Fire Pokers, Country Living, Angels, and Divine Protection
Posted: Tuesday, February 03, 2009
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
Pulling into my driveway, I noticed that the screen door and house door were wide open. I immediately called my son to ask him if he had been home--the answer was no. Weird--Dianne's aliens are showing up at my house again, I thought. (Inside joke--unless you read Dianne's article, Weird and Weirder.)
Our two Jack Russell Terrors, I mean Terriers, came out of the house wagging their tales. The fact that they were around to greet me gave me some comfort. I peeked inside the house from the porch, and it appeared to be in the same condition as we left it this morning. I turned the knob on the door, noting it was locked-- strange, I guess I didn't close the door all the way this morning. Still, to be safe, I thought I should make sure there were no creepers hiding inside.
I reached for the fire poker and went cautiously--yet fearlessly into each room, opening closet doors and checking the attic. Seriously, what was my $5.00 Wal-mart fire poker going to do for me?
Included in my everyday prayers are the words, please set your angels in front of every window, every door, and every inch of our property. On our visits to my dad's house, he would pray this over us before we went to sleep. The bedroom we slept in had a sheet for a window instead of the traditionally preferred glass kind. Anyway, it stuck, and when I became a Christian, it became habit.
Even though we live in the country, we happen to be off the main road, near the high school. Any one walking by would be able to see past our front door and right into the living room. Our two little maggots (Art's nickname for the dogs) could have easily run straight into the street and this story would have been quite different--but they didn't, which is a miracle in itself.
Roxie and Spooner love being outside and the minute we open the door they run out. We have to be sure and close the gate that leads out of our driveway to keep them safe. Today was different. The doors were open from 8:00am until 4:00pm, giving them plenty of time to get themselves into trouble, or worse, on to the menu at the local road-kill grill. (it's a country thing.)
What kept them inside? Perhaps it was the angels posted at the front door. Skeptics might say I just got lucky, but I know different. I have seen God's hand of protection over my life way too many times, and in far worse circumstances.
The biggest blessing no doubt, is there was no creeper inside, and all our belongings were intact. The Maggots safely on the couch were an added bonus.
I am reminded of Psalm 91:11:
"For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
I would never intentionally put God to the test, but I am thankful He has his angels watching. It seems with me, He's always working over time, so to Him I say thanks--for country living, angles, and divine protection.
As for the fire poker, well, its freezing cold in this house and I need to start a fire!
I leave you with one word of wisdom--double check your doors, don't be like some people I know.
Teresa Ortiz
Our two Jack Russell Terrors, I mean Terriers, came out of the house wagging their tales. The fact that they were around to greet me gave me some comfort. I peeked inside the house from the porch, and it appeared to be in the same condition as we left it this morning. I turned the knob on the door, noting it was locked-- strange, I guess I didn't close the door all the way this morning. Still, to be safe, I thought I should make sure there were no creepers hiding inside.
Included in my everyday prayers are the words, please set your angels in front of every window, every door, and every inch of our property. On our visits to my dad's house, he would pray this over us before we went to sleep. The bedroom we slept in had a sheet for a window instead of the traditionally preferred glass kind. Anyway, it stuck, and when I became a Christian, it became habit.
Even though we live in the country, we happen to be off the main road, near the high school. Any one walking by would be able to see past our front door and right into the living room. Our two little maggots (Art's nickname for the dogs) could have easily run straight into the street and this story would have been quite different--but they didn't, which is a miracle in itself.
Roxie and Spooner love being outside and the minute we open the door they run out. We have to be sure and close the gate that leads out of our driveway to keep them safe. Today was different. The doors were open from 8:00am until 4:00pm, giving them plenty of time to get themselves into trouble, or worse, on to the menu at the local road-kill grill. (it's a country thing.)
What kept them inside? Perhaps it was the angels posted at the front door. Skeptics might say I just got lucky, but I know different. I have seen God's hand of protection over my life way too many times, and in far worse circumstances.
The biggest blessing no doubt, is there was no creeper inside, and all our belongings were intact. The Maggots safely on the couch were an added bonus.
I am reminded of Psalm 91:11:
"For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
I would never intentionally put God to the test, but I am thankful He has his angels watching. It seems with me, He's always working over time, so to Him I say thanks--for country living, angles, and divine protection.
As for the fire poker, well, its freezing cold in this house and I need to start a fire!
I leave you with one word of wisdom--double check your doors, don't be like some people I know.
Teresa Ortiz
This Article has been viewed 648 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (8 total)Teresa, did you ever sing the song that went, "All night, All day, Angels watching over me, my Lord." Well, your article reminded me of that song and it was certainly a testimony to the protectiveness of God when it come to His children!Hi Lorie from Texas,Thanks for reading and commenting. I am not familiar with that song, but you reminded me of Angels watching over me, by Amy Grant from the 70's!He is our shield and protection, that is for sure! Blessings to you!
