Growing From Daniel & Samson

Its been a good day today. I don't feel quite as tired as I thought I would be today. The Lord gives me the strength that I need daily. Yesterday I hit a brick wall, as far as sleep goes, and I thought I may just keel over. Thankfully, I was able to squeeze in a 45 min nap while the kids were sleeping yesterday, I was so grateful I was able to do that, because I knew it was gonna be a long night, with me working at the salon at night too. I was able to barely make it through, and I passed out in bed hard core by 10:00pm. So today I am not doing to bad, Although, I am looking forward to my day off tomorrow.:). I was able to have a good time with the Lord this afternoon, I haven't shared what I have been learning in that department in awhile, so I thought that I would share with you, and hopefully challenge you as well.
I am on the last section in my study guide on the fruits of the Spirit, and as you know, the last fruit of the spirit is Self-control. I thought this section would be the easiest, and yet once again I am wrong, and am convicted. I have so much to work on, but I am thankful for his grace, and forgiveness that is so undeserved.
I was taking a specific look at Daniel and Samson today--Quite the contrast in self control..Daniel had such great self-control in what he stood for and believed, never swaying to what others may have wanted him to do, yet Samson did the exact opposite as Daniel. He broke the Nazarite vow, and was easily swayed by others. I want my life to reflect that of Daniel's. A life that was/is always seeking the Lord's provision, not his own, sticking to what is truth, and he was blessed for it all.
I could go on and on, but I just want to end with just a few AMAZING points that were made in my study guide( regarding the life of Samson and Daniel) that I hope challenge you as they did me...

-Physical Discipline and Spiritual discipline go hand in hand. Samson had neither, Daniel had both
-Self-control for God's sake invites God's blessing. Self-control prospers, self-indulgence perishes.
-One denied his call of consecration. One chose it.
-One took more than he was offered. One resisted what he was offered.
-One assumed the power of God and ultimately lost it. One asked for the power of God and ultimately found it.
-One was overcome by his enemy. One overcame his enemy
-One was victorious in his death. One was victorious in his life.
I strongly urge you this week, to take a look at the lives of both of these men, and see what you can discover from these men.

Pictures For the Weekend

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy of my nanny kids, This was before I was pelted in the eye with a pacifier, Other than that it was a good week...:) Happy Weekend.

Life As I Know It

I thought I would give you an update on how my life has been over the last week or so, with doing both jobs. Things seem to be going quite well, better than I had anticipated. It helps a lot that I don't nanny 5 days a week, and only nanny 3-4 days a week, so that I can get the rest that I need, and run errands without children, and just get some things done. Friday was my first day doing both jobs, and I was extremely nervous about doing the receptionist job alone for the first time, It helps that its only a 3 hour shift on Fridays, and that there aren't many clients on Fridays, but things went well, and I even balanced my drawer to the penny on Friday, and it gave me the confidence that maybe I can do this job. It was quite exciting.
Then Tuesday, once again I did both jobs, and when about 5:00pm rolled around I felt like I hit a brick wall, I was so tired, I just wanted to leave- and then my drawer didn't balance out, so I got stressed about that, but the owner/my boss said, "No big deal, as long as you have it all written out,; We'll figure it out later!" Which was comforting, but I am the type of person who wants to get right all the time, and not have any problems, and make a good impression. I know that's unrealistic, and I hope with time it will all come together. I am enjoying the job though, It is a blessing.
I have been able to stick with a routine with the kids, and still have been able to keep up with my time with the Lord, which was my greatest concern;was still making Him the priority in my life-no matter how busy or crazy life gets. While Leah is napping, Owen is able to keep himself entertained for awhile while I read and journal. Its been a HUGE blessing. I am so grateful.
I ask you to continue to keep me in your prayers as I get adjusted to the receptionist role, I want to do my best, and know what I am doing quickly. Your prayers mean the world to me.

Sunday's Coming

A friend of mine had this video on her facebook page last night, Now I don't usually watch people's video's that they post unless it looks intriguing to me, This one for some reason caught my eye, I found it quite interesting, and yet so true, and so sad. I urge you to take a look at this video and see what you think. It sure made me think, its funny but sad in a sense.

Just a little job update for you, for those of you interested, I started training yesterday at the salon and it went fairly well, there's a lot for me to learn and catch on too, which I hope will all come with time and practice. I enjoyed my first night, it seems like a pretty relaxed setting and the stylists there seem very nice and laid back. The other receptionist there that is training me, I think is a believer, and I was able to share somethings with her that are important to me and things like that. So it made for a good night
And my nanny momma got the call, she starts Friday, so then I start Friday. So I will be doing BOTH jobs starting Friday, which is kinda intimidating and it will be my first night alone at the desk at the salon, So I ask for your prayers once again. I will keep you posted......

Its Official

Nope, I'm not engaged, But I am officially employed at the hair salon. I officially got hired Thursday night, right after my interview, and then this morning (at 7am by the way) I joined the staff meeting. So I guess I am doing this. I also talked to my nanny mom, and she also got called and looks like she'll be starting within the next few weeks. I am very excited about starting this new journey that the Lord has provided for me. I am a bit nervous about starting, but I think Its starting something new, But after a a week or so, hopefully, I will have been adjusted.

