Loaves and Fish and the Miracle of Sustaining Us
Greetings sisters!
We have made it to our current destination for the night and are thankful as we've had some very eventful days. I'm always going about my keeper at home duties even in our little, rolling down the highway home and just yesterday brother Jim stepped into my Titus 2 territory and found us a great deal! :-) We were walking through the store and he spotted a big piece of fresh salmon marked down to an awesome deal. I had just told him the day before that it would be great to find an affordable piece as it would be something healthy to add to our diet, not to mention a big treat for us. We were pretty excited so I fried it up...
Normally, in cooler weather, I just cook in the van but since it was nice out and I didn't really want the fish smell in the van, I set up outside in a private part of the parking lot.
Here's the shot of our temporary back yard...
It doesn't look like much but it's priceless to us to have a bit of privacy in a busy place.
We ate 'loaves and fish' for lunch and were truly grateful!
After I looked at this paper plate filled with fish and bread, I laughed to myself because there's white bread on my plate:-) I'll explain....
I've written about how I used to be obsessed with curing myself by doing all sorts of fancy diets, herbs, tinctures, supplements and natural healing doctors and although some of it made a little difference, nothing was cured. I finally gave it up and just ate whatever natural foods we got, without obsessing about it. Well lately, I've encountered more issues and almost started back down that trail of self healing but instead I cried out to the Lord to either heal me or help me accept it.
I realized right then that I'm not in control. I've done every single thing I can think of and nothing worked except going to the Lord to help me accept the fact that I'm not in control. I no longer have that burden of thinking I must be doing something about it and now I'm content to realize that it is who I am and if it's the Lords will...I'm good with that.
I was convicted of trying to eliminate my pain when maybe that's exactly what I need to keep my spiritual state strong. This verse popped in my head at that time...
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Acts 26:14
I felt I might be kicking against God. And then I read about Paul asking God to remove his thorn three times. Read this very carefully...
Read this in verse 9 again:
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And this part of verse 10.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities
I will praise God when I have the tougher days that are hard to handle. I encourage you to do the same sisters:-)
Now to the white bread!
When I dumped all the 'health' trails I was on, we went to a diet of whatever was natural such as whole grain breads, lots of raw veggies and fruits, beans, brown rice, nuts, seeds etc. Just recently brother Jim said I should skip all the hard to digest food (that I clung to) and do a softer diet with more juices, soft cooked food etc. In my mind I was thinking 'how would that be healthy?' What about all the fiber and raw enzymes we need to survive? What about the whole grains that are necessary for a healthy life?
I took brother Jim's advice and I didn't die :-) in fact it helped me enough to make my days a bit easier to get through. So much for thinking that I was over with the foodie road, apparently I wasn't because I was still worried that I had to do what I thought was right according to what I'd learned a while ago.
Dropping all those preconceived notions has helped me trust in our Father even more because He is the giver and taker of life. Our Father is the one who can sustain us through anything if it is His will.
* Daniel didn't die in the lions den. (Daniel 6)
* Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn't burn up in the fire. (Daniel 3)
* God sustained the Israelites through all those years with bread. (Exodus 16)
* Paul didn't get sick from the snake bite. (Acts 28)
* He will sustain us as well.
I've learned some valuable lessons lately and I share with you in hopes that something I've been through will be something that helps you. I know how women can get carried away in such things because I have and hear from those who have also. It's amazing how we can cling to little things that hinder our trust in the Lord and we don't even know it. It's a joy to be set free!
Praise God!
I have to run now, it's dinner time and I have a simple meal to make and it includes white bread:-)
Have a joyous evening.
Love in Christ,
Sister Deb
We have made it to our current destination for the night and are thankful as we've had some very eventful days. I'm always going about my keeper at home duties even in our little, rolling down the highway home and just yesterday brother Jim stepped into my Titus 2 territory and found us a great deal! :-) We were walking through the store and he spotted a big piece of fresh salmon marked down to an awesome deal. I had just told him the day before that it would be great to find an affordable piece as it would be something healthy to add to our diet, not to mention a big treat for us. We were pretty excited so I fried it up...
Normally, in cooler weather, I just cook in the van but since it was nice out and I didn't really want the fish smell in the van, I set up outside in a private part of the parking lot.
Here's the shot of our temporary back yard...
After I looked at this paper plate filled with fish and bread, I laughed to myself because there's white bread on my plate:-) I'll explain....
I've written about how I used to be obsessed with curing myself by doing all sorts of fancy diets, herbs, tinctures, supplements and natural healing doctors and although some of it made a little difference, nothing was cured. I finally gave it up and just ate whatever natural foods we got, without obsessing about it. Well lately, I've encountered more issues and almost started back down that trail of self healing but instead I cried out to the Lord to either heal me or help me accept it.
I realized right then that I'm not in control. I've done every single thing I can think of and nothing worked except going to the Lord to help me accept the fact that I'm not in control. I no longer have that burden of thinking I must be doing something about it and now I'm content to realize that it is who I am and if it's the Lords will...I'm good with that.
I was convicted of trying to eliminate my pain when maybe that's exactly what I need to keep my spiritual state strong. This verse popped in my head at that time...
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Acts 26:14
I felt I might be kicking against God. And then I read about Paul asking God to remove his thorn three times. Read this very carefully...
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)Read this in verse 9 again:
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And this part of verse 10.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities
I will praise God when I have the tougher days that are hard to handle. I encourage you to do the same sisters:-)
Now to the white bread!
When I dumped all the 'health' trails I was on, we went to a diet of whatever was natural such as whole grain breads, lots of raw veggies and fruits, beans, brown rice, nuts, seeds etc. Just recently brother Jim said I should skip all the hard to digest food (that I clung to) and do a softer diet with more juices, soft cooked food etc. In my mind I was thinking 'how would that be healthy?' What about all the fiber and raw enzymes we need to survive? What about the whole grains that are necessary for a healthy life?
I took brother Jim's advice and I didn't die :-) in fact it helped me enough to make my days a bit easier to get through. So much for thinking that I was over with the foodie road, apparently I wasn't because I was still worried that I had to do what I thought was right according to what I'd learned a while ago.
Dropping all those preconceived notions has helped me trust in our Father even more because He is the giver and taker of life. Our Father is the one who can sustain us through anything if it is His will.
* Daniel didn't die in the lions den. (Daniel 6)
* Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn't burn up in the fire. (Daniel 3)
* God sustained the Israelites through all those years with bread. (Exodus 16)
* Paul didn't get sick from the snake bite. (Acts 28)
* He will sustain us as well.
I've learned some valuable lessons lately and I share with you in hopes that something I've been through will be something that helps you. I know how women can get carried away in such things because I have and hear from those who have also. It's amazing how we can cling to little things that hinder our trust in the Lord and we don't even know it. It's a joy to be set free!
Praise God!
I have to run now, it's dinner time and I have a simple meal to make and it includes white bread:-)
Have a joyous evening.
Love in Christ,
Sister Deb
The biblical gospel...