Trust

The Lord has been doing some major changes in our lives, teaching us some deep lessons that I would like to share. Up until June the Lord had been teaching us to trust Him in a very simple way. The bills would come in, they would be paid. He always brought the work in time. Always. Sometimes the very day something was due we would have no way of knowing how to pay it but always before the day was over the money was there to cover it. I finally came to the place of just trusting Him, if an anxious thought arose it quickly was sent away by the realization that God always provided for us. Always. Then June rolled around. We sent out our monthly checks like before and one after the other they were returned because of “Insufficient funds”. No work, no reprieve, nothing. I was totally shocked. How could God allow us to arrive at that kind of trust and then BOOM, drop the bottom out from under us? Had we sinned? Was it a test (for what)? Why??? We waited and struggled to find enough work to put food on the table as well as pay some of the bills and the multiple fees associated with an overdrawn bank account. July, same story. It did not make sense to me, I know God does all things well, but this just did not add up.  The Lord revealed to me that I had become angry with God. That sobered me greatly and made me fall on my face before Him, begging for some sort of understanding, pleading for peace. I went to my husband for help, asking him “why?” his answer was so simple, yet so profound. “Even when we don’t understand, we need to trust the Lord. It is not always going to be easy to trust Him like it has been but we should trust Him even in the hard times. Whenever doubt comes in, take it to the Lord right away.” So I began to pray about that, especially “even in the hard times”. Then the Lord reminded me of Job. WOW! God allowed everything to be taken from Job, even his children, and it was still for God’s glory. Job basically answered the same way I did…paraphrasing... “Why, what have I done? I am innocent.” Yet Elihu rebuked him and his rebuke now stung me as well….

“Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man. Why doest thou strive against him? For he giveth not account of any of his matters.” (Job 33:12) and in 34:5. “For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.” V. 10 “…far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.” V.23. “For he will not lay on man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.” V.29. “When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:” vs. 31-32. “Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.”

The Lord is bringing us into a new level of trust. Up until now we trusted that He would provide. Now He wants us to trust Him even if He does not provide. Is our faith conditional? Will we only praise Him when things go our way? Or will we still trust and praise Him when it seems like everything is falling apart and we are faced with losing everything? Our dear Lord Jesus Christ has a plan and purpose in all things that He does and in what He allows to happen. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Does that mean that everything will go the way we want it to? No. All things work for our good, even what seems “bad” works for our good. God is bringing glory to His name and He has many ways of doing that. If teaching us to praise Him even in the hard times will bring Him more glory, than I rejoice and am very thankful for this deep lesson He is teaching us! Growth is painful, but oh how blessed we are that He is willing to allow us to go through painful times that we can grow through it. Praise Him! Praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!! He is worthy of all praise and honor! Sing to Him, offer a sacrifice of praise, He is worthy! (Hebrews 13:15)

Flea Market Anyone?

My husband and I are homeless, well practically. BUT we do own a flea market. Is that news to you? It is to us too. We welcome you all to come on in and pick up as many fleas as you can attract before leaving. We would be happy to share the wealth of our abundance. 

To back up a little… we own a dog named Abby, she is a German Shepherd and a real sweet heart if you pass her inspection and criteria. She has one problem, she has fleas (or I should say, had). Now dogs often have fleas and we were not too worried about it. Get some flea stuff and get rid of them, right? At least that’s what I thought. So being a use-the-least-amount-of-chemicals-as-you-can type of person, I decided to use diatomaceous earth which is reported to be a very good flea killer and I have had good success with it in the past. That weekend Patrick and I gave Abby a good long bath, (she hates those) and when she had dried off, I rubbed the DE into her fur. She was completely white and looked quite ridiculous, but hey, at lease she would be rid of the fleas, ha. Since we were about to leave for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that evening  for a week of work, I sprinkled the DE all over our house just in case, of the probability, of fleas residing there. We took Abby with us since we had found a hotel that allowed pets. We left with the happy thought that any fleas in the house would certainly cut themselves on the microscopic razor blade sharpness of the diatomaceous earth and would be no more!

During the week Abby seemed to be quite relieved and feeling much better, so I was very pleased and looked forward to going home and cleaning up the DE all over the floor and being done with it.

