Three Carts Full

Yesterday we were blessed. I mean really blessed. We received our assistance card. I know....the Michelle of yester-year would have been mortified. But the Michelle of today was rejoicing and praising God for His blessing. Because to be absolutely honest we were OVER-blessed. Last night we went shopping and had 3 carts full. We decided to stock our pantry and buy meat. We bought quite a bit, but I was glad to see that even though we were not spending "cash out of our pocket" we were responsible and shopped sales and did not buy things we would not normally buy. OK with the exception of a pop tarts and frozen pizzas, that is. But we were glad to get a few special treats for the kids and so thankful to be able to do so. The total bill, you ask? $464.56 I told you we could not spend that much. This morning Greg came and told me that he was thinking what I have been thinking since this "situation" started. He almost felt gluttonous. I told him I did to. And then we talked a bit more about exactly what that meant. Here is what we have come up with - satan is trying to get our minds off being thankful for what God has provided. He is trying to replace our thanksgiving with guilt. Oh how sneaky he is. We decided this morning to continue to praise God for His provision and not to be guilty. To be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us. Not to be frivolous, but to use this blessing to bless others. He will lead us in what that means. Maybe it means inviting more people over for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Maybe it means taking meals to people. Maybe it means all this and more. God will lead us.

Know what is even neater about this whole thing? My DBV for today. Holy cow! Check it out.

A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? – Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

So, we will eat, drink and find work and enjoyment, BECAUSE it is from the hand of God. Oh how my Lord has blessed us. Thank you Father.

Greg's First 2nd Interview and Some Stuff I Was Thinking About

Greg had his first 2nd interview this afternoon. He said he thought it went well (and it lasted over 1 1/2 hours with one person), but he left with them telling him it would be 2-4 weeks before they made their decision. OK. Some positive thoughts, some negative thoughts. Negative first (to get it out of the way): if he was their guy, why would they have to wait out the time? We do know that they just posted the job on some website the day before Greg's first interview with them, so maybe they are waiting to see what comes of the money spent on the website - sounds good, right? So onto the positive: 2-4 weeks gives us time to see what comes of all the other interviewing he has done. And he just "mailed" in (really, via USPS) his resume to GM, and it would be interesting to see what comes of that. So as I continue to sit and ponder, I am so reminded of God's unfailing love and the fact that He continues to have the perfect plan in place for us.

I was walking this morning and I was thinking about how God is really taking care of us (and me especially). Since this whole job losing situation has taken place, I have not been worried, or scared or overly concerned. The day I went to the DHS I was freaked out, but I think that was because I was entering into a huge unknown. And yet, God carried me through that too. I love that I know without a shadow of a doubt that He is the One getting me through. If not for God's loving arms wrapped so snugly around me, I would not be making it. By this I mean that I would (on a good day) be reduced to a messy puddle rocking myself on the floor. My complete "control nature" has been laid down and I am able to say that I am not in Control, but I know Who Is. And I can trust Him - with everything - because all I have and all I am is His. But I just think it is so neat and such a blessing that I am able to see that it is God bringing me through. Even if I wanted to, I could not get myself through this. I need Him. Not just today, and not just in this situation, but ALWAYS - every single day of my life. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

The other thing I am learning through this is summed up nicely in Scripture too. Do everything without complaining or arguing Philippians 2:14 I can choose to complain about the things I do not like (and cannot change) or I can praise the Lord and carry on, waiting patiently for God's timing. Oh, this does not mean that I sit back and do nothing, oh no. I "carry on", which means I keep going. Pressing on. It is certainly not always easy, but no one ever said it would be.

So on another entirely different note - I took my test yesterday for my job (lunch lady) and passed with flying colors. In fact, the lady administering the test told me that they had not had a person score that high in quite a while. Wow! That sure made me feel good. It made me think that my brain IS still working and maybe, just maybe, I do have something to offer. Yes, I do have something to offer. And offer it I will. I have the love of Jesus and I will share it with whomever may happen my way. Praise you Lord.

Overwhelmed by Blessing.....Big Time

This morning I was awakened by the fan (OK - really the Lord) at 2 am. I came out to the couch, put on my ipod and praised the Lord until 2:45. I love that. After that, the day went on and the blessings poured in. It was almost as if God was trying to tell me...."I've got it, Michelle - ALL of it." Let me list out for you what has transpired so far.

