Praise: need met!

I am just awed at what God has in store for us. I wrote recently about my hubby's concern over our vehicle situation. Situation no longer! My wonderful parents are buying my sisters car (who is in Peru and hasn't been able to sell it) and gave us their car! My parents gave us a car! We are so excited! We have never had anything as nice as this car is and it is such a God send to not have to worry about whether we have a reliable car. Now we do! Thank you so much Lord and thank you mom and dad!

Friday's Fave Five

This week has been kind of blah and boring. But i think i can manage to come up with five favorite things:

1. Baths. I have had a miserable cold this week, complete with the hacking cough, plugged up nose and achy body. A nice hot bath at least once a day has been a God-send!

2. Sunshine. I am so glad, we have had some wonderful sunshiney days this week and even though it wasn't very warm when you were outside, all i had to do was open the blinds and wa la! My house was so cheery and warm with all that sunshine coming in!

3. Good food. I have been home a lot this week, it has been a slow week at work, and i am beginning to realize the benefits of having good food to eat in good varieties. I am getting sooooo bored of the food we have in the house and it is so hard to find something to eat that sounds good!

4. My husband. I knew i got a good man, but he has just continually reinforced that this week. He has been so tender and understanding of my not feeling well and even made dinner one evening for me! He has not complained at all about the disorder of our house, my going to bed early or anything! He is so wonderful!

5. The weekend! This week has seemed sooooo looonnnggg! I am so glad that the weekend is here!

God's Blessings!

I just have to brag on my wonderful husband!

I haven't been feeling well the last couple of days and i just want to say my hubby has been fabulous! He has not complained one bit about that the house hasn't been real clean, he made dinner one night and has run to the store numerous times for things to tempt my appetite! He has been very understanding about my being tired and not wanting to do anything, and he even slept on the couch last night cause he thought it might help me sleep better! He has just been serving me and loving me so well, i had to brag on him.

I am so blessed to have such a loving and caring hubby!

A little sunshine or a lot?

You know, i feel like life is going pretty good for me right now! My hubby has a new great job, my massage business is doing pretty good, it has been warm and sunny (!), i have a working dishwasher, my sink drains, i have never starved, my hubby and i are both healthy, etc......

But there is always something else isn't there?!?

My car....if you have seen it, no words can even describe it! I am so thankful that it is still running, that it has kept going for this long. I am so thankful that we got a new starter so that it starts all the time now. But there is a minor problem.....

The guy who put our starter in, says our car shouldn't even be on the road. Like it is on its last leg, it could die any time, it is such a mess he is amazed it still runs and moves. You get the picture.

So that is my problem: i have a car that i would be LUCKY to get $200 bucks out of it, no money for a down payment, and not a whole lot of money to get a new car. What's a girl to do? I just pray to the good Lord, that he will bring me a car. He knows our needs, and our financial limitations, but still, WOW!

Anywho, it is always something isn't it? It is never all just sunshine and rainbows and fairies, but life is still pretty sunny even with my big, car shaped cloud. :)

Yeah dishwasher!

I have a dishwasher!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually i have had a dishwasher, but now i can use it! Now that we have finally got our kitchen sink working, we went to our local hardware store today to get the necessary hook ups we needed.

I am hearing the beautiful sounds of my dishwasher running RIGHT NOW! A dishwasher is a beautiful thing. :) I am so excited!

It's like riding a bike?!?

Can a person forget how to shop? Cause i think i might have!

I know that sounds crazy, but i haven't shopped for myself, for fun, for probably a year.

So I went shopping with some friends on saturday. We went to the Boise Mall and we had a blast! I had some fun money saved up and things i was looking for. BUT I DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING! Of course, i would have bought those shoes that i LOVED but they were $70! I didn't have that much. And i could have bought some great lacy under tank top things, but this is the first time i have had fun spending money in a long time, and i didn't really want to spend it all on basic boring stuff like that.

So on my first shopping trip in a whole year, all i bought was coffee and food! My shopping ability is broken!

You know, but then i was thinking, maybe it isn't so much broken. Maybe i have just learned how to shop responsibily and well. You know, have what you need in mind, and if you don't find it, don't just buy something you don't need just to spend money. That is probably a good thing. And i did order a dress online that i have been drooling over as soon as i got home. I just felt a little rusty walking around the mall, trying to figure out what i even wanted to look at! I can't even remember my clothes sizes!

Obsessively Clean

Some people think i'm a clean freak.


Some people even would go as far as to call me a "machine."


Today, i kind of felt like it. In a weird, off the wall, sort of neurotic way.

I have had a horrible week. Horrible, as in I haven't got anything done.

Yeah, i did 4 massages. That is something.

So 4, maybe 5 hours of work. Made some money......


But i am not even joking when i say nearly every other hour that i was not doing massage, I did NOTHING!

