When God Answers Prayer

So, I've found out that when God answers prayer, he answers them BIG TIME!!!!!!!

Let's back up so I can fill you in on the last SIX MONTHS!!  I haven't posted much, other than to encourage myself, because we don't have internet where we are living and I have to be at my parents, his moms, or the library to use a computer that has internet.

We moved out of our other home because we were no longer able to afford payments, and when life seemed it's darkest, God provided a home for half as much money as the other was costing us.  It was worth it, the neighbors were all grownups, but that was okay because it meant our apartment was pretty calm.  Then, everyone cleared out and we got new neighbors.  Some with less than desirable habits, and some who had friends that did not value the property of others. But that's only happened in the last month, so, for the most part it has been wonderful.

God gave us some super understanding people to work with for rent, and that has been good since I am without my interpreting job right now.  Doug was working about 45 minutes away from home, and come to find out, only paying for gas with the money he made.  SO, he found a job in bike riding distance of our home, that pays $.50 more PER HOUR than the one he had to drive 45 minutes to do.  Then, he got a secondary night job.  Between the two of them, God has continued to meet our needs.  I've also been doing babysitting jobs so I can help earn a little more while staying with our sons.

SO, here we are now, five months in, and God has given Doug a new job.  He starts on the 12th of next month, which will be 6 months, minus a week, since our lives were turned upside down.  We are moving out of state, about 6 hours away from both of our families, but I will be totally at home with the boys.  No more interpreting. No more babysitting.  Just homeschooling.  It's going to be such a break for me!!!  We think we've found the place we are going to live, and I'm excited because it's seemed that we have a new church there as well.

God has been, is continuing to be, and will remain ever faithful!!  I'm actually excited about what he is going to do next.

When Cares are Pressing You Down a Bit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.


Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.


Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

So, life has been kicking us around, and we've failed some, but God has been faithful. I refuse to give up or let myself go.
So far, Doug has been promised a permanent job that was taken back two days before he was to start. But God provided a job for him again. We've gotten a check at just the right time to pay for our rent. Now our tags have been taken back, but God has provided a car for the month anyway.  God has been faithful.
There's no way we're quitting on God, since he has yet to give up on us. It's just trusting in the storm. that's the part that's proving a little hard.

Can I Get an AMEN??

God is STILL, STILL faithful!!!

So, since I last posted, we had to be out of our home by March 18th.  Two weeks before, Plan A fell through.  Four DAYS before, Plan B fell through.  TWO DAYS before we had to be out, God provided a larger place than we had expected, for less than 1/3 of Plan A's cost (three times the size), and $25 less than Plan B (twice the size).
God has blessed us and blessed us again.  On top of that, now that Doug is cleared for work, he has a temporary job until the end of April, and my job ends at the beginning of May.  I have no earthly clue where God will put us after that.  My sister's lease is up in the beginning of May, so it is possible that she will be able to take over our lease if we need to move somewhere else for what God had for us.  However, God may have us here for the whole of the lease (Oh, which He gave us a 6 month lease with no extra penalties, in stead of a whole year's lease). There is someone who may be willing to take our muttly for us, since we've had her for 3 years and are not supposed to have her here at the new place.
So, now things are pretty well settled in, and to do "Exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think..." God put us near the park, and the library, and my parent's home.  I am able to walk there on the days I have no vehicle while Doug is at work. God has also provided a way every Monday and Wednesday so far for me to get to work while Doug is also on his way in the opposite direction!!!!  He is SO good to me!!!!!!
And when I think about the fact that he has taken care of so many things, What a FOOL I would be to complain about the little things that I could be prone to complain about.  God is SO GOOD to me!!!

But God is STILL Faithful....

SO, it has now been a month since Doug's seizure, and life has been turned upside down.

Since I posted last, we went to the neurologist, who told us that he wanted to run more tests on Doug.  He was out of work until those tests were done.  The overnight EEG, the first one was in March.... until God opened one up for the VERY DAY of his neurologist's appointment (which God made sure no one else took, and made sure the insurance covered).  Then, the nerve test, which was scheduled for that Thursday, but the machine was broked... until God made sure it was fixed for the test. Another week of waiting so that the results would be in, and the neurologist said he has no idea why Doug had the seizure.  Asked our opinion, and told him how Doug had had seizures in the Navy, then again now when he started using Sudafed again after a 15 year break of never usng it.  He is NOT allowed to take it again!!!!

Because of the long absence from work, Doug lost his job.  But God gave us $60 in the mailbox, $75 in the truck, $80 in the truck when it was parked at my mother-in-law's house, and $50 today in the mail.  The one today, was in a gift card which a friend of mine won at a ladies conference in the state of Oregon.  She felt led the whole time to give it to me.  God has been good!!!  He has not failed us yet, and I'm excited to see what is next.

Right now, I am packing up the house, moving things into my Mother-in-law's attic, and preparing to move to.... I don't know where. I feel like Sarah following Abraham when she didn't know where she was going.  My theme verse at the moment is Isaiah 30:21 "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

But God is Faithful.....

Have you ever felt your world shift upside down?  Like everything you ever thought you knew was just your own imagination?

Ok, I'm not doubting God in any of this, just so no one has a heart attack.  He hasn't failed us yet.  And I know he's not about to now.

Here's what's happening.  In the months since I last posted, we have gone down to the barest of bare minimums trying to keep up with the bills.  We have been off line for a while now, and I'm only on now through the generosity of my parents and my neighbor.  Doug's job is 45 miles away, and the money he makes there barely covers gas and utilities.  My job is paying the bulk bills, but now...

