Path Through Adversity

 

I count my experience this week as adversity and I'm aware that other people may not think so, but it's my blog and my life so it's what I call it. I had a challenging and interesting week this week and am trying something new today.  I have turned off my phone.  I selected two verses to spend the day to meditate on that are not from YouVersion. 

Here is why:

My week was hectic and made no sense to me.  People  I work near and people I depend on to manage my health care needs gave me the side eye more than one time this week.  I am very much overweight even though I am making the changes and walk for 25 minutes (this week 3 times and did stairs) to stay active and help my metabolism.  I have blurry vision and dizziness, thirst as a result of being pre-diabetic, and can’t get enough water in me because I’m constantly driving out in this hot summer heat.  I’m still holding onto the Progressive check I received and drove to two motor vehicle places for them to tell me if I get a salvage certificate I cannot drive my car and would have to pay $200, and it has to be check or money order (not the credit card or bank card option they said on their website).

Sunday was ok, not much I can recall from that.  Monday I forgot I had to travel like 35 miles away for two meetings.  I checked my calendar the night before to realize I couldn’t just take mass transit into work and being that I drove-drove-drove the previous Friday, I had no gas in my car.  I filled up on Monday.  I filled up on Tuesday.  I even filled up yesterday.  I’ve never had to fill up my gas tank three times in one week, it’s usually once per week.  So Monday I dealt with oppressive heat and humidity and long driving and the stupid motor vehicles situation.  Needless to say I didn’t get the salvage certificate.

Tuesday I was trapped in traffic I never expected due to a media event.  That morning I dropped my son off with my parents and used the bathroom at my apartment, at their home, but then got stuck in traffic (they shut down the highway for over a half hour).  I had to pee so bad while sitting in that traffic and eyed the empty Cantalope juice container sitting in my driver-side console something serious.  I did some work on my phone, which saved me time when I got to the office only having to leave after being there 45 minutes. 

I drove-drove on Wednesday (traffic), and took mass transit Thursday.  I typically am in the office Mondays and Wednesdays but this is planning and annual meeting season for my caseload and I am booked up back to back on many days so I can’t be in the office for long. 

Friday I had four meetings and learned that my family friend from Ghana was instead going to come on Saturday (today) instead of Friday. I also was experiencing dizziness and blurry vision on Thursday so on Thursday morning, I called my doctor’s office (which went through this whole mess saying patients could not call ahead to schedule appointments but call the day of to be seen—nonsense that don’t ever work in no dimension I don’t care where you’re from) and of course they told me the only appointment they had was for Friday at 3:40pm with a nurse practicioner (never an opening for my doctor or any doctor for that matter). 

I accepted the opening believing I would finish my last meeting by 2:30pm and have a half hour to get there. The client wanted to interrupt and put on a show for her behavior specialist (she really loves her) and I’m steady looking at the clock trying to figure out what parts I can legally and morally skip past in the plan review in order to still do my job later on next week.  This is why I come to meetings early and am typically the first person there.  The meeting was supposed to start at 1:30pm but my client arrived at 1:15 and I arrived at 1:05 (was in that parking lot at 12:55 or so gathering my thoughts).  I had her finish paperwork before “some people” started making their way in at or after 1:30pm.  That meeting ended at 2:45pm and I was at that door. 

I put the coordinates in the android gps and some how it didn’t lead me to the doctor’s office that was 40 minutes away, but it lead me to the motor vehicles office 8 minutes away from it in a totally different town. 

I was also on the sync  (car Bluetooth) system talking to my sister who wanted to know what I was going to do on Saturday and wanted me to run down with our family friend from Ghana to Atlantic city to make it rain, all the while forgetting that I don’t make it rain on any day, let alone Sabbath. 

I made it to my doctor’s office and felt like I was being disrespected by the people there, not taking my symptoms seriously.  I want to get my thyroid checked and follow up with the testing my doctor gave to me before, but my schedule was so busy and I lost the paperwork, I just forgot about it earlier this year.  Plus when I wanted to see the doctor again to get my blood pressure checked and determine if they need to raise the Norvasc, of course she is on vacation when I am taking vacation to get this done. 

