Thank you Father!

I just want to give praise to my Heavenly Father today for teaching me a valuable lesson. He taught me today that I needed to place ALL of my trust in Him and Him alone. He taught me that when He tells me to do something that He means it. He taught me that He loves me and will provide for my every need and not my wants. He taught me to have faith. He taught me that he can wipe my slate clean and give me a fresh start and then it's my choice on how I proceed. Thank you Father God. I will do my best to make you proud. You gave me no other choice than to look to you and I am thankful for that. I forget so many times that you are in control and I'm not. I need those reminders. Praise You!

Seeking Guidance From Above

Well, so much has happened over the past week or two. I haven't had time to sit down and post anything so I decided that I would do it right now while I had a minute.

1. Shena, Jaelun, and Jorden have arrived back at our house. We got a call at 3:00 am (that's right 3:00 am) on Monday. It was Shena. She had run out of gas on the far side of Bushland near the rest stop. So I wake Quentin up and off we go. We got them filled up with gas and back home we went. So you might ask what guidance we need.....

A. We need guidance from above on how to handle this situation in the most loving and caring way that we can. We love Shena and the boys and want nothing more than to see them taken care of.

B. Financially we are not in the position to support them right now. Shena has had an interview and hopefully will start working next week.

C. We need to heal this relationship. We need to mend the trust issues and the hurt feelings in this relationship. We love each other dearly and want nothing more than to become the sisters to each other that we've always wanted.

2. My second issue that I am seeking guidance for is my role at church.

A. Keri called me to ask if I wanted to teach upstairs. UPSTAIRS????? I have wanted to do this, but was really intimidated by the thought of actually teaching kids who might actually ask me a question. Well this is my opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and dive in. I have to say that I'm really excited and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me. I know that this will be a huge blessing to me. I'm scared to death!!!!

B. I have felt very led to pursue some type of volunteer activity out in the community. I want to go out and share the love I feel from God with other people. I am searching for the perfect opportunity to do this. I have had several suggestions and thoughts. I know that God will provide me with the perfect answer. This is also out of my comfort zone.

3. My next issue is my job. I love my clients, and the people I work with directly. It's everything else that I am struggling with. I have been here almost 11 years and I just don't know what to think about things now. Of course we are going through a merger, and it's emotionally draining. There are days that I don't even want to get out of bed. This is not like me at all. I have felt that God was leading me away from my job for a while now. What to do, what to do?

4. My last issue is with Brayden. He will be having surgery in December. He has a thyroglossal duct cyst and a brachial cleft cyst. He will be having them removed along with his tonsils. This is great in the fact that when he gets sick, he will no longer get the huge knot on his neck. However, he is my baby and I'm scared. I just want to make sure this is the right thing to do. The other good note on this is that there is a CHANCE that his ADHD will be better after removing his tonsils. Wouldn't that be a HUGE blessing??!!!

I pray for clarity and guidance. I pray for peace and comfort.

Frustration and a Prayer

Where do I even start??? My sister is driving me crazy. I really thought that this time she really wanted to turn her life around, start over, and really do something. As most of you know, my nephews came to live with us for a few weeks. My sister then came to get them. While she was here, we met with Randall. Randall prayed over her and really encouraged her to look to God for answers on whether or not she needed to be where she was at or if she needed to move back here. He prayed for clear signs. Well, within 24 hours we had already found her a job (it was a sure thing) and had worked it out that she would come stay with us for a while. So she decided to head back home on Tuesday with the intent of coming back here to live on Friday. Well, Friday comes and goes. No sister. Saturday comes and goes....No sister. Sunday comes and goes....No sister. Monday, she calls crying about how she is down to one diaper and just can't stay another night there. She really wants to come back here where she can get some help and be around family. So again, Quentin and I rush out send her the very last of the money we have in our checking account. We talk to her again and she says she would be leaving in a few hours to come back here. After talking with her we both decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a great idea for her to drive in the dark. She has just started some new meds that make her really tired. So she tells me to text her when I'm leaving my house on Tuesday to wake her up. So I did and she calls me right back. She says that she is going to get the boys ready and run to her storage unit and then leave town to head back here. Well several hours go by and no call. I sent her a text with my 800 number on it so that it wouldn't cost her or anyone else if she called me. Still nothing. She then calls me at 3:00 on Tuesday saying that she would be leaving in an hour and she would call before she left. Well guess what.....no call. Late last night I get a call saying she was going to leave at Midnight and would be here by 5:00 when I would be getting out of bed. She even said that she would just knock on our door to wake us when she got here so that we didn't have to leave the door unlocked. Well, I told her we would just leave it unlocked. All night I tossed and turned worried to death about her. At 5:00 I jumped up out of the bed, ran to the living room and nothing... I have sent her several text messages and still nothing. For some reason she can receive a text, but can't make calls from her phone. Frustration.... What do I do? I've prayed and prayed and asked for guidance on this whole situation. I know that I still need to give it over to God. I just don't get it. How can she just not show and just not call. Not only am I worried but so many of my friends are. Randall has called several times to see what was up and every time I just tell him, "I just don't know." Please pray for her. Pray for conviction on her heart. Pray for us to have understanding and show my sister the grace shown for us. We truely love her and want to help her. I would give anything to make sure she was taken care of and that she doesn't hurt.

Father God, we just adore you and thank you daily for the grace and compassion that you show us each day. We pray that Shena and the boys are okay and that you show her where you want her. We pray that you guide her and that she listens to you. We pray that you teach us to have the compassion that you have. We pray for understanding in this matter. Father God, thank you. Thank you for your love and mercy. In your son's precious name, Amen.

Sick Again

Well, I had to take Brayden to the doctor today. He has an area on his neck that will swell and it causes him a lot of pain. After going back through his medical records with the doctor today, we saw that he has been to the doctor for this issue 4 times over the past year. 3 of those times was within the past 6 months. Every time we go, we are told that it's a bacterial infection and they give him antibiotics. After the doctor saw the golf ball size knot on his throat today, he decided that it was time for us to see an ENT. Our doctor thought that it could be one of 3 things in his opinion. It could be an abcess, a cyst, or cancer. He said he really didn't think it was cancer due to the fact that we can treat it with antibiotics and it goes away. He felt that it could be either of the other 2. Needless to say we have to see the ENT on Friday. I've decided to take off the entire day so that I can just tend to Brayden and his needs. I think that he needs that special attention and his daddy is even going to take off part of the day. Keep us in your prayers. I'll keep everyone updated.

FRIDAY, Whew!!

IT'S FRIDAY!!!! Yeah!!! I'm so glad it is the weekend. Not that we will get much rest this weekend, but just the fact that we will be with family and friends is awesome. We have a very busy weekend that will start at 4:30 today. Brayden is coming home from camp! Yeah!!! We missed him so much. Brayden is such a wonderful child. He is so loving, caring, and enthusiastic. It has been very quiet in our house since he has been gone. Both Brayden and us needed the time away from each other. It just makes us appreciate our time together more. After picking Brayden up this afternoon, then it's a mad dash home to change clothes, grab kids, and head up to the church to help set up for the garage sale tomorrow. Then at 6:30 in the morning (you heard me 6:30!!) I have to be back up at the church for the grand opening of the garage sale. After I spend the entire day there (6:30 am to ???), do you think I will get to rest? I'm afraid not, it's just on to the next event. Sunday is normally our day of rest. Well, let me fill you in people, not this Sunday. We have to attend both services at church and then Sunday evening we are participating in a focus group for the children's ministry at church. I guess there's no rest for the weary. Whew, I'm already tired and it hasn't even begun.