Grace x 5

Grace x 5

Have you ever prayed over things in your life? When do you pray?  Is it just when you feel you are literally up the creek without a paddle  Or is a part of every day where you share with your friend, aka JC, aka Heavenly Father, aka Abba?  Over the course of this past year I come to know just how personal my relationship is with our Heavenly Father.  And, just this summer I saw in fruition what happens when you trust God and forget the world. 

August has been a big month for our family.  Our darling dot had a birthday, I started full time teaching art classes at The Artroom in our home, and things started feeling a little like home.  I enjoyed the "settling in" and decided to take my trust with my Heavenly Father a step further and ask for things to be done "exceedingly and abundantly" far greater than I could understand.  I asked for restoration and open dialogues with the hubs & I.  I asked that He allow my children protection and to flourish. I asked that He see to my health and give me clarity of mind and resources to be cancer free.  And, I praised Him for solace, security, and joy in His light.

This is what happened':

• Our air conditioning broke down twice and needs to be replaced along with our furnace. The freon that it takes is costly to say the least and we've got freon leak.  Not to mention both the ac & furnace are almost 20 years old. The worst has been that it broke down during weather that was scorching hot. Because of radiation & chemo from last year my body doesn't do well with the heat which led to bouts of nausea & blisters on my skin. 
• I asked for restoration in my marriage and the ability to dialogue with the hubs. A little over a week ago the hubs called from KC to say he was going to try to get the jeep home but it was running rough and kept stalling out.  He got it back in town and to the shop.  The transmission in his jeep is out & we will have to look for work car for him.  Until we can afford another work car I daily have been driving him to work and picking him up from Shawnee.  That trip takes 45 minutes one way from our house. 
• I started bleeding again this month and having horrid pain. I've went for a scan this month to find the source of the bleeding and to check the cancer nodules in my stomach and intestines.  I had a consult with my oncologist.  He shared with me that finally the drug company & my insurance company are willing to help with the cost of infusions that could help shrink the nodules or even kill them off once and for all .  I would still have to pay some of the cost but the thought of being cancer free...that is hope. I can start the series of infusions the first full week of September.
• I asked that God help me with my Etsy shop to sell exceedingly and abundantly so I could afford to pay for the darling dots tuition and the sonshines weighted classes. I asked that he would exceedingly and abundantly give me students to teach art classes to and help me to have clarity to promote the classes on social media, etc. 

Here's God Grace;

•  We have a friend that has been filling the freon in our air conditioner to get us through until we can get financing for a new ac and furnace.  We've gotten bids to do the work .  We were turned down for a home equity loan. We don't have credit cards and will have to save for the work.  This week we got another bid and he went and sourced the materials.  He wants to do the work this weekend & is willing to start without a down payment. We are going to talk with him this afternoon to let him know what we are into with the car, chemo, and see what kind of payments he would allow us to make.
• Although having our jeep break down is stressful it has led the hubs and I to be confined in the car each day.  We have probably talked more this past week and half then in the past year.  My joy is that daily we share our fears, joys, and trust God with them in prayer.
• We have a friend that is selling a used car that would be ideal for the hubs as a work car.  He is selling it for $3,000.  He told us that if we can come up with $1500 we can have the car and make payments.  
• To do chemo or not that is the final question. I love that finally the drug company is willing to give me a break and my insurance will pay for part of it.  I love the sense of hope that I have that I could live cancer free and not have the pain, nausea, and heartache it has brought into my life & our family.  I still would have to pay a portion of the cost to start.  
• I was blessed to talk to the darling dot's college which has given us until December to finish paying her $600 bill. The sonshine's weighted class has to be paid on periodically but can be stretched out until November. I trust that God will help my Etsy shop will be able to cover both their bills.

Grace x 5;

What are we going to do? We've been blessed exceedingly and abundantly with God's grace on so many levels.  Our dilemma is being able to afford ; a used car, replacing the ac/furnace in our house, and the ability to pay for chemo.  We run about $2,000 dollars short after paying for our mortgage, utilities, and bills. Yes, we feel God is moving exceedingly and abundantly for solutions to our problems but we can't afford those solutions. What should we choose to do first and what should wait?  If we do one would another suffer?   That is when things got real.  We've prayed over what to do to make ends meet. We are going to do a Grace x 5 plan.  What is that?  God gifts each of us with grace and the biblical number for His grace is 5.  We are asking our friends in multiples of 5 to help us meet our financial goal so that we can give "grace" to God's solutions.  How?

• Keys; we need 25 friends that would donate $20.  I engrave key necklaces. Before I engrave the key I pray over the person that will receive the key and what word I should choose....then I engrave it and wrap it up.  If you would like a key necklace or to purchase them for gifts that would "grace" our family.  I can ship them domestic free.  If you want to choose the word I would be happy to engrave it as well.
• Sunflowers; we need 10 friends that will donate $50. I can hand paint a sunflower decor boards for each of them.  I will then hand paint a bible verse, special word, or just leave it as is. I can send them but you will have to pay for shipping.
• Getting Schooled; we need 10 friends that would like to gift $100 each.  In return you will receive one month of Artroom classes for your whole family or the hubs will do "Computer Maintaince" on your laptop or PC.    

