TheWhiteShadow

Thank you so much, Connie. I really, really appreciate it.

I just received word that an uncle of mine suffered a heart attack and is in the hospital. Please pray... -Mark

I do not believe that they cared about the law as they understood it. In many places, Jesus would question them about what was right or wrong, according to their law, and would refute their "understanding." Basically, they hated him because of the effect he would have on their positions of authority and control. John 11:45-48 says it from their own mouths... "Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” -Mark

Hi, Laura - What Cholette said is awesome. There's nothing I could add to it. I only wanted to reference your dream and share a personal experience. I've had literal dreams where I'm in a discussion...or argument...with someone, and we reach the point where what is said causes the whole thing to melt down. When it's manifesting, though, the dream is almost always in my mind, and that person is saying exactly what they did in the dream. However, because I know what will happen if we keep heading toward that breaking point, many times I've been able to choose my words and prevent that from being reached. So, the literal dreams end up showing me what COULD have happened. -Mark

Done, Laura. I hope it went well.

That is awesome, Daisychain! Good for you!

Absolutely, Connie! You are healed in Jesus' name!

Hi, Angelwings - I think you should share the good things that God is doing in your life. We're supposed to speak of all the God had done! Yeah, there's an appropriate way to go about it, and I'm sure you are doing so. People need to see and hear that God is moving in the lives of his children...especially if you're experiencing a turnaround from difficult times! How else will they make the connection that it's God who's lifted you up? :) -Mark

Awesome, awesome, Daisy! "You are the light of the world." I'm similar to your brother in that I really want to understand something, and you're right - it does get in the way of faith at times. But, God still speaks to me, and he clearly speaks to your brother as well! He knows how to get through any intellectual barriers, rest assured!

Praying for you!

Just for the sake of closure here... It's official, now. They new employer has already received the results of the back screen and drug test, and so they followed up with the official offer. I'll be starting after the first of the year! Just one more time - thank you all for your prayers and encouragment through this process. God listens, and he moves. I'm so thankful for the way He's worked throughout this. -Mark

Two Words: Praise God. :) The final interview is over. I've been offered the position, contingent upon the results of the back assessment...which I'll complete tomorrow afternoon. More than likely, we'll have the results on Monday which is when the official notice can be given to my current employer. Since I work for some family members - and because things are going to be extremely busy at the new place - we're looking at starting on the first of the new year. Yeah, it's a bit long yet to wait. At this point, though, what's a few extra weeks. Not only that, but it guarrantees that I get Christmas off to spend with my family, which would not have been for certain at the new place. It's all good stuff. The best part today was the last part of the the interview. The Facility Manager asks me if I have any other questions or comments, and I said, "To be honest, I'm only wondering when the next step will be." Without blinking, he says, "It's right now." Turning to the HR person, he says, "Get him in here." Awesome! I've said it before, but I cannot thank you all enough for your prayers. Seriously, God DOES bless you with favor and peace when you ask Him to. He does make your paths straight. He IS with you in all things. And to have people who are willing to pray for you about things such as this is really outstanding. Thanks... :) All Glory to God for this awesome work that he has done and continues to do! Bless you all, -Mark

My friends, I'm back here again... Tomorrow is the final interview with the head of the facility. If he gives the thumbs-up, all I need to do is their physical/back-assessment, and I'm in. Forgive me for continuing to ask, but would you please pray once more for peace, favor, and whatever else you may be led to pray for? Every time I have gone thus far I have had peace and success, and I know it's because I'm covered in prayer from you saints. Thank you so much. Almost there... -Mark

Oh, thanks Daisy! :) I DID have great peace while I was there! A miracle in itself since I'm usually so anxious about such things!

Things went well at the dealership. I was upfront in letting them know that price is the most important...and size, since I have a tiny slab of a driveway. :) So, here's the details, if anyone cares. :D I went there with a Ford Escape in mind. My sister has one that used to belong to my parents, and I have driven it in the past out of need. I told the salesman this via e-mail days before. So, we test drove two of them, and they were acceptable to me. Both of them had quite a few miles on them, though. That ended up being the hang-up when it came to the bank...well, the bank and me. I really wanted to keep my payments the same as what I have now, and with them both having such high miles for their years, we wouldn't be able to make it happen when we consider how much remained to be paid on my current car. A bit of a bummer, because my friends had joked with me at work about buying the Escape to mark my escape from my present place of employment...if that works out... But, all hope was not lost, as the salesman said..."Have you considered a Jeep?" I hadn't, and I had reservations because I hadn't done any research on them. Well, he had one that was the same year as my current car, which was also a year older than the newest of the Escapes that we drove...and it had about 50k LESS miles on it than the older of the two Escapes. That's also about 35k less miles than what's on my car of the same year. And, it's already got the green light from their first bank. In fact, now we're just waiting to see if any other bank wants to offer something better! And, of course, the payments are right where I wanted them to be, Praise God! As far as a prophetic word goes... It's a Jeep LIBERTY. I told my friend, "Liberty is so much better than Escape. It's like Escape with a Blessing." Thanks for your prayers, friends. This kind of thing isn't exactly life-changing, but I do believe that God wishes for us to seek him in all things, from the great to the seemingly-trivial. -Mark

Thanks, Connie. Bless you.

