Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Always Enough

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation."
-Phil. 4:11-12

A full ten days before payday, and I know it is bad. I forgot to write that one check in the register...and I overspent my two hundred dollar a month grocery budget by sixty dollars this month...and we are out of milk, bread, jelly and eggs. The peanut butter and jelly that become our staples those few days before payday had no bread and no jelly to serve as sandwiches. The cereal supper that happens occasionally at the end of the month when all the rest of the food runs out had no milk...sigh...

So, I log in to see the balance of my account and the sigh becomes a groan. That check that I wrote and couldn't remember? It has the markings of disaster. The balance...reads...$0.01. That is right. In the midst of my groan, thanksgiving bursts forth. This disaster could be so much worse. I could have overdrawn the account which would mean exorbitant fees and reaching in to the next month's grocery budget. So, here I am with little food for the family, but a heart full of gratitude to the God who keeps us even in the midst of this mama's forgetfulness. His hand of protection evident in even this!

The husband and I, we bend our heads and give thanks for the Lord's abundant provision for us. And present our request before God. He knows what we need, so why be anxious about it? He is busy about providing for us, even before we know what our needs are.

Sunday, we walk in to church...and an envelope sits in our box, our name penned in uneven slanting letters across the front. The husband opens it and a twenty dollar bill falls out. We give thanks with great joy and share the story with our kids as we stop at the market on the way home. We tell them so they know His provision is always what we need and always just in time. And the cupboard? It is stocked once again with bread, peanut butter and jelly. The refrigerator? It again cools two gallons of milk. Another month that our family is fed, only by His grace...and so we bend our heads in gratitude to the God who cares for our every need.

I never cease to be amazed and overwhelmed by the God who gives us far more than we could ever ask or imagine in His perfect timing. His grace is sufficient for me...and it is sufficient for you! Today, may you know the Lord's abundant provision for you, may your eyes be open to see and understand His great love for you...and that He has made provision for each of our greatest needs through Jesus Christ our Lord. You are loved and cared for...by the Creator of the Universe!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Rushing to get ready for church one Sunday, the phone rings. I answer, hesitantly...a Sunday morning call...early... "Pray for a miracle," her voice shaky and broken. Her son won't wake up...how bad is it?? The doctors, they don't have all the answers...

And I realize it, just as I kneel to pray...isn't that what we all need? Feet slipping on the slopes of Heaven..don't we need just that...just a miracle. Not any miracle, but the miracle of His grace, that all sustaining grace we sing so freely about every time we mouth the words, "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound..." Isn't it just the miracle that we desperately need every single moment of every single day just to survive? Right in the middle of another pile of dirty laundry, dishes stacked a mile high, the child's illness or husband's job loss, the doctor's diagnosis of cancer, financial devastation, the wayward child, the wife's bout with depression, the broken womb...whatever the circumstance....we need that miracle...the miracle called GRACE. And isn't that what we are asking for when we come to Him in prayer? Please, Lord...another miracle, another grace...another gift."

And so, yes, I did...I dropped down on my knees and I prayed for a miracle for her son...His answer came...quickly. Within two hours, he was awake...crying..broken and beaten body, but alive.

And me, today? I pray for a miracle of grace...to be a gift to her as she seeks understanding...the miracle of His hope shining in the darkness of depression. Today, I pray that God will allow me to be His grace to her and her family...that He will use me to draw the bruised and broken to Him, that He will make me the miracle. Could I, today, maybe, just maybe, be the miracle instead of asking for one? Only by His grace will I know such a miracle.

Our Little School at Home: Missions to Modern Marvels & Little Hearts for His Glory

Of course, we are way behind in school, but we are still lovin' it. From my being plagued with migraines to the kiddos doctor's appointments, we seem to be having more interruptions than full days of school. Sigh.

Jacob is the main sufferer, since he can not do school by himself yet. Joshua sits and does reading with him when I am sick..which seems to be quite often lately. Love watching big brother help little brother sound out words! He also whipped out the paints and had the little guy paint pictures one day. We have been studying the life of Jesus for history and Jacob will say, "Mom, you read me that before." :) His favorite parts of school are the rhyme, art and science - well, maybe just about everything! What continues to amaze me is how easily he memorizes things. He memorizes his Bible verse the first day & then, when Joshua and I are studying for Bible quizzing, Jacob memorizes his verses too. Big brother is not very happy about that because he really struggles with memorizing things.

Joshua is just finishing unit 3 of MTMM. Of course, we would be in unit 6 if everything had gone as planned...but...sigh. The first two weeks were very rough. Joshua did not follow the directions in the guide, so we spent the next two weeks re-doing the entire first two weeks. His days are really long. He is not using the HOD suggested math or science because we are already beyond algebra and he needed science suitable for ninth grade. His written narrations are progressing quite well, and he really likes Write with the Best. We are both excited about the Bible study because it is the same books of the Bible that he is studying for Bible quizzing - only God could orchestrate that - although Joshua keeps asking when he will actually study the book that the study is about. :) He is currently reading Etsy's Gold and came to me one day saying, "Mom, this just makes me so sick...people really treat other people like this?" I plan on adding literature from the Geography guide as soon as God provides the money! No rush there, since I am hoping by then we will have shaved some time off of our school day...otherwise, I fear that we will be schooling until midnight!