Blessings: Answer to Prayer!!

So, you all know that I have to go back to work next week. Remember that they were thinking about switching me to Fri/Sat instead of Sun/Mon, and how I didn't really like either of those options? Gabe helped me to be "ok" with whatever happened, saying that we can't really afford to give up my work yet and we would make it work, whatever happened... Read on!

My manager was on vacation, so he just threw me in for one day the first week instead of two- which was totally ok with me!! Blessing Number One...

A few days after that, he called and said, "So, what's working for you lately?" I have not asked for anything, trying to simply be thankful I have such an blessed position there at Costco and thankful they are flexible with my reduced schedule. I responded that I had just been waiting to hear from him where they needed me. And he said "well, Jackie's been thinking she'd like to have Thurs/Fri off...." Me:"I can do that- let's try it and see if it works!" Inside I am jumping for joy and trying desperately to hold the tears in until I can get off the phone. You see, Thurs/Fri is just about perfect! That way, MIL would never have to have kiddos two days in a row (barring OT or unforseen Gabe activity.. *wink*), Gabe would still get his one day in a week with them, and we would still have 2 days together of his 3 day weekends! And SUNDAYS OFF!!!! (that's me squealing with joy!) Huge huge HUGE praise- I am so thankful that He cares about our little concerns, and assists us in blooming where we're planted! Blessing Number Two!

Feeling courageous, I mentioned that we had summer camp coming up, and said while I completely understand if this won't work, but for that week, could I not work until Fri, and Sat or Sun? He said sure, they have lots of backup now, so that week I will ONLY work on Fri! I won't miss any days of camp!!!!! How many more exclamations can I add!!!!???!!!!

He has been so good to us- I pray that we remember always to give Him the glory and praise, and serve Him first! Amen!!

Comments on the Poll

I am just opening up this post to allow comments on the poll, and to say my piece quickly.

I really really enjoyed doing the discussion. I loved being challenged to find support or look deeper into what others were claiming. I normally am terrified of conflict, but God totally, through prayer, helped me to see that I should not be afraid of people disagreeing with me, but to welcome some fine tuning! And vice versa, that what He is teaching me is also good for others to glean from. We are all at different points in our walks with God, and "Scripture is alive and active" speaking to us where we are, making what we learn different, at different points. (Like for some reason, God just has me in an excited place about when Jesus is coming back-- and I wouldn't trade it for anything! But that doesn't mean everyone else is there too! Maybe He just knows I need some excitment in my cooking/laundry/dishes/cleaning toys day-to-day life:-)

Kari's comment that she would love to discuss other scripture's I used made me wonder if it would be fun to look at smaller portions together and share what God is teaching us. Personally, I found this to be so exhilarating that I would enjoy doing this. If I did, I would require that people commenting and sharing please do so prayerfully, and to meditate on the scripture to fully "get" what the Lord has for us. To share what God is teaching you is much more than just sharing what you think.

So anyway, let me know. And I will go by what the poll says, so make sure you vote :-)

Answered Prayer: Go and Sin No More

It never fails to humble me that my Father God listens to my meager prayers and He is so Faithful to answer them! This verse was huge to me the last few years:

James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

A recent request of mine was regarding a statement I read in the Betrothal book by Michael Pearl. "We insulated our children from within, and therefore, as they got older, did not need to be insulated so well from without." This resonated with me, stirring my spirit to pray that God would show and enable me to do this with my children, because, as is so evident in our world today, sheltered children are sometimes more at risk than non-sheltered ones.

The answer came in response to a series of conversations with different people about why individuals who claim Christianity will continue to walk in sin. How can I "convince" my brothers and sisters that what they are doing is not ok? The answer is that the "convincing" is not my responsibility. My responsibility is to address the sin in love and call them to account for their walk (and of course to be open to the same in my life.) It is the Spirit's job to do the "convincing," reminding them of the truth of God's Word and His Law. In regards to my children, my job is to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and the complete knowledge of the Truth. To address sin as sin, and teach them to listen and obey the Word. To make sure they understand that while Christ paid for our every sin, sin itself is not without consequences.

I know this seems so basic (although you wouldn't know it, looking at many "Christians" today), but to have a light shine on what I need to focus on in raising my girls NOW and not later is a treasured blessing. And I Love that this is from Him! The questioning I do every day of my parenting abilities does not apply to lessons from the Father! What a relief!

Father God, thank you for Your Faithfulness to Guide and Teach us.

I am here, but sooo busy!

I need to take pictures of our yard. I should have when we got home. No jungles in Eastern Washington? I beg to differ. You should have come by my yard last Friday... I am slowly working on it. I will take pics of my tomatos and all my friendly neighborhood fat bellied spiders that like to scare the dickens out of me....

