God Stories & Questions

Yep... the temperature has risen, the humidity increased, and the air con is on.

I just have to share this story. It's not mine, it's my sisters but it's an awesome story of God at work. They have been blessed in so many ways over the past few years and this most recent story just amazes me.

Scott's (her hubby) car pretty much died. They had put so much work into it already that they decided just to get a new one instead of fixing it again. They set a budget and started looking for the right car. They found one, a PT Cruiser, and at the last minute Scott backed out. Turns out it was the right decision because as they chatted with my Dad (who had a PT Cruiser) they found out he had traded his in. Then they found a car on ebay but again... last minute backed out. Then the Pastor at my Mom's church found out they were looking and offered to sell them his for $500 cheaper than they budgeted. So they decided to jump on this opportunity but when they called no one answered. Turns out this was another blessing! A couple in their church contacted them that day and shared how they had decided to get a new car and after praying about... they decided to GIVE their mini-van to Erin and Scott! GIVE IT!!!!!! How amazing is that? My jaw just dropped as my sister was telling me this story. I told her I hoped she was writing this down because not only have they received this awesome blessing, there have been two other amazing things have happened in the past few years. When Erin was due with Laurel, she decided to use her vacation time so that she could have a longer maternity leave. It turns out her boss told her that as long as she would work a couple hours a day, she could work from home and receive full pay and not use any of her vacation time! And... that same boss not only sold her a car (when her's died) but gave her a raise so that in the end she was only paying about $15 a month! Just amazing... just shows that God meets our needs in ways we could never dream of!

~URGENT PRAYER REQUEST~
Nothing serious but we're checking out one (hopefully two) flats tomorrow. According to the info I have, they meet all the requirements I've posted in previous emails but being that we still have about 3 months before we can move we don't know how realistic it is to get these. I'm praying for a miracle! One of these is the exact place we had hoped to live from the beginning and the other says it's located right next to a park and mountains (yeah.) We need to make a decision on the 'big' flat by next Wed so please pray for wisdom.

We had a good day... nothing too exciting although we did have dinner with Ed and Sharon and that was fun. We discussed a lot of ministry things and one part of our discussion made me think. I would love to hear opinions from you based on my following thoughts and questions...

We were discussing the importance of sharing God's love and how we are to live our lives. I totally agree that our lives should reflect God's love and that we should be sharing our faith. However... I've been thinking about the living our lives aspect. As Christians, what is our purpose? Is it not to share the gospel with others? If so, are we being selfish when we choose to fulfill our desires verses investing in the kingdom of God? For example... Mike and I like to go hiking. Is it wrong for us to spend a day hiking when we know there are so many people here who need Jesus? This has my brain working hard. I want my Lord to say to me... "Well done, my good and faithful servant." and I want to make a difference for Him. So do I need to be re-evaluating my life and actions? Makes me question how selfish I truly am and why I do the things I do. If only my brain would stop working... lol. No that's not true.. if my brain stops working, I stop learning and I desire to learn and grow daily in my knowledge of God.

Isabella is so close to walking it's scary! She's standing up on her own and you can just see the determination in her eyes to put one foot in front of the other. I'm convinced (as others have shared with me) that she's not going to start walking, she's going to be running! She already moves quickly when she's holding onto something.. can't imagine once she lets go. Exciting times here... I won't have to worry about exercising this summer. She'll keep me hopping. LOL

~May you see God at work in your life today~