Tuesday I met evil.  Humans who proclaim they know God, attend church on Sundays and then harm and mistreat other human beings and lie and cheat are more difficult for me to deal with than criminals.  I had a friend that was a convicted murderer.  My students always love to hear me talk about him.  He did commit a murder and serve time, but during that time he fell in love with Jesus and God transformed him.  The Holy Spirit just poured out of him.  We met when we served the homeless people late on Friday nights in Berkeley, California.  Now, we met many people who didn't know Jesus and some who did very bad things.  Yet, I would much prefer to spend days with sinners than the evil people who double-speak.

Enough about the bad things this week and how they greatly impacted my family.

Now on to the good and God.  I mentioned to an acquaintance what the financial repercussion would be from this evil person.  She went out on a limb and looked for work for me.  I was speechless.  I had gone from the situation with the evil person nearly begging for work to having someone go and help me. 

Truly amazed.  A few times in the past 9 years I feel like I have understood what the paralytic must have felt like when his friends opened up the roof and dropped him in to see Jesus.  The people who have carried my stretcher were people that I could always see the Holy Spirit working in, but humanly I never expected that they would choose to come, pick up my stretcher and help me.

One of the reasons that we continue to homeschool day after day is that I find more stretcher bearers in the homeschooling community.

So, openly I would like to praise God tonight.  Thank you for my stretcher-bearers.  Help me to practice my faith when I meet evil again tomorrow.  Comfort my child while I am away.

Amen.

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As you know the girls have reopened the shop.  Their goal is to learn how to run a business, have lots of fun and support people too.  This month they are helping a mom adopt a daughter Lily.  www.our-journey-to-parenthood.blogspot.com.  They also have items that children with autism can enjoy, and some products that help the children too.  Those items support organizations that help individuals with autism, as Etsy for Autism selects a different organization every few months.

So, we are running a contest.  We will have a drawing for a FREE small flat rate box of BATH FIZZIES and Bath Salts.  This contest will be running all month.  Leave a comment here.  The winner will be notified on September 1st. 

Thanks for the support.

www.thecraftcompany.etsy.com  is the girls' shop

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I am hoping to be the lucky winner of the blog make over from:

www.onceuponablog.org

Jennifer from www.mycharmingkids.net (who I read ALL the time) highly recommends Jennisa.  And doesn't my little blog need a do over!

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I just LOVE Etsy.  Have you been?  Visit www.etsy.com today.

I received soap from www.nothingbutsoap.etsy.com today in the mail.  It was in a beautiful envelope.  It was just a sliver to try.  It looked nice, lathered nicely and felt clean.  I don't like really strong soaps.  When I put the soap to my nose it smelled a bit strong but the scent did not stay on after I washed.  It was great for the guest bathroom-the scent helps to keep the place smelling nice!  :)  So, visit the shop today.

You can also stop by our shop, www.thecraftcompany.etsy.com.  My daughters have taken over.  They are selling bath bombs and bath salts.  Some have fragrance and color.  Others don't because of their friends with special needs that can't have them, and some don't have cornstarch (which helps promote yeast infections).  So, stop by and support the girls today.  They are not out to make a huge profit, just learn a little business.

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Anyone else have one?

It is so different being a stay at home mom who doesn't work outside the home.  You know the job at home is huge, so much more than you have hours for.  And on top of that I was homeschooling the kids.

But, being a stay at home dad, unitentionally, because the economy stinks and your entire industry has collapsed, is different.  At one of my jobs nearly every husband is unemployed.  Each is trying to find his own way-looking for work, calling on contacts, developing a home business, doing the laundry, educating the children, taking them to the dentist, cooking the meals.  It must be tough. 

I don't know about the rest of the nation but here in Northern California we are greatly effected by the economy.  More than 75% of the husbands I know are unemployed.  Mine has the record!  But this week he is back at creating work for himself.  Pray with me that his business proposals are accepted and that he will become a work at home dad.

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