A Little Progress

Happy Sabbath

I have been enjoying a great week off from work and am thankful that I was able to get a lot done around the house.  I mowed the lawn about twice, made a new garden bed for the front lawn, fixed the gutters, edged, dug holes for fence posts, planted some gladiolus flowers, and cleared out brush and poison ivy to reclaim a good corner of my yard. 

I also put down carpet and tile and got my activity room set up (no longer office) and have been spending a lot of my time in this room.  I cleared out more stuff from the guest room, finally finished painting my bathroom and touching up fixtures, and finished putting up backsplash tile in my kitchen.  Now if I could just get the folding ladder to the attic fixed, I could get up there, put some more support beams and flooring and have a whole new room upstairs.  It would be nice to have a spiral stair case instead of the ladder steps.  So much to do, so little money though.  My son loves the activity room.  We have an entire wall that is all chalk board and I picked up dustless chalk markers after he had an asthma attack from the regular chalk.  I have masks for him to wear if he needs to use the regular chalk for any reason, but I love the room. 

I am thankful that my plants are doing well.  It will drop into the 30’s tomorrow night so I hope they will survive but my grapevine which I thought was lost has come back.  The cold keeps kicking it into dormancy.  Everything has sprouted except for the eggplant and sweet potato, but I know the sweet potato will be okay and overflowing with vines next month.  I have one thai hybrid hot pepper peeking through, a sweet salad mix growing well,  roma tomatoes, honey dew plants, bunching onions, squashes , morning glories and more growing in my back yard.

I am thankful for a thriving garden.

I am thankful that the Lord stopped me from doing something so stupid yesterday.  I had cleaned out my crock pot and it’s the kind where you can remove the cooking pot from the heating base.  I dried the pot and I don’t know where my head was.  I got a container and put some water in it because I wanted to slow cook some mixed veggies.  I had plugged up the heating mechanism and without thinking was about to pour the water into the heating mechanism.  I stopped and realized I needed to put the cooking pot inside and I was looking as I was surprised not a drop left the container I was holding and landed into the electrically charged heating mechanism.  That thing could have exploded in my face.  It could have burned the circuit along that wall.  My mind was not there.  All I can say is thank you because if not for God, what it could have been. 

I’m still praying about getting a second job.  I need it.  My dad told me of an opportunity in town and he thought I would act as if it were beneath me.  I went the next day picked up an application and returned it the day after.  I haven’t heard anything from anyone but I will keep applying. 

I am thankful for this time off, for getting things I have been putting off for weeks finally completed, and for a thriving garden and amazing looking home and yard.  I am thankful that I have time to enjoy it and be useful at church.  I am going out with my church to a nursing home in a half hour.  My son is coming along for the first time and I hope he will be on is best behavior (he is usually quite horrible so here’s hoping). 

I pray that you have a wonderful Sabbath and a blessed new week. 

Happy Resurrection Day Weekend!

Happy Sabbath,

It was a good week and today was a good day at church.  Still praying about the same things I mentioned last week.  I need financial help but God has taken care of us thus far. 

I came home early one day this week and planned to go inside and get something to eat. Next thing I knew, I had to get up on a ladder and fix a gutter that was coming loose.  I plan to go out tomorrow on the other side and fix that as well. 

My garden is growing.  I think I was wrong about the grape vine as there is still some greenness.  It might still be alive.  My honey dew is growng as is the tomato, lettuce mix, onions, broccoli, squashes and snap peas.  I am excited about the crops and even the flowers are trying to come up in the pots. 

God is good.  I get to spend my time with my wonderfull little son and we (God willing) will have all of next week to get a lot of things done with this house.  My bathroom will be finished next week.  I started moving things to the shed and I hope to get to the office and guest room so we can use them.  

My parents are traveling to NC so they need prayer.  I want to wait until summer time when they are down there to surprise them (either take the train or ride down in my car).

It is another resurrection weekend.  I am thankful that I am alive and able to see another weekend such as this and that I can continue to celebrate what Jesus has done for everyone and myself on the cross. I could have been dead. I could have been out in the streets homeless or worse, but the Lord looked out for me and kept me.  I pray that you too are blessed and enjoying this weekend and that you keep your mind focused on God.  There is a lot in this world to get us off track.  We have to keep pressing on and moving forward.  He did all of this for us.  He took the vinegar, the gall, the crown of thorns, the nails through his hands and feet.  He went through all of this to save us.  Let’s continue to lift up Jsus not just this weekend but every day that we have breath. 