……..(Long rabbit trail alert!)…… The Lord has led us to a new job that requires a whole lot of traveling for now. Patrick is building prefab sheds at customers homes, as a subcontractor. He now has a large truck and goose-neck trailer and two employees to work with him. He has to have a DOT (Department of Transportation) number on the truck and in order to drive that with the trailer, he has to have a health certificate. We spend the week in a hotel and come home on the weekends. Traveling is not something we really want to do, but for now this is where the Lord has us and we continue to work towards the goal and vision the Lord has given us of full time ministry.

Because of the way Patrick’s work week went, we ended up heading home on Saturday (9^th) morning around 2:00 am. Patrick was absolutely exhausted from an especially grueling week of work and since we were pulling the goose-neck trailer and I don’t have my health certificate yet, I could not drive for him. So every fifteen to twenty minutes he had to pull over and sleep for fifteen to twenty minutes. We would have slept longer but we had an appointment at 9:00 am that we had to make and which could not be moved. It normally takes about an hour and a half to get to our friends house where we were dropping off the trailer, but it took a whole lot longer than that. Finally we made it and I could take over the driving. By that time I had become very tired and made it only for an hour before having to pull over, but since Patrick had slept for that hour very soundly, he was able to get us to our appointment and we were only a few minutes late. Then we had to get to a Title office to get plates for the truck which were about to expire and come to find out the only one open until noon on Saturday was a good ways away and since we had to leave for Buffalo New York on Sunday there was no other time to get them. So we took off and got there in time to get the plates, praise the Lord! Then our helper, who was riding along with us, told us that the only way he could cash his pay check was at his bank and it was closing at noon…it was quite a long way away! Off we went again and somehow we made it at 12:01 and since they saw him running for the door they let him in. Praise the Lord! Then we still had to drop him off at his home, get our mail and make it to our bank before their 1:00 pm closing time. Whew! ...... (End rabbit trail)…..

We were very thankful to the Lord and relieved when we finally made it home and were ready to get some much needed rest, before getting ready to leave on Sunday for Buffalo NY. I took Grace out of her car seat and was talking to Patrick for a moment as he brought things in from the truck, when I felt something on my leg. Looking down, I saw fleas, what seemed like millions of them, crawling and jumping up my legs!!! I ran out of the house jumping all around brushing them off, it took a little while to get them all off. Patrick grabbed the few things from the house that he had taken in and closed it up. I climbed into the truck and began to cry. It felt like too much, more than I could bear. Yet the Lord was there and He so gently took the burden from us, letting us rest in the knowledge that He knows best and is allowing this for a purpose.

We went to Patrick’s parents who very graciously let us spend the night, feeding us and everything. They are such a blessing to us! Before leaving for Buffalo we bought some house foggers and bombed the house,

chemicals or not we have to get rid of the fleas! We took Abby to our land where she would be safe and cared for. So we went to Buffalo content that the fleas would certainly be dead now.

Home again on the 16^th we walked into the house to check around, I was probably in there for about one minute when I looked down at my feet and saw my white socks turning black with the tiny things, which for some reason now looked larger than they had before! Again I ran out doing the flea dance. Again we stayed at Patrick’s parents, this time until Tuesday night when we left for Buffalo.

Patrick’s Dad helped us get in contact with an exterminator who told Patrick that the reason the fleas look different this time, is because the fogger we used had birth control in it to supposedly kill the eggs and that sometimes causes the fleas to become twice their normal size! He said that he is unable to come do it himself but is sending all the sprays and things that we need to do it ourselves. So…. We will be home next week for a much anticipated break, but we don’t really have a home to go to.

I love being home, I love keeping my home and to have this happen is a great trial for me. Looking through the windows, I can see the rocker, couch, kitchen, etc. all the comforts of what we call home and it makes me cry because I cannot even walk in the door. For some reason the Lord is allowing this to happen, somehow He is using it to shape us more into the image of His Son and He will be glorified. Yet, I must say, it is not fun. Patrick’s family is so sweet and loving to us, I am so thankful to the Lord for them! So many emotions! Yet that must not be my focus, only Jesus. I pray we learn what He wants us to learn through this.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

(Mat 6:19-21)

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

(Heb 13:15)

Praise Him even when we don’t feel like it!!!

Home Birth Story: Grace Tabitha

I promised to post the story of Grace’s birth and now, three months later, here it is!

