Confidence

 

In 2015 I renewed my Georgia CDL driver’s license.  But when I got it in the mail a week later, the clerk had misspelled my last name.  I knew the error would be a problem when I traveled overseas, so I went back to the Georgia DMV and explained the problem.  After filling out a form, I submitted the paperwork, and in a week, I got another Georgia driver’s license spelled correctly.  But they never collected the misspelled one!  So for 5 years, I had two valid driver’s licenses!   The following spring in Romania, I was pulled over for “an illegal driving move”.  I had swerved to avoid a huge pothole and had “recklessly” crossed the yellow line.  The Romanian policeman was attempting to extort a bribe.  The officer said firmly in broken English while shaking his finger at me, “I could send your license to Bucharest and you would have to travel 600 kilometers to get it back!”  I shrugged and said, “Fine.  Do it.”  The officer was caught off guard by my confidence and let me go.  I was bold because I had given him my duplicate misspelled driver’s license.  Unknown to him, I had a spare.  Hey, we can face spiritual attacks with boldness.  The Creator of the universe has our back!  David said in Psalm 118:6, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”  Today, don’t be afraid, God is right there with you.  Stand confidently with the good Lord behind you and let Him fight for you!  If you belong to God, He will take care of you because you are His own precious child.

Wainscoting Transformation

 

Marleen and I have been working at church remodeling our pastor’s office.  We wanted to add a little class to the room, so we installed wainscoting on the sheetrock walls.  Wood strips were sooo expensive, so I made 1 ½” strips out of ¾” MDF sheets.  I marked and clamped a straightedge onto the panel and used a circular saw to make a straight cut.  Looks great!  3 MDF panels made wainscoting and baseboard for the entire room!  Hey, like the sheets of MDF, God can take your life and make it into a beautiful thing!  II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Stupid

 

Saturday, I did something really stupid.  Sorry kids, if your parents don’t let you use that word, but as I explain, you will agree, it was really stupid.  I have installed a cap on my F-150 pickup truck.  It used to be a plumbing work truck cap with bins and shelves on the side.  I removed all of that leaving doors on all 3 sides.  Now I must open the back door to drop the tailgate to put stuff in or get stuff out.  It is an added chore that I just must put up with.  But Saturday, I discovered that I could drop the tailgate without opening the door above (refer to the picture below).  I felt rather smug with my discovery until I went to close the tailgate with the door still closed.  I always push the tailgate up with my hand with my fingers over the top of the tailgate.  So Saturday, I caught my middle finger between the cap door and the tailgate.  Instinctively, I pulled my finger out doing further damage.  I moved it tenderly: it wasn’t broken.  But by Saturday afternoon, it was swollen and throbbing with pain.  I slept fitfully throughout Saturday night.  Sunday afternoon, I had to get some relief.  So, I got my smallest drill bit (1/16”) and with my left hand, twisted the drill bit until I drilled a tiny hole in my fingernail (refer to the other picture below).  Blood spurted out of the tiny hole, but I felt relief almost immediately.  I’ve been keeping a Band-Aid over the fingernail to keep debris out of my relief hole, which oozed for a day.  Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."  Hey, I’m so glad that I can get spiritual relief from the dear Lord!  If I come to Him, He will show me the way out of my problems … and God will do the same for you.  Today, bring your problems to Him, for the dear Lord cares about you!