He looked at the back brakes, but didn't see any problem with those, so we did nothing with them.He did tell me that I'd probably have to change the rotors, but since I didn't have the money for it then, he said there was no rush on it, since we changed the brake pads. After he changed the front brake pads, I left. They were fine at first,  but then I began to hear that shushing sound again. So I called him and mentioned that it still sounded to me as if the brakes were grinding on the rotors, to which he said, "Impossible. I know we changed the brakes. The brakes are good. Don't worry about it."

A month or so passed, and I was still hearing this shushing grinding sound. Finally, two weeks ago, I just got a feeling, you know? I just became concerned that something was really wrong, because the sound had gotten a lot louder, and it really sounded like grinding...hard grinding. So I passed by the mechanic's shop and spoke to him, telling him that I just had a bad feeling about the rotors, and that I really felt like they needed to be changed, but I had no money.

My mechanic told me not to worry, because my rotors weren't that bad, and the brakes were new. He said that I could wait until the brakes wore out, and then change it all at once, so I didn't need to worry about coming up with the money right away. I said, "Ok," and left. That was two weeks ago.

Last Wednsday, I was leaving my house, and as I drove slowly up my street; I was approaching the stop sign on the corner, and hit the brakes. Now I had been driving around quite a bit for that day already with no problems, but when I hit the brakes then, the pedal went all the way to the floor, and the car didn't appear to be slowing down. I freaked out and quickly began to pump the brakes, and it slowed and stopped. It was especially frightening because this vehicle, a Mercury Grand Marquis, is considerably larger and heavier than any of the cars I've had previously, and the thought of being unable to stop in such a large vehicle really scared me.

After taking a deep breath, I slowly turned the corner to go to the next stop sign in my neighborhood. As I approached that sign, the same thing happened again when I hit the brakes. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous by this time, so I immediately called my mechanic, who told me to drive the car to him.

He had one of his guys check the brakes, and he confirmed that the front end was just fine. He started to check the back end, and as he put his hand under the driver's side rear tire, all this fluid came out all over his hand. "The calipers are shot," he told me. Then he pulled off the tires and the rotors and looked at everything. He showed my mechanic, who told me that I could not drive the car in this condition. It was too dangerous.

"Well, I've got to go and get my son from school," I said. Then he told me that not only were the calipers shot, but the rotor on my driver's side was paper thin, and could break at any sudden stop or hard press on the brakes. On top of that, he showed me the rotors. The one on the driver's side had a groove ground into it, that was an inch thick. The passenger side rotor, which was a lot thicker, had two grooves ground into it of the same dimensions.

The reason they never saw this on the rotors previously, is because the inside brake pads were where this was happening, so it was not visible on the outside when they took off the tires originally to look at the brake pads two months ago. They would have had to dissemble the entire rotor from the car in order to have seen this damage.

So there I was sitting in the mechanic's office, and we were both trying to figure out what to do. I told him that any time I come and say I feel concerned about something more than once, is a good sign that there is something serious going on, because I get warnings from above. The mechanic wanted to help me and take care of this problem, but he said he was not in a position to do so, having just paid his mortgage, and rent for the shop and so forth. I had no money to do the repairs, so we sat there thinking and trying to find a solution.

"What about your mother?" he asked me.

"I can't go to her. She's just barely making ends meet herself."

"What about your brother?"

"My brother is married with 2 autistic children and a new baby. I can't trouble him. He has his family and his own issues to deal with."

So there we sat. Both of us sighed a deep sigh, and then I got up and told him there was nothing I could do. He told me that I could not drive the car, and I said I would have to park it, but that today, I had to get my son first, because he had no bus pass, nor any money to catch a bus.

They put everything back together, and he told me to drive very slowly, keeping a big distance between me and other cars, and to brake from a big distance away. I managed to go to my church to ask if I could speak to someone in Benevolence, but they told me that I would need to come back to service tonight, because Benevolence was only open after service.

I picked up my son, and went to church. As I was sitting there, listening to Pastor Jerry, I got another feeling that came over me. This time it was a feeling of assurance. It was done. God took care of it, and I just knew it was done. I began to question whether or not I really needed to go to Benevolence after all, except maybe for a grocery gift card, but I was instructed to go and tell them everything...the entire need; so I went.