Awesome! Thanks, Shan!

Hey, all - I'm going to check out a different vehicle tomorrow. I'd appreciate prayer for wisdom on my end, and favor with whomever I deal with. Big purchases are always a source of major anxiety for me! Thanks, -Mark

Thank you SO much, everyone, for your prayers! I can't tell you how much it means to me - and how important they are! I'll try to keep this brief as to avoid a wall of text. :) First of all, I had awesome favor last night at work. I was supposed to run a machine for four hours and then start the inventory project. The 2nd shift lead approached me and offered to run that station so that I could start the inventory stuff four hours earlier! Not only that, he knew how much I didn't like this particular workstation (nor does anyone, actually), and he volunteered anyway! As a result, we were done by just after 1am - and I thought 2am would be a stretch! I got to bed by 2:30 and was actually woke up at 4:30 by a text message from the 1st shift supervisor...telling me that we did a great job in our inventory preparation. That's awesome, but I'm trying to sleep! :) I got up at 7:30 and made certain to spend time with God before the interview. Absolutely necessary. The interview was just unreal. I've never been interviewed by such nice people before! It was so calm, and the answers to their questions just flowed. They even commented a few times that I had answered really well. By the end, they were talking like things are a done deal - though, this is a 4-step process. I return Monday at 2:00pm for a basic skills test. Prayers appreciated! :) Bottom line: God is awesome. I had asked him for his help, that he'd give me the words, that I'd have favor (both at work and the interview), and he did. I don't want to get ahead of things, but I'm simply elated at the moment. Thanks to all, -Mark

Thank you so much, Connie. The interview is rescheduled for tomorrow morning at 10:00. I actually have to work tonight from 6pm until the wee hours of the morning. We've got a project going on where I can get out early (and get some sleep!) if everything is completed in time. I'd love to be done by 2am. I could have to stay until 6am if things don't go smoothly, which means I'll get zero sleep before the interview...and I'll have likely been awake since 1:00pm today. So, thanks for your prayers! :) -Mark

Hmmm... I had so many praying for me about this, and I'm left wondering. The employer called to cancel/reschedule the interview because they were having a surprise audit. I'm supposed to follow up tomorrow with my availability for this week, which I'll do. I just wonder about the delay...

Hey, friends - Would you be so kind as to pray about this once more? I just received a phone call from that very place where I wanted to go to work. I have an interview this Friday. :) That's right. On 11/11/11.

Awesome, Daisy! Psalm 37:23 - "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."

It's a tough question to answer, Freeprincess. If you feel that God still has something in store for you through your dealings with this group, then stay. However, God certainly isn't limited to them, either. If you feel that God is leading you elsewhere, then go. Whether you stay or go, be led by God. I want to say this: Don't feel that you need to be "keeping up" with anyone else. We each have our own individual races to run. You can't compare your own spiritual growth and development to what you see or feel in others. In fact, God may very well be developing areas in yourself that the others are lacking. You do have giftings. You are a valuable member of Christ's body. You're also not alone in these sorts of situations. I once saw myself as "lagging behind" some of my more "spiritual" friends. And I was eventually led away from the group. And you know what? God has continued to develop the giftings in me and has used me to minister to His Body in ways that I would not have been able to had I stayed where I was. For the record, He's also continued to grow and develop the giftings of those in that group as well. I don't feel that I've missed out on anything as a result. I'm only saying this as a testimony that IF you decide to go elsewhere, God still has good things in store for you. I'm not saying that you should. Only you know what God is leading you to do. -Mark

Wow, Freeprincess. I'm also sorry to hear that this behavior is going on. And I can understand how it would make you feel. :( Here's the only thing that I can think of when it comes to why you feel God's presence among this kind of people - and this is by no means meant to justify it: I only remember that Jesus placed himself intimately in the midst of the 12 disciples, and these were men that had very similar issues as the people you are dealing with. The 12 had their moments if elitism. They demonstrated pride. They tried to keep others out of their circle, pushing even children away from Jesus. They wanted to destroy a town that rejected His message. They wanted to make a man stop casting out demons using Jesus' name because he wasn't a part of their group. And many more issues as well... And yet, Jesus' presence was there (literally) among them. He had a plan for them in spite of their present (major!) failures. Just as God isn't giving up on you or I, that same grace extends to those people who you are interacting with. Their treatment certainly feels unfair, and it's certainly wrong - be all of us are being perfected little by little in God's own timing and ways. Like I said, I don't want to excuse their behavior. I just wanted to throw out a perspective that might help to bring understanding as to why God's presence may be felt among them. It's only a thought, -Mark