God's Umbrella

Are you a planner? Are there certain things that you feel you need to do in a particular order? Do you put together a plan regarding how things are going to work out through the day? I think part of that is normal, but boy can things easily get out of hand. I am a very structured person. A person of habit. I plan everything. Even on vacation, I plan what we are going to do on what day and at what time. My fiancee knows that about me and she follows along.

The bad part thought is that when things don’t go as planned (at least as I had planned in my head) then I get irritated. Like, really irritated. I can get myself into a major fit. Does that sound like you?

The problem is that the plan we put together in our heads isn’t always reasonable. I mean, when I’m planning, the plan I have in my head is great! The plan is awesome! It’s totally going to come together exactly as I think it will. Yeah right. It will always come together perfectly. And on what planet would that be?

It occurs to me that planning our day may not always be in our best interest in some ways. Let me explain. When we have our day planned just so, we expect things to fall into place. When we plan to go to the store to get mac and cheese, we expect them to have the brand we’re after. When we to to the beach over a vacation we plan for the weather to be good. When we leave to go somewhere we plan for the traffic to be clear. Then things come unglued. How can they POSSIBLY be out of Kraft mac and cheese? How DARE it rain while we are at the beach. All week! How can anyone POSSIBLY slow down THAT much just because there’s a car pulled over so someone can fix a flat tire! What if more than one of our plans fall apart in a given day? One thing right after another. People say when it rains it pours.

We want our days to be free from rain but sometimes it rains on our parade. Maybe we expected too much from the day. Maybe we set our goals too high. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be allowed to accomplish things. Those rough days can really test us. The enemy uses those days to try to draw us to his darkness and away from God’s light. The enemy uses those days to try to find chinks in the Armor of God we wear into which he can slide those sharp claws that can hurt us so much.

So put on your Armor of God. Pray. Don’t let your well thought out plans drown you when it rains. Live through the trials. Let the rain grow your faith. When all seems so horrible when it rains on your parade make sure that the parade continues regardless. Put up God’s Umbrella and march forward.

Recommended Reading: Ephesians 6:11-17

Isn’t it interesting that a lot of people don’t actually have to work on Labor Day? The holiday was created in the 1800’s as a way to pay respects to American laborers yet here we are. In this day and age it can be difficult to get a single day off from work, of course depending on the industry in which you work.

It is so easy to want to take a day off from work. Maybe because you are sick, tired, feel like you have too much else to do, the list goes on and on. However let’s think about that a little more. Have you taken off work just because of a stuffy nose? What about taking off work only because you stayed up too late? Or have you taken off work because there are appointments to which you need to attend?

There are legitimate reasons to take off work, there is no doubt at all about that. However let’s think about this for a minute. Under God’s Umbrella do you suppose the disciples took a day off? What if Jesus Himself had decided to take a vacation? Although the Bible doesn’t mention these things I think it reasonable to say that it is very unlikely that they happened. God wants us full time. He is a jealous God and doesn’t want to take back seat to anything. He wants us to persevere through our trials and tribulations. He wants us to always have our sights set on him no matter what.

So if you are able to take some time off on this Labor Day please make sure that you give God careful consideration. Let Him know that there is nothing more important than to worship Him. God doesn’t take a day off from loving us and we shouldn’t take a day off from loving Him. Enjoy your family get togethers and picnics/cookouts, or whatever else you have planned but continue to make God your focus. Let Him know that you understand that the only reason you are even alive to enjoy time off (whenever it may be) is because He loves you. Have fun on any holiday while you continue to live under God’s Umbrella.

My fiancee and I were having fun this weekend looking around online at some of the most expensive homes in the U.S. We were laughing at some of the decor in the homes, the size, the cost, etc. etc. It sometimes is fun fantasizing about having the best house, the best car, the best clothes, the best of everything!

But then we have to stop and think. How much do we really need?

We were talking about this and we came to the conclusion that what is an over-the-top extravagant house to us is just a house to the people who live there. It loses the luster of being spectacular and its just where they live then maybe they want more. And more. And more. The house we live in now is just our house but it might be a mansion to someone else. Even someone having a shack with a roof can be like having a mansion to some.

It occurred to us after laughing and having fun that our house is spectacular. Our jobs are spectacular. Our lives are spectacular. It is all in the perspective you take. You could look around and see that dirty laundry in the hamper that needs to be washed. You could see the yard that needs to be cut, the tomatoes from the garden that need to be picked. You have to shave, you have to shower, you have to go to work. It all seems so overwhelming sometimes.

However, stop. Think. Look around. At least you HAVE dirty laundry that will turn into clean clothes. You HAVE a nice yard, it just needs to be cut. You HAVE food that you have grown. You HAVE a body that needs to be cleaned, a job you get to go to. These are all fantastic things! It is human nature to want more however we have to stop ourselves. Look around at what you have. Be thankful. Understand that it is only under God’s Umbrella that you have anything at all.

I was coming out of work yesterday and there was one of the residents of the facility in which I work sitting outside. She looked a little down so I sat down next to her on a bench. When I asked her what was wrong she told me that she had to bury her husband earlier that day. What a difficult day for her.

