Disappointing Day Redeemed by God's Faithfulness.

So this past weekend was kind of disappointing. I was suppose to go to the Arthur Guinness Day but friends did not want to go and then I realized I did not have the money to spend on the entry fee and then food and drinks. The neighbor across the street asked me to feed their dogs with the time to be away from the boys. So God in his faithfulness gave me the opportunity to be alone and get some stuff done.
Friday, the boys and I went to the park and Kinga was there again. We talked and then she invited me to go with her to the Harvest Crusade on Sunday. I have been to one before so I was not planning on going but I do not know yet if I am going to go. Her friend came who is also Polish and she is a nanny for 3 girls. It was really nice to meet here but we had to go because the boys had to get ready to go to martial arts.

Saturday: After work, I still worked... well sort of. I went with Maria and the boys bowling. We went to a place that was a little bit more expensive because the food was better. But, I do not know how this happened but the power went out when we started the second game. So, we left during the power outage and got free food, and our 6 games for free. How amazing is that. Everything ended up being free, except my shoe rental. I paid 4 dollars for plenty of food, and a game of bowling. Amazing!!!!! Praise God for the Power outage. But, also sad day for Pinstripes. After we left we went to NickelCity. Amazing, all these arcade games for 20 cents. It was great and the kids loved it. Maria dropped me off at the house so I could go and feed the dogs and have time to be alone, while her and the boys went out for ice cream and went to take care of the other house.
I sat and wrote letters, and almost fell asleep while writing them. Afterwards when I was about to leave, the family's son came home. Saturday was his birthday so now he is 24. We talked for a while about Religion to Beer. It was so nice to have a conversation with someone other than a 5 or 7 year old. Yet another proof of God's faithfulness and his work in people's lives.

Even when we plan something God knows what we really need and will change our plans according to his plan. I pray that one day my plan will reflect his plan for my life.

Sisters in Christ

The past few weeks have been challenging. I have been getting over a cold and the kids have also been sick. Finally I am over it and so are the kids. So we are in good health just in time for flu season. God has been faithful when I haven't been. He continues to provide for my needs. The other day I needed to find a friend in Glenview and I met a 35 year old mother with two adorable little boys and after a moments of conversation I found out that she is a believer. The funny thing is, the first thing she said to me was, "Are you British?" How funny is that. I have not been asked if I was British since Middle School. I mean, while working at Broad River Coffee Company I had someone ask me what country I was from because he did not recognize my mix of Mid-Western and Southern accent. But, after we began to talk, we have become friends. It is amazing the bond that is automatically formed when two believers come together. Her name is Kinga and she is Polish. I so want to know Polish now. All I know is how to say "Good day, thank you and yes." But for her 18 month old who began giving me his toys and then scooping sand into my hand, All I needed to say was "Thank you."

Praise God for his faithfulness.

Sick Kids and a Sick Nanny

Saturday night the parents had a date night, which I highly encouraged. So I worked a split shift on Saturday, 10-3 and 5-9ish. The boys and I were suppose to go bowling and then go to Nickel City. Nickel City is an arcade place that uses only nickels. After bowling we began our way from Niles to Northbrook. We were on Waukegan Road and Logan got sick. At least we are only minutes from home.
We drove home and got him into the bath and set him on the couch. Within twenty minutes Logan was asleep. I carried him up stairs and he was so tired he did not even care he was moved. Lucas was not a fan of the situation but he was good enough to understand.
Sunday Logan felt fine in the morning and then crashed in the afternoon. He did not go to school on Monday. Luckily Maria does not work on Mondays. I was able to still go to the gym and I even gave blood that afternoon. I waited over a year to give blood again. I had to wait until August 15 of this year to give blood again. Now I only have to wait another 56 days to give blood.
When I got back from giving blood Lucas questioned me about what it means to give blood and why people do it. It was a nice chance to tell him how we can help one another.
Tuesday everyone went to school and everything was fine, but Tuesday night Lucas became sick. He ended up not going to school on Wednesday. That was not part of the plan. I had to work now at 8:30 instead of 11:30, which means no gym and no power nap afterwards.
Wednesday I woke up with a stuffy nose. And today it was worse. I think it could be allergies but it also could be a cold. I am unsure at the moment. Pray that I will be getting better. I have not gone to the gym in the past two days and I hope I will be able to go tomorrow morning.
I have Saturday off thankfully. It is suppose to rain, but if it doesn’t I hope to go on a nice bike ride, but I also do not know how I will be feeling. We shall see. ☺

Peace and Love

Labor Day Photos

Here are a couple of the few photos I took at the beach at Gary Indiana. Enjoy
Wandering Water Bottle - Gary Indiana




Here are some of the people I go to church with. I will also be part of a small group which some of the people attend too.