Hi Teresa.Thanks for the nod.Angels were surely watching over you.We have a garage door opener and when I leave, as I'm backing out of the driveway, I always give it one last look to make sure I actually pressed the button to put it down. Bernd is not always so careful. When I was still working outside of home, I would leave before him. I came home one day to find the garage door wide open. Everything was fine. I chalked it up to good luck, but maybe it was angels.Hugs to you!DianneHi Dianne! Thanks for reading.I remember when we had a garage door opener. The same thing would happen to us on occasion. I think it was angels at your door as well :-)So 2 days after you wrote your alien story, I was watching tv and talking with Art on the phone and someone knocked on my door. It was 10:30 at night. I looked out the window to see someone in a black sweater, with the hoodie on! He told me he needed to use my phone. I said no, so he walked off. Wierd thing is, if it was an emergency or one of J's friends you think he would have tried harder. Roxie and Spooner were barking like crazy! Art told me to go get my gun. If that ever happens again, I will volunteer to make a call to 911 for them. Anyway, had to chuckle as far as the timing.Hugs back,Teresa
Yep! God and his Angels.Love, hugs and blessingsHi Michellie,Thanks for reading and adding an amen :-)Hugs to you too! Did you see your special poem?Love you! Teresa
Great article, but it's not God that protected you. Whether you get robbed or don't has nothing to do with divine intervention.Hi Gregory, I respect your opinion and appreciate your reading. But there is no harm in me believing this to be true, is there? I am not forcing you to believe like me.I write to share my beliefs and perspective from my experience and knowledge to encourage others in the faith and those who might be curious, but never to force my belief on anyone.As I am sure you write to share your experience and knowledge and I am willing to bet you don't expect everyone to appreciate you, but you are glad for the ones that do. Isn't this why all of us write?You don't have to believe in God if you don't want to, but please allow the rest of us the freedom to believe.Your friend,Teresa
Teresa, what a picture you paint gal!!! A firepoker of all things!!! ha ha....I could just "See" you creeping around the house, firepoker at the ready! lol....your a dangerous gal my friend!! Seriously, I am glad there were no creepers as you call them in your house "Thank the Lord", and his angels....I am a God Fearing man, and belief is a good thing, and I am here to tell you that devine intervention did play a part in keeping your house safe, because you prayed for it! I loved your article, and I'm glad the dogs didn't wind up at the "Road Kill Cafe". By the way, the do have a cafe named just that in Vegas.....lol......Great article, loved it......Your friend in pen, Gary...and "God Bless you and your family" and may he forever keep you and your loved ones safe.Thanks Gary, I am one tough girl you know :-) Glad you enjoyed it. I am glad all was well too! And may God bless you and keep you and your family in his care!! Blessings, Teresa
Some would say that you leaving the door open was a subconscious decision to "get rid of the little terrors", or maggots as your husband so affectiontely calls them. But they showed you didn't they.Hey I don't blame you girl, I used to "accidently" change the door locks when the ex was "working late", but there he would be in the morning, curled up on the back porch. Glad your okay, and a fire poker would have been my weapon of choice as well. lolHA! You make me laugh, Secretly, I think you might be right :-)Accidently changing door locks--hhmmm.I haven't told Art about this, I sure hope his mom doesn't show it to him before I get the courage to tell him. I will be in four a scoulding :-)Thanks for reading and commenting. I love hearing what you have to say!
hi t,i'm glad everything turned out alright.i went to the drive thru the other day, so i took my dog, came home, came inside, and kept wondering where he was. when i looked out to see what the weather was doing, i saw the car and it hit me that i had left him in it.he had fallen asleep in the back seat, and my mind was on other things.i thank God and angels for watching out over myself and my family, everyday.i'm glad they watched over our dogs, in different situations, although, both potentially dangerous.my best to you,sueHi Sue,Thanks! me too! You left your pour baby in the car??? That's not a good mommie. :-)I have done that before--actually worse, I have driven half way to work while Brittany was sleeping in the car seat, forgetting to drop her off at the sitter's. Although I suppose that is better than forgetting to pick her up from the sitter's :-)Have a wondefully blessed day! t
I often pray the same prayer as you, when drifting off to sleep. I have prayed it for years. At the most, I believe God indeed has His angels watching over us; at the least, this prayers makes me calm and helps me feel safe.Amen! It doesn't mean bad things won't happen. I think sometimes God intervines and sometimes he allows the free will of man to play out. But one thing is for sure, his word is clear, he will not let any harm come to his children that will not end up working out for the good. As his word says, all things work together for good, to those who are the called, according to his purpose. This is my anchor, my trust.Blessings to you! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a confession of faith :-)
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.