As I mentioned on my “About” page, my husband Jeff & I have been on a journey of faith since Jeff quit his job of 17 years in September of 2010. It’s funny when God calls you to do something, you just assume it’s going to be easy & wonderful since God’s calling you to do it….right?? Well….we have found out, the hard way, that that’s not always the case! This journey has been VERY challenging & stressful, yet we continue to see God’s amazing hands in ALL of it. It has not been easy as we continue to put our COMPLETE faith, hope AND trust in God!
I now have a new understanding for 2nd Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight. Definitely easier said then done! We have gone from the comfort of a stable paycheck to the uncertainty of not knowing when we’ll get the next paycheck. Let me just say I now have a GREATER appreciation for all you self-employed people! I know for us, God wants our focus to be on HIM as our provider & thanking HIM when Jeff gets a contract. (Jeff owns a lighting company called Canaan Industries, Inc. He installs energy-efficient lighting in all types of businesses & commercial properties). When you have a stable 9-5 job with a stable paycheck you kinda take it for granted since a check is deposited into your account on the 1st & 15th of the month. It’s easy to forget God’s provision in all this. WE had started taking it for granted & God decided it was time to change that AND as you all know change is HARD!! We know we have a loving faithful God, but it’s hard to remember that when we’re being changed, even when it’s for OUR GOOD!!
In April of 2010 I gave a devotion at my Bible study. This was BEFORE we even had an INKLING that Jeff would be quitting his job. Life was stable, our future seemed clear. My devotion was based on what I had studied that year & preparing for the “trial” I thought was awaiting me. My oldest son would be going off to college, while my youngest son would be starting pre-school thus leaving me in an empty house after 18 years of always having someone hanging out at home with me. Little did I know, that wasn’t the trial God was preparing me for. God was already preparing me for the MAJOR trial He knew I’d be facing while I was yet clueless! So here is my devotion:
God is in Control(control meaning to have power over)
When we give our problems to God, we are acknowledging that God is in control & trusting in HIS power & thus relieving ourselves from our control & what it brings to us: FEAR, WORRY, & ENTRAPMENT. Being controlling is a form of idolatry. When we insist on control, we’re taking our focus off of God & instead focusing on ourselves. We dwell not in prayer, but on our problems & how WE’RE going to solve them. We become self-focused rather than God-focused.
God IS Good (cheerful, optimistic, reliable, dependable)
Mark 10:18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. Philippians 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and work for (His)good pleasure. While meditating on these statements, I asked God to show me where in His Word I could find correlation. I was reminded of Psalm 23. A psalm of David Note that I added boldness for the full effect as well as my own little commentary to once again give you the FULL effect 🙂
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. (What exactly is a shepherd? A shepherd is a person who protects, guides or watches over a person.)
He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul (What exactly does restore mean? It means He brings it back to the former, original condition)
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Comfort means to soothe, console or reassure)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Here’s how I ended my devotion: I don’t know what God has in store for me this coming year, but I am constantly reminded that God is Good & God is in Control. As a result, I’m not going to worry about my future, in fact, I’m a little excited to find out what God has in store!
Um….Ya, that’s EXACTLY what I wrote! Coincidence? No, God knew. Nothing about our lives is a coincidence, its pure God & purely His plan. My next post will tell you about the day we knew God was calling Jeff to quit his job. A day that at times we wish we could go back to, but like God says in His Word in Philippians 3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
Kim, I’m SO happy to see that you’ve started a blog!!! I am so excited. And I love your first post. Thanks for being so real. I can tell I’m going to glean so much from you and your writing. Looking so forward to all your posts!!!
Thanks Kim!! I have SO enjoyed all the inspiration your blog has given me & knew I wanted to do the same thing for others 🙂 Thank you for coming over & having a look! Blessings my friend!
Thank you! It’s taken me some time to come read here, it takes courage to be real and it takes courage to read about others being real too. One can fall face first into real and must take precautions! What you wrote definitely spoke to me. So, here is my real.
