It's Official

We now have a mortgage and are the proud owners of a new home! We signed all the papers yesterday and put all new locks on the doors. Now the repair/clean-up phase commences. It's not going to be fun but seeing the house by the end of next week will be nice. We have to clean, paint, clean, re-carpet, clean, hang doors, clean, do a few minor repiars, clean, put up a wall in the garage, and did I mention clean!!! That house has been shut up for at least 6 months, and it has become very dirty. Putting in new carpet and cleaning should help though. I'll be posting our progress and let you know how it goes. I definitley need to get lots of rubber gloves :) Let the cleaning begin. . .

What the Hail?

A few weeks ago San Marcos experienced a very damagaing hail storm. I had just ordered a pizza from Dominos when I heard the loudest sound ever. It was barely sprinkling outside and all of a sudden it started hailing like mad for about 20-30 minutes!! I turned on the weather channel and heard rumors of 4 possible tornados in the area so I immediately put Jacob in the closet not just because of impending tornadoes but because the hail was so loud and hard and big that I actually thought it was going to break all of our windows. It was the loudest, longest hailstorm I have ever been in. . .until today, yes, again. Our friends from England were here spending the day with us and we had to take them back to San Antonio this afternoon and on our way there it started lightning and hailing and pouring down rain. We made it to the house where they were staying okay but as we were leaving it started hailing again, very heavily. So we found the nearest gas station that didn't already have tons of cars ducking out of the weather and so we ducked ourselves at the closest Valero. We waited it out for about 15 minutes or so and then we went on our way. We thought all of the bad weather had passed. We were almost back to the interstate when to our amazement. . .more hail!!! We tried to find another gas station but all we found was a big bridge to hide under with a ton of other cars trying to make sure they didn't need to call their insurance adjuster yet again. We waited it out for another 15 minutes then decided to brave it. It wasn't hailing anymore, but it was dropping big fat heavy rain. It was so loud that I couldn't hear Jacob talking to me from the backseat. Needless to say, if I don't see hail for a while. . .it will be a really good thing!!! Four times in two weeks is all anyone needs.

P.S. - I still got my pizza in less than an hour, during tornadic activity and a hailstorm--Go Dominos!!!

I'm Ready For Summer. . .

1. Yea for Vacation. . .I can't wait to go to the beach with my family. . .our beach apartment as Jake likes to call it.

2. I can get a tan. . .I really need a tan. . .really!

3. We will be in our new house!!!

4. Spending 4th of July with family and friends.

5. I absolutely love watermelon. . .well any melon. Canteloupe is good too!

6. Lots of pool time. . .especially when Jake starts his swimming lessons in June.

7. Being married for 8 years to my wonderful, incredible, very sexy hubby!!!

8. SNOW CONES. . .what's summer without a good, cold snow cone?

9. Sea World, The Zoo, The Park, The River, Schlitterbahn bahn. . .all the extra fun stuff that we can't seem to do when it isn't summer.

10. Last but not least. . .my beautiful, wonderful son turns 4--WOW!

I'm definitely ready for Summer. . .

My Birthday!!

I had so much fun last week on my birthday. My husband surprised me with an overnight stay in Austin. It was very relaxing and much needed. My parents came in and they kept Jake for us. He took me to the Hilton Hotel. We stayed on the 21st floor and it overlooked Lake Austin and Downtown. It was so beautiful. Our whole back wall of the room was a large window. We could see everything. We left it open all night. We couldn't bring ourselves to close it. We loved the life, the lights, and the city streets. It was fun watching all the activity, even on a Wednesday night. He also took me to The Cheesecake Factory, my favorite Restaurant. I had my favorite drink, a Peach Bellini. If you haven't tried one, they are wonderful, especially theirs. It's heavenly!!! I had a great night and a wonderful day the next day. Jason took me shopping and a few of our friends from church met us at a Restaurant for dinner. It was a lot of fun. Kudos to my hubby for making it a very memorable 28th Brithday!!!! I love you!!!