Well, yesterday morning, Doug had a seizure.  When we went to the doctor this morning, he said it doesn't sound like the epileptic kind.  It sounds like a Psychogenic nonepileptic seizure.  It has something to do with stress, and when he passes out, he has a seizure.  It shouldn't be anything serious.  However, for the next two weeks, Doug will not be able to go to work, since he is not supposed to drive or operate heavy machinery until he has an MRI and an EKG done. 

Trusting God through all of this is getting harder.  If I didn't have Him, though, I would probably be stressed out right now.  There are things that are going on that make it feel as though he is a million miles away.  I'm so glad to know that the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.  When things go wrong, He'll make us strong.  And the God in the good times, is still God in the bad times.  The God of the day is still God in the night.

"But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."

Canning Project

What do you do if you only own a freezer over your fridge?  You use shelves in the freezer, and you can EVERYTHING!!

So, I've been using shelves in my freezer for a long time.  It seems odd to me now to see people's freezers without them.  At one point, I had 3 whole chickens, 2 whole hams, 4 different frozen meals, 8-10 frozen vegetable packets, 2-3 (1 lb) tubes of hamburger, a bag of onion cubes, a bag of lemon juice cubes, a bag of garlic, 4 boxes of butter, a couple pounds of bacon, a gallon of milk, plus 4 trays of ice and a few other things I know I'm forgetting.  It didn't cost but about $10 for the wire shelves from W-mart.  You know, those white plastic covered wire ones?  They've served me well for the last 6 years at least!  

Well, even with all that, I had started to run out of enough room in my freezer, so (after getting tired of using masking tape to hold my freezer door closed) I took to canning.  I learned how to can stew, so that is where I started.  Chicken stew.  I know, weird first canning project.  But chicken was on sale for $.59/ lb, and potatoes were buy five pounds get five free, and carrots were going bad in my fridge.  It seemed quite logical at the time.

The steps were fairly simple.  Peel and slice the potatoes and carrots, put them in.  Chop the chicken and put that on top.  Add the seasoning, add water to 1/2 way up the chicken since the chicken also makes its own juice.  Wipe off the top of the jar, add the pre-boiled lid and screw it down.  Then, I just turned the jar upside down, and sideways, while I shook it to be sure the seasoning was mixed in well.

Then, put the jars in cold water in the pot since they were cold and I didn't want to break them.  Boiled them in the pressure cooker until there was a good stream of steam, added the weight, and left it at pressure (mine is 15 pounds here on the coast) for 90 minutes before turning off the stove and allowing everything to cool.

And, VIOLA!!  Beautiful chicken stew.  

When I use it, I will probably add a little more water and let it boil before adding thickener, but most of the work is done, and my freezer space can be used for other sales.

Since that first experience, I have also canned beef stew, chicken breasts, beans, and spaghetti sauce.  Beef stew is the same as this.  Chicken breasts, one pint is one pound (I am currently looking for half pint jars since we go easy on the meat here), add no water, and very little seasoning.  The chicken makes it's own juice.  For spaghetti sauce, I made my mother-in-law's recipe and canned it for a half hour in a water bath.  Beans, I learned what to do and what not to do.  Fill a 1 quart jar 1/3 full of dry beans.  Fill the rest of the way with water.  Let the beans soak overnight, drain and rinse before adding water, salt, and ham if you desire.  Pressure cooker, under pressure for 45 minutes.

It's been fun, and my husband says my bookshelf which serves as my "Pantry" now looks like a science lab.  I say that's fine as long as we have food for the winter!!!!  (and room in my freezer!)

So Much to Share.......

I have gotten SO busy, that I have forgotten to keep a written record of my life, and share with those who follow me.

Here goes.  Since I last posted a month ago, we have:

• Had another revival, this one about the home.  The one single statement that sticks with me overall is, "Ladies, being a wife is like riding on the back seat of a motorcycle.  You have no control over it, you're in complete subjection to whatever the driver desires.  If you are only subject to them, you may reach over and try to control the bike yourself, but you know how well that goes.  However, if you submit by getting really close to the driver, and praying hard, you can actually enjoy the experience."  Gave me a brand new perspective on my life.
• Gone to Florida for my cousin's wedding.  It was a grand old time!  My boys got to meet my aunt and uncles and grandmother.  We were able to spend more time with them, and the boys REALLY had a blast.  They were spoiled to death!!!  
• They had the opportunity to sit on Uncle Dave's Harley,

•  Dress up like a biker gang

• And swim to their heart's content.

• While they were swimming one day, Aaron got out of the pool and took off his water wings while he played on the patio.  Forgetting he didn't have them on, he walked right down into the pool, and the water was over his head.  My Uncle Britt was watching them at the time, and said he was getting ready to get him out (having given him just enough time to be scared senseless so he wouldn't forget again), and as he went to get Aaron, Nate reached out, grabbed Aaron, and drug him over to the steps, placing his hand on the bar so Aaron could pull himself out of the water.   When Uncle Britt told Nate that he had saved his brother's life and he was a hero, Nate simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "He grabbed me first."   Well, if that wasn't funny enough, later on when my Mom was watching the boys, she called them out of said pool to get a drink.  Nate comes over, takes a HUGE drink and says, "Whew, Lifesaving is hard work!!!!"
• Lets see, I also have experienced a LOT of canning lately!!  I'll put up a different post on that.  It is it's own story.
• I'm trying to think if I forgot anything, but I think that catches us pretty much up to date.  Now to post about the Canning project.