I reviewed the papers and she said my diagnosis was dizziness and giddiness.  I was not laughing during that appointment and I said blurry vision, not giddiness (I don’t know if she put that in to poke fun at me or what).  

My parents are strapped for cash and asked me to get a welcome gift for our African friend.  I headed out to Party City for a gorgeous balloon display and Burlington Coat Factory for some nice travel items she could take through security.  I ended up shopping for myself and my son, stopped at the grocery store to get paper-towels, young chicken thighs, and lemonade and rushed to make the trade off (get my son and give the gifts), get home and finish my service notes before sunset. 

I purchased a blush and bronzer kit (it was cute but I don’t know how to use make up and am interested in trying to glow up my features) and my kit was broken.  I know for a fact I looked in one and saw it was nice so I grabbed two.  I called my mom and she said the one she had was in good condition so of course I received the broken one.  I had to then do a youtube hack and pour rubbing alcohol in and flatten it out with a butter knife to reset it in the palate. 

So I am doing something different today. 

I’ve received calls from 30 different numbers Ford is trying to reach me on to pressure me into selling my car or getting me stuck in some arrangement that gets them an extra buck and leaves me out in the wind.  I have been side eyed by people at work and in the community and I don’t appreciate that.  My son has been wiling out and returned to terrible twos making my parents suck their teeth and me think my neighbor downstairs might contact child protective services on me because of my regular yelling at him.    This feels more like journal entry than anything, but I am at the end of the week.  Even with all of this mess going on.  Even with me being stuck at level 14 in Pokemon Go with 4 pokeballs left and 2 Eevees, 49 vulpixes,  and 399 magicarps short of being battle ready for my 1500+ CP gyms in my local community, God is good. 

Despite my mom who sees me 6 days a week and a client who sees me once a month said I was fatter after I was working on adding fiber and drinking more water this week; walking more and trying more to control my weight, God is still good.

God is good because I could have been stuck an hour in that traffic and peed all over myself without a change of clothes in sight (having to reschedule two appointments which could not be rescheduled). 

God is good because I still have my car and it took me to places I know I could not have reached without one.

God is good because I could have passed out at the wheel or at work and He did not allow it.

God is good because I have healthy food in my home to eat, a literal store house of grains that could last me a year or two ( I stocked up on bulk grains from Whole Foods over the years for a vegetarian diet which I’m not on).

God is good because I live in quiet  suburban neighborhood with low crime, have central air, and can relax in this space when I get home each day.

God is good because God is good and I’m so blessed to have Him on my side even though I’m not always doing the right things. 

I selected two texts for the day (my finger was pointing at one in my Bible Promises book) but the same finger was kind of placed on a second so I choose both.  They are as follows: 

Pointed: “Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.---Psalm 68:13.

Kinda on: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped:  therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him. –Psalm 28:7

Just to make sure I’m not missing anything the YouVersion verse of the day says: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” Psalms 119:1

So these are the verses I am meditating on today.  The top two verses were on a page and my son closed the book, so I had to look through 169 pages and didn’t even know what category (chapter) they were listed in.  I just knew they were on the left side of the page.  I skipped through sections and tried thinking on what the verses could be for.  I passed a chapter labeled “Help In Troubles” and decided to go back to it.  The two verses were in that section so God is good. 

It wasn’t the most troublesome week but it still felt like everything was against me.  I try hard to run all these roles (mom, support coordinator, supportive daughter, supportive sister—my older sister’s cat of 11 years was put to sleep and cremated this week) and I have faced wall after wall causing me to be frustrated more than once this week.  Jesus is there when we are facing even the most minute troubles and He helped me through to this point.  I am going to go meditate on these three verses and spend time with my God.  I encourage you to do the same.  I wrote last week how Jesus sustains us when we have no resources.  He is able to revive too.