When my due date on March 10^th came and went without any signs of things happening I was rather disappointed. On the 8^th I had four contractions thirteen minutes apart, but they did not return and so we waited. The Braxton Hicks were getting stronger and more frequent but that was it. We visited our chiropractor who found that my pelvis was pinched and something in my hips was out of line, so he did an adjustment on me and sent us home to walk. We had walked for about a mile with me doing some squats now and then, when suddenly I felt her drop. I was so excited and walked home waddling and looking much more pregnant then when we had left home, it was amazing. We were so thankful to the Lord that I had not started labor before that, since our chiropractor said that if I had it would have been a very difficult labor. We waited some more, hoping, but still nothing. At my appointment with my midwife she said that I was dilated to two centimeters but no effacement. I began to do everything I could to go into labor as one week over due came and went. I loved being pregnant but I was so very ready to be done with that part. I really had to turn to the Lord for strength to keep going and waiting, it was very hard to be patient but that was what the Lord wanted to teach us. People were telling me that I would probably go into labor on Saturday the 19^th because it was a full moon, I was doubtful but wishful as well. : ) So when on that night I began having contractions, first 15 minutes apart and eventually down to 5 minutes apart for several hours, I was very hopeful. My Mom was on the phone with me talking as I walked around and around my kitchen and living room trying to keep things going as my husband slept so he could be rested. They were not hard contractions but enough to stop me in my tracks as I breathed through them, often times squatting, while my Mom helped me time them. Then they petered out and stopped. So I went to bed, disappointed, but still hopeful that things would happen soon. The next morning I began walking again and by late morning the contractions started again. I was thrilled! My sister Bonnie was very excited that I might be having my baby on her birthday. Patrick was excited now too and as the contractions continued without letting up for five hours he had me call the midwife to let her know what was going on. She decided to come see how things were going. By the time she got there they were starting to peter out again and I was still only dilated to two. She gave me some castor oil to take along with blue cohosh with instruction on dosage and she went home. That evening I did have some more contraction that were harder than they had been, but they did not last through the night. 

Several more days went by and I went to see the chiropractor again since my midwife had told us that yes, the baby had dropped but not enough. Another adjustment, some more walking and she dropped lower. We went to see my midwife again the same day and she gave me more herbs to help start labor and told me to take more castor oil. So I began taking all those things, drank cups of parsley tea, walked, squatted and waited. On Thursday the 24^th I began having more contractions, but by this time I was more or less ignoring them other than doing some squats. I did not want to get my hopes up again. Then about three in the afternoon I realized “hey, these are getting really hard!” I could not ignore them anymore and in fact they were increasing in strength very quickly and I had to really concentrate on breathing through them. I looked at my husband and said with a smile “I think this is the real thing!” We decided to take a nap just in case, so we would be rested. He slept, but I sure didn’t! There was no sleeping through those contractions as they increased in strength. I got up and walked around for as long as I could and when I could stand it no longer, I climbed into bed to try to relax like the Bradley Method teaches. I was not smiling anymore. Patrick then called our midwife who said she would be there in a couple of hours. My sweet husband spent those hours and many more hours into the night heating up water in the stove to pour into the birthing pool since the water coming out of our hot water tank was discolored for some reason. He traveled back and forth from the kitchen to the bedroom carrying pot after pot of boiling water. While he waited for it to boil he would spend time coaching me through the contractions, which by this time I desperately needed his help. He also sent texts out to friends and family letting them know what was going on and asking for prayer. I finally asked him to ask the midwife to please hurry.. she did and was soon hovering over me and giving me herbs to help me relax and to get the contractions to increase. She had Patrick fill up the tub with hot water so I could get in there while I waited for the pool to get warm enough. Oh how good that water felt! It gave me the strength I needed to get through the contractions since before getting in I was beginning to feel a little panicky. 

 I took this of my husband as I labored in the tub, the love in his eyes says it all.

As I soaked in the tub I heard my midwife moaning in the living room, soon Patrick came in telling me that she had the flu! I felt so sorry for her, it had to be hard to be in a strange home helping at a birth and feeling that awful. I began to pray for her and the Lord put in my mind to tell Patrick to give her a teaspoon of Diatomaceous Earth in water. I had heard that it could help with a flu but never tried it myself. Patty(our midwife) took it and within thirty minutes was up feeling much better and a couple of hours later she had no flu symptoms at all! Praise the Lord!

