God continues to amaze me.
Like, really amaze me.
For a few months now Kenneth and I have really been thinking about adding other children to our family. Neither of us feel like we are "done." But we also don't really know what that looks like. Adoption, again? Foster care? God hasn't given us a clear answer, and He might not for a while. Trust me, I am okay with that. We just want to be open, and we can't say that we feel like our four boys are "it" for us. In the midst of that, we have been praying about sponsoring another child in Africa.
Let me say that it is ALWAYS God's will that we care for widows and orphans. He clearly commands that in His Word. James 1:27, among others. If you say you are a believer in Jesus, it is your responsibility to care for the widow and orphan. No exceptions. It just looks different in each family. For us, we were praying and asking God if sponsoring another child is what we should do, and how we should do it. We sponsor a girl in Kenya, and to be totally transparent, it would be difficult to take on another.
So, two weeks ago I prayed, "Lord, if you would have us to sponsor another child, please provide the money. I don't care how you do it. Just provide and help me see your provision."
So the next day is when our washing machine broke (see last blog entry for that debacle). Then we started asking God for wisdom to handle that situation. During that time a friend of mine shared something with me that just blew.me.away.
She started to explain that for some reason God was telling her to give us a certain dollar amount. She said she really struggled because she didn't want to be offensive to us. But, then a situation came up and God made it very clear to her that she better be obedient and give the money to us anyway. As she is explaining this, I am just laughing inside. Because this is just like God. To answer my prayer within two days, and then to also teach her and me in the process. And I am thinking, "Wow. There is a temptation in me to use that money to help soften the blow of replacing the washing machine. But, I know exactly what God wants me to do with this money."
I quickly explained to her my prayer earlier in the week and what the money was for. It amazes me to see how God puts something on one person's heart and then He works in another person's heart to make the thing in the first person a reality! One person's obedience enables the obedience of another. That is the Kingdom, alive and well! Had she not been obedient to what God called her to do, we would not be able to carry out the task He called us to do. I have seen this time and time again. What an important lesson in being open to hearing God and following His command, even when it seems as strange as, "Give this person this amount of money."
I am extremely blessed to have a husband and friends who have their lives fully on the altar before the Lord. I love watching Him work in multiple lives to accomplish a purpose. Whether it be sending missionaries, teaching a Bible study, enabling a family to adopt, or caring for an orphan across the globe.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
A Change
The latest drama had nothing to do with the kids, for a change.
Last week our washing machine stopped working. For a family of 6, with 5 of them being of the male species, it is never a good thing. I already had let the laundry pile up more so than normal. I was a little bummed and frantic. Of course I made this discovery when I had already started dinner, when the boys were running late for a birthday party, and on a Saturday night.
I was able to contact the manufacturer and speak with someone in the service department. I told her the problem and she told me the part that needed to be replaced on the washer. She told me I could replace the part myself but it would be about 7-10 days to get the part. I told her I didn't have that kind of time. She suggested I try to find an appliance parts distributer. I did.
Because it was Saturday night, I was going to have to wait until Monday morning to see if the place even had the part. Meanwhile, there was a FOUL smell coming from the washing machine. The detergent that I had put in had soured. The entire second floor was starting to get a special funk. Fantastic.
On Monday morning I called the appliance store. They had the part. I loaded three boys into the car, in the pouring rain, and drove over an hour to the store in the middle of downtown Birmingham. The GPS was telling me I was at my destination, but I could not find my destination. I was already having a hard time because I felt so unsafe. With the help of Kenneth and googlemaps I finally realized that the store had a different name than the name on the outside of their building. Cuz that makes sense.
After getting the part I came back home and went to work. Meanwhile, kids are screaming, fighting and going crazy. After an hour, I finally got the part replaced. The washer still didn't work. Turns out, that wasn't the problem. At that point I was super thankful for the money I had just spent buying a part that can't be returned. I looked in the whitepages and called an appliance repair person.
After a few phone calls between the man and myself, he was supposed to show up at the house the next day. I called Kenneth and told him that for some reason I just didn't feel comfortable being at the house alone while this man was supposed to be there. (Note to self a week ago: Take that as your clue!) Kenneth came home for lunch so that he could be here with me and the boys.
It turned out that two men showed up and told us that we needed a certain part changed out on the washer. It had to be ordered. We were going to be forking over another $240. The part was supposed to be the next day. We had to write a check for half the money. The man said he would stamp the check with his buisness information. I thought it was a litte strange, but I had had people do that before, so I went with it.
So we waited on the part. Then it didn't come in. Then it snowed. Then it was Friday. Day 6 of no washing machine, and a horrible horrible smell upstairs, invading the house.