- Greg had a phone interview at 8:30 for a job as a Assistant Purchasing Director - to be an apprentice learning from the current director who is leaving. Who knows? But it was neat.
- I received a phone call from the schools saying that my application was accepted for the substitute food service worker and I need to proceed with a personnel test and fingerprinting. So did my mom.
- Greg received a call from Mrs. McGee from the UIA stating that she just released 2 weeks work of unemployment and he can call tomorrow to get another 2 weeks.
- Our case worker at the DHS called and said that everything looks good from her end, and I talked to her about emergency money and she said all was ok (do not want to hear).
- My kids pediatrician takes the medicaid insurance.
- The company in Holt called Greg back for the second interview - Thursday.

Praise God! All of these are not super important - well some are - but God is providing for us from all over the place. I can tell you for sure that resting in God's arms is the ONLY place I want to be - whether it is a valley or a mountaintop - the ONLY place for me!!!!

I was really overwhelmed to the point of tears because of all this. All I want to do is praise the Lord, read my Bible and spend time learning more of God. I have to find a balance in my life with this because I need to be mom to my kids too. As much as I want to I can not spend every waking moment with my nose in my Bible. I don't think that is what God would want me to do either. He has chosen me to be the mother of these kids and I want to honor Him in this job. I also want to be the shepherd of their hearts. I have to find the balance. The good thing is....I know where to go to get the help I need. Straight to the arms of my Father.

Psalm 78

I was reading Psalm 78 this morning, and it really made me think. This psalm re-hashes what God brought the Israelites through and how they kept "forgetting" what He had done for them in the past and focused instead on their current problem. What it made me think was - I do not want to be like this. I do not ever want to forget all God has done for me and I do not want to let the weight of my current situation (whatever it may be at any given time) overwhelm me. God is so far greater than any circumstance I may happen to encounter. HE IS GREATER, period! So Michelle, be constantly reminded of how much God loves you, of how much He has already done for you and keep your eyes fixed on Him. (Just a note to myself)

Rejoice always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Jadyn's Poolside Accident

Birthday party day today. Over 40 people at the pool to celebrate Jadyn, Grace and Seth's birthdays. At about 10 minutes to 4pm, Jadyn slipped and fell and hit her head (face?) on the concrete. We saw her and I jumped out of the pool and so did a couple of other people (who I cannot name because my brain is blank on a lot of what happened). When I got to her, she was trying to cry but could not. I tried to blow in her face to get her to catch her breath but she did not. She was turning blue and I was trying to get her to respond to me. Her eyes crossed, rolled back and she went limp in my arms. I was terrified. I yelled for someone to call 911 because she was not breathing. I remember my dad and Carolyn running over and Greg turned Jadyn over and my dad hit her on the back. Finally, she responded but was very out of it. Greg said we were taking her to the hospital, so I grabbed her and started to the van. Forget that I was in my bathing suit, dripping wet - I was going. Greg went and got dressed and I walked to the van. My mom and Carolyn followed me out and told me they would hold her while I went to get dressed. So I went to get dressed but my head was spinning so much I was getting dizzy. I was able to get half dressed (one shirt on and shorts on but not done up) as I ran out the door. While I was in the house, mom and Carolyn dressed Jadyn. We started on our way - not yet knowing what hospital to go to. We only knew we were not going to the one here because they can never do anything to help kids. We were heading towards 96 when Greg realized that he had no gas. Suffice it to say that he was nervous and panicky, and drove like an extreme crazy man. I tried to tell him it would do us no good to have none of us make it to the hospital. All through the ride to the hospital Jadyn was kind of zoning in and out, and was really tired and wanted to go to sleep. We finally made it to the hospital and as soon as I walked in holding Jadyn, she started screaming. I think she was really scared of what WAS going to happen to her, never mind what she had already gone through. After close to 2 hours, it was decided that she was fine to take home and that we would monitor her closely for the next couple of days, returning if there were any problems. We will continue to pray God's protection over her - that He would keep her safe and free from any side effects.

When I yelled that Jadyn was not breathing, I scared Grace. She immediately went into hysterics. From what I heard, she "cried into Tom" for a good while. Later she was laying with my mom and told her that she "would rather die than have her sister die". I think she was thinking this because of what I yelled. I am so in awe of the heart of this girl. She is the most kind and compassionate kid I have ever met. Her love for her family is amazing. Countless times she has chosen something (that was supposed to be for herself) based on what she thinks her brother (Jacob) might like. Unbelievable. What an example of the selfless love of Christ. Someday I would love to be like this girl. I am so proud of her.

