I am inviting you to sign-up for the RSS feed of this site. I have a blog at: www.dailysignsofhope.com, and it is getting over 30 people a day signing up for the RSS feed there. I would like to start that trend here as well.
_________________________________________________________
I have a brain storm going, and it hurts! I am thinking of giving away a free book to someone who signs-up for the RSS feed through a drawing. I am guessing I will need to have at least 10 people sign-up before I pull out a name.
What do you think?
_______________________________________________________
Excerpt # 2 is chapter two from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.
You can order the book right from this site. Just click on the bookstore at the top of this page.
The book is on sale from right now until Christmas. In the retail stores the price is $19.99, but on this site it is only $15.99, and the shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00.
___________________________________________________________
Chapter 2
Everything that Can Go Wrong Probably Will
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4
Murphy must have been a sad soul. We all live by the laws he created for us. It seems that we blame everything that goes wrong on Murphy’s Law.
You’ve had those days. You get up in the morning and start out happy as a clam. (Not sure how happy that is.) You have some errands to do, and you begin to do them.
You run out of gas, or you have a flat tire. You forgot your grocery list. The item you thought was on sale wasn’t. There is an accident on the freeway, and you are stuck for hours.
Ever had those kinds of days? Let me tell you about mine! I had volunteered to help my son Greg out when he vacationed inDisneylandwith my granddaughter Molly. I told him I would pick up his mail every day, put the garbage cans back on Tuesday, and feed Charlie the cat all week.
Everything went well Sunday through Tuesday. But on Wednesday, the worst thing happened. I lost the door key. I had it in my summer shorts when I went to shower. I took off the shorts, showered, and then put on a clean pair of shorts. I left the house and headed over to my son’s house.
Charlie was waiting for me, and already had started his purring sound to let me know he was glad to see me. I got the mail, walked up to the door and reached into my pocket to get the key. It wasn’t there. Charlie was looking up at me looking like, “Why are you taking so long to open the door?”
“Sorry Charlie,” I muttered, sounding like a tuna commercial. “I have to go back home and get the key.” He wasn’t very happy with me as I walked to my car. I felt badly.
I got home and looked everywhere for the key. It was nowhere in sight. I even dumped out the hamper where the dirty clothes were. Zilch! Notta! Ouch!
I remembered that we had a bunch of extra keys in the desk drawer that had no names on them. I dug all of them out and drove back to my son’s house. You guessed it: None of them worked!
I was desperate by this time. I thought that I might have to call a locksmith, or call my son and have him Fed Ex his keys to me.
I prayed for help from God and immediately thought of calling my wife Charlotte to see if she had any ideas. (This was my close encounter with God.) I probably sounded shook up when she answered the phone—maybe because my only words were, “Now what do I do?”
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’ve lost the key to the house, and the cat food is on the inside.”
Without hesitating, she suggested, “Go to the grocery store and buy another bag of cat food and feed Charlie outside. He’s an outside cat anyway. Greg can make a new key when he gets home.”
Charlie was really mad at me when I left the second time without feeding him. I returned with a tasty tuna and salmon meal (yum). He gobbled it up and was purring again when I left.
Of course, going to the grocery store was the obvious choice. (You realize, of course, that I actually knew it all along. I was just testingCharlotte.) The important thing was that the answer came after I had prayed for help.Charlottewas the messenger, but God answered the prayer.
God can answer prayers in many ways. It can be directly, or it can be through someone else.Charlottewas my answer to prayer. She knew the easy solution I needed, but I wasn’t able to think of.
Do you call on God to help you when you have a problem, or do you panic like I did? (God has a speed dial you know.) At least, I knew I couldn’t do it on my own and turned to God for help. The calming feeling that came as soon as I finished praying was very reassuring.
It was in God’s hands, and I knew something good would happen. Charlie got fed, and I have a whole bag of cat food for future lockouts.
Don’t let obstacles stop you. Turn your problems over to God. Let Him figure out a solution. It may not come as fast as mine did, but He will work it out the way He knows is best for you.
Since I am on the subject of prayer, please don’t just call on God when there is a problem. Talk to God every day. He loves to hear from you.
I know it is hard to pray when you are at work. It is hard to pray while you are driving. But you know what? When you are driving might be the best time to pray. It is when you are likely to be tense and need a calming spirit. A guy is blowing his horn behind you. Pray seeking patience because you do not know what is going on in this man’s life. He may want to get home because his wife called and is ready to have their first baby. Wouldn’t you be honking?
Prayer should be done without ceasing. Pray each and every day. Use it to praise God. Use it to thank Him for your good health. Use it to pray for peace. Whatever is on your mind, God wants to hear from you. It should be like He is sitting in the room with you. Carry on a conversation with Him.
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6–7
Further Adventures
Have you gone along in life thinking that everything is fine, only to have a day that makes you realize that the world is not always a rose garden? First of all, remember that we can’t look at everything through rose-colored glasses.
Second, when a bad day comes knocking at your door like it was your long-lost relative, make sure it understands that it can only stay for that day. Then boot it out at the end of the day by giving it over to God in prayer. You should never let your bad days stay longer than they should.
Something to Ponder
Isn’t it funny that we always have a direct line to God, but we sometimes think the connection is dead?