Easter was incredible too!!!! We had a great week and weekend. Now back to reality. . .

House Update

Well, it looks like everything is ready to go for the house except for handing out large sums of money to the appropriate people. That's gonna hurt--but it will be worth it.

Last Saturday, we had to go to San Antonio to take a mortgage class for the type of loan we're getting. It was pretty boring, but informative for the first-time home buyer. Since that wasn't us---we were bored. It was like being in school again. One older lady fell asleep and her husband kept poking her and shaking her to wake her up. Another young guy fell asleep, but his hat covered most of eyes anyway. Only Jason and I were close enough to know that he wasn't just pimpin' he was sleepin' :) One guy had serious ADD and kept breaking into song for no reason. Another guy always had a question, and the lady presenting kept spelling words wrong on the board. It was pretty funny!! The best part was that it was supposed to last until 1:00pm and she let us go at 11:00am.

Tuesday, we had to go back to have our one-on-one counseling with the loan officer. Ours actually became a two-on-two counseling session. The girl that we had our appointment with was new so she had an overseer helping her. It took her forever!! I'm glad the other girl was there or our loan might not have been done correctly!! What was supposed to be an hour long appointment lasted 2 hours. BUT, at least everything is done.

All we have to do now is a few odds and ends and then hopefully we will close on May 1st. YEA--God is good!!!!

God's Provision

A few weeks ago, we were beginning to wonder if I was ever going to find a way to make a little extra cash. Since all we have is "New House" on the brain, we have begun to be a little anxious about our money situation. I'm not sure why? We know God will provide, so we decided to start praying for me to find a job. It had to be a job where I would only be away from Jacob a little bit or not at all, so we continued to pray. One morning I woke up and found an e-mail in my inbox from a guy I didn't know. I read it to find out it was the husband of our realtor who owns 2 websites. His wife had told him I did graphic work so he contacted me about working for him part-time. Well, I jumped at the opportunity and my first assignment was a brochure for a church. Not exactly out of the realm of my expertise; graphics and church. He told me I would need to work from home. Wow--I think I can handle that.

That same week I e-mailed a friend of mine who is an Assistant Principal of a private school in town to see if they needed any subs so I could maybe sub one day a week. She immediately e-mailed me back and said that they had just had a meeting that morning and prayed for subs to apply because there were very few. I'm so glad I asked. Now I feel like I am helping them out more than helping myself.

Last year, we felt like God told us to give away some of our furniture to a family in San Marcos who had moved here because of Hurricane Katrina. They had nothing. So, we gave them our Washer/Dryer, our dining room table and chairs, and a few more items. Also, we have never owned another bed besides ours and Jacob's so we wanted to have a new bed for our guest room. Not long after we began praying for the furniture we would need for our house, God provided yet again. A friend of ours has a sister that's getting married and she his moving into her soon-to-be husband's home so she is giving us her Washer/Dryer and a Queen size bed with frame, mattress, box spring, etc. A friend of ours from church has a dining room table that won't fit into her apartment and she said that we could have it. The same friend with the sister that's getting married called me tonight and asked if we needed a chair, and of course we can use anything at this point. She said that she has a leather recliner in her garage that's in perfect condition and asked if we would like to have it. I told her I needed to ask Jason and he said "YES" very loudly. It's a recliner--need I say more :)

Isn't God awesome? I can't begin to describe to you the feeling of having a loving and giving God who provides for our every need. Thank you God!!!!

For another provision story, see my husband's blog.

What's Wrong With Me?

OMG (That means "Oh My Gosh" Brian)!!! I'm beginning to think that I am supposed to have something wrong with me all the time. I have been sick for the past 3 months, yes months, with drainage and yuckiness. Then all of a sudden last Monday night, I was slapped in the face, literally, with a really bad pain. I thought it was a toothache, but I wasn't sure. The next day I got in to see the dentist ASAP and he couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. He did some tests on my teeth and I left there thinking I had TMJ--crazy huh? So I came home with a mouthguard and a prescription for vicadin, which I was really happy about, until I found out that vicadin doesn't work on me. He called in another prescription for a muscle relaxer but it didn't work either. So yesterday (6 days and a lot of pain later) I went back to see the dentist and he said he is 99.9% sure it's my tooth. Isn't that what I said it was in the first place--a toothache? Shouldn't I be getting the $100 an hour (or whatever he gets) to answer my own question of WHAT"S WRONG WITH ME?

