Tag: Father

Focus Friday – Loved by a Father

Posted on by Evangeline

I know. June is long gone and so is the American celebration of Father’s Day. But tomorrow is my husband’s birthday and I want to celebrate and honor what an awesome father he has been to our children. He gladly sacrifices having better things for himself so that he can provide for our children. This week, our youngest son had some car trouble and had to drive Freeman’s car to get to a couple of commitments he had. When he got back home, he said, “Dad, you need a new car.” 🙂 Freeman’s response was, “I know, but I needed to get y’all through school first.”  That’s the kind of dad he’s been all along– one that doesn’t mind doing without so that his children have what he feels they need.

God is like that too. He loved us so much that He was willing to:

  • do without the presence of His Son for decades,
  • watch His Son go through the blood-sweating agony of taking on mankind’s sin,
  • turn away from His Son as He hung dishonored on the cross with His flesh sliced, and bloodied, and
  • send His only Son to hell in mankind’s stead.

But the Father didn’t stop there; He did not leave Jesus in hell. He gladly made those sacrifices knowing there was  a perfectly good ending to the story. He raised His Son with power so that we could then be seated with Jesus on the right hand of God– a position of power. The Father was determined to get us back and love on us NO MATTER WHAT!

What  sacrifice!

What LOVE!

How do you see yourself loved by the God who sustains the entire universe?

Take a moment today to express your love to the Father AND, more importantly, to receive His “no-matter-what” kind of love.

My father--father's day

 

Photo credit: Women Living Well

I Got Distracted

Posted on by Evangeline
Image courtesy of Idea go/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Idea go/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I got distracted last week.

On Saturday, 7/27/13, I woke up with a “little ache” in my lower back. By Saturday night, nausea and a headache had set in. Relief did not come even after using the pain reliever and heating pad. With no appetite, I endured the weekend of feeling yucky, eager for the doctor’s office to open on Monday morning.  I was fortunate to get a same-day appointment. Diagnosis? Just a viral infection that “should pass in few days”.

During the eight (8!) days it took to finally feel better,  I watched TV (most of the time). My body ached for almost a week, yet the achiness did not serve as a reminder to do what I knew (focus on Jesus). Tiredness  and headache set in and I didn’t persistently look to a different source of strength after I took the pain reliever . Nausea swept through and I did not seek out alternative nutrition for the part of me that was not sick—my spirit. The headache, back ache, tiredness, nausea each became a physical distraction that I allowed to keep me from pursuing the spiritual solution to my problem.

Thankfully,  I’m feeling much better today. Looking back on this past week,  I did not follow what I’ve encouraged others to do so many times—get in the Word of God, find my answer to the problem at hand, and focus on the answer. I got distracted by the symptoms and the TV.  I feel like I wasted a LOT of time last week.  No writing, no working on goals, no online posts, and certainly no chores or exercise got done. Admittedly, I didn’t feel like doing much of anything. I didn’t even feel like strengthening my spirit by reading God’s love letter to me (the Bible).  But God so lovingly strokes me with His gentle, fatherly hand and tells me, “It’s okay, I’m still here with you.”

Proverbs 18:14 (NKJV) encourages us that, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?”  Within the Word of God lies the answer to every problem we can ever experience in life. I know that. I teach that. But, I got distracted by my circumstances.  Has that ever happened to you?

Today, no more beating myself up with thoughts about what I should or could have done in the midst of that illness. All the “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda” in the world won’t change the past nor help in moving forward. Now is the time to praise God that He kept me through those eight days and will continue to do so. Now is the time to read and marvel about how His power and favor work in my life. Now is the time to realign my focus so that I continue to look to the One who loves me and does nothing but good on my behalf.

I’m looking forward to a productive week where I handle distractions in a much more effective way. Are you?