Do you believe that God cares about the details you care about?

Not long ago, my husband and I were having a conversation about my dream studio.

The list included these must haves… nice sized windows and good natural light for photographing, high and low work surfaces and plenty of space for creating, a great view of either a lovely garden or tree tops.

Fast forward a few weeks when we were in the midst of settling into an apartment… with just an inflatable bed and a card table and chairs… when I said to my husband, “You realize that our apartment windows provide us with a beautiful treetop view and the light is good and my studio has two windows? God heard me share my dream and He arranged this spot for us.”

I love being on the upper level with the green providing relief from the heat of the summer day and then seeing the sunlight filtering through the leaves in the evening.

These are the things that God gives us to us sustain our faith.

 

Lake Michigan Sunset at Grand Haven State Park - Join me for a devotional about walking in faith through tough times - AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

Faith is a funny thing.

It’s believing that all God’s promises are true… even when we don’t get the results we’re expecting.

It’s stepping forward in anticipation of God’s answers… kind of like a child jumping from the side of the pool expecting dad to catch him.

It’s trusting God even when things don’t look even remotely possible… just like we don’t give stones to our children when they ask for bread… God gives good gifts to us when we ask.

This week I’ve been meditating on Hebrews 11:1

Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. 

 

Faith is... scripture verse from Hebrews 11 - Join me for a devotional meditation to help you along as you walk in faith through the good and difficult times. - AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

I’ve also been reading the rest of chapter 11 where I’m reminded of the great faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab.

All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad.

Hebrews 11:13

I needed to be reminded of these heroes of the faith.

I needed a bigger perspective.

 

God has been faithful to us over the years.  

It’s interesting that my good friend shared a memory on Facebook which I posted two years ago.  It was a post about God’s faithfulness through a five-year journey (which has now stretched to seven) and how He IS trustworthy.

Still, I must confess I’ve struggled lately.

If you know me even a little bit, you know I’m all about home and homemaking.  Creating a beautiful home, opening my home to others and sharing my gift of hospitality makes my heart sing.  However, God has not made it a priority in the same way we have. My husband has worked like crazy to land a good job. Without a decent job, we cannot afford to get our household out of storage (8 hours away). This season has been more than challenging.  We’ve lived with friends, we’ve rented furnished vacation homes offseason, and now God has helped us secure an apartment that we can afford… if the work continues to come in. (And for the past two weeks… it has not.)  Even so… we are grateful for this place and we’re trusting God for His complete provision.

 

Grand Haven Lighthouse at Sunset - Be encouraged with this inspirational meditation on faith in challenging times at AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

There is a bit of humor in all of this.  When we called about this apartment we were given a familiar address.  It was the same address (with a different apartment number) we had back when we were first married, just before we built our dream home.  That’s a long time ago. Everything is pretty much the same except the carpet and the Formica, plus an extra dose of wear and tear, and many coats of paint.  It’s now old building and a bit run-down on the outside.  This is a hard bullet to bite for a gal who likes everything to look shiny and bright and takes care of things so they always look like new.

From Pinterest to HGTV you know that furnishing a home with thrifted furniture is in vogue.  

I’m all over it for wood pieces, lamps, and various household items.  Upholstered items challenge me.  Yet… sitting on a hard chair gets old… we didn’t have the luxury of waiting weeks and months for something cushy to sit upon.  So… we were grateful to find a love seat and a chair with ottoman for about $70 at a local thrift store.  I had scoured Craig’s List and everything looked super worn and too large for our small space. The love seat is comfortably firm and the chair is tolerable.  But… they are both a bit soiled.  I’ve been blessed with an incredible nose… if there is an odor to something I not only notice it, I can define it.  These pieces don’t have any bad smells… but they don’t smell fresh.  I’d love to have them cleaned…  I even checked out the price of cleaning the sofa.  $110.  A fair price… even for a $50 sofa.  But… not for my wallet.

