All I Need in Him

How is your week going? Jon is doing much better...much less pain. It's just still tough for him to find a way to get comfortable for the whole night. He gets more sleep than he used to, but wakes up to rearrange and start over every couple of hours. Tomorrow he sees the orthopedic doctor again to check on his progress.

Thought for the day

I am amazed how quickly I am overcome when I depend on my own strength. It doesn't matter whether it's a temptation, a trial, or unfair treatment...I want what I want, and I want it now! It's hard for me to stop, but stopping is exactly what I need to do. I need to stop and remember that God has provided me with a "way out". He has provided what I need in that moment...His presence, His power, His protection, His covering, His substance, His perspective, His measure of my worth. Those will bring me to the TRUTH...He loves me, values me, and will walk me through as I find my needs met in Him instead of anything or anyone else.

Melt Our Hearts, Lord

It's Saturday!! Last night we kept Tre and Tru overnight so Tabbi could work today. Trever is a little better but a long way from "well" yet. He's had a really tough virus! Jon's pain level is down, and he's been able to cut down on his pain medication...good news! He still didn't sleep well last night...hoping he'll have a better night tonight. My friend that had a double lung transplant is doing SO well. She'll be leaving the hospital Monday or Tuesday, but will need to keep living in the area for I think 3 months to be monitored by her doctors. It is such a privilege to see God answer prayer! I'm really enjoying my "Wednesday night girls" group. I will be learning so much from these ladies about gratitude, contentment, and grace. Their lives testify to God's mercy and power and grace in very extreme circumstances...they are a blessing!



Thought for the day



He who is forgiven much, loves much. I am seeing first hand how those whose lives have been ravaged by sin, hopelessness, mistreatment, and difficult circumstances are lifted by the grace of God into a level of peace, contentment, and gratitude that shames the rest of us. We "in the church" are SO comfortable and spoiled that we quibble, pout, and argue over nothing. We whine and complain about the slightest challenge or inconvenience and expect God to answer when we snap our fingers. What happened to waking up in the morning thanking God that He has seen fit to love us and send His Son to die for our sins? When was the last time that that truth alone brought us joy? Then, in addition, He has given us so many blessings. Have we thanked Him lately...this week...today? I'm not pointing a finger at others without pointing it at myself. Let us allow God to melt our hearts again with the wonder of His love and grace.

Detour

This week is going differently than we planned. We were going to leave on Friday for Grand Forks, but Jon took a detour to the ER in the afternoon. He fell climbing into the bucket on the truck and hit the ground about 14 feet later. Now, a few days later, we know that he has several breaks in the right wrist and arm, a fractured right scapula, a cut above his right eye, and a very sensitive spot in his rib cage. The doctor will decide next week whether he needs an MRI to check for a rotor cuff tear. It's hard to see him hurting and not be able to do anything to relieve his pain. We appreciate all your prayers and good wishes...keep praying.

Thought for the day

God is good...it's almost impossible that the doctor could have set so many fractures in the hand and wrist without surgery. We're so grateful for that!

Anguish by David Wilkerson

Okay, people, maybe nobody's out there, but I like to do this anyway. I saw a very convicting piece on facebook today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI

This is by David Wilkerson and is VERY powerful. It really did convict me and I'm going to keep going back to it for a while. But I must be honest and say that I'm writing this WHILE I'm watching TV...finals for America's Got Talent, what can I say.

Labor Day Weekend

I really needed this long Labor Day weekend. Not going back to work today was perfect. Friday was the 39th anniversary of our first date so we went to Casa de Oro for supper then to see a movie..."District 9"...the worst movie we've paid to see in a long time! But the company was great!! Saturday we had breakfast at Hy-Vee, and Jon worked on dies for a while then spent the rest of the day working on GPS cables. I was catching up on some random things...Quicken, dusting fans, sorting out some clothes, cleaning our grill, doing more setup on my phone. Tabbi and the boys came late morning and were here till 3 or 4:00. Sunday after church Jon worked on GPS while I did laundry, cleaned all floors (better than I had in a while), dusted, sorted, put away stuff. We met Connie, Larry, Mom, and Shawn's family at Pizza Ranch for dinner and spent an hour at Mom's after. Later in the day I went to a friend's house to pray for her neck and had a nice visit. Today I got to sleep in till about 7;30, then we went to breakfast. So far I've cleaned the fridge and put away laundry. I'll probably spend a lot of time today proofreading. We may clean vehicles later or do something when Jon's done downstairs. I hope all of you had a good weekend, too...any highlights you want to share?

We are getting increasing numbers of monarchs in the tress behind our house. They are migrating south for the winter and we should be seeing them for another week or two. I love it!!

Thought for the day

If we are Spirit-filled Christians what, exactly, is our role? Granted, there are as many roles as there are people, but in a general sense what part do we play? I'm hearing a lot of neediness and statements about "what I need". And that is valid...we do have a need to be taught, encouraged, and developed. But shouldn't we be the ones who also have something to offer? The normal Spirit-filled Christian life should be one that is broken, humble, serving, and allowing Christ's strength and power to be made real in the place where we are. How about church? Should we go to church primarily for what we receive from it or what we can bring to it? I fully agree and understand that we need to be taught and trained...but by whom and to what end? So we can gather together and impress each other or so that we can serve and endure as lights in the world? We need both the input and the outflow, but we must be sure that our source is the Lord Himself and not just a culture or atmosphere that gives us a sense of spiritual belonging. In the end that culture may only serve to build itself up rather than reach out in love to a lost world that we encounter every day.

LG enV Touch

Hi there!! I got my new enV Touch yesterday...I really like it! It has a huge screen both inside and out and lots of settings to experiment with. Now I have to get some ringtones. A hint for those of you with enVs...if you have lots of pix on your phone that you don't want to lose buy an SDmicro card to put in that slot on your enV and you can move your pictures on to it. They can be moved to a computer via a card reader (I believe). Also, when you get another phone you can just plug the card into your new phone and voila...you still have your pix! It was great. Another plus with Verizon...if you sign up to manage your account online (just means you can access...you don't have to pay that way) you can get "backup assistant" for free. Every day they update your entire contact list and when you get the new phone you call them and they walk you through the download and, presto, all your contacts!!

Thought for the day

"...it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil." I like words like strong encouragement...refuge...hope...anchor...sure...steadfast. We have lots to hang on to! Be encouraged!!!