The miracles haven't stopped yet...Yea!!

Well, what a change today has been from the rest of the week. And to think -- God knew it was coming all along. (insert sighs of relief repeatedly here)

I will mostly be posting some pics from our day and let you decide what kind of day it was. I will, however, give you a brief introduction.

The day started out with Jacob and me going to Men's breakfast at church. Now, just the breakfast alone would've been worth getting up for, which comes from Weck's. Bacon, Eggs, Hashbrowns, Tortillas and Green Chile sauce...mmmmmmmm! Ok, ok.

So the better part of the breakfast was actually being reminded from pastor that we men are to be warriors and we have a battle to fight, we have weapons to fight with and we are not alone in the fight. The reminder that we are not alone was the best part for me. Then we broke into "huddles" and answered 2 questions with each other. 1. What battles have you been facing this week? and 2. How can your "Band of Brothers" help you face those battles?"

Well, if that wasn't an open invitation to share, I don't know what is. So I did. Just getting it off of my chest was a huge relief, but that's not all. One of our elders was at the table and it hit him why God had put a certain passage in 1 Samuel on his heart this morning. Short story (ha ha) is that God wanted him to give my family and me a gift. He paid for me to take the family to a fun center for a great day! Two other guys helped as well. Then later today, we received two other gifts. Oh my!

Now, I will say that seeing God move that way was simply awesome. But, even more than that, I now have 4 other men, in my church, who know exactly where I'm at, love me anyway and are there to see us through this battle. They were so encouraging!

Now here is the fun we had today. Enjoy these life-enhancing photos of my beautiful family having a totally fun-filled day.

What a fun family!!

I climbed this 30' rock wall too, and I'll try to post a short video later.

How many hole-in-one's did I have?

Ms. LPGA

Mr. Nascar

What a cutie!

Get a load of that laughing face. He had a blast!

Wifey -Poo's Perspective

We have indeed learned so much this week...actually, make that THE PAST TWO YEARS!!

Example: We, as a family, shared some good times together over a meal or going on a walk this week that were totally FREE. Yesterday I was in bed with a summer cold (that's code for "Sick because of too much stress"), and my precious rugrats took such good care of me- taking my temperature, laying in bed with me, actually letting me take a 2 hr. nap, which I NEVER do.



I know money isn't everything. I've always known that. But let me tell you, it sure is fun when you have it!! This morning the kids and I headed out to get the remainder of their school supplies. They had a blast picking out folders, binders, ziploc bags. The list is rather ridiculous. When we were in school, didn't we just take like a pack of pencils, Big Chief notepad, and some Kleenex?? Today, as I scanned the list before me I thought, "I am NOT spending $20 on 7 canisters of Clorox Disinfectant Wipes for three kids!!! Germs are good for them! And 5 bottles of Purell?!? You're out of your mind!!" I personally saw how many items went unopened at the end of last year in their classrooms. What are these teachers doing? Taking them home for personal use? Breeeeeaaaathe.

Ok, so we got what I deemed necessary, and $96 later (and this, even after they all went to the "Backpack Giveaway" at church last month), my kids were all smiles, like kids should be when they get a bunch of goodies.

Next we were off to the grocery store. Please understand that I am just one of those moms who dreads shopping with other humans around me. Call me rude and uncaring, but I love to shop totally alone. I'm a loner and I don't apologize. Grocery shopping energizes me...if I'm alone. Get the pic? Ok, but I decided to make a little sacrifice and let my kids "help" me.

Guess what?? They actually helped me! Yes, I forgot some of the items on my list, but we all got out of there without crying or yelling at eachother. In fact, as in our school supply adventure, we all walked out with smiles on our faces.
This isn't even half of what we came home with, but just seeing what's right here makes my heart grateful for a good God who knows what it takes to live.
Mind you, this doesn't mean that I want to shop with the whole fam every two weeks, but since I had to, I sure am glad it was a pleasant experience...AND that God was so good to provide the means to BUY the things we needed. He truly does supply aaaaaaaalllll of our needs.

Perspective

per·spec·tive - the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc.

I gained a new perspective on our situation this afternoon and just thought I'd share it with you. We've been in quite a glum condition this week and holding out hope that God would come through for us. To put it bluntly, I am in a job that simply does not pay enough to meet our needs. I have been trying for some time to find a better paying job, but nothing has worked out. God knows why and I don't have to know right now.

It was so bad this week that I didn't even have the $6.00 to take the bus to and from work. I stayed home. And don't even ask if we had enough gas for me to drive to Santa Fe and back. Ha!

Anyway, that is not why I am writing. Tomorrow is payday, and it is the payday from which the rent money is supposed to come. However this check won't cover it, let alone putting gas in the vehicles, finish getting school supplies, oh and groceries. You know, the basics of life. :) But, God knows our needs, and he promises to take care of us and meet our needs. He also says in that we are not to worry about food or clothing, because if He can take care of flowers and the birds, how much more will He care for us! I know, easier said that done...believe me!