Last week, Friday and Saturday, I had to work (called in because of sick calls)(after just getting home Thursday evening), then my normal Sunday. Sunday, my sweet boss told me that I could wait until 2:30pm to come in instead of my normal 1pm because I had already worked extra. I was thrilled! Then, on Monday, after Rennea had already picked up the girls, right before I was going to walk out the door, he calls and says, "Do you just want to stay home today?"

"What?!~!"

"Apparently I doubled scheduled... So&so is already here, so why don't you just take the day off?"

UM... OK!!! What a blessing! Plus he gave me next Sunday off because of our Acts 2:42 Sunday (our church's fellowship monthly sunday, which I always miss...) THANK YOU FATHER GOD!!! He knew I needed all this, and I thank HIM for it!!!! This was a huge blessing, because then I had no plans to cancel, no kids to care for, and I just rode around with Gabe while he did some errands, and then we went out to dinner with his family. I didn't just do all the stuff that needed done, I spent some good time with my hubby and relaxed, which I didn't get to do at Camp!!!

The rest of this week? I am just working on errands, weeding and laundry! Woo Hoo! It's amazing how energizing some REAL time off is!

Balance

Grandma Bryant went home to glory last night. I find myself contemplating the balance between grief and joy. Joy mainly because she is HOME-- her journey is over and her true life has begun! I can't even describe how excited I am for her! And yet the tears still come...

I told Melia that Great Grandma had gone home to be with Jesus, and she comforted me by telling me that "God will give her a new body." No idea, other than the grace and wisdom of God through the words of a faithful 4 year old.

Luke 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

"Lord, give me the faith of a child. Not that I do not believe, but her faith has no expectations, just freedom."

Testing?

I am not sure how much more emotional stress I can handle!

First off, simple prayer request and thank you to those of you who already know and have been praying.... My Grandma is in the hospital, and probably won't come home. Not sure just how to put it gently, but we are told to expect her to meet her Lord anytime. This is my mom's mother. I think we are all doing ok, as this had been a long time coming, but the pain and emotions are still very visible, as we do love her so much.

Note of interest: I was thinking today of how different she has been the last, how many, 10? years since her first stroke. But her presence was still here. So even though we are used to the knowledge that any day another stroke could come, we will still miss her sitting there in her chair, listening and sometimes responding. This is all the great-grandma B that Melia has ever known, and she knows (as much as she can, which is actually suprising) that we will miss her. Melia asks if she can go to the hospital with me, because she "loves the girl that is sick" and "wants to see her one more time." *sniff*

And I know this doesn't even compare, but it is just another heartstring being stretched to it's limit! Tonight when we got home I checked on the cats and found that Marsha had birthed another litter (I was pretty sure she was prego, but had no idea she was so close!) Two darlings... but then the stress of praying and trying to decide what to do. Do I pull them and try to feed them myself? (Tube feedings every 2 hours) Do I leave them with her, hoping she will take care of them? I went out to take pictures, thinking I would not touch them. She cowered between me and them, growling and hissing at me. I petted her (unheard of!) and she never made an agressive move towards me. So, using the same hand with her scent on it, I felt their little bellies because I could not visually see that they were full. They weren't.

Melia and I prayed that she would take good care of her babies, and that she would feed them lots of milk. After getting the girls to bed and talking to Gabe, discussing maybe partially supplementing to give her a chance to come around, I just prayed and prayed that God would help me to make the right decision. One hand-- I desperately don't want to lose them. I was miserable knowing that I was responsible for the deaths last time. Other hand? Do I want to prolong the inevitable? Is it inevitable? And He provided. He gave me the idea to go out and check on them with a flashlight through the window, and if she was taking care of them, or by them, I would leave them be. If not, I would decide about partially or fully supplementing then.

I went out, tried to sneak up on the cat house, (hard to do on gravel) got up to the window, and shined the flashlight--which promptly blinded me. Nice try. Shined it again, aiming it carefully away from my face, and with my own eyes saw that she was actually nursing them!

Praise Him! Thank You Thank You Thank You Lord!
Your continued prayers are coveted, as both these situations can (and in one case, will) change at any time. I don't trust Marsha, but I do trust Him. A reminder that my eyes are "blinded" when I am only looking at what I can do. I need to refocus, look again, and expect miracles.

:-) He is so good.

