It was their Daddy's birthday...
So we went out exploring for the day in and around our new place in this world,
and eventually ended up buying Scripture for the walls of our new home.
We want to honor the Lord in ALL things and discussed this intently with our children that whole day.
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31
On our way back home, we did what any Tennessean would do (or so we're told) and had a special dinner at Cracker Barrel.
When we find ourselves out in public, for obvious reasons, we don't particularly fly under the radar, though it's easy to forget...that people are watching. Until the Lord reminds us of His will. By the end of our meal, our waitresses came by to ask if we were all done and then shared with us that the gentleman with his wife at the table beside us had been observing our family and although they had already left, they had paid for our meal!
Wait...
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:25, 26, 31-33
Oh Lord, you are so good!
Here, we had spent our money that day on Scripture to line the walls of our new home, deliberately aiming to seek first the kingdom of God and obey His command to write His Word on the "doorposts of our house and on our gates" (Deuteronomy 6:9), and our great God was showing us how doing such pleases Him.
"Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty."
Proverbs 3:9-10
We are currently in a daily state of trusting the Lord for His provision for our future as we've set about this new life adventure, following Him into His plans to spend us as He chooses. And it's just like God...to show us time and again how He will never leave or forsake us, how He will always provide for even our tangible needs. We can trust Him! To have seen the Lord swoop in like He did and literally give back to us monetarily what we had chosen to give to Him that day was bolstering for our faith, and for our children's faith as they watched on.
And so, we sought to glorify the Lord. When our waitresses returned, we told them how we wanted to be sure that they knew from us that what the gentleman had done in his generosity was an act of God, showing His faithfulness in a vulnerable time in our lives, displaying His loving kindness to those who fear Him, proving His promises are true. We testified of these things with our mouths and of course shed some tears along the way, even stopping again with the hostess who had been observing as well, and then yet again in the gift shop with more employees. And we realized more than one valuable lesson...
-People are watching and we, as Christians, are called to be the light of the world.
-When we honor God and seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
He is faithful to add to us all that we need (and He knows what we need).
-Where the Lord guides, He provides and we should glorify Him when He does,
telling others of His goodness, His trustworthiness, and His love.
I'm sure the list goes on from there, but those are the standouts from the birthday day and we praise the Lord for His provision! We thank Him for how personal He is. We trust He will continue to guide with each step from here. What a gift to know the Lord and to see His workmanship in our lives. What a blessing to understand more of God's will at Cracker Barrel.
"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs
from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
