From Devastated to Dumbfounded...

It has been so long since I wrote a word or two on this blog... I have missed it! My life has taken some BIG turns with lots of twists to boot! The last time I posted on here we were living at a friend's house with our "house" stuff in storage, waiting on God to open the right door for us! He sold our house in Lake City, which moved very quickly once the right buyers came along (that is a whole other blessing!). And the house of our "dreams" we were to close on in early December fell through 2 days before closing! I was so devastated by this, but God was faithful! He had a major miracle up His sleeve, so to speak!

As I play the tape back in my memory it seems so unreal... but that is God... He takes our impossible & makes all things possible! Are you willing to trust Him?

Two days after the closing that never happened, we got back on the proverbial horse & started looking at houses again! It was so hard! Every house that even came close to meeting our needs was... well, to put it bluntly, trash! It felt kind of like the first date after the break-up of a long-term relationship... my heart was just not into it! After looking at the 2nd house that day, this is what I told my dear hubby, "I am done! We have seen everything that comes close to what we are looking for! We just need to take a break! God would have to drop a house from the sky at this point!" Then there was a beep on his phone, he had a voice mail. So as we were sitting at a stop sign he listened to his message. It all still brings me to joyful tears when I think about it! The message was from a builder who was in the process of building a 5 bedroom home just outside of Ludington. Luke, aka DH, had seen the listing online the day before & inquired about it... the day Luke saw it was the first day this man had listed it, which was the day after our failed closing! God is good!

We were near the building site so we decided to stop & take a look. There was snow piled up "sky-high", but we were able to get onto the front porch & peek in the windows. Within 2 seconds I said, "call the man back... we need to see it now!" And 10 minutes later the builder was there to show us this house, which we now call, "HOME."

As we walked away from the house that day the only word I can use is dumbfounded! Luke & I were both in awe & disbelief at how God had laid this house out just the way He knew would fit our needs & then some! Plus, it is on a 10 acre parcel of beautiful, wooded land!

When faced with disappointment, the words of encouragement are, "God has got something better for you! Just wait!"  I have said it myself many times, even to myself... trying to convince myself! Believe it! We cannot see the whole picture, but we can trust the One that created the picture! Don't lose hope! Those dark moments in your life will always be illuminated by the brightness of God's faithfulness! Just hold on! Hold onto Him! His timing is perfect... it is never as quickly as we would like sometimes, but His ways are so much higher than ours!

"Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, & My thoughts are higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

I look forward to sharing more of this incredible journey with you in the days to come! Hang in there with me as I get back to blogging with a grateFUL HEART!

Making a Trade!

It has been a couple of those days… bored, restless, feeling out of sorts! I am thankful for the sunshine! We hadn’t had sunshine since Friday, until yesterday! Even on those days of clouds, gloom, darkness… His light still shines in my heart! Some days it seems so hard, I cannot imagine what it would be like without God with me always!? I am learning very slowly, little by little, not to live by my emotions… I must be a really slow learner, because there are so many times I just don’t get it! Thank God He is so patient with me.  Waiting on answers is a little wearing, but I know what God orchestrates will last, so I will wait for His work to be done!

I really don’t know what to do with myself! Why is it so hard to just be? To just exist? I want to be “normal!” What is normal anyway? I haven’t had normal for months & semi-normal for at least a month! I know some of my friends & especially my sisters would say I have never been “normal!” Ha!

I’m sitting here watching a Hallmark Christmas movie… I am sure I have seen this one at least a half dozen times, but I continue to watch! I absolutely love the Christmas season & all the things that go with it… including sappy movies! There is a store in downtown Ludington that has their front window decorated beautifully for Christmas… when we drove by it the other night it instantly made my heart full! Not sure if you understand what I mean, but that is the only way I can explain how much Christmas means to me.  It is not about the presents… it is about His presence! And the trees, the lights & the music remind me of Him! While I type this, my heart feels the same way & of course my eyes are filled with tears! I am such a crybaby, but that is okay!

I am excited I am doing a "Curly Wreath" class... actually 2 classes... one in Cadillac & one in Ludington. Here is a picture of the one I did last year.

They are fun to make... very relaxing! If you live in either of these areas the Cadillac class in 12/2/13 & the Ludington class is 12/4/13... the deadline for registration is this Friday 11/22 & the cost is $30-$35.

I also wanted to share something I have added to my crafting repertoire... metal stamping! My first attempt was doing necklaces for the Ladies Getaway for our church... of course my first project was to do 20 charms! I know the pic is not so great, but it is really hard to shoot a shiny copper charm with a pink pearl! "GRACE" is what it says & what I need!

 I love this verse & I wanted to share something about it with you: 

"...beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Isaiah 61:3

Beauty can only come if I am willing to make a trade for my ashes, or joy for mourning, or the garment of praise instead of heaviness... I want to stand strong as a tree of righteousness, that the Lord has planted me where He wants me... all so He will be glorified! Beauty, joy, praise, strength can only be mine if I let the "junk" go!

Thanks for stopping... Have a grateFUL day!