Have I told You lately that I love You???

This week celebrates something that we aren't exactly celebrating- Tim has been out of work for 5 months. He's in construction, so it's not unusual to get laid off for a short time in the winter. But he has NEVER been out this long. And there doesn't look to be anything in the near future. (sigh) He's put out resumes, went to see people, and followed the scarce leads that have come in. But, in this economy, any place that isn't laying off employees has a hiring freeze. We are just one of many in this situation.



However, I think we are unique to many others because we have hope. Our hope is not in politicians' promises, the evening news, or the stimulus bill- our hope is in Christ. His promises are never empty!

He tells us: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."



I wasn't fearful at all, really. We cut our budget to the bare bones & then some. I got a part time job. The input & output were almost equeal, but we made it. Then my hours were cut. The numbers weren't close anymore. But we made it. God is SO good, and He made it work!



Then came April. For the first time, I was anxious. I was so angry at myself. How could this be happening? I kept telling myself that I was putting my trust in the Lord, but the numbers.... oh, the numbers. I knew it was time to kick up my prayer.... not praying for the numbers to work, but praying for peace. Praying as in James 4:7- "abide therefore in God. Cast out the devil and he will flee from you."

Satan loves it when we are fearful. He is the prince of fear!



I prayed constantly for God to fill my heart so much that there was no room for Satan and his baloney. I won't lie... it took constant, serious prayer. Satan kept reminding me that 5 months is a long time and the job front wasn't looking any better than it did 5 months ago.



But God is soooo much bigger!!!



The fear is gone. And with the fear gone, God kept working in my life. He is the King of Miracles. Nothing is too big for him- especially our measly little budget.



I love You, Lord. Not because of what You do for me, but because of who You are. I don't deserve You, and that makes it even more amazing that You love me so much.



Thank you, God. I love You!!!!!

In the (my) dark ages

I got brave last night and decided to put my maiden name on my facebook account.

I am in a very good place now and very happy with life. But it wasn't always that way. I used to be kind of a mess. Ok.... not kind of.... I was a SERIOUS mess. But that seems soooooo long ago. I actually refer to it as my previous life....... BC...... before Christ. It really WAS a previous life. He has made me a completely different person that I used to be.

What is sad is that I had to leave so many people behind. Some of those people are dangerous. No, that is not an exaggeration. Some of those in my past are quite dangerous. Maybe (probably?) to themselves, but definitely to me. I do not want them to know where I am now- for my own physical protection. Sad, huh?

So, I got a little nostalgic last night and decided to look up a few of the people from my past. I was hoping to find that some of them had also turned their lives around. I was hopeful.

Most of them I didn't find. Maybe I'm just too ADD to take enough time. Maybe that fact that it was almost midnight had something to do with it.

I had one person in particular in mind. He has a pretty common name, so after going through 40+ pages on Google I decided to try a different route- I searched court records. He's earned himself 2 more DUI's since I last saw him. Now he's at a total of 4. The last one wasn't all that long ago.
Another is dead from a drug overdose.
Another is in prison for aggravated rape.
Another is on her 6th marraige.

I could have been these people.

What breaks my heart more is that they could be where I am now.

They can't do it on their own. I didn't.
It's totally a God thing. He changed me, He can change them. He wants to change them.

Why do so many push Him away when they are in such a dark place?

I spent last night praying for them. They can try all they want to put out that flicker of Light, but if they just take the chance and turn it up a bit they can have joy beyond anything they ever imagined.

I don't have any deep & amazing to say....
I'm sad for them.
But I am OH SO GRATEFUL that God loves me!

Happy New Year

Wow.... I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. I've meant to post many times, but just never got around to it.

Let's see..........

I am now working full time. The job I'm doing is truly a blessing. I'm working from home and I thank God for that opportunity. The fact that I'm working 36 hours a week doesn't exactly thrill me, but it IS helping to give us those nice frivolous little extra things like heat and electricity. It has just been SO long since I've had to be on someone else's schedule.....

I know I posted before about how we were doing just great without a dryer. Well, I was sick for quite a bit and spent Christmas night and the next week pretty much in bed 24/7. It's kind of hard to catch up on all that laundry when I can only wash & hang 2-3 loads a day- if that much even got done around school & work. Finally, I figured we could cough up $50-$60 for a used dryer. Of course I wasn't finding anything like that on Craigslist.... and any even CLOSE to that price were electric. So, I posted under household that I was looking to buy a used gas dryer. My post went something like:
Wanted: GAS dryer
Hubby got laid off, so we can't afford a new one.
Gas is a must.
Working is a must.
Ugly is just fine!

That night I got an email from someone offering to sell me theirs for $100. Maybe they didn't realize how ugly I was willing to go?
The next day I get an email from Robert that says:
I have a white Kenmore gas dryer in my garage that works fine. I live in an all-electric house, so I have no need for it anymore. You can have it for free, but you will have to come to my house and pick it up. Let me know, ###-###-####, Robert
After I realized that my mouth was hanging open like fool I felt the tears start. God is SO good! Tim drove out there a couple days later (I had to work) to pick it up. Come to find out that Robert and his wife lead the children's ministry at their church. They have been trying to give this dryer away for a year! God kept them patient all this time until we needed it!

