Boney M - "Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord"

I am SO VERY THANKFUL to our Father in heaven today. Well, I'm thankful to Him always, but am overwhelmed with gratitude today because He has shown how He is faithful to keep His promises by repeatedly blessing my family with unexpected surprise blessings constantly since our income dropped drastically due to my being put on a disability insurance pension last May. A once-monthly pension check of just over $1800 does not go far in providing for a family of four (including 2 teenagers). Beyond the mortgage, insurance, utilities, and gas in the car, there's really nothing left. Our Father in heaven provides all of our groceries, and other necessities when the needs arise. He is SO faithful. This past month has been EXTRA amazing as far as my awareness of His faithfulness to my family.

Thank You, Jesus, for restoring our access and relationship with our Father in heaven. You alone have the Name above all names. Thanks to You, ALL things are possible!
 :)

Here is one example of His faithfulness. A couple of weeks ago we learned that our car needed new tires, and couldn't be driven until the tires were replaced, yet we had/have no extra money for anything. That car is our only transportation at the moment because my truck needs repair, and uses too much gas, anyway. The best quote that I got for used tires for the car was $270 for a matching set of 4 tires (2 with 80% tread & 2 with about 40% tread) that the dealer couldn't promise would still be there by the time I got paid a week later.

Last Friday was that week later, and when I called the dealer, those 4 used tires were gone. We needed all four tires replaced, so I just trusted the Lord to provide. The dealer told me that they had another set of 4 tires the same size, just not the same brand or tread pattern, and that they'd cost around $187 because they were all at about 35% to 40% tread left. When my wife and I got to the tire dealer after I got my pension check, the man told me that now those 4 tires were sold as well. A bit discouraged, I looked down at the counter and simply said a silent, "I trust You, Father. You always keep Your word." type of prayer. Right then, the man said, "I think that a set of tires that just came in (off of another car that was getting new tires) may be the size that you need, and, if they are, the cost will be the same (around $187). Those tires are all at about 40% tread. Hold on, I'll go check." He then went out into the VERY busy garage. My wife and I sat down in the "lobby" there and watched it suddenly fill up with customers (less than an hour before closing time). The tire dude came back in and told us that the set of tires that just came in were, in fact, the right size, so I told him to go ahead and have them installed.

In less than 15 minutes from that moment our car had gone into the garage, up the hoist, then back down on the ground and moved outside. The guy called us to the counter and told us that it was ready. Those dudes were FAST! Expecting to pay $187 (which was much better than the $270 quote a week earlier, but still more than we can afford - some bills payments were still going to have to be postponed for a month), the man wrote up the invoice, and the grand total was just $161 and change!!! EVEN BETTER!

As my wife and I gratefully walked out to her car, I told her that I wanted to have a look at the tires before we drove off, I walked around and checked out each tire. They were, indeed, all the same brand. Since the dealer mostly sells Cooper tires, I was expecting, perhaps, a used set of Cooper tires with 35% to 40% tread on them. I was pleasantly (not a good enough adjective) surprised to see that the tires that they sold us at $110 less than the original quote a week before were actually high-end Michelin radials, and ALL FOUR TIRES had plenty of tread on them. The front tires (front wheel drive) have about 65%-70% tread on them, and the rear tires appear to have about 50% tread on them! Moral of this story: trust the LORD with your whole heart, your whole being, and don't rely on what you've been taught and conditioned to expect, or on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in ALL your ways, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
THAT, and, if you're around the Cowlitz County area in SW WA, and need tires, T&T Tire in Kelso, WA will treat you fairly, go the extra mile to help you with what you need, provide service equal to or better than any other dealer around (including Les Schwab), and even warranty used tires for 30 days.

Another example of the faithfulness of our Daddy in heaven and His love for us - Some wonderful friends of ours (who are also our neighbors just down the street) gave us a 19½ pound turkey! He also blessed me with a pound of SBC Peppermint Mocha coffee!

YHWH faithfully blesses us with food, milk, shelter, transportation, and SO much more! EVERY DAY IS CHRISTMAS, and EVERY DAY IS THANKSGIVING!

Where's My Focus?

It is easy to become overwhelmed by SO many things in our lives. From personal situations to the global economy. From sickness to politics. From stress to natural disasters. Where do we have our eyes, our minds, and our hearts fixed? When we're focused on Jesus, the bad stuff doesn't affect us in the same way, because He, being with us ALWAYS, gives us that perfect peace, the peace that transcends all understanding, peace that only He can give. Where is our focus? 

