Things are looking up

Although it's been a rough start to the year I've had quite a few unexpected blessings this week that have my attitude brightening up :: now if only I could muster whatever it takes to brighten up the weather and the temperatures around here!

Here are my surprise blessings and day brighteners this week ::

We got a call on Monday night, shortly after finding out our computer was not repairable . . . and almost immediately following Kirb having prayed about our computer situation {financially -- how we would afford it, deciding what to buy and where and all those related, time-consuming decisions and just laying it all before the Lord}. The call was an offer for a long-term loan of a laptop that our blessing-giver was not currently using and was willing to loan us for a few months. I don't know that we've ever had that tangible and immediate answer to prayer before. That's so like God to remind us like that that He is in control and is concerned with the details of our lives . . . not that I expect, in any way, to get immediate, miraculous answers to all my prayers or expect God to just "hand me" everything I need, want or ask for, but this answer was such a affirmation for us during a time when we were feeling overwhelmed with one bad thing after another in our lives :: God is there and He cares about what concerns us. {Cast all your cares on him, for he cares for you. I Peter 5.7}

Jacob is working on the crew for the "morning news" at his school during January. The new airs on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:35 in each classroom. They rotate jobs, but he'll get to be one of 2 anchors a couple of those days {his TV debut}. Anyhow, on news mornings Jacob has to be to school eary. On Tuesdays he carpools with a buddy, but that buddy has to be at school even earlier, for another group that he's part of on Thursdays, so it doesn't work for them to pick him up on Thursdays. I don't have to tell most {if any} of you that it's been chilly, really chilly, here this week. I was not excited about bundling up the whole sleepy crew and packing them in the van to buzz Jake to school, so I decided I'd just leave Rebekah in charge of the other 3 for the 6-minute round trip to school and save them from the freezing cold van . . . but that still meant that I would have to actually get dressed and bundle up myself. Plus, it snowed on Wednesday night, so I'd need to do a little shoveling too. About 2 minutes {literally} before I was going to leave to bring Jacob to school, the mom of Jacob's friend, who he rides with on Tuesdays, calls and says :: "Hey Shana, this is Leah. I had planned to go in earlier to work this morning but I'm just now putting on my shoes and I thought if you wanted me to I'd swing by and pick up Jacob and drive him to school on my way." What a saint! She wasn't even dropping off her little man that morning, but she thought of me. She could have just gone to work without the extra detour, but she didn't. I was blown away by her thoughtfulness and took her up on her offer with much gratitude. What a blessing!

We are very near to a decision about a "new" car for our family. When something's parked in the garage I'll let you know. We're not there yet, but we feel at peace and are confident that we will have a replacement car pretty soon. Praise God! And it is only in the works because of a few other people who are helping to bless, encourage and help us.

My doorbell rang this afternoon and I went to get it and it was another of my wonderful, blessing-giving friends. She clucked a little at me . . . which I had never before received in greeting . . . and handed me 2 family-sized packs of chicken and turned around and headed back to her vehicle parked in my driveway. So random. So typical of this extra-fun, off-the-wall friend! When I talked to her later she said that chicken was on sale when she was at the store. She knew we'd had a rough week and she thought she's bless us with a little chicken. She knew it didn't solve any of our problems, but she hoped it would make us a yummy meal. Isn't that so thoughtful?

Kirb and I went to Costco tonight {kidless, thanks to a blessing from my mom}. I was bummed because I really needed to go {we were nearly foodless in our house :: not a drop of milk to be had, no peanut butter, etc.} but I hadn't yet gotten my Costco coupons for January. It's always better to go with coupons! But I needed to go and there was an oopportunity to go as a "date" with Kirb which made it even better, so we went. Well, wouldn't you know it :: I grabbed the closest cart from the cart lineup and low and behold, there was someone else's coupon book for January sitting right there in the cart. What a blessing! There was only 1 coupon for something we were buying anyway, so it wasn't the best coupon month ever, but it did save us $2. I'll take that!

To be surrounded by such thoughtful, generous, Spirit-led people is a blessing in our lives! More than I can hope to say with words! I hope and pray that you have wonderful people in your lives too, who are a blessing to you. Why not try and be a blessing in someone's life today. You may never know the impact your actions may have in their life, but do it anyway. I hope and pray that I am a blessing to those peole that I intesect with in life . . . even the little things can matter in big ways! To borrow a well-known phrase from Nike :: Just do it.

Now I'd better get some sleep, 4 of our 5 kids have dental appointments tomorrow afternoon . . . that might not make my list of blessings for the week. I'm not looking forward to it! But after tomorrow it will be behind us for another 6 months {hopefully . . . unless there are cavities involved . . . which there often are, unfortunately!}