We are going to set up a "Go Fund Me" too.  But when the hubs & I prayed on it we feel compelled that we have to earn the money to help & be a part of our solution to ; purchase the used car, put a down payment on the ac/furnace, and be able to start to pay for the chemo plan for me.  I would appreciate if you are interested in helping our family meet this hurdle that you message me or contact us.

Peace Be With You- Sherry

 

Show Off

 Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. Isaiah 40:31

I've got a gal pal that praises the Lord & says "God is just a show off".  I love the ideal of God being the ultimate "show off" in my life and the world. How about you?

That being said there are many times that I fail to let God show off.  If I'm honest most days I choose to sing "anything you can do I can do better". It struck me this morning that self reliance is great.  God gifts each of us with free will right?  But what if instead of taking credit we simply show up. 

This morning I chose to "show up" rather than "show off" & do things with my own understanding.  I can honestly say that I feel at peace and the flow of my day has went better than the randomness and restlessness that I normally face.  I've been set on God's time rather than my own.  All my incidental things I got done before noon. 

Perhaps, its not just a matter of having free will but accessing it at the right moments rather than on a consistent basis. Remember being a kid and just wanting to not only show up but show off?  I do.  I frequently was serenaded by my dad to the tune of Miss America and would practice my best wave and even sashay around the living room and then take my perch from the dining room table...yeah, that is showing off.  My brother and I still argue because he sees me as the "show off" whose presence rises and sets the sun in my parents eyes. 

What if instead of worrying about rising and setting the sun to others we concentrated on rising and setting the sun in our Heavenly Fathers eyes?  What would that look like?  Would we choose to be as loud, post on social media as much, or "show off" for the world?  I like the perspective that the only worthy way to "show off" is to our Heavenly Father.  How does that look?  In reality He is God, right?  He does not need us yet he chooses us.  He does not need to solve every dilemma in our lives but he chooses to if we trust him.  That's where I think we need to "show off" in our trust of him.

Since we got home from South Dakota I've had some phenom talks with my kids.  It changed each of us for the better and got us in tune with our Heavenly Father.  My sonshine shared that he sees my problem with God as a lack of trust.  He told me that he sees me clearly and if given the choice of choosing my Heavenly Father or running to my Earthly Dad he thinks that I would be unable to choose to at my worst run to my Earthly Dad leaving my Heavenly Father in the dust.  That hit me full force because at my core I can't say that I would always run for my Heavenly Father either.  It's been twentysomething years since my Earthly Dad died.  I still harbor the need for my confidant, my fixer, and friend.  I miss him dearly and when thing are crazy in my life ; finances, car repairs, cancer I don't readily scream at the top of my lungs for my Heavenly Father.  I don't trust my Heavenly Father with it.  I simply weep for the loss of an Earthly Dad.

 I recognized this last year when I got news my Betsy Bravada was no longer safe to drive & her repair bill was beyond my means.  I got in Betsy to drive her home and wept for my Earthly Dad who would have fixed my car & I wept harder that I chose my Earthly Dad rather than my Heavenly Father. That drive home rattled something inside me.  It made me realize that my Heavenly Father was who I needed to trust.  He had never left me, wanted to be my confidant, and wanted to "show off" to me. 

The talk with my sonshine helped me.  It reminded me that I need to work on my relationship & trust God.  I need to daily trust Him "show off" rather than just show up. I love the idea of trusting a Heavenly Father that created me, entrusts me with so much, and loves when I trust him enough to ask Him to "show off".  That's my challenge this week is to engulf my trust to my Heavenly Father, allow Him to show off, and me to sing His praises.

Peace Be With You- Sherry

Updates:

• The Artroom re-opened in July to a handful of classes.  I was blessed with a handful of friends that came to create, gab, and be a source of light in my world.  I'm trusting in my Heavenly Father to help me to with August Artroom Classes ; supplies, people to come, and to promote them.  If you would like to help in any way or need a schedule please let me know.
• I'm working on a proposal that would allow me to teach art classes for a non-profit in KC.  I'm trusting that God will help me put into words what my heart, spirit, and mind can do with this opportunity to shine for Him. 
• I'm hopeful that our fam will return to Wagner, South Dakota, in September.  I'm trusting God to help me with the dates, the ability to travel, and the resources to do so.  
• The sonshine starts his senior year this month.  The darling dot has made the decision to go into counseling and is headed back to Longview this month.  I'm trusting our Heavenly Father with their care for His love is far greater and more encompassing than mine ever could be.  I entrust each of them to Him and ask that he keep them safe and guide their path.