Air conditioners and toilets

Well, today has been odd and a little frustrating under normal circumstances, but I have not been stressed. That can only be God. I have had to clean out the filters in the air conditioners....and I'm hoping that will stop some of the condensation...in my bedroom. I don't know why, but it started leaking...hopefully this helps.

And I'm convinced that the kids put something foreign in the toilet. I have used the plunger COUNTLESS times today, and I can't get it to go down. Every time they go in there, I feel like the pottie patrol, running to say "Don't flush!!" I'm not sure what they have in there, but it is affecting all the drains in that end of the house...okay, so those are the only drains we have, but still....when you flush or when the washer fills up or when you brush your teeth, other drains gurgle. That didn't happen before.... SOOOO that leads me to believe that one of my aspiring plumbers have fiddled a little too creatively.

Hopefully after Chad gets home today, he can help me out. He called earlier, and I asked him to look at it all when he got home. He said that he would. He surely will either know what to do or be a stronger plunger than I am.

We're not missing a hamster, so I know that can't be what is plugging things up...we aren't missing anything that I know of yet...but Gabriel is getting ornerier and ornerier with each passing day. He could have been sneaky and gotten something in there before any of my other informants could have seen. Drew may not have told me, but Evan and Luke DEFINITELY wouldn't pass up the chance to rat out someone else!

Hopefully things will all get settled this evening, and I won't be afraid to use the sinks and toilets and shower and washer....you can imagine how the day has come to a screeching halt when there are 5 people (4 of which are little boys) that aren't allowed to do much with water....I'm just trying to make sure the problem isn't a big one before I continue with the everyday....

An odd experience...

Have you ever gone to do something that you didn't really want to do because of a circumstance? Like, say you wanted to go on a date with your guy, but didn't want to go on a group date, but because it was with your guy you went anyway? Well, today I had an odd experience. Even though God has shown me much peace in the past few days, I am also still very uncomfortable about one tiny little aspect. I have no real reason to be worried but I do. I am trying to give it to God so that I can rest in the assurance that He is in control and that I don't need to worry....consider the lilies of the field...sometimes that is more easily said than done.

Anyway, things are slowly progressing and feeling better each day.
My one caution: Take NOTHING for granted. Set your priorities according to God's will for your life. Then don't only set them straight but ABIDE by them. In other words, don't just talk the talk...walk the walk.

Share your odd experience with me if you get the chance! I'd love to know I'm not the only one out there!

Isaiah 54:10

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Show me who I am, Lord. Reveal Your peace in my life. Amen...

Isaiah 26:3

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Show me who I am, God. Amen.

John 14:27

I have no idea where to begin, but I know that I have to get this out...

I can't stand the unknown. It will drive you insane. And I've given the advice a million times to others..."What can it do to worry about it?"..."God is in control"....but when you're in the middle of it and you don't know which end is up, it's really difficult to find the peace we're promised. My favorite verse is John 14:27. It has been for about 10 years...but it's also a hard one to accept...when you are engulfed in turmoil.

The lyrics that keep coming to my head are whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say "It is well. It is well with my soul." I realize that the lyrics don't say whatever my lot, Thou makes it easy to say "It is well with my soul." Maybe that should be my focus today.

Maybe that's the key...at least for this one-day-at-a-time-day like today.

God, continue to give me the gentle, quiet spirit. Continue to pour out Your strength. Mine is insufficient. Your grace is supposed to be enough....help me to feel like it is and believe that it is. Whatever comes my way, help me to be able to stand firm and say that because of YOU, it IS well with my soul...Help me to feel Your peace. I want to find my comfort in You.

What goes up...must come...

Well, it's been a rough two days. I'm not sure what it was that changed it all, but it has been rough, nonetheless.

It's probably going to be one of those things where you have 1 giant step forward and 2 steps back. Who knows? I want to depend on God more right now. I want to be renewed in Him.

God, see me through this. That's my prayer today. Help me to have that gentle, quiet spirit and see me through it. Amen.

Not so scary today.

Praise God, today was a much better day today. God just knows what we need and when we need it....(Can I get an Amen???)

Starting a new chapter

Well, those of you who know me really well, know what has me so worried these days. It's a tough road and I want to be angry and sour. I want to skip it. Fast forward my life until it gets better...like in "Click" the movie with Adam Sandler...but that is just not possible. So I need some prayer. My life has been turned upside down and I feel so robbed. I find myself saying if I wasn't so naive or if I had only known earlier before it got to this point...you know? I just don't understand it. I don't know what I have done to make my life this way. It's like if I would have known I would change it all. I don't like this part of my life. Haven't I dealt with enough? My husband has a devastating blow to the head last summer, my kids have had countless misfortunes and accidents, we have been through financial trouble after financial trouble, it just never ends.

Satan, haven't you learned that I won't give in to you? Notice I said that I wanted to be angry and sour and that I wanted to be upset. But then notice this:

YOU WILL NOT WIN.
WITH GOD'S HELP,
I WILL FOLLOW HIM
NO MATTER WHAT!

So as this new chapter of my life comes, I covet your prayers and I pray for God's guidance and wisdom. It's going to be a long, hard, painful trip, but God will carry me through.

Facing adversity? Well...me too...this is from a friend

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you - depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring. Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways." Proverbs 20:30

2. God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? "When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience." James 1:2-3

3. God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something...health, money, a relationship... by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws." Psalm 119:71-72

4. God uses problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem - but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good... Genesis 50:20

5. God uses problems to PERFECT you. Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity. "We can rejoice when we run into problems... they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady." Romans 5:3-4

Here's the point: God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.