A Job for Me?

So I went and applied for the job. It went easy enough, despite that I had to take a math test with all four of my kids climbing over me. I am thinking that unless they have hundreds of people applying, I just might get the substitute job I am looking for. Now I am leary about it - mostly leary about having to leave my youngest kiddos. I never really wanted to work until they were in school, but as I stated earlier maybe this is what I am supposed to do to get my foot in the door. Maybe. I guess we will see.

Greg had 2 interviews - the first he was ready to leave as soon as he got there, as it reminded him of another place he had worked. He tried to be arrogant in what he was saying and it ended him up being more liked than disliked. Oops. The second one went great until the second to last question, which was how he was in Excel. Well, they found his weak spot. But I told him that this was good, because he was able to speak to his weakness and then go and focus on it. He is signing up to take an Excel class, and has started an Excel tutorial. I think he will do great in it.

Scott and his family and Steve all came down tonight and we all had a big family dinner for Grandpa's birthday. 17 of us and 1 in the hopper (Katie), and Carolyn and Shelbi showed up. After dinner we went out to the pool and the "games" began. Us big kids played a few weird ball and jumping games, then moved onto the tubing raft that had its cover peeled off. I know that none of this makes sense to you, but I will read this and smile. We also finally had our nighttime swim - with the color changing lights. The kids love that - I do to. About 9:45 we came in, showered, played dominoes and had malts.

At one point tonight, Grace came up to me with Grandma's IPOD in her hands. She said to me: "Mom, I was just listening to some worship music and was praising the Lord. Listening to this music really reminds me of how much I love the Lord. I am glad I am at Grandma and Grandpa's house." Oh, how this makes a mom's heart swell. I am so proud of her and so in love with HER Lord. Thank you Lord.

I never would choose to be without a job, but I am honestly excited to see where God is leading us! This is such an uncertain time, but I know that God has an amazing plan in store for us and He loves us so much and can't wait to show us. I know. I can't wait for Him to show us either, but I will. Wait, that is.....for His time.

August 20, 2010

Today is Grandpa's birthday!

I knew I should have blogged last night while things "seemed" really good. Things are still good, but not what we originally thought. So here it is.....

Yesterday Greg had an interview in Holt. He interviewed first with an HR representative, who told him they had been looking for a long time for this position and he was the first one who fit the job. Then he interviewed with the manager who after about 15 minutes said that he would be perfect. Then they asked him to sit in the lobby for a few minutes. They wanted him to interview with the director next. Well, as it turned out, the director was not there. So they asked him if he could come back. He was obviously disappointed as the interview had seemed to go so well up to this point, but told them he would come back. They asked if he could come back "tomorrow" (which is today) and he told them he had to be honest and that he had 2 other interviews today. But they could call him when they wanted to talk to him and he would drive in.

My first thought? GREAT! Here is God's Hand all over this. If you had talked to that person, maybe you would have been their person and been offered the job. But you had not even seen what these other interviews may have been. So, this person was not there to give you a chance to see what else is there - and to trust God's plan for you. Take time and be patient.

Then the devil tried to push in. Well.....maybe this was just a blowoff. Maybe they wanted to get rid of you and this is how they did it. Geez - this doesn't make sense. Then I talked to Greg's sister Alicia and she told me "Michelle, if they did not want him there they would have just let him go. They would not have asked him to come back." I guess she is right. But, for now and always, I will trust in the Lord.

Right now, Greg is on his way to Temperance (by Ohio) for another interview. And later this afternoon, he has another interview via the phone. On Monday, he has another interview - this one is in Auburn Hills. God has certainly been blessing us in the interview department. Maybe a job will come from one of these. Or maybe these are practices for what is to come. Whatever the case, we will praise the Lord and carry on.

Now for what went from good to not-so-good. The unemployment. Yesterday we got a re-determination letter in the mail. We thought this was the "approval". But it is not. It just says we "can" get the benefits. Greg's case is still being adjudicated because for whatever reason (uh-huh), he was coded as a "voluntary quit" - which we all know is totally false. Oh well, praise the Lord and carry on, right? ABSOLUTELY. It will come when it is supposed to.

