I love the way the devil thinks!
The devil? Really? I am not one to write or even talk about the devil…the enemy…Satan. As a matter of fact I don’t know of a greater turn off than Bible thumping Christians talking about how doing X or Y is going to send you straight to the Hell. I have been a devoted Christian for over forty years and I like to talk about love, God, Jesus, forgiveness. Those are the things I have experienced, that I know first hand and that I want to share. Miracles, faith, and hope are my story. But as God draws me closer and closer to him he brings me into His word and it is harder and harder for me to deny that there is spiritual warfare and scripture is clear that the enemy will tempt us, challenge us and seek us especially at times in which we are about to do something great for God. I am now beginning to understand that perhaps those with the most power and possibility for good in God’s kingdom may be those for whom the enemy fights the hardest.
Today Satan is fighting for my husband. Can you blame him? Jim is articulate, attractive, well-liked, incredibly well networked, well educated, brilliant, passionate, world travelled, an incredible writer, public speaker, athlete, and more. Did I mention damn good-looking? It is worth repeating. Wow, he could lead thousands of souls to our Saviour. I see it and I am just realizing that the devil sees it too. Dang I feel like my prayers to our Lord have been wire tapped by Satan and he listened. Laugh with me on this one. There I was screaming into the prayer “phone” to God “Hear ME!” God did. He always does. But Satan did too.
Why do I know that Satan is after my husband? Temptation is everywhere. But please allow me to awe you with some numbers. We live on a bridgeless island of about only 400 residents. There are not more than 5 single women in their 40’s on the whole island. Honestly I am not sure if I could name three. It is the most illogical place for a single person in there forties to find a partner. Most people are 60 plus or in there twenties. I have never worried about my husband and other women. I can’t afford to. We have our other struggles. Now we are living in our fourth separation in ten years. We have been challenged by bi-polar, bulimia, inter-mitten explosive disorder, abortion, borderline personality, youth abuses, and narcissism. It is excruciating, has played out in abuse, rage, financial destruction, and tremendous heart-ache. Separations have been my only means of survival. It is only through these extended periods without the daily oppression that I have been able to meaningfully contribute to the health, safety, and well being of our children, my husband, and myself. So therein lies the testimony, the story, and the possible salvation. Our commitment to each other through God’s miracles which has kept our marriage together for nearly fifteen years. Imagine the lives that could be brought to the Lord and saved if we could unite and tell our story together.
Back to the numbers. My husband grew up in Columbus, Ohio. That is 835 miles away. 13 hours and 59 minutes. There are 15-20 metropolitan areas within 14 hours of Columbus and that is only if you are heading pretty much south and/or east. There are over 2,000 miles of Atlantic coast and another 1,600 miles on the Gulf. My island’s 7 miles represents only about one tenth of 1% . So, If you wanted to get just one person from the entire population (7,863) of New Albany, Ohio (the area my husband called home) on average you would have to empty 8% of the population. Could you imagine a mass exodus of New Albany? Signs on the doors “We’ve gone to the beach.” Even if you emptied 8% of the population, you would still have to say, “No one can go anywhere, no lakes, no cities, nothing but beach” and we evenly distributed all the people (young, old, male, female) amongst the Atlantic and Gulf beaches (no Pacific). Then and only then would we on our beach randomly have 1 person from New Albany on our 5 mile stretch. The chances that person would be a forty something, Facebook bikini-picture strutting, newly divorced woman and not a 65 year-old male golfer? And did I mention it is hard to get to? There is NO bridge! Well, we have not one, but TWO such beautiful single women coming within walking distance to our house who were in walking distance to their old houses in Columbus. And given the “home town connection, my husband is the first person they call. Temptation? You better believe it. I guess you could take a different perspective…”God’s miracle brought them together.” Given that my husband has already sent one of them a bouquet of yellow roses (ironically, remarkably similar to my wedding bouquet) and is intimate enough with this “client” to discuss sexually transmitted diseases, the perspective “God’s miracle brought us together” may be winning out over my perspective “the devil knows the incredible source of potential power residing in my husband and will fight to get this future leaders off track.”
Thank you Lord for being there for me. Thank you Lord that you provide answers and solutions to my concerns even before the concern arises. This week you planned out the scripture I would be copying to the predetermined schedule: Corinthians 10:13 says:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
If this post is a blessing to you, please share it. Thank you!
