Constant Flesh Killing Mode
Greetings sisters in Christ!
Today is a quick keeper of the van (home) update on how we stay cool and learning to kill the flesh. So far this spring has been super cool for the average temps and we are very thankful for that! We know, however, that summer is coming and since we may be in the central part of the US, more than we usually are, brother Jim wanted to make sure we had enough ventilation and air circulation. I can normally handle heat just fine but with physical issues it can make me sicker and harder to overcome my trials so he tries hard to help me out in that area. He installed a small air conditioner last year for the super hot days and it works well enough to cool the van down from sweltering to bearable but only use it in extreme heat. This year, I shared with you that he added the pop up roof and it has 2 windows that allow a lot of air to circulate. Not long ago he made a screen for our doors so that we can leave them open and the bugs don't come in but the air does.
Today, racing against the storms coming, he put in this vent in the very back.
It's actually a roof top vent that he salvaged and because of the way the vent opens, it forms like a roof over the window so we can have it open in the rain also! He will also add one more window on the main side door, another inexpensive porthole window like we have already.
Today is a quick keeper of the van (home) update on how we stay cool and learning to kill the flesh. So far this spring has been super cool for the average temps and we are very thankful for that! We know, however, that summer is coming and since we may be in the central part of the US, more than we usually are, brother Jim wanted to make sure we had enough ventilation and air circulation. I can normally handle heat just fine but with physical issues it can make me sicker and harder to overcome my trials so he tries hard to help me out in that area. He installed a small air conditioner last year for the super hot days and it works well enough to cool the van down from sweltering to bearable but only use it in extreme heat. This year, I shared with you that he added the pop up roof and it has 2 windows that allow a lot of air to circulate. Not long ago he made a screen for our doors so that we can leave them open and the bugs don't come in but the air does.
Today, racing against the storms coming, he put in this vent in the very back.
It's actually a roof top vent that he salvaged and because of the way the vent opens, it forms like a roof over the window so we can have it open in the rain also! He will also add one more window on the main side door, another inexpensive porthole window like we have already.
Most campers, rv'rs, vanlifer's live with lots of air conditioning and great climate control. (We know because we see them all locked up in their rigs without windows or doors open.) We, on the other hand, choose to live simple, save our finances for the kingdom of God, and learn how to kill our flesh so investing a small amount of money in more windows is a great option.
We have a brother in the Lord that is living the van life and needed a few modifications for more air flow. Brother Jim helped him set up a generator box to put his generator in so he can run a fan in his van to cool off and charge fans and media.
We have a brother in the Lord that is living the van life and needed a few modifications for more air flow. Brother Jim helped him set up a generator box to put his generator in so he can run a fan in his van to cool off and charge fans and media.
Tonight they worked on reflectors for his windows so the sun doesn't beat inside the van and screens for the sliding door and windows so he can have better air flow. He has endured some warm evenings, not being used to this area, and is willingly killing his flesh and patiently taking one day at a time as things progress.
That's how we need to be as we travel through this life, enduring through each day patiently and being thankful in each one. Brother Jim and I were talking about how we started out this traveling ministry in our minivan. It was cramped sleeping quarters, we couldn't sit upright in the back because we had food storage and clothing under the bed platform. It was tricky to change clothes and cook while sitting on the bed, cranking our head sideways while doing so. We were thankful for what we had then and were more thankful when we had bigger living quarters. In this van we started out with 2 windows, then slowly over time added more, enduring through the challenges we had until we could do so. Not everything comes quickly and in our older age we see that as a blessing in disguise because the people who get what they want, right away seem to be the first people to run when things get tough. Those who have to work hard and endure, waiting patiently for each progression, are stronger and endure through more and more until they are hardened to the discomforts of this life.
Brother Jim has been talking about when you have to struggle a lot, when you don't have a lot, when you are not pampered and instead having to endure through the hardships of life, you are in a constant mode of killing the flesh and you have a greater appreciation for even the smallest things. We have seen this in our life. We came from living with comfort in a big house, downsizing to a small house, then smaller and off the grid, now the van and through that progression we saw the more we got rid of and the more our flesh suffered, the more we were in the constant mode of killing our flesh.
When you are in a constant flesh killing mode, it's easier to walk in the Spirit and be ready to do the things of God. There may be things in your life that you could do without, that would kill some of your flesh, yet make you stronger. We encourage people to look at their life and see how much time and effort they spend in comfort and security vs doing the work of the Lord in whatever ministry they are called. Comfort is not a sin but when it overshadows the work of the Lord, then it becomes so.
Just a quick example: this young brother that Jim is helping, stood at the cross roads of flesh killing. He'd been living in his van for a while but something came up to where he had a decision, he could drop the van life (super inexpensive way to live) or get an apartment and pay a lot of money each month. One option would offer him freedom to eventually own some land and be debt free, the other would ensnare him for many years. We've seen others at that cross road and because of their flesh and lust to be comfortable, they looked back, went back and fell back. No, we don't tell everyone they have to do what we do, we just use ourselves and our lives as an example of how we have learned to kill the flesh in order to be more aware and ready to do the work of the Lord. There are many ways we can learn to kill the flesh, we all have to evaluate our own lives and make our own decisions.
Don't let the comforts of this world get in the way of walking in the Spirit, don't become complacent, don't become self absorbed in wants or desires. Satan deceives people in every way possible and all it takes is a little here and there to grow further away from the Lord and His truth.
I pray your day is victorious in the Lord, through His Strength!
Love in Christ,
Sister Deb
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