I spent a long time with the two counselors, not (as I told them) because I was worried about whether or not they would help me, but because so much other information (non-related) was being shared, testimonies and the like, that we just had a really great conversation. Finally they prayed with me and I left.

I was totally confident that it was already a done deal, so even when I couldn't reach my friend at work for a ride, I wasn't worried. Another good friend called and said he'd pick me up and take me to work, but he couldn't pick me up. It was cool, because my work friend took me home.

But 15 minutes after I got to work, I got a phone call. It was my brother. He said that he had called my mechanic to help another person and connect them with him. When he finished his business about this person he was helping, my mechanic asked him for a "really big favor." He then told my brother about the damage to the rear braking system of my car, and that he could not sleep all night, because he was so worried about me driving it in that condition. He asked my brother if he could help me out, and said that he would even take a cut on the labor he would charge if my brother would just get the parts for me, so he could fix my car.

My brother agreed, and told me to take my car to the mechanic to be repaired, and then tell the mechanic to call him when it was fixed. He said, "I'll take care of this. It'll be your Christmas present."

Can you believe this? Now, I'm not at all surprized that it got taken care of. And I've got a great brother, so I'm not at all surprised that he stood by me. That's not the astounding thing. The WOW factor here is in the route God went through to get it taken care of. I never told my family that I was in this situation. In fact, I only told the church Benevolence and a few friends of mine at church. God moved on my mechanic's heart and sent my brother to him. Amazing. It was a $400 repair job, and all I did was ask God, and go to Benevolence as instructed. Yet, outside of prayer, they had nothing to do with the solution He brought. God is so amazing!

So here now, is the admonishment. Clean up your act. Be pure, be justified. There were several words that came up for “put away.” Among them: turn aside, depart, avoid, to be removed, depose, leave undone, retract, reject, abolish.

This goes well beyond simply “quit doing the evil you are doing.” This is, completely remove yourself from any trace of it. To leave undone, is like getting up and departing from one city to another, and not packing a thing.

And again, the command is given a second time with the word “cease.” The meanings here have some similarities: to stop, cease, desist, forego, cease to be, leave undone, forbear, come to an end, leave off. In other words, walk away from it and don’t look back.

Evil here refers to being displeasing, to be sad, to be injurious, to be wicked, be evil (ethically), to do an injury or hurt, to do evil or wickedly,
Mischief, to break, shatter. In other words, cease from shattering lives.

Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Learn, teach, be willing to be taught and trained, and then exercise what you learned in being good, being pleasing, being well, being glad. Be joyful and rejoice. Deal well with people, and make things good or right or beautiful. As Spike Lee said, “Do the right thing.”

Seek (with a demand), demand, require, to investigate, enquire, ask for, practice, study, follow, seek with application, to seek with care, care for justice. Your purpose now is to advance, keep making progress, and go forward to relieve the oppressed, judge, govern, vindicate, and punish the fatherless, and plead for the widow. God is giving a new directive and direction for the life of one who answers the call.

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Here now is your chance at redemption, but first something is required from you. You have to be willing to give up something. You have to be willing to walk away completely from the mess you were involved in. You have to have a desire to progress and move forward. You have to be willing to be taught and to teach others on what is right, and you have to be willing to defend justice.

Then we can “reason” together. Then I can wipe the slate clean.

*An interesting footnote is that from the insect 'coccus ilicis', the dried body of the female yields a coloring matter from which the dye is made that is used for cloth, to colour it scarlet or crimson.

We already have a bit of info on the new moons. We also know that the appointed feasts are a scheduled requirement. But what caught my attention is “my soul hateth.” First of all, I didn’t know God has a soul. When I think of a soul, I think of it in the connotation of man. It is the seat of his emotions, and the part of man that is most easily led astray.

When we react versus respond, we are reacting from an emotional place. When this occurs, and we fail to exercise restraint or self-control, it can be our undoing, because we don’t actively think before we act, we simply re-act.

Self-Control (Without):
"powerless" (a, negative, kratos, "strength"), is rendered "without self-control," in 2Ti 3:3, RV; see INCONTINENT.