The answer is (according to him), I have to have a root canal and a crown done on the same tooth. He said it will be pretty pricey but that I need to do it or I could lose my tooth. Although the sound of losing a tooth was pretty bad, I was ultimately more concerned about the pricey part. I asked him how pricey it was and he responded, "About $1800!!" Well, then I fell out of the dental chair, not literally, but I wanted to. Who has $1800 for one tooth? Certainly not me!!! He still wants me to get a second opinion, but I have to wait another week to get that, with more pain.

So, please pray for me and my poor tooth, and for that matter, my poor checkbook that will be taking a serious hit.

P.S. My husband was wonderful all week. He took great care of me!!! Thanks Baby :)

Isn't It Ironic

Okay I guess this would qualify as another funny story, although my body isn't laughing too much.

Last night after Deeper, (our weekly Bible Study) we stopped by the grocery store to get a few items. My son kept whining in the car because he was thirsty and wanted a drink so like good parents we headed towards the 25 cent coke machines outside the grocery store (which is probably in itself--a whole other blog). None of those machines worked, so we headed to one of the coolers at the front of the store and swiped one for Jake. I realized in that moment that we were planning on paying for it--but other people could easily get away with that---especially with a kid. BUT don't get any ideas.

Anyway, we started our shopping venture. When we came to the back row of meat, Jake spilled a little bit of his Sprite. So I politely asked the meat manager (or whatever they are called) to come and clean it up before someone walked through it and fell. He did, and he was very glad I told him. I guess most people don't--weird. So that made me feel good that I stopped a potential accident.

We then headed for the Produce section and all of a sudden my feet were slipping all over the floor. I was trying my hardest not to fall, and thankfully my husband was there to catch me because if he wasn't, I would have certainly busted it right there on the floor of HEB. There was some sort of slippery, soapy, substance on the floor--like a foamy, yucky mess. I guess someone didn't show me the same courtesy. Afterwards, yet again, I went and found the Produce Manager (or whatever he's called) and told him. He was also very grateful that I told him so no one else would get hurt.

I'm glad I was the one though. What if it had been a little old lady? She would have been seriously hurt. I could have been too if it wasn't for my husband the hero. I did get hurt though, I twisted my knee and hurt my back and neck trying not to fall--but I'm okay. I'm just wondering how no one else fell. This was 9:30 at night. It had to have been sitting there for a while--foaming!!! My flesh wanted to sue--but I think I would have actually had to break something or get a concussion or something. But isn't ironic that after my thoughtful clean up on aisle "Meat" I almost bust it on aisle "Mango". Oh, well! I just thought I would share my irony with you all.

Funny Moments

Okay I usually write serious or pensive blogs but I thought I would add a funny one. Enjoy!!!

Okay three ladies all in their twenties and college graduates, just figured some things out in their adult lives. (I won't use names to protect their identities) BUT it's still funny!!!

1. A friend of mine was talking with her husband about maps and about where states were located. Her son has recently discovered maps and is very interested so it's a big topic around their house. So as they were talking he asked her where Alaska was and she said, "By Hawaii."

Details: She actually thought Alaska was by Hawaii because that's where they place it on the US map sometimes---funny huh!!!!

2. Another friend of mine was playing an old school NES (Nintendo) game called McKids (shown above). It's the old McDonald's game. She kept calling it M-C(pronounced Em Cee) Kids, and saying that she can't get past a certain level and I asked her which level on the McKids game it was and she stopped me and said, "Oh my gosh! I just figured out that I have been saying M-C Kids and it's McKids--like McDonalds."