Total sum of what i did was reading books and watching Grey's Anatomy.


And the worst part was i didn't even feel bad about doing it. I had NO motivation to get up and do anything else. I didn't even CARE!

This is REALLY weird for me.

So today i managed to do something. I went to the bank, i did dishes, i made supper, i did a load of laundry, and in the process of wiping down the stove, i found that sometimes i can be neurotic about cleaning.

You see, as i was wiping down the stove, i noticed that the burner trays were FILTHY! So i decided to scrub them.

Two and a half hours later with sore fingers and lots of Comet used, i got them all clean and shiny! Mostly. And when i thought back about what i wanted to get done today (that i mostly didn't get done because of my stove cleaning fiasco) I realized: i am kind of neurtic sometimes when it comes to cleaning!

Continuing Education

Today, i had an epiphany! (hope i spelled that right! :)

I like learning. I like school, i like getting new education! But only if it is something i WANT to do.

You see, i was in a dillema. I am an AMTA officer and so i am required to attend our State Convention. This is were i get the bulk of my required education i have to have for my insurance. This year, i wasn't sure what to do. Because i need a good chunk of education hours to fill my requirements for insurance this year, but i didn't want to go to the course that offered the hours i needed. I was on the verge of just deciding to tough it out and then something happened.

I began to picture myself having to sit through a long and boring day of learning something i didn't really care to learn. That did NOT sound fun! Why would i subject myself to that willingly?

That's when i had the epiphany.

I have been toying with the idea of getting my doula certification and a classification to be able to teach infant massage and start offering massage classes for new parents and parents to be on pregnancy massage, the roll of massage during labor and infant massage. It would be something i know i would LOVE to do and it would add some stability and diversity to my current massage business as well as providing a different and more stable form of income.

So, i have decided, i am going to get my doula certification now, on my own, rather then sitting through a class i won't like! I am so excited! This is something i have really wanted to do and i am so looking forward to it!

For those of you who aren't familiar with doula's, they function as labor support people. I would meet with couples before delivery and help them with massage and positioning techniques and help the husband with how to be the best help and support to his wife. Then during labor i am just a additional support person during labor, helping with positioning, massage, pain relief, encouraging both the woman and her partner and being a patient advocate and a bridge between the couple and the medical professionals. It is a very fullfilling and HELPFUL job, and one that i am sure i will love!

So yeah for me! I can't wait!

This is the good life

You know, life really is good. This post reminds me of a song sung by Audio Adrenaline. It goes like this:

"This is the good life, i've got everything,
I could ever want and ever dream of
This is the good life, i've found everything
I could ever need, here in your arms,
This is the good life....."

I actually feel this way right now, and i am not sure why. But i am not questioning it! I am reveling in the peace and joy that God has given me, even when it is not attached to life circumstances.

God is helping me to see the good, to rejoice in what he has done in my life even if it is not all going the way i want right now. I am still blessed! I have a husband who loves me and cares and provides for me. I have a beautiful house that God has granted to us to use and live in, two vehicles that run (even if not well, they still get me where i need to go!) i have a job i love, that is also making enough for me to help out paying the bills (i don't have to find a new job! yeah!) I have never had to go hungry, and definitely never been starving. I have great friends, family who love me and would do anything for me, a wonderful supportive church family. What more can i ask for? What can i complain about? Even if things are not going how i want, i have nothing to complain about!

I have learned to be content no matter what life's circumstances....

At least for this moment, that is true.

Books and cleaning

Today, i was lazy! My hubby was home, and it makes it so hard to get out of bed or get anything done! We slept in until 10am and usually when i sleep in that late, by the time i do my bible study, i figure i might as well stay in bed until lunch time, cause it is only 1 1/2 hours away, and if i get up i will be hungry!

So i did. I read in bed until 12 and then i got up and had breakfast/lunch and took a shower. Then i had to get busy to make up for not doing anything all morning! I scrubbed and washed the walls, molding and baseboards in three rooms in my house and the hallway, and then i painted the baseboards! Oh, and i mopped and swept the floors, did dishes and laundry.

So i feel pretty good about what i got done today. It is ridiculous though that i am tired now! (i mean, i slept in until 10!) But i am glad i was able to get so much done. There is just always so much more to do!

On the other hand, i really want to write about some of my favorite books today. My dear friend at Robinznest gave that suggestion and i thought it was such a good idea! It is hard to pick a favorite, so hear are my couple of favorites:

Thorn in my Heart, Fair is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince, Grace in Thine Eyes (series) by "Liz Curtis Higgs" (a novelization of the story of Rachel, Leah and Jacob set in Scotland. The last book is the story of Dinah)

Mark of the Lion Series: A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness, As Sure as the Dawn, by "Francine Rivers" (soooo good! Set in the time of the gladiators in Rome)

The Narnia Chronicles: The Magicians Nephew, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Battle by "C.S. Lewis" (the movies are good, but these are MUCH better! I think i have read them all at least 6 times!)