All night long the contractions continued. When I was not in the pool my dear husband would rub my back through every contraction. We would sleep in between them, (at least he would, I tried to and I think that I did a little) and then I would wake him up pleading for help. I was so very thankful for him and felt bad that he could not sleep as he was exhausted, so I tried to get though them alone, but most of the time I could not. I could get through the front labor pain, but the back pain was so intense I could not bear it without his fist pressed into my back rubbing in a circular motion. When I was able to get into the tub, oh what a relief it was! I could float around into whatever position I needed and the warmth of the water on my back was so helpful, it was still not easy but more manageable. After a couple of times in and out of the pool my contractions slowed down a little so I began walking again to keep things going, the break was not for long and they soon picked up again with gusto. I don’t know the times when things happened, the hours that went by all blurred as I tried to just get through the next contraction. Patrick put on some soothing instrumental hymn cds that his mother had given us, they were very calming and comforting. I was dilating very slowly and as the morning and day (May 25th) progressed my midwife found that the warm water was causing me to swell, so I could not get back in. That was a huge disappointment! She also began to use ice to bring down the swelling which was very uncomfortable. As night fell I was getting closer to full dilatation. 

I think it was around 11:00 p.m. on my second night of labor when I finally reached full dilatation and transitioned into the pushing stage. It was a relief to be able to do something. At some point Patty broke my bag of water and I remember her saying that it looked like our baby’s birth date would be the 25^th. Then a problem developed. Part of my cervix was hung up on my baby’s head and when I pushed, it would tighten up not allowing her to move down through. So Patty told me to stop pushing with the contractions but rather in between them, while she held the cervix back. Oh that was hard. She would then have me relax through them for large spaces of time, then come back and try it again. There was little to no progress for hours and I began to fear we might have to have a c-section. Which I did not want. As I lay there is complete misery, (Patrick still rubbing my back!) everything seemed dark and I really did not know how I could make it any longer. I asked the Lord “Why does it have to be this hard, many women have shorter labors.” He showed me that although I had been praying throughout, I was trying to do it myself, not consciously, but I was not fully relying on the Lord for help. By His grace I truly cast myself upon the Lord and told Him that I could not do it without Him. I pleaded with Him to help me and remembered the agony that Jesus bore for me, in my place on the cross and I thought, cannot I bear this for my child? But my strength was gone, it was then that I either imagined or saw Jesus reaching out His hand to me. I grabbed onto His hand and did not let go.

Soon Patty came in to check again and suddenly progress was being made! My baby had gone past the point where she was stuck and now things were moving quickly. I could push! Oh how strong the urge to push became… and ruthless! There was hardly any time to rest and I was exhausted. Patty began preparing things for the baby and then concentrated on talking me through each push. Soon they could see the head and Patty kept telling me to push harder, but I was so tired! Patrick then took a picture of my baby’s head, which gave me the boost I needed to give it all I had. Patrick got more and more excited as more of her head showed and kept showing me pictures which really worked to keep me motivated. My midwife had to snip a little and finally my baby’s head was out! Patrick showed me a picture of her scrunched up little face and in two more pushes which took everything left in me, she was out at 5:37 a.m. on March 26^th! Praise the Lord!

 Joy!!!

 The first thing that struck me was that my baby is a girl! All throughout the pregnancy we thought that it probably was a boy, so we were amazed to see our little girl. She was pink and screaming and as Patty laid her on my chest she began to suck her fist, so I decided to try nursing her right away and sure enough she latched on and wanted both sides! I was so thankful that she could get that good colostrum in her little body. We left the umbilical cord attached for about 45 minutes until in stopped pulsating then Patrick cut it. He was then able to hold his little girl for the first time! I cannot describe the joy it was to see our baby in her Daddy’s arms and the amazed look on my husband’s face! The Lord is so good! It took a while to get the placenta out but once it was finally out, oh it was such a relief! Patty took Grace to bathe and weigh her while I rested. She weighed in at 8lbs. 3oz. and was 19 ½ inches long. Patty could not get over her color, how pink she was (and still is :).  She told me that I could not get up until much later that day since I had lost about five to six cups of blood and anything over four is considered a hemorrhage. 