Since the syllable “re” means to go or turn back, then a reaction is a backwards action, or an action that takes you backwards from where you are. There are certain peoples and cultures that have more of a tendency toward over emotional reactions to everything. Some of them think that the law has no bearing in accordance to whatever they are upset about at a given moment.

I can think of an example of a specific group here in Florida that causes havoc here every time something happens in their country of origin that they don’t like. We’ve had incidents of protests wherein they have blocked major roadways and arteries to prevent the rest of the community from going to work, just so they can vent their frustration. This sort of behavior does not endear them to the rest of the population here.

Pro 16:32  [He that is] slow to anger [is] better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

The point is that it is better to respond than to react, because when you react, you render yourself incontinent.

Incontinency, Incontinent:
denotes "want of power" (a, negative, kratos, "power"); hence, "want of self-control, incontinency," 1Cr 7:5; in Mat 23:25, "excess."
denotes "powerless, impotent;" in a moral sense, unrestrained, "without self-control," 2Ti 3:3, RV (AV, "incontinent").

Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

Vain - vanity, falsehood, emptiness, nothingness, vanity, emptiness of speech, lying, worthlessness (of conduct)

Oblations - gift, tribute, offering (to God), present, oblation, sacrifice, meat offering, grain offering.

Incense - incense, smoke, odor (sweet smoke) of (burning) sacrifice, perfume

Is an abomination - a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable, in ritual sense (of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages), in ethical sense (of wickedness etc)

New moon - the new moon, month, monthly, the first day of the month, the lunar month

Sabbaths - Sabbath
a) sabbath
b) day of atonement
c) sabbath year
d) week
e) produce (in sabbath year)

The calling - 1) to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim
a) (Qal)
1) to call, cry, utter a loud sound
2) to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)
3) to proclaim
4) to read aloud, read (to oneself), read
5) to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint, call and endow
6) to call, name, give name to, call by
b) (Niphal)
1) to call oneself
2) to be called, be proclaimed, be read aloud, be summoned, be named
c) (Pual) to be called, be named, be called out, be chosen

Of Assemblies - convocation, convoking, reading, a calling together
a) convocation, sacred assembly
b) convoking
c) reading

I cannot away with - to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able
a) (Qal)
1) to be able, be able to gain or accomplish, be able to endure, be able to reach
2) to prevail, prevail over or against, overcome, be victor
3) to have ability, have strength

Even the solemn meeting - assembly, solemn assembly
a) assembly (sacred or festive meeting)
b) assemblage, company, group

In other words, stop bringing me worthlessness offerings/gifts; your sacrifice is a disgusting thing to me; the monthly days of atonement, the proclamations and reading, I cannot endure; I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Here, we already know a little about these New Moon festivals. It’s some monthly thing that the Jews were doing, allegedly as a form of worship to God. Maybe they were doing it out of obligation, or maybe it just became like a party thing to them, and they were leaving God out of the equation. Their intent and purpose may have been more about the celebration, than about the One being celebrated. However, I wanted a bit more info.

First, I want to thank my loyal readers and subscribers who have stuck it out with me for so long. I so appreciate your participation in my studies here, and my efforts to get closer to God.

Secondly, I apologize for the lack of a post for this week, but in case you missed the note on my pulse; I want to let you all know that I have a second blog. So if you don't see a new post here on any given week, check here. I'm in the process of learning how to set up the essentials I need to make a website with blog. I want to have a feed running from both this blog and the one above right into one site. That is my goal. I will still have both blogs up, and still be writing in both, but this way, everything I write will be in one place, and at the same time, I won't lose anyone who has grown accustomed to finding me here or there at the other blog site.

It's taking me a while to do all of this, but you can read why here. Btw, you may want to bookmark my other site or subscribe to the feed. Much love. Peace and blessings.

As part of those arrangements, I went to get him another cell phone because the last one, from Net10 had died. My son has been through more phones than me, so I’m not looking to spend any major money on him.

The first phone was also Net10, and he walked into the ocean with the phone in his swim trunks pocket. I bought him another one after fussing. That one ended up dying after being dropped one too many times and carelessness involving some moisture getting into it.

The last guy I was seeing decided to give him a used phone he had at home, so then I put my son on my MetroPCS plan. However, after a while, that phone stopped receiving calls, and I couldn’t reach him, which was no good.