Take some time this Sabbath to get revived.  Recharge your batteries with the power of God’s word.  God will help you even through adversity and the pesky things that are placed to annoy you.

Praise God. 

He Maintains and Sustains

Happy Sabbath

I had an interesting week and some good news.  Now last week, I said I was in a car accident.  My dad ended up having one on Monday.  A boy in his early twenties sped out and hit my dad’s stopped van in the front  of it and the boy tried calling my dad senile and wanted to drive off.  It’s funny because when I told him about my accident, he wanted to blame me for it and acted as if I could have done something to prevent it.  Little did he know a few days later he would have his own and he too had nothing in response on his part on how he could have prevented his.  My dad has issues, but getting to the good stuff. 

I went to the location Progressive required me to go (which was not in my state and an hour away from my home).  I work out of state so I opted to go on a day that one of my meetings was closest to the Progressive spot.  I went out there and they kept me at bay for over 2.5 hours and then finally said my car was totaled. 

The very words I did not want to hear.  Now the offer was, take this $5500 settlement and depart or leave with your car and get nothing.

The offer of fixing my car was off the table and they were not giving me a rental car knowing full and well that if I left the vehicle there, no one was going to drive an hour away to pick me up.  I have work meetings all this month and in the coming months as I have to revise my client’s plans and I need a vehicle. 

I rejected the settlement and drove off thinking I should follow up with my mechanic and run my case before my insurance company.  When I went to mechanic after my dad brought his damaged van for view, my mechanic said that I could still get the settlement money and keep my car.  All I had to do was ask if I could buy the car back (insurance companies have to sell the car to dealers who would then either repair and put them back on the lot or sell the parts to a junk yard.  I have a lot of good stuff in my car and it’s very much drivable.  He said they would give me the car back and remove $500 from the settlement money.  I decided to call Progressive the next day and got a little run around but finally an accident adjuster returned my call.  They agreed to take off $800 from the settlement, allow me to keep my car, and will write me a check for the rest of the money, which I plan to use toward repair costs with my mechanic.

God is good! He is able to maintain and sustain my life when I am out of resources and cannot see a way through.

See, they were trying to take my car.  If He didn’t lead me to see the mechanic and for me to reject the offer after talking to my parents, I would have a new car payment by now.  I fully own the car I have as a result of the previous accident.  I was looking at a BMW in the paper, but God knows what car is appropriate for me.

My car has a history and I am not ready to part ways with it yet. 

Thursday, I was in an office waiting to meet with two people and the receptionist was talking to a man who said he was afraid of hitting anything.  He may have been talking about an accident he had with a small creature.  He was afraid of hitting a person.  A guy sitting next to me agreed with him and I sat in silence.  I didn’t dare speak on the subject. 

One thing I will say is the year and day to the incident in 2014, and in the hour, I went past the location where it happened in silence and prayer.  I continued on to work and entered a ramp that I need to get on a different highway.  Satan likes to pick at people and he certain picked at me that morning.  There was road-kill on the road and I’ve seen road-kill many a time.  Only this time, I was not able to maneuver my car out of the way of the road-kill because of where it was on the road and the speed of which I was going in the ramp.  I felt my tires go over this poor creature.  What is significant about this is I have never driven over road-kill before that point and it happened on the year anniversary of that horrible accident about 3 miles away. 

But I’m still driving today because God allows it.  I still go outside my house because Jesus gives me strength. As I said before in the previous post, He Makes Me Brave. 

Satan wants us to hide and be paralyzed with fear.  On Thursday, I learned one of my clients’ believes he’s doing to be a daddy right after the people in the waiting area talked about their fear of driving over something or hitting someone.  I don’t know how to deal with this situation, but God will help me to say the right words to him.  Fear of bringing a child into this world without enough resources to support it is one thing.  Fear of not knowing if it is your child and that the person who claims you’re the daddy is trying to use you for your disability check and other benefits is my concern and one I don’t yet share with my client.  He has real things he needs to think about now.