I had been struggling with an abusive childhood for years. I had trusted parts of my story to a few people and even a retreat group. Telling people about it did help but then the prayer time of that day or weekend ended and the past swallowed me up again. I had resolved to never speak of it again, just ‘forget about it’. Not going to try counseling again just.. try to get through life. But that’s not what God wants for His children is it? And so I found myself in the completely unlikely situation of an online war game with a chat room.. and one of the players defended me and asked that the rude language be kept to a minimum while I was in chat. And so I stayed and I played and this man became real to me. It seemed that God was telling me to trust him, tell him everything he wants to know. And I was so miserable I thought fine, what difference could it make. Maybe it will help him as somewhere along this journey I had found out that he is an alcoholic. I had no idea how much he would help me. I trusted him and the lies that run non-stop through my mind don’t work with him. I didn’t even hear them before but now suddenly I do. I realize that they are lies. It’s been a crazy few years with rehabs and relapses, talk of suicide and jail time, depression and counseling. Yes, I am going to counseling again. God isn’t finished with me yet and he isn’t finished with my buddy either but it’s been two weeks since I’ve heard from him. You’ll have that. It is what it is. But I miss him and I sure wish he’d call.
Your site wants to use mine for details, so I’m letting it but I haven’t been over there in years.
Amy
Thank you Amy for sharing! It’s amazing how God puts people on our paths knowing they will help us continue on when we really don’t want to 🙂 I will continue to pray for you & your friend as God continues His good & perfect will in both of you (& me included!) I just finshed reading some GREAT books by Cherie Hill. One of my FAVORITE quotes from her books is, “When doubt knocks on your door, be sure to let faith answer”. Google her name, she has an amazing blog called Journal of Faith as well as a webpage called Scripture Now. She has helped me MANY times on my journey. Blessings!
Kim, I am truly moved by your blog. I know many young couples going through what you are going through. Hard to stepout and trust God, but when you do the blessing will flow,
Thank you Arlene for your kind words! You are sooo right! God WILL bless us for trusting Him & walking by faith & not by sight. We have to press on knowing that & having patience in God’s timing & not our own 🙂 Blessings!
Canaan Bound Brigade 
Kim, I’m SO happy to see that you’ve started a blog!!! I am so excited. And I love your first post. Thanks for being so real. I can tell I’m going to glean so much from you and your writing. Looking so forward to all your posts!!!
Thanks Kim!! I have SO enjoyed all the inspiration your blog has given me & knew I wanted to do the same thing for others 🙂 Thank you for coming over & having a look! Blessings my friend!
Thank you! It’s taken me some time to come read here, it takes courage to be real and it takes courage to read about others being real too. One can fall face first into real and must take precautions! What you wrote definitely spoke to me. So, here is my real.
I had been struggling with an abusive childhood for years. I had trusted parts of my story to a few people and even a retreat group. Telling people about it did help but then the prayer time of that day or weekend ended and the past swallowed me up again. I had resolved to never speak of it again, just ‘forget about it’. Not going to try counseling again just.. try to get through life. But that’s not what God wants for His children is it? And so I found myself in the completely unlikely situation of an online war game with a chat room.. and one of the players defended me and asked that the rude language be kept to a minimum while I was in chat. And so I stayed and I played and this man became real to me. It seemed that God was telling me to trust him, tell him everything he wants to know. And I was so miserable I thought fine, what difference could it make. Maybe it will help him as somewhere along this journey I had found out that he is an alcoholic. I had no idea how much he would help me. I trusted him and the lies that run non-stop through my mind don’t work with him. I didn’t even hear them before but now suddenly I do. I realize that they are lies. It’s been a crazy few years with rehabs and relapses, talk of suicide and jail time, depression and counseling. Yes, I am going to counseling again. God isn’t finished with me yet and he isn’t finished with my buddy either but it’s been two weeks since I’ve heard from him. You’ll have that. It is what it is. But I miss him and I sure wish he’d call.
Your site wants to use mine for details, so I’m letting it but I haven’t been over there in years.
Amy
Thank you Amy for sharing! It’s amazing how God puts people on our paths knowing they will help us continue on when we really don’t want to 🙂 I will continue to pray for you & your friend as God continues His good & perfect will in both of you (& me included!) I just finshed reading some GREAT books by Cherie Hill. One of my FAVORITE quotes from her books is, “When doubt knocks on your door, be sure to let faith answer”. Google her name, she has an amazing blog called Journal of Faith as well as a webpage called Scripture Now. She has helped me MANY times on my journey. Blessings!
What a amazing way the Lord is using your testimony and walk.
Shared your post with 3 family members today,very inspiring.
Thank you Terri! That was my main reason for starting this blog, to inspire others to persevere & not lose hope! Blessings!
Kim, I am truly moved by your blog. I know many young couples going through what you are going through. Hard to stepout and trust God, but when you do the blessing will flow,
Thank you Arlene for your kind words! You are sooo right! God WILL bless us for trusting Him & walking by faith & not by sight. We have to press on knowing that & having patience in God’s timing & not our own 🙂 Blessings!