little Christmas Miracles

I just read the book "Christmas Miracles" by Karen Kingsbury. I want to share some experiences of my own, "God moments" that would not be possible under my own power.

First, on Christmas Eve, I went out to visit a friend at the hospital while Mike was home with the kids. I stopped to get a few treats for my friend, who was expected to stay in the hospital until Dec 27th. I parked at a local discount store, checked my purse, and locked the car. Made my purchases and walked back to the vehicle. I tried to open the door but it was locked. I looked inside, and my keys were dangling from the ignition. How did they get there?! I thought the keys were in my purse. We've only had this vehicle for a few weeks and we don't have a spare key for it, so calling my husband wouldn't be much help (plus he had the kids, and I had the carseats. oops). The driver's side window was open a crack, so I tried to force it open a little more... but it wouldn't budge. I was scratching my head, scrolling through my phone contacts, trying to think of what to do, when a car pulled up next to me. She look at me with a funny expression on her face, and I jokingly told her that I was trying to break into my own vehicle. She told me that her dog jumped into her car and locked her out last week. And she just so happened to still have a straightened-out wire coat-hanger in her trunk. She wiggled it into position and popped the locks for me. Turns out that she and I were neighbors, before we moved this summer. She lived 2 blocks from us. She was an angel sent to help me, I'm sure of it.

Second God-thing: My friend was released from the hospital on Christmas Day! It's really neat that they could spend time as a family instead of being separated on Christmas.This was a huge blessing for her, and an answer to prayers. She's healing way ahead of schedule. I know it is because so many people are praying for her quick recovery after surgery.

Third God-thing:  Oldest daughter suffered from extreme sore throat, stomach ache, fever, and no appetite on Christmas Eve. (Last year Mike got strep on Christmas Eve. This is a bad trend.) We just happened to have an unmixed, unopened bottle of amoxicillan in our medicine cabinet stash. We were about to give her the antibiotics just after her fever spiked, to help clear the infection. We were able to do this on a holiday when every doctor's office and urgent care in the area was closed. THAT is a miracle. And we didn't even need to visit the ER to get her the meds she needed.

Fourth God-thing: Our dear friends heard that we wouldn't be able to celebrate Christmas with them as planned, so they brought over a complete Christmas dinner for us: honey-glazed ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, bread rolls, the works.

See, God is with us, even in the details. These might not seem like big things, any of them, but it is such an encouragement to me, to know that He is watching out for our every need.

Missed Opportunity

I missed an opportunity to share God's love yesterday.
I was driving to the girls' gymnastics class. About a mile from our house, there had recently been an accident. No one was injured, but one of the drivers was crying and visibly shaken. She was talking to someone on her cell phone. They were stopped along Guess Rd at the top of a hill - kind of a dangerous place to stop, really. And immediately after I passed them, I wondered if I should have stopped. There wasn't a safe place for me to turn around for several miles. I could have gone back and offered them a bottle of water, given a hug, prayed for them, waited until a tow truck came. But I didn't.

I said a quick prayer for those involved and kept going on my way.
Still, I had the nagging feeling that I was supposed to stop and talk to them.
I missed the chance. When I came back home, both vehicles were gone.

How many times in a day or a week would we get the opportunity to share God's immeasurable love with others, if we'd just open up our eyes and our hearts?

Denied.

Wow, I just got shut-down.
I was denied a place on the worship team at church!
I know it's been a long time since I've performed, but wow... I am pretty shocked.
I thought God was asking me to step out of my comfort zone and do something different by serving in this way, by singing and worshiping Him. Obviously I was wrong about that. This particular worship leader seems to have some abnormally strict standards/expectations, and I guess I just don't fit into his plan.

Now I'm a little mad!!

90 day challenge

A friend just invited me to join a 90-day health and wellness challenge.
I think I have convinced myself that I am going to do it.

For starters, I will tell you what I ate for dinner:
Two scrambled eggs with peppers, onions and cheese.
A piece of whole-wheat toast with all-natural strawberry preserves on it.
And a glass of orange juice.

Foster Care Orientation

Last night was our foster care/adoption orientation class. I didn't learn anything new, but I did confirm that Mike and I will be invited to take the MAPP classes that begin in January. I am so excited to move forward in this process!!! I know that God is going to stretch and grow our family, and I can't wait to see how it all plays out. This is an answer to prayer for us. Now I am just praying that Mike's work schedule doesn't get in the way of him attending classes for ten weeknights in a row. If God wants us to foster or adopt, I am certain that He will not allow Mike's 12-hour shifts to get in the way.