Spiritual Disciplines Class: Q&A

Ken V said...
I'd like to know more about your class... was it worth the time? Were there any surprising new insights? What new disciplines are you feeling challenged to try out?
Well.... where to start...
Koinonia Institute based their achievement levels on three "tracks;" the berean track (scripture study), the issachar track (end times knowledge-where we are on God's timeclock) and the koinonos track (living the Word).

The first two classes we took (old and new t) were obviously Berean, and this one signified our switch to Koinonos. And it was a switch! Not so much head knowledge, and a whole lot more heart knowledge. This makes it much more difficult for me! (I like black and white!)

But because we are on our first achievement level, the class itself was pretty basic. It went over what it really means to be a disciple through the lens of Judean schools. (I found this fascinating-- one of the literal meanings is "to follow in the dust of your Rabbi." Am I so close to Jesus that I live in His shadow?) To be a true disciple, I must be of the Shema, of Prayer, of the Word, and for others. Included was a week on the emergent church, which I appreciated because although I hear the term and know I don't want to be part of it, I didn't really know what was behind it.

The biggest leading I felt was to make my own copy of the Bible. I posted on this earlier because it was such a special answer to my prayer of how to go about studying now that our church bible studies are ceasing for summer. I just (finally) started on this-- I am starting with 1 Peter. (I wanted to do a book I didn't know much about, and a short one. It fits :-) I did a whole chapter today during naptime-- I think I will try to cut it down and try for more often-- We don't "hand"write very much in today's culture, do we?

Anyway, I totally think the class was worth my time, not because I "enjoyed" it per se, because Dan is a very different teacher than Chuck Missler, so the style was difficult to get used to, but God has led us to take these courses, and that means everything is part of the package! I learned a lot, more about what is lacking in my life because of time, but also that I need to act on the answers He gives! The classes like these that hint at being uncomfortable (!) give evidence to the areas in my life that need work in order to glorify Him.

Praise Him for His faithfulness and patience!

Happy Anniversary to Us! *8 Years*

Eight years ago I don't think we could have possibly fathomed how much we would grow together, but it has been a very, very blessed time. Thanks to Gabe's suprise planning, we had a very special time together reflecting on what God has done and being humbly grateful for everything.

Monday night, Gabe showed up as I was walking out from work. He kidnapped me (!) and we drove together to Leavenworth to spend the night at the Enzian Inn. Tuesday we played a round of mini golf at the Enzian's putting course, had lunch at the Baron Haus, enjoyed some Starbucks and a little shopping. We stopped at SleepyHollow Nursery on the way back to town and picked up some more mature blueberry plants and 4 grapes :-)

This was all a complete suprise-- I totally thought he was at work :-) Tricky fellow! But what a blessing-- the funny part was that all morning Monday I was feeling a little melancholy about him going back to work, and he was laughing inside, knowing how happy I would be later when he picked me up!

Thank you Lord. I know that everything we share is from You and not ourselves. Without You, we would never be so happy together, nor have such an exciting future to look forward to forever.

Trusting God: Part One

My auntie Brenda posted a intro post over on her blog (see list at right) on what she is dealing with on trusting God.

Instead of commenting, ('cause long comments by me are a bore), I thought I would post a little here, (so then if you are reading it, it is your own fault! And you want to be here!)

Anyway, I really appreciate what she had to say-- Trusting God is huge, and the second you think you're ready, you'll be afraid again. At least that's how I feel. But each challenge is put before me to help me grow! Sometimes it is two steps forward, one step back... actually, it often is. But Baby steps is how we do it. Leaps of faith don't come until later :-) based on our trust in our past experiences that we can trust Him.

Here is one of my recent baby steps:

Last Monday at work, I entered the break room to find the occupants watching the evening news talk about the hows and whys of Tim Russert's death. Because my mouth is SOOO big, I piped up with "Maybe it was just his time." And the guy sitting next to me turned and said "Do you really believe that?"

Oops. But yes, I do. Why? I don't know. We talked some, and both left to do our respective jobs. While working in my dark little hole in the wall (literally... except the dark part), I prayed and talked to God about how sorry I was that I blew that opportunity that He placed in my path, and He gave me this
"For it is appointed unto men once to die..."
I wondered what the scripture was, and immediately Gabe called. He finished the verse for me
"... and after that is the judgement."
But no address. Over the course of the next hour or so, I really felt led to share this verse with my co-worker. I called my dad-in-law and got the reference (Hebrew 9:27). Then I was ready.

And then I was terrified. Frozen with fear. So I took a baby step.
"God, help me get to the break room." He did, but J wasn't there.
"God, help me find him." I went out on the floor (what we call the shopping area) and sure enough, the enemy was there with distractions of customers needing help... But He helped me finish those tasks, and keep looking. I had to walk all the way back to the freezer section before I found him. When I saw J, I nearly collapsed. I prayed "God, I am terrified. Help Me!"

