Radiators, Wrong turns, & Revelations...

Hello, all!

So, it has been a long time since I blogged. The plain and simple reason is because I haven't had anything 'blog-worthy' to share. It's not that I haven't had stuff going on (boy, have I!), it just hasn't been anything I thought was worth taking the time to write out or have other read. 

This all changed yesterday when I was driving back to Tennessee from a visit with my parents. I started thinking about an incident that happened just before we pulled out of the driveway. My dad was checking out my car, as he normally does before I head out on the long 4-hour trek home. I had complained earlier that my windshield wiper fluid had run dry and even though the Hubs had refilled it, it still wasn't working. He got the fluid from the trunk and began to look for the reservoir cap, I had no clue where it was, being car illiterate, but I noticed a small reservoir with a bright yellow cap and the wiper symbol on it. My dad started to take the cap off when Chas came over. He adamantly told Poppy that that was wrong. Chas pointed to the next reservoir, which also had a yellow cap. Poppy replied telling him that that was for the radiator.  Chas was having none of it. He saw his dad a week earlier fill up up the windshield wiper fluid and it was in THAT place. I have to admit that my dad handled it wonderfully. He showed Chas the tubes that led from THAT reservoir to the radiator. The kicker of course was when Dad finished and the windshield wiper fluid sprayed up cleaning a very dirty windshield. 

Now, why is this story important? Well, I called the Hubs while I was driving down the road to tease him a bit about being so rushed that he put the wiper fluid in the wrong place, but I also told him that he should be happy because his son had unbelievable faith in him. Even with me and his Poppy telling him otherwise, he still believed that his dad had done the right thing. Our conversation was cut short, but that part of the conversation lingered with me as I continued my journey. I began to think about my Heavenly Father. Do I have that trust and faith in Him? It's kind of easy to when things go well, but what about when they don't? 

I just started a new study at church on the topic of our emotions. The book has been great! Just like most of the women I've talked to I have a problem with my patience running thin and my anger and frustration getting the better of me. However, I think my bigger problem with my emotions is letting ALL my 'feelings' get in the way. I have a tendency to let things spiral out of control when things aren't going well. I become ruled by my feelings, whatever they are at that particular moment: sad, happy, scared, angry. Scared is a BIG one. 

Then, yesterday I had that revelation. What if I could trust God the way Chas trusted his dad? What if I truly believed and acted as if I had complete and total faith in God? That is what He desires. He shows time and time again in His Word and in my life that He in in control. 

So, I am working on that being MY desire as well. When I'm running late and start to get anxious or Chas is trying my patience or the storms of life are surging. God is in control. When I make a 3 wrong turns adding an extra 30 minutes to an already very long trip? God's still in control! Lord, please help me in this. El Elyon!

Pleasantly exhausted...

This is kind of an odd concept to me.  Usually I'm either one or the other - pleasant or exhausted.  However, I'm so excited right now because I feel both.  It is no surprise to those who know me to hear that I didn't sleep well last night.  I've suffered bouts of insomnia for as long as I can remember.  To top that off, I had to get up early due to some vehicular problems. 

All in all I was set up to be quite cranky and have a generally bad day (especially when you add in the allergy/sinus problems everyone in New England is suffering from).  However, I'm happy to report that even after some minor bumps, I've had not just a good day, but an AMAZING day!

I spent most of the day with a new and very dear friend.  She taught me so many things!  We worked with several different types of dough and made 2 loaves of bread, 2 loaves of 'cinnamon roll' bread, bagels, and orange rolls - all from scratch!  And to add to the joy, she gave me a knitting refresher while we waited for dough to rise or bake.

Once again, those who know me, know that I'm not a cook, or much of a baker unless it comes from a box.  And I will admit that I didn't do a whole lot myself, but I did learn and I was able to enjoy a great day full of fun and true Christian fellowship!

I really hope that I'm able to work on these skills some more.  It was so much fun and we have such great things to show for it, but even if I don't, it will be okay.  I will still carry with me the joy of today and the memories we've created.

Btw, in can anyone is interested, here are a few photos of what we made:

This is one loaf of the bread.  This stuff is amazing.  I haven't cut into my loaf yet, but I've had it before and I LOVE it!

These are the Cinnamon Roll bread.  I had this tonight for dessert and I am in love.  It is incredibly yummy and really hard to stop after just one piece.

These are the Orange Rolls.  Imagine cinnamon rolls, but with an orange zest filling and orange glaze on top.  I'll admit that I ate one of these as soon as we got home and then proceeded to eat another!

One of the things I find coolest was making these bagels.  They may not look great, or even really like bagels, but they taste great AND once again, they are made from scratch.  I cannot even believe we did that.  I've never heard of that before in my life.  I think I may have scared my friend just a bit when she saw how excited I was that we were attempting these.  :)

Steadfastness...

This word has been on my mind a lot lately, especially in the last few days.

I'm currently in the process of memorizing the book of James, which is an extremely daunting task for someone who has trouble memorizing the smallest of passages.  However, it is going well (8 verses down!) and I think the Lord is blessing me in it.  I'm memorizing this as part of a study of the book and I LOVE it!  However, this word - steadfastness - has stood out to me in the past couple days.  

"Count it joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have it's full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

- James 1:2-4 (ESV)

I've had a lot going on in the past couple weeks.  More than I want to think about or dwell on or prattle on about on the internet.  However, I'd be remiss not to mention how God has used this.  I've been busy and worried and stressed and hurt and sick.  I'm calling that a 'trial of various kinds.'  My faith is tested.  But I have to decide, is this 'stress' going to build me up... or tear me down?  Will I count it joy?  Or throw a fit and be selfish?

With God's help, I'm working to count it joy and let it build me up, that I might truly be steadfast (firm in purpose, resolution, etc.) in my faith.  I'm learning bit by bit (and God is showing me bit by bit) where to put my trust and how to trust Him more.

So, I'm not very good at this blogging thing...

Yeah, it's been a while.  There is a very good reason for that.  Not much has been going on.  I find it weird to think of blogging my day to day life.  I know people do it, and for some, I'd read it.  But the thought of doing that myself seems... silly.  I cook, do housework, occasionally help Chas with homework, go to PWOC board meetings, and Bible study.  As a family, we go to Chapel and have family night every Friday night.  I mean, really, would you want to read extended descriptions of that?

We did move in November.  I'd like to blog a little bit about our new home because it's pretty awesome (a renovated cotton mill).  We also went home to MO for Christmas, which was a blessedly quiet and happy trip.  Those are the highlights from the past months of the blog blackout.

I'll go ahead and admit that I've been a little... uninspired lately.  I'm still checking out pinterest, but I haven't done any projects (cooking, crafting, etc.) in a while.  I'm hoping this will be remedied soon.  Maybe it is just because I feel a little like I'm still in transition.  We will be moving again in 5 months or so, so it is a little hard to get completely settled here.

In any event, I'm hoping that things will even out soon and perhaps, I'll even have something to blog about.