 Bonding :)

 First bath

 My parents were already packed and ready to travel down from Wisconsin to stay with us for a while, so they soon began their 14 hour drive. Patrick’s family came to meet the new arrival, bearing presents and food. My sister-in-love Leah stayed for the night to help us, which was a great blessing. I would almost faint standing up from lack of blood, so they both would support me whenever I had to get up. A friend brought over all kinds of good iron building foods which I began to eat and slowly the color came back into my cheeks after several days. My parents arrived on Sunday and stayed for over a week. It was such a HUGE blessing having them there! My Mom took care of meals, housework, laundry, etc., babysat Grace so that I could sleep and just blessed us tremendously. My Dad helped Patrick out with numerous projects and fixed a drawer in my kitchen that had to be completely rebuilt! They did not leave until I was able to pick Grace up and carry her around the house. Before that time I would get dizzy and begin to topple over. I am so thankful to the Lord for their love and kindness to us!

 

Happy Grandpa

 Happy Nana

 During the time of my darkest moments, especially in the second night of labor, I did not realize just how many people were praying for me. It blows me away to think how many people slept very little that night as the Lord burdened their hearts to pray! My parents were in agony, crying before the Lord as they waited for more news and none came hour after hour. Patrick sent out several texts, but the last they received before the happy call about the birth was that the baby was stuck. It makes me cry now to think of their prayers. Oh how thankful I am that the Lord had so many people praying and that He answered their prayers in a mighty way! I did not have the strength, but He gave it to me, I could not go on, but he lifted me up and set me on a Rock, Jesus my Savior! Thank you Lord Jesus! All glory goes to my Lord!

 Foot stamping

 Grace amazed us by holding her head up off of our shoulders from day 1, strong little girl!

 Very happy Mommy :)

 Our precious little girl, such a gift from God.

My sister-in-love Olivia crocheted this hat for Grace.

Now my little girl is three months old! It is hard to believe, she is growing so very quickly!

 

A woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
(John 16:21)

What our life has been like...Part 1

I must say that I was surprised to receive so many comments on my last post, thank you all so much!

The Lord has been so good to us, He is faithful in all things just as He promises in His word. Patrick lost his job about a month before our wedding and has not been able to find a good steady job since, yet the Lord is our provider and He has never failed us. Time and again we have wondered how He would provide for our next need only to see His hand move in a mighty way. Our dear Heavenly Father is taking us through a trial of faith that we might be more conformed to the image of His son, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing to know that whatever He takes us through it is that we might be more like Him for His glory, this is the joy of our journey.

 O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer;
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
  Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

O to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand'ring sinners to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Our Lord has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, we are His children and the sheep of His pasture, He cares, oh so tenderly He cares for His own. When I have times of doubt the Lord points me back to Matthew chapter six. What comfort is to be found in those precious words of our Lord Jesus!

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek;) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:31-33)

We took a trip up to Wisconsin in June to get my dog Abby and some of my things as well as visit with the family. 

 It was wonderful to see everyone again!

We brought back tomato and pepper plants that I had started back in April, which we were able to plant along with beans and a few other things. It was a smaller garden, but a great blessing. It is so much fun to work the soil and care for the plants, then later to harvest and can. This time was especially fun as I worked alongside my husband! 

 We had to harvest the tomatoes while they were yet green because of caterpillars attacking them.

There are no words to explain the blessing and joy of having a godly, loving husband! When I think back over all the years that I prayed for him, hoping that he existed, I can see so clearly now how the Lord was answering those prayers. I used to think that maybe I was asking too much when I told the Lord what kind of a man I wanted for my husband. I thought maybe I would have to settle for less than what I prayed for, then after more prayer I realized that I did not want to marry a man who was not what I was asking for. So I began to think that I would never get married, since it seemed impossible that such a wonderful, godly young man existed. Please allow me to tell you that the Lord answered far above what I could ask or think! Patrick is so much more than what I asked for, daily I am brought before the Lord with thanksgiving for creating me for such a wonderful man!

What has been going on over here?

My dear Mother has been sick for three weeks now...earlier this week her symptoms changed for the worse, so she wet to the doctor yesterday. They ran more tests, and finally decided that even though the result came back negative, she does have Lyme disease. This is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick, which we have up here. These ticks are the size of a pin head, very hard to spot, and are carriers of several diseases. Now my Mom is on antibiotics for three weeks, prayerfully this is "in time". If left untreated for long, this disease begins to effect the neurological system. As it is my Mom has been in a lot of pain, but she can tell a slight difference now after taking two doses of the meds. Please do pray for her recovery, and thank you so much to those who have been praying. Praise God that they were able to find out what was wrong!