I went to him, told him he might think I was crazy, but that I had prayed about our discussion and this was what God had given me. He was amazed, but didn't think I was crazy, because he had a grandfather who could quote Scripture for any situation. (Thank you Lord, for the legacy you give to Godly men!) He appreciated what I brought to him, and was not offended at all. I shared where I attended church, and we talked a bit more. And then I went back to work. It lasted 2-3 minutes, maybe, but seemed like longer!

God gave me strength to do what He was calling me to do. Baby steps. Next time, that won't be quite so difficult!

Stay tuned for my future leap of faith... regarding our family situation. (Hint: it includes the initials BRCA)

Spiritual Prompting

This weekend I was listening to my class and Dan (instructor) was leading into a personal experience with the following scripture:

Deu 17:18-20 (in reference to the king)

"And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of [that which is] before the priests the Levites:
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, [to] the right hand, or [to] the left: to the end that he may prolong [his] days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel."

Before Dan had even started in on his story, I knew this is something God wanted me to do. It was so logical! In high school/college, to study I would write things over and over until I knew it all by heart. One of my heart's cries lately has been for guidance in how to study. I know I need to, but wasn't sure which route to take, and God has undoubtly answered that prayer.

Thank you Lord, for You are Faithful to answer us and lead us along the paths You have laid out for us.

Another Prayer Request

I would love some prayer. I don't want to give you detailed specifics because I am talking to my Father about it. Or rather, I want to be listening. But here's the basics.

Our pastor is teaching on the gifts of the Spirit. This morning I felt like his words were exactly for me, that God is trying to tell me something. And the funny thing is, when I first started thinking about the gifts, I thought "That's mine." Ever since, I have been running from it, thinking, "no, that can't be mine. I'm not smart enough. that doesn't fit me at all." But more and more, God keeps bringing it to my mind, like

"Didn't you hear me last time? Do I need to repeat myself? Here, listen to this!"

And this morning, I guess I heard. I still don't know what to do, and I would like to ask for validation, but I know I already have all I need. He told me so. The sentences fit perfectly into what I feel God telling me to do sometimes, even though I very very rarely obey. (Please don't judge. People have been very... judgemental....demeaning... to make me not want to say anything.)

So... please pray. Pray that our Father would teach me what I need to know. That He would teach me boldness. That he would teach me scripture. Humility, gentleness, grace, love... you know. All the good stuff. And that He would help me to not be terrified.

Thank you.

Great Shopping Day!

Gabe was so sweet this morning to stay home with the girls and allow me a couple of shopping hours to myself. I asked him because I knew there were some really good deals out there, but I needed to be able to think to make it work the best. And work it did! It was even better because I was able to pray before I left home-- I normally intend to do this, but so often am distracted by the two little voices in the back seat.

My first stop was Albertsons. I knew they had a great deal going on where if you buy 10 GM cereals/products for $20, then you got another $10 off. And I had coupons for all! Total I bought 2 Golden Grahams, 1 Kix, 1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch, 2 Fruity Cheerios, 2 boxes Nature Valley granola bars, and 2 boxes PopSecret Popcorn for $5.20.

Also, when I walk in the door, I normally scan the papers they post because I do not get them in the mail. I spotted a 3/$9 or B3G1 free for CoffeeMate creamer-- Because I didn't understand it, I asked the cashier to ring up my creamers seperate so I could see what deal it did. Turns out the paper was from last week, but they needed to honor it (their words) so instead of making it work 3/$9, they just gave me 3 for the price of 2, which was $7.58!!! Thank you Lord!

Then I went to Walgreens to try the P&G Register Rewards. (see this weekends ads for Walgreens) I ended up with 2 Magic Erasers, 2 bottles Cascade dishwasher gel (.25/1 cpn), 2 Crest Pro-health toothpastes (using $3/2 ES coupon) and three Charmin Easywipes (cpn $1.99 in -ad) and a box of To-Go ice tea pouches for a total of $20.40-- and I received back $20 in RR! Yeah!

Then I stopped at Fred Meyer because I forgot to grab salsa at Albie's....and remembered they had chicken breasts for $1.79/lb... so I grabbed two bags of that and also a Purex laundry soap because I had one more $1/1 cpn, and they were on sale for $2.50 :-)

Plus! I stopped to get apples from the Stemilt store (because they are the cheapest there!) and they were having a moving sale -- all apples were $.69/lb!

Thank you Lord, for your blessings. You stretched my dollars today farther than I had even hoped.