First off - a big oops - Lent doesn't start until March - I was a whole month early! But, doesn't matter, I'm taking it as a call to prayer anyway. So hopefully that didn't throw anybody off!
Secondly, I'm sensing a theme! When I hear things or read things or see things multiple times and within a matter of days or hours even, I know, God is trying to communicate to me. Because Satan isn't content to just let me be, the demon of discouragement sits at my feet, on my shoulder, outside my door, waiting, waiting for that little crack of doubt and then wham! I start down that slippery path.....
So, even though, I'm doing much better, always aware of how Satan works, I still struggle with the "how long"?
It began on Sunday morning. Aren't Sundays always a struggle? This winter has been one of the worst weather-wise and we've been stuck countless times in our driveway. Getting stuck often happens on the Sunday morning. I mean being stuck so badly that by the time you get out, church is more than half over. We've even had animals die on a Sunday morning right before church. Or kids get sick on a Sunday morning....whatever it is, it seems like a challenge to get there and arrive in one piece with a happy face!
This past Sunday it was an unwell child. My oldest daughter was playing piano, so we definitely needed to be there. I offered as my husband was in a lot of physical pain from a hard few days working on his contracts. This meant I had 7 children on my own. Our church encourages the children to worship with their parents, so all of them would be with me in the service. That is fine as the older ones are completely comfortable with this and have done it for many years now, but the 3 year old (I think I've mentioned him before) and the nearly 2 year old aren't quite as used to it yet.
Right away I left the older ones in a pew on their own, knowing they'd be fine and then I went and sat with the younger 3 at the back. They read toddler books and sat on my lap, most of the time.
I really wanted to hear what the pastor was saying, but if I even opened my Bible, it got ripped out of my hands by the 21 month old and so I was left with managing children with the hope that I would hear something he said without the advantage of an open Bible. The 3 year old was fine, at first. It was the baby who was offering up a challenge. So down I took him where I reminded him, if you know what I mean, that mommy was in charge. He was quiet the rest of the service. Yeah! Then, the 3 year old started. It's not defiance, it's just wiggliness....constant. I understand, but he still needs to learn, so down we went. After that, he calmed down a bit, but on and off through the whole service, it was a challenge. My 5 year old had a pen in her hand and it looked like she was writing notes the whole time. Turns out she was! In her own little phonics, she had written things about God which showed me she is slowly starting to get it.
Meanwhile, the pastor was speaking on Hebrews 6:13-20. Hebrews is not an easy book of the Bible, so to have some indepth study is wonderful, if I could just get my Bible open! In the middle of grabbing a fallen book, manipulating the 3 year old back on my lap, snapping my fingers at the 5 year old, I heard the words I needed to hear, "Hope". I snapped to attention. "Hope". The whole message that morning had been on hope. In fact in my Bible, the title at the top of this section is called, "The Certainty of God's Promise". I was all ears, even though the toddler world around me was clearly a challenge, I knew I was supposed to hear those words. The songs right before the sermon had been on hope. One song by Stuart Townend never fails to choke me up. It's a combination of the sad melody, the crying-out-type words, and it all comes back to me - we used to sing this at the time we were building the house and when things were so hard. It always got to me then, too.
We have sung our songs of victory,
We have prayed to You for rain;
We have cried for Your compassion
To renew the land again.
Now we're standing in Your presence,
More hungry than before;
Now we're on Your steps of mercy,
And we're knocking at Your door.
How long
before You drench the barren land?
How long
before we see Your righteous hand?
How long
before Your name is lifted high?
How long before the weeping turns to songs of joy?
Lord, we know Your heart is broken
By the evil that You see,
And You've stayed Your hand of judgement
For You plan to set men free.
But the land is still in darkness,
And we've fled from what is right;
We have failed the silent children
Who will never see the light.
But I know a day is coming
When the deaf will hear His voice,
When the blind will see their Saviour,
And the lame will leap for joy.
When the widow finds a Husband
Who will always love His bride,
And the orphan finds a Father
Who will never leave her side.
How long
before Your glory lights the skies?
How long
before Your radiance lifts our eyes?
How long
before Your fragrance fills the air?
How long before the earth resounds with songs of joy?
The other song we sang that morning, "There is a Hope", has a line that makes my eyes literally sting, especially at this line, "There is a hope that lifts my weary head, A consolation strong against despair, That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit, I find the Saviour there! Through present sufferings, future's fear, He whispers 'courage' in my ear. For I am safe in everlasting arms, And they will lead me home."
Incredibly moving - a hope that lifts my weary head, a consolation strong against despair. There I am sometimes, but he whispers, "Courage"! He doesn't shout it, he whispers it. I'll make it!
It was a timely sermon. Though I didn't quite hear every word said, it made me want to go back to the word when I got home.
So, yesterday, I had the kids sitting around me again and we opened our Bibles back to Hebrews. But before we did, I thought I would read from our Bible League guide, the daily passage they suggest and as well the verse of the month they use. The verse of the month, which I had never noticed before, was Isaiah 40:31, "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." The theme of the month was hope! How had I missed that?
Then we read the verse for the day, Joel 2:25. This has to be the most encouraging verse in all Scripture, "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you."
We haven't had locusts, or cankerworms, caterpillars and palmerworms (whatever they are!).....or have we? Sure we have! In slightly different forms.....there were many years where we had locusts....we could have had years of much greater income if we'd been using Scripture as our guide in making decisions, but those incoming producing years are gone, never to return. We feel sad when we look back, but yesterday I had hope - I, again, had the children pray, "Lord, give back (another version used those words) those years that locusts have eaten." It was wonderful to think, even though we're creeping up in age and losing income producing years by the second, that God can still restore those years where we failed to make better decisions.
Then, back to Hebrews. Abraham was promised that he would be blessed and multiplied. I asked the kids what promises God has given to us. Right away, we all thought of the Joel passage, that he'll restore the lost years. Other promises came to us, "The diligent will eat the fruit of their hands." "You reap what you sow." We're trying to be diligent, we're trying to "sow" with more wisdom in our finances. These are promises to us. Then the Hebrews passage continues,
"And thus, Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise." Simple as that! Sort of. It wasn't quite that simple actually. It says he waited patiently, but it was really twenty years of waiting between the time that God first gave the promise to the time of Isaac being born - WHAT????!!! No, no, no.....I'm not waiting twenty years. That's ridiculous! It is no wonder that Sarah took things into her own hands and had her servant Hagar have a baby with Abraham - she was starting to wonder if God was really going to come through. Then, on top of it all - Abraham finally has this promised son, and God asks him to kill him as a burnt offering. No, no, no......that's not how it is supposed to be????!!!! These are all the things we talked about together. Do you mean we have to patiently wait to get out of debt and it could take twenty years???? Yes. Do you mean that there are going to be more tests ahead of us? Yes. Not happy. Yet God knows how fragile I am, how fragile even the kids are, so he sends encouragement through his word and other means to stick to the promises of God.
Hebrews 6:17 says, "...God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose" - he wants me to know that he is unchangeable. He wants to convince me! Verse 18 says, "...it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie..." and then, "we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to HOLD FAST to the hope that is set before us." Putting it all together - if it is impossible for God to lie, than those promises are true! We have fled to him for refuge! He set hope before us (neat idea!) and wants us to not just be encouraged, to not just hold to the hope, but to be STRONGLY encouraged, and to hold FAST. I kept pointing out to the kids how these seemingly extra words are not extra - they are included for emphasis very intentionally which means we better pay attention!
Verse 19, "We have this as a SURE AND STEADFAST ANCHOR of the soul...." Again, not just an anchor, but a sure and steadfast anchor - wonderful description.
So, I'm left with no option but to hope. I must take him at his word. The Psalmist still cried out, "How long?" and I do, too. I really do hope it isn't twenty years! But, Abraham waited that long and the promise was certainly fulfilled. I suppose I can wait that long, too...
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
A Debt of Love
I'm grossly overdue in this post. I didn't write about it at the time (back in January) as I didn't think it had anything to do with debt until I realized it was a different form of debt - a debt of love, of gratitude...to my sister, and to all those who participated in a special day exactly one month ago today. The other reason I decided at the time I shouldn't write about it was because I didn't want to talk too much about it as it is always painful for my sister who is living out of town to hear about (or read about!) events like this one as it is just another reminder that she misses out. Often, I think we play down any celebration she misses, so that she won't feel badly for not being able to make it, especially to cousin birthdays or any other special events that go on. But then...I realized this one she needs to know about - as it is going to happen to her one day, too - she has two daughters as well. I want her to know what she can look forward to! So read on, C, and hopefully this will get you excited about what's ahead for M and A!
Well, back in January when my oldest turned 16, my younger sister, S, put on a family birthday party to remember, to celebrate my daughter's big birthday. It was something very special. In Genesis, whenever something significant happens, the people of God are told to build a memorial so that they'll never forget what God did. It is always so that the future generations will not forget God's marvelous works. This is my memorial of that day, not built of rocks, but instead of words, written for generations to come, so they'll know that we are trying, as an extended family, to seek God in the raising of our children and this includes even my siblings building into my children - a true gift. I also want to dedicate this to S as she put on one of the most significant events in my daughter's life to date. So, to S - I am indebted to you and all that you did on that special day....
It began with having my daughter's favourite people in her life invited - her Grandma, her Grammy, her newest aunt, all her little cousins, sisters (mom!) and even Nana (my sister's mother-in-law). The boys were also invited, invited to be scarce! and they played outside the whole time - which they LOVED - and were happy to just be there as long as pizza and cake would be included at some point in the day!
My sister lives on one of the most beautiful 10-acre properties you'll ever see - from the hidden driveway, you'd never know this place was there, but as you turn in, you see a gorgeous winding driveway with woods on both sides that opens up into a clearing with a beautiful home surrounded by more trees, a forest actually, and incredible landscaping. With the snow freshly fallen, it was the perfect setting for a winter birthday, right out of Martha Stewart. It was as if my sister had decorated it with white snow just for effect!
With everyone dressed up just little more than usual we entered in and got a warm reception, quickly followed by either a coffee or tea - who wouldn't have wanted that when it was still so icy outside!
Soon the festivities began - it was an afternoon tea. My sister definitely has the gift of hospitality and it showed - she had thought of everything to make it special for the Sweet Sixteen-Year-Old. The pinks and whites were everywhere, from napkins, to dishes, and even to the pretty table runners. The table was so inviting. You could tell her girls were excited and must have helped set it all up. They, too, have the gift of hospitality from their mother.
