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Blessed by the Best and Highly Favored

So dear friends things aren’t always easy when it comes to marriage. (If you haven’t figured that out yet.) However, if we choose to look at our blessings rather than our problems our perspective can entirely change.

I’ve been helping my friend Trina get a house ready for moving. Her friend lives in another state and the mom and grandma will be moving there soon to be closer to family. Trina was telling me how much she still had to do so I thought “hey I like to go through stuff.” Did I mention I love to go through antique stores to find treasures? Haha I love history and always wonder how something was used or who used it or how differently life was lived in the “good ole days.” I could spend time with my friend and learn some more history considering the grandma is 96.

The first day I got there I thought wow we do have a lot of work ahead of us, but being the optimist I generally am I thought no problem. (Insert face palm here.) What I didn’t count on was falling in love with this Italian family we were helping. I always wanted to be a part of an Italian family! I love her accent and the mom puts up with me trying to mimic it and totally butchering it. Haha So my friend and I worked ourselves ragged cause we love them and truly want God to bless them.

After nearly 2 weeks straight we got everything ready for our first sale. Trina was telling me how much she owes me but I was like isn’t this what we are supposed to do? Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. That’s what the Good Book says anyway.

After the first day of the sale I got home, took a much deserved shower, put on my pjs, ordered Chinese, my wonderful son picked it up and we ate. My husband, David, who’s on a shutdown at his plant right now came home not 30 minutes later, walked into the kitchen, and promptly asked, “What’s all this?”. I went to the kitchen and there was water all over the floor. Yikes!!!

About 3 weeks ago we had a major freeze here that pretty much crippled Texas. We are NOT built for that kind of weather. We managed to get through with no pipes bursting by the grace of God or so we thought. We immediately thought a pipe had burst and David turned of the water at the main then went to the attic to check. Fortunately, it was a small leak. Unfortunately, it had already dripped so much the sheetrock under the leak was destroyed. I thought, “I do not have time for this.” We still have much to do this week to finish up the move.

Now I could’ve stopped right there and just cried and had a pity party. Instead I was thankful this happened after my husband had gotten home and he was able to address it immediately. He gave it a temporary fix and decided to permanently fix it today after church.

I went to bed exhausted and considered skipping church but I knew I needed the refreshing of the Holy Spirit more than ever. It seemed God was speaking directly to me and Trina throughout the whole service. It was such an encouraging worship session and message that I felt so renewed as did Trina.

David took me to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. We came home, took a much needed nap, and then he got up to work on our pipe issue on his only day off. I walked into the kitchen, looked up, and cringed. I’ve been working on my kitchen to create a space where I would love to work and all I could see was the big hole in my ceiling plus all the old nasty insulation and sheet rock dust on the floor.

I sent a picture of the mess to Trina with the crying emoji. She sent me a much needed reply that it could’ve been much worse and to be thankful that David has the skills to take care of the problem.

So I walked back into the kitchen and took the pictures at the top of this page. Pictures of the man that has been nothing but supportive as my own house has gone awry while I helped my new Italian family with theirs. The man that works 13 days straight with one off in between during shutdowns to make sure we have not only what we need but also what we want. The man that loves God with all his heart and therefore loves me the way I should be loved. The man that has so many skills I can’t even keep count of them all. This man has flaws and sometimes drives me crazy, but definitely the one given to me by God. Recently, God has given me new eyes to see this man in a different light. It’s all about perspective. I could be bitter about my kitchen and the things David does that irritates me but I will choose to be thankful. And that fills my heart with love instead of bitterness which feels so much better!

Everyone that knows David knows his response when asked how he is doing. He always replies, “I’m blessed by the Best and highly favored!” So today I choose to count my blessings and remember that the God who saved me is also the God that will keep me.

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Building Houses

Yesterday David and I set off on quite the adventure. Last February we booked a cruise for this week. It’s the K-love cruise so both of us being musicians and the fact that we would be on board with several Christian artists was right up our alley! You can definitely say we’ve been looking forward to this trip for some time now.

Things started off rather well. We got up early, finished our packing, had our daughter drive us to the airport, checked in, ate lunch, got through security and to the gate with plenty of time to spare. More than we even knew…our flight had been delayed.

We were supposed to take off at 1:40 pm. When we settled in at our gate everything was on time. Then came the dreaded announcement that our plane was having some maintenance and would not be ready until 3:00. Ok, not too bad. I can hang with that. Around 2:30 the announcer declared we were still on for that time so I decided now was the time to put my Dramamine to work. Immediately after ingesting said medicine came another announcement stating how very sorry they were but our time was once again moved. This time to 4:30. No problem. We had met others that were headed to the same cruise as us and enjoyed visiting with them.

Yet another announcement informed us we needed to switch gates and our new takeoff would be 4:50. Ummmm ok. Meanwhile the coffee I had didn’t agree with me and I had to make several trips to the bathroom. Wow. What a day!

After switching gates we met a few other fun travelers and visited some more. We always enjoy talking with others from different parts of the country. It’s nice to know we are all truly connected in many ways.

David pulled out his ukulele bass and proceeded to play. I only wished I had a piano to keep me entertained. Then I remembered I could download a keyboard to my iPad and soon we were playing a few songs together in the middle of the airport. Since music helped bring us together when we met, it’s always a good thing when we play together.