I had to see someone at their house prior to this on the same day and when I got up to the driveway, a swarm of either bees or hornets (they were big and long) was blocking my way to entering the side door or basement door (I go through the basement because that door is usually unlocked and the staff want everyone to come that way.  I stood out side for a bit and wondered what to do (nothing in my car I could use because I cleared it out for progressive’s assessment) and a staff came to window laughing at me and told me to make a run for it.  He eventually came down and brought out a “weak” leaf blower and turned it on by the entrance to see if it could disperse some of the bees.  I made it in and out without getting stung. The staff who helped me stood outside in short sleeves unfazed.  He honestly believes if you don’t swing at them, they won’t bother you.

Ever since I saw my sister stung as she kindly allowed a yellow jacket to land on her hand, I was terrified of bees.  In marching band a boy said, “Just fan the wasp away and they won’t harm you.”  He fanned and it returned and stung him the crap out of his arm.  I watched him run away in silence across the field right after that.  My dad is of the same opinion.  Wave them away or spin to prevent them from getting a hit.  He’s been stung several times.  I was only stung once and it affected more than half of my body for at least a half hour so I am not taking my chances and I don’t have an Epipen. 

I go off on these tangents but what I am saying is to know God is with you and to walk trusting in His ability to bring you through, but to also have sense (I’m not saying common sense because it’s not as common as one would think).The phrase on my living room wall says, “Be Strong and Courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.—Joshua 1:9” 

If you know God has given you something to do, don’t be afraid to do it.  He will equip you with what you need and get you there in one piece, perhaps without a car or with/without other things you never expected before.  He will care for you if you have a pregnancy you did not expect.  He will cover you when you lose your job or place to live. He will feed, clothe, and comfort you when you are hurting. These are all true and real promises that can be claimed today and they continue to be talked about because people, real people are experiencing the Lord's power and mercy in this generation. God is good yall!

Give it to the Lord and He will see you through.

HE MAKES ME BRAVE

 I love that song by Amanda Cook/Bethel Music.  I started singing that song when I stepped out into this new job.  I sang that song on the year anniversary of the horrible accident I had in 2014.  I had another accident this week but first let me talk about something.

I mentioned last week about my cousins, one in particular was the one who had the motorcycle accident.  He had the accident while attempting to pop a wheelie and lost control of the vehicle.  The very next day after I posted to this blog, I was driving down the street a road that is “ALWAYS” uneventful and no sooner did I turn on the roadway that I saw a guy speeding and popping a wheelie heading northbound and having what seemed a fun time.  I know that this was nothing but the devil to taunt me because of the post I sent earlier.

Now  I was at work on 7/14 and I went to get my car and travel to my first meeting.  I usually speed up for yellow lights because Yellow, in my world means “you better get there”.  I decided to slow and stop and allow it to turn red.  I waited and waited and when the left turn signal turned green, I carefully proceeded around a corner/intersection that had a huge truck parked at the corner obscuring my view from the rest of the street I was turning on to.  I turned onto the street and went up about 2 feet before coming upon a wide pot hole and being that my car needs repairs underneath and is somewhat low profile, I couldn’t just drive as normal over it.  I slowed down even more to navigate it but as I was in the pot hole, I felt and heard a huge bang that made me put my hands up to my face. 

I thought the pot hole destroyed my car.

The lady behind me in the Honda Odyssey slammed into the back of my car and I realized this because as I removed my hands from my face, my car was drifting somewhat down the street a 2 more feet and I had to brake it.  It was her first accident and we both were shaky.  I was so shaky, I had to videotape her documents and the damage instead of take regular photographs. 

After we exchanged information, I travelled on to my meeting.  I had 4 meetings scheduled for the day and no time to cancel anything.  I was not injured, but the right side of the bumper in the rear of my car was pushed in causing the side of it to bellow out and the trunk not to close.  The Lord allowed me to make my meetings on time, complete my service notes, get checked out at the hospital (even though by a wacky philosophical doctor who seemed pervie and couldn’t take a hint that I was not interested in talking with him, but getting my work done and about my day).  I completed paperwork with HR, went grocery shopping, picked up my son. 

