We Are Smart Like That

We have been talking about putting granite counter tops in our kitchen and the girls bathroom for about 5 years.  That would be since we moved here.  We never really made any effort to do it but always said before we move again we would for sure do that to make the house more appealing for a potential buyer.  Why would we want to live in a place that was appealing to us?  Kidding--I love my home.
So Mike quit his job and we got the brilliant idea to move forward with plans for granite counter tops.

We are smart like that.

Kitchen before



Kitchen after

We saw this fluorescent green sign on the side of the road that said "Granite liquidation sale, free estimate".  Mike called that number and we arranged to have this complete stranger come into our home and give us an estimate.

 We are smart like that :-).

We were pleasantly surprised by the estimate and so we asked the counter top dude for references--because Mike is smart like that. (I don't think I would have thought about that).  The reference panned out and we were going for it!



Girls bathroom before



Girls bathroom after

The whole process was really good--except the job was delayed a week, the workers were not punctual and a slight plumbing issue (which was totally on our end).   Mike had to get on Craigslist on Saturday and find a plumber that could come out immediately if not sooner.  We were hosting our small group at our house for dinner and Bible study at 5 pm and had no working sink in the kitchen or the girls bathroom. 
The fun part was that the plumber was at our house from about 5:30 to 9 pm.  Then he had to come back on Sunday after church to finish it up.  He told us how nice it was to here us talking about the Bible and sharing our lives with one another.  We got to talk about Jesus with him found out he was a faithful believer and loves to help the poor. 

We got our master bath counter top done the following week.  It looked great.  The walls, however, clashed with it.  So I went out to the garage and found the gallon of leftover paint from our master bedroom and voila--looks great.  I took pictures with my phone and have not figured out how to upload them to the computer--because I am smart like that.



Delighting in God

Psalm 37:4  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Delight yourself. 

In our society that means to do what makes you feel good, indulge yourself, do not deny yourself, get what you want.

But what does it mean to God?

Delight yourself- (Hebrew word Pa'ar)-beautify, adorn, embellish, give honor, boast

Boast in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

Does that mean if I say "God you are awesome and I desire a new car" that He will give it to me?

Hardly.

What if delighting myself in the Lord means changing what I desire to be aligned with what He desires for me?  What if delighting myself in the Lord means wanting what He wants for me, even when it may not be something I really want at the time.   What if I trust that He knows what is best for me and honored Him with that?

In the past I really wanted to be a flight nurse.  That was my goal since nursing school and I worked hard to get the experience and the credentials needed to do that.  My prayer was always "God if this is not your will, please take the desire away."  My desire grew and grew. I had everything I needed to fulfill my goal.  I had studied for the test, had doctor references and they were hiring.

Then came our darkest hour.  I was at a crossroad and knew it.  Marriage/Family or Career/Flight Nurse.  The decision was not hard to make.  In an instant I knew it was my marriage and family.  A few months later I saw one of the flight nurses I used to work with in the ED and she said that they had hired 9 nurses and had been looking for me.  I went home and cried.  Partly because of the dream that was gone, but mainly because I knew I had made the right decision.   I would not have changed my decision if I had the choice again.

 I wish we never had to go through what we did, but honestly, it may have been the only thing that made me get what God's definition of "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" means.

Because my hearts desire is exactly what God has graciously and mercifully given us--a marriage built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. 

We honor You, Jesus.

Waiting on God

We know many people who are waiting on God for direction, for clear answers to questions, for things to happen. We know 2 couples waiting for their adopted babies to enter into their homes; a friend whose mom just entered hospice; a friend whose prayer is for clear direction on private vs public school for their children; another friend who needs clear direction on whether to home school or continue private school education for their 4 children; a friend whose daughter married a Muslim whom they are witnessing to.

Waiting for marriages to mend, children to return to the Lord, healing from sickness, jobs and the list goes on and on.


I have waited in the past for my husband to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. For 12 years I prayed for him. For 7 of those years he was on a prayer list at church. Then I got tired of waiting and decided God's answer was no, even though that was not His answer.  Hardest lesson EVER. We were married 10 years and it seemed like God's answer was no. But the issue was not that He was saying no to my prayer for Mike to come to know Him and be saved.  The issue was also my heart.

