Tried With Fire

 - I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2

Congratulations to Trisha, the providential winner of John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology ! Thanks to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for more giveaways, God willing.

I never expected to be posting this soon. Thanks for praying. Irene weakened substantially before it hit our area, but many folks are without power and at least 6 deaths were reported due to the storm. I don't know what the coastal damage is like due to flooding, so prayers are still needed for those suffering now. Amazingly our neighborhood didn't lose power, which I fully expected. There was a large maple limb in my front yard which the pastor already tackled with his chain saw. My neighbor watched it break during the storm. It fell against the power lines causing the pole to dip. The pole sprang back up and the limb fell back in the yard. God was very merciful to answer my prayers that my neighbors wouldn't suffer because of my trees Thanks again for praying. Praise God for His kindness and mercy.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, "Till now the Lord has helped us."  1 Samuel 7:12 2010 was a very full year.  At the end of '09, there was a certain amount of trepidation not knowing what the coming year would hold.  But there was no reason to fear.  In each circumstance, I had another opportunity to trust God rather than resort to the fear and anxiety that had been my default. To testify to His faithfulness, here are a few of my Ebenezer's for 2010: Our old house went on sale in January in a market with an 8-month glut of homes.  God gave us a contract towards the end of March.  This was without a doubt His kindness, because there are several homes in both our old and new neighborhoods that are still for sale.  We found our new home in less than a week,  moved in by the end of April, and are loving living here. My last court date was in July.  Even though ...

God has provided us with a house. It went on the market the very week we got our contract. It's a small brick rancher in great condition with a nice little yard. The house is only one year older than me, so it's not old at all. :-) The neighborhood seems very pleasant and quiet, and it's even closer to the church than where we are currently living. I am in awe of the timing of the events, because everything has unfolded in less than 2 weeks. A dear friend told me that she didn't expect our house to sell until our next home would be available. This house wasn't even on our list of potential homes. We looked at the house next door, which is also for sale, and noticed that this one was vacant. I liked it from the moment we walked through the door. Coincidentally or rather providentially, my realtor and the seller's agent go to the same church. The previous owner was a member of that same Baptist church. It's a small world. It's also nice knowing that we may...

The last 3 years of my life were not what I would have chosen for myself. 2007 was a year of intense grief, being unable to accept God's will, and wondering if I would ever be whole again. 2008 was turning the corner when the doctrines of grace found me and radically changed my life. This year was a year of legal battles and learning a new way to live. After 16 years of marriage, the divorce was finalized, but I discovered the unspeakable joy of the Lord after what seemed like an endless night of sorrow. God has given me my life back. There are so many people for whom I am thankful. I am thankful for my precious daughter, my parents, my sister and her family, my brothers and sisters at Grace Baptist Chapel who have blessed me beyond words, my friends Sue and Rosemary and their families for standing with us when the bottom fell out. I am also thankful to my brothers and sisters in the blogsphere who I may never meet in person but whose writings have been an encouragement on this ea...

Today's sunset over the James River.

I am thankful that the sun came out today. After several days of torrential rain and wind, it was a beautiful sight. I am thankful to God for His mercy during the storm. Many people had it so much worse. My neighbors only had a few bent shingles from the domino effect of the tree falling in our yard. They are relieved and so am I. We are also now on much better terms. The "tree guy" cut the small evergreen leaning against their roof in 30 seconds flat this morning. He will come back in three weeks to remove our cedar tree because he has so many emergency calls right now. I am thankful that my mom's biopsy from her lumpectomy came back showing no cancer. This means that whatever cancer was there was removed in the initial needle biopsy. It was a blessing to be with the saints today for worship, the Lord's Table, and the preaching of the Word. With the crazy weather, I hadn't seen anyone from church since last Sunday. I missed seeing my brothers and sisters. I am s...

The Nor'easter has been drenching the area for more than 24 hours. We are expected to get a break from the storm on Saturday. Bridges and tunnels have been closed due to flooding and winds. We now have a moat around the house and a pond outside the kitchen window. There was a lone squirrel crouched at the base of a willow oak. On either side of the tree, little pondlets were forming. He (or she) reminded me of Piglet getting stranded in his house. Last time I checked, the squirrel was gone, so he must have made it to higher ground. I had to run some errands today. Some of the roads are flooded. Thankfully, I was able to get home safely after negotiating some minor flooding. We are getting some water in the basement which is only to be expected with the saturated ground. But I am thankful for a large floor squeegee, a working sump pump, electricity, shelter, and warmth.

Thanks for your prayers. My mom came through her surgery fine. We saw her last night. Other than being a little tired, she was doing very well. The surgeon feels like it was a successful operation. My daughter is doing very well. This is one of the mildest colds she has ever had for which I am very thankful to the Lord. The trip up was uneventful except for a mild delay at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, which is to be expected. We had clear, sunny weather as we drove up via the Eastern shore of Virginia and Maryland. The farmland is very scenic with hardly any cars at all, infinitely to be preferred above I-95. Today, we are planning to sort through some remaining things at my old home. My dad found two tapes of my grandfathers (both are with the Lord) giving their testimonies of how they were saved. My mom also found a piano piece composed by my dad shortly after he met my mom for the first time. Who knows what other treasures we may find? Thanks again for your prayers. Go...

I am becoming more aware of how much thanks I owe to God and how little I give Him. My prayer has been to grow in thankfulness, not just in the big things but also in the little things as well. So here are some things for which I give thanks: 1. The city inspector signed off on the demolition today. The house has been repaired. We have a back yard again. All I need to do is water the grass seed. We broke ground for the addition in August 2006, so this has been a long ordeal. I don't think the relief has hit me yet. Maybe, the relief hasn't hit because of the abundance of grace that has carried me through this process. 2. The downstairs AC has been broken for the last two years. (I am very thankful for mild summers and window units.) It needs to be repaired before the house can go on the market. I got an estimate today from the same company that was 20-25% less than the quote in 2007. 3. This one will sound really weird, but we found two dead mice in the basement. I came downsta...