I've been in prayer quite a bit the last 24 hours.
*A very dear friend and sister Christian got in touch with me yesterday to let me know that her 11 year old niece just had a brain tumor removed. The doctors said that if they had found it even 7 days later, she may not have made it.
*Another friend ended up in the hospital yesterday. This person is going through LOADS of testing to try to find the source of this particular problem. The couple are dear, dear friends of ours. We are praying and praying and trusting God. I do wish there was more we could do. Seeing their faith at work melts my heart.
*Yet another friend ended up in the hospital after enduring back problems that couldnt' be diagnosed for WAY too long, the doctors found staph infection in his back. Praying for healing for him as well.

Puts my whining about my dryer, or lack of one, right into perspective, doesn't it?

Today, on our way back from karate class, I had to stop at the post office. Another nasty storm had just started. As I was waiting for a left turn arrow, I see a man standing outside of his car in the driveway at Walgreen. Something (someONE) made me open my window and ask, "Do you need to call someone?" The man who was standing closer to the road, who I thought was with the man by car pointed to other guy and said, "I think he does".
So I pulled in behind him to offer him my phone.
This man tells me, "I need to go across the street to get some gas (he had run out of gas) and my baby is in the car". Not sure exactly what he wanted, I asked him if he wanted me to watch his baby while he went. He said yes.
(Now, if you weren't there, you might wonder why he didn't just take his baby daughter with him. It was VERY nasty out. It was snowing ice- ice that feels like it is cutting into your face. And crossing that street wasn't exactly safe- it was sooooo icy & slippery.)
His car was locked (I presume... I didn't attempt to open the doors) so I just stood outside his car watching his beautiful daughter while he went to get gas. She couldn't have been more than 8 months old and was as happy as could be. She just watched Sierra & I (Sierra was not about to pass up the chance to gawk at a baby!) while we waited. 5-10 minutes later, dad was back- newly purchased & filled gas can in hand. We chatted for less than a minute when I realized he was pulling money out of his wallet to hand me.
"Absoluetly NOT!"
"Please"
"No. This is what people SHOULD do. People SHOULD take care of each other."
"You're right. We should"
We shook hands, and he waved as we drove away.
God was SO THERE!

And for me and my intense, deep 'dis-like' of winter..... It was warm & SONny for a short time today in Garfield Heights, Ohio.

2 Timothy 4:7- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith

We head to West Virginia tomorrow! YEAH! The kids are so excited they can barely sit still. Tim, Timmy, and some others from church will load the box truck tonight, and Tim will drive it down there tomorrow. Sierra, Garrett and I will follow in our car.

Last night was our karate Christmas party. It is always a nice time. Last night it was even more special because MANY families brought in food & supplies for us to bring with to Appalachia. Many of these families are feeling the budget crunch themselves, but are still willing to reach out to others.

I was asked to lead the blessing last night. My amazing pastor, Rick Duncan, helped me with part of it. Thanks, Rick! I know you are incredibly busy, but you still took the time to get back to me. You are such a blessing to me and many, many others!
It was NOT a "bless this food, keep us safe" type of blessing. My intention was not to offend, but I refuse to be so concerned about NOT offending, that I do not reach out.

This is what I used:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us together safely tonight. We thank you for all you have given us, and ask that you always keep us humble, remembering that to much of the world we are rich beyond imagination- we have a safe place to live, clean water to drink, clothes to keep us warm, and enough food to eat. I thank you for those who thought of others that do not have these things, and brought food and items to help those families in Appalachia.

We ask that you keep us safe in our travels home this evening. We ask you to bless this food- that it nourishes our bodies and keeps us healthy. We ask for your blessings on all our karate families. Especially for J's grandmother, for M's father, and for K's father. Lord, you know what they are going through. We ask for healing, but mostly for the love and comfort only You can give them.

2 Timothy 4:7- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Dear Lord, You are the Creator God. You made our bodies to be used for Your glory. Thank You for giving us the privilege of using these bodies to learn karate. Help us to always use our skill for Your purposes. There is evil in this fallen world, and one day You will make all things right. But meanwhile, help us to fight- body, mind, and soul- against anything contrary to Your wise and good purposes. Help us to help the helpless and to defend the defenseless. Use the disciplines and skills we have learned to equip us to fight the good fight of faith. May we finish well. May we keep the faith. And may we honor Jesus, the only One who perfectly fought the good fight of faith, who dies and who rose again to save all who believe. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

****

I'm sure this didn't go over well with everyone there, but I pray that it worked on thier hearts. One of the people there is staunchly anti-religion. This person was included in the prayers for healing. I pray that this didn't anger that person, but instead helped them to experience the love that ONLY comes from a relationship with Christ.

Pray for our new president

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-for kings and all those in authority.
-1 Timothy 2:1-2

We had a grand ol' time!

I am so incredibly blessed!

