Chapter by Chapter

Prologue
Since my last post, I feel like we have lived a book's worth of events, so I will format this post chapter by chapter.

Chapter 1
The Soldier

Justin left for Basic on February 3, 2014, he was able to meet up with a childhood friend while at the Military Entrance Processing Station in Charlotte. The time he spent with that Justin and his mother Wendy was pre-ordained by God. It was neat to see pictures of him after he left our care. He has been in actual basic training for a week and was able to give us a 3 second phone call this morning. Ted said he sounded so miserable. Please pray for our soldier in training.


Chapter 2
Future Solider

James decided to total his vehicle this past Sunday night, and again God spared his life without a scratch. He also has to lose weight again before Monday. He had to lose weight just to get enlisted, now he has to lose 5 lbs to make sure they will let him go to basic. Please pray that he can keep it under the limit.

Chapter 3
The Lesson
A couple of weeks ago, the day before SuperBowl I had to teach in my Super Teen class at our church's bus ministry. I agonized over what God would have me teach and finally He had me bring a lesson comparing sharing the Gospel to a football game. I set the classroom up to simulate a football field and then brought forth the very interactive lesson. After talking to my friend, Kristi, about it she said that one of our missionaries in New Zealand was always looking for lessons like that for his ministry. I went home stewing about it. I agonize over these lessons, and wait until I know what God wants me to teach. I struggled with the idea of "canning" a lesson for someone else to use maybe without God's direct planning. I wondered why they did not ask God for lessons like I do. I finally talked with Ted about it and after making my comments, he simply looked at me and said- " Maybe that is why God wanted you to teach that lesson, so you could share it around the world." I gave a lesson on sharing the Gospel around the world and here I was trying to keep that exact lesson from going to the other side of the world! I need to sit down and write out that lesson and email it! It will be up to God to make sure it's used for His honor and glory.

Chapter 4
The Job
Since coming to the conclusion that maybe God had me at my job for the people and not the position, I have tried very hard to focus on the people He puts in my path. I have seen how my trying to live for God and to be a godly example has influenced many around me. I pray for my coworkers and I let them know I am praying for them. I have been with the company almost 6 months, and if and when the Lord directs me to another field of occupation, I want to know that I did everything for Him that He wanted me to do while I was there.

Chapter 5
The House
After dropping Justin off for Basic Training, Ted and I went around looking at houses for sale. As we drove down one of the roads on our list we saw a house for sale, but it wasn't one of the places on our list. We moved onward and found the houses and discussed them. Then Ted said, "Didn't you have another place we need to check out?" I answered that we could find the house we passed by. We drove back down the road looking for it. As we pulled up the drive, we thought "OH BOY, another dump" We saw a rodent scurrying around the leftover remains of the stolen air conditioner and immediately thought that no way was this even worth looking at. We instead got out of the truck and was immediately struck with the surroundings. We started looking in windows and getting more excited the longer we stayed. It was everything we wanted and more then we had hoped for. Long Story short, after some real estate negotiating, we signed a purchase agreement, the owner will pay closing costs and replace the air conditioner! We are still praying for God's will, if all goes according to His plan we will close on the house March 31st. I am still packing and sorting a little bit every day. James has been a huge help with this and we will seriously miss his muscles when it comes time to move.

Chapter 6
The Big Storm
We had a kiss of winter weather the week before Justin left, enough for everyone to panic and for Justin to total our blue car. Yesterday, started the real winter storm. I managed to work nearly all day, but today and probably tomorrow I will get to stay home. We have 2 inches of snow, and now it's being coated with a layer of freezing rain and sleet. This is supposed to last through tomorrow, so it's been perfectly timed to pack up the house and spend some real time with James before he leaves for Basic in a couple of days. Ted and I spent alot of time looking at pictures of the new house today and planning how things will fit where and what we will need. We have a fire going in the fireplace, soup simmering on the stove, but alas my coffee pot decided to give out on me literally.

Epilogue
As you can see, so much can happen in so little time. I do not know what will happen in the next few days, I have another lesson to plan, the previous lesson to email out, a house to finish packing, a job to do, and boys to pray fervently for, but without fail, I know that God will continue to guide me through each chapter in our lives.