A Series of Unexpected Events

There's been a lot going on the last two weeks.  Some very personal things...some every day things...maybe I can explain in another post in more detail but for now...

• A Co-op Incident to Deal With
• A Thirty Year Old Emotional "Wound" Was Opened
• A Scary Trip to the Emergency Room With Our Son
• Extreme Pain From Ovarian Cysts
• Doctor Appts / Tests
• Deadlines...Deadlines...Deadlines...Homeschool Stuff to Turn In to the School District, Additional Paperwork Needed for College Financial Aid, School Applications Due, Co-Op Yearbook to Finish Up, Newsletter Deadlines Starting.

Then the every day little things that just frustrate:

• No hot water because we ran out of fuel oil.
• Ripped the whole house apart looking for "lost" library books two weeks in a row.

I could have called this post "Unfortunate Events" but there was God.  He was there. 

How can it be called Unfortunate Events if they caused you to dwell, converse/cry out, rely more on God?

So...they were "Unexpected Events" used by God to bring me to my knees...a new place...a deeper place...somewhere He desires me to be. 

A few days ago, during our "reading time" (I try to set aside an hour every day for the boys to read.  I know school is over but blame it on the Ben Carson story.  I'm making them read.  I read aloud to them for about 20 minutes and then they must finish out the hour with quiet reading on their own. Yes, they complain but I pull rank.) 

So during our reading time, I read from the Bible about Jacob wrestling with the angel and being touched on the hip. This experience made a huge spiritual change in Jacob.  When Jacob told the angel his name voluntarily, it was an act of surrender.  He came out of this experience with not only a new name (Israel) but also a new behavior and attitude and, of course, a limp.  A limp that would remind him of his dependence on God.

May we always be willing to say..."Change me...whatever it takes Lord...whatever it takes."

All the kings men couldn't put Humpty together again BUT my husband CAN!!

The last week in May the weather was extremely hot and humid here and when do you think the air conditioning in the van decided to break....that week. The only two windows that really open in our mini-van are the front ones.  My husband is an auto mechanic and quickly found what was wrong.  The parts were less than $200 but the labor would be intensive.  It took my husband part of Friday and ALL day Saturday to fix it.  Some of the work he had to do at the shop but most of it he did at our house in the driveway.  Why did he do it in the driveway?  Because he hates being away from our family.  It was 9:00pm when we finally ate supper Saturday night.  He brought a pizza on his way home. 

I am amazed at the way my husband can take things apart and put things together again.  The Lord has given him many talents.  We are blessed.  He's not only good with cars but with other mechanical things, too, like appliances and our furnace/boiler. He sits down and reads and understands electrical diagrams like I read a cake recipe. 

Here are some snapshots of the driveway air conditioner fix-it job.

This is the van's steering wheel in the back of the pickup.

You must take the dash off to replace the broken part.  These are just some of the parts.

He laid them in the middle seat of the van.

Here the dash is completely off.  Do you recognize the front seats?

He ran out of room so some of the parts he laid on the grill.  It looks like a robot from Star Wars.

He put some parts in the back seat.

Even the windshield wiper assembly had to come off.

And the side mirror because of the wiring harness.

That's where the steering wheel goes.  Which wire goes where?

He has now started to put things back together.  He's lost it and is pretending to drive.  Poor guy...

The job is done! We have cool air and just in time. The heat is supposed to be back on for the rest of the week.  Thank you, Honey!!  

Making a List and Checking it Twice...

I'm a list maker. I've always made lists. When I was a little girl my mother said I spent more time doing paperwork than actual work. My sister and I played "secretary" on a regular basis.

When I was a young wife, I would make a list and just the act of writing down the words was enough for me to remember what I needed at the store, the chores I needed to do at home, etc...Hospitality Lane had a big list .

I find that as I age, if I don't make a list and take it with me....I forget what I needed to buy. I even forget what store I wanted to go to....and how many kids I've taken with me. (oh yes...they are old enough to stay at home and don't always come along any more...and they sit quietly in the back of the van...listening to an MP3 player and I forget they are in the car with me...)

But lately I make a list...go to the store and open my purse...no list; look in my pockets...no list; go back out to the car...no list. I spend more time looking for my list than I do making it. When I find my list...I can't read it because I can't find my $3 pair of drug store glasses. I search my purse, my pockets...my head...oh there they are on top of my head. Huh...

Gas is too expensive to keep running back and forth to the store....I need to pin the list to my shirt just like my mom would have done when I was in second grade and wear my glasses around my neck on a chain like the little old library lady.

Ascension Day

Today is Ascension Day.  It is the 40th day after Easter and is an important religious holiday especially celebrated by the Amish and Mennonites in our area. 

After I saw everyone off to work, I sat on my back porch and read a devotional and my Bible. 

We have a honeysuckle vine growing over the fence near my back porch and the morning air was filled with it's scent.

I opened my Amplified Bible and read Isaiah 60:1

"Arise  [ from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you--rise to a new life! ]   Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord),  for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has, risen upon you!" 

Noodle Head

This is a silly post but for those of us who have been "blessed" with curly hair it may be of interest.

For most of my life, I have fought my naturally curly hair.  My father has it and one of my sisters has it.  In junior high, I had my waist length hair cut to 2 inches, an instant blond Afro.  Not my best hair move...  It took years to grow out.

All through high school I straightened my hair sometimes chemically, sometimes with just a heat straightener.  The outcome was always frizzy....its just the nature of curly hair.

About 8 years ago, I decided enough was enough and I chose to go with my natural curl.  I started to experiment with creams and serums to tame the frizzies. Months ago, my long time favorite curly hair serum was discontinued.  I tried several brands and none worked.

So I went the other way...I tried several products that reduce the frizzies and make your hair straight.  Whoa! Those products have come a long way.  I was able to have straight hair!  UNTIL the summer humidity set in.  Gone is the straight hair no matter how much serum I applied.

So back to the experimenting....I found a new curly hair cream.  I'm sure there are several people that would agree that the name suits me, Noodle Head.  The only place I could find it is Sally's Beauty Supply. It's a great product and when I go curly I spend 2 minutes doing my hair!  That's about all the morning time I get in the bathroom.  I actually think anyone with just a little curl in their hair could make their hair really curly with this product.