I start training on Tuesday, and then it looks like I will be working like 2 days a week, at least till the end of the year, and then after the new year, possibly adding another day or two. I am a bit overwhelmed with it all, but I think this is good for me to start saving for things and can start "paying the bills" again. I am so blessed. I am so grateful. Thanks again, for all your prayers and words of encouragement that so many of you have given me. I am so grateful. Your prayers are so much appreciated!!!

God's Hand In It All

This week has been crazy. Crazy in a good way. Once I returned home from up North things just have been falling into place, one after the other. As a friend told me yesterday, "See, God just knows, so much better than you do."

I got a call from my nanny mom yesterday basically telling me, get ready I could be called any day..Her principal called her yesterday telling her she just filled out a reference form for her, meaning she is the next one on the list to be called for a teaching job. At the beginning of this week, I potentially just had one job, now quite possibly within the next few weeks, I could be working two.

Then this morning I got a text from my friend Jill, whom I was supposed to babysit her 3 children tonight, saying that her meeting got cancelled and didn't need me to come. About 2 hours later after my morning run, I got a call from Mary, the salon owner, whom I am supposed to have my "interview" with on Saturday morning,asking if I was available tonight to come in, and go over things, so that on Saturday morning I can join the staff meeting, and meet the staff. After I agreed, I was reflecting on how this is just God's hand in it all, He knows. He knew that Jill was going to cancel, so that I could go in and do this interview. This is just so the Lord's hand displayed so clearly for me. What an amazing God we have.

I just think back to just like a week ago, worrying about whats gonna happen next, and what the Lord is trying to teach me and do in me. I think one of the things He is/was trying to teach me comes from Psalm 46:10a 'Be still and know that I am God.'..I think He just wanted me to stop worrying and fluttering around, thinking "O my gosh whats going on, what I am I doing, I am a failure at life"...(ok maybe I didn't go THAT far ;) He just wanted/wants me to BE STILL AND KNOW. Such a simple concept yet, so hard to do I feel like. I am still learning and growing through all of this. Yet He is God. I praise and thank Him for who He is. His power, His sovereignty, His direction, His faithfulness, His grace.

I have cookies in the oven that I am pretty sure I just messed up. I must go. Happy Thursday.

Phones. Shampoo. & Answered Prayer

Last night I returned from a great weekend up north at Fort Wilderness, where I was volunteering with a few others from RBC for the long weekend. I was really looking forward to it for many reasons, but one was just to get my mind off of things here in Racine, one being the whole job situation; Which has seemed to just been on my mind constantly. We left Friday at noon, and as I was just about to grab my suitcase and walk out the door my pops called from work saying that he had just run into Mary, the lady who does such an o-so-fantastic job on my hair, (my stylist,) who also owns the salon, and said she was gonna be calling me, Now to give you a little back story, Mary had talked to my mom who also goes to her, when I was doing camp Ripley back in June, and mentioned to my mom that she was interested in me maybe working there during the fall as their receptionist, Just a few nights a week, and this was all before, my nanny job was on hold & she new that I nannyed during the week and thought that I maybe interested in doing that at night to earn extra money, well I called her 2x, while at Ripley to let her know I was interested but, I never heard a thing. Then I went to get my hair done in August, and she had briefly mentioned it again to me to see if I was still interested, I said yes; I never really said much to anyone about this job, cause it seemed so-not-for-sure, and didn't really wanna say much in case it didn't happen...Well then all this nanny stuff was on hold, and my mom told her my situation a few weeks ago when she was in...She had lost my phone number, she had wanted to call me for some time & just got to busy, then she ran into my dad Friday at the bank & he gave her my number. With all that said, As I was walking out the door, Mary called. I am going in Saturday morning for an "interview" I put that in quotes b/c it seems as though I have the job already, she just wants to go over things with me, and talk scheduling and stuff. I was/am so ecstatic, Praise the Lord. Its HIS timing, not my own. I am so excited for this new opportunity, And even when/if Cortney gets called back, I can still nanny for them, b/c this new job would be evenings. What an awesome thing. The moment I heard I just starting praising the Lord, and thanking Him for this potential new job, and for His amazing faithfulness to me. Praise Him. I am so blessed. So thank you all for your MANY prayers for me. I am so thankful for each of you for doing so. Please continue to pray for me, for Saturday and also for when I do start, I may glorify Him, and be that light for Him.

Blessings in Unexpected Places.

I always knew that the Lord works in mysterious ways, and that He is faithful- it says in His word that He cares for us, knows our needs and loves us. He will not forget us. I have been clinging to these truths more recently in the last week or so, with all this crazy job stuff. As I was in the middle of my personal time with the Lord today, I was turning to passage, when this little note thingy dropped out of my Bible, Now just so you know, I am used to things dropping out of my Bible, I leave things in my Bible such as encouragement notes that people have written me, or special things that mean a lot to me that people have given me, But this was different, I had never seen this little thing before so I opened it. There was no note, no saying who it was from, Just money. I started to tear up as I looked at it. I was in complete shock. I had no idea. WOW. I am still in shock as I write this. I don't know who its from, or how much of a blessing this is for me, I do know that its someone who was at youth group last night, either a leader or a student, I KNOW it wasn't there yesterday afternoon. I kinda wish I knew who this is from so I could thank them, but obviously they didn't want me to know. So whoever you are if you are reading this,Thank you. You have been a huge blessing. May God Bless you abundantly. God works in mysterious ways doesn't He? Just wanted to share this story with you, and remind you that if you are going through something too, He is faithful, He knows what you need.

"Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."Matthew 11:28.