He had to change my heart. He had to humble me. I had some pride and unbelief that had to be removed and dealt with.

He had to change me.

He had to change me.

It was in His timing, using what He knew would change both of us. And it hurt. It pains me to think of it. It also keeps me humble. One lesson I learned (of the many) was that it is much better to humble myself before God humbles me.  I NEVER want to repeat what we went through. I would rather die than go through that again.

Waiting on God.

Why is it I forget that He is in control? Do I forget this when I want control?

Why is it I forget that He is omnipotent? Do I forget this when I think He doesn't know me?

Why is it I forget that He not only wants what is best for me, but He knows what is best for me? Do I forget this when I think I know myself better than anybody else--my sinful self?

Waiting on God.
Wait-(verb)-to remain inactive or in a state of repose until something expected happens; to be available or in readiness; to postpone; to look forward to eagerly.  (From dictionary.com)

Wait-(Hebrew) Qavah- literally means to bind together like a cord or twisted rope--think woven together; it also means to wait, to hope, to expect, look patiently.  (From Hebrew dictionary)

 How do we wait for the Lord in obedience and patience?

 Why should we wait?

What happens when we take matters into our own hands?

Lamentations 3:24-25 I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.

Psalm 37:7  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...

Something cool I just picked up from Psalm 37 is that verse 4 says to "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"  verse 5 says "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this..."  We have to delight ourselves in the Lord while we are waiting patiently.

What does that mean?


To be continued....

The Best Birthday

I had the best birthday.

I woke up at my normal 4:30 am to get ready for work and leave at 5:00, but before I could get out the door, my husband dragged himself out of the warmth and comfort of bed and gave me a card.  It was so sweet.  I got a call from one of my dearest friends who lives in St Louis and we got to catch up before she had to go to work.  My co-workers brought me fruit--which was cool since I have been doing this whole 30 eating progam since January 1.   I received a text from dad and one from my friend Deb, a call from Cindy and Jenni, had lunch w/ my girlfriends Amy and Lisa, then we had some friends over for dinner who are in the final phases of their adoption process of their little girl from China.  It was a wonderful day.

I am so thankful for this past year.  God has faithfully heard our prayers and continues to grow us.  Sometimes the growth is hard--actually most of the time it is hard.  He is in the market to refine me and I want Him to do that. 

Some areas of growth for this year include: 
To be filled with laughter and joy. 
     Psalm 126:2  Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.

To work on keeping a lose grip on "things" here on earth.
     2 Corinthians 4:17-18  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Also a few things from Psalm 119:33-37
   -Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees
   -Give me understanding
   -Direct me in the path of your commands
   -Turn my heart toward your statutes
   -Turn my eyes away from worthless things.

41.  Bring it on.  Gently though...there are some new aches and pains.  :-)

Catch Up

Random things happening around here:

-Lisa is going to get inducted into the National Junior Honor Society.  I cannot tell you how proud of her we are.  The thought of NJHS never crossed my mind.  Ever.  Probably because I was never in it.  Also because as of this writing she has a 75 in Literature.  Talk about motivation--this has lit a fire in the girl to bring that grade up.  She has A's pretty much in everything else, so I know she can bring it up and not be put on academic probation right out of the gate.

-NJHS has also motivated Katie to stay strong in her studies so she can be invited to be in it next year.  She has all A's except for one F.  In band.  Yes, band.  She has a 37 in it.  How in the world???  She has forgotten her trumpet a couple of times and practicing is not her idea of a good time in the evenings.  We have made some subtle changes to her evening plans and are now are all having a good time when she practices :-)

-Mike's last day with Wellmed was this past Tuesday.  He is adjusting easily to this lifestyle change.  He got up on Wednesday and ran 13.4 miles.  Basically a half marathon.  Plus he did the laundry and made dinner.  If I ran 13.4 miles I would not be able to do anything else that day.  I know that because I have ran 2 half marathons and could barely walk that afternoon, much less do laundry and make dinner.  What a guy!!

-Besides running half marathons,  Mike can also concentrate on school and work home health whenever.