Kenneth called the repair man. He said he would be here at 9. Then he didn't show up. Then we called again. He said he would be here at 2. Then he didn't show up. Then he didn't answer any of our calls. Then when Kenneth called him from a different phone, he picked up, realized it was Kenneth and hung up on him!! For the record: we still have not heard from this man.
At that point we called the police to file a report. We had a date set up for that night and one of the girls texted to see if she could come early. It actually worked out great because with all the chaos, I had no time to get ready. She was able to come and take care of the kids while Kenneth and I got ready to go out. God even works in the smallest of details.
Earlier in the week our sweet friend called and said she would babysit on Saturday morning. I almost told her not to worry about it because we were already going out on Friday night. But, I didn't. And now I see that God just perfectly orchestrated this whole thing.
Kenneth and I did a little detective work and found out that the repair man had written our check out to his mother! What!? I also found out that the part was never ordered. In fact, there would have been no need to order it because they already had the part in stock. Additionally, the appliance parts store had never heard of this man or his business. They recommended another repair man. We called that repair man, and left a message, hoping to the washer fixed. We never heard back from him either.
We then prayed that God would give us wisdom on whether to get the washer fixed or buy a new one. We felt he gave us the answer to get a new one. And so on Saturday morning, Kenneth and I were able to go get a fraud report written at the bank and get a new washing machine. GOOD GRIEF.
I learned so much in all of this. God sovereignty was so absolutely evident. His timing was perfect, as far as when this happened. Over a weekend where there was a big appliance sale at Best Buy, when we had two sets of babysitters lined up (when does that EVER happen?!), and after I had just finished a book entitled, "Choosing Forgiveness." What a great opportunity to put what I had learned to practice.
I almost let the cost of everything ruin my delight over our new washing machine...almost. The thing sings to me when the laundry is complete. love it!
Last week our washing machine stopped working. For a family of 6, with 5 of them being of the male species, it is never a good thing. I already had let the laundry pile up more so than normal. I was a little bummed and frantic. Of course I made this discovery when I had already started dinner, when the boys were running late for a birthday party, and on a Saturday night.
I was able to contact the manufacturer and speak with someone in the service department. I told her the problem and she told me the part that needed to be replaced on the washer. She told me I could replace the part myself but it would be about 7-10 days to get the part. I told her I didn't have that kind of time. She suggested I try to find an appliance parts distributer. I did.
Because it was Saturday night, I was going to have to wait until Monday morning to see if the place even had the part. Meanwhile, there was a FOUL smell coming from the washing machine. The detergent that I had put in had soured. The entire second floor was starting to get a special funk. Fantastic.
On Monday morning I called the appliance store. They had the part. I loaded three boys into the car, in the pouring rain, and drove over an hour to the store in the middle of downtown Birmingham. The GPS was telling me I was at my destination, but I could not find my destination. I was already having a hard time because I felt so unsafe. With the help of Kenneth and googlemaps I finally realized that the store had a different name than the name on the outside of their building. Cuz that makes sense.
After getting the part I came back home and went to work. Meanwhile, kids are screaming, fighting and going crazy. After an hour, I finally got the part replaced. The washer still didn't work. Turns out, that wasn't the problem. At that point I was super thankful for the money I had just spent buying a part that can't be returned. I looked in the whitepages and called an appliance repair person.
After a few phone calls between the man and myself, he was supposed to show up at the house the next day. I called Kenneth and told him that for some reason I just didn't feel comfortable being at the house alone while this man was supposed to be there. (Note to self a week ago: Take that as your clue!) Kenneth came home for lunch so that he could be here with me and the boys.
It turned out that two men showed up and told us that we needed a certain part changed out on the washer. It had to be ordered. We were going to be forking over another $240. The part was supposed to be the next day. We had to write a check for half the money. The man said he would stamp the check with his buisness information. I thought it was a litte strange, but I had had people do that before, so I went with it.
So we waited on the part. Then it didn't come in. Then it snowed. Then it was Friday. Day 6 of no washing machine, and a horrible horrible smell upstairs, invading the house.
Kenneth called the repair man. He said he would be here at 9. Then he didn't show up. Then we called again. He said he would be here at 2. Then he didn't show up. Then he didn't answer any of our calls. Then when Kenneth called him from a different phone, he picked up, realized it was Kenneth and hung up on him!! For the record: we still have not heard from this man.
At that point we called the police to file a report. We had a date set up for that night and one of the girls texted to see if she could come early. It actually worked out great because with all the chaos, I had no time to get ready. She was able to come and take care of the kids while Kenneth and I got ready to go out. God even works in the smallest of details.