I also turned in additional paperwork to the DHS yesterday to continue with the filing of our claim there. This morning I was very confused again as to whether or not we should actually be filing the claim. I prayed about it, then talked to Greg. Greg said that it would be much easier to call them and say "We got a job", than to wait for the claim to be filed. I guess that is true. I just want to do what is right and I do not want to take benefits away from someone who needs them more than I do. Ugh. This is such a difficult thing.

I have to go shower now. I am going to apply for a job today. Substitute food service worker at the schools. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? Here's my thought pattern. Lunch lady is my dream job - work only when the kids are at school, have all the same days off as the kids, home before they get home. So, if I can get my foot in the door now as a substitute, by the time Grant is in school I should (maybe) be able to get a position doing my dream job. I think it is neat and hilarious all at the same time. I truly think that this is a gift from God that just yesterday in the paper there was a call for these substitutes. Things that make you go hmmmmm? Nope - thank you Lord for providing in advance. I love that God loves me so much to give me a gift like this. And that is just what I think it is - a gift.

Stand in Awe of God

So the day is progressing. I have since left and went to the bread store with my mom, Krystel and Grant. We left Jacob, Grace, Jadyn, Spencer and Seth here with Greg, who was on an interview phone call (in the basement - his new office). Upon returning home, Greg told me that he had scheduled 3 more interviews while I was gone (about an hour). Ecclesiastes 5 tells us to stand in awe of God. I am more than in awe. I am flabbergasted. How God works is beyond me, but I love it and am excited to see what happens next. Thank you Lord.

Hatred Makes the Devil Happy, Michelle

I AM SO ANGRY! I hate the devil. I mean, I REALLY HATE him (insert angry eyes and spitting words) - kind of like you would picture him saying about me and my God. He is really trying to bring us down. And honestly, sometimes he is successful. This morning Greg and I set the alarm so that we could get back into a "good routine" of getting into God's Presence and exercising first thing in the morning - instead of wasting the day away in bed. As I sat this morning and read Our Daily Bread, I was so pleased to see the topic was "Ruts and Routines", which talked about setting specific times to pray, praise God, and listen for His voice. Then I read this verse:

Psalm 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Isn't that awesome? Especially on THIS morning....kind of our "re-commitment" morning. So my walk/run went well, praising the Lord all the way. I came in and told Greg that I decided that I would wait patiently for the Lord's timing. A very short while later Greg called unemployment to check to see if the letter Lear said they sent had arrived. According to the lady Greg talked to, they had not. Of course they hadn't. Trying real hard not to be angry, I kept telling Greg to talk nicely - he wouldn't get anywhere getting angry with a person who had no control over the situation. Remember you are a CHRISTian. With every word you say - you are to be like Jesus. Greg was beyond frustrated and the words I was saying were something like - Jesus said to forgive 70 times 7 - not just one or two or three times. We have to be patient. All the while I was saying this I could feel my anger brewing. I mean seething, hateful, raging anger. Then it came out in tears and swearing. Thankfully my bad words were directed at the devil, but then that just served to make him happier. I am losing this battle. Jesus......I need you to take control - take it ALL!!! Please. Greg was standing there and he told me it was OK to be sad. I told him that I was not sad, I was p@#$ed. I was so angry that we decided to get back in to the routine of starting in God's Presence and at the very first moment the stinking rotten slimy jerk of the devil stuck his disgusting fungus-filled foot in my business. And I am mad! IN THE PRECIOUS NAME AND BLOOD OF MY RISEN LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.....I COMMAND THAT YOU GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, OUT OF MY LIFE, OUT OF MY HEAD. YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE. YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE. YOU MUST RUN, FLEE, LEAVE. NOW!

I am committed to the Lord and I have decided to wait patiently for His perfect timing. I know that His timing is not always mine, and His way is not always mine. But I also know that HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT - no matter how I feel.

Lord, please forgive my anger and my angry outburst. This did not glorify You in the least. I am sorry. I bring before you the issue of unemployment insurance. I pray in Jesus Name that you would bring resolution to this problem. Please work in the hearts and systems of each person that needs to do something. And Lord, please show us what we can do to help other people who may end up in this type of situation, because this is so wrong on so many levels. But Lord we continue to entrust our lives, hearts and souls to your very hand, your strong mighty hand. Lord, I love you. Thank you in advance for what you have planned for this very day. Praise you.