I must say I have enjoyed going to garage sales and was blessed to find a beautiful vintage dresser and mirror, some lamps, and even a top of the line iron for incredibly low prices.  There are plenty of DIY projects in the works which I’m excited about and looking forward to sharing with you.  And yes, I am choosing to be grateful and live with joy.

Yet…  this hasn’t been easy for me… especially the upholstered furniture situation.

That’s why I needed God’s reminder that in the big scheme of things… this is very short term.

Whether I have somebody else’s cast off and soiled sofa or my own… it really doesn’t matter does it?

What matters is that I have the kind of faith the apostle Paul talks about in the book of Hebrews.

Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.

 

What must I focus on?

Loving God and loving others.  It’s the first and greatest command.

And… I must strive to have a grateful heart, choose joy in my day, create with my hands, and be generous with what I’ve been given.

 

Learning to walk in faith - a devotional mediation on Hebrews 11 at AnExtraordinaryDay.net Sunset over the pier and lighthouse on Lake Michigan

 

Something better awaits me.  Something even better than getting all my stuff out of storage.

They were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:16

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not particularly heavenly minded.  It’s my nature.  I’m a realist… embedded in today.  You won’t find me reading science fiction or other genres that take place in the future. But, I am God-minded and I know that He is trustworthy and that He has good things planned for me (and you) in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.  We just need to keep believing and not lose faith.

We also need to keep in mind that these heroes of the faith didn’t get what God had promised. (Hebrews 11:13)

We will have plenty of opportunities to exercise our faith muscles.

In fact, God expects it.

We must continue believing and trusting so that we can see Him work in our lives and in the world.

When we walk in faith believing… God blesses us with the desires of our hearts.  Those little things like good natural light in my studio and a view of the treetops is just one way He has shown His intimate love and care for us. I’m not sure why He has us wait so long for that good job and to get our stuff out of storage… but in faith I choose to believe that His timing and His plan is better than mine and that somehow in the midst of it all He’s putting together a beautiful tapestry which one day we’ll be able to see and appreciate.

  • Where are you on your faith walk?
  • What challenges are you facing?
  • Where can you focus your faith?
  • What do you expect God will do?
  • What has God done to show you He cares about the little details of your life?

 

Walking in Faith on JoyDay! a Devotional Meditation at AnExtraordinaryDay.net

 

It’s JoyDay!

And time to fill up our hearts with joy.

Please join me in thinking back over the past week and counting seven things for which you are thankful.  This simple exercise of counting our thanks is something we do each week to reset our compasses and put our eyes back on the Lord.

I’ll start…

Thank you God for…

  1. the good news that my dear friend and her son are driving to Michigan for a visit!
  2. cool Michigan summer evenings.
  3. daylight until almost 10 p.m. — at least for another two weeks.
  4. Your faithfulness.  How You love us to trust you, no matter what.
  5. slightly smelly and soiled thrifted furniture.
  6. being able to worship you in community.
  7. caring about the small details in my life… it’s so encouraging.

Now…it’s YOUR turn!

List your ‘seven’ in the ‘share your extraordinary thoughts’ section below.  You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving your sweet thoughts.

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Comments

  1. Debbi Saunders says

    Thank You God for….
    1. Thankful that a check that I had been expecting for months, was 3 times the amount that I had been expecting!!
    2. That T.S “Colin” brought no damaging winds or rain!
    3. A Beautiful, Birthday Dinner with a Dear Friend!
    4. A Fantastic day of antiquing with another Dear Friend! something I have not been able to do in over a year!
    5. For being able to purchase a couple of small treasures!
    6. For the summer off to rest and completely heal and for the extra time in the mornings for prayer,devotions and Bible reading, and spending it with the Lord!
    7. For Friends…

    • Debbi… God has been working to bring about all those wonderful blessings and it soo good to finally see these answers to our prayers. I rejoice with you in His goodness and grace. Praying you sense His amazing peace this week and an extra closeness to Him. {{hugs}}

  2. Sher Schebo says

    My thought isn’t extraordinary but practical. If you clean your furniture with vinegar and hot water, it will take away any odor. I use this on my carpets too and they come clean…clean! The faint vinegar smell will dissipate when everything dries. My prayers are with you.

