Termites, Traps and a New Perspective

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a different perspective, be encouraged, breaking the enemy's traps, encouragement for the weary, getting the right perspective, God's love, God's Word, how to recognize a miracle, miracles, more love than we could imagine

My husband travels a lot… A LOT.

You would think this makes the time we are together fun, happy and exciting.
What actually has started happening though is a ticking time bomb.

Expectations you try not to have develop anyway.

Stressors you try to eliminate rear their head anyway.

Conversations you wish you could keep putting off must happen anyway.

Get the idea?

All of this played into a really bad weekend in the recent past… a REALLY bad weekend. It was so bad that on Sunday I almost stayed home from church because I just didn’t want to have to fake smile at people and I certainly didn’t want to vomit all of my emotions on friends who had innocently come to church to worship Jesus. I truly wanted the focus to be on the Lord.

I did end up going to church. Yes, I was still mad. I didn’t even want my husband to bump into me accidentally. I didn’t want to deal with him, but I still wanted to worship.

Towards the end of my pastor’s sermon, he stated that God will even break the traps the enemy sets for you. He said it was in Psalm 91, but didn’t give the exact verse. I wrote down the thought in my notebook and decided to look it up later.

A few minutes after the service, my husband and I were on our way home when I asked him if he could give me a few days to be alone with Jesus so He could teach me how to not put up walls in our relationship. I was asking to not have to text, video chat, etc. while he was travelling that week …at least for the first few days. We talked a little bit more about how things were going in our relationship and went home to have pizza in the bed. Yep, you read that correctly. As stated before…it was a pizza in bed kind of a day.

About an hour into the afternoon, a swarm of termites decided to make their presence known. As we were scrambling around trying to take care of things, I told my man I may end up in a hotel that week and he asked me to travel with him instead. I calmly…ahem…explained that we had not scheduled for our dog to be boarded… and it was Sunday. There was no way we could find a place to board Brutus.

He asked, “If I can find a place to board Brute, will you go with me?”

I said, “Sure.” Not thinking for one minute it would really be possible.

That man of mine made one phone call and had our dog boarded within 40 minutes. I started packing and spent the week near Indianapolis. So, instead of a week of turmoil, anger and frustration, we were able to reconnect and set things on a better path. All I could think of for days was the verse our pastor had shared. God had truly broken the trap the enemy had set for my husband and I’s relationship.

A few days later I had a further epiphany. If I had chosen to not go to church that Sunday, I would not have been reminded of Psalm 91.

If I would not have been reminded of Psalm 91, my perspective would have been completely different. When the termites swarmed, I would have thought I was being punished for not going to church. I would have thought I was being punished for not sucking up my emotions. I would have thought I just needed to put my wants and needs to the side when in reality God still would have been breaking the trap the enemy had set for us. Everything would have been the same beautiful miracle, but I would have felt condemned instead of loved. I would have actually fallen into a different trap the enemy had set for me if not for the right perspective of God’s Word.

It really made me wonder how many times I have looked at a miracle, at the breaking of the enemy’s trap, and seen punishment instead of protection. How many times have I seen a trap of the enemy be broken, but I fell into another trap right beside it because I simply forgot to remember what the Word of God had to say about it.

How many times?

I pray in the days ahead we can hear the breaking of the traps easily and realize the miracle it is, realize the love it shows and see the perspective God’s Word shines on it.

Hear the breaking of your trap today.

http://www.seekinghearts.org

Here is the link to the sermon I mentioned… it’s so good….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIAS8n3sVs

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A Good Day to Praise

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encouragement, encouraging, getting the right perspective, how to put the focus where it needs to be, how we fight our battles, praising Jesus, putting the focus where it needs to be, refocusing, short word of encouragment

Psalm 150 verse 6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!”

So many times I am guilty of reading a verse of Scripture, thinking what a great idea it is, but then falling short of implementing it.

Psalm 150:6 invites everything that has breath to praise the Lord. So today, instead of reading through Scripture and thinking it’s a good idea, let’s take a moment and actually do it.

Father, I praise You today for Your awesome greatness. There is no one like You. You formed every planet and creature with only Your word. You formed mankind out of dust and breathed into him the breath of life. You are Creator and I praise You.