Well as I was on my way home tonight, of course pondering all of these things, (pondering sounds really spiritual, huh? Like "and Mary pondered all of these things in her heart...") Sorry. Anyway, I was pondering on my way home this evening when I realized that at least one miracle that I hadn't even been looking for had just taken place. God got us through this week! I've been looking for money from heaven (no, not manna, money) and for it to be in buckets. But, just like when He provided manna for the Israelites in the wilderness, He provides just enough of what we need. We didn't need the buckets of money...yet.

Now, our due date for the rent is the 1st, and it's not late until after the 3rd, so in reality, God still has that long to provide the rest of what we need. Isn't He good? He let us do without what we thought we needed this week - just enough - and it drew us closer to Him, and each other for that matter. Then, we get just a bit of relief by Him giving us a hint of His perspective.

What is it that you need His perspective on?

They're all signed up!

Yesterday was "Meet the Teacher" day at school. Jarrod and I took our three little munchkins and got them all signed up and ready for another year of school.
The funny thing is that the school is so small they don't actually need to MEET the teacher, just find the room they will go to come September 2nd.
Jacob and Anna Mary will be IN THE SAME CLASS this year! They are in a multi-age classroom (4th and 5th grades). I am really excited, the more I've learned about the benefits of two grades together. I'd be glad to share my findings on this, if you ask; otherwise, I won't bore you with the details here.
Caleb is going into 2nd grade, and has a new teacher, who is coming from a local Christian Academy, so I'm thrilled with that news!! She will teach them music every day!!!! As a music teacher myself, this thrills my soul, and makes me want to break out in song! Again, I will only do this if you ask. :)
I spent this week sorting through school uniforms to see what fits, what doesn't, and making sure each of my little munchkins have khaki pants that actually reach their feet, and burgandy polos that cover their tummies. CHECK!! We're all set!

What God does...

So, I've been wanting to put a post on our blog, but don't seem to either have the inspiration or the time. It seems like I wait to post anything until there's just too much to post at one time. I need to get in the habit of other blogger friends that just post a quick note and a pic, like my friend Jason. His posts are great little snippets into their lives. I need to do that more.

Now another reason why I probably haven't posted in a while (other than the silly Olympics clip) is that I've been depressed. Yes, it's true. Unfortunately, Jarrod is not always upbeat, happy and full of fun. Why? Money, er the lack of. Why do we have to have money to live?! Ever ask that? Why does everything cost? Can't we all just live in this big world and share everything? :)

I'm nearing 40 years old (39 this December) and I'm still in what I would consider an entry-level job. If the job itself isn't entry-level, then the pay definitely is. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but this isn't it. Jesus said that He came to give us "a rich and satisfying life". The one I'm living right now is far from that. How did I get here? More importantly, how in the world do I get out of here?

Last week our pastor spoke about Blind Bartimaeus (hey, I spelled that w/o looking!) in Mark 10 starting at verse 46. I've heard this story many times before. Bart, as I call him, is sitting along the side of the road as a beggar. All he really has is a cloak. It's his life; his home; even his livlihood as it's where people toss coins as he begs. It is said that this cloak could very well have represented more than half his wealth.

How did Bart get here? Was he always blind? Has he always been a beggar? I don't know, but for some reason he is in this condition now. As we all do, he had a choice as to whether or not he would just accept his condition as his lot in life and settle, or not. Sometimes when our conditions change, we just settle, even though we know this is not the life God has for us.

But, he heard Jesus, the Messiah, was coming by. When Jesus comes by, everything has the potential to change. For me, where I'm at today, is not where my health, my career or my finances should be. So, what do I do when "Jesus comes by"?

Now Bart couldn't see, but he uses what he has left (his hearing) and when he hears that Jesus is coming he shouts out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Bart stating that Jesus was the son of David was a statement of faith. It says that he believes that Jesus is the Messiah and being in the middle of a bunch of Jews, that was a bold statement. Some of those around him tried to hush him up. But, he persisted and shouted all the louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Well, above all the noise of a raucous crowd, Jesus heard Bart's cries of faith and sent word for Bart to come see him. Then Bart threw aside his cloak. Remember, this is his life, his shelter his livlihood and he is blind, but he throws it to the side. Now, to me, that means that he so believes in Jesus that he is either not going to need that cloak anymore (not have to beg) or that he is at least going to have his sight (be healed) and be able to find it again. Then, he jumped up and went to Jesus. It doesn't say they led him to Jesus, but he found his way to him.

Then Jesus asks, "What do you want?" as if He doesn't already know. Of course Jesus knew Bart's condition, just like he knows yours and mine. But I think that He wants us to communicate our need to Him. Bart told Jesus that he wanted to see. There aren't any formulas. Bart didn't have to say the right prayer 4 days in a row or any other kind of "magical" procedure. He just stated it very plainly...in faith. In faith, believing that Jesus could do it.

Jesus healed him and Bart followed Him. So, I'm crying out in faith like Bart did. I'm getting up from my "beggar position" and asking God to change my condition.

Do you ever feel you've settled for less that God's best?

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Captain Underpants and Boxer Boy

Ahh, the joy of having boys.

This poor, poor dog.