Details: She can't believe the thought never crossed her mind that it was McKids like McDonalds or McNuggets. Silly girl!!!!

3. Last but not least, a girl I know was watching a kids show on TV with her son (set in Australia) and they were walking towards a BBQ grill and one of the kids said, "Let's put another shrimp on the barbie." At that moment she realized that the Australian usage for the word "barbie" actually meant BBQ Grill.

Details: That was about me!!!!! I can't believe I never put two and two together. It makes perfect since now but I just thought it was a phrase that only Australians used. At least I can admit it!!

Hope you had a good laugh :)

THANK YOU JESUS

This past week God dropped a house in our lap. It's a foreclosure in the area, with very little fixing up. It's only 5 years old and in very good condition. It's a steal basically!!! There has been much confirmation through friends and family that this is a great house for us. We found it on Tuesday and put a bid on it Friday. In case you didn't know, HUD houses have to bid on like an auction. You can only bid once, so you have to bid wisely. This house is already way cheap so we decided to bid the asking price. The bids ended at midnight last night, and this morning we just found out that our bid was chosen. We have been praying, believing, that God was going to give us this house and HE did!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!! WE HAVE A NEW HOUSE!!!

Please continue to pray for us as we have a few repairs to do and a mortgage process to go through. Pray that everything will go smoothly. Thanks for your prayers!!!

P.S. - That's a picture of the house!

You Never Let Go

For those of you who weren't at River Stone tonight, I wanted to share with you another sweet story about my son. This week, Jason took Jacob to the store with him for a while to give me some well deserved alone time. On their way back home Jacob started singing one of the songs we sing at River Stone. He knew the whole song. I really don't know how, except hearing us rehearse on Sunday afternoons---crazy kid!!! The words of this song have been such a blessing to us over the course of the last few weeks. Satan has been attacking us more lately than ever before, but I consider it pure joy because I know that we have something worthy of attacking. But, the struggle is still hard. God chose to use once again, our beautiful boy, to bless us--so I hope the words of this song bless you as well (just imagine a precious 3 year old boy singing it).

You Never Let Go (Matt Redman)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back, I know you are near

And I will fear no evil, for my God is with me
And if my God is with me,
Whom then shall I fear, whom then shall I fear?

O no, You never let go, through the calm and through the storm
O no, You never let go in every high and every low
O no, You never let go,
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on,
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Because of Jesus Christ

Last night at church, Jacob's teacher came up to Jason and told him that he had asked Jacob's class, "How do you know that God exists?" (I know pretty deep for 3 yr. olds). He told Jason that Jacob's response was, "Because of Jesus Christ." Tears of joy and tears of pride welled up in me as I heard my husband tell me that story. Wow! My little boy may be little but he sure knows who Jesus is. Don't you wish you still knew Jesus the way you did when you were a kid. So innocent. So sweet. So child-like. Jesus still wants us to know him that way. My son reminded me of that last night. What an awesome answer. . .BECAUSE OF JESUS CHRIST!!!!!

New Adventure

I woke up early this morning and I couldn't go back to sleep so I spent some time with the Lord. I was reading my devotional and it was about Jesus being the "Famous One". In short, how we as Christ-followers tend to worship celebrities more than we worship Jesus Christ. I was immediately convicted. Those of you who know me know that I love movies and I love to learn interesting facts and trivia about movies, actors, actresses, TV shows, etc. My favorite website is imdb.com (Internet Movie Database) for crying out loud. I of all people needed to hear that this morning. Until now I didn't think that I worshipped celebrities that much and I don't BUT I do spend more time on that website than I probably do in my Bible to be real honest. So, as I was praying and reading, Jesus put a thought/challenge into my heart. What if I knew as much about the Bible as I do some of the celebrities I like? I know a lot about the Bible, but there is so much more I could learn, we all could! So because of this, I embarked on a new adventure today. . .

