He Cares about Dogs? by Joni Nichols

We had 2 labs for a year and got them when they were babies and had no clue how sad it was going to be to leave them. We knew that we couldn't take them to apartment living in California, and we were leaving town, going to pack up the Uhaul the next day. Every attempt to give our 2 black labs away had been a bust. It was summer so shelters were full and people's yards were not "lab proof" (if you have labs, you know what I'm talking about. They EAT the fence, ok?) Time was up and we had only this window of time to drive 45 minutes into Lubock to take them to the animal shelter. We heard they could get adopted from there, though we knew they could also be put to sleep.

We called right before we left saying we had 2 labs, etc, what would happen to them. They said they didn't have room and they would be put to sleep. We were stunned.

We sat on the couch thinking of Abraham and Isaac and prayed in tears, "We have to take them; we don't want to let them loose on the streets to eat kids or starve; if there's ANY way you can provide another way, do it, but we have to go now."

A few minutes out of town, Zach remembered a conversation months ago with a hair stylist in our home town. They had had 2 black labs that got run over, loved labs, had done loads of work on their back yard to make it lab proof. She had cut my hair and told me they wanted labs again someday, but Zach didn't even know that part. He decided to call her up. She was in the middle of a haircut. She said that actually she and her husband were just talking about wanting labs again and they wanted them about a year old. And they were black just like the ones they'd lost. She stopped her haircut and called him right then without us even asking. They wanted them. We stopped on the side of the road and zach says no tears were shed. He's lying!

They brought their 3 kids over the next morning and we had time with the dogs in the backyard telling them all about their personalities, etc. And then they drove away.

A First Taste of God's Provisions by Joni Nichols

I was in college, had about 50 bucks a month that i could blow on ice cream and new clothes, but I had a goal. I was going to make a demo of my music. A type of mentor, Dale Griffin, had told me, first get 500 dollars and then go to someone and make a demo. It took me 4 months to save up 200. Got a huge speeding ticket going back to Texas zooming into Roswell. 180 bucks. I knew I "derserved" it so I set out again. 4 months later had 200. Bounced 4 little checks at the end of the month. $25 dollar bank fee x 4 + 90 worth of checks = savings gone. ( What was I doing/thinking?) I was de-winded, yelling laughing, (remembering my conversation with Anna a few weeks before about God providing for her.) "ok god, if you want me to record, the YOU'RE going to have to provide it because it's taken me 8 months and I've only gotten to 200 TWICE! and this is impossible. So THERE!" It was a challenge, not a child-like expression of faith...or yes, it was child-like, like a child throwing a fit. And I went about my crappy evening. 20 minutes later I got a phone call from a random lady reminding me to come to the Golden Key Honor Society Induction Ceremony (which I joined for Resume purposes by simply filling out a postcard and sending it in at my parents urging) and only decided to go because of the punch, cookies, and coffee. Got there a week later to find no refreshments, a huge seated audience and a 2 hour program, guest speaker and all. Waste of time, and I had no friend to be with. So I made fun of the guest speaker and her LITERAL "The Little Engine that Could" speech with the guy sitting next to me and was dying of restless negative emotions. Time for the scholarship winners. What did I care? There were 2. I was the second one. The award: a check for $500.
I humbly walked back to my spot in the audience, aware of God's provision, my understanding of God changed. It was first awareness of his watchful, daliy concern for me. And though it was a long time before I understood the extent of his grace, I saw for the first time that my sufficiency was not required, and I would not have asked had my sufficiency not run out.

Working as a Waitress by Joni Nichols

I had decided to stop teaching and got a waitressing job in the interim thinking, "There's money at these nice restaurants" based on what I'd heard. They don't tell you that in the beginning you get the "bad" sections, you get cut early, and
you ... don't make big money. It took me about 3 weeks to a month before I woke up and realized I was making below poverty level and was going to absolutely sink.

I was humiliated by the reality that I had nonchalantly kept working a job that wasn't paying my rent without even realizing it. I was humiliated that I was going to have to quit after 3 weeks. I was humiliated by the idea that I didn't know the difference between enough money and not enough money, that I was so foolish-prone. AND I did not want to job search AGAIN!

I had been thinking that I might not be making enought money at home, but then had to go into work. It was raining at 6:00--the tell-all sign that it's going to be a slow night. That's when people decide to go eat out or not, and the rain decides for them that they're staying home. And I was in the next to last cut section. Nice. I did some more specific math again on a napkin in the back wait station as I had nothing to do. I got specific: I'd have to make 50 dollars a day AT LEAST to make my rent. That means 25 for lunch shift and 25 for dinner shift. I thought, "NO WONDER!" I'm making 7-14 dollars tips a shift. (I know!) I was humiliated and angry at myself. I pulled myself up with all my strength and said, "Then, God, if you don't start providing this, I'm going to have to get another job." Then I thought. "No, forget that, I WILL TOMORROW! I HAVE TO!" So I prayed, "God, provide it so I won't have to-" and I stopped myself, saying, 'God doesn't hear silly prayers about waitress tips like this!" And the spirit stopped me and said within my own thoughts, "You are talking to GOD here, don't you believe he hears you? All that talk about God hearing you when you pray, don't you think it's true? Then ACT like it, and talk and KNOW he IS listening." And so I thought, "ok, God, then you've got tonight to provide that 25 dollars. (on a slow night!) " and then i thought, "no, I made only 13 dollars at lunch, so that means I need to make 37 dollars this shift. (on a slow night)" or I'd be job searching the next day.

It kept raining, and before I knew it, I got a bunch of tables that night. I don't remember the circumstances.

At the end of the shift. I didn't take out the napkin to remind me of the number 37, but I remembered it as I counted my dollars in my front pocket.

37 to the dollar. So I stayed at that place and understood that I am provided for because HE is my provider.

From that day on through the rest of that month for the next 3-4 bills, if I came home and opened a bill for 81 dollars, I would have exactly 81 dollars cash in my wallet from work. For that I had only acknowledged, you are my provider. I never asked him to pay my bills. His goodness is abundantly more than abundant. How quickly I forget and depend again on my own resources!!!!

The Story that Started This Blog by Joni Nichols

The seed of inspiration for sharing these stories:

We were driving down the road, why we were together that day or where we were going, who knows? But Anna (now Adkins) casually mentioned in conversation as we landed on the subject of her upcoming $200 knee surgery that since her parents weren't believers, she told them not to loan her the money, that God would provide for her. She wanted them to see that he could provide, and she knew that he could and would. He provided. I'd heard a thousand million stories of God's greatness, his amazing provisions, Jericho, the Red Sea, sacks of groceries on the front steps, etc. But all of these were from preachers or missionaries. It seemed to me in my immaturity that they had earned a right to his provisions. Anna was a person like me. It changed my world. I just silently nodded. It wasn't long before I began to experience these kinds of experiences of God's greatness in my everyday life.