I can afford that now ...

 

I can afford that now.

God has showered blessings at my feet and I am humbled.

Worries that I had 10 years ago are gone.

But now new worries have replaced them.

To have and to have not are the same. Each requires trust in God to guide the use of blessings, whether many or few.

But then, it’s all the same to God. When money ran out, God was there blessing with a truck load of things I would have never thought of:

Someone bringing a meal to our house

Someone giving us gently used clothing

Shoes not wearing out

Coats we forgot we had

Appliances lasting years longer than the manufacturer intended

Used vehicles appearing as if out of no where

A gentle slowing down of need, imperceptible in the present but obvious in the past

And, the best blessing of all, the distinction between want and need revealed

 

God, thank You for Your supernatural blessings every single day of our lives. Show us how to slow down and see them. Remind us to praise You in the seeing.

 

You can’t afford not to read more writerly thoughts at FMF

Phasing Out ...

 

It’s just a phase he’s going through.

Phase it in. Give the public a chance to get used to it.

We are in the final phase of the project.

This is my favorite phase.

 

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My daughters are going through familiar phases in their lives … and asking me for advice. This has caused me to pause as I relive in my mind the situations I have been in. For a few situations, I can give advice that worked for me, but most of the time, looking back, it probably wasn’t the best idea and maybe I shouldn’t use what I did to survive as advice to my daughter. In other situations, I know for a fact what I did was a bad idea and I tell them that. Some advice I could give is literally not possible anymore – very strange, the world we live in now.

And then there are the things they are going through that I have never had to go through, so I pray. And I tell them I am praying. And I’m honest with them and say, “I have no idea what you should do.”

But this is a good thing. A very good thing. Because the next thing I tell them is probably the best advice I could give about anything – Go to God. Read the Bible. Ask for his wisdom. Spend lots of time praying, in fact, be praying all the time, like a constant conversation in your head to God. Then, don’t forget to pause and wait for God to speak. And be patient.

So, as I go through this phase of my life, with adult children dealing with adult situations, I thank God for the things He allowed in my life that threw me into His arms.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” – James 1:5

 

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It’s probably good timing to let you know about my book of devotions and thoughts I wrote after a particularly difficult phase of my life. Amazon will let you read some of it for free, so there’s no risk or hard sell here. I’m a terrible salesperson! LOL

Before Coffee God, by Rachel H T Mendell

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Which Route

 

“What route should be take?” said my husband looking at the new road atlas.

“That’s up to you,” I said. “You’re driving.”

At that moment I realized my husband and I had just played out a scenario enacted by my parents over and over, years ago. Except my mom frequently chose the route. She was navigator in the family.

Several times I tried to be navigator but with seven children to be on-call for, it was more efficient to be the stewardess. Sometimes one of the older children sat in the front passenger seat of the station wagon or nine passenger van or SUV or suburban and acted as navigator. It soon became a teaching tool.

A million miles of trip travel, a thousand destinations, a hundred scary situations … yet we continue to travel, choosing the same route for comfort or choosing a new route for adventure or being given an alternate route because of the Orange Cone Prophesy.

I have gathered stories:

-          The Breakdown in Beloit

-          Stuck in a Dry Wash While Looking for Petroglyphs

-          When the Truck Expired (parts 1,2, and 3)

-          Engine on Fire

-          Waiting It Out Under the Highway 35 Bridge

-          The Ice Road Outside Indianapolis

-          Slippery, Slippery Road

-          So Hot

-          Cramming 10 People in a Nova

-          Dust Storm over Texas

-          Will We Make It

-          High Winds

-          What a Lovely Park

-          The Guy Who Couldn’t Stop Talking

-          Let’s Go Home

-          And many, many more

Stay tuned, I’m sure I’ll remember more … like the one about being stuck behind a herd of sheep …

 

See more at FMF