Things have been so busy here I haven't done much "blogging". But, I thought I'd share a list of the many blessings God has provided us over the last few weeks, so that you can see -- just as we have -- that God does care for his children.
I know I will forget something, since I'm trying to recall several weeks.... but I'll do my best!
1) Someone bought a ticket to the Women of Faith conference here in St. Louis, but then couldn't go and gave it to me. I don't know who you are, but thank you from the bottom of my heart. I think the greatest benefit to me was just getting to laugh so much. I didn't realize until the conference just how long it had been since I'd had a good belly laugh. Also, the speakers were great and it truly reminded me once again that God can take any circumstance, no matter how terrible, and use it to His glory.
2) A couple of weeks ago we were getting low on food and were low on cash. My prayers were answered yet again. My parents came to watch my son's choir performance and brought a bunch of food. We also participated in Angel Food Ministries that week, where we got a lot of freezer items. Shop 'n Save ran their $10 off a $50 purchase and I shopped carefully and got everything on my "need" list... my total (before coupon) came to $50.03! :-) The cashier was impressed. My son bought some produce when he got paid. Our kitchen suddenly became well stocked and the food has stretched a long way!
3) We received an anonymous money gift (thank you!) some time ago.
4) We received a Trader Joe's gift card and a loaf of delicious pumpkin bread (thank you!).
Mark had an inspection on Monday but nothing else since then. We are learning just how slow the housing market is, and it is a huge blessing that Mark has gotten the few inspections that he has. Please continue to pray that God directs business our way.
The bad news is I had a bit of a minor car accident. Not much damage, but the truth is any added expense right now hurts and stresses me out. I was feeling low.
God's timing is impeccable, as I read this His Utmost for His Highest devotional shortly after:
"There are certain things we must not pray about - moods, for instance. Moods never go by praying, moods go by kicking. A mood nearly always has its seat in the physical condition, not in the moral. It is a continual effort not to listen to the moods which arise from a physical condition, never submit to them for a second. We have to take ourselves by the scruff of the neck and shake ourselves, and we will find that we can do what we said we could not. The curse with most of us is that we won't. The Christian life is one of incarnate spiritual pluck."
Most days I do well in not focusing on physical circumstances, but then something will happen to rock my boat and toss me into the sea of self-pity. I must learn to make liberal use of my "boot". :-)
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Fruit of the Spirit
A fellow blogger named Trish contacted me yesterday saying that my blog had been nominated by someone to display the Fruit of the Spirit graphic. Not knowing exactly what that meant, I looked at the links she supplied me with and found that I wholeheartedly agreed with her objective... to bring glory to God. Trish asks that people who accept this graphic post on the topic of the Fruit of the Spirit, so last night I studied Galatians 5 and thought about what I should share...
This is not a "pat on the back" for me and I wouldn't have wanted to participate if it were -- I can take no credit for anything that is in my blog. Everything that has happened this last year is ALL GOD; from the cross in the wallet, from unexpectedly getting bread on Tuesday because God knew we wouldn't be able to get it on Friday, to having a broken freezer start working again, to having someone meet us at the grocery store with a gift card when I didn't have enough money to buy all that we needed.
My husband's unemployment for the last year has been a blessing. I now understand what James is saying when he tells us to consider it all joy when we encounter various trials. Developing the fruit of the spirit in our lives is much more important than our comfort.... please understand that I am not saying that this is something I have done, but rather something the Spirit has done. The Holy Spirit is the producer, and the presence of fruit is not a demonstration of my faith or dedication or anything of that sort. But, rather, it is merely proof of my dependency on God. What better way to become totally dependent on God than to sweep away the crutches in our life, and see if we do still stand. This is when we must sink our roots deeply into the well-spring of our Father and draw our strength and sustenance from Him. This is when we learn the reality of our God and all He is willing and able to do! Not just in meeting our physical needs, but rather more importantly, developing within us the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Trust me, I do not have these things within my own nature. The dark times really do have to come in order for us to learn the most profound lessons of our faith. This is when we see that WE do not produce the fruits of the Spirit --- we discover them. They take us by surprise.... you draw close to God and.... WOOOOSHHH..... there they are.
This has given me an opportunity to reminisce. To look back over the last year..... what an amazing God we serve! You may or may not have noticed by now that I've put some links to old posts within this post. These link back to some of my favorite "wow" moments in this journey. If you look them over, you will see that I've had my share of days when I was SO totally discouraged, frustrated, and worried. You see, those are the times when I started trying to draw on my own strength. That is when the fruit begins to shrivel up, when joy fades and patience is unattainable. But, when I quit trying to do things in my own strength, and rather pull myself into the Father's lap.... that is when I look around and..... surprise!! There are the fruits. There is the evidence that I have finally released my white-knuckled grasp on the controls of my life and put it back where it belongs.
Thanks, Trish, for this opportunity to look back and remember what God has done. Thank you to whomever nominated this blog. I hope that the Fruit of the Spirit graphic brings new people to visit this blog so that....
