Vehicles are Frustrating

Vehciles have to be one of the most frustrating things.

David called me and the truck wouldn't start. He had a friend jump it and he made it home. After I arrived home I grabbed a bottle of coke and went out to pour it on the battery. The truck at least wanted to start then.

So David takes the battery out and we head over to Checker - the battery is only 14 months old and we paid for a top of the line battery with a 96 month warranty. (What battery lasts 96 months in Arizona??)

Phil, my new friend at Checker, takes the battery and tests it. Hmmm, the amps look good. Let's check it out on the other tester. Well, it is only 80% charged. Do we want to wait 12 minutes to get it fully charged?

Now at this point I was tempted to say, no we want to have a battery that maybe won't start. What I did say, we'd be happy to wait.

Twelve minutes later, the battery is good. He cleaned off the post thingys. We got home and cleaned off the cable thingys. The truck is starting.

So we spent an hour and a half on something that wasn't broken, just dirty.

I am trying to figure out some deep analogy from this, but it just isn't coming.

My weekend

This past weekend was spent in Prescott at a Women's Tres Dias weekend.

For those who don't know, Tres Dias is a retreat that helps you come to know and love Jesus more. I had the privilege of praying all weekend long. How amazing.

Our team has six wonderful ladies. We were able to pray, laugh, cry, share not only for the ladies who were learning more about how much Jesus loves them but for others and ourselves. While it wasn't physically tough - spiritually is was draining, standing in the gap and praying.

These weekends are great. You get to see the power of God revealed. You get to experience miracles. You feel the great and awesome power of God's love.

Deliverance

Due to being at Tres Dias for a couple of days I am catching up on my SOAPS (more on Tres Dias later).

2 Timothy 4:18 - Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever!! Amen.

Everything we are going through right now - we already have the victory!! We don't need to worry about Jay (God is walking with him through this journey). We don't need to worry about Brian's job and the challenges of becoming recertified. We don't have to worry about our finances.

God will deliver us and bless us with his heavenly Kingdom. Even if we don't get blessed here on earth - what is waiting for us in Heaven is so much greater than anything happening here.

We simply need to trust Him.

Step of Faith

Well, I am about to leave for three plus days. This means leaving three males alone in my house.... Not too sure what I will come back to. Actually I wonder how much of the To Do list they will even think about.

Brian's board approval did not happen as the board meeting was moved to next Wednesday, October 29. We are desperately praying it will go through. The financial benefits will take a HUGE load off. With Christmas coming we could use it. I would imagine West Valley Hospital would be pretty jazzed too.

Through all of this I am learning to trust God more. Letting Him be the supplier of all my needs, and perhaps learning that many of my "needs" are actually "wants".

I love this journey I am on headed to Heaven.

Tagged

Okay, I was tagged twice so I guess I should do this...... Random things about myself that others may or may not know.

1. My family is the most important thing in the world to me after my relationship with Christ. I love being with them, hearing about what is going on in their lives. I miss the days when the children were little. I treasure the times we are together - especially when it is the extended family - I can't wait for Christmas.

2. I am a big baby. I cry at movies, I cry at Home Makeover, I cry during church. Given my career of an accountant it at times seems odd that I cry so easily.

3. I love being out of doors. Someday I would love to live in the mountains, perhaps Colorado or Alaska realistically Crown King.

4. Baseball is a hoot. My favorite us tee ball, just something about watching the little guys play so hard and not care who wins. I love watching David and Jay play. They are such gifted athletes.

5. Pain is a constant in my life. Some days are better, some days are worse. Can't wait til I get to Heaven to get that new body!!

6. Christmas is my favorite holiday. It will be different this year not putting up thousands of lights. It will be a simple Christmas, focusing on the true meaning.

Since everyone I know who blogs (who reads mine) has been tagged - that's all folks!!

Sponges

I am so excited to get away this weekend. Though I will miss the family, the time to just retreat and be with other women and the Lord will be good. It will be a great time of rejuvenation.

Lately I have felt sort of like a dried out old sponge - not really much use since I need to be filled up to be useful. So next week I will be all wet!!

Brian, David and Jay are really going to miss my humor..... more likely having regular meals!!

Children

Scripture says children are a blessing. Right now I am finding children a challenge. They are all at an age where they want to learn everything themselves 16, 18 and 22. They don't want to listen to anyone. Each of them is making their own way, and will have to deal with consequences.

In reality, my parents probably felt the same frustration with me. Knowing I was making some bad choices, but not able to do anything about it.

So, I am learning to keep my mouth shut and to pray more. Pray they will seek wisdom. Pray they will listen to others. Pray God will watch over them.

David and I were chatting yesterday about God not having grandchildren. Each of our children will have their own unique relationship with God, it will not be based on anything Brian or I believe.

Maybe it is the letting go that is the hardest.

Down Time

I am very glad it is Friday. It has been a long month so far. Lots going on, not a lot of down time. And the best part, no plans except for church this weekend!!