Father, I praise You today for Your kindness. You sent Your only Son to live among us and sacrifice Himself for us on the Cross. Your Word tells us that Your kindness leads us to repentance and I praise You today that no kindness is greater than Yours.

Father, I praise You today for Your healing power. Whether You choose to heal on this planet, or in eternity is not the point, but the fact that there is hope in You is why I give You praise today. You are the Great Physician and I praise You that nothing is beyond Your ability. We always have hope in You. You are the Great Healer of all and I praise You today.

Father, I praise You for Your power. I thank You for leaving Your Holy Spirit with us to empower us with the same strength that raised Jesus from the dead. Nothing is too difficult for Thee and we look to You for the ability to run through troops and leap over walls (Psalm 18:29).

Father, I praise You today for Your unbridled love of us. You never let go. You never give up. You are the Great Shepherd that cradles the lost sheep in His arms. You are the Great Defender of the lambs and Protector of our souls. Nothing can strip us from Your hand (John 10:28-29). I praise You today that we are safe and secure in Your arms.

Father, I give you praise today and ask You to remind me to praise You daily in the way in which You deserve. Let every breath I take breathe out praise to You.

You alone are holy.

You alone are God and I choose to praise You today.

What are you praising Him for today?

Seeking Hearts Ministries

*image by myocn.net

 

Sometimes Love Looks Like a Potty

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assumptions, christian walk, encouragement, family life, focus, getting the right perspective, God's love, God's practical love, having the right perspective of God's love, how God shows His love to us, love, perspective, practical ways to love, reality of family life, seeing God's love every day, seeing God's love for us, what love looks like

Yes, you read the title right. After 24 years of marriage, (I hate to break it to the newlyweds), love sometimes looks like a brand, spanking new, no clog, beautiful porcelain, name brand potty. Sometimes, love does look like you imagined growing up with all the candlelight, moonlight and any other light you can imagine, but oftentimes in the existence of everyday issues, a potty is involved.

Last week, we had an issue in our home and a new potty got moved from the someday list to the today list. After a few calls to my guy, he was able to buy, deliver and install said potty within a few hours. Wow! What a man! We teased each other about our “potty love” for the rest of the night. The really crazy thing is if he had brought me flowers that day and took me to a candlelit dinner I wouldn’t have felt as loved as I did with him installing our new potty. Love needed to look different from a fairy tale that day.

I wonder how often God shows me His love in practical ways every day, but because it’s not what I imagined, I don’t see it?

Believe me, the day of the potty I felt God’s love as well as my man’s. You see, my guy wasn’t even supposed to be able to come home until the next evening, but unexpectedly he finished what could be done on the job site and was able to come home…a whole day early! Our God is practical in His love.

If God had sent me a phone call from a friend that day when I really needed a potty, I wouldn’t have felt His love as much. He gave me what I needed and I was able to feel how loved and cherished I am to Him.

On other days, if a potty showed up at my door, I would have been thankful, but very confused. I’m sure those were the days that a call from a friend did come because that’s what I needed that day. You see? We need eyes wide open to see all the ways God shows His love to us just like I need eyes wide open to see all the ways that my guy shows his love for me. Some days, it’s candlelight and some days… it’s a potty.

Look around this Holiday Season and notice all the ways God is showing His love to you. Did your family’s favorite pie turn out just right? That’s God’s love. Did your pie get burned to a crisp, but your new daughter-in-law needed to see you’re not perfect? That’s God’s love to both of you. Did you have money to buy the ingredients for the pie? Did you have a stove to cook it in? All God’s love. Didn’t have any of that? Well, how about air to breathe? That’s God’s love. Water to drink? God’s love. A coat to wear? God’s love. A hug from a friend? God’s love. The ability to read this blog? God’s love. God shows His love in many, many ways we just need eyes to see it.

So, as you look around for all the ways that God is choosing to show His love for you over the next few days, pray that seeing His love becomes a habit. Pray that you will see and feel His love as you never have before and realize that sometimes God’s love looks like candlelight, but oftentimes times it looks like a new potty.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

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