I have spent the day with this dumb grin on my face, and this time it isn’t because I’m plotting something. (Yea, I do that occasionally)

I have been much more purposeful in my time with God lately. I started by allotting a half hour in the morning, after Tim left for work, for bible reading, journaling, and prayer. The past week or two, I have spent around 1-1/2 hours each day. I don’t plan it… it just works out that way.

Some time ago, I would have insisted that I did NOT have that kind of ‘extra’ time every day. But now I am calmer and seem to be getting more done. This past week was absolutely crazy with meetings, doctor appointments, and events. I really thought I’d be half insane by this time, but here I am with this sense of peace that passes all understanding!

I have been praying for God to help me be a better friend- Today I sit back and I’m in awe of the wonderful friends that I have, and have been spending time with!

I’ve been praying for peace during a very uncertain time of employment for Tim. Things have become more & more uncertain, but I am very calm.

While I prayed about how “clean my refrigerator” is, I’ve been taking a harder look at myself, and I see changes. I still have a looooooonnnnnggggg way to go, but I feel I’m heading in the right direction.

Now, of course, there is another reason for this grin-

I had one of the most wonderful nights of my life last night.

We were blessed with the opportunity to go to the Home Opener of the Cavaliers last night. We were part of a group that went with our church,Cuyahoga Valley Church, and included the kids being able to go on the court before the game & shoot hoops. Our names were put in a drawing for a chance to “high five” the Cavs players as they entered the court after half time.

We got into the arena a little after 3:00 and walked down to the court and sat down. They started by telling us what was going to happen. and then they asked some Cavs trivia. Timmy answered the very first question and won a t-shirt! Then the kids got to go out on the court. They took turns throwing from the free-throw line, then they did drills. The kids had a blast, and I got some great pictures. (We were allowed to go just about anywhere we wanted around the court area.)

A couple hours later, we walked off the court and went into the concourse. They had all kinds of ‘goings-on’ out there- the kids made signs to hold up during the game, they got candy galore, other assorted thingys, I got a blanket and Tim got a t-shirt. I was with a great friend of mine. A few of our kiddos got their hair sprayed with Cavs colors. There was also the opportunity to have our faces painted. We pressured my friend’s husband to have his head painted like a basketball! (There’s no hair there to mess things up.)

While we were talking, some young ladies walked up to us and asked if any of our children were involved in the “High 5” group. I said yes, and luckily they asked if ALL the kids were. As soon as we said “no”, they handed us flyers for the “Cavs Kids” group. Our other kiddos got to down on the court again, but this time while the players were warming up! There were only about 20 kids picked for this!! Each of the kids got a t-shirt, a press pass, and a disposable camera to take pictures of the players! Then, they picked 5 kids from this group, and the players handed them basketballs to keep!!!! (We didn’t make that group.)

Oh yea, as soon as we were sitting down inside to watch our yunguns, my friend looked at the Jumbo-tron and yelled. There was her Hubby on the screen! He was being interviewed while he head was being pained like a big orange basketball!!!!!

After that, we headed for food (which was included in our ticket price) and then for our seats. We had quite a walk…… LOL

The game was going great, with the Cavs trouncing the Bobcats. With 5 minutes to go in the first half, Timmy met with his group to get ready for his brush with fame. I got his picture when he had his hand up to meet that of LeBron James.

As my friend said:

Purchasing a ticket for your son to the home opener: $25.00
Buying him a Cavs sweatshirt: $30.00
Seeing the look on his face while high fiving Lebron James at the end of half-time: PRICELESS

We ended up winning 96-79. Perfect!

Martha Martha Martha!

I'm in a study group at church titled, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World". If you don't already know the story of Mary & Martha, I'll sum it up for you. Jesus and his disciples went to visit Mary and Martha at their home. Martha was busy, busy, busy in the kitchen while Mary sat at Jesus' feet listening to Him and learning. Martha was pretty ticked, and requested Jesus to tell Mary to come help her. Jesus told Martha that Mary had made the better choice.
I've made the commitment to do my bible and prayer time in the morning, NO MATTER WHAT, and to slow down so I can better hear what God wants from me. I've been doing great with my mornings, but I've been running like a madman the rest of the day. I'm struggling... should I really be this busy right now? Is this what God wants from me right now? Or am I letting Satan keep me distracted? I really think that these are things that are a must right now (getting Tim's new car, doctor appointments, getting the kids situated with the new school year, etc), but I really feel that I need to take a serious inventory of what "important" really is, and what I can cut down. We are also running around trying to get things done that need to get done before Tim leaves for Louisville again. There are some things I just can't do while he's gone, like repair the roof! Maybe I'll make a list on paper tonight...

Philippians 4:6- "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God."
God wants me to come to Him in prayer. I never need be anxious- that is such a waste! pray about EVERYTHING! The only one who has the control is God- and He has ALL the control. I need to come to Him with my worries, my praises, my requests, and my thankfulness- for myself and for those of others. (1 Timothy 2:1) So often I attempt to take care of it myself, and use God as my safety net. I need to put total & complete prayer to work so that I can help with what God wants, not what I want from God.