I decided that I didn’t want the expense of putting him on the monthly plan, when his minutes should be limited due to him having the phone for emergencies; direct contact with me. So this time, I gave him my former Net10 phone, which was still good, and added 150 minutes to it.

Right as I had paid for the minutes and we attempted to use that phone, it failed to work. Now mind you, I had had that phone for more than two years, and had not used it in more than 1 year.

I contacted the company, which sent us another simm card for the phone. I called them back to activate the phone with the new simm card, but it still didn’t work after several different attempts.

I had to buy a new phone and then the company said they’d transfer the 150 minutes that I had purchased to the new phone. I went to 6 different stores, including two Walmarts, 2 Family Dollar stores, 1 Dollar General and finally to a Big Lots on the recommendation of the cashier at Dollar General.

As it turns out, the manager, who went searching the back of the store to see if they had any Net10 phones, brought out a phone that we didn’t notice said “refurbished.” It was $10 less than the regular cost of $30, so I was thrilled about that, because I was still supposed to get the 300 minutes included.

Once in the car, I realized it was a refurbished phone, and discovered that it was, in fact, a much higher quality phone than the one we typically bought from Net10. I didn’t care about it being refurbished, as long as it worked.

We got home and I activated it by phone, but nothing happened. I ended up calling the company a day later, and got this really nice Latin guy on the phone. He told me that I’d be upset with him because we had to put a bunch of codes into the phone. I was fine with it, so we started.

After the first code, I thought the phone indicated 300 for the minutes after it said “code accepted.” I told the tech that it indicated 300, and this must be the minutes, but he said no; and that we had to continue to put codes in, so we continued with each accepted code indicating an addition, (or so I thought) of 300 minutes.

After all the 12 digit codes; and he thought I was so patient and gracious; he said, “Ok, so your minutes are there, right?” And I said, “Ye-eees.” Then he said, “Ok, and is everything alright? You are happy with these minutes? Are these enough for you?” And I said, “Ya!” Then he said, “You don’t sound like you are happy. Is everything alright?” And I said, “Oh yes! I’m just fine! I‘m quite happy, don’t worry! ”

Why was I reacting like that? I’m looking at the screen, and I think I’m seeing things. I was supposed to get 300 minutes for the activation. My screen, however, was telling me that I had 2100 minutes. So naturally, I was a bit flabbergasted.

Now, you might not believe this, but then I did something really crazy and bold. I said to the tech, “Ok, remember the 150 minutes from the previous phone? It was supposed to be transferred to this phone?” He says, “Oh yeah. You have 157 minutes from that phone. Let me transfer those for you.” :-O! Now mind you, he can see the amount of minutes too!

The next thing I know, I have 2257 minutes on my son’s new phone, and the tech even extended the end date by another month so we have four months to either use it, or add minutes to keep all those minutes and roll them over. Of course you know I’ll just add a few minutes and roll them over.

So technically, this is how much God gave me in phone minutes:

300 min = $30.00
    X         7
__________________
2100 min = $210.00
+ 157 min=  $15.00
___________________
Total min = $225.00

But can you believe this? I paid $20 and got $225 worth of minutes! Thing is, I had just made up my mind prior to this call with the tech, that I wanted to test the Lord on one of his promises. So I had calculated, based on the new income from this job, how much I would be giving if I added just 1% to the 10% I was lining up this new income to give, along with the other income I have coming in at the beginning of the month. I told the Lord that I wanted to test Him and see how much of a difference just 1% more would make.

It seems that just having a sincere heart towards giving more is enough to motivate God to move on our behalf.

Since writing this, the new job ended, as they are all intermittent jobs that stop when the work is completed. However, my boss said they were keeping my badge separate from everyone else’s and my name is at the top of the list to call back for the next segment in about 1 month from now.

So it’s all good. I have favor with them, so whenever its time again, I’ll be working for them. Meanwhile, God is moving again in other areas, opening other doors for me and I’m just chillin’ and letting Him do His thing on my behalf.

I was so happy about it, and I liked the flexibility and freedom of the job, as it was a field position. However, my car died on the first day of training, and when I say it died, I mean it was completely dead - unmovable. Like I said, this was back in about Feb. of this year, before God blessed me with the current set of wheels.