The Inheritance Series: Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr by "Christopher Paolini" (these are fantasy books, similar to Lord of the Rings)

The Atonement Child by "Francine Rivers" (this is an excellent book looking into the grief that can come from our modern reproductive conveiniences)

The Count of Monte Cristo by "Alexandre Dumas" (this is an absolute classic, full of suspense and intrugie)

Who Brings Forth The Wind by "Lori Wick" (this has been a favorite of mine for many years. Romance and the struggles of marriage, so true to life)

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Series by "Neta Jackson" (this is a series about a diverse group of women who come together to form a prayer group at a women's conference and all of the trials they go through. The first book especially spoke to me because it focuses on Jodi, a woman who has been a christian all her life and finds her views and her faith "stretched" in ways she didn't think possible. She is forced to change her narrow views of life and of christianity)

Well, there is just a few of some of my favorite books and series. I could never even begin to list all of my favorites, but maybe it will help you to find a new favorite novel!

Bring on the Rain

Wow! i am glad that i wrote that post about praising God and sunshine and all of that. I find that documenting the good times is essential, because the rough always comes. Sometimes sooner than you think.

This time it was literally less than 24 hours after i wrote my praise blog that the rain started coming. I am a little disappointed. I feel like i have been in a rainy season for sooooo long, i was just hoping that i would have a season of sun. At least i had a day! (that is better than nothing!)

I am trying to remember that rain is good. Rain means hardship, which produces faith, character, patience and a deeper relationship with my God. Still.....

I'm not sure how to deal with this storm. It isn't really something in my life that is going wrong, it isn't something i can fix, more like something i have to get used to, to deal with. So i guess i should be thankful for that. Right now i just have to learn patience (yuck!) and how to deal with my emotions and my desires. I am thankful that it is not something that is going wrong with me, but this is almost harder cause there is nothing i can do about it.

Except pray. And though that is powerful and i know it is effective, sometimes it just doesn't seem like quite enough.

Hope in Hard Times

I just feel a great need to shout from the rooftops about how great and how good my God is! He has just been showering blessing upon blessing on us, and he needs to be given the glory. And i figure putting it on the internet is about as "rooftop shouting" as it will get (even if i think only my family reads this!)

Everyone knows we are in hard economic times. Many friends and church family have had their lives completely turned upside down due to the struggles our economy and nation is going through. As a massage therapist, i was a little concerned about how severely this downturn would affect my business. I LOVE my job and had no desire to have to try and find a different, or additional, job. It would probably mean traveling to work (something i currently can measure in a few city blocks) hours and work times governed by someone else (right now i am my own boss) and working many more hours to make the same amount of money (as a massage therapist i make around $33 dollars an hour, so working 10 hours a week is no biggie!).

So as all these thoughts were rolling around in my head, i was praying. Trying to decide how long to wait to see if things would pick up. The massage business is usually slow in jan-feb. So i just wasn't sure how long to wait to start looking for another job if things didn't pick up.

But God didn't even give me a chance to start worrying. Within a week of praying for direction, my business doubled! I started doing as many massages as i could expect to do in the summer (a much busier time!) I was floored, and knew completely what God was saying! He wants me where i am, and i am glad that for now my desires are in line with his plan!

Then on top of it all, God didn't stop. My hubby has been working a good job, but a job that does not allow him to use all of his talents, brain and college degree. He also is coaching softball in a nearby town, something he loves to do and is ALSO getting paid for. On top of all that, he is doing mechanic work for a local heating and cooling business and was offered a HVAC position with them, complete with paid for schooling! So here we are, in the middle of a recession, and my husband has three jobs, with the possibility of a PAID for new life long career/job. Oh, but it get better. He recently got asked to apply for a job working for our city, a full time position doing maintenance (using his degree, and something he is very good at) complete with a fabulous retirement program, health insurance, regular hours (8am-5pm) weekends and holidays off! And he would be paid almost $4 dollars per hour more then at his current job. Against all odds, the man in charge requested my hubby, and he got the job over 21 other applicants!

Not to mention, i got the opportunity to help out a dear (and very busy friend) by cleaning house. So now, i have some fun spending money. Something i have not had for years! I don't need it, but God has given it to me and i am soooo grateful and excited!

WOW! I mean, there are people who do not have jobs, many of them. And here God has given my husband three, and he is leaving a good job for an even better one! I can hardly believe what God is blessing us with! I am just in awe of his goodness, his love for us, his faithfullness and generosity! He just takes care of us so wonderfully and after what seemed like an eternity of rain, God is drenching us in sunshine!