Finally at 6:00 pm we were pulling out of the gate and headed down the runway…4 hours past our original departure time. Oh well. Our flight wasn’t full so we had some extra elbow room and I got in a little nap. We touched down 2 hours later and we were off again!

After a quick stop to the restroom I exited to see my sweet husband praying for a lady in a wheelchair. She and her husband were so appreciative and I was blessed to see my other half ministering in the airport.

We collected our luggage and I scheduled my very first Uber pickup. Our driver was there quickly and whisked us away to our hotel! Yes! Finally I was going to get some rest after a very long day!

David’s sister and brother in-law met us outside the hotel and escorted us to our room. We visited for a bit and then we were all going to turn in for the night.

I went to my luggage to get what I needed to prepare for bed…did I mentioned it poured in Houston before we departed? Much to my chagrin my whole suitcase was soaked. I had one shirt with water stains I had to wash out and the majority of my clothes were dripping wet. Seriously?!? I just wanted to go to bed.

There were no dryers at the hotel so David and I proceeded to hang up clothes to dry. It took longer than I wanted but it had to be done. After a short trip to his sister’s room for extra hangers we finished that task and headed to bed.

David began to rub my back, but his hands were rough and I started to complain his hands were tearing up my skin. (I have a little flair for the dramatic.) This was after several other times I had snapped at him for various things. I mean my clothes got soaked and his were bone dry! What’s up with that?

Now I had done it. I knew immediately I had hurt his feelings. He was just trying to make me feel better. At this point of the night I had 2 choices. Let him hurt and get some much needed sleep or use my words and actions to heal instead of hurt.

I switched on my lamp, walked to the suitcase, and got out the lotion. I went to his side of the bed(where he had retreated), took out some lotion and rubbed it into his hands. See my husband’s hands are rough because he is a welder by trade and he works very hard to provide for his family. Must of the time I appreciate those hands, but this day had gotten the better of me.

Wives, we have the ability to make or break our husbands. I could have turned over and easily gone to sleep, but Jesus set a very different example for me. He served. He washed feet for goodness sake!

As I rubbed the lotion into his hands I could feel his tenseness go away. He began to relax and we were able to not let the sun go down on our anger as Paul says in Ephesians.

Proverbs 14:1 says a wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want to be that wise woman! However, to be the wise woman we must be open to doing the right thing even after a crazy day.

I’m thankful I took care of that right away and didn’t let it fester overnight. Was I too tired to make the effort? Yes! Did I feel like getting back up? No! Was it necessary to make amends? Absolutely! Ultimately in everything I do I want to please my Heavenly Father. I believe he was pleased in that one simple act and will bless me accordingly.

Friends let’s choose to be the wise woman! May God give us the strength and ability to do His will in our marriages.

Ready. Set. Build!

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It’s a Wonderful New Year

As we get ready for a new year and a new decade I can’t help but think back over this roller coaster of a year. It started off great! Then went downhill, back up, back down again, back up…well you get the picture.

I started off with this blog and did well for a while. David and I had good times and bad, but I found it harder to write about the good times. Why do we always seem to wait for the other shoe to drop? Maybe it’s just human nature or maybe if we don’t expect too much we won’t be disappointed as much. We don’t live freely in the good times because we’re waiting for the next calamity to hit us. And that can paralyze and alienate us.

As we finish off this year I find myself in sort of a weird place mentally and emotionally. I began seeing a counselor to help sort through the chaos that is my brain. David has been gracious through it all. He’s been supportive in words, prayer, and deeds through all my crazy. And therein lies the true meaning of a wonderful marriage. 

To have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death do us part. We recite these words at the very beginning of our marriage, yet do we really mean them? Do we truly know what we are saying? When the first big disagreement or disappointment happens do we stand by our vows? Do we love and cherish all that is our spouse?

Back to not expecting too much so as not to be disappointed. Dear friends, how about in this coming year we throw ourselves with abandon into our marriages and our lives? At the end of our days will our biggest regret be that we lived life to our fullest? I think not! I believe as 2020 is on the horizon it’s time to take back our lives. Expect the unexpected and so what if we’re disappointed from time to time? That’s what happens when you fully live. Oh, what a life there is to be had! We can sit on the sidelines waiting for tragedy to strike or we can take the proverbial bull by the horns and live and love like there’s no tomorrow. Because truly we are not promised tomorrow. 

Let that sink in.

In the light of that truth does it matter if your spouse didn’t do something just the way you would have? I mean, are any of us perfect? I’m fairly certain we know the answer to that question. Besides, who said your way was the right or better way? Gasp! Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but just maybe our husband or wife has a different way of seeing and doing things. More than that they don’t WANT to do things just like we would. Think on that for a minute. That’s the beauty of marriage! God has a way of stretching and perfecting us through our better half. We are all unique. It’s through our differences that we are made whole. Not one person can be everything to everyone. Instead of focusing on our differences this coming year let’s celebrate them!

So as 2020 rolls around, let go of past hurts, failures, and disappointments. Hold onto all the good things that happened. Embrace the possibilities of the future. Live and love to the fullest. Allow God to work in yourself and your marriage like never before. Offer mercy freely to your spouse. Because, my friend, one day you will be in need of that same mercy. I leave you with this blessing: “The LORD bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you]; The LORD make His face shine upon you [with favor], And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness]; The LORD lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval], And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].” Numbers‬ ‭6:24-26‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Happy New Year!