Showing posts with label trouble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trouble. Show all posts

Monday, December 16, 2013

Today Has Enough Trouble of It's Own!

Last Tuesday night, December 10, 2013, was the final night we HAD to spend in the RV this winter! What a crazy week this last one has been. We had counted down the last thirty days until we were going to move in to our new apartment which Jeffrey calls 'The Castle'. He cracks me up. I have explained to him that we will only be living in a tiny section of the castle. His excitement has not been phased.

Monday morning, December 9, 2013, I had called over to verify my time for my walk through and to make sure they'd gotten confirmation of my renters insurance and the fact that the utilities were in my name. All was going smoothly and we set my appointment at 11:30.

At three that afternoon, I received a phone call letting me know there was a slight problem with my new apartment. Sometime between Sunday night and Monday afternoon, a water pipe had burst and there was so much water on the floor that they were going to have to replace the carpet and padding in the bedrooms and the flooring in the 2nd bathroom where the leak had happened.

They told me it would be completed by Friday. I admit I was a bit sad. I had seen the weather forecast for the week and it was not pretty. We have been below freezing for over a week now and it was only going to get colder over the next couple of days.

Towards the end of the day, I saw a post asking for help with a chain saw crew being called to give a helping hand in Texas where they had been hit by a massive ice storm. I knew Mike would be great help so I quickly got in touch with him and asked if he'd be interested. Seeing how we weren't going to be moving now until Friday, the biggest need for Mike to be home was taken care of. Our money is really tight this month and we both agreed that him helping out would be a beautiful way to tithe. I gave him Rusty's number and Mike was the final man they needed to be able to go.

They were heading out Very early in the morning so we set our alarm for 4:20 AM and the next day we headed out before the sun came up to get Mike to one of the meetup locations on time. Once he was dropped off I made my way to work.

At eleven that afternoon, the apartment complex called me with great news. They were ahead of schedule and as it turned out if I wanted to, I could begin moving in anytime after 4:00 pm on Wednesday! The irony did not escape me! I was super thrilled that we would be in the new place right before the coldest night of this winter arrived.

With Mike being gone, I knew I could only do so much as far as moving everything was concerned so Tuesday night I packed up the majority of food, all our dirty clothes, all of our clean linens as well as the entire bathroom including all of our clean towels! All I could think was, 'I get to do laundry IN my home and everyone can take a shower!'. It truly is the little things in life that make me the happiest.

Wednesday came and after work I headed over to the apartment complex to sign my new lease. I thought I had help lined up to move the three beds I had been given along with a few odds and ends. As it turned out, my moving help was a no show and we ended up sleeping on the floor the first night! Thank goodness I had thought to grab the one cot with the 1" foam mattress and a really thick sleeping bag.

The funniest part of our first night was when I had two children in the two tubs only to realize I had nothing clean to put them in when they got out. I quickly went through all the dirty clothes and picked out things for everyone to change into and got my first load of laundry going.

Bonus things I did not know came with my apartment. A microwave above the stove, a dishwasher and an ice maker! Life is good!!

Thursday night, my help arrived and I got the few things I had been given moved into the apartment and placed in their spots. Jean, one of my many sisters in Christ, kept the children for me while another sister in Christ, Ana, helped me get the items I had been gifted into place.

When we arrived back to Jean's we discovered she had made dinner for all of us. We ate, joked that we should take a picture to post to Facebook with the a note about how all that was missing was our Pastor and his wife for our old Thursday night Bible study. Weirdly we have not gotten together since the night Ana and I were baptized. We were left hanging in the midst of Acts.

Friday night in the midst of the approaching winter storm, the chain saw crew made it safely back. I picked up Mike and we headed home. We caught each other up on all that had transpired.

The gist of this post originally began to show that the best laid plans are often disrupted. I was being led to blog on the verse regarding the fact that each day has enough trouble of it's own. Allow me to share that here, from Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 34:

So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of it's own.

The entire chapter has wonderful wisdom. I love reminding myself of this final thought for I have found it to be so very true. There is no sense in getting all wrapped up in tomorrow.

As my mind often does, while I was typing the above sentence, I recalled something I heard on Moody radio the other day. It was on a Friday around 5 PM and they were playing a series of voice mails that people had left. One of them stuck out more than the rest to me and it was about 'I Am.' In a gist the guy was talking about how you shouldn't focus on the past for God has said His name is I Am and while He is in the past and the future, it was never the past and the future when we found Him on any given day, for His name is always in the present and that was where we should be ourselves. That's not exactly how it was phrased. In all honesty, it was stated in a much more impactful way. Regardless, this has seemed to be the lesson I was being taught this past week. Stay in the here and now for this is the moment we are living.

I pray that this rambling blog has lifted your spirits, given you something to smile about or perhaps even caused you to seek a little more from the word of God Himself.

