The God of all good gifts

On Sunday, January 25th, we signed a purchase agreement with the sellers of a lovely home that soon will become our home. We had feelings of excitement and fear. "What have we just done?" my sweet husband uttered . The provider naturally would feel some sense of pressure with two houses and one income.
That same day, I discovered that I was the winner of a giveaway at Big Mama's blog. I love her blog and she makes me smile and sometime, laugh out loud at her daily writings. The giveaway was an engraved personalized stone plaque that featured your family names and scripture to display in your home. I was 'randomly' chosen of out of nearly 1000 entries. If God can work through the casting of lots to make decision, certainly He can work through a random computer selection program couldn't He? I believe that God chose to give me a good gift this day as a stone of remembrance. To remind me that He is in control and that He is the God who sees and hears the cry of my heart. We serve a God who intimately knows the deepest needs of our heart and yet, holds the world in His hands. I cannot comprehend that, but I love knowing that He cares deeply for the most personal needs of my life.
I looked up the passage in Joshua 4 where the Lord commanded Joshua to take up stones out of the Jordan and set them up as a memorial to what the Lord had done that day. It all came together as I realized that this was our stone of remembrance. We must tell of how God provided and remind our children that He is Jehovah Jirah...our Provider. We will do this for years to come.
So on Sunday, I felt loved like I haven't felt loved and cared for by my Lord in quite some time. There have been days in the past year when I felt as if God had forgotten me, that He wasn't truly good. I know that's not true and over the course of time, He has shown me that He does work all things together for my good. He's not working in my life to make me happy, but to make me holy.
Today though, He has made me glad.

houses and freezing cold temps

We are back below zero again after enjoying balmy temps in the 20's. Amazing how much warmer it feels when you get over 20! Baby its cold outside!!
We have officially taken a huge step of faith. No leap of faith...off a cliff...not knowing what at the bottom...we made an offer on a house we really think could work for our family. Asking God to open the hearts and minds of the sellers and receive this offer joyfully. After taking our house off the market and trying to sell it ourselves, we just received three phone calls today on it. One person is going over to see the house today! We have asked God to sell our house in January. The coldest, bleakest time of the year in the Midwest. It's hard to even utter those kinds of prayers for fear of disappointment, but, I have come to believe that any "No" you receive from the throne is always for the sake of a greater "Yes".
Do your thing God...amaze us, show off; and thrill us with your glory! You are God alone! We are trusting You completely because we are completely Yours!

The things I am good at

Isaac asked me to help him zip his coat and put on his gloves the other night. He was preparing to go outside and help his dad shovel the driveway for the 50th time this winter. I asked him why I needed to help him with this all the time. He said "Because you're good at it!"
"Really!" I said, "Well, what else am I good at?" Without any hesitation this sweet little boy answered with "Loving me."
What every mom wants to hear. My heart was melted by this precious four year old.

All dogs go to heaven

On Friday, January 17th, we had our sweet little dog Lacy euthanized. I like that word because it states a fact. We didn't have her put to sleep, we all know she's not sleeping for goodness sake! We didn't have her "put down" either. Where did they put her down at??? Troy was the one who actually took her to the vet and handed her over. It was very difficult for him and he said that aftewards, he cried like a baby. Poor guy.
She was such a good dog. I think our daughter Hannah, summed it all up in this essay she wrote at school last year.
"My dog Lacy is a Bichon. She has white, fluffy, short, and curly hair. Lacy is a very skimpy dog. Lacy is 14 years old in human years. My dog loves to be held when you hold her sometimes you feel bumps because she has moles. When we let her out she comes back and scratches on our door to let her in. Her bark is very faint. Sometimes it is very loud when she sees people she has not met. We have to give her a bath every month or so. Because she gets into a lot of stuff. (like large candy bars and gum) She is a very calm dog. Lacy is sleeping 24/7. All day she is very calm and that is my dog Lacy."
All true. She was a member of our family for 8 1/2 years. Lacy was given to us by a family who didn't have time to take care of her. She came to us with what I would call a neurosis of sorts. She hated to be alone and when she was alone, she proceeded to pee or poop wherever she wanted to. It took a while to get her trained again and during these last few months of her life, she was peeing and pooping wherever she liked again! The bad news now is that we are living in my sister in laws house and Lacy has single handedly ruined the carpet in the house. Not good when you are living rent free-utilities free-internet free-cable free, etc. Lacy was nearly blind and most definetly deaf. Not a good combination for a dog really. However, she had a very good sniffer. She was able to find a pack of gum in a bag, cookies in suitcases, and Hershey bars in backpacks. She has always been what I would call a "scavenger". Food was her friend.
We cherish this sweet furry friends memory. Thanks for sharing our lives and letting us share yours. We will never forget you!