Obviously I haven't posted in awhile.  Sometimes it seems as though I cannot even begin to keep up with the pace by which the days fly....  Nevertheless, here I am.  And this will certainly be a bit of a ramble, but I'm needing to get these thoughts out...more for my own sanity than anything.  Sometimes it helps me to go back and look at all the Lord has done.  While it may not seem very profound, it's in these day-to-day scenarios that I find the Lord growing us, loving us, molding us to be the peopler He wants us to be!  My plan is to just "talk" here, not to go back and edit...I don't have that kind of time.  But since a couple of you have asked, here it is.  And thanks for praying!!!  Please continue. 

Some of you have asked me if I'm doing better since my last post on Attitude.  The answer is a resounding yes.  What is funny is that I cannot even remember what happened that prompted me to write that post!  Obviously, I can tend to allow my fickle feelings affect me too much at times.  God, in His great grace, is allowing all of us in our family to choose better atttitudes most days.  We continue to struggle, and we are far from perfect (as will be that case 'til Christ returns or calls us Home!).  But as we talk about it and pray together about it, we are thankful that the Lord is giving us the self-control that we need to stop wallowing in things.

This weekend has been a good example.  I'll see if I can give it a quick run-down (okay, so it might not be that quick, but I'll do my best).  My husband needed to spend the entire weekend catching up on his studies, as some of his training had caused him to be two weeks behind.  This was a daunting prospect, yet there was nothing he could do about it.  We planned to have him kind of "holed-up" in our room for the weekend, focusing on his school stuff, with few interruptions.  Well, that didn't last long.  The air conditioner went out Friday night.   Of course, it was in the 90s and humid!  Being the weekend, he could not get anyone to work on it.  He spent hours over the weekend working on it himself, which (obviously) took him from his studies.  We also had a yard sale.  I was not feeling well.  I had some serious sinus problems and migraines.  While I did most of it myself, I did need more assistance from him than I'd anticipated.  Still more time away from his studies.  He spent an hour working on an assignment to turn in, and just as he went to hit the send button...the computer went down, and he lost the entire hour's worth of work! 

I had severe insomnia last week and weekend, sleeping about an hour a night, alongside coughing spells that lasted for hours.  On Sunday I ended up needing to go to urgent care.  DH drove me - more time away from studies.  And to top it off...I came home and bent down when my son fell on the sidewalk...I could not stand up without excruciating pain.  My body has behaved like an elderly woman's this weekend, and I'm not quite sure why.  Then...the Dr.'s office refused to write the authorization for my urgent care visit, even though it was my insurance company's nurse who told me to go there in the first place.  When I became frustrated about that, she had her nurse call me back to inform me that she was cancelling my appointment that I'd made for this week, "because of the situation."  The icing on the cake was when the salon where my hair stylist works told me that they will no longer allow me to bring my children (who are quite well-behaved, mind you) in when I come for my hair cut.  Small thing, that one, but it was just the last straw for me, and I was in tears.  Since then, we have also found out that there was a huge fraud problem at our bank, and they've cancelled our debit cards and we'll have to wait for new ones to get here.  And, just tonight...our one credit card company called us to verify some charges that were made on our credit card.  They were not made by us.  So...that is now closed, as well.  Whew!

Usually, this would all send me through the roof.  I admit that I have had moments of being discouraged, but the over-riding sense in our home through all of this has been one of peace.  I have been beyond proud of my husband, who must feel so overwhelmed at his current situation...he has really handled it all quite well.  I don't know that I'd do as well - I want to cry for him, it's such a tough spot!  But God is faithful, and is giving him the grace to press on and just do the best he can with the situation he's in.  He is trying to work on learning a new (and very difficult) language at the same time as his master's degree.  It's no small potatoes.  How great is our God, to give him an attitude that is helping him to keep going, even when he wants to give up!  I prase the Lord for that!

And even though I have been in pain for most of the last few days, am extremely sleep-deprived, and am not quite sure what to do about some of these "situations," the Lord has given me peace!  I am at rest, knowing that His Word is true, and His grace is sufficient for me.  He has allowed us to have some perspective, as we grieve for those who have recently lost children, been in terrible accidents, facing much worse things than we do...  It doesn't mean that my troubles don't matter, but I know that things could be so much worse.  I am thankful that I can walk and move...whether it be with pain or not.  I am thankful that I celebrated a birthday with my son today.  I am thankful that the Lord has allowed us all to be able to look above our light and momentary troubles and see that He shines bright and He gives His grace to us for these times! 

Nothing that has happened this weekend was outside of His plan for us.  Does the evil one seek to destroy us?  Certainly!  Will he?  No!  Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.  We know that the Lord continues to teach us.  My youngest keeps saying that He is making our hearts like His.  So true.  And I'm humbled that He loves us enough to do that!  Do I pray for the pain to go away?  Of course!  (I rather like to be comfortable and pain-free.)  But do I sit and whine about it and neglect everything that needs to be done?  No.  People live productive lives in much worse pain than I am in.  I trust that the Lord will guide me to do what needs to be done in His timing, and that He will give me the grace to do it, regardless of the pain.  It has been so obvious this weekend that the evil one has just been bent on attacking us constantly.  I wonder if he doesn't think that if he just keeps on, that eventually we'll give in.  He is sorely mistaken.  God, in His grace, has called us to Himself - every one of us!  And we can stand firm in His Truth, with His armor on, and trust Him to fight for us.  We wait on the Lord and know He is working out His best for us - for our good and His glory!

May we always seek to bring Him glory, trusting in His sufficient grace, no matter how big or small the challenges we face.  There is nothing too difficult for the Lord!  Thank You, Father, for giving us grace to choose attitudes that lighten the load for each other, rather than wallow in self-pity!  Please grant incredible measures of grace to those who are hurting more than I can even imagine right now.  Please protect us all from the evil one, and surround us with your angels!  May be bring much attention to Christ in our daily lives!  May we be light in this dark world.  And may Your matchless Name be praised!!!  For Your glory we desire to live....