Everyone had brought something to contribute to the light meal, dainty tea sandwiches, fruit, shrimp.....mmmmmm.....everything was delicious and gobbled up quickly. My youngest daughter was crazy about the tea sandwiches with their olives, cream cheese and circle shapes and couldn't get enough of them! Goodbye peanut butter and jam!
Once everyone was full, out came the decadent cake and cupcakes. Suddenly there were boys in the room! Where had they come from???? Oh, they smelled the desserts! They'd been ousted from the girls' tea room forced to eat pizza, but they were allowed the dessert, so they were quickly let in and then kicked right back out......
Then the more formal part of the afternoon began. I was not expecting this. I had actually thought to myself, I should call my sister and ask her if she wants me to bring a verse or something to share, but then, for some reason, I didn't - I figured she probably had it all under control. I was right. In a way, this event was about to be as much a blessing to me as it was to my daughter.
My family started a tradition when my older sister, C, turned 40 - we went out and bought her 40 little gifts that symbolized her, from fun shoes, to hair things, makeup, etc., that were all a way to celebrate the many different sides to her. The next siblings to turn 40 also received 40 little gifts (over 40 days!) and so it seemed a little tradition was created. S did this for my daughter, in a way, to carry on the new tradition. So each aunt or Grammy, had brought a little gift for her, adding up to 16 things, culminating in a beautiful bracelet that any girl would be thrilled to wear.
\
But that was not the true blessing - S had verses prepared where she inserted my daughter's name, 16 different times, praying that God would show my daughter her gifts, direction in her life, help her to help others and so many other incredibly beautiful sentiments - all directly from Scripture. I loved this as we all know she could have gone out and bought any Hallmark card that wished her well in her upcoming year, etc., etc., but she didn't - instead she (and others who had picked verses that spoke to them about my daughter) went to the Word - only God, not Hallmark, has the right and the authority to truly guide my daughter - each verse was either individually hand-written or typed and will forever be remembered and appreciated. My prayer is that she will truly take those verses to heart, truly live those verses now and ask God to apply those verses to her life.
Each verse had been wrapped up in a pretty little paper envelope that could have easily been tossed at the end of the day. I told my sister to hang on to them as she had set the standard for all the little girl cousins to come. I want to do the very thing she did for my daughter and for all the other daughters to come (there are 7 more girls in the family.....so far....my brother just got married this past summer!) I hope those 16 envelopes are kept for generations to come. I'd like them to act as part of the memorial, especially if they get all tattered and ripped over time. Even better. Scripture will go inside them, the one true thing that can guide our girls. I even think with my sister in the States and her daughters that this is something we must try to do for them as they enter into their 16th year.... perhaps "Skype-a-Ceremony"?! I'm sure it wouldn't be the first internet birthday party!
So, to my sister, C, the one who couldn't be there - I know you and your girls would have been there in spirit and would have flown up in a heartbeat if you could have - sometimes the oldest children in a family are the guinea pigs and we learn by doing something like this that a new tradition has just been started. Who knew? In this case it was my child who was the guinea pig, but now we know....this must de done again. I can't wait to do a repeat performance for Mal as she'll be next in the girl cousins - if not in person, by Skype - it'll be something you and her can look forward to.
To my sister, S, mom, mom-in-law, sister-in-law, Nana, and all the sweet little girl cousins, even those not able to attend....what an afternoon I'll never forget. The effort that was put into that day to make it special was mind-boggling. Writing it out has shown me that even more. To have God as our focus, to have it in common as we raise our children, is a gift I treasure and trust that I'll never take for granted. You don't have to look far to see how rare that is.
Thank you, thank you, thank you - like I said earlier, it was as much a blessing to me as it was to my daughter. Love you all and I truly am in debt - in debt to your kindness. I look forward to "paying you back."
Well, back in January when my oldest turned 16, my younger sister, S, put on a family birthday party to remember, to celebrate my daughter's big birthday. It was something very special. In Genesis, whenever something significant happens, the people of God are told to build a memorial so that they'll never forget what God did. It is always so that the future generations will not forget God's marvelous works. This is my memorial of that day, not built of rocks, but instead of words, written for generations to come, so they'll know that we are trying, as an extended family, to seek God in the raising of our children and this includes even my siblings building into my children - a true gift. I also want to dedicate this to S as she put on one of the most significant events in my daughter's life to date. So, to S - I am indebted to you and all that you did on that special day....
It began with having my daughter's favourite people in her life invited - her Grandma, her Grammy, her newest aunt, all her little cousins, sisters (mom!) and even Nana (my sister's mother-in-law). The boys were also invited, invited to be scarce! and they played outside the whole time - which they LOVED - and were happy to just be there as long as pizza and cake would be included at some point in the day!
My sister lives on one of the most beautiful 10-acre properties you'll ever see - from the hidden driveway, you'd never know this place was there, but as you turn in, you see a gorgeous winding driveway with woods on both sides that opens up into a clearing with a beautiful home surrounded by more trees, a forest actually, and incredible landscaping. With the snow freshly fallen, it was the perfect setting for a winter birthday, right out of Martha Stewart. It was as if my sister had decorated it with white snow just for effect!
With everyone dressed up just little more than usual we entered in and got a warm reception, quickly followed by either a coffee or tea - who wouldn't have wanted that when it was still so icy outside!
Soon the festivities began - it was an afternoon tea. My sister definitely has the gift of hospitality and it showed - she had thought of everything to make it special for the Sweet Sixteen-Year-Old. The pinks and whites were everywhere, from napkins, to dishes, and even to the pretty table runners. The table was so inviting. You could tell her girls were excited and must have helped set it all up. They, too, have the gift of hospitality from their mother.
Everyone had brought something to contribute to the light meal, dainty tea sandwiches, fruit, shrimp.....mmmmmm.....everything was delicious and gobbled up quickly. My youngest daughter was crazy about the tea sandwiches with their olives, cream cheese and circle shapes and couldn't get enough of them! Goodbye peanut butter and jam!
Once everyone was full, out came the decadent cake and cupcakes. Suddenly there were boys in the room! Where had they come from???? Oh, they smelled the desserts! They'd been ousted from the girls' tea room forced to eat pizza, but they were allowed the dessert, so they were quickly let in and then kicked right back out......
Then the more formal part of the afternoon began. I was not expecting this. I had actually thought to myself, I should call my sister and ask her if she wants me to bring a verse or something to share, but then, for some reason, I didn't - I figured she probably had it all under control. I was right. In a way, this event was about to be as much a blessing to me as it was to my daughter.
My family started a tradition when my older sister, C, turned 40 - we went out and bought her 40 little gifts that symbolized her, from fun shoes, to hair things, makeup, etc., that were all a way to celebrate the many different sides to her. The next siblings to turn 40 also received 40 little gifts (over 40 days!) and so it seemed a little tradition was created. S did this for my daughter, in a way, to carry on the new tradition. So each aunt or Grammy, had brought a little gift for her, adding up to 16 things, culminating in a beautiful bracelet that any girl would be thrilled to wear.
\Each verse had been wrapped up in a pretty little paper envelope that could have easily been tossed at the end of the day. I told my sister to hang on to them as she had set the standard for all the little girl cousins to come. I want to do the very thing she did for my daughter and for all the other daughters to come (there are 7 more girls in the family.....so far....my brother just got married this past summer!) I hope those 16 envelopes are kept for generations to come. I'd like them to act as part of the memorial, especially if they get all tattered and ripped over time. Even better. Scripture will go inside them, the one true thing that can guide our girls. I even think with my sister in the States and her daughters that this is something we must try to do for them as they enter into their 16th year.... perhaps "Skype-a-Ceremony"?! I'm sure it wouldn't be the first internet birthday party!
So, to my sister, C, the one who couldn't be there - I know you and your girls would have been there in spirit and would have flown up in a heartbeat if you could have - sometimes the oldest children in a family are the guinea pigs and we learn by doing something like this that a new tradition has just been started. Who knew? In this case it was my child who was the guinea pig, but now we know....this must de done again. I can't wait to do a repeat performance for Mal as she'll be next in the girl cousins - if not in person, by Skype - it'll be something you and her can look forward to.
To my sister, S, mom, mom-in-law, sister-in-law, Nana, and all the sweet little girl cousins, even those not able to attend....what an afternoon I'll never forget. The effort that was put into that day to make it special was mind-boggling. Writing it out has shown me that even more. To have God as our focus, to have it in common as we raise our children, is a gift I treasure and trust that I'll never take for granted. You don't have to look far to see how rare that is.
Thank you, thank you, thank you - like I said earlier, it was as much a blessing to me as it was to my daughter. Love you all and I truly am in debt - in debt to your kindness. I look forward to "paying you back."
Friday, 14 February 2014
Redeeming Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day. Doesn't it feel like Hallmark is taking advantage of us? Is it possible to redeem these worldly holidays? I think so. I simply take them as an opportunity to bless my family and make their day just a little more special. Who doesn't enjoy a little shaking up of the normal, mundane routine of oatmeal?
But, something happened this year. My kids grew up and guess what, I got kicked out of the kitchen. I've been told to not come downstairs until I'm told. But I'm supposed to be the one blessing them! Maybe all those years of trying to make their life a little brighter on certain days is paying off....I'm starting to get treated like a queen. Nancy Campbell said this would happen. I'm really enjoying this!
However, they don't know I'm still up to something. I got a ton of berries on sale and some chocolate chips, also on a major sale. I'm going to simply melt some chocolate later on today, dip some strawberries (and/or bananas) into it and then roll in some chopped walnuts (or some healthy flax seed!) for a yummy treat at snack time. It doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't even have to be red. Just something a little different, like heart-shaped pancakes, to make their day fun. I love fun.
So, I can thank Hallmark for the little reminder, but I don't have to buy super expensive roses or boxes of chocolates. Maybe, if I can, I'll even take a minute to write a quick note to my kids - my parents used to do that for me. Those notes don't cost money either.
Other years, RM and I used to go out for dinner, but now we just make a special dinner at home. Tonight we'll be watching (if we can locate the link!) to a live Paul Washer event (the whole family will listen in as our family devotional time). He is one of the most inspiring preachers you'll ever hear. Tune in if you can. He's speaking at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario tonight at a youth conference (google it as I don't have the link yet). What a great way to spend a Valentine's night!