I have always wanted to read through the Bible and I have mostly, but I am a huge history buff so I wanted to read through it in order, chronologically. So this morning I started. I read some of Genesis then it goes straight to Job and back to Genesis. Cool huh! The things I read and the questions and thoughts that this reading provoked in me made me feel very good about my decision. I am going to challenge myself to be as knowledgeable about the Bible as I can. I realized over the past year or so that the way I was taught some things about the Bible weren't exactly accurate. I was challenged to look at it through a spiritual yet historical standpoint. As I read through the chapters today I discovered a whole other realm about the Bible I was missing and it felt incredible to sit and think and ponder why God did what he did, and his greatness and his love for me. The feeling is like nothing I have ever felt. As I was going through I would write down thoughts, questions, and cool things God was telling me. After I read as much as I could I went back through my questions and I found a great website to help me try and answer some of those questions.

To sum up: If any of you want to embark on this journey with me I would love knowing that there were others learning and studying along side of me. If you would like to do this with me leave me a comment so I can be praying for you too, if not, please pray for me as I begin this New Adventure in my life. Thanks!!!

Websites:
www.christianbeliefs.org/brs/biblereadingsch-01.html
www.christiananswers.net

Special Valentine

Since it's Valentine's Day in a week or so I thought I would post this. A friend of mine sent this to me and I cried. I have never seen this before. I began thinking about how we usually celebrate Valentine's Day with our spouse or significant other, but do we ever stop to think about how much God loves us. This Valentine's Day, let's not only celebrate the love we have for our spouses or boyfriends/girlfriends, but let's thank God for his love for us! I think this is an awesome picture of how God should truly be our first love. Read it again and let the words of this Special Valentine penetrate your heart.

Training Day Is Over

Well, I already gave up. I have decided he is just not ready--even though I am, but I at least have to tell you all the drama I went through. . .

First thing Monday morning when he woke up we went in his room, took off his diaper, and put on his Nemo underpants. I went into the kitchen and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer went off I was going to take him to go potty. When it did finally go off, I went to him and said, "Okay Jake, time to go potty," and he said back to me, "but Mommy I'm wet." So we went to his room and put his Thomas underpants on. I went and set the timer again for another 15 minutes. When it went off, I went over to Jake and said, "okay it's time to go potty again," and he replied, "Mommy you need to change my diaper." I said, "Jake your not wearing a diaper. Did you pee in your pants again?" and he said ever so slightly, "Yes." He could feel my wrath.

So at this point it had been about 30 minutes and he had already peed on himself twice. I decided he needed to wash off, so I took off his clothes and walked him to the bathtub. As I was rinsing out the tub and getting ready to fill it I hear him yell from right behind me, "Mommy!!!" I quickly turned and he was peeing on the bathroom floor. I grabbed him and put him in front of the potty but by then he was already done. If he would have taken 2 steps backward he would have been standing right in front of the potty. I lost it!!!! He was right there. He could've peed in the potty but he decided to pee on the floor instead. Even though I was livid at this point I realized that he doesn't know the feeling of it coming so he can't make a quick enough decision to walk to the potty to go.

During his bath, we had a heart to heart and I told him we would go back to diapers for the day. He asked me if I was happy and I said yes because he had at least tried. After his bath, I took him to his room and he asked me again if I was happy. He obviously could sense my frustration. So I calmly said "Yes I'm happy, but I would be happier if you would learn how to pee in the potty, but I don't want to frustrate you anymore, I know its hard!" And what came next was the sweetest thing I have ever heard. God knew I needed to hear this. My beautiful, sweet, and loving 3 year old grabbed my neck to hug me, looked me in the eye and said, "Mommy I don't want to frustrate you either!" I melted. He was consoling his Mother.

I was reminded in that moment of when Jesus spoke to his mother while on the cross. He said, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." He was consoling her the best he knew how in that moment. What an amazing God we serve and what an amazing son I have. Even though it was the hardest 30 minutes I have had in a long time, it was also the sweetest.