Think about the time that the disciples were with Jesus and he fed 5,000 men (women & children weren't included in the count, but were definitely there, so the total of people fed that day could be 30,000 or more) with just 5 small loaves of bread and two fish from one kid's lunch. The disciples were involved in that miracle because, after Jesus thanked the Father in Heaven for the food, He broke and divided it, and had the disciples hand it out. When all was said and done, and everyone was full (and probably burping), there were 12 baskets FULL of food left over, which Jesus had the disciples collect. That was one full basket of food for each disciple to carry back. (I'm guessing that they gave it back to the kid who donated his lunch). They not only got to watch Jesus perform the miracle, they also were involved in doing it by handing the food out, then they got a bonus of each one of them carrying a large basket full of leftovers when all was said and done.

After everyone was done eating, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to spend some time alone with our Father in Heaven, and that they should go on ahead and cross the lake in their boat, and that He would meet them on the other side.

Now, at least half of His 12 disciples were fishermen, and they were ALL aware of the dangers of being in a boat on the Sea of Galilee (Lake Galilee), especially during foul weather. As the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee in their little boat, a storm arose - a nasty storm. As the storm got worse, and the wind and the waves were "contrary" to their safety, the disciples started to panic. They knew that at any moment their little boat could break up in the storm, and they'd all be dead. Suddenly Jesus appeared to them in the distance, walking on the water, on the stormy waves. They were all starting to freak out, thinking that He was a ghost or something. Imagine their panic! These dudes were justinvolved in a major miracle not 8 hours earlier, and now their focus is completely in the opposite place, not on Who Jesus Is, but on their situation. He was right there, yet they were seeing Him as a menace, instead of their Salvation. They were deceived because they lost focus on Who Jesus Is, and their own authority in Him.

Well, in the middle of the disciples' panic in that boat during the storm, Peter, in all of his zeal and passion, thought that he recognized this "scary ghost" walking on the water to be Jesus, so he called out to Him, "Master, if it's You, tell me to come to You!" I'm pretty sure that, right about then, the disciples were probably saying, "Pete! Shut up! What's wrongwith you?!!? You're freakin' talking to a ghost walking to us on the water! We're all toast for sure, you idiot! Shut up!" Peter obviously was having none of their nonsense and called out to Jesus again, "Master, if that's really You, command me to come to You!" Jesus obliged Peter and told him to come on out to Him - to walk on top of the stormy waves and come to Him.

Peter started to step over the edge of the boat to walk to Jesus. Right about then, I imagine, the that other 11 disciples were probably already discussing who gets what of Peter's stuff when he drowns (IF they survived). Peter got out of the boat, his eyes fixed firmly on where Jesus was on the water. Peter walked on the water - on the stormy waves toward Jesus. 

Now, realize this. Peter couldn't possibly see Jesus the whole time that he was walking on the water. There were big waves between them. Jesus wasn't floating in the air above the water. He was walking ON the water, and Peter was walking on that same water toward Jesus. Even though Peter couldn't see Jesus all of the time while he was walking on the water, he had his eyes fixed on where Jesus was, so that, even when a wave would rise between them, he knew where Jesus was, kept his focus, and continued to walk toward Him. 

Eventually, Peter got distracted by the wind and the waves. He lost focus. He looked at what was occasionally between him and Jesus, what he was already walking on top of. When this happened, Peter immediately panicked, and he started to sink. He cried out for help (probably something like, "Master, I'm SO screwed! HELP!!!"), and immediately Jesus was there and pulled him up. Notice how fast that happened - the Bible tells us that Peter onlystarted to sink. Jesus was there in an instant, saved Peter, then put him in the boat and they went to shore. 

See, it's NOT that Jesus isn't with us. He promised to be with us always - NOT just when we're focused on Him, or even walking with Him, but always. No matter what, JESUS IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. He is not far, far away. He doesn't need to be summoned from beyond. He's right here! Right here with you! 

It's not like we have to look really hard to find Him. It's that we need stop focusing on the problems and focus on the One and Only Solution. It's not that hard to see someone who is standing with you, unless you're looking in the other direction. That kind of fits in with the word, "repentance", too. Repentance doesn't mean to say, "I'm sorry." to God. If it did, then hell is full of repentant people. They're all sorry! 

Repentance means to turn and go in the opposite direction, to change one's focus, to change one's mind, to change one's point of view, to do a 180* turn. When we repent, our focus changes, our hearts change, our minds change, and our entire lives change because we have then died with Jesus on the cross, and now He lives in us and through us by His Holy Spirit. (Romans chapter 8, Colossians chapter 3), and we abide (live) in Him (John chapters 14, 15, and 16). When that happens, nothing that is thrown at us from the enemy has any power over us because God in all of His fullness lives in us, and we have His authority to pronounce those things dead. Remember, it's not us that live, but Jesus that lives in us! How cool is THAT?!? :D

I've been re-learning this stuff lately, and it's inspiring me. We were created BY God and FOR God. We're HIS kids! All that He Is and has is ours! He promised! It's all in the Book! :D 

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