Are you cold?

We moved into our townhouse just this past September. So we havent even been here a year yet. Almost, but not quite. Its a brand new house, they built it the month we moved in and were still completing little tasks while we moved in. This place was a blessing to a very large need for us. And we love it!
One of the things though was that our downstairs bathroom never had hot water. It was always ice-cold. We never called the maintenance people, and I guess thats because it was never much of a problem, we could get by on other areas of the house. And eventually we just got used to it, we all knew...even the boys, that the sink in the bathroom had very cold water.
Well after about 10 months we mentioned it to our caretaker and they put in a report for us. The very next day a guy came in and turned a knob, and VOILA! Hot water! 


What a simple fix! 


It came to me today that Jesus is our simple fix in life. But how many of us have learned to deal with the cold of life? We are use to it, so instead of doing anything to change it, we just deal with it. We accept that life will be hard and unfair. And while that might be true, if you gave your cares over to your caretaker, and opened the door of your heart, it really could be as simple as a twist of a knob(or prayer) to release the peace and love of God.

How many times do we try and get by on things other than God? "Oh I can do it myself" "So and so's got my back, no problem" "oh it will fix itself over time". Dont count on the world to fix and fill what only God can....if you try to get by on other things.....nothing will ever change.
Lets not live our lives pretending like the colds not there....acknowledge it, decide to you dont want it, and grab a hold of your caretaker! Once you open the door of your heart and really let Him work on you, you will realize how simple it is to get your life on the right path.

Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.-Jeremiah 33:6

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.- 1John 5:4

Quick Honest Prayer, Quick Honest Answer

Love how sometimes God answers prayers just as fast as you send them.
Tonight I was at my moms and I was searching through her books. She has a whole bunch of books layed out neatly on her TV stand, and usually some by her bed and also by her computer. I didnt really know what I was looking for, just something to stand out and look good. But found nothing that I hadnt already read or it just didnt grab me. So I said a little prayer in my head that went something like this "Lord show me some books to read, I want a new book!".
Well about an hour later I went to my final bible study on "Leading from your Strengths" at church. A great study on how we as individuals communicate, what our strengths and weaknesses are and how we can be stronger in our area by working together with others who are different.
I walked into church, walked into the classroom, said Hi to a few ladies there and had barely sat down in my seat as Pastor Cindy walks up with a book in hand and says "I brought this book for you, I think you will love it!" I sat back in my chair with my mouth open for a moment, then exclaimed "I JUST PRAYED FOR A BOOK!!" Everyone looked at me and said "really??" Then not a moment later another lady from class, Samantha, pulls out her bag and says "I brought 3 books with me I think you would love!"  I mean really?! All I wanted was for one book to read and I left class tonight with 3!!( I only took 2 of Samantha's books).

The first book I received is "What God Truly Thinks About Women" by Sharon Jaynes, "The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting" by Mahesh Chavda and "Face to Face with God" by Bill Johnson.  I cant wait to start reading these, and if you are interested I will let you know if I recommend them!

Sometimes God has a way of answering quick honest prayers with quick honest answers. Not always, but sometimes, and for those moments I am so grateful!

"And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive" Mathew 21:22

"Jesus Loves Me"

