What is it with me and license plates? Stewardship Class and old habits. This far and no further. And finally, more license plates.
This first story has two parts, but you should be used to that by now.
Yesterday, I saw a car with a Utah plate on it on Riverdale Road on a little blue sedan. It said "PIANO1" I laughed, looked up to heaven, and told God if someone needed a piano that if He provided the piano, I'd move it.
The front half of that story is that last month during our prayer for the nation time, my houseguest sat down at the piano at church and began to play. She's not bad, by the way. I had no idea she could play, let alone play as well as she did. Our pastor asked her some questions about her playing.
Shortly thereafter, we started noticing moving trucks with "piano moving" on the side and I told her that God kinda laid it on my heart that she needed a piano. This wasn't a burning thing, but she needs a piano.
Last night, God answered that little prayer. Someone gave her a piano. Now I have to move it.
God is good all the time.
_________________________________________________________________________________
I, for some time, have wanted to take a stewardship class offered by the Vine Institute. I'm blessed to be enrolled in this class, but long before we met, I found myself in another type of lesson. Y'all long time readers know I struggle financially because of the sins of the past. That's really true. For so long, I lived like the grasshopper in the parable of the grasshopper and the ant. When my winter came, I was unprepared to deal with the consequences. By God's grace and a little help now and then, I get by. But that's all.
Lately, even that's been a challenge and tonight as I prayed my evening prayers, God opened my eyes to show me that while I wasn't enrolled in a Stewardship class, per-se, I've been living in one for the last little while.
God is using these circumstances to teach me that from now on I need to be more prepared. Being prepared is being a better steward and He can teach me now that I'm teachable to change behaviors and be a better steward. I don't smoke anymore and that's stewardship over my body. In fact, a conversation about smoking last night right at quitting time led me to an opportunity to witness to a woman I work with. She'd just lost her mom and I had a chance to express my condolences to her. She said something about smoking and I told her I agreed and told her I didn't smoke. It led to a conversation about how I quit and that I found that once Jesus filled that hole in my heart that nothing else could, I just didn't want to smoke anymore. I kept it short and I thanked her for allowing me to share that with her. I thought it was cool how that happened.
_________________________________________________________________________________
I had a really good day with God yesterday and one today as well. Today involved completing an unpleasant task. Not for me, so much, but for the person I was helping. She needed to return a poorly running vehicle to her ex. That meant a road trip, so we took the back roads to do the best we could to deliver it. We drove as slow as we could and enjoyed the fall colors. While we didn't make it as far as we wanted to, we made it to within the towing range the vehicle owner's insurance would cover. The thing decided to become decidedly worse about two miles outside of a town located at the junction of two highways and a large parking lot was available so we didn't leave the vehicle on the side of the road. By God's grace, we got the thing to the town and the owner was notified. It made it there, and no further.
That's as far as we needed to go today. Sometimes God protects us by not letting us get to where we think we need to go. I don't ask questions about why God does what He does. After all, He's God. I'm not. That's why enough for me. Like letting me see what the ramifications are of not being a good steward of money, or the consequences of not caring for a vehicle properly, sometimes God answers the why for me. I take those lessons to heart and God uses them to change behaviors. I have some plans for a recently granted raise. There are things I can do to be on better footing. I will learn and do those things, with God's help.
_________________________________________________________________________________
My morning started with running errands. At the Harbor Freight store, a white car with Oregon plates parked next to me and so close that I almost had to get into my car through the passenger door. I'm not kidding and have a witness. As we drove the highways and byways today, on some very lonely roads, we passed two cars in the middle of nowhere with Oregon plates.
What is it with me and license plates?
Yesterday, I saw a car with a Utah plate on it on Riverdale Road on a little blue sedan. It said "PIANO1" I laughed, looked up to heaven, and told God if someone needed a piano that if He provided the piano, I'd move it.
The front half of that story is that last month during our prayer for the nation time, my houseguest sat down at the piano at church and began to play. She's not bad, by the way. I had no idea she could play, let alone play as well as she did. Our pastor asked her some questions about her playing.
Shortly thereafter, we started noticing moving trucks with "piano moving" on the side and I told her that God kinda laid it on my heart that she needed a piano. This wasn't a burning thing, but she needs a piano.
Last night, God answered that little prayer. Someone gave her a piano. Now I have to move it.
God is good all the time.
_________________________________________________________________________________
I, for some time, have wanted to take a stewardship class offered by the Vine Institute. I'm blessed to be enrolled in this class, but long before we met, I found myself in another type of lesson. Y'all long time readers know I struggle financially because of the sins of the past. That's really true. For so long, I lived like the grasshopper in the parable of the grasshopper and the ant. When my winter came, I was unprepared to deal with the consequences. By God's grace and a little help now and then, I get by. But that's all.
Lately, even that's been a challenge and tonight as I prayed my evening prayers, God opened my eyes to show me that while I wasn't enrolled in a Stewardship class, per-se, I've been living in one for the last little while.
God is using these circumstances to teach me that from now on I need to be more prepared. Being prepared is being a better steward and He can teach me now that I'm teachable to change behaviors and be a better steward. I don't smoke anymore and that's stewardship over my body. In fact, a conversation about smoking last night right at quitting time led me to an opportunity to witness to a woman I work with. She'd just lost her mom and I had a chance to express my condolences to her. She said something about smoking and I told her I agreed and told her I didn't smoke. It led to a conversation about how I quit and that I found that once Jesus filled that hole in my heart that nothing else could, I just didn't want to smoke anymore. I kept it short and I thanked her for allowing me to share that with her. I thought it was cool how that happened.
_________________________________________________________________________________
I had a really good day with God yesterday and one today as well. Today involved completing an unpleasant task. Not for me, so much, but for the person I was helping. She needed to return a poorly running vehicle to her ex. That meant a road trip, so we took the back roads to do the best we could to deliver it. We drove as slow as we could and enjoyed the fall colors. While we didn't make it as far as we wanted to, we made it to within the towing range the vehicle owner's insurance would cover. The thing decided to become decidedly worse about two miles outside of a town located at the junction of two highways and a large parking lot was available so we didn't leave the vehicle on the side of the road. By God's grace, we got the thing to the town and the owner was notified. It made it there, and no further.
That's as far as we needed to go today. Sometimes God protects us by not letting us get to where we think we need to go. I don't ask questions about why God does what He does. After all, He's God. I'm not. That's why enough for me. Like letting me see what the ramifications are of not being a good steward of money, or the consequences of not caring for a vehicle properly, sometimes God answers the why for me. I take those lessons to heart and God uses them to change behaviors. I have some plans for a recently granted raise. There are things I can do to be on better footing. I will learn and do those things, with God's help.
_________________________________________________________________________________
My morning started with running errands. At the Harbor Freight store, a white car with Oregon plates parked next to me and so close that I almost had to get into my car through the passenger door. I'm not kidding and have a witness. As we drove the highways and byways today, on some very lonely roads, we passed two cars in the middle of nowhere with Oregon plates.
What is it with me and license plates?
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