-Katie's basketball team made it to the playoffs.  We were quite surprised by that development, but here we are going on to the second round tonight.  If they win (at 8 pm--that is very close to my bedtime), they play the championship game tomorrow morning at 9.  Two of their strongest players are not playing tonight, so I am thinking we probably will have our morning free. 

-We have been going through a strange season lately, one that will require a post all of its own.  It has been an extremely painful season but one that God has been so faithful in and comforting beyond words.  We have learned so much about the power of a controlling individual.  What makes it all the more challenging is when it is a fellow Christian.  I am barely coming out of this and am processing emotions and trying to see what God wants me to do, if anything besides prayer at this time.
 He is so faithful in his Word;  where I am at in writing out the Psalms--timely;  so comforting w/ random texts being sent to me with a meaningful scripture; a sermon at church that was just for me---It all feels like God's arms wrapped around me.  I cherish this.  I don't want to forget.  Reminds me of Joshua when he put up 12 stones so the Israelites would remember and tell their children what the stones meant.  Joshua 4:24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.

May God Bless Us

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
                   - so that we may live deep within our hearts.

 May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people
                   - so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

 May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war
                   - so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

 And May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world         - so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
 Amen.
                                                   (Franciscan Benediction)

Happy New Year

Today is the last day of 2012.

It has been a good year.  It had its ups and down, good times and bad times.  Lots of laughter and some tears. Through it all, every single day, God's hand was guiding us, leading us, protecting us.  I trust in Him as we enter this new year of 2013.

**warning--the next paragraph or two is political---I never get political, but it has been weighing heavily on my heart. 

We sit here, so to speak, on the edge of a fiscal cliff that our elected officials are supposed to compromise on today....or else.....who knows...something about an increase in taxes.  What is disheartening to me is what the United States has become.  Millions of people who think it is perfectly fine to kill unborn children in the name of "reproductive rights", to take from those who have worked hard and are wealthy and "redistribute" their wealth to others, for men to marry men and women to marry women and then call those who say it is immoral intolerant.

I could sit here and worry about our financial future, the future of my children and get myself all worked up, OR I can put my trust in God. 

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

I will take this verse and apply to me, to my family.  I will, with the help of God, humble myself and keep pride far away.  We will teach our children humility, to be hard workers, to be trustworthy, to lean on God, to pray for those with authority over us, but to remain strong and firm in our biblical view of the world.  To hold God's decrees and mandates over man's.  To persevere.  To love our enemies.

Moving on.  The other night Mike found the DVD of Lisa and Katie from ages 2 months until Lisa was 4 years and Katie was 2 years (but she claimed she was 6 on the DVD).  A few years ago we mailed off the cassette tape that we recorded on and the people transferred it into a DVD---however, we never watched it.  Pitiful, I know.  What is more pitiful is that I have not been video taping anything.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Zero.  Zilch for the last 8 years.

It is not too late, except now my children do not want to be taped--but I will persevere.... and they will be sorry 10 years from now when we are laughing at their pre-teen attitudes.  (insert evil laugh...)

We laughed so hard watching that video of them interacting with Mike and then each other.  I may have shed a tear or two.   I had forgotten so much about them as babies.  They were adorable and hysterical.  Not only that, but because they went to Tiny Tots at Concordia, some of their friends are on the video too.  They had a Christmas program called "A Tale of Three Trees" and they were so cute.  Lisa was a woodcutter (she did not want to be that because she had to dress in jeans and a button down boys shirt) and Katie was a little sheep.  She cried but she stayed on stage (she was about 20 months old). 

My one and only goal for 2013 is to video tape my family and take more pictures.  That is it.  Why put added pressure on myself????

I just have to add that I am currently writing Psalm 119 and it is RICH.  There are a few things I never caught just reading it.  For example, there is repetition of two thoughts throughout the entire psalm:  Teach me your decrees and preserve my life (according to your word, righteousness, love, work).  I have marked up this Psalm so much and I am only on verse 57.

Psalm 119 is such a wonderful psalm to enter 2013 with. 

I challenge you to write out Psalm 119 and see what you learn.