Author Archives: Matthew, Karen, and God

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for another beautiful day. Thank you for the opportunity to go out and be a better Christian then the day before. Help us to put on your armor so that we can defend ourselves against Satan. Lord if there is anyone out there that needs our help, please place them in our path today. Give us the words to bring them closer to you God. In Jesus precious name, Amen

Sight

A day ago my friend had surgery on his eye to remove a cancer from it. I can’t even imagine what that feels like having someone cut my eye open to remove something, plus the thought of losing your eye sight if the surgery went wrong. The next thought that ran through my mind was a more pleasant one however. John 9:6-7 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him,” wash in the pool of Siloam.”So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. This is a parable about how we open our eyes to seeing Jesus, but not just in a physical sense. This reassured me as I prayed for my friend. Even though he could lose a portion of his eye sight if the surgery went wrong, I knew that my friend truly sees Jesus. Heavenly Father thank you for blessing us with another beautiful day. Help us to truly see you working in and around our lives today. Thank you for the opportunity to share what we see with others. In Jesus precious name AMEN.

The words that come out

Telling a story can be an awesome experience both for the one telling it and the one receiving it if it is done correctly. I had no idea at the time how my stories would and can affect an impressionable mind. I was working for a roofing company that my ex-father in law owned, both he and I were also in substance abuse recovery at the time. A couple from the recovery meetings we attended asked if their 15-year-old son Tyler could come and work with us for the summer and my boss agreed. The first day Tyler showed up he was assigned to me for directions on what to do and he was a quick learner. He had started asking me all kinds of questions about my addictions and my physical appearance. I was a bodybuilder and had the look of someone you wouldn’t mess with and I knew it too. I started telling Tyler day after day of all the great times that I had, getting into fights, all the liquor that was consumed and women that I was with. He was hanging on every word that popped out of my mouth and it was all garbage. I was early in recovery and didn’t know how stories were meant to be told, like romancing all the good times that were had. Instead, we are supposed to be talking about the negative experiences and how the addiction had destroyed our lives. Here I am fluffing up this kid, making everything sound cool and inviting. He worked with us for about a month and a half and one morning I had gone to pick him up as usual except this time his mother met me at the door telling me that he had disappeared. Tyler hadn’t come home the whole weekend without so much as a note or phone call telling his mother where he was. He did show up the following day and said he had gone to the beach with a group of older friends and that everything was ok. He no longer worked with us but his mother had nothing but worrying stories to tell us in the next couple of months. His grades went south since he was skipping school and was known by his parents for using heroin. A couple of years later he had an overdose and died. I don’t know if he had thoughts of using drugs before he met me, or maybe the fact that both his parents were addicts and it was in their genetics. What I did know was that if I had been walking with God at the time, those evil words would have never crossed my lips. The words that come out of our mouths can be uplifting and full of encouragement, or they can destroy and damage a future believer.

”Wise speech is rarer and more valuable than gold and rubies.” Proverbs 20:15

”A person’s words can be life-giving; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.” Proverbs 18:4

I love you

I have a friend that is very sensitive this person struggles with depression and anything you say can trigger it, throwing off his whole day. I got upset with him over some work we were doing together and spoke without thinking first. This hurt his feelings and he stopped speaking to me for a couple of months, he wouldn’t even return my texts to let me know he was alive. I talked to God about the way that I felt and was sorry for the ill words that were spoken. One day I was parked in a parking lot talking on the phone and saw my friend walking down the street so I wrapped up my conversation and yelled to my buddy. He didn’t look happy to see me but he met me half way anyhow. I told him how sorry I was for speaking to him in that manner and that I missed working and just speaking to him in general, then told him that I loved him. The look on his face was priceless as it changed from being upset to an almost sad but relieved look. I wrapped my arms around him and said that I would be around if he needed anything, a day later he called and we were able to spend a great day together. In our day to day routine, do we take the time out to say “I love you”, or make amends to someone we have wronged, do we stew in our anger and blow them off? Take the time today to relieve yourself and another by giving a hug and an apology. Tell them that you love them, making the bond of friendship even stronger.

Matthew 5:14-16

” You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in Heaven”. This to me is a great reminder that we need to be sharing the light that God has so freely given to us. Helping others to come to that light, feeling the warmth and truth of God’s love.

Mending the damaged

Recently I tore my rotator cuff and the pain when reaching for items up above my chest has been unbearable. Going in for ex rays and an MRI plus all the waiting time in between seems like it’s taking forever. When walking with God it may take some time to fix all the damages that were done in your life, but the end result is totally worth the wait and time. Hang in there and never quit even if at times you feel like your in a back peddle. God is with you, in you and all around you.