For RM, I bought him a special coffee that he loves (also on a major sale with a flyer). I already know he purchased a little something for me that is small, but a special token. Several evenings a week, when the kids go to bed, we enjoy special evenings together by the fireplace, talking for literally hours - it sometimes makes for a short night of sleep, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Tonight will be no different. I look forward to it.
Should we have spent anything at all? Is that breaking our vows? I don't think so. The things I purchased we need for breakfast anyway! The chocolate added up to less than $8 and I'm not planning on using it all today. So I might be using $2 worth today - that's pretty good for chocolate!
Decorating? Nothing special this year. Other years the girls have made crafts. I actually think they have made some crafts...I just haven't seen them yet! I'll find out when I come downstairs.
On another note....we are now into the period of Lent - Ash Wednesday was this week. Forty days before Easter. This is always a special period of time, focused prayer, preparing for the reason Jesus came to this world.
This year, I've asked RM if we can pray together every morning for these next forty days - specifically for our debt, that it really will be cleaned up faster than we think is humanly possible, for our children (specifically for the ones who are struggles at certain times), for his work, that God would bless it, and anything else that comes to mind, but those things in particular. We've been doing this already and I'm already seeing God move. What an awesome school day it was yesterday, particularly with one of my children who has been giving me a tremendous challenge - I couldn't believe the difference. It wasn't because God suddenly made him obey me. It was because suddenly I received an idea that I hadn't used in 6 years.
Perhaps you smarty-pants moms out there already do this, but I hadn't done it in a long time because, well, frankly, it meant creating another file on the computer, going to RM's office to print it out....it just seemed too big a task when I feel like I have so little time as it is. My idea? Well, it's very simple, don't get too excited....I made a weekly assignment schedule for him with boxes to check off after each subject. Like I said, pretty simple. Each subject is listed, followed by a list of the days of the school week. Beside each day I write what he is to finish in that subject. The empty box is across from that. I think what was overwhelming for me was that I thought I had to sit down on a Sunday evening and think through the whole week about what he was supposed to finish. I didn't want to do that. Yesterday, I simply sat beside him and wrote it out, in all of 5 minutes, what I hoped he could accomplish in each subject. Then, and here's the magic....I gave him a sticker and positive comment beside each thing done. Oh my goodness. You would have thought I was a miracle worker. Now, it was only the first day, so the novelty will probably wear off, but yesterday, if that boy didn't finish every single thing I asked him to - with no fussing. Unbelievable.
I share this because of the power of prayer. I picked up The Power of a Praying Parent which I hadn't picked up in years and I decided that is an area I really want to kick up a notch - pray for my kids, in all areas of their lives....health, direction, school, future spouses, behaviour.....you get the idea. So these next forty days I will be doing just that. Another free idea that can only benefit your children! What a gift! If I knew someone was praying specifically for me for forty days I'd be thrilled!
Well, I can smell something cooking in the kitchen. I'm a blessed mom today. I have a lounging husband in the bed behind me. His daughter is about to bring us a coffee! Is this for real? When did our kids grow up? I'm really starting to enjoy the new season of life we've entered! The baby is yelling at the top of his lungs, "Momma! Momma!" But they just keep stuffing him with blackberries, so I know he's fine - they handle him, so that I have a little break. I'm going to soak this moment up.....stick with it young mom, all those years you put in will come back to you hundredfold!
1. I'm thankful for my children.
2. I'm thankful for opportunities to switch up the routine a little.
3. I'm thankful for the way all those early years of sacrifice are starting to pay off!
4. I'm thankful for cheap gift ideas.
5. I'm thankful for old assignment sheets that worked miracles yesterday and for stickers!!!!!!
But, something happened this year. My kids grew up and guess what, I got kicked out of the kitchen. I've been told to not come downstairs until I'm told. But I'm supposed to be the one blessing them! Maybe all those years of trying to make their life a little brighter on certain days is paying off....I'm starting to get treated like a queen. Nancy Campbell said this would happen. I'm really enjoying this!
However, they don't know I'm still up to something. I got a ton of berries on sale and some chocolate chips, also on a major sale. I'm going to simply melt some chocolate later on today, dip some strawberries (and/or bananas) into it and then roll in some chopped walnuts (or some healthy flax seed!) for a yummy treat at snack time. It doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't even have to be red. Just something a little different, like heart-shaped pancakes, to make their day fun. I love fun.
So, I can thank Hallmark for the little reminder, but I don't have to buy super expensive roses or boxes of chocolates. Maybe, if I can, I'll even take a minute to write a quick note to my kids - my parents used to do that for me. Those notes don't cost money either.
Other years, RM and I used to go out for dinner, but now we just make a special dinner at home. Tonight we'll be watching (if we can locate the link!) to a live Paul Washer event (the whole family will listen in as our family devotional time). He is one of the most inspiring preachers you'll ever hear. Tune in if you can. He's speaking at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario tonight at a youth conference (google it as I don't have the link yet). What a great way to spend a Valentine's night!
For RM, I bought him a special coffee that he loves (also on a major sale with a flyer). I already know he purchased a little something for me that is small, but a special token. Several evenings a week, when the kids go to bed, we enjoy special evenings together by the fireplace, talking for literally hours - it sometimes makes for a short night of sleep, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Tonight will be no different. I look forward to it.
Should we have spent anything at all? Is that breaking our vows? I don't think so. The things I purchased we need for breakfast anyway! The chocolate added up to less than $8 and I'm not planning on using it all today. So I might be using $2 worth today - that's pretty good for chocolate!
Decorating? Nothing special this year. Other years the girls have made crafts. I actually think they have made some crafts...I just haven't seen them yet! I'll find out when I come downstairs.
On another note....we are now into the period of Lent - Ash Wednesday was this week. Forty days before Easter. This is always a special period of time, focused prayer, preparing for the reason Jesus came to this world.
This year, I've asked RM if we can pray together every morning for these next forty days - specifically for our debt, that it really will be cleaned up faster than we think is humanly possible, for our children (specifically for the ones who are struggles at certain times), for his work, that God would bless it, and anything else that comes to mind, but those things in particular. We've been doing this already and I'm already seeing God move. What an awesome school day it was yesterday, particularly with one of my children who has been giving me a tremendous challenge - I couldn't believe the difference. It wasn't because God suddenly made him obey me. It was because suddenly I received an idea that I hadn't used in 6 years.
Perhaps you smarty-pants moms out there already do this, but I hadn't done it in a long time because, well, frankly, it meant creating another file on the computer, going to RM's office to print it out....it just seemed too big a task when I feel like I have so little time as it is. My idea? Well, it's very simple, don't get too excited....I made a weekly assignment schedule for him with boxes to check off after each subject. Like I said, pretty simple. Each subject is listed, followed by a list of the days of the school week. Beside each day I write what he is to finish in that subject. The empty box is across from that. I think what was overwhelming for me was that I thought I had to sit down on a Sunday evening and think through the whole week about what he was supposed to finish. I didn't want to do that. Yesterday, I simply sat beside him and wrote it out, in all of 5 minutes, what I hoped he could accomplish in each subject. Then, and here's the magic....I gave him a sticker and positive comment beside each thing done. Oh my goodness. You would have thought I was a miracle worker. Now, it was only the first day, so the novelty will probably wear off, but yesterday, if that boy didn't finish every single thing I asked him to - with no fussing. Unbelievable.
I share this because of the power of prayer. I picked up The Power of a Praying Parent which I hadn't picked up in years and I decided that is an area I really want to kick up a notch - pray for my kids, in all areas of their lives....health, direction, school, future spouses, behaviour.....you get the idea. So these next forty days I will be doing just that. Another free idea that can only benefit your children! What a gift! If I knew someone was praying specifically for me for forty days I'd be thrilled!
Well, I can smell something cooking in the kitchen. I'm a blessed mom today. I have a lounging husband in the bed behind me. His daughter is about to bring us a coffee! Is this for real? When did our kids grow up? I'm really starting to enjoy the new season of life we've entered! The baby is yelling at the top of his lungs, "Momma! Momma!" But they just keep stuffing him with blackberries, so I know he's fine - they handle him, so that I have a little break. I'm going to soak this moment up.....stick with it young mom, all those years you put in will come back to you hundredfold!
1. I'm thankful for my children.
2. I'm thankful for opportunities to switch up the routine a little.
3. I'm thankful for the way all those early years of sacrifice are starting to pay off!
4. I'm thankful for cheap gift ideas.
5. I'm thankful for old assignment sheets that worked miracles yesterday and for stickers!!!!!!
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Goshen or Bust
What an interesting few days we've had. The long story short is that there is now a lovely white 944 Porsche sitting in our driveway, but boy oh boy, that did not come as easily as we thought. The car scene is full of shady characters it turns out.
We were supposed to have had a red 944 in our driveway, but the guy who was selling it wasn't there when Renaissance Man and the boys showed up to load it onto the trailer they'd brought. Supposedly, he was called into work. Trying not to freak out on the guy, RM wondered when he would be back as they would wait. He didn't know. Didn't know? Hmmmm.....2, 3, 4pm? No idea. So, RM tried to turn it into an opportunity to be with his boys and did some fun things around town, waiting, texting the guy, and more waiting.....this was getting weird.
Finally, it was dinner time, the boys were hungry. How long could this go on? Now the texts from, we'll call him, the other yahoo, had stopped long ago. Now RM (and I) are starting to get a bad feeling. He decided to drive by the guy's house one last time and believe it or not, the garage door was open and the Porsche was gone. What?! Drive home right away, I told him. This is not looking good. All you have to do is think back to the story that hit the news last year about another innocent car deal that went really bad. I wanted him and the boys home right away. It actually made me really glad he brought the boys - what if he hadn't? It makes me cringe to think.
Within 12 hours he had bought another one (fortunately no money had exchanged hands with the first deal). This one was a major hike way up north, about a 3 hour drive. He offered (honest, I didn't ask him to!) to take the 3 year old and the 3 other older boys. SURE!!!!! I'm sorry, did I say that too quickly????