But satan wanted to taunt me in the midst of this.  After leaving my 3 meetings and heading to the 4^th, people started driving erraticly. I continued to proceed with caution despite this. The lady’s insurance was calling other people all around creation but not me and this was frustrating my mother.  I called them and settled the matter.  Strange that I contacted my insurance company and they said they were going to give them my cell but no such call made it to me from Progressive.  I have Geico and used to have Progressive. 

Praise the Lord, Progressive will repair the damage at no cost to me.  The other driver was found at fault but thankfully neither one of us suffered any injuries and our vehicles continued to get us to where we needed to go. 

I left the city and as I was driving to the store, an white suv came up driving aggressively behind me.  The section of roadway I drove is typically one where I will go in speeds in excess of the limit but I was in no mood for this really and the car in front of me was keeping the speed limit.  I wasn’t sure what was wrong with the person behind me so I moved to the middle lane to realize it was a cop.  I watched the cop to continue driving aggressively up on the car that was in front of me.  The cop could have moved to the middle lane to pass as there really was no one there.  He continued speeding and switching lanes without signals and disappeared further up the road way after many switches afterward.

Now if I had drove faster, if the car in front of me was not there, I would have received a ticket.  And being that I’m black, it would be some other unnecessary mess added on to a day that still doesn’t make sense to me.

I guess what I’m trying to say is if one challenge happens to befall you, satan will come in like a flood and try to throw all manner of chaos your way.  Chaos to get you to focus on the mess and distract you from what really matters.  Jesus can help you overcome anything.

If you read anything from my earlier blog posts, this is not my first accident.

A man died on October 19^th, 2014.  The day immediately after and for several weeks, the enemy flooded my path with situations that were so ridiculous. Things that people who came to my office and shared that they were afraid to even step foot outside their homes and gathered just enough strength to get to my office.  Satan flooded their way.  It’s not coincidence that these things happen; they are planned and only when satan and his followers think they have a chance to shut you down.

That song, “You make me brave” is a special song to me.  Without Jesus, I could not step outside.  I would be terrified turning any corner not knowing what would happen, fearing the worst. 

This is life.  Sometimes really sucky things happen.  You may turn that corner and there may be a gang war complete with flying bullets and knives and you end up being a target.  You might turn another corner and not see a huge bull mastiff charging the next thing it sees moving (which is you).  We don’t know what is around the corner, but what we can trust in knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus will come around that corner with us and help us through what ever it is. 

All things do happen for a reason.  I have this car because of Jesus.  I am also having the car repaired because of Jesus and I am once again walking away from an accident uninjured.  I don’t know if I can say that for a next one, if one should occur.  I don’t like pain but I know that Jesus has been there with me in all of my past situations and I know that He will be there for my future. 

Jesus will be there for you too and is there even now.  Don’t allow satan to overwhelm you with floods.  Jesus walked on water and Peter walked with Him.

You can too. 

Happy Sabbath

"VERSE 1:

I stand before You now
The greatness of your renown
I have heard of the majesty and wonder of you
King of Heaven, in humility, I bow

CHORUS:

As Your love, in wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us
You are not against us
Champion of Heaven
You made a way for all to enter in

VERSE 2:

I have heard You calling my name
I have heard the song of love that You sing
So I will let You draw me out beyond the shore
Into Your grace
Your grace

REPEAT CHORUS 2X (I think)

 

BRIDGE:

You make me brave
You make me brave
You call me out beyond the shore into the waves
You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now the love that made a way

You make me brave
You make me brave
You call me out beyond the shore into the waves
You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now the promises you made
You make me brave
You make me brave
You call me out beyond the shore into the waves

You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now the promises you made"

God's Promises

I had a great holiday weekend.  I had 6 days off which included July 4th and didn't give as much thought about what I would do with the time when it grew closer to me taking off. 

Only July 1st, I went to pick up the last of my items left in my parent's living room.  Of course there is more I have to get, but I won't talk about that.  I've been moving for more than a month now and have just too many things I need to purge.

