Hope Renewed, Restored

This has been a week full of blessings.  First of all, I love the heat.  I never in my life thought I would be able to go without air-conditioning, but we are in our official second year of "no air" and I am loving it.  Anyone who has visited our farm knows why.  The breeze/wind is pretty much non-stop, so even on the hottest nights, we're completely fine. When there really is a lull on the wind, which rarely happens, we have overhead fans and floor fans.  The heat doesn't seem to bother the kids.  Now, of course, if we enter a place with air my kids are "FREEZING", as they say.  This is a huge savings for us, too, so big bonus!

I think it has also made me love and appreciate the changes in the seasons, too.  With air, I was stuck inside more, didn't really appreciate summer as much.  Without air, we are outside all day long. Our house still seems oddly cooler than outdoors, so it is still a place for shelter if we need it.  We leave the windows open all day long and I just love the smells of summer, the warm breezes....things we wait all winter for.  I don't dare shut it out.  It almost makes me dread the coming cold seasons.....

We are also enjoying the fruit of our garden now.  Yesterday we officially picked green beans and peas!  I never thought I would have a garden, but there it is, the only green thing out there in the field as everything else is so dry and yellow from lack of rain.  It is such a thrill for the kids to run out and pick something and then actually be able to eat it.  I only wish we'd done this sooner.  Another savings for us and so rewarding in so many other ways as the kids put a lot of work into it this summer.  The payback is tangible, something you can pick and see and hold in your hands.  Love that.

We were also able to sell a big ticket item we'd been holding on to for several years on ebay this week.  I am so grateful, the timing is perfect.  At first we didn't think we'd see the money from the buyer as he admitted he'd kind of acted on impulse when he bought it, but sure enough, the money came through this week.  Yeah!

We had other unexpected sources of income this week which I found amazingly "coincidental" as we've been seeking the Lord so specifically and with great intensity for over a week now.  I took that as the Lord gently reminding us of His faithfulness, reminding us, "I'm here.  I hear you.  I'm going to show you that I'm taking care of you."

I was also in the car a lot this week driving back and forth to my sister's house as my other sister was in town visiting.  When she comes, we all drop everything and do whatever it takes to get the cousins together.  Because my sister has a pool, that's usually where we hang out, especially given the heat.  I used to dread the drive, but no more.  I feel like that is a gift of time now from God where He calls me to Himself to pray.  On one of the drives up, I was praying and focusing so intently, calling out to Him, that I missed my exit!  My daughter looks at me, "Uh.....?"  Sorry, just praying?!

I also used that time to listen to worship music which so often is based right on Scripture, so I would sing along, worshiping, praising God, crying out.  It was like being in a prayer closet, a war room, every single day for several hours a day as we were often stuck in traffic coming home.  In addition to that I heard many sermons this week.  It was so fantastic.  I was reminded of what Christ did on the cross and how that must affect how we live.  The preacher was saying since we know this, our affections must change.  Immediately I thought, "My affections have changed!"  I never used to care about debt or how I spent my money.  I started to realized this was a direct result of God working in my life.  Longing to get out of debt isn't something I just came up with on my own.  It's a desire directly from God.  Knowing this, I'm encouraged to think if He gave me the desire, the change in my affections, then He's the one who can make it happen.  That same preacher went on to say as we draw near to Christ, He promises to draw near to us.  I can speak to that!  As I read and write about what I'm learning, I actually receive more spiritual insight and revelations as a direct result.  It will not necessarily show up out of the blue, but when I spend time with Him, I learn more, receive more, benefit more.  So amazing.

The next preacher was speaking on Revelation.  The good news and the bad news.  Knowing about prophecy and the future things to come, he said, should impact how we live as well.  We should live in a constant state of anticipation.  This is what I find is happening to me!  I wake up and wonder regularly, "What is going to happen today?!"  It is a much more exciting way to live.  As I do draw near to Him, a sense of hope rises up, not dread.  Hope is from the Lord.  Dread is from the devil.

Being more prayerful together with my husband, and eating healthily on a whole new level, has had the two of us on the same page in a great way.  Both of us dropped a few pounds right away which inspires you to keep going.  Doing this together is very helpful as we are keeping one another strong. We are becoming aware of areas in our life where we slacked off, as usual, and where we can tighten up the reigns in our finances yet again, areas where we can be more disciplined, where we don't like being disciplined.  We are a people of self-indulgence.  I love being self-indulgent!!!!!  But we can't be, not if we want to make serious tracks in our race for being debt-free.  We know God might make it be the next generation that benefits, but we sure hope that it is our generation.  So for the past week and half, all self-indulgence is gone.  We thought we would see a health benefit, which we did, as we lost pounds right away, but then yesterday we started to see the spiritual benefit.  Our eyes were being opened to so many things.  Our discussions became full of excitement as we were starting to see what God was showing us.  We also experience a renewed sense of drive and hope in our dragging on debt-reduction journey.  We had started feeling this would just never happen in our lifetime, but yesterday we thought, "This COULD happen!"  Where does that hope come from?  It isn't something you can manufacture out of the blue!  I can only think it is a direct result of us seeking Him.

So, a powerful week.  The Lord was in every moment. I read this week, "...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)  The verses go on to say that His "eyes will be open" and His ears "attentive to the prayer" from those who seek Him.  I'm encouraged to persevere, to press on, to run this very long race with endurance.  He has given me hope.