Some Musing

Here is how I am struggling. I know that God is in control of EVERYTHING. I know this with absolute certainty. I trust Him completely. I know that His plan (whatever it is) is way better than I could ever think or imagine. I know all this in my heart. But it is my head that I am struggling with. My head keeps telling me that I need to "do something", although I do not know what that may be. I mean, pray for sure, but other than that......? Sometimes all I want to do is sit and read my Bible. Then the kids ask me why I am reading so much. I have to say I am waiting on God. OK, this last part I just made up, but that WOULD BE what would happen if I sat as long as I wanted to and read the Bible. I so love God! I love that He is working wildly in my life. I just want to be receptive and responsive to His call and His leading in my life. I do not want to sit like a sloth and let His blessing pass me by. I do not. I was asking for this blessing. I am ready to receive, or am I? Only God knows the answer to this question. I think I might try prayer walking with my new friend Karen next Saturday. Maybe God can use me there. I want Him to use this situation for His glory. Be glorified, Glorious One, be glorified.

A Friend Named Rozalyn

Today I met a neat lady. Her name is Rozalyn. She is a preacher's wife and an excellent upholsterer. But wait - let me start from the beginning.

Last night I did not sleep well. Some time during the night I was awakened to Greg yelling "Satan!" and then murmuring something else. I woke him up and asked him what he was dreaming about. He told me that he was somewhere with the kids and there was another kid that had satan in him and Greg was calling him out of the kid and trying to get him into himself. He said he figured he could jump off a cliff if he got satan into himself - trying to save the kids. Woah. Then when I woke up I had a heavy feeling of "yuk". The words I kept thinking were spiritual warfare. I decided to go for a walk to try and clear my head. After I got back from the walk I got a phone call from a new friend from church asking me if I wanted to meet up at the church and talk/pray. I jumped at the chance given all I had been feeling. At noon I met Karen and we went to pick up some cushions for the prayer room that she is setting up at the church. That is how I ended up at Rozalyn's house.

We entered into Rozalyn's house and I really didn't pay much attention to my surroundings. That is, until we got to the basement. As soon as we got to the bottom of the stairs, it was as if I was transported to another place. She had an entire upholstery shop set up in her basement - it was so cool!! So for a few moments we ooohhh'd and aaahhh'd over her stuff and then over her ability and the cushions she made. But then we got to the good stuff. We started talking, and the conversation was focused on spiritual warfare. Oh my goodness! I was supposed to be here at this moment. Isn't it cool how God works EVERYTHING out for His good purpose? I so love Him for that!! And Rozalyn is a woman of God. She had quite a bit to say that I needed to hear. In fact, Karen and I left there promising Rozalyn that we would get together with her again real soon to talk some more. I am so excited to talk with her some more!!! It is so neat how God places specific people in your life at just the perfect time for whatever the situation.

As we were leaving though, I noticed the upstairs of Rozalyn's house. It was filled with beautiful, ornate furniture that she had upholstered herself. It was beautiful. I told Karen I wanted to sit on one of Rozalyn's beautiful couches, sip coffee, and talk with her. I look forward to going back - real soon!

From the Couch in Oscoda

I am sitting here on the couch with Greg in our cabin in Oscoda. I decided to check my email and read the following from my DBV. Have I told you how much I love my DBV?

(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them. – Deuteronomy 1:2-3

Doesn't seem like much as first glance, does it? Well, read onto the commentary and see what I saw.

Commentary: The irony in this passage can be easily missed. What is the difference between eleven days and forty years? Faith toward God and his promises. The Israelites continually refused to trust God in the wilderness; therefore God knew that they would not lean on Him in the Promised Land. Therefore He had to raise up another generation who would obey Him in lack and therefore follow Him in abundance. Are we willing to listen and obey our Lord? It can mean the difference between eleven days and forty years!

I read it out loud to Greg like this: Faith toward God and his promises. GREG continually refused to trust God in the VALLEY; therefore God knew that HE would not lean on Him in the NEW JOB. Therefore He had to raise up another generation who would obey Him in lack and therefore follow Him in abundance. Are YOU willing to listen and obey our Lord? It can mean the difference between eleven days and forty years!

Meaning (to me) that we are in this valley to learn to lean on God - and God alone - instead of leaning on ourselves. How can God trust us to continue to lean on Him once we have the new job, until we prove that we trust Him in the "lack" of a job? I said I would prefer the 11 days to the 40 years, please.

BTW - we are enjoying our time in Oscoda.