One of the items found in the July 1st load was a Bible Promise book I received from a Seventh Day Adventist church several years ago.  I may have had two copies at one point when I was doing a tract and book ministry during those years.  The one I held in my hand last night has the church's address printed in the front. 

I read some of those promises after seeing the chaos on the news and after enduring uncomfortable moments around other adults and children.

I took my son to the aquarium on the first day of my vacation.  When we left, a white child was behind us outside and spoke what many black people in this country know unfortunately to be true.  He said that we were black and he was white and he is protected.  My little son at three could not understand what this boy was saying and the parent or chaperone who accompanied him tried desperately to shush him.  I made sure to look over my shoulder to show I heard them.  It bothered me when we returned to the car and part of the drive home.  He is right, we are not safe.  With Texas and Minnesota and more protests unfolding, people are showing their true colors and how they really feel about black people.  I can't even go into a grocery store and shop with my son without receiving judging looks from people of a different race.  People in bmws and mercedes notice I am black and driving and purposely speed past and cut in front of me when no one else is out on the road.  I am not served first even though I arrive first.  Eyes dodge mine and people purposely sit far away when it is more convenient to sit in my area.  I have been overcharged and received low quality items. I have been made to feel out place and profiled.  The only people who have said words that shouldn't be said are asian and indian (those other asians).  White people cough when I approach.  So racism is very real to me and alive. This spurred a renewed interest in looking to traveling the African continent. 

My sister did a genetics dna gift for my dad for his 74th birthday and I learned that at least for his genetic make up, he shares dna with people from South Africa, bushmen, something from Saudia Arabia, and what he knew from meeting family as a child, a blending of native Americans.  I do not know my mother's roots, but looking at her face and the faces of people from the continent, I see west African features, Ghanaian if most.  From one of my past jobs, my family and I befriended a young lady who lives in Ghana.  She came to the states to work with us during a summer job that I had and now every other year she comes with her church group for a conference in various states.  She was in NC last year and came up to NY so we were able to see her and she stayed with my parents.  Prior to me knowing anything and in the midst of the renewed interest, I was looking up information of people repatriating to Ghana and other countries on the west coast. I looked at the culture, businesses, and things people were testing out and said to my son that night that we would plan for our next trip to be to Ghana. 

I met with mother the very next day after work to learn that the young lady will be coming to stay with my parents in a few weeks and mom wanted to know if I could plan to leave for work a little later than I typically do. 

Another thing I will jump to is that my cousins were on my mind.  I don't know if it was in prayer or in a dream, but I know I took some time thinking about these cousins (one of which I held as a baby when I was but a little girl).  I thought about this cousin and her brothers the day before I spoke with my mother.  When I spoke with my mother, she informed me that this cousin was sentenced to 4 years in prison for trying to kill my aunt the day I had my thoughts about her.  When the judge asked for her comments, she said that my aunt deserved what happened to her.  No remorse at all.  I also learned that another cousin on my dad's side of the family who would be graduating college next year broke up with his girlfriend and fell into what they say, a depression.  He then started doing sporadic things, risky things.  He had a motorcycle and was racing with a friend and ended up going into a ditch and crashing into a tree. 

He is paralyzed from the waist down and has to be moved out of state to a special rehabilitation center.  Another cousin on my dad's side had a similar accident some years ago but was able to walk again.  Out of all people on my dad's side (and I don't deal with those people), he was the most interested in me and my son (I'm still searching for motive).  He showed extra kindness to my son and he has a little boy a few months if not a year older than mine and was trying to arrange a play date for him.  However, our aunt on that side does some shady mess and I don't want to be entangled with them (no offense to him).  There are also two others on my dad's side who have not been in motorcycle accidents, but they are paralyzed from the waist down, unable to walk I believe.