The devil? Really? I am not one to write or even talk about the devil…the enemy…Satan. As a matter of fact I don’t know of a greater turn off than Bible thumping Christians talking about how doing X or Y is going to send you straight to the Hell. I have been a devoted Christian for over forty years and I like to talk about love, God, Jesus, forgiveness. Those are the things I have experienced, that I know first hand and that I want to share. Miracles, faith, and hope are my story. But as God draws me closer and closer to him he brings me into His word and it is harder and harder for me to deny that there is spiritual warfare and scripture is clear that the enemy will tempt us, challenge us and seek us especially at times in which we are about to do something great for God. I am now beginning to understand that perhaps those with the most power and possibility for good in God’s kingdom may be those for whom the enemy fights the hardest.
Today Satan is fighting for my husband. Can you blame him? Jim is articulate, attractive, well-liked, incredibly well networked, well educated, brilliant, passionate, world travelled, an incredible writer, public speaker, athlete, and more. Did I mention damn good-looking? It is worth repeating. Wow, he could lead thousands of souls to our Saviour. I see it and I am just realizing that the devil sees it too. Dang I feel like my prayers to our Lord have been wire tapped by Satan and he listened. Laugh with me on this one. There I was screaming into the prayer “phone” to God “Hear ME!” God did. He always does. But Satan did too.
Why do I know that Satan is after my husband? Temptation is everywhere. But please allow me to awe you with some numbers. We live on a bridgeless island of about only 400 residents. There are not more than 5 single women in their 40’s on the whole island. Honestly I am not sure if I could name three. It is the most illogical place for a single person in there forties to find a partner. Most people are 60 plus or in there twenties. I have never worried about my husband and other women. I can’t afford to. We have our other struggles. Now we are living in our fourth separation in ten years. We have been challenged by bi-polar, bulimia, inter-mitten explosive disorder, abortion, borderline personality, youth abuses, and narcissism. It is excruciating, has played out in abuse, rage, financial destruction, and tremendous heart-ache. Separations have been my only means of survival. It is only through these extended periods without the daily oppression that I have been able to meaningfully contribute to the health, safety, and well being of our children, my husband, and myself. So therein lies the testimony, the story, and the possible salvation. Our commitment to each other through God’s miracles which has kept our marriage together for nearly fifteen years. Imagine the lives that could be brought to the Lord and saved if we could unite and tell our story together.
Back to the numbers. My husband grew up in Columbus, Ohio. That is 835 miles away. 13 hours and 59 minutes. There are 15-20 metropolitan areas within 14 hours of Columbus and that is only if you are heading pretty much south and/or east. There are over 2,000 miles of Atlantic coast and another 1,600 miles on the Gulf. My island’s 7 miles represents only about one tenth of 1% . So, If you wanted to get just one person from the entire population (7,863) of New Albany, Ohio (the area my husband called home) on average you would have to empty 8% of the population. Could you imagine a mass exodus of New Albany? Signs on the doors “We’ve gone to the beach.” Even if you emptied 8% of the population, you would still have to say, “No one can go anywhere, no lakes, no cities, nothing but beach” and we evenly distributed all the people (young, old, male, female) amongst the Atlantic and Gulf beaches (no Pacific). Then and only then would we on our beach randomly have 1 person from New Albany on our 5 mile stretch. The chances that person would be a forty something, Facebook bikini-picture strutting, newly divorced woman and not a 65 year-old male golfer? And did I mention it is hard to get to? There is NO bridge! Well, we have not one, but TWO such beautiful single women coming within walking distance to our house who were in walking distance to their old houses in Columbus. And given the “home town connection, my husband is the first person they call. Temptation? You better believe it. I guess you could take a different perspective…”God’s miracle brought them together.” Given that my husband has already sent one of them a bouquet of yellow roses (ironically, remarkably similar to my wedding bouquet) and is intimate enough with this “client” to discuss sexually transmitted diseases, the perspective “God’s miracle brought us together” may be winning out over my perspective “the devil knows the incredible source of potential power residing in my husband and will fight to get this future leaders off track.”
Thank you Lord for being there for me. Thank you Lord that you provide answers and solutions to my concerns even before the concern arises. This week you planned out the scripture I would be copying to the predetermined schedule: Corinthians 10:13 says:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
If this post is a blessing to you, please share it. Thank you!