Obbssed with disinfecting OR not?

 Working in a care facility for the elderly I know how important cleanliness and disinfectants are for the resident's health. I am a part of the environmental team and responsible for wiping down all touchable surfaces to control germs and viruses that may come from many different sources. We do this daily because we are committed to providing a healthy environment for them to live in.

With so much concern about the spread of COVID-19, we have specific chemicals to use for the virus to help eliminate the spread. Plus there are sanitizing stations everywhere we walk and posted signs on every door and service area. I believe it is wise to take precautions in this kind of environment and I am thankful that our organization is doing this.

I have heard from several people that we have some senior staff that is obsessed with sanitizing and I agree with that. (example I use the sanitize station in the elevator and then walk by the station in the hall and someone says did you sanitize?)  Overuse of anything is usually dangerous or at least harmful. It may eliminate most of the germs for a while but over time they develop into superbugs and become very hard to eliminate.

 I like this definition from the free dictionary "ob•ses•sion. (əbˈsɛʃ ən) n. 1. the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc. 2. the idea, image, etc., itself. 3. the state of being obsessed.

When I leave work it all stays there until I come back. At home in our small complex, we do not wear masks, But we do use common sense and social distancing. I am a firm believer in being exposed to common germs and other viruses to help build up my immune system. But be smart and use common sense.

personal testimony- Two years ago I compromised my immune system with some dangerous chemicals. I did not wear any protective coverings and got cancer cells that affected my immune system. After 6 months of treatments, cancer had been shrunk considerably but was still present. My immune system was week but I did not isolate myself , instead, I continued to go for walks outside and visit activities to help strengthen it. As of today, I have worked every day through this pandemic crisis, and in a few weeks, I will turn 78years old.

This is just some of my thoughts on the current crisis and how I am dealing with it. The one thing I am absolutely sure of is that God is my protector and I am committed to serving him.

Earl

Living Room Sessions with Granny: Let The Holy Ghost From Heaven Fall On Me

I came across this song today and it reminded me of my own experience when I asked the Holy Spirit to come into my life and make it real for me. It was early in January of 2020 and I was on my morning walk thinking about the spirit and what is his purpose, and how do I know he is near to me? I had the urge to just stop and raise my hands and ask for the Holy Spirit to enter into my body. It was an instant warmness and I felt a presence like I've never felt before. I just stood there and thanked God for giving me his presence in the form of the spirit. From that moment to this day I thank God for his protection and guidance in everything I say and do each day. 

I knew I was not receiving the blessings God has promised in his word because of sinful temptations that I could not overcome. Satan had put a shield over some of the past sins that needed to be confessed and repented of so I was not aware of what more I needed to do. Little by little the spirit would bring to mind someone or something I needed to repent of and make right. My heart toward people was being changed and all my negative thoughts in my mind were greatly reduced. God was doing a work in me and as I continued to be obedient to the spirits prompting many of my prayers were being answered and I was being blessed more than I had ever imagined.

If we ask the Holy Spirit to come into our life and are serious about listening to his prompting and obeying what comes to mind, be prepared for some rough weather but the blessing will far outweigh the turmoil.

Earl

Truth is?

About two years ago I was confronted about the truth in my saving and spending habits. It was a very painful two-hour confession of multiple lies that dated back some 60 years.
That time was a turning point in my life, for days and months afterward I would recall all the untruths I had spoken on a daily basis. I would feel awful about lying but I would justify it by saying it avoided conflict or it solved my problem temporarily. Daily I would feel convicted and I prayed to God for help but my faith was weak and I would try to fix things myself. God did help but not right away like I asked. I had a lot of repenting to do before life would get better. He released the spirit in me to show me people who I needed to write letters to and make phone calls and go to personally and ask for forgiveness. As I did my thoughts and actions became more dependant on the Holy Spirit and my faith has been increasing. I have a lot fewer worries and fear of the future and my quality of life.

Today I was reading in the bible John chapter 14 about the role of the Holy Spirit.
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [a]Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

The Holy Spirit has become my constant companion and I depend on it for my every thought and action I take. Every morning I ask for guidance and pray that my words and actions will be pleasing to my Father which is in heaven.
The truth is that I can't fix things myself, it takes help from the Holy Spirit.
Earl

Renewing my mind

While walking along the path in the morning I was thinking about God and how he communicates to me. I have never really known how to hear or realize when he is talking to me. Jesus said we can communicate with God through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I can sense an urge to do something but I am not sure if it is from God. I have accepted his holy spirit but I don't know how to access it so I just stopped walking and said Holy Spirit come into my body so I can know you are real and instantly I felt a sensation in my shoulder and then a rapped heartbeat. Peace came to me and my heart was full of joy, I had God's spirit living inside all along I just had to believe.

As I continued my walk the Spirit, filled my mind with thoughts about how to recognize communication from God. By reading the bible daily and in context, studying how others in the bible talked and heard from God, paying attention to my thoughts and seeing if they line up with scripture. I was becoming aware of forgotten knowledge and I was thankful.

I have always thanked God for everything even the hard times although most of the time I didn't like my situation. Talking to God and asking him to change my life has been difficult because I had become comfortable in my own abilities. Today I have renewed assurance that my body is the temple for the Holy Spirit and I have direct communication with God continually.

