Almost May

 Happy Sabbath,

I had a delay in getting on here. I had a wasp flying around my kitchen and didn't know until my son pointed it out.  The wasp was taken care of and adrenaline is coming down, I can sit down and write a little about my week and how good the Lord is.  

I am thankful that I am able now to get more time for my clients.  I have one mentally unstable and needy client that has been testing my limits and it may be next week that we will be able to let her go, I'm not certain but am hopeful. This client has refused all reasonable options put forth until it is too late. I was glad to hear that she took my advice and was able to get into a homeless shelter but I knew that with their rules, she wouldn't last too long. I was right. She ended up having to go to the hospital the same day.  I wish her well and hope that she is able to get the help she needs.  I wish there was more I could do for her and I have seen other social workers get more involved and but I cannot be a friend because I see her pattern and the lives that have been destroyed by actions and accusations in her wake. Only the Lord can fix it and I am giving her situation over to Him.  

I am thankful my son could get his hair cut by the same guy who did an amazing job before. I called up the place and learned the guys name and now I will make sure every month I take him to this guy.He is happy and looks so handsome and I am thankful that I can give him that level of confidence in himself.  

I am thankful for the garden transformation that is taking place and how it is becoming of interest to my son.  I decided to start transforming a small corner down the hill into my son's first garden and now that I have taken the steps, I want to expand it much wider and get that hillside I was thinking about developed into a tulip and other flower garden.  He has a timed water supply as of yesterday, installed a post and hung a cute sign, and lights down there.  Now I just need to help remove more grass and weeds, install a fence and gate and get some chairs and he is set.  Perhaps a fountain, that would be cute down there.  We can do so much with that area. If I had the money, I would get people to put stairs into the hill so it would be easier to get down there for visitors. I would have levels of flowers going down the hill or hostas or some other shrubbery and have it end with thujas at the base to increase our privacy. I will not stop trying to source out inexpensive trees. I would love to plant a persimmon at the top of my hill (right where another tree was removed before I bought the house).  So much work to do and I am happy to do it.  

This week the children are learning about stewardship and I think gardening and taking care of plants and wildlife is a good way for my son to learn and put it into practice.  It's also a good way to get him out of his room and off of the video games.  

I'm looking forward to a great spring and summer and more time with my son out in the Lord's beautiful creation.

Happy Sabbath :)

Mommy's Birthday

 Happy Sabbath,

Today is my mother's birthday and I am thankful that my mom and dad are both still with me.  I picked up some full size products for my mother for her birthday yesterday and a few days ago and forgot to give her one which I will drop off later tonight.  She turned 69 and God willing my dad will turn 80 in June.  

This week was a challenging week but I had a better handle on it and am thankful for that. 

I looked at my bank account yesterday and was surprised that I had $250 more in my account and was confused and still am about what it was for. I guess it could be a bonus for me staying on with my part time position.  It's crazy to me that although the rate is slightly lower than my salaried position, I am taking home more money with the part time. I am thankful that I can go in the store, pick up whatever I want and check out without worry.  We spent a great deal of money yesterday and I have no regrets. If I continue on the same track, I can have both credit cards paid off in a year or less.  

I need to do my taxes. I haven't gone through my tax documents and when I called a place that did my taxes two years ago, they said they didn't hire anyone to do tax preparation so I can't go to them. I was pretty much robbed when I went to a popular service but I am afraid of messing up because last year I had three jobs on the books. The tax deadline is in less than a month. I want to try to do my taxes tomorrow after I do my yard work. My son has been assigned the title of dandelion picker. My neighbor's visitors had recklessly parked up on the curb grass of my property and killed the grass in their ripping and tearing away down the road. Even their property is destroyed on their curb and they have a business come out to do lawn care and landscaping.  I had to go out about 2 weeks ago and aerate, reseed and throw down fert and my efforts are paying off. The lawn is luscious, full and green and I am hopeful that the barespots will fill in well too. I purchased another hose and will have my garden beds properly set up (removing the other hoses that were for the wrong purpose.  I have gorgeous ferns, blue and purple flowers around a bench I purchased for my front porch and a new table and chairs for my patio around back.  I also have my curtains for the gazebo which I intend to put up tomorrow after I clean up around the pavers.  My property is shaping up and I look forward to spending more time outdoors and enjoying this space that I call home. I am still on a quest for the perfect privacy ideas. I had an eye on a pergola that would have been perfect on my patio but I hesitated too long and now it is out of stock. All others are more than double the price and I can't justify getting those when I could probably do a build for $200 or less with raw materials.  

I want to get bricks and build a nicer front to the bed I put in the front of my house.  So much to do and its mid April. May will be here before I know it.  Gotta get to work..tomorrow. For today, enjoying the Sabbath and resting as one should.

Happy Sabbath :)

Looking for a Song

 Happy Sabbath

Good week. Busy week. That break that I had was much MUCH needed from work and I am thankful that I was able to take it and recover.  I am running late with time because right after service, I made something to eat and thought to sit and sing a song that I would venture the Lord placed in my mind and heart two Sabbaths ago.  The song is Till the Storm Passes By.  It's one of those old folk songs that the old folk at church like to sing.  I would say that it came out of no where but there is a reason for everything and no, it didn't come from no where.  

