Beauty for Ashes

I know I have posted this before...but it just grips my heart, especially when I see the Lord working in the most powerful ways right before my very eyes, waking the dead and giving them life.  The wonders of my Lord are all around me, and to be a witness of His ability to bring restoration to what seemed like a hopeless situation is something that truly makes me in awe of Him every time.  He is the author and perfector of my faith!  I believe this to my core and am so thankful!

Heavy Heart

Okay...so my heart is very heavy.  There are some dear people around me dealing with some heavy things.  Girls, if the Lord would so lead you to pray for these sisters please do so.  Just pray for His will and His glory in these situations.  Some of these situations are making me have to deal with what I believe and it is hard to sort out what the world says, what could just be a watered down "American Christian" response, and what is truly Biblical.  In the meantime, I am clinging to the Word and am so thankful for the encouraging and healing power of music!  I love Pandora!  I love that my husband set it up that I can plug my computer into the system so it doesn't sound so 'canned.'  I love my husband and his tender heart and constant compassion as I struggle with my heavy heart. 

ThAnKfUl!

The past two weeks I have been overwhelmed by the brokenness and hopelessness of this world for those without Christ.  Satan is lurking and ready to devour those who don't walk in the Light.  More than that though, as he continues to lead them into deeper darkness, he is using them to try and shake and destroy the faith of God's chosen.  My heart is broken.  However, I am so thankful for the hope we have in Christ.  We aren't living for this life...which is hard to accept because we all desire the comforts and pleasures this life on earth seems to offer.  Yet, these comforts and pleasures fail to measure up to the richness of Heaven. 

Dear sisters in Christ,
Let's keep our eyes fixed on Christ and the goal set before us! 
Let's remain faithful to the One who is faithful to us!
Let's not let our eyes stray to the comforts of our homes or things.
Let's not let our hearts dwell on things that will waste away, never truly satisfying us.
Let's rejoice in EVERYTHING, and again be quick to REJOICE!
Let's be quick to fill every moment and thought with Christ!

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. ~ Phil 1:9-11

Joyful Noise

I love this!  Listen to the lyrics...INCREDIBLE!!

Broke

Well, yes, these days we are all feeling pretty broke and it isn't looking like there is much hope for a change of pace; however, I am broke for an entirely different reason and it is a GOOD one at that!  My little Kate has her heart on a typewriter.  She wants one really bad.  She and I looked online at Craigslist this morning and found a general ballpark figure to be about $50.  (I am REALLY glad we started here!  You'll see why later!)  She ran off to count her money, as did her sister since she wants one too of course, and while Anna had plenty, Kate was short about $15.  (Anna is a SAVER and Kate is my SPENDER!)  Anywho, I told them I would make them a deal.  I would make a list of jobs they could do today and there would be two pay options...one for a job that was "OK" done and one for a job that made me say "Incredible!"  I also told them I was the boss and had the flexibility to adjust their pay accordingly, which could mean an increase or decrease.  Here is what was on the list...(first price is for "OK" job and second for "Incredible" job!)

The Lazy Susan Cupboard......$1.00 / $2.00
Organize the movie cabinet downstairs....$2.50 / $5.00
Organize the movie cabinet upstairs...$2.50 / $5.00
Wipe down the inside of fridge in garage...$0.50 / $1.00
Clean out the van....$2.00 / $4.00
Clean out the truck....$2.00 / $4.00
   This included all trash, cleaning the windows inside & out, organization of things that should remain inside, fill up napkins & misc. in glove boxes, and wiping down dashboard and cupholders!
Windows....$0.25 / $0.50 per window
Wipe down the inside of fridge & freezer inside...$1.00 / $3.00
Organize tupperware cupboard....$0.50 / $1.00
Sweep off front porch & cobwebs.....$1.50 / $3.00
Organize shoe tub/toys in garage....$0.50 / $1.00

Girls...let me tell you....they got it all done!!  Everything!  They did it with EXCELLENCE and felt proud of the money they earned and the new skills learned.  Plus, I have all kinds of little chores completed that just never seem to quite get accomplished.  I docked pay $0.50 if the worker had unnecessary tears for dramatic purposes solely or a poor attitude (which did happen by the way!).  I explained to them what an "OK" would be, an "Incredible" would be, and then what it would mean to "take it to the bank baby!"  They both earned extra money on some jobs because they voluntarily took it to the next level.   For example, on the lazy susan job, Kate filled all my baking necessities (flour, sugar, etc.) and then combined bottles of canola oil, etc. Seriously! LOVE IT!!  We blared the Pandora and had smiles all day (for the most part!).  These are not their ordinary chores so they learned all kinds of new skills along the way.  They both earned about $20 and are now able to get a typewriter. 

While they worked, I did too!  I got the hallway closet all reorganized, as well as four cupboards, the garage shelves tidied up, and laundry done all while still helping them as needed!

Okay, so why am I glad we looked at Craigslist first?  Well, Scott suggested we also look on Ebay.  Well lucky them...we found some great deals on vintage typewriters for LESS than Craigslist, even with the shipping!  Seriously!  What a great day! However, I know they would not have been so motivated had we found these great deals ahead of time.  Working towards a goal is really good for kids.   



PS:  We also talked about what they would need to tithe from their earnings.  :)