Earl

 

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

An act of kindness

I am an essential worker in a health care facility where masks and other protective items are for staff and residents only. While on duty I overheard an employee tell about waiting in line at the store for a very long time and was concerned about the closeness of the other shoppers. She is in the vulnerable class for COVID-19 and should have had a mask to wear for her personal use. I remembered that I had some in the garage, so I approached her and said I had a few and would be glad to share.
Earlier last summer I had been working with chemicals and had a full box of the N95 masks in my garage. Since I was no longer using them I took out a few for my wife and me and gave the rest to her for her use and any others who might need one.
Earl
Trying to honor the Lord with my abundance.

The power of a song

There have many songs that have had an impact on my adult life, but none like one I heard at a live concert in Lincoln Nebraska at the Wesleyan University. I was invited to go by this girl from another church that I knew and she had an extra ticket if I wanted to go.
During the first part of the concert, I was more interested in the girl than the music. As Doug Oldham started to share his testimony he would sing a verse of "Through it all", I have learned to trust in Jesus". I could feel the emotion in his voice and see the tears creeping down his face, sweat was on his forehead. At the time of the concert, he had just heard of a tragedy in his family and was praising the Lord and trusting God to help him through it all. He would continue to share and then sing another verse. I was so moved by the strength he had to stand up there and perform. It became a moment of change in my faith that God will help me THROUGH  IT  ALL.  I don't know if a voice spoke to me or it was an emotional feeling but I knew that song would be my strength for the rest of my life. Praise God for the mysterious ways he works in our lives.
Earl

Will I fall back into my old habits?

It is so easy for me to focus more on my daily tasks to do and solving my problems than it is to look to God for strength, help, and encouragement.
Being retired and staying home with my wife over the last three years, I have developed a daily routine of fixing meals and sitting at my computer doing research all day. Most of the time I am looking for ways to grow spiritually and healing the body of illness through the bible scriptures. Watching many videos and reading different devotions I have grown and matured in my belief in God and his ways of taking care of me. Many of my prayers that I have been so patiently waiting for have been answered and all of this has brought me relieving stress and great joy.

Lately, I have been restless and felt a need to be more physically active instead of just hanging around the apartment. A few months ago I was starting to dig into our savings for some special needs and medical expenses so I was praying for God to show me a way to bring in some extra income and also get some physical activity going by volunteering. After a couple of applications and two interviews, nothing was happening so I was getting discouraged. I also was feeling like I should be writing short stories about my life to show others how God's grace works through adversities. I have been doing this but not as faithfully as I should.

During my morning walk in the middle of winter, I saw two guys smoking outside and I stopped and asked what they did for work? They said they were part of the maintenance crew for the big complex there. I said that is the kind of work I have done also, and that I was looking for work. They encouraged me to go fill out an application, which I did and then last week I got a call telling me I was hired. Being in my late 70s and still very active I am sure this is where God wants me to be.

I am praying that I can keep my focus on the Holy Spirits leading as I start this new job and not regress into my old habit of putting a job before God. I still believe as I have said many times before. IT'S GOD'S PLAN NOT MINE.
Earl

Be careful what you say.

Be careful what you say.

I gave up cussing and using bad language many years ago.

Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.”

During my Army days, I picked up the bad habit of using as many swear words as possible in my conversations. Several times I was asked to leave the bars because my language was so filthy. I know now it was the environment and my rebellious attitude. I thank God that when I got back home I cleaned up my words but the thoughts were still in my mind. I had an internal battle going on between what I was thinking and what I was about to say

.
For 45 years I fought that battle between good and evil. By my outward actions, everyone thought I was a good kind and decent person never using bad language and very thoughtful. but inside my head, I would often curse and make a judgment against people and things. White lies became an everyday occurrence for me.
Then one day on my morning walk I was asking God for help with my finances and some health problems, Instantly he said you are not honoring me with your thoughts. I see your actions and know your thoughts, you have been serving Satan in your mind. I felt a deep need to repent not only to God but also to several people for the thoughts I had of them.
I am thanking God each day for the way he has changed my way of life and the freedom with joy and peace that is beyond understanding. I need to continually ask the Holy Spirit to guard my thinking and the words I speak so the people I meet each day will see your love through me.

Earl

Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.”

The busy sunday

Does it really matter that much what we do on Sunday?
 YES I believe it does.

I don't usually go shopping on Sunday, but I needed a few items from the grocery store, so when I got to the parking lot it was so full I had a hard time finding a vacant spot. Then inside it was even worse, I could not go down an aisle without bumping into someone or waiting just to turn into the next aisle. About an hour later when I got back home I could not stop thinking about how rushed and rude people were. I told my wife whatever happened to Sunday being a day of rest?

It seems to me we are so occupied with doing things like work, meetings, playing, socializing and whatever that we don't have any time left to rest, which we need to replenish our bodies.
God made us so that we need rest. I believe we need to recharge our emotions and energy just by being quiet or reconnecting in our relationship with God. The sabbath is the day set by God as the day of rest.

God rested on the seventh day not because He was tired, but because He had completed His work. If we have our priorities set in the right order we can also take a day of rest and replenish our bodies with what's needed.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
 Be intentional about taking your Sabbath, spend time with God, and make it count!
Earl