I thank the Lord for keeping me safe on the road.  I thank the Lord for preventing this guy from continuing ot on the road after church, preventing him from hitting me. I thank the Lord for the rain to help my plants to grow, for a healthy lawn, for a clean and comfortable home.  I thank Him for my church.  I thank Him for my family and for His many blessings. 

God is good.  Praise Him and thank Him for who He is!

A Lovely Spring Day

Happy Sabbath

It is a lovely day and has been a good week.

What I am thankful for?  Seeing my son play with and do new activities with children from church.  We had a bowling night and there were some special moments I caught on camera with my son and the other children.  He is doing so well in this environment and I don’t want to go back to my other church. 

I was thinking about going out with the church after lunch to knock on doors but decided to go home since my son was reaching for things he was allergic to and of course there are some people who just don’t watch for those things no matter how much they say they mean to.  I am thankful for an opportunity to serve at least during lunch time.  I haven’t done this in years and although I get anxiety and run away from things like this, I’m thankful that it did not overwhelm me and make me give up. 

I am enjoying being in my home during spring.  I was not able to witness this last year since at this time, I didn’t know if I would be able to get the house.  I was not over here really until May or June to have partial utilities activated for township inspections.  I look out my window now and see beautiful grass, wood peckers, robins, beautiful blooms in areas I never expected, and I’m enjoying my time at home…even though much work remains to be done. 

I still have my bathroom, the guest room, the office to renovate.  I need to put another coat and seal of paint on the cabinets in the kitchen (my jeans rubbed some color on..not sure how that happened).  I need to reorganize my garage, hook up the back up refrigerator, and figure out what I am going to do with my attic. 

I also need another job.  That has not gone away and remains on my prayer list. 

I am thankful for stamina to get my notes in for the end of the week and to keep my promise to one of my clients.  They are in a dire situation and need a lot of help and I’m thankful that I was able to do what I could do yesterday for my client’s case. I am hopeful that something will blossom from it next week. 

I rode through my old neighborhood yesterday after the meeting with my client.  I never thought I would walk down those same streets again, I was so ashamed of what had happened.  I did walk with haste with concern someone would recognize me.  I rode through the area…past where I used to wait for a few busses, where I would habitually walk a long way home, and near my old church and some relatives on my mom’s side.  I kept driving and was surprised at what I saw.  What I thought I was living in, better than another town was really not what it was.  I am very VERY thankful for where I live today.  I take pleasure in riding through my current town and looking out at small estates and smaller lot sizes in section.  I am surrounded by verdant beauty, quality landscaping, and peacefulness I could never dream to find over where I used to live.  I do not regret commuting this far to work.  Beautiful parks, roads are clean, neighbors are quiet and respectful.  And to think, I said I would never return back to this town those so many years ago.  Aside from heaven and Carolina there is no other place I’d rather be. 

I thank the Lord for finding this place for me.  I thank Him for keeping me safe on the road.  I thank Him for helping me at work.  I thank Him for a beautiful, restful Sabbath and a place to spend the remainder of the Sabbath without interruption. 

I hope to be useful and productive for the new week to come, so please pray that the Lord will use me in some way next week and help me increase my income to deal with my financial challenges.

Happy Sabbath to you J

Broke But Blessed

God is good. 

I had a good week and a good day so far.  My last blog was mentioning some car trouble I ran into on Thursday.  I kept my appointment for Pep Boys to get the tires and oil change. 

I arrived at 9:45am for my 10am appointment but I didn’t leave until around 3:00pm.  I left happy at 3pm and this is why. 

God put it in the heart of the mechanic to cut me a brake (quite literally) for other services I needed that were unexpected.  Not only did I need to get the tires and oil change, but when they were inspecting the car, the control arm was broken, the ball joint just fell off and my brakes were almost non existent.  I had entered hoping to pay no more than $500.  I was quoted $570 or the tires, alignment, and oil change and it quickly went up over $900 for the other issues.  I was already upset that I put out over $650 for the other work my mechanic did and charged that to a card I never wanted to use, but I was broken when I had to offer up my other card which has a $8000 credit limit and I’m almost maxed out on it.  I’m almost maxed out on all three credit cards to be honest…I don’t know how I got this debt to be so out of control, what ever the case, I’m not a good steward. 

Mechanic told me about the brakes and I told him to not do it.  I was thinking I could try to see if my dad would do the brakes again.  Mechanic came around again and promised me he would get the price to be $850, putting the brakes and some of the labor in there for free. 

