Pray for me...

Some of you know, most of you probably don't, but work has been pretty tough the past six weeks. Without going into a lot detail I wanted to let you know that today I was told that I would be out of work by the end of the month. What does that mean? The girl that was hired 6 weeks ago was hired to replace me. No surprise on my part...you just get the feeling ;). Anyway, my boss has tried to keep me busy hoping things would turn around but corporate headquarters has made the decision. So, I'm back in the job market. I'm tweaking the old resume' and already getting my leads lined up. I still have a little over two weeks to work and hopefully will have something by then.
During this same period of time I have had another very difficult issue that I've been dealing with...you know, one of those unspoken requests...God knows what it is, you don't need to know kinda things...just PLEASE pray for me! Thank you for praying for me, you'll never know what it means to me!
When I got home I did what I always do when I'm feeling low, I called my mom! If you didn't know that I have a wonderful mother then this next bit will confirm it to everyone. She told me that she had been thinking and praying for me constantly and that she had run across something she wanted to read to me. Right out of her Tabletalk magazine. It's long but WELL Worth The READ! Just what I needed! I wanted to share it because...well, I could relate, I agreed with it and I found comfort. Hear it is:
For My Good?
by R.C. Sproul
In 1993, my wife and I were involved in an historic train wreck. The crash of the Sunset Limited into an inlet from Mobile Bay killed more passengers than any Amtrak accident in history. We survived that eerie accident but not without ongoing trauma. The wreck left my wife with an ongoing anxiety about being able to sleep on a train at night. The wreck left me with a back injury that took fifteen years of treatment and therapy to overcome. Nevertheless, with these scars from the trauma we both learned a profound lesson about the providence of God. Clearly, God’s providence in this case for us was one of benign benevolence. It also illustrated to us an unforgettable sense of the tender mercies of God. In as much as we are convinced that God’s providence is an expression of His absolute sovereignty over all things, I would think that a logical conclusion from such a conviction would be the end of all anxiety.
However, that is not always the case. Of course, our Lord Himself gave the instruction to be anxious for nothing to His disciples and, by extension, to the church. His awareness of human frailties expressed in our fears was manifested by His most common greeting to His friends: “Fear not.” Still, we are creatures who, in spite of our faith, are given to anxiety and at times even to melancholy.
As a young student and young Christian, I struggled with melancholy and sought the counsel of one of my mentors. As I related my struggles, he said, “You are experiencing the heavy hand of the Lord on your shoulder right now.” I had never considered God’s hand being one that gave downward pressure on my shoulder or that would cause me to struggle in this way. I was driven to prayer that the Lord would remove His heavy hand from my shoulder. In time, He did that and delivered me from melancholy and a large degree of anxiety.
On another occasion I was in a discussion with a friend, and I related to him some of the fears that were plaguing me. He said, “I thought you believed in the sovereignty of God.” “I do,” I said, “and that’s my problem.” He was puzzled by the answer, and I explained that I know enough about what the Bible teaches of God’s providence and of His sovereignty to know that sometimes God’s sovereign providence involves suffering and affliction for His people. That we are in the care of a sovereign God whose providence is benevolent does not exclude the possibility that He may send us into periods of trials and tribulations that can be excruciatingly painful. Though I trust God’s Word that in the midst of such experiences He will give to me the comfort of His presence and the certainty of my final deliverance into glory, in the meantime I know that the way of affliction and pain may be difficult to bear.
The comfort that I enjoy from knowing God’s providence is mixed at times with the knowledge that His providence may bring me pain. I don’t look forward to the experience of pain with a giddy anticipation; rather, there are times when it’s necessary for me and for others to grit our teeth and to bear the burdens of the day. Again, I have no question about the outcome of such affliction, and yet at the same time, I know that there are afflictions that will test me to the limits of my faith and endurance. That kind of experience and knowledge makes it easy to understand the tension between confidence in God’s sovereign providence and our own struggles with anxiety.
Romans 8:28, which is a favorite for many of us, states that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (NKJV). There’s no other text that demonstrates so clearly and magnificently the beauty of God’s sovereign providence than that one. The text does not say that everything that happens to us, considered in and of itself, is good; rather, it says that all things that happen are working together for our good. That is the master plan of God’s redemptive providence. He brings good out of evil. He brings glory out of suffering. He brings joy out of affliction. This is one of the most difficult truths of sacred Scripture for us to believe. I’ve said countless times that it is easy to believe in God but far more difficult to believe God. Faith involves living a life of trust in the Word of God.
As I live out the travail that follows life on this side of glory, hardly a day goes by that I am not forced to look at Romans 8:28 and remind myself that what I’m experiencing right now feels bad, tastes bad, is bad; nevertheless, the Lord is using this for my good. If God were not sovereign, I could never come to that comforting conclusion — I would be constantly subjected to fear and anxiety without any significant relief. The promise of God that all things work together for good to those who love God is something that has to get not only into our minds, but it has to get into our bloodstreams, so that it is a rock-solid principle by which life can be lived.
I believe this is the foundation upon which the fruit of the Spirit of joy is established. This is the foundation that makes it possible for the Christian to rejoice even while in the midst of pain and anxiety. We are not stoics who are called to keep a stiff upper lip out of some nebulous concept of fate; rather, we are those who are to rejoice because Christ has overcome the world. It is that truth and that certainty that gives relief to all of our anxieties.