I managed to hook up a ride to all the training, and because the job description and educational materials said it could be done via public transportation, I did just that.

I got terminated three weeks later because my crew leader attempted to cover her patootie by telling the field supervisor that the reason for the number of hours I had was because I didn’t have a car. In other words, instead of telling him that she never assisted me when I asked for help with the boundary issues that arose due to a newly renovated landscape, she claimed it my hours accrued were more because I had no car.

Meanwhile, I had a street missing a street sign, which I couldn’t identify as part of my boundary, and another street entirely gone, which was supposed to be the other boundary. It had been replaced by 3 new buildings as the entire area was growing and expanding.

Her job was to assist me, which included coming down to the area as necessary to assist me in determining my boundary area for canvassing if there was a problem. She never did this because she herself didn’t have a car.

So she ratted me out to save herself. The supervisor canned me with little explanation, and I filed an EEO complaint. This resulted in a reversal of the termination action, my name being put back on their hiring list, and my subsequent rehire now.

So this week, I was helping them out by coming in on the morning shift to fill in for the receptionist. My job is actually supposed to be a 3-11:30 shift, and I had told them that I needed this first week to make arrangements for my son.

While sitting at the receptionist desk, a thought occurred to me. What happened to the crew leader and supervisor I filed the EEO against. Even the guy hired for the receptionist asked me that during training. I told him I didn’t know, but it wasn’t relevant to me whether they were still there or not.

So while sitting there at the desk, I just had this thought that the supervisor was still there and that I was going to encounter him while in this position. I had never seen him, nor met him prior. I had only had a phone contact while in the field.

Meanwhile, I finally erased his and the crew leader’s number from my phone on my second day at the receptionist desk. Later that afternoon, this man walks in and I got up to let him in. Immediately I thought, ‘This is him. I just know it.’ He fit exactly the impression I had of this supervisor from his voice on the phone and the name, and he was greeting me and smiling.

Sure enough, as he started signing his name, there it was; he was the uncaring field supervisor that had fired me before, without giving me an opportunity to explain any issues or discrepancies. As a matter of fact, he told me specifically that he didn’t care what the manuals said about using public transportation. He just wasn’t having it. If you didn’t have a car, you couldn’t work for him.

So you know that a bunch of thoughts ran through my head as he was standing in front of me...you know, things you think you might want to say, like, “You don’t remember me do you?” or “Remember that single mom that was trying so hard to keep the job, that you fired simply because her car broke down? The one that filed that EEO against you? Well guess what, homeboy!” (And I’d have one of those crazed mad looks like Marlon Wayans)

I mean to tell you that all these spiteful thoughts entered my head, and there was this side of me that wanted so badly to flaunt it in his face that despite his best efforts, I had won, and had gotten rehired. Believe me, I had to put some serious brakes on myself and repress those thoughts.

After all, what would it profit me? How would it help me, better my position or keep me in good graces with all the other managers if I reacted instead of responded, and went after him vengefully?

Oh sure, there’d be some mild satisfaction, but that would be momentary and short-lived. Long term? I don’t see where I’d benefit, so I left it alone. I figure it’s probably best that he doesn’t remember me. For all I know, he could be instrumental in helping me move up if I forgive and forget.

Sometimes people forget that the tongue is the most dangerous weapon they have, and if they’d just learn some self-control and be quiet sometimes, half of their problems would disappear. Most people, by means of running their mouths or being to flip with it, bring their own disaster and invite chaos into their lives.

I was wondering why a raven. Why did Noah send the raven first? Why didn’t he first send the dove? Well, for those who  make a big deal out of the sex connotation of biblical words, the raven was a masculine noun, and the dove a feminine one. Not that this is the reason, but it could be related.

And its sort of interesting to note, for those who really quibble over the masculinity and femininity of the words, that the word “raven” (the masculine word) is found only ten times in scripture while the word “dove” (the feminine word) is found 22 times. One more thing to note on this topic, is that the word “dove” (again, a feminine word) is the symbolic reference to the Spirit as well as the masculine references that are so often, and quickly pointed out by the men leading the church.

