bended knees is not a burden when we cast them on the Lord, but a
blessing from God.
May He grant us favor as we learn to appreciate the life
we have been given to live before Him and all mankind.
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” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway. Image credit: Google ImagesCreative Common License if not specified. Image: Scrubbing FloorsCat Litter Box ProblemsNurse PatientMatthew 6:3-4 Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