Sometimes I wonder why we keep ourselves so busy. Why can't we just relax? But with the economy in a state of flux, people around us making demands of our time, it just doesn't happen.

When we get to Heaven, I think we will get a lot of down time, time just to hang with Jesus. I can't wait.

God is so Good

I was sitting here thinking how good God is. I mean, He is really good.

The past few months have been such a challenge. But, here we are, and there is an end in sight. Brian will be board certified soon (hopefully within a week), Jay is making MUCH better decisions, David's leg is healing, Kara is in a healthy relationship.

More than anything, we are right where God wants us to be. We have each other, we have our church family, we have the ability to serve, we have the joy of the Lord.

If you had asked me if I wanted to experience the past months - definitely NO. But, I am becoming a stronger person, trusting my Jesus so much more. He is shaping me into the person He wants me to be to best glorify Him.

So, I guess it comes down to this - Thank you Lord for allowing me to experience the past few months of storms. Thank you for carrying me through.

Student Ministries Mentors

I love our Mentors in Student Ministries. These people really get it - they understand what it is to be on the front lines, reaching students for Jesus.

Darius and Nicole are doing such an amazing job of shaping Student Ministries into a little taste of Heaven for the students and the Mentors.

For me, it has been such a joy to watch the Mentors. Some have come in on fire and ready to tackle the world. Others come to us totally unsure of what God has called them to do. Through their service they are not only reaching students for Jesus, touching the lives of our students in a positive way - but they themselves are growing more like Jesus.

Tonight at our Mentor's Meeting it was so cool to watch them pray in small groups for our students. Then, to have an extremely intense game of volleyball - Senior High vs Junior High. These people know how to have fun. (Junior High won 26 - 24.)

I wish everyone could experience being part of a team like this.

Zeke

Zeke, our three year old surrogate grandson has been staying with us. Boy, do three year olds have a lot of energy.

This morning he woke up and said - "Good morning, it is time to get up!". Which was even funnier as Brian is NOT a morning person.

After he helped me make some pancakes for breakfast, he informed me he was having cookies for breakfast. The only reason I won, I'm bigger.

It has been great to spend time with him. I have a renewed appreciation for moms of preschoolers. And, I am very glad our own children are almost grown!

Kayla

I really like David's girlfriend Kayla. It is fun to watch the two of them laugh together. It makes me feel good that they both love the Lord.

A Day Closer to Heaven

During the past few months of challenges I have found myself answering the question "How are you" by saying, "I'm one day closer to Heaven."

Last week at Home Team someone asked if this wasn't a cop out. It made me think.

No, I don't think so at all. My purpose as a believer in Christ is to spend eternity worshipping the Creator. Hopefully I will grab a whole bunch of people to take along!!

If we lose sight of Heaven, what are we living for? Yes, somedays it may have been a cop out - I might be tired and hurting and just ready to be with Jesus. But most of the time it is the hope that keeps me going - the knowledge that I get to spend eternity with Jesus.

Prayer Missiles

Most people who know me, know I tend to be a little obsessed with prayer. Over the years I have studied a lot about how to pray, taught classes on how to pray and actually spent time in prayer.

So this morning I read a devotional I receive every morning. It was talking about Prayer Darts. So all day I have been developing this theme in my mind. Why can't we have Prayer Missiles.

A missile is powerful, it is designed for a particular purpose and it has a specific direction.

The evil one cannot stop any prayers we offer up to the throne of grace. So, if I start sending out Prayer Missiles - very specific prayers for a specific purpose and trust the power of God. Watch out!!

So for now, I am going to practice and perfect my new way of praying. I am excited to see how God will be glorified through this.

Whoever says being a Christian is boring - just doesn't get it!!

Finally - a Quiet Weekend

After weeks of storms - the weekend was quiet. Our Home Team had a Fantastic Fun Friday Family Fellowship night on Friday (of course!). It is always good to spend time just hanging with the people we are doing life with.

Saturday we had no major commitments. So Brian and I just got to hang out together and do stuff - like tile the jacuzzi, clean the bathrooms, go look at a furniture store, grab a soda, watch baseball! I love just being with him. Brian is such a man of God. I am so blessed.

I love Sundays - we get to worship together. Then I have the privilege of serving in Student Ministries where so much is going on.

Now, I am ready for another busy week at work and home.

Chance??

This afternoon Larry, our landlord, stopped by my office to pick up a few things they left at the house. We visited, caught up, shared some of what is going on in each other's lives (the cool side of having a Christian landlord!).

I was about to head back up to my office and he asked if I knew anyone looking for a home. One of his other rentals is vacant and he needs good tenants.

Well, our friends Shannon and Konrad are looking for someplace. They need some place in our area, reasonably priced and they wanted good landlords.

So we passed along emails and phone numbers. Hopefully it will work out. Isn't God something else?