Last Sabbath I told myself that I would sing it for special music this week since I didn't do it last week. This week, however, I chickened out and put more effort into preparing the children's choir and they sang today and did a beautiful job.  I am responsible for music throughout the program every week as the music coordinator and I am often at a loss of who I can get to sing next.  Many people shy away from it as do I and prior to this church, no one had ever heard me sing out loud during service and I would hide behind the piano or some other instrument as available.  

Today, I led out for song service and felt a difference.  During Sabbath school, I knew I wasn't ready but by divine hour, something changed within me or definitely with my voice.  I felt more confident and my tone was smoother and how I do so when I am singing by myself.  I thank the Lord for giving me this confidence and helping me to sing today.  I had practiced a song I played for about 2 years now in a different way last night and attempted to play it on piano but forgot a section, but it's okay, I will make sure to include it next week.  I am working at improving my sound with piano and trying to get a stronger more gospel sound, improving chord progressions and getting in those diminished and augmented chords and it is coming along.  But back to singing, singing is not something I have ever been confident with doing in public and I am used to hiding behind an instrument.  

There was an issue with pastor's signal and he abruptly asked me to sing a song while he switched to another device.  I typically will have songs lined up and prepared that I know will work well but this time I did not.  I flipped through my hymnal and randomly picked a hymn that most knew but I didn't give much thought about if my voice could handle it and I took it on and it went beautifully.  I had no nervousness. My tone was smooth and I had proper pitch and inflection.  After service, as a result, I thought about the song that came to my heart the other week and decided to search for a background track and just record.  I recorded the entire song in the second take and after hearing it, I feel I can use it for special music next week.  I hope to get to the point where if I have to sing for special music specifically, I can sing without pre-recording.  I have this song but I am still looking for another song, something i can handle but more importantly, something that speaks to me and can bless others.  I like the song My Help from The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and tried to record it but realize I don't know the full song that well.  There are other songs from during my early Christian walk that I could possibly draw upon. I will think on those and see if there is something I can do with them. It certainly helps with zoom that you can send recordings or have the camera off as I know for myself, if people are looking at my face and up my nostrils, nerves will get in the way.  I have to get over this and I need to start now.

It is after 4pm and I need to take my nap for work tonight so I will get off. God is great, God is good.  Use your talents for the Lord and work that fear out of you.  Never thought I would be singing in front of people and look what the Lord has been able to do with me. He can most certainly do it for you.

Happy Sabbath :)

Abundance

Happy Sabbath and Happy Resurrection Weekend, not easter.  We don't worship the fake goddess Ashtoreth so we don't celebrate easter. We celebrate Jesus and what His life on earth, death, and resurrection mean for all of humanity.  

 

Had to get that out there.  I am thankful for this weekend and today.  I am thankful that I have two jobs and I am able to take time off from one and get additional rest.  I know there is big talk about raising the national minimum wage and various companies have talked about how they were going to change things including my employer for my part time job.  I didn't realize how much they were going to pay me. I thought it was going to be one thing but as I saw the deposit post, I was extremely confused.  The pay that I am getting from the part time for three days is literally on the heels of my salaried job that is 40 hrs a week.  I am paying for a 403b plan, health insurance and taxes are taken out of my salaried income so that make sense there but for the part time, only tax is taken out.  I saw a sign on the outside of my store and wondered if they were going to pay me that amount; they had said something different to us earlier.  Much to my surprise and pleasure, I realized that the amount posted on the wall of the store was actually for me and my income bracket really moved up more than I ever could have expected.  

 

I still hold on to the job thinking in the back of my mind it is temporary and it could end at any moment.  I could be late one too many times or something else and they can let me go, so I am not getting into any major commitments like buying an Audi suv, doing an addition in the back of my house, or paying for electrical system and hvac overhaul.  The money I'm getting I'm putting into savings. 

I was burned out this week at my main job.  The vacation time could not start soon enough.  I was off on Wednesday, part of Thursday, and will be off Monday. Friday, they give us every Good Friday off.  I will take more time if I need later this month but hope that this little break will help restore my motivation and focus. 

 

My son was supposed to go to NC on Thursday but the morning of, my dad tried to start the suv and it wouldn't start.  This happened last year, or actually I should say there was a problem with the AC so they had to delay and get it fixed.  They broke down in the middle of summer on 95 south and were stuck on the road overnight.  I don't know if it is the enemy, or if they need to have a chat with God about this.  Maybe God is trying to show them they should not be going down, something else is to happen, I don't know.  It is Sabbath now and my son and I are still together and if he was not here, I probably would not have known he had an ant issue in his bedroom (he continues to try to eat in his room and crackers and other crumbs fall in places he is trying to hide stuff).  I am going to deal with all of that tomorrow.  I was able to do some good yard work yesterday and this week, I installed a sprinkler system to water two areas in the front of my home and a drip system for my new garden beds.  Things are shaping up and I am thankful for all I have been able to do.God is good.