God has foreordained the works to which He has called you.

This week, I combed through old birthday cards and cinema ticket stubs, attempting to condense my personal boxes. I was hoping to let go of some old memorabilia. With each piece of paper, I reminisced of times spent with my family, going to the theater and other entertainment venues. Soon, I found myself holding a card with the word 'GOD' written across the top. I began to read.  The card said,

"GOD has foreordained the works to which He has called you. He has been ahead of you preparing the place to which you are coming and manipulating all the resources of the universe in order that the work you do may be part of His whole great and gracious work." -G. Campell Morgan. 

The card made me consider the past three years of my life. As I remembered the significant issues I had faced, I tried to remember even one moment, when I hadn't felt God's hands on a situation, or when He wasn't ahead of me solving one of life's problems.

I opened the card. I was surprised to find the name of a past work supervisor. Beside her kind words was a verse from Ephesians 2:10, which says, 

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

I started to digest all that had happened recently. For the past few weeks, I had focused on making a profit from the book God led me to write. Yet, after the day of the launch when it didn't appear that I had sold any books, I decided to revise my resume and conduct a serious job search. I had allowed anxiety over money to to creep in and take over God's plan. Still, God had prepared a way.

20 minutes after applying for job in nearby hospital, the phone rang. I answered the call, but couldn't completely understand what was said by the woman on the other end of the line. I heard, "Something, something job." Just then, the phone call dropped. Curious, I looked the number up using the computer Internet and found that it was most likely attached to the hospital care system I had applied to.  Oh how great it would feel to have a steady paycheck!

Bewildered, I stared at an unpaid cable bill and wondered, "How am I going to continue to pay for this service?  I decided to call the cable company and discontinue services. The man who answered my call was a believer. His name? Michael which means, "A gift from God." Micheal lowered my bill significantly without changing any of my services. All I had to do was say, "Okay."

Next, I reviewed my bank account. Surprisingly, there was an extra $125.00! Excited, I paid my car payment the cable bill and transferred the extra money to my credit card. God was ahead of me, taking care of my financial situation!

The next day, the phone rang again. When I looked at the caller identification on my phone, I noticed the number was the same as the call I received the day prior when the call dropped. I answered the call. Once again, the call was dropped. I began to shake my head and giggle.

I put my resume back in the desk drawer and sat at my computer desk. Instantly, a feeling of joy and contentment filled my heart.  I began to write again about God's love for me and the joy I find in submitting my life to the works which He has called me to do!

Money? I almost let being broke get me down.

Today, for some odd reason, I began to ponder how low my bank account was! It was months ago that I turned down unemployment benefits to show forgiveness to my past employer. http://dlouyoung.blogspot.com/p/unemployed-mother-turns-down-needed-to.htmlhttp://dlouyoung.blogspot.com/p/unemployed-mother-turns-down-needed-to.html Yet, until today, I hadn't felt so broke. However, it didn't take long before the Lord corrected my wandering thoughts.

First, as God would have it, I drove passed a homeless family of four. Seeing the children sitting on the sidewalk next to their father who was holding a sign that said, "Need Help," reminded me of the scripture I had read earlier. I was to have humble faith. So, I promised myself that if this family was still in front of McDonald's when I return to our town, I would stop and offer them a bible and prayer.

Next, I went to pick up my computer. The young man who fixed the computer, loaded several extras, even a DVD burner, just because. And, he only charged me $20.00. Wow!

Then, on the way home, I saw the same family. So, I stopped and offered them the bibles. We started talking for awhile. I discovered that the youngest was celebrating his birthday tomorrow. He was born on Sept 11. When I asked his name, he said, "It's Phil, but I go by Joseph." I told him the story of Mary, Jesus and Joseph.

After, I learned that his older brother's birthday was the following day. I wanted desperately to offer the parents a few dollars to buy birthday presents. But, I had no money to offer. I felt comfortable sharing my story of hope, so I leaned in and started to recall the events that led me to surrender to God. While I spoke with the mother directly, I noticed that her two children had invited my son to play with their Lego's. Her two boys even offered son a present. A heaviness began to spread across my chest. I could barely stand the pressure. If only, I had a few dollars to offer them.

Later, my husband returned home. He was home for the weekend. When he walked through the door, we exchanged a warm greeting. Then he extended his hand. He said, "Pick one." In his hand were two lottery tickets. I smiled and said, "Oh honey, I don't gamble any more." But he insisted, "Please, I bought this one for you!" I watched as he scratched his ticket. Nothing! ,

Next, it was my turn. I began to scratch my "winning numbers,"  the numbers you need to match "your numbers" to. When I was finished, I scratched my first number. WINNER! I looked across the counter where my husband stood. We met eyes, and we both smiled. I scratched the next number, WINNER! And, the next, WINNER! The entire card was filled with winning numbers. I won $18.00, enough to buy a cake, frosting, a card and still have a few dollars for a gift. I said, "Our God is AMAZING! I can't wait to offer a cake and gift to these boys on their birthday." We immediately raced off to the local grocery store and bought the ingredients. I had completely forgotten about my money problems!

For more real life stories just like these, please go to:

http://dlouyoung.blogspot.com/

Outcome of Unemployment Hearing

The day of the unemployment appeal hearing was fast approaching. It was scheduled for August 4, 2011. I had previously decided not to appear so that I could show my past employer compassion, forgiveness and love. In spite of everything, we were all supposed to be believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. Even though our family could have used the extra $1,600.00 a month, the decision to deny the benefits and trust the Lord was the right one. 

Still, unpaid bills were piling up on my writing station. My husband had begun to pay the household bills, but his income was not enough to cover those extra expenses such as dental visits and car registrations that were now due. When neighbors began telling me how worn my car tires looked, I knew we could not afford new tires. So, I stopped driving except locally or when absolutely necessary. My husband started complaining of tooth pain from cavities and my six-year-old was starting the first grade. Our young son desperately in need new school clothes. He had chewed the cuffs of many of his shirts and stained the rest. He had outgrown his slacks and jeans. Where would the money come from?

At the same time, I watched the stack of unpaid expenses grow; friends and family began to tempt me by saying, "Just go to court. The state has already found in your favor. God wants you to have this money!"
I didn’t want to think for just one second, how I could have used the extra income. So, on the morning of the appeal hearing, as I made my morning coffee, I prayed. "Lord, please distract me today, and focus me on Your will."

God immediately responded! Within minutes of my prayer, the phone rang. On the other end of the line was the Co-Founder and Volunteer Executive Director for Soldiers Bible Ministry http://soldiersbibleministry.org. He was returning my call in order to discuss collaboration in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The reason, I quit my job! I smiled and praised God for the divine distraction.

Then the next day, my made his usual commute home from work to be with his family for the weekend. When I began to explain how God was using me to spread the gospel through Soldiers Bible Ministry, my husband listened intently. With a smile, he said, "So honey, guess what? They gave me a raise at work this week."  I asked him, "Did you request more money?" And he said, "No, my supervisor put in for the raise some time ago. The request was granted yesterday. I'll be getting an extra few dollars and hour." My eyes welled with tears. The day of the hearing, God had given my husband a raise that would allow me to remain solid in my attempt to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

To read how I first learned to trust God, please go to: 

http://www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781613791936