    • Diane says

      Sher… thank you for your very practical idea and for being an extraordinary friend for sharing it. 🙂 Clean…clean sounds wonderful!! Thank you so much!!!!

  3. Gwen says

    I was thinking back on your journey which kind of coincided with my journey . I feel I’m worse but Curt is struggling with effects of a chemo injection he’s had twice before and it’s awful. He hurts severely in all joints and walks like he is 95. Stooped over. Slow. And I cry. But a joy? We met a retired reverend who gave him verses to read. Psalm for morning and night. Our bodies hurt. He’s 55 now. But I hear birds singing. An owl hooting. I cannot swim in our pool as he is too sick to watch me but it’s pretty. I’m not able to cook and I tire and weep yet I love in my head to entertain. So I planned a celebration it’s tonight for my milestones. No send offs when I retired. Oh no. I’d been injured. Case not settled. So I’m having my schools resident artist give one last lesson. This time for friends from different avenues of life. One from when I moved to CA at nine, two from my married college days, two from first time married days, three I taught with, someone recent in past few years….my daughters, step granddaughter and we will paint. And have hourdourves made by friends. Vegan brownie cupcakes sooo good, and take pictures with American Gothic backdrop. My daughter and I giggled and painted on brown butcher paper. Curt prayed that the right people would be there. I’m putting together a basket of Create things with stuff and a friendship poem I just embellished. It’s taken me so long to do. All of this. But it’s hopefully a gift of me–book of verses, devotional card with homemade holder, fun stuff in a bag, things in a file folder, a pretty clipboard, wire basket, a few recipe cards, pack of notecards, honey, bath salts, votive cup and candle…it is not how others do. But how I do. My hubby says a gift of my heart and he’s proud of my effort. Pray I finish the baskets. It’s the homestretch. I have paper assorted to put in folder and coloring page and how to do fancy writing, then assemble it all in the baskets. Hope it fits. Pile high. And that I finish this in just a few hours. And can rest again
    I thought of all the places you’ve lived. The roads you’d never have traveled. But you know what? Entertain in your apartment!!! Do not be shy. I am embarrassed as I don’t live in a fancy area. But I’ve made it my home. No my case never settled. But the Lord provides. Like this party. My gift baskets are not fancy. But a gift of love from my heart. I dried flowers. Chose a poem. So with your gift week after week to us. You take many photos and choose just the right one and perfect verse. And that vinegar will kill germs. I use Fabreeze too. Oh I put down vinegar. Scrubbed in baking soda. Let sit 30 minutes. Vacuumed. Repeat. Repeat the vacuum. That worked really well. And yes. I’ve had company at a card table too.

    • My dear sweet Gwen… you continue to amaze me with your faithfulness and trust in God… your creativity… your heart for others and that they know Jesus the way you do. We will continue to pray for you and Curt and trust that he is healed and free from the devastation of chemo and more. I pray that you are able to finish the baskets and have plenty of energy remaining. I have no doubt that your will be an incredible blessing to those at your special event. It sounds absolutely amazing and sooo much fun! You think up the best things. And THANK YOU for your wonderful encouragement. You blessed me, too! Sending lots of love and hugs your way. And a virtual bouquet of flowers for your celebration. {{hugs}}

  4. Really blessed by your sharing. It must take a lot of time and energy to post so prolifically. I really appreciate your poignant reminder of the necessity for trusting in the character of our great God and remembering to give thanks to Him.

    • Thank you for your kind and encouraging words, Pedro!
      Gratitude for God’s work in my life compels me to be faithful to write these posts each week. All for HIS glory.
      May your week be filled with extraordinary God-moments.

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