Week 5: God and His Tools

 So this picture reminds me of the tools that God uses to mold us in our lives.  They may seem like old tools but they get the job done and God, the Master Builder, can do amazing things with His tools.  So follow along as I share what God has taught me this week.

 It has been quite an interesting week.  Daily devotion in the morning has been quite fruitful.  It is funny how I started out and would read and think, this is this person but as I have delved further and been prayerful it has turned from other people to looking within.  We all war with a selfish nature, and I am no exception.  But instead of looking at the faults of others, looking at myself and following what God says and looking to change some things in my life has allowed me to start removing the log out of my own eye.

A little less than two weeks ago I pulled a couple of ligaments in my left hand.  Actually there is a tendon that runs from your elbow to your two first fingers and thumb and the whole thing was messed up.   There are a lot of people who are going to read this, including my wife, and say, what, you never said anything.  I was on an outside job and I had to put Polyurethane in cracks around the house.  It was 45 degrees.  Anyone who knows anything about this stuff knows it is very hard to push out cold.  We had a truck running with the heat on to heat it up, but it still took two hands to push it out warm.  I should mention that by the 2nd of 7 tubes put out, my trusty metal caulk gun of 10 years broke in two spots.  By the 6th tube I could hardly use my hand and only till this week have I begun to have full range of motion without it hurting badly.  In my line of work it is not unusual to work in pain at times.  A week later I smashed my index finger on some hardy board and it swelled to two times it size.  Wasn't broke though lol.  The point of all this is God carried me through.  I mentioned it at work but no one seemed to care so I went on as usual.  Now, I can type with very little pain (my wrist is still sore)  and since my camera shutter is on the right side I can press my shutter at will!

So the point is not to lament about being in pain.  It is that sometimes life can be painful.  Sometimes we have experiences or things that happen and we may ask God why.  And some people may not understand.  But God does.  And I learned that God carried me through.  I did find myself praying for God to help me.   I also learned that the next time some one says to use that stuff in that cold weather I am going to refuse.  Have a blast but that is just not for me.

I got to play on a machine at the ranch!

So since we are on the subject of life lessons, here is another.  So yesterday I went out to Lindale to work at my fun job.  You never know what you are going to do.  Rebecca's house is almost completed and I have learned a lot from the builder and his method of mentoring his employees.  His method of building them up, teaching them so that they can work independently is awe inspiring and Biblical.  And his quality of work is amazing.  So afterwards Rebecca gave me an envelope with my pay for the day, I put it in my back pocket, and went home.  Played with Sophie, made the grocery list and then went to the grocery store.  Took my list out and got my items, paid for them, and got out to my car.  That is when I noticed the envelope was gone.  I did a check to see if I could see if I had dropped it and figured I must have taken it out and left it on the table.

So I got home and no such luck.  It was nowhere.  Not the car, not at home.  So what was my attitude?  So how did God direct my attitude?   I figured that maybe someone needed it more and God had allowed (He did not cause it, me pulling my notebook out of my pants pocket probably did that) it to happen maybe to get it to someone who needed it.  Maybe someone was praying where am I going to get this money to feed my kids, or pay rent, or whatever.  Maybe not.  The point is I could fret about the loss or realize God had me.  Because some amazing things happened.  It sparked a beautiful discussion with Ginger and I.  God reminded me of how much He has blessed Ginger and I financially and how others have helped us in times of need.  Usually when I get in my car I open the envelope and put the money in my wallet.  I didn't this time.   Coincidence?  I won't pretend to know God's ways.  Either way, it is just fun money and if it blessed someone, made their day I can live with that.  Because even this morning God spoke to me about how much He takes care of Ginger and I.  And there are plenty more Saturday's coming.  But it also taught me something about giving even though I did not purposely give it.  I let it go.  I let it go willingly with a grateful heart that God would use it.  It answered some questions I have about giving.  And though I still have questions to answer, God is answering them, sometimes in some pretty unorthodox ways!

So the creative side of me is slowly coming back.  Uninterest in things you find interesting is a sign of depression and I did not realize how deep I had fallen into that cycle.   Amazingly, it was God's word through Proverbs that helped spark the cycle upward.  I have not arrived fully yet, but I am well on my way.  And though work, at times, can be challenging, God is working with me.  I feel Him moving in my life.  I don't know what that looks like, or means, but I have plenty of wise counsel to bounce ideas off of.  And that is in Proverbs as well.  Shun evil counsel but find safety in wise counsel.  Don't make decisions as the world would, but as God tells you.  And a lot of times the world thinks your crazy.  Won't be the first time I have been called that.  But you know what, there is safety in the palm of God's hand.  As you have seen from this post, bad things can happen, painful things, inconvenient things, but if you stop and look you just might see God is using it for His greater good.  He has plenty of tools.  I don't know everyone's situation but I do know that God I serve, and He is always faithful.  And when I run out of spoons, if need be, He can always provide more!

Baa

 Thank you Mom and Dad for the gift card!!!!!  Outlaw Ribeye, one of the best I have had!

(This is for those that know about the spoon analogy!)  And when I run out of spoons, if need be, He can always provide more!