Yay! I'm so excited for the holidays!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am SO excited for Thanksgiving & Christmas!

I love seeing all the sights and smells, and as of today, have had something new baking at home every week! It's SO exciting!

Robert & I also decided to participate in Northshore's Thanksgiving meal program this year. Basically, we walked into the church last week for our pre-marital counseling, and saw a man standing in front of a big stack of round laundry baskets. I asked him what it was, and it turns out that it's pretty much a ministry of giving. Each year, they ask the church to take a basket (or two, which we did), and fill it with non-perishable items to give to families in need who otherwise wouldn't have a Thanksgiving meal. Then, you also include a $20 gift card for a Turkey. :) It's SO incredible! I wish FBC had started something like this. I could do it, but I'm already busy 6 days a week in ministry; I think it's someone else's turn. However, Robert & I are going to be emailing our entire families asking for help to fill the baskets. If you want to help, just let me know. Even a dollar is a help! :)

Anyway, the season of giving which excites me so very much is upon us, and I couldn't be happier.

Happy Monday!

Praise the Lord for life's little setbacks

Well, this morning, I woke up and spent some time in prayer. I just was waiting on the Lord for the "go-ahead" to start the day.

I spent a little less time getting ready to go, because I opted to take my shower tonight instead of this morning. It was a nice break. (Especially since my hair is halfway down my back now, and takes forever to blow-dry & flat-iron!)

So, I got all my stuff together and went outside. I put everything in the car, all ready for work. Key in the ignition, turn, and....nothing.

That's right; the engine wouldn't turn over.

I was slightly frazzled, but let the car sit for a minute. I tried again and again for 15 minutes before finally getting it started. (Of course, I was late getting to the house where I nanny at 3 mornings a week).

I've never had a problem internally with my car. Ever. I bought it brand new with 6 miles on it, and it's been wonderful. I keep it well-maintained, and I have the tires balanced & rotated every 6,000 miles. I get regular oil changes. So naturally, I was really worried.

Finally, I got the car started. I called the mom I nanny for, and explained what was going on. I'm sure she could hear the fear in my voice. Let me just say that for me to be late getting there is an extreme rarity. It just doesn't happen.

I was praying all the way to their house that the car would be okay. Last night when I took it for an oil change, the kid behind the counter said, "The battery reads black, by the way. It should be green." When I asked what it meant, he had no idea. Grr! But I thought it rather strange that, up until now, I had no problems, and all of a sudden when I take it to get the oil changed, the next morning, there's a problem.

But, I called my step-dad, who told me he was surprised the battery has lasted this long. It's nearly 4 years old. He suggested I call Les Schwab and see about getting a new one, which I did, and am going there after work to have the current battery tested.

I'm just praising the Lord for this, because it COULD have happened in freezing weather, with no hope of anything good coming from it.

So, Praise Him when things go good; Praise Him when things go bad! Thank you, Lord, for keeping me from harm's way! Thank you for keeping the car running today! Thank you for my safety, and that I can pay for this small repair in cash, on my own!

Thank you, Lord, for the screw in my tire! :)

Yes, I know what you're thinking: Is that sarcasm?

No, it's not.

It's the truth.

Praise Him when things go well, and praise Him when they don't.

Heading out to my car for my lunch break this afternoon, I noticed a screw in my rear driver's side tire. Yikes! It looked a little low, too. So, I drove very slowly to Les Schwab on Everett Ave. (about 2 mins. from my office), and ran into my friend, Garrett. He used to be at the Marysville Les Schwab, but he moved, I guess.

Since no one was ahead of me, he came right up, asked what was wrong, and how he could help. I told him, and asked if it would be too much trouble to balance and rotate as well. He said, "Not one bit. We'll get it done right away." I also asked for new wiper blades, and he had no problem installing those, either.

After it was all over, he came in to give me a verbal breakdown of what was up. Fixed the almost-flat tire with a patch, balanced and rotated all 4 tires, checked the brakes and shocks. Well, the front brakes are fine, but the rear ones are sealed, so that will be another day, another appointment.

Anyway, it looks like my shocks are leaking in the back. So I'll need new ones. Garrett called me, and it's not too expensive.

So, the blessings are incredibly abundant here. If I hadn't been observant and checked my tires for marks from the parking nazis, I wouldn't have seen the screw. Blessing #1. If I hadn't taken it to the tire store that I did, I'd have not seen Garrett. Blessing #2. If I didn't have the screw in the tire, I might never have known about the shocks. Blessing #3. It all happened before Autumn & Winter weather set in. Blessing #4.

I just keep counting, and the Lord keeps blessing. So...

...thank you, Lord, for the screw in my tire. :)