I realized something today that I cannot recall the last time it has happened to me. As I sat down to write this post, I realized that today—in fact the entire past week—has been a good day. There have been moments that have been good over the past two-years, but I cannot recall the last time I actually felt like the entire day, let alone the entire week, has been good. As I think about it, I believe the reason it has been good is due to the fact that the underlying worry or wonder of “what if” isn’t there. I am not sure that anyone would be able to relate to what I am saying. Something good would happen, but deep within the depths of my being was a nagging worry that we were still in a miserable state of being. This has been the over-riding sense that I have had to overcome for the past two-years. I have lived my life holding onto the word of God and what I believe to be the truth in my life. I have lived by this belief in good times as well as bad times; and yet over the past two-years there has been this nagging sense of worry. One definition of worry is that it is a negative emotion. How is it that someone who lives by the principles of the Bible deals with such negative emotions? I believe it is the apostle Paul who addresses this subject in the New Testament book of Romans where he says that we are to renew—to make new again—our minds—our thoughts and emotions. A dear friend of mine always uses the analogy of peeling an onion when describing how the Father deals with us. The thing about an onion peel is the fact that it is very thin. This means you will have to do a lot of peeling before you get to the onion’s core. In like manner a very thin layer of doubt unbelief or worry can be peeled away from your life; but it doesn’t mean that you will never deal with it again—just not to the same degree that you did before the Father took it away. I think this is what has happened to me. The Holy Spirit has finally been able to get a firm grip on another layer of doubt in my emotional being and peel it away. The result is having a good day! There have been a number of things that have happened this past week that have contributed to this “good day.” I made sells in the insurance business—this means I will receive a paycheck—our oldest son celebrated his 14th birthday and old friends reached out to me—more about this in another post. I also experienced a setback that might be of value to you. I have been donating plasma—the monies being used to buy gas and groceries. This week as I went for the first of my twice a week donations, I was informed that my protein levels were off and I would not be able to donate for a while. This meant not having money to buy gas—kinda important—and no money to buy groceries—definitely important. What is important to share with you isn’t how the needs were met—in fact they are still pending. What is important is my reaction to the news. As I was walking out of the donation center I was carrying on a conversation with God. Instead of ranting and raving about how unfair it is that this is happening, I quite calmly was saying, “okay, you have closed this door; what door are you about to open?” Instead of looking toward heaven shouting in anger at how mad I was, I calmly said, “I know that you are taking care of me and will provide these two needs.” As I said that I was reminded of $10 that I had on a debit card; which is what I used for gas money for the week. This evening as I sat down to write this is when I realized that the very thin layer of doubt and unbelief had been peeled away from my mind. What a victory! Today has been a good day indeed.

From last week’s post….

I made sells in the insurance business—this means I will receive a paycheck—our oldest son celebrated his 14th birthday and old friends reached out to me—more about this in a moment. Over two-years ago I was impressed to pray over a network of churches that did not exist. I believe it is something the Lord desires to bring to pass. I have been naming certain people that I believe He wants to be part of this network. This past week two of those people got in touch with me. They did not tell me that the reason they called was to be a part of a network of anything; but the opportunity has presented itself to begin a dialogue with them about it.