So what was I to do? Provide support, yes, but in what way? Do I just listen? Give her a hug? Offer advice? The answer was simple. I listened to her and I listened to what God was telling me I should do. I should listen, I should show compassion, I should share with her some of my tough times and what I did to make it through. It just so happens that she enjoys coloring books. So do I! I have a book that has scripture verses in it along with pictures of flowers, designs, etc. So I’ll take a page out of that book and give it to her. So now the question becomes, what page do I give her. Again, the answer is simple. Listen to what God tells me to do. Open that book up and see what pages are there. He will tell me which one to offer her.

So you see, my point here is that when someone is in need of support, we also need guidance and support on what to do. All we have to do is listen to God. Let Him guide us on how we are to provide support. Just listen!

So to go back to the story, this particular resident asked if I could talk to her some more later. I was supposed to be leaving for the day but God told me to stay and talk. I did, and when we were done with out visit she became tearful and told me that God must have sent me to her to make her feel better. I thought to myself yes He did and He gave me the support I needed to give her the support she needed. Pretty cool!

Let’s think about a time in your life that you wanted to do something you really believed in. Something you wanted to do, something you wanted to accomplish, something you wanted to change. Do you remember a time when you had that in your life? That desire, that feeling? Remember how you felt the strong need for support from your loved ones? Remember a time when it just wasn’t there, that you didn’t feel supported?

Support means a great number of things to a great number of people. The key to receiving support is understanding your expectations. To some people support means receiving encouraging words. To some it means just being there. To some it means active participation toward a goal we want to achieve. When we look for support we have to define what we expect, and everyone’s definition may be different at different times and may differ further depending on with what (or whom) we need support for (or with). Likewise the people we look to for support have different things in mind for what they think they should do to support us. That’s a lot of differing!

The people we look to for support have to understand what we need them to do and and they have to try to give us what we need. Of course as you know that is not simple at all. There can be misunderstandings, mismatched expectations, emotional difficulties, disagreements on goals, etc. There can be arguments, hard feelings, disappointments, and everything in between. Receiving support is an equation that is difficult to solve.

God however has the equation already solved! He knows what we need and He knows who can and will give that to us. He knows how to solve misunderstandings, how to mitigate emotional difficulties, and how to resolve disagreements. He can give you all the support you will ever need in every situation we will ever encounter. Trust Him and let Him guide you through your challenges. Trust Him to guide you to the right people and situations at the right time. You have all the support you will ever need. So go forth with your goals. Pray. Receive your soul’s fill of support. All under God’s Umbrella.

Well here we are, my first ever post on my first ever website.  Pretty exciting!  I know it doesn’t look like much right now but I’m learning how to make it look a little more presentable.  Not an easy task as I’m finding.  At any rate, I thought it would be prudent to begin our journey together (hoping you’ll subscribe) by talking about what I mean when I reference God’s Umbrella.  So let’s get rolling!

I don’t think there is any doubt that we live in a sinful society.  Temptations for sin are literally around every corner.  Beer distributors and liquor stores for the alcoholic, dealers for the drug addict, casinos for the gambler, prostitutes for the sex addict.  The list could literally go on and on for many paragraphs and I know you agree.  We fight the temptations but sometimes we fall flat on our faces.  I’ve been there, you’ve been there.  We all have failed in our humanistic attempts to win in life.  God however is the answer to our prayers, literally!  He protects us from evil and from sin.  That is, as long as we allow Him to.  By that I mean that it is so easy to venture out on our own, thinking we can take on society all by ourselves.  Thinking that we don’t need Him.  WRONG!  Come on now, you’ve been there before.  Thinking you can handle a certain situation by yourself when you eventually find out that hey, you can’t.  That’s okay, because God is waiting, holding out His umbrella to protect us.

God protects us by welcoming us to stay under His umbrella of protection with open arms.  He shades us when it is too hot, he protects us from the storm when it comes, and you know as well as I do that storms can sometimes come right out of the blue and catch us off guard.  Satan is great at throwing us a curve ball when we least expect it.  But if we just keep ourselves under that umbrella of protection we can win!  Time and time again we can and will win under God’s Umbrella.  It protects us from sin!

That is not to say that we won’t be tempted by evil.  Oh, you know Satan is a master at deception, the father of all lies.  We see this label in John 8:44.  The NIV translation tells us: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of all lies.  He can and will tempt us but if we just stay strong, remain close in our relationship with God and stay under His umbrella, guess what?  God will grant us His unlimited strength and love so that we don’t have to listen to the enemy’s lies.  God gives us the power to overcome the lies, to rise above the noise, so to speak.  We just need to stay under God’s Umbrella.

I will certainly go into more detail as this adventure continues.  I really hope that you will follow me and that you will share with others so that I can share my thoughts and ideas with you.  Please make sure to comment on my posts too.  That way I know you are reading and you can help guide my posts to subjects that matter to you!  Please check out the About Me section to learn a little about, you guessed it, me!  I think it helps to know a little about the person who authored what you are reading.  Maybe a little more of a personal investment as the case may be.

Thank you so much for reading.  I hope to see you again soon and God bless!