Earlier in the week our sweet friend called and said she would babysit on Saturday morning. I almost told her not to worry about it because we were already going out on Friday night. But, I didn't. And now I see that God just perfectly orchestrated this whole thing.
Kenneth and I did a little detective work and found out that the repair man had written our check out to his mother! What!? I also found out that the part was never ordered. In fact, there would have been no need to order it because they already had the part in stock. Additionally, the appliance parts store had never heard of this man or his business. They recommended another repair man. We called that repair man, and left a message, hoping to the washer fixed. We never heard back from him either.
We then prayed that God would give us wisdom on whether to get the washer fixed or buy a new one. We felt he gave us the answer to get a new one. And so on Saturday morning, Kenneth and I were able to go get a fraud report written at the bank and get a new washing machine. GOOD GRIEF.
I learned so much in all of this. God sovereignty was so absolutely evident. His timing was perfect, as far as when this happened. Over a weekend where there was a big appliance sale at Best Buy, when we had two sets of babysitters lined up (when does that EVER happen?!), and after I had just finished a book entitled, "Choosing Forgiveness." What a great opportunity to put what I had learned to practice.
I almost let the cost of everything ruin my delight over our new washing machine...almost. The thing sings to me when the laundry is complete. love it!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
So Much For That
My New Year's Resolution was...to blog more.
Considering that it is January 17 and I haven't done that yet, you can start to get an idea of why I never make New Year's resolutions. They always end in epic failure. I choose to be a slacker and not feel soo guilty about it. :)
Recently I was collecting all of my facebook status updates from 2012.
{My kids are hilarious, btw.}
Because I am obviously terrible about keeping up with all that they say and do and the insane things that go on in our family, (you know, since I don't even blog on a regular basis despite my good intentions), I am just making a Shutterfly book that includes some pictures from the year along with all my status updates. I did this for the first time in 2011, and I love looking at the book. It makes me laugh and cringe at the same time, which is great.
As I was looking over the status updates I couldn't help but to feel like my cup runneth over. God has blessed us. Most days I feel like a crazy person and my dad has rightly nicknamed me "the zookeeper." But, when I step back from the craziness, (carefully trying to avoid pee spots, and matchbox cars), I can't imagine my life any other way. I wouldn't want it any other way. After the mess is cleaned up, I find most of the shenanigans downright hilarious.
I have also decided that this year is going to be even better. For those of you who aren't around Nathan a lot, he is HILARIOUS. Everything he does cracks me up. Everything. Which is why he is going to turn into a terror one day. So.hard.to.discipline! He is our funniest kid and so many people don't realize that because he isn't a loud talker just yet. He talks plenty, but is just now starting to talk only in complete sentences and initiating conversation. He is picking up on tone and jokes. This is going to be a good year for Nathan stories. Stay tuned.
For now, I will leave you with a few random pictures.
Unfortunately some of the funniest I cannot post because he likes to run around the house naked with cowboy boots on. Boys...
Considering that it is January 17 and I haven't done that yet, you can start to get an idea of why I never make New Year's resolutions. They always end in epic failure. I choose to be a slacker and not feel soo guilty about it. :)
Recently I was collecting all of my facebook status updates from 2012.
{My kids are hilarious, btw.}
Because I am obviously terrible about keeping up with all that they say and do and the insane things that go on in our family, (you know, since I don't even blog on a regular basis despite my good intentions), I am just making a Shutterfly book that includes some pictures from the year along with all my status updates. I did this for the first time in 2011, and I love looking at the book. It makes me laugh and cringe at the same time, which is great.
As I was looking over the status updates I couldn't help but to feel like my cup runneth over. God has blessed us. Most days I feel like a crazy person and my dad has rightly nicknamed me "the zookeeper." But, when I step back from the craziness, (carefully trying to avoid pee spots, and matchbox cars), I can't imagine my life any other way. I wouldn't want it any other way. After the mess is cleaned up, I find most of the shenanigans downright hilarious.
I have also decided that this year is going to be even better. For those of you who aren't around Nathan a lot, he is HILARIOUS. Everything he does cracks me up. Everything. Which is why he is going to turn into a terror one day. So.hard.to.discipline! He is our funniest kid and so many people don't realize that because he isn't a loud talker just yet. He talks plenty, but is just now starting to talk only in complete sentences and initiating conversation. He is picking up on tone and jokes. This is going to be a good year for Nathan stories. Stay tuned.
For now, I will leave you with a few random pictures.
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