incredibly blessed

So not long after I wrote my last blog, did I come into a very difficult week. It was like the Word was given so that it could be tested and approved in my own life.

But you know what I found out this week? I am incredibly blessed! And I had no idea! Really. I knew I was blessed, but I did not know I was incredibly blessed, supernaturally blessed, divinely blessed. Meaning, God had so wanted to bless my socks off that He sovereignly orchestrated this week so that i would know without a doubt that I am highly favored!

So here's a brief synopsis of what my week entailed. I recently came home from celebrating our anniversary from Colorado at about 2 am on Friday morning. i came home to a very messy house...and with the amount of luggage we had, I didn't even know where to begin. And because I have two children who are 2 and under, the early birds were up around 6:30 am. Later that evening Brandon and I were facilitating 24 Hour prayer and Worship, which means I usually pull an all-nighter with the children sleeping in the prayer room with us. Though Brandon and I were able to arrange split night shifts, I still was a little overwhelmed with the fact I didn't know how I was going to contend with the rest of my week on that amount of sleep (especially since I've been extra tired with the pregnancy). Sunday we had small group out in Lima, while Monday I host and lead a small women's group at our place. Wednesday was going to be a long day at the salon and I would have to arrange to leave early because we are having our first core-team meeting with the leadership of Rochester Burn. And Friday Bound4LIFE has a dinner banquet to attend that Rescue Rochester puts on every year, in which we had already covered the expense for our whole team to go. Not to mention I had no one yet to watch the girls. I was burnt and I didn't know what to do about it. So I did something I NEVER do.

I asked for help.

It was quite humbling to say the least. That super woman needed help. I mean I have a reputation to uphold. I can do it all. Just God and me, right?

Nope. It wasn't God and me this time. God was saying its time you learn to ask for help and see people want to give to you if you let them. (It tears me up just writing it.)

So I sent out an email to the group of girls I meet with on Monday nights. All of them are wives, mothers and are very busy. Even as I was sending out the email my thoughts were, "well I'll be obedient and ask, but I doubt anyone will have the time." I left it very open ended for any of them to help in anyway. You know what happened after that? I got help alright. I got WAY more than that.

Two women came over my home while I was at 24 hour and cleaned and organized the downstairs of my home. I came home to a beautiful spotless house! Another women took charge and said not to worry about Monday and they would facilitate it. Another woman offered to care for the children while we go to the Friday dinner. It was quite shocking how much everyone was willing to do. And to even a greater surprise I receive this amazing gift on Monday night - a huge wicker basket full of all my favorite teas, two enormous chocolate bars, a jumbo pack of hot chocolate and a whopping $75 gift certificate to Wegmans! i seriously had a melt down by how incredibly blessed I was.

And I just want to say THANK YOU! Thank you girls for taking time out of your busy lives and showing me how much I am loved. Grace came in my week through your act of kindness. It was truly a benchmark for me to see how much God loves me.....and for this, I am eternally grateful.

Post dedicated to: Amanda R., Angelica A., Cassie C., Erin B., Kathy B. & Lara C.

sometimes you just have to

be thankful!

Today on the way home from small group the Lord reminded me of a story. It was a story of when I was thankful for very little. I was in college, a small Bible school, and because we had several internationals who came to this school there many times that those students had no where to go during holiday breaks. So the school always tried real hard to make things a little easier for them by finding a family for them to stay with or doing something on campus during the school break. Well, it just so happened to be near Thanksgiving break and the cafeteria decided to do a Thanksgiving dinner right before everyone went off. Honestly, I think about the meal now...and its nothing I would have cooked. It was cut turkey and/or beef (which wasn't organic), mashed potatoes that could have very well came from a box or were at least bought pre-made, and some cooked cut carrots...you know the ones...the ones with the ridges already perfectly cut into them. Yeah, certainly nothing fresh. But as I sat with my plate in front of me, starring at the abundance of food I had been given to eat, my heart grew glad. It was so glad that I began to cry. Yes, right there. And as my friends who were sitting with me wondered what was wrong, it dawned on me that I had everything in the world I needed. I was so thankful! And as God began to over-flow my heart with this gratitude, I couldn't contain it. I looked at everyone with tears in my eyes and started to express how thankful I was for this meal. I mean, some thought I was nuts, while others caught the same spirit. Yeah, man....we are rich, aren't we?

I think about the meal now and I'm like, wow...what was I thinking? But that just shows you I needed to be reminded of this story. We complain about so much and so often that sometimes its hard to even recognize we're doing it. But sometimes you just have to purpose yourself to be thankful. I think we sometimes want to see the abundance and blessing come first, and then we're thankful. But I think we're thankful first, and then we recognize the abundance. Just like Jesus when He thanked God for the fish and bread before feeding the thousands.

i can't embed this video but its only 2 and 1/2 minutes. You should watch it. It challenged me because I needed reminding of what I've been given: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH_eqDwTDRY

Or look at this one man who is changing the face of what it means to be thankful!

A little reminder to us all....that we have everything we need!