Father, I come before you today singing your praises and giving thanks for what a wonderful Father you truly are. You never cease to amaze me with your ways. I love living this life of mine under your terms. No longer do I feel the need to control everything for the illusion of me being in control of anything has long gone! Thank you for that!! I love where you have placed me. Close to work and home and surrounded by many brothers and sisters in Christ. How blessed I truly am. Thank you for loving us and always being faithful. My life is so colorful and bright and I truly look forward to each day. I pray that I continue to grow spiritually. I pray you lead me in the direction I am designed to go in. I pray I am able to see and hear all you have for me to see and hear each day. I pray that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ grow closer to you as well. May this season that we celebrate the birth of Christ in be full of your love. May more and more and more of us come to see the Glory of God. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God,
Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2013








Sunday, August 4, 2013

So, Let Me Ask You, Do You Have Hope?

Fantastically Fun-Filled Fabulous Friday! As I read K-Loves Encouraging word this morning, I just am overwhelmed with emotion. You could say I've walked a bumpy road, you could even truthfully say I went in the complete wrong direction a time or two, bound and determined to have my way. We all have a past. We all have something we are not proud of. But do not let that hold you prisoner. For that is not what your Father has suggested you should do. Here is today's encouraging word from K-Love:

Come back to the place of safety,all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.

~ Zechariah, Chapter 9, verse 12, NLT

What a call to return home! A promise to bless you twice for each trouble. Not just come home, I'll show you some love. No. I will REPAY TWO BLESSINGS for EACH TROUBLE.

So, let me ask you, do you have hope? If you do, I urge you to invest that hope in your relationship with God. The closer you get to Him, the more you will witness a difference in the ways things unfold in your life. Prayer matters. It part of your armor. I don't know about your daily life but throughout my day I run into others that seem to be having a really bad day. If you are not prepared to come under attack, these run ins will really throw you into a loop. I talk a lot about renewing one's mind. So many of us are watching these so called 'reality shows' with MAJOR drama in the mix. You can believe all you want that these shows do not impact the way you yourself react to certain things, but if this is all you are pumping into your mind, I can promise you this is a natural result.

On the other hand, if you are delving into God's word, if you are renewing your mind in as many positive ways as humanely possible, I can also promise you that situations will not escalate in the same manner. If you add prayer to that formula you will often witness unbelievable events. Like a child lifting a car off a parent or vice versa as an example. Or like me, you may be blessed by becoming a tool in the healing of another individual! Perhaps you might meet another sister in Christ who has a message for you, given to her by your Heavenly Father! This could lead to so much more. I know this to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt. Of course if you have read my blog "Show Me A Sign" as well as "Unpacking Treasure, show me a sign part II" you know this actually took place in my life as well. By being introduced to my sister in Christ, I ended up meeting her sister at a fundraiser and today I am a part of her ministry. I am telling you, your whole world could explode in blessings!

I have to laugh, because last night at bible study we were talking about how we are instructed to rejoice always. Not just in the good times but through the mishaps of life as well. We happened to be reading about Paul and Silas in Acts, Chapter 16. They had just been dragged into town by the slave owners of a fortune telling girl who, due to Paul ordering the demon to come out of her in the name of Jesus, had lost her talent and in turn the slave owners risked losing their profits. The slave owners made the false claim that Paul and Silas were throwing their city into confusion, being Jews, and claimed they were proclaiming customs which were not lawful for Romans to accept or observe! The crowd rose against Paul and Silas and the chief magistrates tore Silas and Paul's robes off and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After striking them with many blows they hauled them off to prison. The jailer threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in stocks. This is the first recorded account of anti-semitism! So next, we learn that Paul and Silas were not only praying, they were also singing hymns of praise to God. It also says all the prisoners were listening to them when suddenly there was an earthquake so grand that the foundations of the prison house were shaken and All the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened! I cannot imagine what that scene must have looked like! One thing is for sure that is some exciting stuff!!! 

 this past Thursday I had posted this on my 'You Are Worthy Too' fan page: Tremendously thankful thoughtful Thursday! Indeed I am thankful. Yesterday my 'world' could have blown up. I admit I cried out loud. I called a friend quickly and asked if she would pray for all of us as I was a mess. She did. In the end what was meant for evil became good. Thank you Father God. As your word claims, it is true:

As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.
~ Psalm 138:3, NLT

In the midst of absolute fear of what may transpire, I was able to keep my head about me and leaned upon my heavenly Father. He not only gave me strength, He provided me with insight. 

****** I started this blog post on Friday. It is now Sunday. In the last 5 days I have dealt with massive fear 3 times. I cannot imagine what shape I would be in right now were it not for my relationship with the Lord. I'm about to purchase some knee pads, for I have fallen on my knees several times in a few short hours. At the end of the day, my children are safe, my mother is safe, Mike is safe. Thank you Father God for your protection and your love. I feel like I have survived a train wreck. Amazingly enough I was even able to chuckle at a couple of mistaken words on a face book posts. The whole message changes when pray becomes pay and letters becomes lawyers. Laughter truly is a medicine. 

Father God I ask that you help those in pain find a way to laugh through their tears as you have caused me to do tonight. You truly are a loving Father. Where would I be without you? I shudder to even think what life would be like were you not there for me to lean on. The evil one is banging at my door Father. He is trying to steal, kill and destroy. I ask that you bind him. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Wendy

© Wendy Glidden, 2013