This is not a "pat on the back" for me and I wouldn't have wanted to participate if it were -- I can take no credit for anything that is in my blog. Everything that has happened this last year is ALL GOD; from the cross in the wallet, from unexpectedly getting bread on Tuesday because God knew we wouldn't be able to get it on Friday, to having a broken freezer start working again, to having someone meet us at the grocery store with a gift card when I didn't have enough money to buy all that we needed.
My husband's unemployment for the last year has been a blessing. I now understand what James is saying when he tells us to consider it all joy when we encounter various trials. Developing the fruit of the spirit in our lives is much more important than our comfort.... please understand that I am not saying that this is something I have done, but rather something the Spirit has done. The Holy Spirit is the producer, and the presence of fruit is not a demonstration of my faith or dedication or anything of that sort. But, rather, it is merely proof of my dependency on God. What better way to become totally dependent on God than to sweep away the crutches in our life, and see if we do still stand. This is when we must sink our roots deeply into the well-spring of our Father and draw our strength and sustenance from Him. This is when we learn the reality of our God and all He is willing and able to do! Not just in meeting our physical needs, but rather more importantly, developing within us the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Trust me, I do not have these things within my own nature. The dark times really do have to come in order for us to learn the most profound lessons of our faith. This is when we see that WE do not produce the fruits of the Spirit --- we discover them. They take us by surprise.... you draw close to God and.... WOOOOSHHH..... there they are.
This has given me an opportunity to reminisce. To look back over the last year..... what an amazing God we serve! You may or may not have noticed by now that I've put some links to old posts within this post. These link back to some of my favorite "wow" moments in this journey. If you look them over, you will see that I've had my share of days when I was SO totally discouraged, frustrated, and worried. You see, those are the times when I started trying to draw on my own strength. That is when the fruit begins to shrivel up, when joy fades and patience is unattainable. But, when I quit trying to do things in my own strength, and rather pull myself into the Father's lap.... that is when I look around and..... surprise!! There are the fruits. There is the evidence that I have finally released my white-knuckled grasp on the controls of my life and put it back where it belongs.
Thanks, Trish, for this opportunity to look back and remember what God has done. Thank you to whomever nominated this blog. I hope that the Fruit of the Spirit graphic brings new people to visit this blog so that....
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." I Peter 1:6-7
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Give Thanks
Mark booked another inspection yesterday! Give Thanks!
Our son's band is doing very well and this weekend will be competing in a Joy FM contest at Six Flags. They say it is a search to find the best undiscovered Chrisitian band... bands sent demos to Joy FM and they chose the top five to come compete in the contest. Wishing we could go!!! But, we will try to listen on the radio.... You, too, may want to tune in on Saturday from 2-4 pm.
Our son's band is doing very well and this weekend will be competing in a Joy FM contest at Six Flags. They say it is a search to find the best undiscovered Chrisitian band... bands sent demos to Joy FM and they chose the top five to come compete in the contest. Wishing we could go!!! But, we will try to listen on the radio.... You, too, may want to tune in on Saturday from 2-4 pm.
Psalm 100: 3-5
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Thank YOU God!
Please give thanks with us... Mark booked two inspections this week!
One of them is what I'd call a God-coincidence.... A Realtor in San Jose, CA called Mark because his client had just put a contract on some commercial property and needed to have an inspection done. The coincidence is that the building is in Monroe City, which is where I grew up and where my parents live. And, the fact is, some parts of the inspection have to be sub-contracted, especially in a commercial inspection. Mark has those sub-contractors lined up here. But, obviously, doing an inspection in a city 2 hours a way is not something those sub-contractors here are interested in doing! So, Mark had to line up different sub-contractors for this work, and because my parents live in Monroe City, he was able to call them and get some recommendations.... and within a few hours had assembled a team to do the inspection. He called the Realtor with a quote and soon they called him and booked the inspection. What are the odds that someone in California would pick HIM to call out of hundreds of Missouri building inspectors? And out of all of the cities in Missouri... what are the odds that Mark would get called about doing an inspection in that particular city?
I think that God may just be reminding us that His arm is never too short..... He is always in control.
Please continue to pray for our business and that our attitude and spirits will be right in the process! God bless you, friends!
One of them is what I'd call a God-coincidence.... A Realtor in San Jose, CA called Mark because his client had just put a contract on some commercial property and needed to have an inspection done. The coincidence is that the building is in Monroe City, which is where I grew up and where my parents live. And, the fact is, some parts of the inspection have to be sub-contracted, especially in a commercial inspection. Mark has those sub-contractors lined up here. But, obviously, doing an inspection in a city 2 hours a way is not something those sub-contractors here are interested in doing! So, Mark had to line up different sub-contractors for this work, and because my parents live in Monroe City, he was able to call them and get some recommendations.... and within a few hours had assembled a team to do the inspection. He called the Realtor with a quote and soon they called him and booked the inspection. What are the odds that someone in California would pick HIM to call out of hundreds of Missouri building inspectors? And out of all of the cities in Missouri... what are the odds that Mark would get called about doing an inspection in that particular city?