So, Monday morning, off they go, to buy Porsche #2. The getting there wasn't a problem. This seller was definitely home and didn't seem like a gangster with his 5 kids and wife nearby. Whew! As RM started to get the Porsche loaded, he noticed some funny lights on the dashboard of our truck which did not look good - he was starting to have mechanical problems of his own with his truck. Not good. Then, he got stuck in the guy's snow covered driveway and a buddy of his had to come and pull RM out. Finally they were on their way, but the truck was getting worse and worse. He was pretty sure he'd need to stop and get the truck looked at. Oops, spoke too soon - the truck stopped moving and he and the boys were stuck on the side of the highway. Oh dear - it was now dinnertime and this was really the first time we'd been in contact all day. I thought he would have been home by dinner.
Let's not forget that funny little piece of info - he's got the three year old. He's now had him much longer than expected. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall! He hadn't disappointed! That little guy had been more of a handful than any of them had expected. He seemed to set the tone in the truck that day and it wasn't a fun one.
Now RM was asking for the number of our good friends who lived in a town nearby. He was getting the truck towed, but he and the boys were going to need to get picked up from the side of the road and it looked like they were going to need a place to stay overnight as well as a meal or two. This was setting RM back big time. He has work to do! and not just on cars!
Fortunately, our friends were willing hosts and it turns out God had, no doubt, orchestrated the whole event just to see them. They are going through a difficult time themselves, out of work, trying to pay off debt as well, lots of young kids....a real discouraging time. I had been encouraging this other mom just a few days earlier to start to seriously pray and fast. So she did.
Meanwhile, she had been encouraging her husband daily, since that time she and I had talked, to call RM - perhaps he had some work contacts, perhaps he could just be an ear for him, but you know husbands....they don't pick up the phone just to chat and get encouraged. No, they don't work that way. So God had to step in. First of all, the first car deal fell through. Secondly, the next car was being purchased up north, near them. Thirdly, the truck broke down outside their town and that was where the truck got towed. Fourthly, their name was the first and only name of someone he knew that lived nearby. When her husband got the call, he was happy to pick them up and my girlfriend was more than happy to feed them and have them overnight. The men ended up talking late into the night and praying together. Only God can make those kinds of meetings happen.
On a side note, I quickly got on the phone to my friend once I knew her husband was on the way to rescue my family, to thank her.....and warn her....."He's bringing the 3 year old!" I told her. "Oh, that's fine, I have one, too." "Oh, no you don't! My 3 year old is indescribable! Remember," I continued, "This 3 year old has napped on and off all day, he hasn't eaten, he's been cramped up, no exercise, no way to get out his wiggles.....keep him away from your animals and all small children!" Don't get me wrong! I wasn't cursing my child, I was simply telling her the reality of the situation! I wasn't there to prevent anything from going wrong and RM wasn't in that kind of headspace to be on top of the little guy and his unpredictable actions........
I went to sleep that night without hearing any news. The next morning RM called to give me an update that he was on his way home with a fixed truck. Yeah! "How's J (the 3 year old)?" "Oh fine. He bonked one of their kids." Can't say I didn't warn her....
Ok, let's get serious and go back to why I entitled this Goshen or Bust.....
When RM called to tell me what was going on and that they were stuck on the side of the road, I quickly reminded him, and he knew, that God must be up to something. We are definitely learning to not question him on these kinds of interruptions anymore. The next morning, I was back in Genesis (finally into Exodus!) and I read the well-known story of Joseph. Each time I read this story we are in a different place so I relate to a different character each time. This time, oddly enough, it was Jacob.
What a sad life Jacob had led. From early on in his life as a twin, earning his birthright dishonestly, being chosen as a favourite by his mother, living in fear, running from his brother.....not a stress-free existence. Then having children of his own by multiple wives who also provided no end of stress, a rough relationship with his father-in-law.....finally having two boys with the love of his life, Rachel, but then she dies in childbirth...how awful! But at least he has his children, or does he? He inherited the generational sin of showing favouritism to one of his boys, Joseph. This doesn't go over well and ultimately contributes to his other children selling Joseph into slavery, but of course, Jacob doesn't know this and is told that he was eaten by wild animals. Nice. He lives out most of his days in sorrow.
Finally the Joseph story takes a turn when the famine starts in Egypt. The remaining brothers are told by Jacob to go and get food in Egypt. This is when Joseph tests them by taking Simeon as a prisoner until they return with the youngest brother Benjamin who remained with Jacob. When they return to get Benjamin, Jacob refuses to let him go and in fact, doesn't seem to worried about leaving Simeon behind because the Bible says they didn't return until they'd used up all the grain - what?! How long did he have to stay behind! I hadn't noticed that before. Simeon must have not been impressed.
Once again, the famine is still quite bad and they run out of grain again. This time Judah steps in and says he'll be a pledge of safety for Benjamin. The story then comes full circle. Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, offers forgiveness and asks for Jacob to return to him with all of his family and herds. They'll be taken care of and be able to live without fear of the famine.
When Jacob hears all of this, it is too good to be true - "his heart became numb, for he did not believe them." Finally they convince him it is true and they pack up and go.
God had always been there, in spite of his hard life, and had spoken to him throughout his life. Once again, he speaks to him in visions of the night, "Jacob, Jacob. I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes."
So off they go. They arrive in Egypt and Pharaoh himself comes out to meet Jacob. Such an interesting moment.
"And Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many are the days of the years of your life?'
And Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.'"
What a sad response! It appears Jacob has not read Ann Voskamp! He didn't look back, it seemed, with much gratitude or joy, for that matter, on how his life had gone. He said his days had been few and evil. This is one of the top guys in the Bible! His life stunk in his eyes.
But, God was faithful even so Jacob felt this way. His life might have been hard, really hard, and sad, really sad, but in the end, God brought him to Goshen - to "the best of the land" in Egypt where he would "eat the fat of the land".
I share all of this because when RM called me on the Tuesday morning to give me an update, I could hear discouragement in his voice. It had been quite the 24 hours - nothing like what he had expected. Having just read about Jacob that morning, I quickly shared Jacob's response to Pharaoh. Jacob, this famous patriarch, had not seen all these lows in his life with a great perspective. It would have been easy for RM to say the same, that his days have been "few and evil" - it's hard not to say that when you go through these types of challenges. Yet God speaks to us, perhaps not in night visions, but through his word, and we do have the Ann Voskamp advantage! We can say "Thank you for breaking our truck down! Thank you for allowing little J to be along on the trip! Thank you for our great friends who lived right nearby where RM broke down!" I told RM, don't be like Jacob! Let yourself see things through a heavenly perspective - he's taking us to Goshen.....some day - even if we are in a famine-type state. God even used the famine to bring Jacob and his son together again.
So now, my prayers are all about Goshen - Lord, take us to Goshen.....in your time.....Jacob didn't get there as quickly as he hoped. In fact, I don't think he ever thought Goshen existed. As far as he was concerned, Goshen was not a reality in his life. I want to believe Goshen will be our reality. The greatest part of the story is not just how Jacob gets to go to Goshen in his old age, but the Bible specifically describes who else benefitted, "The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives....All his offspring, he brought with him into Egypt." The Bible could have just said, "Then a bunch of them came to Egypt." No. The little ones. Their wives. Even me and my little people will get to go with RM someday.
RM and I know it might not be us that truly benefit from getting out of debt. It really might just be these future generations. This story acknowledges that yes, Jacob, finally at the end of his life arrived, but it also says, "...you and your children and your children's children" will ultimately be the ones who benefit. That is a little bit hard for me if I'm truly honest. I wish I could have benefitted a little earlier on in my life, but I can't change the past. I'm grateful for the future though and how my kids will do better in the land of Goshen.
Ok, one other great side note to not having the little 3 year old running around here for 24 hours...heh, heh, heh......I had to fake sympathy a little when RM first called to say there was a major delay. "Really! I'm so sorrrrrry, honey!" I admitted to my friend when I spoke to her on the phone, "This is really awful for RM, but GREAT FOR ME!!!! HA! Do you have ANY IDEA how much I'm getting done around here!!!!!"
Hey, I love my children, but my house is a mess! There was so much cleaning up and reorganizing I wanted to do and that just does not get done when that boy is around. You wouldn't believe what I accomplished with my older girls in that period of time. We completely took their room apart and moved the 5 year old in with the baby. That room also got a complete cleanup top to bottom. Desks got moved upstairs which the girls had wanted for some time. My room had never been really cleaned up since it had been a cat maternity ward a few weeks ago. That finally got taken care of. I did a major overhaul on the homeschool room. This led to a major basement cleanup once everyone got back where I, sob, went through all my babystuff and, more sobbing, cleared it ALL out. My friend and I admitted to one another on Sunday that, it's true, we are finally getting older. It is time to move on. It appears no more babies are coming. I even threw out the car seat. But, but, what if I do have another one????? RM assures me we'll buy it all again. Still sad, but it's time to stop hanging on to all the beautiful clutter that I love so much that comes from 8 babies, hoping there might be more.....I never thought I'd be in this place, but I am. I'm ok with that, but it is a time of mourning for me.
All that to say, my house is looking better and better! Is it possible that God knew I would need that time and RM would never have agreed to taking him out of the picture for 24 hours! I can only say, God really does "work ALL things together for good"!!!!! Hee hee!!!! Well, he's back now and tearing up the house in his dreams.......he'll be down soon and it'll be another busy day jumping from one couch to another.
Back to the Porsche for a minute. Was God putting roadblocks in our way so that we wouldn't pursue this way of getting out of debt? I don't think so. I think it was just another test of our resolve. Anything worthwhile doing is hard work. I really love that our boys observed the trial. They will have trials in their lives. They must learn how to cope. How else do you learn this without watching the generation before? We accept the trials gladly knowing the eternal purposes behind them.
So, is Goshen in our future? I'm sure hoping so, but in the meantime, I'm here with all sorts of cats and children crawling all over me and I'm happy.
We were supposed to have had a red 944 in our driveway, but the guy who was selling it wasn't there when Renaissance Man and the boys showed up to load it onto the trailer they'd brought. Supposedly, he was called into work. Trying not to freak out on the guy, RM wondered when he would be back as they would wait. He didn't know. Didn't know? Hmmmm.....2, 3, 4pm? No idea. So, RM tried to turn it into an opportunity to be with his boys and did some fun things around town, waiting, texting the guy, and more waiting.....this was getting weird.
Finally, it was dinner time, the boys were hungry. How long could this go on? Now the texts from, we'll call him, the other yahoo, had stopped long ago. Now RM (and I) are starting to get a bad feeling. He decided to drive by the guy's house one last time and believe it or not, the garage door was open and the Porsche was gone. What?! Drive home right away, I told him. This is not looking good. All you have to do is think back to the story that hit the news last year about another innocent car deal that went really bad. I wanted him and the boys home right away. It actually made me really glad he brought the boys - what if he hadn't? It makes me cringe to think.