I have been *very* busy taking care of things here. Harvesting and preserving, caring for (with my brother's help) almost 150 chickens, caring for the family, etc. My Grandma has been a huge blessing to me as she washes all of the dishes, not a small task, as I cook meals from scratch and use lots of pots and pans in the food preservation process.

So now you know where I have been and will be...

Keep close to Jesus!

I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy
name, O thou most High. (Psalm 9:2)

Praising in Sickness

Wow, what a time!

Michael and I came back from the Missionaries to the Preborn tour on Sunday, I will have to fill you in on the details for that later. My Mom has been very sick for a week, high fever, achenes, queasy, etc. On Monday we had to take her to the hospital because we were afraid that it was more than just a flu. They ran a bunch of tests, including a cat-scan, and everything was negative. Last night we received the results for the Lyme disease test and that was negative as well. Praise God! So it must just be a terrible case of the flu, and we are all hoping that we will not get it.

On Tuesday Michael and I had to butcher chickens, a couple of friends came to help (Thank you soooo much!!!) we did not get them all done, so we plan to do the rest tomorrow and there are some other friends who plan to help. Yesterday and today we packaged the chickens, and for the rest of the day today we snapped, blanched and froze, a whole bunch of beans which I had picked on Monday. And, I could go on with all the things which should have been done...yesterday. But our God is so wonderful! He gives a song in the night season, a joy when hard times come, a peace when we should be overwhelmed. Oh how sweet is His presence! If it were not for hard times, we would not know what it was like to be carried through them by the One who Knows.

Please pray for us, for healing for my Mother (she is slowly on the mend), for strength in this time of need, and also please pray for our dear friend's baby Jesaias who is very sick right now as well.

Trials

I have been sick, especially this past weekend. One moment I was feeling fine, the next my throat began to hurt and within thirty minutes I was full blown sick, even starting a fever. Weird.
Thankfully I am doing better now, not quite over it, but much better. Meanwhile, I missed the big day at my Grandma's house. Which turned into two BIG days of moving her things out, while a renter was moving her things in. Wow. My poor family, they came home completely exhausted and spent and very glad to have that over with.

My Grandma is doing better, healing and recovering from the operation. It is hard to have her here, I won't mince words about that. She is not saved and finds it difficult to hear us always singing, praying and talking about the Lord. There are many wonderful opportunities to minister to her and she hears the gospel every day now, in one form or another. We are praying that the Lord will draw her to Himself and save her.

We have been going through an extended trial and just the other day I was praying, asking the Lord why it seemed that He was not answering my prayers. Quietly He spoke to me, showing that indeed He is answering. I had asked for patience - He is teaching that to me. I had told Him that I wanted to be closer to Him, no matter how hard a trial would have to be to get closer - He is answering that prayer as well. These trials drive us to our knees, He becomes our only refuge and we learn to fly to Him. Oh, how sweet is His love, when we look on His face in the midst of trials. He wants us to take our eyes off the waves and place them on Him. Faith IS the victory, praise God for giving us faith.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Faith is the Victory

Words by John H. Yates
Music by Ira D. Sankey
1891

Encamped along the hills of light,
Ye Christian soldiers, rise.
And press the battle ere the night
Shall veil the glowing skies.
Against the foe in vales below
Let all our strength be hurled.
Faith is the victory, we know,
That overcomes the world.
Refrain
Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.
His banner over us is love,
Our sword the Word of God.
We tread the road the saints above
With shouts of triumph trod.
By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,
Swept on o’er every field.
The faith by which they conquered death
Is still our shining shield.
Refrain
On every hand the foe we find
Drawn up in dread array.
Let tents of ease be left behind,
And onward to the fray.
Salvation’s helmet on each head,
With truth all girt about,
The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,
And echo with our shout.
Refrain
To him that overcomes the foe,
White raiment shall be giv’n.
Before the angels he shall know
His name confessed in heaven.
Then onward from the hills of light,
Our hearts with love aflame,
We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
In Jesus’ conquering Name.
Refrain

God is so very Good!

By the way, how do you all like this blogs new look?