He Continues to Provide

Sorry it has been long between posts.... there is not much to report, but I can still attest to God's faithfulness! We have not missed a meal, we have not been in danger of losing our home, we have health insurance, we are warm enough (especially a blessing on this icy day!)... simply miraculous. The numbers don't add up, so we must give credit to God.

Of course, I have been down more than usual lately... this season makes us struggle to remain content. Everywhere we look there are holidays ads that just flaunt what we lack in our faces. So, just pray for us if you think of us. Mark has had more job leads this week so we remain hopeful. We continue to ask God to open the doors He wants us to walk through. If it is not yet time for us to be released from this trial, pray that we will be pliable in His hands so that He may work in us whatever He sees are are still lacking. And... if that is the case, we need His peace to accept that it is not yet time!

Thanksgiving

Recently, I was corresponding with a friend who also has been going through difficult financial times, and she really got me thinking. She mentioned how a sink of dirty dishes means that you had food to eat. And, that housework means that you have a home to clean. Laundry, means you have clothes to wear, etc., etc. Due to her wise words, I've found myself being thankful for tasks I used to dread.

Our circumstances have also made me thankful every time we sit down to another meal on the table and for other simple pleasures I took for granted before.

I'm thankful for my husband who is doing all he can to find a way to provide for us.
I'm thankful for my children, who make every day brighter.
I'm thankful for our parents who have helped us so much the last several months... we wouldn't have made it this far without you.
I'm thankful for our extended family, who also pray for us.
I'm thankful for a church family, who supports us and prays for us.
I'm thankful for....
our home; small and modest, but cozy and warm....
warm coats...
blankets that make cool nights toasty....
furniture polish...
cleaners that make my home clean and bright...
spices that make simple food taste good...
the Word, which sustains me....
Prayer, the privilege that it is...
NO satellite TV; I'm discovering how glad I am to be free from the immorality flaunted before us on it...
learning new ways to save money....

I'm thankful that I don't have to worry about anything, but rather give everything over to God on a daily basis.

Most of all, I'm thankful to Jesus, Who changed my life.

Consider It All Joy

Could I ask you to just really keep us and Mark's job search in your prayers this week? I also applied for a job that I'm waiting to hear about (though should've heard by now, so probably didn't get it) And maybe, if the Lord bring us to mind from time to time during your days, you could just stop for a moment and say a little prayer... He might be bringing us to mind for a reason. Plus, I am just feeling a burden to ask our friends pray for us this week! Please ask the Lord to direct us and to open the doors He wants us to walk through. Please pray for peace, endurance and wisdom and for Him to show us some way that we can provide for ourselves, however that might be. It is hard and humbling to keep accepting help from friends and we just really want to be able to care for our family ourselves. It is becoming more and more difficult to not be impatient!

More of God's blessings... our car needed more repairs, and the payment previously arranged before we knew we'd need it (through Mark bartering work). We needed some things at WalMart, but I was putting off purchasing... God provided through a friend's misplaced gift card... she then found but too late for the original purpose so she passed it on to us. Thank You, Lord.

God's been bringing James 1 to mind a lot lately.... I memorized it in the NAS years ago, but today looked it up in The Message (a paraphrase). I enjoyed the way the author chose to word it:

Consider it a sheer gift, friends,
when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.
You know that under pressure,
your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.
So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.
Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father.
He loves to help.
You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it.
Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.

~*~

Learn to Nestle Rather than Wrestle

I know today’s entry is long, but since today is the 5-month mark for us, I felt it was appropriate to share things how God has ministered to me during this time. So, I wrote a sort of “essay” about the spiritual lessons of the last 5 months. I hope that it might encourage some who are struggling .

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It has now been five months since Mark’s job loss. We’ve had our share of pain, fears, depression and struggles. But God, our Faithful Father, is bigger than all of that. As He leads us through each obstacle, He makes us a bit stronger and has grown the roots of our faith a little bit deeper. I cannot tell you what a Miracle Worker He is.

It takes trials to see miracles. And the trials are worth it all to see Him work in a new and profound way. Oh, may He be praised over and over again in the depth of our hearts for all He has done and for Who He is.

“… I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Phil. 4:11-13

Have you ever thought about the fact that contentment is something to be learned? To learn something, you probably have to spend time in situations you would not choose. Mark and I have found this season of unemployment to be God’s greatest classroom. At the beginning of this whole situation, I had faith that God would take care of us, but I was still scared, and I know my faith hadn’t fully sprouted its wings! For me, the thing that unknotted my stomach and caused my faith to take flight was that simple little dollar-cross tucked in my son’s lost wallet (look in the June archives to find that story). I believe God sent that tangible sign to me to say, “Look… I’m watching over your money and I’m taking care of you and your family. Trust Me.” That little cross reminded me to take my focus off of money (or lack of!) and put the cross in its place.

“Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.”

One day I was studying Psalm 56, and I noticed that the word afraid was always juxtaposed with trust in that passage. David seems to be showing us that trust in God is the antidote to fear.

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.

In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.

In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

When we learn to nestle rather than wrestle with God, the contented sighs will come rather than the fears and complaints over our circumstances. There is only one place where lasting contentment comes from and that is through a relationship with God. I must run to Him when I am afraid. I must trust His decisions when He takes something away from us. We CAN learn the secret of getting along with humble means and suffering need. We learn to say, “It is enough just to KNOW YOU better, Lord!”

I love following the LORD, don't you? You never know what each day will hold, but one thing is certain, we are assuredly in His grip. I love trusting in Him. It's not that I don't experience the varying emotions that come with our circumstances. The difference is, when the worries of this world start to wash over me, I run to His arms. Sometimes I am panting to get there, but He never fails to give me peace and strength when I nestle rather than wrestle.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

He Cares... Always!

I was out of several cleaning supplies so was using Windex or bleach for a replacement for many kinds of cleaners. That was fine, and I didn't even think to pray about it until I noticed my laundry detergent was running low, and then I just said, "I know You see that....!"

Anyway, a dear woman called a few days ago asking if it was okay if she dropped by for a few minutes... and when she got here she had a box of cleaning products. She said God had laid it on her heart to bring them!

He even cares about furniture polish and laundry detergent!