Within 12 hours he had bought another one (fortunately no money had exchanged hands with the first deal). This one was a major hike way up north, about a 3 hour drive. He offered (honest, I didn't ask him to!) to take the 3 year old and the 3 other older boys. SURE!!!!! I'm sorry, did I say that too quickly????
So, Monday morning, off they go, to buy Porsche #2. The getting there wasn't a problem. This seller was definitely home and didn't seem like a gangster with his 5 kids and wife nearby. Whew! As RM started to get the Porsche loaded, he noticed some funny lights on the dashboard of our truck which did not look good - he was starting to have mechanical problems of his own with his truck. Not good. Then, he got stuck in the guy's snow covered driveway and a buddy of his had to come and pull RM out. Finally they were on their way, but the truck was getting worse and worse. He was pretty sure he'd need to stop and get the truck looked at. Oops, spoke too soon - the truck stopped moving and he and the boys were stuck on the side of the highway. Oh dear - it was now dinnertime and this was really the first time we'd been in contact all day. I thought he would have been home by dinner.
Let's not forget that funny little piece of info - he's got the three year old. He's now had him much longer than expected. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall! He hadn't disappointed! That little guy had been more of a handful than any of them had expected. He seemed to set the tone in the truck that day and it wasn't a fun one.
Now RM was asking for the number of our good friends who lived in a town nearby. He was getting the truck towed, but he and the boys were going to need to get picked up from the side of the road and it looked like they were going to need a place to stay overnight as well as a meal or two. This was setting RM back big time. He has work to do! and not just on cars!
Fortunately, our friends were willing hosts and it turns out God had, no doubt, orchestrated the whole event just to see them. They are going through a difficult time themselves, out of work, trying to pay off debt as well, lots of young kids....a real discouraging time. I had been encouraging this other mom just a few days earlier to start to seriously pray and fast. So she did.
Meanwhile, she had been encouraging her husband daily, since that time she and I had talked, to call RM - perhaps he had some work contacts, perhaps he could just be an ear for him, but you know husbands....they don't pick up the phone just to chat and get encouraged. No, they don't work that way. So God had to step in. First of all, the first car deal fell through. Secondly, the next car was being purchased up north, near them. Thirdly, the truck broke down outside their town and that was where the truck got towed. Fourthly, their name was the first and only name of someone he knew that lived nearby. When her husband got the call, he was happy to pick them up and my girlfriend was more than happy to feed them and have them overnight. The men ended up talking late into the night and praying together. Only God can make those kinds of meetings happen.
On a side note, I quickly got on the phone to my friend once I knew her husband was on the way to rescue my family, to thank her.....and warn her....."He's bringing the 3 year old!" I told her. "Oh, that's fine, I have one, too." "Oh, no you don't! My 3 year old is indescribable! Remember," I continued, "This 3 year old has napped on and off all day, he hasn't eaten, he's been cramped up, no exercise, no way to get out his wiggles.....keep him away from your animals and all small children!" Don't get me wrong! I wasn't cursing my child, I was simply telling her the reality of the situation! I wasn't there to prevent anything from going wrong and RM wasn't in that kind of headspace to be on top of the little guy and his unpredictable actions........
I went to sleep that night without hearing any news. The next morning RM called to give me an update that he was on his way home with a fixed truck. Yeah! "How's J (the 3 year old)?" "Oh fine. He bonked one of their kids." Can't say I didn't warn her....
Ok, let's get serious and go back to why I entitled this Goshen or Bust.....
When RM called to tell me what was going on and that they were stuck on the side of the road, I quickly reminded him, and he knew, that God must be up to something. We are definitely learning to not question him on these kinds of interruptions anymore. The next morning, I was back in Genesis (finally into Exodus!) and I read the well-known story of Joseph. Each time I read this story we are in a different place so I relate to a different character each time. This time, oddly enough, it was Jacob.
What a sad life Jacob had led. From early on in his life as a twin, earning his birthright dishonestly, being chosen as a favourite by his mother, living in fear, running from his brother.....not a stress-free existence. Then having children of his own by multiple wives who also provided no end of stress, a rough relationship with his father-in-law.....finally having two boys with the love of his life, Rachel, but then she dies in childbirth...how awful! But at least he has his children, or does he? He inherited the generational sin of showing favouritism to one of his boys, Joseph. This doesn't go over well and ultimately contributes to his other children selling Joseph into slavery, but of course, Jacob doesn't know this and is told that he was eaten by wild animals. Nice. He lives out most of his days in sorrow.
Finally the Joseph story takes a turn when the famine starts in Egypt. The remaining brothers are told by Jacob to go and get food in Egypt. This is when Joseph tests them by taking Simeon as a prisoner until they return with the youngest brother Benjamin who remained with Jacob. When they return to get Benjamin, Jacob refuses to let him go and in fact, doesn't seem to worried about leaving Simeon behind because the Bible says they didn't return until they'd used up all the grain - what?! How long did he have to stay behind! I hadn't noticed that before. Simeon must have not been impressed.
Once again, the famine is still quite bad and they run out of grain again. This time Judah steps in and says he'll be a pledge of safety for Benjamin. The story then comes full circle. Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, offers forgiveness and asks for Jacob to return to him with all of his family and herds. They'll be taken care of and be able to live without fear of the famine.
When Jacob hears all of this, it is too good to be true - "his heart became numb, for he did not believe them." Finally they convince him it is true and they pack up and go.
God had always been there, in spite of his hard life, and had spoken to him throughout his life. Once again, he speaks to him in visions of the night, "Jacob, Jacob. I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes."
So off they go. They arrive in Egypt and Pharaoh himself comes out to meet Jacob. Such an interesting moment.
"And Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many are the days of the years of your life?'
And Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.'"
What a sad response! It appears Jacob has not read Ann Voskamp! He didn't look back, it seemed, with much gratitude or joy, for that matter, on how his life had gone. He said his days had been few and evil. This is one of the top guys in the Bible! His life stunk in his eyes.
But, God was faithful even so Jacob felt this way. His life might have been hard, really hard, and sad, really sad, but in the end, God brought him to Goshen - to "the best of the land" in Egypt where he would "eat the fat of the land".
I share all of this because when RM called me on the Tuesday morning to give me an update, I could hear discouragement in his voice. It had been quite the 24 hours - nothing like what he had expected. Having just read about Jacob that morning, I quickly shared Jacob's response to Pharaoh. Jacob, this famous patriarch, had not seen all these lows in his life with a great perspective. It would have been easy for RM to say the same, that his days have been "few and evil" - it's hard not to say that when you go through these types of challenges. Yet God speaks to us, perhaps not in night visions, but through his word, and we do have the Ann Voskamp advantage! We can say "Thank you for breaking our truck down! Thank you for allowing little J to be along on the trip! Thank you for our great friends who lived right nearby where RM broke down!" I told RM, don't be like Jacob! Let yourself see things through a heavenly perspective - he's taking us to Goshen.....some day - even if we are in a famine-type state. God even used the famine to bring Jacob and his son together again.
So now, my prayers are all about Goshen - Lord, take us to Goshen.....in your time.....Jacob didn't get there as quickly as he hoped. In fact, I don't think he ever thought Goshen existed. As far as he was concerned, Goshen was not a reality in his life. I want to believe Goshen will be our reality. The greatest part of the story is not just how Jacob gets to go to Goshen in his old age, but the Bible specifically describes who else benefitted, "The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives....All his offspring, he brought with him into Egypt." The Bible could have just said, "Then a bunch of them came to Egypt." No. The little ones. Their wives. Even me and my little people will get to go with RM someday.
RM and I know it might not be us that truly benefit from getting out of debt. It really might just be these future generations. This story acknowledges that yes, Jacob, finally at the end of his life arrived, but it also says, "...you and your children and your children's children" will ultimately be the ones who benefit. That is a little bit hard for me if I'm truly honest. I wish I could have benefitted a little earlier on in my life, but I can't change the past. I'm grateful for the future though and how my kids will do better in the land of Goshen.
Ok, one other great side note to not having the little 3 year old running around here for 24 hours...heh, heh, heh......I had to fake sympathy a little when RM first called to say there was a major delay. "Really! I'm so sorrrrrry, honey!" I admitted to my friend when I spoke to her on the phone, "This is really awful for RM, but GREAT FOR ME!!!! HA! Do you have ANY IDEA how much I'm getting done around here!!!!!"
Hey, I love my children, but my house is a mess! There was so much cleaning up and reorganizing I wanted to do and that just does not get done when that boy is around. You wouldn't believe what I accomplished with my older girls in that period of time. We completely took their room apart and moved the 5 year old in with the baby. That room also got a complete cleanup top to bottom. Desks got moved upstairs which the girls had wanted for some time. My room had never been really cleaned up since it had been a cat maternity ward a few weeks ago. That finally got taken care of. I did a major overhaul on the homeschool room. This led to a major basement cleanup once everyone got back where I, sob, went through all my babystuff and, more sobbing, cleared it ALL out. My friend and I admitted to one another on Sunday that, it's true, we are finally getting older. It is time to move on. It appears no more babies are coming. I even threw out the car seat. But, but, what if I do have another one????? RM assures me we'll buy it all again. Still sad, but it's time to stop hanging on to all the beautiful clutter that I love so much that comes from 8 babies, hoping there might be more.....I never thought I'd be in this place, but I am. I'm ok with that, but it is a time of mourning for me.
All that to say, my house is looking better and better! Is it possible that God knew I would need that time and RM would never have agreed to taking him out of the picture for 24 hours! I can only say, God really does "work ALL things together for good"!!!!! Hee hee!!!! Well, he's back now and tearing up the house in his dreams.......he'll be down soon and it'll be another busy day jumping from one couch to another.
Back to the Porsche for a minute. Was God putting roadblocks in our way so that we wouldn't pursue this way of getting out of debt? I don't think so. I think it was just another test of our resolve. Anything worthwhile doing is hard work. I really love that our boys observed the trial. They will have trials in their lives. They must learn how to cope. How else do you learn this without watching the generation before? We accept the trials gladly knowing the eternal purposes behind them.
So, is Goshen in our future? I'm sure hoping so, but in the meantime, I'm here with all sorts of cats and children crawling all over me and I'm happy.
