Do Right Till the Stars Fall

So, Blogger won't allow me to edit or even create a post so I have to revert to e-mail, which I just discovered... : ( So, until that gets fixed....well, I guess I'll just write them via e-mail, which really doesn't effect very much.

So, this evening, I had to go to work. I am at work currently but sitting with a patient but I will get to that part. So, I was wandering the house working on cleaning up the computer room, ordering books for my classes, doing everything BUT sleeping! All the while, I was devising a scheme to get out of working. The problem with this was everything that I was thinking of was a lie, which was wrong, obviously. So, I laid down and slept for a bit tossing and turning, thinking still about what I could do or say to work so I could call off. Eventually, I got up and I was talking to a friend on Skype. I was complaining saying that I *really* didn't want to go to work...He told me to call off but then said that he never did. It was a good work ethic to not do that. Well, let me tell you. I am very glad I didn't call off. It would have been wrong and I would have lied not only to the people at work but to everyone else including my parents. I got to work and a few hours later, I was called to sit in the ICU. Nothing major but I honestly believe the Lord blessed me because I did right.

It's hard to do the right thing especially when you don't feel like it. I look back at Daniel 1-3 where the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is told. Pretty amazing once you think about it. I know we have all heard the story before but it truly is amazing! Not only were they captured and sent to a strange land, they kept obeying God even when the consequences were death. They never ate of the king's meat nor did they bow down to the false gods. When they were thrown into the furnace, which was so hot that the men who opened the furnace were consumed by fire, God put His loving arms around them.

I know my situation was not deadly but I could have been fired for falsifying information. It was a good reminder for me to keep doing right even when it is hard. You never know who is watching. As I write this, I think of Daniel himself as he prayed three times a day with his windows open never keeping his talks with the Lord a secret. He did right and was thrown into the lion's den for doing right! Once again, God protected His children. I think about the Patch the Pirate song, Do Right. Here are some of the lyrics:

From the very start, have purpose in your heart
To do what's right, and never question why
Never count the cost though everything seems lost
The price for doing right is sometimes very high

Right is always right and wrong is always wrong
And we must learn to seperate the two.
If you love the right, the Lord will give you light;
So seek the right in everything you do!

I really like the words, "If you love the right, the Lord will give you light; So seek the right in everything you do!" This world is corrupt and the pressure to sin is all around us. Keep on seeking His face through constant prayer and scripture reading. When those temptations arise to do wrong, look on those verses you read or learned and ask God to give you that strength to overcome those obstacles in your life. Seek the right in everything you do!

Blessings Undeserved

So, I have been working for the past two nights and I was a bit sad that I was foolish enough to schedule myself to work this evening. I put my name in our on call book at work in hopes of being able to be called off of work but in case they needed me, I would be called back in. Well, as God would have it, I was called off! I was so happy! I spoke to my parents a bit about what happened. They just came back from their 30th wedding anniversary trip so we were chatting about how it was nice to get away once in a while and what a blessing it was to be together for so long. They also told me about the new vehicle they bought, which was a huge blessing in and of itself. You see, for the past 6 or 7 years, we have had a 2002 Ford Windstar to tow us around in. It was about to pass away and it was beginning to get a bit rough on the road in the winter. My parents have been looking at the Ford Expedition for some time now and my Grandpa called my Dad to tell him that there was a 2004 Expedition on sale for an extremely reasonable price. Well, the Lord allowed my parents to get the vehicle for a bit less than the asking price even after tax. What a blessing! We even got money back! We both praised the Lord for our individual blessings.

I took a shower, got dressed, packed my things for work in case I got called in, and took off for evening church at one of the church member's houses. We had some fellowship time before we gathered for a devotional and prayer time. One of the deacons spoke on Psalm 119:41-48. He talked about how we are free in Christ because of His mercy and grace. It was a great little discussion but what was the biggest blessing was the praises. There were numerous praises regarding people being lead to Christ or having opportunities to lead people to Christ by planting seeds. I told my brothers and sisters in Christ about the vehicle and how God allowed me to be called off of work this evening. It was so great to share the blessings and hear other blessings tonight. We went to prayer and once again, I was blessed by the requests that were brought before the Lord. It is great to pray with others to really talk to God with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The night wore on and I took my leave. I got home and, after talking to my parents, we both went to bed. I ended up getting called in around 10:30 this evening but the point is I was able to go to church! Even through all of this, the Lord blessed my wishes and answered my prayer! I was talking to a nurse this morning saying, "I hope I get called off so I can go to church this evening!" It really is so cool how the Lord blesses His children. Whether good or bad, the Lord is good, all the time.

Has there been a time in your life that you have been blessed unexpectedly in the good times and bad? Please, I encourage you to share those happenings in the comments below.

Let's Talk About Jesus

I apologize for the lack of posting. I have been very busy. Work and vacation sucked my time up. : (

I went to church today when I honestly did not want to. I came back from a bachelor party after my friends and I got rained out. Yes, we were stupid and were fishing in a thunderstorm where the lightning lit up the sky red. It was scary. All in all, it was a memory I will never forget. As we were sitting there fishing for the big catfish that lay in the shallows of good old Lake Erie, I was zoning in and out about my spiritual walk. I kept asking myself, "Does my life reflect Christ?" I was asking myself this because I honestly have been really struggling walking with the Lord. I feel that I do not talk about God all that often. This is not to say that this will get me to Heaven or get me anywhere as far as spiritually goes but it is good to talk about God with others and I have missed that very much. You know, having a heart-to-heart talk with your best friend about God. I know when I talk about God and talk to the Lord that definitely helps me in  my spiritual life. It really gives me something to think about. What's better than talking about God? : )

I went to church this morning, like I said, not wanting to go. As awful as this sounds, I was even scheming ways I could get out of going or just go somewhere for a while so my Dad wouldn't know that I didn't go to church. Well, after much debating with myself, I went. It was raining and I really couldn't focus all that well since it was raining quite hard. I didn't want to focus on God. I turned off my music so I could just focus on driving. I got to church a bit late and went to Sunday School. Bam! First blessing. We talked about evangelism. What a blessing! I was beginning to cheer up because this is what I wanted to talk about, what I wanted and needed to hear. Talk of God and even better leading people to Christ! There were several questions that were asked that were quite challenging and yet the teacher answered them quite well. This encouraged me greatly  to know that, even though he was not the pastor, he knew exactly what to say and when to say it. Everything about the message or lesson really hit home. It really began to get
 me back on track.

Next, was the service itself. It started out with singing about God and then we had communion. Awesome! : ) Another thing to help me focus on the Lord! Then the speaker came up and talked about Jesus and how we follow Him day by day and how we should put our complete trust in Him. At the end of the service, I was very happy. Why? Because we were talking about God.

We as children of God should be talking about Jesus with each other. It encourages us and helps us to understand Him better because we communicate our own ideas with each other which then allows us to get a better understanding of how we think individually. Hey, it helped me get through the Lord's day with a great attitude! : ) It's so cool how just talking about God makes you filled with the goodness of Him to reflect His love and light. I find I am a happier person when I talk about God with someone else because, as I said before, I see their ideas about Him, how they worship Him in their own way, and we can share the more intimate moments that we had with God with each other. It really is an uplifting time for all.