And, its also interesting and funny that as intelligent as ravens are, the raven kept flying to and fro until the waters abated from the earth, wherein the dove seemingly had the sense to go back to the boat. This means then, that the raven worked his wings off for about a week before he was able to set down and take a rest, because he wouldn’t (didn’t have the sense to) return to the boat.

Sounds about right, but all kidding aside, I don’t see any particular reason why Noah choose the raven first, except for a connotation in their name; which points again to the fact that there is power in a name, and beings will often follow the course that their name dictates unless set free from it by God.

Raven:
"a raven" (perhaps onomatopoeic, representing the sound), occurs in the plural in Luk 12:24. The Heb. oreb and the Arabic ghurab are from roots meaning "to be black;" the Arabic root also has the idea of leaving home. Hence the evil omen attached to the bird. It is the first bird mentioned in the Bible, Gen 8:7. Christ used the "ravens" to illustrate and enforce the lesson of God's provision and care.

These birds are also on a list of birds that are forbidden for consumption by humans.

Deu 14:11 [Of] all clean birds ye shall eat.
Deu 14:12 But these [are they] of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
Deu 14:13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
Deu 14:14 And every raven after his kind,
Deu 14:15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
Deu 14:16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
Deu 14:17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
Deu 14:18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
Deu 14:19 And every creeping thing that flieth [is] unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
Deu 14:20 [But of] all clean fowls ye may eat.

Note that it mentions “every raven after his kind.” That is because of the numerous variations and types within this species, which is also known as a jackdaw, and a rook. This bird was also used as a symbol of punishment which could be the reason, in part, why this bird is viewed as a bad omen.

Pro 30:17  The eye [that] mocketh at [his] father, and despiseth to obey [his] mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

What was really the unusual thought I had about this bird, is the fact that God chose to use this ill-perceived creature as the instrument of hope to one of his chief prophets.

1Ki 17:4  And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
1Ki 17:5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that [is] before Jordan.
1Ki 17:6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

God had a bird that is considered to be unclean, to the point of being inedible for humans because it is a scavenger; bring food (bread and flesh) for the man of God? God sent a scavenger to feed him? That’s pretty wild. It just goes to show that if we are truly listening to the voice of God and obeying it, our supply can come from anywhere, and from the most unlikely places and individuals. But the only way we can perceive and understand this, is that the eyes of our understanding must be opened, and our hearts have to be receptive to what thus sayeth the Lord.

A few days ago, if anyone was paying attention to my tweets, you would have seen that I answered several themed tweets, which are initiated by a # symbol. This is one of the ones I responded to.

#iamsinglebecause although catfish is good eatin' - there are too many bottom feeders swimmin' in the shallow end around here.

Well, it strikes me as funny now, because clearly, even bottom feeders can be blessed by God. It doesn’t mean I’m to get with them, but they too can be blessed, and this is why again, the ideology of coveting is such a no-no, because if we are God’s children, we must learn to be content with whatever lot in life He has chosen for us. We should never have the attitude of looking upon anyone else’s blessings and thinking or saying sarcastically, “It must be nice!” Why?

Luk 12:24      Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
Luk 12:25     And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
Luk 12:26     If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
Luk 12:27     Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luk 12:28     If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more [will he clothe] you, O ye of little faith?
Luk 12:29     And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
Luk 12:30     For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
Luk 12:31     But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luk 12:32     Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We don’t have to worry about our provision. Which means if you are going through a time of decrease, you still don’t have to worry. It is only a test of your faith.

I had a friend who’s relationship with God depended on her status. When she was going through her divorce she would say, “This is the first house I ever had, and if God takes that away from me, we’re through.” I couldn’t believe my ears, and I would say to God, “Do you hear this? You really need to do something about this. She needs an attitude adjustment.” Well, she never lost her house, but she lost me as a friend when she continued to lean on her own understanding, and passed judgment on me because of situation I was going through.

You should also know that the raven, that scavenger and despised creature of ill omen; which was one of the birds indicated to prey upon the ruins of Edom (Isa 34:11); was also used to describe the beauty of Christ. The Hebrew ‘orebh means "black," and for this reason was applied to the raven, thus the reference to the locks of the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon.

Sgs 5:11  His head [is as] the most fine gold, his locks [are] bushy, [and] black as a raven.