I think that God may just be reminding us that His arm is never too short..... He is always in control.
Please continue to pray for our business and that our attitude and spirits will be right in the process! God bless you, friends!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Update for today...
I've been asking God to provide some business for us, but have not had any more other than the one inspection. I keep repeating to myself the quote from the Matthew Henry Commentary that goes something like this, "We should not pray so much for the removal of affliction, but rather to make right use of it". I ask that you will pray that for me... that I would be satisfied with God's use of the "affliction" rather than being impatient for God to remove it.
Some good developments: Mark has been scheduled to speak at some real estate meetings over the next few weeks. Also, the Board of Realtors is going to allow him to teach some continuing education courses for Realtors. Teaching is "his thing", so this is good. He has been working on writing a course the last two weeks. Even though there is no income from the classes it is good exposure for him and sets him up as an expert in Realtor's minds.
All of our physical needs are met at this time, please thank God for that miraculous thing! And, please continue to keep all of us in your prayers. May I especially ask that you remember our kids in your prayers? I'm starting to notice this affecting them more. Thank you, dear friends!
Some good developments: Mark has been scheduled to speak at some real estate meetings over the next few weeks. Also, the Board of Realtors is going to allow him to teach some continuing education courses for Realtors. Teaching is "his thing", so this is good. He has been working on writing a course the last two weeks. Even though there is no income from the classes it is good exposure for him and sets him up as an expert in Realtor's minds.
All of our physical needs are met at this time, please thank God for that miraculous thing! And, please continue to keep all of us in your prayers. May I especially ask that you remember our kids in your prayers? I'm starting to notice this affecting them more. Thank you, dear friends!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
But God....
Let me tell you, there is no reason for us to have food on our table. None. But, God is a miracle worker. For the Isralites He provided manna from heaven; for the multitude listening to Jesus, he multipled the fish and bread; the widow at Zarephath, He did not allow her oil and flour to run out. He still does miracles today. We have had food in our freezer that has stretched so much longer than it should. I have had to buy very few groceries the last few weeks... we are blessed!
Last weekend we had family here for Paul's graduation. It was funny because after graduation every relative insisted on giving us money to order pizza for everyone... and none of them would take the change back. That change has actually turned out to be what bought our groceries this week! So, we say thank you to God for that provision! I didn't even realize at the time how much we'd need it this week, but God provided it before I even had to ask.
When I look at our situation from MY point of view, it seems impossible for our needs to be met now for almost 12 months... but God... don't you love that phrase....
BUT GOD never lets us down.
Yet, I continue to behave like an Israelite. I'll be so glad when I am free from this affliction (probably not until heaven). I have SEEN His miracles, but I still have times when I slip back into despair, disappointment and grumbling. I know the problem... I start to focus on the obstacle and the "have nots". When I do, they become my giants and it causes me to forget what my God can do.
I have begged God to end this trial, but apparently God has His reasons for allowing it to continue.... maybe it is because the more desperate our situation gets, the deeper my caring and understanding for families with ongoing financial needs. This includes missionary families who subsist completely on financial gifts from fellow Christians. What we have experienced for just one year, is what many missionaries experience for their entire missionary career. Won't you remember a missionary family this week and ask the Lord to provide the funds for you to make a financial contribution to a missionary family? I just feel certain He will provide if you ask! Maybe that family is praying for God's provision right now, and YOU will be the tool God uses to bless them.
Last weekend we had family here for Paul's graduation. It was funny because after graduation every relative insisted on giving us money to order pizza for everyone... and none of them would take the change back. That change has actually turned out to be what bought our groceries this week! So, we say thank you to God for that provision! I didn't even realize at the time how much we'd need it this week, but God provided it before I even had to ask.
When I look at our situation from MY point of view, it seems impossible for our needs to be met now for almost 12 months... but God... don't you love that phrase....
BUT GOD never lets us down.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26
Yet, I continue to behave like an Israelite. I'll be so glad when I am free from this affliction (probably not until heaven). I have SEEN His miracles, but I still have times when I slip back into despair, disappointment and grumbling. I know the problem... I start to focus on the obstacle and the "have nots". When I do, they become my giants and it causes me to forget what my God can do.
I have begged God to end this trial, but apparently God has His reasons for allowing it to continue.... maybe it is because the more desperate our situation gets, the deeper my caring and understanding for families with ongoing financial needs. This includes missionary families who subsist completely on financial gifts from fellow Christians. What we have experienced for just one year, is what many missionaries experience for their entire missionary career. Won't you remember a missionary family this week and ask the Lord to provide the funds for you to make a financial contribution to a missionary family? I just feel certain He will provide if you ask! Maybe that family is praying for God's provision right now, and YOU will be the tool God uses to bless them.
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