I have to tell of God's faithfulness to us this week! We struggle financially. We have since Elijah was 4 months old and Andy was laid off from his job. We have never quite recovered from his well paying job with great benefits. We both work now, cut corners where it's possible, and I coupon! Unless it's on sale or a great deal.. we don't buy it.
This week we had several bills coming out and we didn't have the money for it. We don't get paid til on Friday. On Monday, Andy was very concerned for the week ahead. We were on our way to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate our 3 year old & his birthday for the day! I have been reading a book by Elizabeth George called "Loving God With All Your Mind". In her book she explains about living in reality and trusting God with the rest. So, I told Andy what I've been learning. Right now, our reality is that we are going to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate Eli Eben's birthday! We are going to have a great time with him and celebrate him. Don't worry about the bills! He looked at me and sarcastically said, "Well, I'm glad you're so positive!" and I was able to respond back to him with great appreciation for our God and said, "I'm not, but I know that my God is!" He smiled and said, "Okay.. you're right. We will worry about it later." So, I asked him, "What will later do?" He said... you're right... Okay, Okay, Okay. He surrendered to what I had already surrendered to in my reality... God is in control... not me!
Andy works 2 jobs. On Wednesdays he gets paid for one of them. So our thoughts were... maybe if we can just make it til Wednesday, then hopefully we will be okay. Wednesday came and he got his check, but it was less than we expected. We were $30 short in our checking account for our bills to be paid. I told Andy... well, it will be what it will be. If we have an overdraft fee, then we do. God is in control. Thursday was the day that he figured the bills would come out and he waited anxiously. Do you know what happened? No bills came out!! Praise the Lord we got both got paid today (Friday) and have what we need to pay those bills.
It's amazing how God takes care of us even in the most mundane of things as paying bills. There are children in other countries (and here too) who are orphans, have little to no food, no clean drinking water. There are children who are abused, marriages that are breaking, etc. God is a big God who loves all of us, cares for all of us, and throughout everything in this world He has to take care of... it is exciting to know that He loves us enough to orchestrate when our bills get paid!!
Today, I am left humbled and so thankful!!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Lydia's Baptism
Yesterday (8/21/11) was the day for Lydia's appointed baptism. On May 13th she accepted Jesus to become the Lord of her life!!
Leading up to yesterday's baptism Lydia was very unsure about the process. She doesn't like trying new things and she would tell me she was scared. She shared that she was afraid of getting her clothes wet, the water being too high, the water being too cold, the water getting in her eyes. These were all fears that we were able to talk through and problem solve.
Our church is still small and we rent a building to hold our service. We don't have a baptismal and we borrowed a church with a baptismal for the afternoon so that Lydia could be baptized. When we left our house Lydia was doing okay and had accepted the process of baptism and I could sense some excitement in her.
We arrived at the church and she wasn't real happy that the baptismal had some rust in it and didn't appear clean. She doesn't like it when things are dirty. I assured her that I was going to take her down the steps and that I would hand her to Daddy (Andy got to baptize her!!) and she wouldn't have to touch anything but the water. She was getting nervous and it was obvious. I got her dressed in her gown and she liked it and thought it was funny, because it was so long.
I held her as we started into the water. My feet hit the water and I knew we were in trouble.. the water was freezing!! I felt really bad for her and as soon as I handed her to Andy and she felt the water she began kind of whimpering. Andy assured her that it was okay and she had a death grip on him! When he went to baptize her he more or less had to go down with her, because she wouldn't let go. She came up nearly screaming and cried until the time I got her dressed back in her normal clothes.
I was very sad that her experience of baptism was so bad for her. It wasn't pleasant at all. She loves water. Although she was unsure of this new experience I really felt like she would enjoy it because she loves to be in the water. I really think if the water had been warmer, then she would have been okay. She didn't talk to us very much for a little while.
Then, last night I gave her a warm bath. I sat there with her and talked with her about her baptism today. She told me, "The water was so cold... brrr!" I asked her if she would do it again (just out of curiosity) and she quickly shouted, "No!"... then we giggled together about it. Through a friend's comforting words I explained to Lydia that sometimes being a Christian is hard. Sometimes we are scared to do things that God tells us to do like baptism. Sometimes when we do it we don't like it like going into freezing cold water. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable and even hurt. However, we are being obedient to Jesus. When we do what He asks us to do that makes God happy and we can find joy in what we did. She (thankfully) understood this. I told her that none of us knew the water would be so cold and we were very sorry for that. Then, she went on playing in the warm bath water.
As she got out of the bathtub and I went to help her get dried off and dressed she said, "Mommy, why did they not turn the heater on in the water?" I told her I wasn't sure. Then she said, "Mommy, if the water was so cold, then why didn't we just go somewhere else?" I told her that was a good question and if any of us had known that, then we would have. Thankfully, she was okay now and happy that she had gotten baptized!
God is faithful in all things... even when the water is freezing!!
Leading up to yesterday's baptism Lydia was very unsure about the process. She doesn't like trying new things and she would tell me she was scared. She shared that she was afraid of getting her clothes wet, the water being too high, the water being too cold, the water getting in her eyes. These were all fears that we were able to talk through and problem solve.
Our church is still small and we rent a building to hold our service. We don't have a baptismal and we borrowed a church with a baptismal for the afternoon so that Lydia could be baptized. When we left our house Lydia was doing okay and had accepted the process of baptism and I could sense some excitement in her.
I held her as we started into the water. My feet hit the water and I knew we were in trouble.. the water was freezing!! I felt really bad for her and as soon as I handed her to Andy and she felt the water she began kind of whimpering. Andy assured her that it was okay and she had a death grip on him! When he went to baptize her he more or less had to go down with her, because she wouldn't let go. She came up nearly screaming and cried until the time I got her dressed back in her normal clothes.
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| I love how Elijah is looking to make sure that she is okay! |
I was very sad that her experience of baptism was so bad for her. It wasn't pleasant at all. She loves water. Although she was unsure of this new experience I really felt like she would enjoy it because she loves to be in the water. I really think if the water had been warmer, then she would have been okay. She didn't talk to us very much for a little while.
Then, last night I gave her a warm bath. I sat there with her and talked with her about her baptism today. She told me, "The water was so cold... brrr!" I asked her if she would do it again (just out of curiosity) and she quickly shouted, "No!"... then we giggled together about it. Through a friend's comforting words I explained to Lydia that sometimes being a Christian is hard. Sometimes we are scared to do things that God tells us to do like baptism. Sometimes when we do it we don't like it like going into freezing cold water. Sometimes it can be uncomfortable and even hurt. However, we are being obedient to Jesus. When we do what He asks us to do that makes God happy and we can find joy in what we did. She (thankfully) understood this. I told her that none of us knew the water would be so cold and we were very sorry for that. Then, she went on playing in the warm bath water.
As she got out of the bathtub and I went to help her get dried off and dressed she said, "Mommy, why did they not turn the heater on in the water?" I told her I wasn't sure. Then she said, "Mommy, if the water was so cold, then why didn't we just go somewhere else?" I told her that was a good question and if any of us had known that, then we would have. Thankfully, she was okay now and happy that she had gotten baptized!
God is faithful in all things... even when the water is freezing!!
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