There are generational curses but God's promises are sure and can help any and all that are experiencing such curses.  My story is eerily similar to my eldest sister's life story.  Major car accident on October 19th? Hers was a year later on November 19th. We look the most alike. We have similar manerisms and similar failures. The only real difference is that she got married to her monster, had a daughter, and didn't finish college.  She wanted to be a dentist and for reasons only God and her know, she gave up that dream. 

God says, "And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." (Genesis 28:15). 

I live in a racist country and come from a family that has bad history on my mom's and dad's sides.  If I were a stranger to myself, I'd say all odds are against me.  I am a single mother.  I am black.  I am despised by people who don't know me.  I am avoided by family and judged by them. I could  too be paralyzed from the waist down. I was in two bad accidents, three even as a young child, but God was with me. As a child I daily refused to wear a seat belt. That night the Lord put it in me to fasten it and I sustained a small cut on the lip as a result. The cars were totaled in all three collisions. Even if I was injured, God would still not abandon me. He has not abandoned my cousins and there is still hope for the one in prison. She had an abortion in jail at 2 weeks and she was or still is in solitary confinement for fighting another girl there. He can enter any cell wall and reach us and I know He can see her where she is. 

We can hold onto God's promises.  God said He would be with me.  I have Joshua 1:6 on my living room wall.  I know I am not perfect. No one is perfect and that is why we need a Savior. God has been with me at every point of my life.  I thank God for this and encourage you to look at His promises and see that they are real and can work for your life as well.  I've gone through terror and treachery, abuse, and abandonment.  Many people turned their back against me and spoke evil on my life.  But God, Jesus saw me and picked me up.  He can pick anyone up no matter how bad the sin is. 

Happy Sabbath.

Seventy Five Years

God is good and it's been a good week. I started the week with disappointment and allowed anxiety to create an embarrassing moment for me, but I am able to walk past it.

I celebrated my dad's birthday this week. He turned 75 and I had a chance also to join up with my eldest sibling and we took him out to an early dinner after I finished up from work. I've had salmon all week and continued with the trend. They had steak. Not many people reach 75 and even with all the arguments and issues I have with my dad, I am thankful he has been blessed to live three quarters of a century and that he is doing well. He was polite and humble during the outing which was nice to see.

I had a successful finish to this week (well I finished on Wednesday early afternoon to begin a 6 day staycation). My parents who watch my son went on their vacation and are doing reunions and house construction (which has been going on for a month).

I decided to get dressed on Thursday and put my hand accidentally on the very first shirt I put in my closet when I first moved in here. It's a mermaid statement shirt from  Walmart that I thought was so cute. That motivated me to really get dressed and head to the aquarium with my son. He wore a Captain of Adorable shirt complete with anchor and we had a great time.

It was a blessing to see him so excited about the sea life and calling out the correct names of creatures he saw in various exhibits. It was also wonderful to see these amazing creatures in a cool and airconditioned environment.

My son is extremely hesitant to put actual food in his mouth that he has never tried before. I bought some soft serve ice cream with oreo cookie crumble on it and he actually ate it and enjoyed it. He is venturing out more and hopefully soon he will eat a full course meal instead of leaning on Pedia sure. I no longer really think it's texture sensitivity but foods have to be put in a positive yummy light.

I like my food and love to cook. Hopefully some of what I do rubs off on him and might do culinary arts.

God helped me find things I needed this week that I didn't even know I had. Jesus helped me to pay rent and the rest of my bills. We have food in the cupboards and one of my sisters came by and joked that my freezer was stocked full to the coming of our Lord and Savior. I do have grains that can last a year or two, no lie. I have bags of barley, a huge jar of farro, an even more huge barrel glass jar (tank?) Basmati rice, bags and bags of chickpeas, beans, amaranth, and more. I could open a small natural foods store.

God is good. He has been good to my family and really good to me. I have 3abn and can watch with free Internet  (courtesy of my sister) in my own home. I am going to have a tasty curry salmon steak with a huge fresh spinach salad. I have cool water to drink from my own filtered cistern. And I have a good central air system making each room a dream.

I can't wait to see what else is in store for this weekend.

God is good.