I left thankful that I didn’t spend a grand but the week wore on and I started thinking about updating my budget and checking numbers.  I still had my tax return money in savings, I shouldn’t need to touch it or so I thought.

I did the numbers and did the numbers and came to realize on thursday that I am not operating on fumes.  I am in a serious deficit.  I don’t have enough income coming in for my bills.  It is something I am still praying on…God may have already answered but I’m thick in the head. 

Friday came and I decided I would call an unsecured debt management company (one that helped me out of a credit card jam when my son was born in 2013).  Prior to this, I headed to my work appointments.  My second person was missing and while I was waiting for them, a familiar face came and sat down next to me. Turns out, this person is a director at another agency but recently picked up a second job at this new agency I was coming for the meeting that day.  The pen he twiddled in his hand caught my eye.  I belong to a certain credit union not many people I know deal with and he had a pen from there.  I was interested in how he came to this agency and although there are jobs available (as always) with these companies, I can’t hold on to mine and jump over with another as it would be a conflict of interest for what I do. 

I left my last appointment and pulled over into a convenience store parking lot.  I called the debt management company and was on the phone with them for perhaps an hour or more giving all the details of my stupidity and my lack of self control for them to tell me they couldn’t offer me the number I was hoping for.  The guy asked me for my last four digits of my social security and it turned out my last four was his direct extension at the company. 

I talked to him about my mortgage, student loan debt, ways I tried to cut spending and I let out from the start that I tithe and that was non negotiable.  He really went after that and yes, he has a point.  I don’t have money enough to feed myself or my son, but I have to give the Lord back His due.  He promises to bless us and I have to hold on to His promises.  I told the representative over the phone I needed to think about the offer (consolidating debt for a lower single monthly bill) and would get back to him.  I need a second job with or without this program. 

Next stop I made was to the bank to get the money for the tithe.  I went to pick up my son and last night I don’t know if it was a dream or vision…but I had in my head the thought about my client from Wednesday.  You see, Wednesday, I got a ridiculous email from a provider that was pulling some shady moves and to put them in their place, I decided to confirm with my client if the decision they were making was something they wanted.  While finding out that the provider was lying, I learned that my client got a job on Tuesday.  They have been complaining and whining for all the years I’ve worked with them and they took my advice to contact a temp agency to get something started with employment.  I really hope that they commit and it works out into a permanent long term…full time gig so they can begin living the life they want. 

Back to last night.  My thoughts were on getting employment through a temp agency.  I had partially completed one application and looked through Craig’s list to find a lot of sketchy positions that might end up with someone or myself getting hurt or arrested and realized that I should be contacting a temp agency.  I’m only looking for realy no more than 15 hours per week.  If I could find something on Monday late afternoons, Wednesdays late afternoons and Sundays, I could get myself back to green, at least temporarily. 

I went to church today and the message coming from the speaker for Sabbath school was about stewardship.  It was what I needed to hear.  She stressed that there were times she didn’t have the funds or know where money was coming from and God would bless her with the help of others.  It could be monetary.  It could be someone giving their time to save money.  Things given to her that were worth more than the dollar amount she needed to cover a bill.  She is the only one in that church that talks about tithing and stewardship in this way and I didn’t know or expect her to be speaking this morning on this.  She also had a good message for the children and now because of that, I have to tell my son it is okay if he wants to give away food.  He has been doing this a lot on the bus and the other children are always excited for the snacks and sweets he doles out.  Children need to learn to share and be observant of other children who may not have much or anything to eat.  My son usually is not hungry, but he does need to eat.  I am thankful that he is not selfish and I regret telling him not to give his food away to other children who ask for it and may very well need it. 

I’ve seen a lot this week but the Lord is good and I am able to end this week on a happy and triumphant note. 

Please pray for my church family.  There was a death for one church member and a death for one of my coworkers this week.  My coworkers situation is absolutely devastating and she and her family need so much support right now.  Please also pray for my financial situation, that I am a good steward and responsible with what the Lord gives to me, and my throat because my son and I are coming down with a nasty cold (it’s affecting me more so today).  I hope to share next week some good news.  I brought my son to church today and we stayed until 3pm so that is good news.  I am thankful for an opportunity to serve in more than one way and that there are people who are attentive and care about my son at the church I play piano at.  I plan to attend again next week.  There is a work to do at this church and I no longer want to waste time at the other one like I feel I have been.  I’ve always been drawn to missionary churches that get you out in the community and this one is definitely it.  Pray that we all continue to work and do the Lord’s will, remain obedient, faithful, kind, and patient until the day Jesus returns.