Monday, 10 February 2014
Goodbye Pity Parties....
I want to invite you again to my family room where the kids and I sat for our morning devotion time on Friday. This was right after I got off the phone with my other sister wishing her a wonderful time on her trip to Chicago.....
I don't normally do this, but that day I couldn't find my book that tells us what passage to read, so I opened up my Bible and it fell open to Psalms. I write all over my Bible and I looked down and saw a verse underlined. One about a prisoner. So interesting. So I thought to myself, I wonder why I underlined that then? I also always date the verses I underline for that very purpose, to remind myself what God was doing in my life at that time and sure enough, there was the date - nearly 3 years had passed. I immediately wanted to read the rest of the Psalm to the kids, so even though it was a little random, we read Psalm 79.
It begins by speaking about how things just are not going well for Jerusalem,
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
I explained to the kids, it's almost as if the writer, Asaph, is trying to tell God, things aren't how they are supposed to be for your people, your temple. I asked them, "Isn't that how we feel sometimes? This isn't how it's supposed to be! We shouldn't be in this position! This can't be what you want for us!"
It gets worse before it gets better - Asaph continues to explain just how bad it is....
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
3 They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.
It is quite a severe situation - the servants of the Lord are being left for dead. No one is left to care for them, even to bury them. This is where my kids love reading the Bible as it can be quite graphic - dead bodies, blood, guts.....
Verse 3 is speaking about how the neighbouring countries view Jerusalem in their plight....
We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn and derision to those around us.
I asked the kids if we are objects of contempt sometimes. Perhaps to our figurative neighbours who view our family perhaps making extreme decisions when we should just lighten up a bit? We do know for a fact that we are certainly objects of contempt to Satan.
Asaph has to ask,
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
My sister's mother -in-law gave my sister tickets to go to "Unique Lives", a speaker series in downtown Toronto of women (and men, I assume?) who live unique lives, thus the name! The speakers are always fairly famous people who have done amazing things in their lives. The last time I went I got to hear Craig Kielberger's brother and his wife (he's the Me to We guy) - it was very inspiring and made you want to go out and do just as amazing things or more with your life! The last time we saw that together was quite a few years ago - it was a wonderful time. Last night her mother-in-law offered her tickets again, as she'll be out of town, but why of all days, does she call my sister last night - why?! We all know why by now - because God just does those kinds of things! Remember he is pursuing, chasing, hunting me down - trying to give me and show me mercy ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE! My sister could have asked anyone, but she asked me. She could have called any day of the year, but it was that Thursday night, on a day of surrendering our rights. Perhaps it was because she knew I was missing out on the fun sister weekend coming up. When she asked if I could free up some time to go......"Done," was what I quickly said. I think I said it before she even finished her question.
Why am I telling you this? Because I am trying to share the lows and the highs. Friday was not necessarily a low, but it was a test for sure. Mercy was shown once again, this time to me! Is it coincidence? I stopped thinking that a long time ago! Thank you, S! God used you as a blessing in my life. I appreciate it and can't wait to go! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!
This weekend, we were thankful for:
1. Cold weather, but no frozen pipes.
2. Stuck in our driveway, missed church, but finally got out!
3. 1st Porsche deal fell through, but 2nd deal working out today, Lord willing.
4. Very messy house ahead of me today, but the 3 year old will be with Daddy all day, so that frees up a LOT of time!!!!!
5. Spring is around the corner, right???????
I don't normally do this, but that day I couldn't find my book that tells us what passage to read, so I opened up my Bible and it fell open to Psalms. I write all over my Bible and I looked down and saw a verse underlined. One about a prisoner. So interesting. So I thought to myself, I wonder why I underlined that then? I also always date the verses I underline for that very purpose, to remind myself what God was doing in my life at that time and sure enough, there was the date - nearly 3 years had passed. I immediately wanted to read the rest of the Psalm to the kids, so even though it was a little random, we read Psalm 79.
It begins by speaking about how things just are not going well for Jerusalem,
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
I explained to the kids, it's almost as if the writer, Asaph, is trying to tell God, things aren't how they are supposed to be for your people, your temple. I asked them, "Isn't that how we feel sometimes? This isn't how it's supposed to be! We shouldn't be in this position! This can't be what you want for us!"
It gets worse before it gets better - Asaph continues to explain just how bad it is....
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
3 They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.
It is quite a severe situation - the servants of the Lord are being left for dead. No one is left to care for them, even to bury them. This is where my kids love reading the Bible as it can be quite graphic - dead bodies, blood, guts.....
Verse 3 is speaking about how the neighbouring countries view Jerusalem in their plight....
We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn and derision to those around us.
I asked the kids if we are objects of contempt sometimes. Perhaps to our figurative neighbours who view our family perhaps making extreme decisions when we should just lighten up a bit? We do know for a fact that we are certainly objects of contempt to Satan.
Asaph has to ask,
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;
7 for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;
7 for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
My not-so-theological interpretation? Lord, the world is upside down! The world does not acknowledge God or call on his name! How long, Lord? How long does the world have to be like this?
Then, on to us - verse 8.....
8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
These have to be my favourite verses in the Psalm. We've acknowledged to the kids before that Mommy and Daddy didn't necessarily make the wisest decisions financially in the past. And, not unlike the author of this Psalm, we've asked that God's mercy would "come quickly to meet us for we are in desperate need". For no other reason, we ask for his help "for the glory of your name". We ask that he would "deliver us and forgive us for your name's sake."
Then, the prisoner theme again....
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
And the generational theme again.....
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
So, verse by verse, we prayed these prayers, just repeating scripture, God's words, back to himself...
"Lord, things are not how they are supposed to be. You know this. You see this. There is contempt in the world for your ways. How long does it have to be this way? We ask for your mercy, for your deliverance, in spite of ourselves, who deserve nothing. You hear our groans. We need your strong arm. We pray this for the future generations!"
Before I read the Psalm, I debated on telling them what they were missing out on. Would it make them upset to know they weren't going on a trip when their cousins were? Perhaps I should just keep it to myself, but then I thought I will tell them, but not to make them angry or bitter. I told them very purposefully, to give them a chance to trust God, again. As I told them I reminded them, (though I hardly think I needed to as they know what God has done), of all the ways God has blessed them, taken care of them. We don't get tears anymore from anyone. One of them said, "If he wants us on a trip, he'll get us there somehow." They've seen this happen so they're speaking truth! It was another great time of learning for our children.
Simple as that now - life goes on. The pity parties even in our kids are getting fewer and fewer. I really don't think they feel underprivileged in any way. I don't either.
Then, a blessing, at the very end of the day - I was already upstairs getting ready for bed when I got a call from my sister.
Why am I telling you this? Because I am trying to share the lows and the highs. Friday was not necessarily a low, but it was a test for sure. Mercy was shown once again, this time to me! Is it coincidence? I stopped thinking that a long time ago! Thank you, S! God used you as a blessing in my life. I appreciate it and can't wait to go! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!
This weekend, we were thankful for:
1. Cold weather, but no frozen pipes.
2. Stuck in our driveway, missed church, but finally got out!
3. 1st Porsche deal fell through, but 2nd deal working out today, Lord willing.
4. Very messy house ahead of me today, but the 3 year old will be with Daddy all day, so that frees up a LOT of time!!!!!
5. Spring is around the corner, right???????
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Me and Swiss Family Robinson
I'm still thankful, just haven't written it.....I'll start off with that today....
1. So glad I did my grocery shopping the day before the storm - there's no way I could have gotten out yesterday!
2. Grateful for kids who test me - sometimes it brings out the worst, but I know I'll be so sad one day when they're gone.
3. Grateful for health - I know that could change at any moment, so counting my blessings.
4. It is getting lighter and lighter out at dinner time! Spring is coming!
5. Grateful for Swiss Family Robinson (except for all the smoochy parts!).
So, back to Swiss Family Robinson for a minute. A story of a family who leaves their homeland and along the way, they meet tragedy in the form of a shipwreck leaving them stuck on a deserted island. I'm sure you know the story. There is a scene between the husband and wife right at the beginning where they've just landed on the deserted island and you can see they are second guessing if they should have ever left Switzerland for a new colony. What were they thinking? If they'd only stayed back and lived a normal life! They had wanted to start a new life, a better life, for their boys, and then this disaster happens. I felt for them, especially the husband as he sat there in the sand, questioning everything. His wife held him and reminded him it was going to be ok. Somehow her words consoled him and within a few minutes he was excited again about the future. Suddenly he realized they'd make it. They'd find a way to get off the island. A ship would come.
This is my life - on a deserted island, with just my husband and my kids. The one comment the father made resounded with me so much and I paraphrase as I'm not quite as good at memorizing ENTIRE lines from movies as my kids are, "Other fathers sit in their regular desk jobs and they find opportunities for their families. They don't feel the need to pick up their family and go to a new colony." He was really questioning if he'd made the right choice. He'd gone against mainstream life and now, there he was, stranded. Great scene for me. I loved it because that is just what we feel we've done. By making the decision to get out of debt, in a rather radical way, we've kind of picked up our family, put them on a ship off to a new colony called No Debt Land, but along the way, we sometimes hit some major waves - fortunately for us, we aren't quite shipwrecked yet! But once in awhile, it seems perhaps it would be easier to live life like we were before, finding opportunities in the old colony of Debt Land.
This is where the story becomes AWESOME! As they start to get more comfortable on the desert island the older boys start to get a little more adventurous and ask their parents if they can do a little exploring. The mother is adamantly against this, but then she is finally convinced as she realizes if they really do want their boys to one day get married and have families of their own, they better try to get off the island so they can get them some wives! Off the boys go, sailing around the island, looking for a ship, or something, to get them home. One night, thet're getting ready to head to bed and they start talking about how things have changed in their lives and again, I paraphrase as one boy says to the other, "Don't you think we've changed? Don't you see how we aren't afraid anymore of every little thing? We're braver. We're stronger. We're getting way better at risk taking?" The other boy quickly agrees. They like who they are becoming, especially when they look back to who they were only a few short months earlier.
See the parallels again? I don't like living on a deserted island all the time when I see other families "enjoying life", supposedly problem-free, but then I see what's going on in my kids lives and the things they are being exposed to, like fixing the car, and how they are becoming stronger, less afraid, better at taking risks - actually all of us are getting better at this. Then, I think - deserted island? shipwrecks? Bring it on!