Another Great Day

I took the kids to VBS today. Greg has been taking them the last few days, so it was my turn. I ended up talking with a new friend for almost 2 hours. I think it is so neat how God has friendships already lined up for us, even before we are thinking about them. After we talked, we spent some time praying for each other. It was a very nice time - so glad I went. This afternoon we went to the pool and spent some time with an old friend who had recently gotten out of prison. It was interesting to listen to his stories and see how he drew closer to God through this time. After that we came home and got ready for out dinner guests. We invited George over for dinner. George is from Poland and runs a camp for kids of all ages in northern Poland. He is married to a Canadian woman and they spend their time between Poland and Canada. While I invited him to dinner, I thought it would be neat to invite Greg's parents who are Polish and Canadian also. Only Greg's dad came, but it was such a neat time. To listen to them talk, to listen to them sing together in Polish and then to hear George talk to Greg's dad about Jesus and the anticipation and joy of His return....and how he won't want to miss out. Oh Praise the Lord, it was so neat. I keep saying neat......I had a great day. Thank you Lord. Greg has an interview tomorrow and got another call today from a "military contractor" company. From what he heard, it sounds good too. I love how God is providing even in this. Each day that Greg doesn't work is another punch in the gut for him, but when he gets these phone calls and emails, it really perks him up. I read this in my DBV today:

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. – Romans 4:19-21
Commentary: Abraham looked squarely at the facts yet did not waver in his view of the future. So many times we either do not face the reality of the situation we are in and go into a blind optimism, or we get so caught up in our current situation that we become a pessimist. But God has the power to deliver us and Abraham stands as a witness on how to believe God in the midst of our life situations.

Then I talked to Greg about it. I reminded him (and secretly myself) that we are not to waver in our faith. We get the gravity of our situation (so we are not hiding our heads in the sand), and we are not (most of the time) becoming pessimistic. Well, I was going to say that one of us has a tendency to get pessimistic and one of us doesn't, but I think the truth is one of us gets pessimistic and the other one gets crabby when things don't go HER way. If you know what I mean. Let me clarify....I am really fully trusting God. But when I think something will come through for us (according to what I think is the "right" way) and it doesn't, I get crabby. Not intentionally, but I do. Then I have to get myself in check real quick like because I keep thinking about my witness through all this. I want God to be glorified by how I respond to this whole situation and yet I know I am human and therefore subject to some human emotion. So, while I get frustrated, I must constantly remind myself to praise the Lord and carry on. But back to the verse above. While I was talking to Greg about this I told him he was like Abraham. He knew God's promise for him, but the path was unsure. In fact, the path did not even make sense. He just had to TRUST!! Then I thought about it and told Greg that actually his nickname had to Abram....the name before the faith. He needs to hold tight to God's promise and follow wherever He leads him. We all do.

I had a great day today. I think I will retire to bed and pray for my husband's interview tomorrow. My prayer that is if this is God's will......it will be easily done, and if it is not.....we praise the Lord and carry on. The right one will come at just the right time. That is how God works. And I love Him for it.

And I got a lovely card in the mail today. It was full of encouraging words and money. Extremely thoughtful. I think the kids are going out for ice cream. Yeah, they are. Thanks MFU, from YFN.

Just Thoughts

So much is swirling in my head right now.

- Chase Bank hates us and the feeling is mutual.
- You know......no job.
- Which also means no insurance.
- Waiting to hear about unemployment.
- The letter.
- I invited someone to lunch and now Greg's parents and Greg will not even be here for the lunch.

Let me tell you about this lunch thing. My kids are in VBS this week at our new church (BCC). A missionary from Poland is here and has talked a bit with the kids (at least he did yesterday). So I went over to him and introduced myself to him and he was trying to teach me to say some things in Polish. We had a nice conversation in which he told me he was really from Poland, his wife was from Canada and his son was American. What was going through my head was....Greg's dad is Polish, Greg's mom is Canadian and Greg is American. Well....Greg's dad is really American too, but he is Polish-American. This guy was so neat to talk to, I immediately thought I would invite him for lunch and invite Greg's parents too. So I invited him, but now Greg's parents can't (or won't) come. I am sad about that. It would have been a nice visit. I pictured Greg's dad and George singing Polish songs together. Oh well. Praise the Lord, and carry on. I hate the devil! I hate that he has any power at all. I can not wait until Christ returns and the devil gets his.

Despite all the things that are swirling......"He put a new song in my mouth..."(Psalm 40) and Now all I want to do is praise Him. Praise you God Almighty.