I always like to blog about the extraordinary things that happen in our lives. Mostly because we all enjoy a God story now and then, and also because writing them down helps me to remember and to be thankful for them. So here are a few special things that have happened to us in the past few months...
If you recall in one of my previous blogs, I mentioned that our Suburban was at the garage and needed some unforeseen repair work done to it, and it was going to cost more than we anticipated. Well, to start with, we are so grateful that the problem was detected before we picked up the Suburban, before we took it on a day trip- BECAUSE the issue was brake related. I'm so thankful that we were not going down a mountain road only to have our brakes quit working on us!! So we are thankful for God's protection!! Also, friends of ours that visited that same weekend had felt led to give us $1,000... that covered the extra expense of the brake repairs BEFORE we even got the bill!! So again God was taking care of our needs.
Another cool story is that I got a FB message from a friend saying she had had a dream that our kids needed shoes. She said she felt a little funny telling me that she would buy our kids each a pair of shoes, but she really felt the dream was something that God wanted her to act on. The amazing thing is, that a week before she messaged me, we went to a church outing. The weather had faded from summer to fall and I knew it would be pretty chilly since we were going to be outside. I said to Dutch, "I need to go shoe shopping, all we have are flip flops for the little girls". We went to the outing in flip flops and yes, it was chilly!! I knew for certain that I needed to get shoes in the near future, then I got this message on FB!! What I love about this story is not only that God provided shoes, but the obedience of the one that gave them. Many times the Holy Spirit prompts us to do things, and sometimes they put us out of our comfort zone, but its so important that we obey that voice. When we follow through on the things He lays on our heart, we learn to trust that inner voice and we become a vessel He can use.
Here's one more little story- a few weeks ago I planned a day out. I was meeting some ladies friends from Lancaster, in the Selinsgrove area. Selinsgrove is about exactly half way from here to Lancaster, so it makes a great meeting place plus there are lots of stores there to shop. The one we were headed to was a particularly large re-uzit store. Community Aid is the name of it. But the store itself has nothing to do with my story!!! So anyway... of course since there's a Starbucks in the area my first stop that morning was to grab a "Tall White Choc. Mocha Non-fat w/ Whip", notice I said "tall" and not "venti" this time. Wow, I'm changing my ways!! Ugh, bunny trail again!! Back to the story- enroute to the store that morning, my dear ShaLyn informed me that my coffee was "on her" that morning- meaning she was buying it for me. I thought it was sweet of her, and I asked if she was planning to have one too. She said "Nope, I'll pass, I just want to bless you with one this morning". When we got to Starbucks, I placed my order and Shay started counting out her change, (she's like her mama, she justifies these things by using pocket change instead of dollar bills:)) when we pulled up to the window to pay, the cashier was laughing. She took my money and said, "For some reason the barista made two drinks for your order, do you want the second one free"??? Ummm, why sure we do, thank you very much!!! So, my daughter who of course drank the other coffee, saw her giving come right back to her!! She was so in awe of it. We thanked the Lord and went on our merry way!! Sidenote- Now, I realize that our kindness does not always come back instantaneously, but it does come back sometime... that's a promise!!
