Shoes

A little about me as told by my wife...

We are not certain precisely when my husband became a believer. We know that it occurred sometime during our first year of marriage. We also know that it was very hard for him to surrender himself into God's loving care, because of anxieties that my husband had acquired while a child.

During most of his childhood, my husband was poor. He told me that they liked to believe that they were lower middle class, but now he knows that they were just plain poor. He never was sure when he'd have enough clothes, or shoes that fit, or food on the table. As a result of this past, my husband didn't want to live his adult life in want.

Also, now as an adult, my husband was hearing Christians say: Trust in God...He wants to save you from your sins and have a relationship with you. My husband kept on holding back from God for months because he wasn't sure if he could trust this Jesus to truly take care of him....all his needs,.., spiritual as well as physical. Finally, the scripture Matthew 6:25-34 broke through the wall of his fears and my husband surrendered himself completely into the Lord's care. And he was excited; excited about living the Christian life. He wanted to follow Jesus' leading in life. He had sold out to Jesus completely.

During our first year of marriage, my husband was learning his profession. And as "the new kid" he was assigned to run the work and deliver it when it was done. Quite often these deliveries took place in the late night hours. And he usually had many stops each night. In order for me to even have time to talk with him, I often chose to ride in the car with him while he made his deliveries. It was during one of these evening delivery trips that an interesting event occurred.

We were downtown and finishing up to go home. It was cold that night and the sky looked like some snow flurries could be expected. Since we hadn't had snow yet that winter, the sidewalks were clear, but everything was so cold and gray. Our car had just turned the corner when my husband saw a man walking on the sidewalk toward a wide doorway and my husband pointed this man out to me. The man was dressed poorly; very inadequately for the weather. And his shoes, if you could call them that, were split in so many places that they could not possibly keep out the elements.

Almost as quickly as we drove past this man, my husband pulled over to the curb, put on his flashing lights, and announced that he was giving that man his shoes! I really had no time to protest because my husband was already out of the car. I watched as they talked and after some discussion, the man accepted the shoes. My husband came back to the car in his socks and we talked as we drove toward home.

I was concerned because my husband had only two pairs of shoes that were decent enough for work and here he'd just given one pair away! But my husband said that the scriptures said that if you have more than enough and someone was in need, then the Lord wants us to share. He also explained that he could only wear one pair of shoes at a time anyway, so now this simplified things. We closed the conversation with the thought that when my husband needed another pair of shoes, the Lord would provide them.

Time passed, and we could have used that extra pair of shoes, but we got along. Occasionally we talked about the incident and wondered if the Lord had ever intended to give my husband that second pair of shoes.

Approximately 18 months after my husband gave away his shoes, we were visiting at a friend's apartment. Midway through the evening, our host got up and told my husband that he had something for him. He brought back a pair of brown loafers. They fit perfectly. He went on to explain that for more than a year the Lord had been prompting him to give these shoes to my husband, be he just hadn't gotten around to it. We mentioned that my husband had wanted another pair of shoes, but didn't go into any details. We looked at each other and we couldn't wait to talk about it on the way home.

We decided that the most important issue in the "shoe incident" was the way in which the Lord used people to convey his blessings. But the people were always "allowed" to function within their own free-will. My husband was a vehicle for blessing for the man with no shoes because my husband was so willing to obey without question. Our friend withheld a blessing that the Lord intended for us because he was unwilling to obey without question. And the Lord never made our friend obey, he only prompted and let our friend choose to obey. This was an exciting revelation to us because we were able to see both sides of a blessing and how a man can choose to be a part of it.

10 types of people...

There are only 10 types of people in the world:
Those who understand binary, and those who don't.



Sunday, December 16, 2007

Blessings

From: Brother in Christ
Date: Dec 16, 2007 7:00 PM
Subject: Blessings
To: Gil

Sorry for the long gap between emails. I’ve been very crazy with work and travel, with little time to slow down. BUT, I’ve remembered every day to keep you in my prayers before the Father.

God has been so good to us, in spite of everything that happens and the many situations, He’s faithful, He protects, provides, heals, redeems, sanctifies, His grace and mercy are never ending, and His love endures forever. I pray that His presence is real in your life. I am thankful for your prayers. So many times when the load seems too heavy, and He intercedes, I’m grateful for the Christian brothers are praying for me.

At this time of year I pray that you are refreshed, and that Christ uses you to bless others, and that as we get close to celebrating the Redeemer’s birth, that His light will shine in us and cause others to stop and ponder, just as the light of the star did so many years ago.

May your burdens be lightened as He cares for you, may your fears fade away by His perfect Love, may your weakness be replaced with His strength, may His Spirit fill the voids, and may His peace and joy overflow in your life.

Sincerely,

Brother in Christ

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Thinking of you

From: Brother in Christ
Date: Oct 28, 2007 10:03 AM
Subject: Thinking of you.
To: Gil

Hi,

I'm (as you know) away again. It's so great that as far as we go and as long as we seem to be 'away' that He is always there with us, His faithfulness knows no end.

I hope that your days have been blessed and that your burdens are lifted, may the hardest thing you face be, trying to think of all the things to praise Him for in your life.

The world's vision is blurred and so their hope is lost, their teaching is flawed and so their purpose is hopeless, but the One we serve has opened our eyes and corrected our flaws, so we have a purpose and hope in Him that brings eternal joy and life, guard your vision and protect what you have been taught by Him, and don't let the influences around us cause you to question. This life is short and a therefore has a limited value, but the life eternal promised is most valuable, so we aught to be focused on the thing of value and help others to do so, and not be distracted by the short term benefits and miss the long term goal.

Anyway be strengthened by His Holy Spirit, and let His love surround you, His word sustain you, and may our prayers for our brothers in Christ, be a sweet fragrance to Him.

Got to go now. You are presented to Him in prayer daily.

Bro,

Brother in Christ

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Hi brother

From: Brother in Christ
Date: Sep 30, 2007 8:11 AM
Subject: Hi brother
To: Brothers in Christ

Sorry it's been a few weeks since I wrote. As usual travel and hectic schedules have got in the way. Anyway I praise God for you my brother(s) in Christ, and for His Holy Spirit that is with us.

I pray daily for you that He blesses, encourages, strenghtens and provides for you. That He makes you a blessing to others and that His presence is real in your life.

Sometimes the pressure seems overwhelming, but He always works things out in His way and in His time. When we look at what we face can we think of anything that He can't handle? So many times when I look at life closely I realize all the things He has been doing that I'd not even seen.

Remember me in your meetings and talks with our Father.

I pray that Jesus is so real in your life this coming week, that you'll feel His touch, hear His whisper and even sense His shadow in the room with you.
You were chosen by Him, it's no accident, He loves you as a son, there is nothing He won't do to show His love for you. On the other hand remember not to let things get between Him and us.

May God use you mighlty by the power of His spirit.

Prayerfully,

Brother in Christ

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Me and Lucas...

Thursday, June 22, 2006

A ride on the Pinellas Trail

The ladies of my life

Galatians 5:16

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

(New International Version)

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