Love, Elizabeth

Edward...

This past Friday my friend Kim and I were discussing our weekend plans. She would be home alone and I...had no plans unless you count the routine of most of my weekends. Kim said she wished I would come and visit her. She lives in the sleepy little community of Barnsdall about an hour north of Tulsa. I looked at her and said okay, I'll do it. Well, there was a bit of squealing and excitement and our plans were made. I hurried home from work and literally threw some things in a bag all the while talking nonstop to Samuel. I jumped in my little yellow car and headed north. I have driven to Skiatook many times but have never gone on north on hwy 11. Let me tell you, I was enjoying the drive! I could not take in the scenery fast enough. What a beautiful spot in Oklahoma! As I pulled into Barnsdall, I soon discovered that main street was an ice rink because of a water break. This town is not big enough to get lost in and I soon found my way to my dear friend Kim's house. Cell phones are so handy! We had lots to eat and drink, we laughed, we talked, we played video games! We had a blast. We fell into bed well past 2 am. I was given Kim's lovely 16 year old daughters room to sleep in. Let me tell you, that was a treat for me. PINK! I laughed and looked at all the neat things a 16 year old girl puts in her room and it was clear to see that Twilight - Edward and Bella (well, mostly Edward) was Tori's favorite! So much so that when I clicked off my light to go to sleep I said out loud, "goodnight Edward."
Thanks Kim for being such a good friend and hostess.
Thanks Tori for sharing your beautiful room!

Birthdays

Driving home from church this morning Samuel said, "It's one month until our birthday. ( He was born on my birthday) What do you want?" I responded, " George Strait concert tickets, G.Harvey painting and a boyfriend." He laughed! I said, " What do you want?" In true Samuel fashion there was no response so I added, " A job and a girlfriend!" He chuckled. I said, "you work on the job and I'll work on finding you a girlfriend." He really chuckled and said, "How about you work on finding me a job and I'll find the girlfriend!"
I laughed all the way home thinking....I hope we both get what we want!

Daddy & the Racoon

Over Christmas my parents and sister Kathryn got snowed in for an extra day. We had a wonderful time eating, laughing and telling stories. My daddy told us this story and I laughed till I cried, just picturing him in this situation. The story went like this:
I was going out back to put some trash in the dumpster and when I opened it, there down in the bottom with the trash was a raccoon. I was surprised to see it and more surprised when he rared up showed me his claws and hissed at me. I told him, "you get outta there!" I went back into the garage and got one of your mothers garden rakes and tried to get him out. He just kept hissing at me. So, I turned the dumpster on its side and started hitting the side. That silly thing wouldn't come out. I kept hitting the dumpster and he finally came out but turned and rared up on his back legs and showed me his claws and really hissed at me. Now, that made me mad and I raised my "club" and said, "You better get your ass outta here!"

I lost it! I could just see him, with his blood pressure out the ceiling from the ordeal, yelling at this raccoon. Note: my daddy rarely uses "colorful" language and for me this made the story even funnier.
Additional note: I realize that this could be a "had to be there" story but I wanted to get it down because I was there and didn't want to forget it.

On a more serious note...

I teach a group of adult ladies in Sunday school each Sunday. There are around 25 members in the class and we run about 18-20 each Sunday. When I first started teaching this class a couple of years ago there was one lady that came sporadically. She is about my mothers’ age, and is a very striking woman with a butch peppered gray haircut. She scared me to death when she came. She is a true “Maxine” and has no problem saying what she thinks in an assertive, finger pointing, gruff kind of way. Honestly, I avoided her at all cost. Then one Sunday I found out that her son had died about 5 years ago. I softened and wasn’t quite so scared. Then this past summer her daughter died and now it is just her and her husband. It was then that I reached out to her to try in some feeble way to try to comfort her, to give her words of encouragement. Since then I have gotten to know her little by little. What I have found out is that we are kindred spirits! She makes me laugh and she makes me cry. She is trying to deal with her life right now, I don’t have any answers for her and I don’t try to give her any. I just pray for her daily and give her lots of hugs and encouragement. When I found out that she also collects “Maxine” stuff I went through my collection and picked out two pieces to give her. I was so excited to give her the pieces. They weren’t unique or anything, just duplicates I had. When I got to church that Sunday, she had also picked out one of her collection to give me. I was blown away by her generosity. She gave me a numbered collector’s piece. I treasure it! It sits on my desk right under my monitor to remind me of this special friend that God has put in my life.
Last Thursday night we had our Christmas party and in true fashion she was “grumpy” about it, said she wouldn’t come, didn’t like Christmas because of all the commercialism and probably this year, Christmas without her beloved daughter. Well, she was one of the first to arrive. She told us her husband told her to get out of the house and do something fun. After dinner the ten of us sat around visiting and she spoke up and said, “I don’t know what to do”. It seems another class member calls her at least once a week to “cheer her up”. She knows that the lady’s intentions are good and she wouldn’t hurt her feelings for the world but the calls leave her more depressed than ever. There was a lot of chatter around the table and I just sat there listening and thinking. Finally, I said you know what you ought to do? Next Sunday when we have our prayer requests and praise time you should tell us that you are doing well and that you had a great week. She frowned, pointed her finger at me and said, “I can’t lie!” I said, “Well, think about it, I’m sure you have moments that are better and times when you can laugh and don’t hurt quite as much. That’s okay! Maybe if she thinks you are moving forward then she won’t feel the need to call you as frequently. Just think about it.”

