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.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Medak,
Telangana, India; General Trias, Calabarzon, Philippines; Djibouti; Rejeka,
Primrje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia; Nakambala, Southern Province, Zambia;
Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy; Milan, Italy; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Cape Town, Western
Cape, South Africa; Tel Aviv, Israel; Medak, Telangana, India; Unguja Zanzibar
Urban, Tanzania; Hanoi, Ha Noi, Vietnam; Benalmadena, Andalucia & Toledo,
Castilla-LaMancha, Spain; Nakambala, Zambia; Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom;
Belgharia, West Bengal, India, Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria; Jessore, Khulna
Division, Bangladesh; Malolos, Central Luzon, Philippines; Mongu, Zambia;
Konya, Turkey; Silsden, England, United Kingdom; Mtubatuba, KwaZula-Natal,
South Africa; Cote d’Ivoire; Colombia..
USA – Columbia, MD; Pinellas Park, FL; Inwood, WV;
Sicklerville, NJ; Tallulah, LA; Roseville, CA; Inwood, WV;
Danville & Callands, VA; New Castle, PA; Lakeland & Scotia, NY; Spokane
Valley, VA; Kabetogama, MS; Manchaca, TX; Chattanooga, TN; Cincinnati, OH;
Carrabelle, FL; Kokoma, IN; Augusta, GA; McDonough, GA.
Thank you for your continued support and sharing Believing
Our Belief on Daily Favor. (DFB -
Daily Favor Blog) Living
my life before God and man, by sharing experiences as I walk out my faith.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
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the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
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.
What’s New This
Week: Click on book link.
By
Andrew Murray
For over
twenty years I have studied the teachings of this South African theologian who is
considered wise in the Word on prayer.
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.
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Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible GatewayImage credit: Google Images or Dreamstime Creative Common License if not specified.
Image: Life Game Frustration Cake Mania Game Cell Phone Mediocre That's Life Snoopy
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