This weekend we had to make a last minute trip out of state for a funeral. During that trip a theme popped up several time and I found the "coincidences" quite interesting. It seems God has a unique way of talking to me, and the more I listen the more I hear.
The night before we left to Wisconsin we went to the store and bought some new music and a couple books to read. I picked "Heaven is for REAL", a true story about a boy who claims He spent time in heaven during an emergency surgery. Within the first few pages the outline of the book became eerily similar. A family of 4 are going a road trip and the youngest child has been so sick all week that they aren't even sure they should go. Well hello?! Ethan had been sick for 6 days to the point that we almost didn't go either. But we decided that by Thursday He was feeling well enough to go. Well they made the same decision. A few other small things kinda popped out before I said to Sheldon, "Baby, this book is crazy similar to what we are going through right now!"
I turn back to the book and sure enough, the next paragraph talks about the family passing their home church on the way out of town, which just happened to be called Crossroads Weslyan Church(Our church is called Crossroads Church!).
Now at that moment I laughed out loud and said "really??!" to God. And then kept reading.
In the meantime Ethan got so sick during the trip that we had to stop several time to take him potty and then even had to take a trip to the ER because He was screaming in pain while clutching his tummy and his urine was a dark orangeish amber color. We knew he was dehydrated and He hadn't eaten in several days which would explain the dark color. Thankfully the ER we stopped at happened to have an Urgent Care during business hours which saved us a ton of money! The Drs couldn't tell us much, and during a time we were trying to run some tests Ethan calmed down and fell asleep so we decided to get back on the road
(with assurance from the Dr that He should be fine) since we were just about half way to our destination. So back on the road I pick up my book again, and sure enough the next chapter is all about the littlest boy getting worse during their trip and they take him to the ER. Im thinking this is just too weird, and then the book gets worse. They find out the boy has ruptured apendicitis and has had the poison of that coursing through his stomach for 5 days! The outlook doesnt look good, even the Drs arent thinking He will survive this. I stopped reading for a few minutes and said a prayer, "Lord please dont be funny, its already been to similar so please heal my little Ethan and stop the similarities here! AMEN!"
Well I know the boy survives because without his survival there wouldn't have been a book! So a few months after his miracle the family drives past the hospital He stayed at and they ask him if He remembers it(now mind you He is only 3yrs old). And his reply is "of course, that's where the angels sang Jesus Loves Me". And this is where his family find out that during his emergency surgery to attempt to clean out his dying system the little boy got to go to heaven. He is even able to back it up by telling his parents specific things they were doing during this time. The father, a pastor, was so scared and angry with God that He found a private room, locked the door and lost it. He screamed and yelled at God and cried harder than he ever has before. He thought He was alone, but his baby boy who He thought was on the surgeons table was watching him from Heaven. The book goes on to tell about some extraordinary things, which I wont give away because you just have to read it!
Thankfully the "coincidences" end within the book. And Ethan has almost fully recovered now.
But we make it to WI and they start again. We arrived rather late due to all the potty stops and the 3 hour urgent care visit, so we have dinner with my cousins and then its time to put the boys to bed. Well by the time I get done doing that, everyone else had either left or gone to bed. But my cousin Mark just happened to be coming out of the bathroom and said He was up for hanging out a little bit. So we went downstairs and just talked. Now He had just received his last and final chemo treatment a week earlier, and I hadnt seen Him in years. So we were talking about everything He was going through and feeling. And then he says something that made my skin just fire up. He says "Well the first time they thought I had cancer I was in the big machine and to keep myself calm I decided to sing. I started with What a Friend I have in Jesus, and it just didn't do anything, so then I sang Amazing Grace, and nothing. Then I started singing Jesus Loves Me, and I kid you not, a choir of angels started singing with me. Its a sound I can still hear clearly in my head as if it were happening now"
My jaw dropped.
Did I really just hear that right?
A choir of angels sang the exact same song to him that they sang to the little boy in the book. Incredible. And the other thing is that its my all time favorite song to sing to my boys and to kids in general. It has always struck a chord for some reason and always been very special.
My cousin went on to share his story with me, and I truly think He should write a book. :) I wont tell you what He had to say, thats his story.
So as we ended our 2 hour talk I went to bed where Sheldon had already passed out and I woke him up to share everything with him! I told him, I think there may be more to this weekend than just a trip for a funeral!
I went to sleep on cloud nine just waiting for what the weekend might unlock. One of the things the Dad/Pastor kept saying was that even though as believers we talk about things like heaven, when they are presented to us like this we almost cant believe it.
This past weekend had some great times, some sad times and some very specific moments that I know were meant just for me. Maybe the biggest theme this weekend was Jesus Loves Me, so lets just end with that:
Jesus loves me this I know
for the Bible tells me so,
little ones to him belong,
they are weak and He is strong
Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me,
For the bible tells me so!

I am so grateful for the funny way things sometimes happen. :)


"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 18:10