But literally, right at that scene, I got a call from my sister.....a storm started to brew....will this be my shipwreck? Read on.
I told my sister I would probably blog about this, so here I go, C! She and my other sister are connecting this weekend. (Do you hear rain?) That doesn't sound like a big deal, but did I mention it was in Chicago! (Yup, that's definitely rain. Perhaps a thunderstorm?) How fun! My one sister is flying down with her two girls to meet my other sister with her two girls and they are going off to spend the weekend in a hotel (for sure, a thunderstorm - waves are getting higher), enjoying all that Chicago has to offer, which for little girls is American Girl for tea in the big downtown Chicago location (I see rocks up ahead) - a fun time....for them.....I have girls, too, 3 in fact, who would all love a little getaway with their cousins, who wouldn't? We could even swing it as we have points to cover all the flights! But that wouldn't cover all the other expenses, the many countless expenses that are often hidden, but add up.....(Jagged rocks, huge rocks, I can only hope there is an island close by.)
Both sisters know this will be hard on me, but they know what we are up to and are very supportive. Times are tight for all of us in different ways and at different times. They get it. We're all pretty close and really enjoy spending time together. Normally I would hang up the phone and have a pity party, but I told her I now have over 50 posts written about God's faithfulness during shipwrecks - this is potentially another storm for me, it could turn into a shipwreck if I let it, but I just have to look back and see how many stories of being saved from a shipwreck I have, and then the storm calms......perhaps this is another time to wield the sword of the computer "pen" against my old enemy, discouragement. So I do. I write down what I'm grateful for and I realize I can be very happy for my two sisters and my four nieces, knowing God has a plan even for the little girl cousins and that for us, it just isn't now. Do I sit on the beach and feel sad a little, yes. But I have a husband who sits by the fire with me, and we look up into the stars above our deserted island and see beauty, our family is with us, we have each other.....The Robinsons had to do this, too, on their beach - they could have all died in the shipwreck. They could have never landed on a beach at all! They had each other and going over their many blessings helped them to rest, even as it started to rain again.
I know this is another test for me (I haven't even told my girls yet as it would be a major test for them, too - they love their cousins!), but I will pass it! They will pass it! I'm determined (or debt-termined!). Blessings are around the corner.
Have a great time, sistahs! One day, one day, I'll be in a better place to do those types of things....in the meantime, I will sit on my desert island and enjoy my setting here. I have all sorts of monkeys around me! The three year old monkey hasn't been up to as many antics as usual, so it's been quiet in my jungle! Well, if you don't count covering his entire head in hair gel, coming down with a pocket knife hidden in his pants, (denying he's hiding anything), completely turning my family room upside down, putting his older brother under a huge couch pillow and then jumping on top of it, jumping from the top of the kitchen table like Tarzan and nearly breaking his ankle, grabbing spoonfuls of sugar for his oatmeal without me looking and making sure most of it spilled all over the counter (and this is all yesterday!) Nope, it's been quiet. How strange! I'm sure he'll probably do something later on today.....just give him a few more minutes.....I should start a blog just about him......and I wonder why I'm getting grey hair????
T
1. So glad I did my grocery shopping the day before the storm - there's no way I could have gotten out yesterday!
2. Grateful for kids who test me - sometimes it brings out the worst, but I know I'll be so sad one day when they're gone.
3. Grateful for health - I know that could change at any moment, so counting my blessings.
4. It is getting lighter and lighter out at dinner time! Spring is coming!
5. Grateful for Swiss Family Robinson (except for all the smoochy parts!).
So, back to Swiss Family Robinson for a minute. A story of a family who leaves their homeland and along the way, they meet tragedy in the form of a shipwreck leaving them stuck on a deserted island. I'm sure you know the story. There is a scene between the husband and wife right at the beginning where they've just landed on the deserted island and you can see they are second guessing if they should have ever left Switzerland for a new colony. What were they thinking? If they'd only stayed back and lived a normal life! They had wanted to start a new life, a better life, for their boys, and then this disaster happens. I felt for them, especially the husband as he sat there in the sand, questioning everything. His wife held him and reminded him it was going to be ok. Somehow her words consoled him and within a few minutes he was excited again about the future. Suddenly he realized they'd make it. They'd find a way to get off the island. A ship would come.
This is my life - on a deserted island, with just my husband and my kids. The one comment the father made resounded with me so much and I paraphrase as I'm not quite as good at memorizing ENTIRE lines from movies as my kids are, "Other fathers sit in their regular desk jobs and they find opportunities for their families. They don't feel the need to pick up their family and go to a new colony." He was really questioning if he'd made the right choice. He'd gone against mainstream life and now, there he was, stranded. Great scene for me. I loved it because that is just what we feel we've done. By making the decision to get out of debt, in a rather radical way, we've kind of picked up our family, put them on a ship off to a new colony called No Debt Land, but along the way, we sometimes hit some major waves - fortunately for us, we aren't quite shipwrecked yet! But once in awhile, it seems perhaps it would be easier to live life like we were before, finding opportunities in the old colony of Debt Land.
This is where the story becomes AWESOME! As they start to get more comfortable on the desert island the older boys start to get a little more adventurous and ask their parents if they can do a little exploring. The mother is adamantly against this, but then she is finally convinced as she realizes if they really do want their boys to one day get married and have families of their own, they better try to get off the island so they can get them some wives! Off the boys go, sailing around the island, looking for a ship, or something, to get them home. One night, thet're getting ready to head to bed and they start talking about how things have changed in their lives and again, I paraphrase as one boy says to the other, "Don't you think we've changed? Don't you see how we aren't afraid anymore of every little thing? We're braver. We're stronger. We're getting way better at risk taking?" The other boy quickly agrees. They like who they are becoming, especially when they look back to who they were only a few short months earlier.
See the parallels again? I don't like living on a deserted island all the time when I see other families "enjoying life", supposedly problem-free, but then I see what's going on in my kids lives and the things they are being exposed to, like fixing the car, and how they are becoming stronger, less afraid, better at taking risks - actually all of us are getting better at this. Then, I think - deserted island? shipwrecks? Bring it on!
But literally, right at that scene, I got a call from my sister.....a storm started to brew....will this be my shipwreck? Read on.
I told my sister I would probably blog about this, so here I go, C! She and my other sister are connecting this weekend. (Do you hear rain?) That doesn't sound like a big deal, but did I mention it was in Chicago! (Yup, that's definitely rain. Perhaps a thunderstorm?) How fun! My one sister is flying down with her two girls to meet my other sister with her two girls and they are going off to spend the weekend in a hotel (for sure, a thunderstorm - waves are getting higher), enjoying all that Chicago has to offer, which for little girls is American Girl for tea in the big downtown Chicago location (I see rocks up ahead) - a fun time....for them.....I have girls, too, 3 in fact, who would all love a little getaway with their cousins, who wouldn't? We could even swing it as we have points to cover all the flights! But that wouldn't cover all the other expenses, the many countless expenses that are often hidden, but add up.....(Jagged rocks, huge rocks, I can only hope there is an island close by.)
Both sisters know this will be hard on me, but they know what we are up to and are very supportive. Times are tight for all of us in different ways and at different times. They get it. We're all pretty close and really enjoy spending time together. Normally I would hang up the phone and have a pity party, but I told her I now have over 50 posts written about God's faithfulness during shipwrecks - this is potentially another storm for me, it could turn into a shipwreck if I let it, but I just have to look back and see how many stories of being saved from a shipwreck I have, and then the storm calms......perhaps this is another time to wield the sword of the computer "pen" against my old enemy, discouragement. So I do. I write down what I'm grateful for and I realize I can be very happy for my two sisters and my four nieces, knowing God has a plan even for the little girl cousins and that for us, it just isn't now. Do I sit on the beach and feel sad a little, yes. But I have a husband who sits by the fire with me, and we look up into the stars above our deserted island and see beauty, our family is with us, we have each other.....The Robinsons had to do this, too, on their beach - they could have all died in the shipwreck. They could have never landed on a beach at all! They had each other and going over their many blessings helped them to rest, even as it started to rain again.
I know this is another test for me (I haven't even told my girls yet as it would be a major test for them, too - they love their cousins!), but I will pass it! They will pass it! I'm determined (or debt-termined!). Blessings are around the corner.
Have a great time, sistahs! One day, one day, I'll be in a better place to do those types of things....in the meantime, I will sit on my desert island and enjoy my setting here. I have all sorts of monkeys around me! The three year old monkey hasn't been up to as many antics as usual, so it's been quiet in my jungle! Well, if you don't count covering his entire head in hair gel, coming down with a pocket knife hidden in his pants, (denying he's hiding anything), completely turning my family room upside down, putting his older brother under a huge couch pillow and then jumping on top of it, jumping from the top of the kitchen table like Tarzan and nearly breaking his ankle, grabbing spoonfuls of sugar for his oatmeal without me looking and making sure most of it spilled all over the counter (and this is all yesterday!) Nope, it's been quiet. How strange! I'm sure he'll probably do something later on today.....just give him a few more minutes.....I should start a blog just about him......and I wonder why I'm getting grey hair????
T
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Today a Porsche, tomorrow a Jumbo Jet?
Try not to fall of your chair, but we bought a Porsche.
Yes, a Porsche. What????!!!!! How can this be? You hypocrites! Trying to get out of debt and then you go and spend who knows how much on a sportscar!?
Well, I kind of half-wanted that reaction which is why I just dropped the Porsche bomb with no explanation, but now here's the, once again, funny story!
You know how we've been praying for mercy, for God's hand in our lives to get out of debt, well, he's up to something and this is how I know - it comes back to all the new and creative ideas God is giving Renaissance Man and I to get out of debt. It also goes back to the Elisha story - what do you have?
Well, he isn't called Renaissance Man for nothing. There isn't anything that man doesn't know how to do. Seriously, we built a house as he just happened to have experience with house building and lots of it . Well, guess what else he just happens to know how to do - yup, build cars, particularly Porsches! When he was a younger man, still in his teens and early twenties, it used to be the comment amongst his bored friends who had nothing better to do, "Let's go see what (insert RM's name here) is up to. He's always up to something." And they were right. Most of the time, he was building an old sports car, or rebuilding, or fixing up something. God has given RM a mind for all things mechanical. In fact, he is a mechanical engineer by profession.