Comparisons

One thing I had a hard time dealing with as a kid was comparing myself to my sister. In High School I even took AP US History for a semester because I thought I would do well in it. I was wrong and was moved to a Honors US History class instead, where my grades were better and I had a much better time. Now I look back at that situation as a blessing from God, redeeming my weaknesses and providing a place for me to flourish.
I still struggle with comparisons sometimes. But no longer is it with my sister because I have been able to realize that she has much more book smarts than I do. That is how God made her and I have common sense and more patience and grace for others. The comparisons I struggle with is between fellow believers. Sometimes I might think they are better at praying than I am, or they seem to be part of the community more than I do. It is really silly but it happens. These feelings are a result of our insecurities. I do not know if we are born with this idea of comparing ourselves to each other. To an extent I think it is reasonable because you see someone else praying more, and you can be encouraged to do so. At least that is how it works for me. But, we have to keep in mind we do not begin to pray more to become a better than that person. It is not a competition.
I do think the insecurities that we face as adults root from our environment when we were growing up.
Paul reminds us to have sober judgement of ourselves. Romans 12:3. Paul's warning is not to think of us to highly of ourselves. Another word for sober can be sane. Sane judgement, not tho highly but also not to lowly. We think that only thinking highly of ourselves is wrong. That pride is sin. Yes to an extent, an over flowing amount of pride for what you do and not what God is doing I would say that is wrong. For we can only boast in Christ and him alone.
But, I also think when we do not have sane judgement and we think too lowly we are also doing wrong. We are sons and daughters of the God Almighty. We have been created in his image, God thought we were worthy enough for him to send his only son to die on the cross, so that we may be reconciled with him. We are worthy. We have to remember these things when be think lowly of ourselves.
Like my sister and I, we are different people and God gave me different gifts from her, the body of Christ is the same. There are different gifts and one is not better than the other. And as a community we are suppose to help each other to find these gifts and put them to use for the edification of each other for the praise and worship of Christ.

So remember, sane judgement, do not think to highly or to lowly of ourselves. We are loved in spite of who we are.

Labor Day

First Labor Day off in since 2005. Private school life, you go to school on Federal Holidays. But, we always have a spring break and an Easter break. For two breaks within 2 months, I will go to school on Labor Day. The day started like any other day off. I relax, stay in bed a little longer, and enjoy the nice weather outside. At 12:30 I was to meet people from NewLife Community Church and then drive down to Gary, Indiana. Yes, I now have been to the hometown of the late Michael Jackson. I will have to write that down in my journal as a life accomplishment. So I arrived early and found that the parking lot's gate was closed. What do I do now? I went and drove back and forth until I saw people leaving the parking lot from an ally way. So my next objective was to find how to get to the ally way. After about 15 minutes I found an entrance and was there waiting for people to arrive.
So there was six of us which is an unlucky number because all of our cars only fit 5 people. So I drove with my friend Jessica and Mary in the car with me. With the help of my GPS and the Skyway we arrived in about an hour. It was great driving in downtown Gary.....not really. You walk in to Nick's house and his mom is so welcoming and loving. It was like being back in North Carolina and Southern Hospitality. It was great. the day was filled with laughter, some awkward pauses, we celebrated 4 birthdays with 2 cakes, and Jessica and I went swimming in Lake Michigan. It has been 14 years since I have been in a Great Lake. It was cold and I will not do that again until next summer. But, it was still nice sitting on the beach talking to Molly's (Nick's mom) friends. I was able to talk about the kids, and then Christian living after that. I miss having these conversations, and encouragement from a body of believers.
Praise God for this opportunity, and the support I received from the trip. At the end of the night I was invited to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas I found out I will be in NC but Thanksgiving I have a place to go.
Thank you God for providing support and encouragement at the point that I needed it most. You know exactly what I need before I do.

P.S. Pictures will be up later

Love

Room

So here are some pictures of my room. Nothing special but I have a bookshelf and pictures of friends and family. Hope you enjoy