Training Day

Nothing real spiritual or deep today. I just need your prayers for me as I begin Potty Training Camp today. I am about to pull all of my hair out and I'm going broke over buying diapers and wipes. Quite frankly, I am sick of changing nasty, poopy, soggy, wet, stinky diapers. I never realized how hard this really is. It takes commitment, time, and patience--all the things that are weak areas for me. How hard is it to stand there a pee in a potty--really? I guess girls get off easy since they just sit down. Boys are a little tougher.

Jacob knows how to pee in the potty, he's done it before, but he is so stinkin' stubborn that he won't do it. (I don't know where he gets that from) Right now he's sitting in his desk playing on the computer and I ask him every 5 minutes if he needs to pee or if he's already peed in his pants. I should start counting the number of times I say the word "potty" today. It will be well into the 100's I'm sure. I think I've already said it about 20.

Well, if you are in the "potty" today (21 times now) think about me and my endeavor to rid myself of diaper duty at least until the next one arrives. Pray that Jacob's stubbornness will subside and he will want to be a Big Boy finally!!!!

Any encouraging words are welcome!!!!

Listen To This Man

In John 7, the beginning of what was a series of traps to try and convict Jesus was taking place. The crowd was divided after Jesus loudly voiced his teachings to them. When they guards were asked why they didn't bring Jesus in, they said, "No one ever spoke the way this man does."

As we were studying this passage last night that verse spoke to me. Jesus has never spoken to me the way anyone else has. I was reminded that I tend to talk to Jesus more than I listen. I tend to ask for things more than listen. When I do rarely listen instead of groan and grumble for the things I think I need or deserve it is always profound and loving. This week (after we were robbed) I duked it out with God a little bit. I know that in this world we will have trouble but I told God, "Look, I know I signed up for this, but I didn't sign up for this." And with all patience and love he responded back to me that He knows and He's in control. Just to hear Him speak those words to my soul were comforting in the midst of fear and hurt. When we listen, He speaks like no man has ever spoken before. His eloquence, passion, love, grace, and much more, cannot be matched. What does it say about us when we don't notice Jesus' voice enough? The guards who weren't even his followers noticed that there was something different about this Jesus.

I challenge you today to do a little more listening to this man who speaks differently than others. Listen more than speak. Hear Him and dwell in His thoughts. Jesus will speak to your heart and you will be blessed.

You Truly Are My Joy

Well, when I mentioned that my joy had been robbed I didn't mean literally. Now, I mean literally.

Last night we had an event to go to at a church in Austin, which Jason was in charge of. He has been sick all week. He's had fever every day except for 1 and he has thrown up at least 16 times in the past day. He is sick!!!! After we had been there a little while, Jason started getting sick at the event and we decided to leave early.

When we got home someone had apparently been there. I think we scared them off when we opened the door. They only had time to take our Playstation and some DVD's (which is no real loss). We called the cops, they came, took fingerprints, the whole bit. The thieves apparently used gloves because they couldn't get a usable fingerprint. At 10:00 last night they left. Jason and I went to bed feeling very violated (I felt like they had seen me naked or something).

Well, me being the scaredy cat I am, I stayed up with most of our lights on, watched TV, and had a large stick next to our bed. I was in the middle of a late night showing of "Mickey Blue Eyes" when I heard 3 loud knocks on our door at about 3:30am. I jumped up, ready to rumble with these criminals, and answered the door. It was the cop and they had found the robbers.

Sorry this is so long but keep reading, the story becomes quite humorous.

The cop asked Jason if he could come with him to i.d. the stolen stuff. Jason followed the cop to the local Motel 6 where these so-called thieves had beat the crap out of each other. They got into a fight over the Playstation and had a rumble. One guy was hurt so badly he had to go to the hospital. They basically ratted themselves out by having a drunken brawl over a Playstation, our Playstation to be exact.

As if that wasn't dumb enough, one of the items they stole from our apartment was our video camera. I guess they thought they would document their genius heist, because they began filming their every step after they left our house. Dumb & Dumber!!! So, when Jason got there, at least 3 drunk guys were waiting to be arrested. Two were lying about what they did, and one was spilling the beans (remember one was at the hospital, and we don't know how many there were total). They put the two liars into one of the police cars. What they didn't know was that all cop cars have recorders in them. They were probably confessing everything but they were too drunk to care.

