Little things

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make it all worthwhile.

Today was that kind of day!

Light

John 1:5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

A phone call from my sister "demanding" to hear how God is moving in our lives right now. Work for both of us coming in daily. Food on the table. The peace of God, which is surpassing all our understanding, is guarding our hearts and minds in Jesus. Yes, God is GOOD.

The prayer requests that flooded in today. It's an honor to pray for others. 

My son's determination to take a photo for the fair. A specific location at a specific time of day. My baby is growing up and knows what he likes. I'm so thankful he wants to capture God's creation in all its glory :)

We are seeing His Light shining in the darkness. The darkness will NOT overcome!

This man

This man...he drives me crazy.
He "forgot" to leave me coffee this morning. I'll get over it.
He can't sit still. I thank God he's not lazy.
He "stole" one of my favorite chores so he could keep busy. I can water my garden tomorrow.
He forgot to eat lunch today. I have to get used to him being home.

He's so grouchy when he's hungry. I should have fed him before he left.

He was restless to get out of the house. He went and did my grocery shopping.

He was still in a bad mood when he got home. But he made us dinner tonight.

He procrastinated about writing a speech for tonight's commitment. He did an awesome job and glorified the Lord.

He apologized for a bad day. I forgave him.

This man...He drives me crazy. Crazy in love with him always.

Sundays

Today, we sat together in church. Our whole family. It's been so long since my husband has had consecutive Sundays off that it's quite wonderful to have him there by my side. A blessing, to be sure.

We are already seeing that we will need to guard this gift we have prayed so long for.

Yes, my husband needs work.
No, he's not available on Sunday.
Thanks for offering though...

Yes, my husband needs fellowship.
No, he's not skipping church to have it.
Thanks for thinking of him though...

Exodus 20:8-11

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

Provision

Today my husband and my oldest son were called upon to help a friend buck hay. They've never done this before, but they are strong, willing, and able!

Two more friends called with work lined up. God is good.

I have more work coming in for my home business too.

Thank you, Lord, for strong men in my family. Both in body and in spirit. Thank you for their willingness to work hard and learn new things for our family's sake. Thank you for your timely provision for our family, more than covering the "loss" we felt yesterday. Thank you for growing my business and giving me the opportunity to use the gifts you've blessed me with to turn around and bless others. Thank you for today's manna!

Manna

This is God's timing: my husband's daily devotions this morning gave us a perfect picture of our lives right now. We are trusting God for our "manna" (daily provision) and choosing to obey Him in all things.

And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.  On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord ; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord ; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”  See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”

"...God was teaching the Israelites daily trust in His provision for them. He wanted them to trust Him one day at a time. If they tried to hoard, God put a self-destruct feature in the manna. Yet God also told them to gather two days' worth on the sixth day so that they would have manna to eat on the seventh day. Interestingly, this manna did not stink or have maggots..."
-Os Hillman, God is First

We will not be moved

My husband's last paycheck arrived today. That, we expected. What we didn't count on was over 2 weeks worth of vacation time missing from the check. On further investigation, we discovered it was our misunderstanding and that the numbers were correct.

Money we were counting on to carry us through this month...*POOF!* gone...
But we KNOW that God WILL provide.

From Psalm 125
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore...Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts! 

Lord,
We are trusting you with every aspect of our lives. Surround us and protect us from those who purpose to harm us.
May you be glorified in all things!

Eye of the storm

The cyclone hit hard.
My husband, the sole "breadwinner", was forced to quit his job without the opportunity to look for a replacement beforehand. The shock has him immobilized. It's all surreal. An eerie calm has settled in, but what will tomorrow bring?

Matthew 6:31-34 ESV

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.    “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble...

Father,
You know our needs. Help us to not be anxious and to remember that you are our Provider. Thank you, Lord, for ALL that you have done for us and for all that you WILL do. Guide us as we seek your kingdom and your righteousness. May our hunger be for you alone!

Chaos

Today, my husband turned in his resignation to his job of 12 years. After all the chaos of the last year, there was little left for him to do but call it quits.

Lord Jesus, 
We've beaten by the waves and the wind is against us (Matthew 14:24). We know you are out there calling us to step out in faith, but truly we are afraid.
Lord, save us. Erase the doubts that plague our minds and build our faith like never before!

A storm brewing

I mentioned before that we ended May with a rough week. Now I must explain further.
My husband has, for quite some time now, had a gut feeling that "something was rotten in the state of Denmark" (aka, his workplace). That feeling has only continued to grow,  especially the last year.
Last week, he received a write up that confirmed his suspicions. And that's where things started to unravel.

After that lovely sunshiney weekend we just enjoyed, a storm had moved in. My husband was completely overwhelmed by the stress and anxiety it was causing him and ended up spending the afternoon in urgent care. He couldn't take it anymore.

God,
You move in ways we don't understand. You make plans for us that we could never dream up on our own. You take us down roads that we just wouldn't choose.
But you ALWAYS love us. You ALWAYS are with us. You ALWAYS have good plans for us, to prosper and not harm us.
Thank you.

The first of June

The first of June. A beautiful weekend spent with friends and family. We just finished a rough week AND our school year, so we celebrated with swimming and a sleepover at our house. Add to that an impromptu dinner with more friends and then cap it off with a graduation celebration after church.
Yes, June is off to a great start!

Lord,
Only you could know that this was just what our family needed. Only you could know what tomorrow would bring. Only you could prepare our hearts for the storm on the horizon.
Only you, Lord...
And for that, I thank you.