A MIRACLE IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER.....


Good Morning all~ I just have to tell you what God did for us! I hope this will bless and encourage you today!


It is no secret, that my husband is a Federal Employee, and is not, and will not be paid until the Government re-opens... this is a very scary position to be in, because we have been fearful to spend any of the money we have, because we don't know when we will have anymore...SOOOO, we have reduced all of our spending to gas, and grocery.... okay, now for the miracle part

Our car has a 18 gallon tank...currently, we get 19.5 mpg... On Wednesday night we filled our car up 4 miles from home.. When we filled up, we had 345 miles until empty...we drove 4 miles home. I didn't go anywhere during the day on Thursday. On Thursday, my husband came home, and asked me if we should go ahead and go to church? Pastor had released us from Thursdays, {since we are faithful to 4 services a week} until this financial crisis is over. My husband was really torn, but we decide we are just gonna trust that God will keep us and be our provision... We went to church...

We drive 54 miles from our driveway, to the church parking lot, one way...

Service was Great! We are so glad we went, Bro Rafael preached a good message, and it was a blessing to both my husband and I. We almost missed out!

After service a dear friend came to me (they will be anonymous, but they are integral to the story) and said, we would like to fill your car up with gas.. would you follow us to the station?.. Well, I balked at this.. explaining, everyone is struggling and there are others in the church who are really in need.. Sometimes the devil uses our own flesh to cheat us out of a blessing. We pray, "God make a way", then when the way comes, we reject it! Then she said the words.... " so, you would rob me of my blessing?"..... ughh.... she got me! I thanked her and told her I would accept her blessing, but my car is almost full right now... so we made plans for a future time...

We left and got in the car.... when I turned the car on, my husband said "Hey, look at the fuel meter!" We had 354 miles to empty! Immediately, I turned to my husband in astonishment, and said "You gave
 Bro ________, the keys to our car to fill it up?" He replied,"No, I didn't!"...

I said " Oh, my word! Bro _________, went and got a gas can, and filled us up!"... My husband said, "no, you can't do that with this car, only a gas pump nozzle will release the valve".... Instantly, my flesh began tying to figure out, how was that possible? Just like the rotten enemy, to plant doubt that my God is enough, to supply all needs. How can I serve the creator of all things, and doubt his ability to turn my situation around! We sat there in astonishment..... as we left the church, everyone got their cell phones out to do the math... Here's the bottom line.....

We filled up at 354 miles till empty...
We drove 4 miles home after fill up...
We drove 54 miles to church...
and we left the church with 354 miles till empty....
OUR GAS METER SHOULD HAVE READ......296 MILES TO EMPTY!!!!!!

THAT IS A MIRACLE! God has blessed us for going to church when we had permission not to.... When it would have been perfectly understandable to miss. God blessed our faithfulness! TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

This brings me to a few scriptures:

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Psalm 68:19

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6: 30-33

This may seem small to some. There are those this very minute struggling for their lives, in broken marriages, living in a spiritual desert, and so on... but I know, that God sees my needs, and how huge they are in my eyes... and He cares about me...AND I HAVE TO THANK HIM FOR EVERY LITTLE THING....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
J

Fall...

   So, I am just sitting here, windows open, Iced coffee in hand, listening to the sounds of the world around me.. I can hear birds, and the occasional dog, the breeze blowing the trees... it is wonderful. It is hard to imagine a scene so relaxing and serene, with all the "yuckiness" of a government shut down, negative

headlines, and illnesses that are plaguing us.

   When I think of Fall, with all of its "Pumpkin Mania" IE: pumpkin candles, pumpkin drinks, pumpkin cleaners, pumpkin ice trays, pumpkin perfume, pumpkin dog treats... the list goes on and on... Fall is a wonderful slow season... Its a time to kick back and enjoy all that God has created. 

   It has always frustrated me, how the commercial industries just rush us through Fall.... the minute the costumes go out, so does Christmas...Wait!, where are the Thanksgiving decorations?? WHY? Why do they do this? MONEY... They want to rush us from an $89 dollar costume into at $1500 dollar Christmas...lol, I am serious...

If we don't ever slow down, we just speed through life never enjoying the things God has created just for our enjoyment... We catch ourselves so busy that we forget why we even celebrate Thanksgiving.... For christian people, Thanksgiving is huge, we are celebrating the freedoms of the United States.. We came to the "New World" to enjoy freedom of worship, to worship the way we wanted, to worship the one true living God!

Thanksgiving is HUGE... Yet for most it is just a bump in the road on the way to Christmas...

Fall is a cherished time in my family... although, my kids are growing up, and we have a lot of church responsibilities, we still try to take time to enjoy the season. We spend a lot of time outdoors, we have always lived in a hot climates, so fall weather is such a reprieve, we enjoy sitting outside in the evening, enjoy watching the kids toss the football, or riding bikes... while loving a bag of candy corn...

We don't celebrate Halloween, but I do enjoy loading my patio down with pumpkins of all sizes, and Indian corn, cute scarecrow dolls... and as reluctant as I am to "buy In" to societies definition of Fall, I do burn a pumpkin-something type candle... we prepare for Fall, and Thanksgiving.. and even though, the menu never changes, my daughter and I begin thinking about Thanksgiving Day Dinner, we get out the cook books, we tear through the magazines, as if we are gonna do it up White House style.....lol

I guess the point to this blog today is, even though you have inventoried your Christmas decor, and you have it all ready as if it were lined up at the starting line of the Indy 500, STOP, sit down and enjoy the beauty God has handed you, enjoy the season, beg it to stay a little longer, enjoy your family, make every moment count for something...ENJOY FALL....

God Bless You,

J