Jason got to watch the whole thing go down. He identified the stuff and left. As he was pulling away he saw the robbers getting cuffed and stuffed and slapped with felony theft charges. At 10:00pm the cops left our house and at 5:00am, the thieves were being taken to jail. Justice was served and my prayer for returned joy was answered. I was truly joyous that in the midst of this situation we kept thanking Jesus and he in return blessed us with closure, and graciousness. He didn't have to give us the satisfaction of these guys getting caught in order for us to praise him, but because he is so awesome, he did!

Last night Jason and I did go to sleep feeling very violated but also thanking Jesus that it was what it was. It could have been much worse. Stuff is just stuff. Thank you Jesus for reminding me that you are still in control. Even when we might not know why certain things happen, thank you for giving us enough strength, through your Spirit, to keep going and to continually praise You no matter the circumstance. Now I can say without hesitation, without restraint, without caution, and with full faith that you truly are MY JOY!!!!

You Are My Joy

I wanted to share my prayer for today with you so that you would know how to pray for me.

God, it's hard to know why things happen the way they do, why you bring us to certain places in our earthly life that rob us of our joy. People who say one thing and do another rob us. People who flaunt assets and financial gain rob us. People who have it better than we do help aid us in our robbing of joy. There are so many joyous things in my life and so many things I have to be thankful for but in some ways I have lost my joy. There are so many things that bring me joy that I want to do and can't because of a stipulation in my covenant with you. You have brought me to a state of contentment in my life, and I've never been more content, but I'm ready for my joy back. I'm ready for the excitement, the opportunity to minister freely without any hindrances. God I said yesterday that you are my Provider and my Provision. "Restore unto me the joy of who you are". I want to able to find joy in the little things and in the miracles. I want to enter into your presence with joy and thanksgiving. I can say "Thank you Jesus", but am I joyfully saying it? God, bring me to a place today where I can say without hesitancy, without restraint, without caution, and with all of my faith that YOU ARE MY JOY!!!

Miracle Stories

Sorry it's been so long! I will try to be better at blogging my heart and soul out. I do have some miracle stories I want to share. God is still in the miracle business by the way!!!

My husband and I have recently had to come to the place in our lives where we have had to utterly rely on God for everything, even the little things. For example: A bed. Jason and I needed a new bed. Starting a new church doesn't leave a lot of money left over after paying bills if any. We have had our bed since we were married and I slept in it about a year before that, so this bed is about 10 years old and we are feeling it in our backsides--trust me. We would wake up every day with a sore something. We began to discuss that we needed to start praying for a bed, specifically a mattress. Within a week our friends had an extra mattress in storage that we tried out and it has helped so much. Now God didn't lavish us with a brand new Sleep Number, but he did give us exactly what we needed.

Another specific prayer that we asked was answered. Now don't feel sorry for us when I tell you this because God has purposefully called us to be in this position and we have never been more content with our lives or more humbled. The reason is this: last month we almost weren't able to make our car payment. With all the extra expenses of Christmas and life, etc., we were struggling to make our payment. On Monday we sat down and talked about what we were going to do and we both decided to just pray specifically for the dollar amount. We couldn't have less and we didn't need more. We specifically prayed about it for a week. The following Monday we were going to have to make the payment. The day before (on Sunday) I was out of town that weekend with a friend and Jason called me and told me that Saturday when he went to go get the mail there was check from State Farm (of all places) giving us back some overpaid insurance money on our Mortgage. First of all, we sold our house in May and this was December - WOW!! Second of all, it was for the exact amount we needed to pay our car payment - DOUBLE WOW!!!!

I share this with you to remind you that miracles are happening because even though these might seem like tiny and insignificant things to some people, these are huge blessings and miracles to us. All I can say is "Thank you Jesus!!!!" He is my Provider and my Provision.