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About This Author
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Each Day Already is a Challenge
A Texas Sunrise
 
A friend, William Taylor, took this picture. He visits Surfside Beach with his dogs almost every morning, watching the sun rise while the dogs prance about at the water's edge.
This is only about ten miles from where I lived in Lake Jackson, Texas. Sadly, I only visited this beach about four times in the six years I lived nearby.
Each day is a challenge. A challenge to get by without thinking about the fibromyalgia pains. A challenge to stay awake when chronic fatigure wants to take over. And a challenge to navigate through fibro fog.
I haven't been writing as much as in the past. For years, I wrote at least 500 words a day. Now, I'm lucky if I write 500 words in month. Sigh.
For more information about what my day (or life) is all about with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pains, IBS, depression and everything else thrown in, check this out:
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As you'll recall, I didn't make it church last Sunday. But hubby did. We kept forgetting to sit down so that he could read his notes to me. (I can't always read his writing.) Then I suggested that he type them up. 
We thought the Building Character Series was over. We were wrong.
Part 11 - Honesty
John 8:44 NLT
The Devil...has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Steps to Building Honesty in Your Life
Proverbs 23:23 NIV
Buy the truth and do not sell it.
 Have an honesty check up
 Where is honesty an issue?
At work?
At home?
With friends?
"I can stop (drinking, smoking, etc.) at any time I want."
How is honesty an issue? Everyone has an issue with honesty.
Protecting others.
Slander/gossip - Paris Hilton, for example.
Exaggeration.
Deceit.
Flattery.
Justification (You get too much change back at the store and don't give it back. Justification? The prices are too high anyway? I got cheated the last time?)
The Greek word for dishonesty is "resume." (Exaggeration) 
Have an honesty re-evaluation
Provergs 13:21 NLT
Trouble chases sinners while blessings chase the righteous.
Dishonesty sometimes has gains. When you cheat on taxes, you get more money back. The Bible says those gains are temparary. It catches up.
Honesty Benefits
Develops character
Proverbs 20:7 NCV
The good people who live honest lives will be a blessing to their children.
Character is what I am when no one is looking.
Ephesians 4:15 NLT
Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and mroe in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Integrity is when honesty gets together with character.
Home is the place where character is tested. Lays the groundwork for spiritual maturity.
Cultivates confidence
Proverbs 11:6 NCV
Doing right brings freedom to honest people.
"It's easier to tell the truth. That way you don't have to keep track of anything." ~ Mark Twain
Completes the connection (with God)
Psalms 51:6 TLB
You (God) deserve honesty from the heart.
The more He is in your life, the harder it is to be dishonest.
When the message starts to get to you inside, don't feel guilty. That's a good sign - that God is speaking to you. The Spirit is not like a Jewish mother; guilt is not the goal.
Honesty? Just do it.
Take an inventory inside. God wants to connec with you here and now. |
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When problems arise in a Christian's life, does he call upon God first? Hopefully so. And God answers. He doesn't always answer in the ways we expect, but He answers.
If you don't believe in God, then who do you call when you're in trouble? I guess you have to call on your fellow man. Frankly, we're not always as reliable as God.
I think I've mentioned my cousin before in my blog. He'll be 65 this year. He has a master's degree in psychology and at one time he practiced. He worked for the worker's compensation board in Canada years ago. I think he was probably quite good, even if he was somewhat unorthadox. The problem was that he and the insurance people didn't always agree on treatments or on diagnosis, and he's not one to back down.
At the age of 60, he learned to be a truck driver. Even that wasn't a pleasant experience - for him or for the company. He didn't like being paired with an equally inexperienced driver after training. After having his life endangered by his partner, Cousin Ed called the company and quit when they wouldn't put him with a safer driver. (His stories about training and riding with that other new driver are scary. It's no wonder there are accidents with 18-wheelers.)
Today, he delivers buses - school buses and those cute little buses that you find at retirement centers and hotels.
He drives his Tracker to where he's to pick up a bus, then attaches his vehicle to the bus and tows it so that he has a way to get back home. There are not many instances where he has a back haul (a bus to deliver the other way).
I knew he was going out on a delivery yesterday. He had been sick, and that concerned me. He was also delivering from Indiana to Louisiana, and with the rain being so bad in so many places, it had me a bit concerned.
This morning I heard from him - a bit earlier than he might usually check in. (He does check in while he's on the road so a family member is aware of his comings and goings.)
The weather had not affected him, but he was in a bit of a pickle. He got on the road pretty early this morning. And sometime after he left his motel, one of his rear tires on his Tracker blew, but he didn't know it. Hundreds of cars probably passed him before two drivers tried to alert him to the problem. The first pulled up beside him and yelled and yelled. That didn't communicate anything to my cousin. He thought the guy was just mad at him for something.
The second sat on his horn, and that let my cousin know that something was wrong. He pulled off the road and discovered his problem. By then, the tire was gone and the wheel and rim and probably the brakes were ruined. He must have driven at least ten miles without realizing there was a problem.
There he sat on an interstate highway, but in the area of a very small town in Mississippi. He talked with his employer, but since the bus is okay they weren't very interested in his problem. He could very well just leave the Tracker and deliver the bus and then figure out how to get back home or to where his car sat.
While cousin and I talked, I got on Mapquest to see where he was stuck. Then I checked for churches in the area. Boy, there were hundreds.
You see, I remembered a time when my ex and my son and I were having car trouble - in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. I even wrote about that experience.
I talked with a church secretary in the area. She got in touch with one of the faithful in her church, someone whose ministry is such that he doesn't mind - loves, in fact - being "bothered" by strange human problems. They had not made a connection the last time my cousin and I spoke on the phone.
The highway patrol had been advised of his problem - about an hour before he called me.
Cousin called them back again and was told that they couldn't find him. I don't think he was too polite when he told them he was glad he wasn't bleeding.
Meanwhile, since he had calmed down a bit, Cousin Ed unhooked his Tracker and took the bus looking for help. I'm glad he hadn't done that earlier. I'm glad he's smart enough not to drive when he's so upset.
He found a truck stop and across the street was a towing company. It's also a junk yard, I guess, and that fellow told Ed that he might have the used parts to help him get his car fixed up.
I'm thankful that God placed a kind person in Ed's path, one who will try to help him without emptying his pockets.
Now I'm praying for two things. One, that my cousin thinks about getting some kind of towing coverage - AAA or AARP or something. And two that someday soon my cousin will have a God connection.
After all, when life dumps problems on you, who do you call? For me, the answer is the One who calms my soul.
*******
The fellow from church never did find my cousin either, I guess. Weird. Unless, of course, God just had a different idea.
I just heard from the Cuz. He's back on the road again. The guy who worked at the towing/junk yard and his boss saw to it that he got his car fixed, road tested, and back on the road just after noon their time - and for only about $200. Cuz is still scratching his head about that one. You know...there are still some good folks out there...
Personally, I think God was at work in another way today too. Yesterday, my son could not find his cell phone. It doesn't get a signal in our house, so calling it doesn't help. It won't ring in the house. He looked in every room about six times, checked cushions, checked all over my car. It just was no where to be found.
I told hubby that if Derek went to sleep in his room, I was going to check the basement myself. I was certain that his phone was under the sofa. I fell asleep before he did, though, and woke up after he did.
Not long ago he mentioned that he found his phone. He said that he felt "prompted" to check under the sofa again, even though he had alreay done so last night. This time, he lifted up one end and there it was. |
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