So that brings me to today. At the end of the class she broke in and said, “I just want to say one thing. I had a really good time at the party Thursday night; it was a lot of fun, good food and laughter.” I and the others told her that we were happy that her husband had kicked her out of the house.

She is a precious new friend. She can come across a little gruff, but she has a heart of gold. I was so proud of her and hope the phone calls stop.
You see, she is doing great! Yes, she still misses her children, yes, she still asks God why, yes she is still hurting. But, I think the difference here is that she isn’t blaming God, she is just trying to accept her “story” God has planned for her. Perfectly, no, but none of us can do that. The only one that can do that died on the cross for our sins many years ago and it is because of God’s love for us and manifested through His Son that we can even begin to try.

Poop Happens

So, I'm all snuggly in bed about 11:30 last night, just about to fall asleep and I hear bloppp....bloppp...etc. It took me a minute to register the sound and I came out of the bed screaming NOOOOO in my head! Went right to the source of the sound...my toilet. Sure enough big air bubbles coming pretty steady. I grabbed my robe and ran down the hall to Samuels room and asked if he or Phillip (his friend) if they had recently flushed the toilet. I checked and it was doing the same thing. NOOOO, it's too late! I have to get up early. NOOOOO!
Oh, well, might as well get it over with....I asked the two strapping young men to get shovels and I would show them exactly where to dig. Warm clothes were put on and out we go, 11:30 at night. The septic tank sits in the front of the "island" (circle drive). I explained to the guys what I was looking for and they put the shovels into the ground. Wow, they exclaimed this thing isn't that deep. No, no, it's not thank goodness. I had crow bar in hand and looked around to see if my sh..oh I mean poop stick was where I put it a couple of years ago and yes, there it was tucked under an azalea. Within minutes, they had found the trap and cleared the area of all dirt. Of course, I repaid them with stories of past experiences doing this, that were much more "colorful". Phillip being a kid from the city was getting quite an education on "sewer in the country" (septic tanks) I told them to step back and I popped the trap off. Sure enough, even by the light of the yard light I could see that toilet paper & such were trapped. This is where the "stick" comes in handy!
The exciting part of this little job happens when the sh stick loosens things up and all the contents of the lines in the house and the 50 or so feet come rushing down to freedom. From experience, I've learned that you get that trap on fast. And I mean fast! I stood there until everything quieted down, told the guys they were done for the night and took a quick peek to see if we were....good to go.
All that gets dirty on me is one hand and then it's mostly dirt. Unlike the experience where I didn't know what the "rumble" sound meant and didn't get the trap on until old faithful hit me. Though that time Andrew said he had never seen me move so fast. *sigh* :) Who lives like this? I need to move in town so I can have city sewer. The neighbors must wonder about me! *makes note that I might need to call the honey wagon*.....Just saved myself 150.00 and got another great story! :)

Fifteen Books I've Read

RULES: DON'T TAKE TOO LONG TO THINK ABOUT IT. FIFTEEN BOOKS YOU'VE READ THAT WILL ALWAYS STICK WITH YOU. FIRST FIFTEEN YOU CAN RECALL IN no more THAN 15 MINUTES. TAG 15 FRIENDS, INCLUDING ME BECAUSE I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT BOOKS MY FRIENDS VALUE.

1.Where the Red Fern Grows (that one's for Jeff)
2. Savage Sam - Fred Gipson
3. The Home Place - Fred Gipson
4. Hound Dog Man - Fred Gipson
5. Don't Waste Your Life - John Piper
6. The Best Man - Maggie Osborne
7. All Creatures Great & Small (all of them)
8. Narnia (all of then)
9. Hobbit
10. Lord of the Rings (all of them)
11. Twilight Series
12. At Home at Mitford (all of them)
13. All of Janette Oke's books'
14. Bible
15. Marriage to a Difficult Man - Johnathan Edwards

Oh, this is too easy...I could go on and on...
These were off the top of my head! How's that Jeff?!

April Fool's Day

I have more fun with this holiday....

I take phone messages for my boss. I'm sure there are people that think I screen his calls for him and that is somewhat true. But anyway, He was on the phone and I took him a couple of new calls to return when he got off the phone.
The second one read Mr. Lyon - (Phone number)
Got your name from Mr. Behr and want to talk to you about locating my corners.
Please call

In a few minutes he came in and asked me where that message came from. I told him I took it. I said why, did the number not work and he said oh yeah it worked but it was a recording. I said really! What did it say....Smiling he said....Tulsa Zoo!

We all laughed and laughed. He is such a good sport. I'm thankful that I have a boss with such a great sense of humor!

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