Back to the Porsche...when we got married we owned a Porsche for a year or so (he had owned it for a number of years before we married). It was his primary vehicle and it took a beating as it became a year round car. Porsches are not supposed to be year round cars! Needless to say, it had to be fixed multiple times, by him, as it would have been way too expensive to get a Porsche mechanic to look at it, so it was starting to look like it was time to get a regular car that you could drive all winter and all summer! Remember, though, God uses everything in life for some reason - even fixing cars....
In some ways, we were sad to see it go as it held our first courting memories in it, the places we'd travelled to before kids, and uh yes, it was pretty fun to drive! But we sold it and this is where I was shocked - it doesn't matter if it is a Porsche - if a car is old - they sell for peanuts. We weren't about to invest the time to recondition it and sold it as-is for, well, peanuts.
Fast-forward nearly 18 years and here we are again, wondering how we could make some extra cash. Our older boys have always been fascinated with whatever fascinates their Dad. RM has never lost his passion for cars. At one point, he was even considering whether or not to build his own Lambourghini! There are kits out there, who knew!? He even went so far as to buy the Lambo tires (see, I can talk the cool car talk, too) and those gigantic tires sat in our garage for awhile while he debated on build car, spend time with family, build car, have more children......aaahhhh, I know what I'm supposed to do - we had more kids and he sold the tires. He realized it was probably a mini-mid-life crisis and quickly got over it, but thought to himself.....one day I'd like to do that again, but with my kids.
The boys love the knowledge he has of cars, love the fact he's owned a few really cool cars himself and love the fact he's done all of it himself. He's begun to pass on that information slowly over the last few years of living here at the farm by having them watch him fix all the old farm machinery, lawn mowers, and most recently an old snowmobile. They are starting to catch on and the passion is developing for all things mechanical. I love this as I think it is a great life skill and will definitely keep them from going to a mechanic all the time.
Recently, in the winter evenings, the boys and RM found themselves around the computer looking at old Porsches - I don't really know how that happened. Perhaps just for fun, not sure, but once they started, it got RM thinking.....this is another skill God has given me.....a money-making skill. How so, you wonder?
Basically, most Porsche owners drive 'em, but have no idea how to fix 'em. Enter Renaissance Man (and his sidekick sons). Fortunately for us, RM does know how to fix 'em as he spent hours and hours rebuilding his own! Looking back, those countless hours of fixing our car seemed like such a waste of time, but it was far from a waste of time - God uses everything, EVERYTHING, for a reason. It's just that sometimes we don't see it right away - not for 18 years, in fact. Isn't it interesting to note, as well, that he acquired these skills pre-marriage and pre-kids, when he had loads of time on his hands? He could never have acquired those skills now without neglecting his family. God had a plan all along. Love it.
According to RM, who has worked on all models of all cars, the Porsche has been the nicest to work on...must be that German engineering (did I mention RM is German?) To explain it to me, he said it is the difference between a Kitchen Aid and a dollar store hand mixer - everything is just better quality and is built better with more thought put into the design. I've had my Kitchen Aid nearly 20 years and only now is it starting to show signs of age - my cheaper kitchen tools have been gone and broken years ago. Quite frankly, a Porsche is more expensive, but he gets why.
If you go on-line and search these cars out, you'll see the busted ones also go for pennies, as a car isn't worth much if it doesn't drive, but once rebuilt and refurbished, in a fairly short amount of time and with not too much effort, you can sell them again for much more. Thus, the purchase. We basically bought ourselves a contract!
This is where I feel the Lord has shown us mercy. How so? Because it is a skill we had completely over-looked. But when we started to think about it, we both realized this was a major money-making skill. It won't interfere too much with his other work as it is something you do on the side, in the evenings, on the weekends. We could have waited until the mortgage was paid off, but then we started to think - our boys will be gone soon. We have a small window now where they are with us and are obsessed with all the things their Dad is obsessed with - we felt we needed to act fast. The bonus - we work on the car, we sell the car, we make money on the car and it helps to pay down the mortgage! The extra bonus? It is actually FUN to get out of debt! This is where I smile, this is where I see God's hand of mercy - he took some of the drudgery out of making money. He gave us a way to make some fast cash where we can work alongside our boys (and our girls as our oldest girl will be driving in a matter of months - how 'bout taking the driver test in a Porsche????? She's pretty excited about that!) and the work is fun!
So, that's my Porsche story - for those who are interested, it is a 28 year old 944 Turbo (that is a REALLY FAST car! 100 more horse power than the regular 944 (which is what we owned when we were first married) - yikes). It is considered highly desirable by Porsche enthusiasts, a true Porsche classic.
Who knows, today it might be Porsches, tomorrow Jumbo Jets (did I mention he's worked on those, too? Just kidding.)
Yes, a Porsche. What????!!!!! How can this be? You hypocrites! Trying to get out of debt and then you go and spend who knows how much on a sportscar!?
Well, I kind of half-wanted that reaction which is why I just dropped the Porsche bomb with no explanation, but now here's the, once again, funny story!
You know how we've been praying for mercy, for God's hand in our lives to get out of debt, well, he's up to something and this is how I know - it comes back to all the new and creative ideas God is giving Renaissance Man and I to get out of debt. It also goes back to the Elisha story - what do you have?
Well, he isn't called Renaissance Man for nothing. There isn't anything that man doesn't know how to do. Seriously, we built a house as he just happened to have experience with house building and lots of it . Well, guess what else he just happens to know how to do - yup, build cars, particularly Porsches! When he was a younger man, still in his teens and early twenties, it used to be the comment amongst his bored friends who had nothing better to do, "Let's go see what (insert RM's name here) is up to. He's always up to something." And they were right. Most of the time, he was building an old sports car, or rebuilding, or fixing up something. God has given RM a mind for all things mechanical. In fact, he is a mechanical engineer by profession.
Back to the Porsche...when we got married we owned a Porsche for a year or so (he had owned it for a number of years before we married). It was his primary vehicle and it took a beating as it became a year round car. Porsches are not supposed to be year round cars! Needless to say, it had to be fixed multiple times, by him, as it would have been way too expensive to get a Porsche mechanic to look at it, so it was starting to look like it was time to get a regular car that you could drive all winter and all summer! Remember, though, God uses everything in life for some reason - even fixing cars....
In some ways, we were sad to see it go as it held our first courting memories in it, the places we'd travelled to before kids, and uh yes, it was pretty fun to drive! But we sold it and this is where I was shocked - it doesn't matter if it is a Porsche - if a car is old - they sell for peanuts. We weren't about to invest the time to recondition it and sold it as-is for, well, peanuts.
Fast-forward nearly 18 years and here we are again, wondering how we could make some extra cash. Our older boys have always been fascinated with whatever fascinates their Dad. RM has never lost his passion for cars. At one point, he was even considering whether or not to build his own Lambourghini! There are kits out there, who knew!? He even went so far as to buy the Lambo tires (see, I can talk the cool car talk, too) and those gigantic tires sat in our garage for awhile while he debated on build car, spend time with family, build car, have more children......aaahhhh, I know what I'm supposed to do - we had more kids and he sold the tires. He realized it was probably a mini-mid-life crisis and quickly got over it, but thought to himself.....one day I'd like to do that again, but with my kids.
The boys love the knowledge he has of cars, love the fact he's owned a few really cool cars himself and love the fact he's done all of it himself. He's begun to pass on that information slowly over the last few years of living here at the farm by having them watch him fix all the old farm machinery, lawn mowers, and most recently an old snowmobile. They are starting to catch on and the passion is developing for all things mechanical. I love this as I think it is a great life skill and will definitely keep them from going to a mechanic all the time.
Recently, in the winter evenings, the boys and RM found themselves around the computer looking at old Porsches - I don't really know how that happened. Perhaps just for fun, not sure, but once they started, it got RM thinking.....this is another skill God has given me.....a money-making skill. How so, you wonder?
Basically, most Porsche owners drive 'em, but have no idea how to fix 'em. Enter Renaissance Man (and his sidekick sons). Fortunately for us, RM does know how to fix 'em as he spent hours and hours rebuilding his own! Looking back, those countless hours of fixing our car seemed like such a waste of time, but it was far from a waste of time - God uses everything, EVERYTHING, for a reason. It's just that sometimes we don't see it right away - not for 18 years, in fact. Isn't it interesting to note, as well, that he acquired these skills pre-marriage and pre-kids, when he had loads of time on his hands? He could never have acquired those skills now without neglecting his family. God had a plan all along. Love it.
According to RM, who has worked on all models of all cars, the Porsche has been the nicest to work on...must be that German engineering (did I mention RM is German?) To explain it to me, he said it is the difference between a Kitchen Aid and a dollar store hand mixer - everything is just better quality and is built better with more thought put into the design. I've had my Kitchen Aid nearly 20 years and only now is it starting to show signs of age - my cheaper kitchen tools have been gone and broken years ago. Quite frankly, a Porsche is more expensive, but he gets why.
If you go on-line and search these cars out, you'll see the busted ones also go for pennies, as a car isn't worth much if it doesn't drive, but once rebuilt and refurbished, in a fairly short amount of time and with not too much effort, you can sell them again for much more. Thus, the purchase. We basically bought ourselves a contract!
This is where I feel the Lord has shown us mercy. How so? Because it is a skill we had completely over-looked. But when we started to think about it, we both realized this was a major money-making skill. It won't interfere too much with his other work as it is something you do on the side, in the evenings, on the weekends. We could have waited until the mortgage was paid off, but then we started to think - our boys will be gone soon. We have a small window now where they are with us and are obsessed with all the things their Dad is obsessed with - we felt we needed to act fast. The bonus - we work on the car, we sell the car, we make money on the car and it helps to pay down the mortgage! The extra bonus? It is actually FUN to get out of debt! This is where I smile, this is where I see God's hand of mercy - he took some of the drudgery out of making money. He gave us a way to make some fast cash where we can work alongside our boys (and our girls as our oldest girl will be driving in a matter of months - how 'bout taking the driver test in a Porsche????? She's pretty excited about that!) and the work is fun!
So, that's my Porsche story - for those who are interested, it is a 28 year old 944 Turbo (that is a REALLY FAST car! 100 more horse power than the regular 944 (which is what we owned when we were first married) - yikes). It is considered highly desirable by Porsche enthusiasts, a true Porsche classic.
Who knows, today it might be Porsches, tomorrow Jumbo Jets (did I mention he's worked on those, too? Just kidding.)
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