He's the God that keeps on giving...
This Christmas has been something else! We spent a FRACTION of what we normally would - actually I don't know that we really did spend anything at all. I do know that we have been in the check out lines and have paid for hundreds of dollars worth of items ranging from household to groceries to Christmas gifts but I think very little actually came out of our own bank account...
One of those times I was in Wal-Mart purchasing household items and a few groceries (and some hair bows for the girls for Christmas) and my bill was $300. I about passed out but remembered I had a few gift cards in my purse so I figured now was a really good time to use them. I had no idea how much we had total, but I had about 6 cards. When the cashier finished ringing them through and said "you're total is $2.98" I wanted to kiss her! I even paid cash! I think she was as excited as I was :) PTL!
On the way home, I was so overwhelmed with how much the Lord takes care of us and I said another one of my prayers (kinda like the one for the new car...). I was in tears because He'd blessed us so much already but I'd just used the last of our gift cards and obviously we are going to be needing things in the future but still have no income. In a quiet prayer I said, "Lord, thank you for all that you have been doing for us. I know you have us in the palm of your hand and that you are taking care of us, but I just spent the last of our gift cards. We either need Jamie to get a job or we need you to keep those gift cards coming."
4 days later on Sunday afternoon, one of the "Book Chicks" came by with an envelope. Her church had an angel tree and they'd collected gift cards for families in need. That envelope contained about 10 gift cards! We didn't get the job, but God is going to make sure our needs are met! (can you see us doing the happy dance???). We'd also received an anonymous BANK gift card for $500! The tears flow with gladness.
Friends, family and those we hardly know have been so gracious and giving to our family and we are so overcome with awe. We are so undeserving of their generosity but are so grateful for it! This Christmas our kids would not know that we are in the worst financial situation we've ever been in because all of THEIR wants/desires were fulfilled by some angel(s) here on earth. Every single one of the items on their wish lists came to fruition. Every single one. I am in complete awe. Things I'd wanted to get for them but didn't (or couldn't) wound up under our tree. I'd wanted to get Kasey a sewing machine and went online to Freecycle.com to see if I could find one...one was offered but it was a ways away so I didn't reply, and then I saw that it had been taken. Little did I know that one of my friends was the one who had taken it and she had so that I could give a sewing machine to Kasey! I'm in tears just thinking of how God moves. The girls wanted specific webkinz but I didn't have the money nor the time to go find them so I was hoping they would be happy without, but a family in our small group gave them to the girls on Christmas Eve...exactly what they'd asked for! Levi wanted an XBox 360 and has been saving for almost a year. It was on sale at WM on Black Friday and Jamie's family had sent us some WM gift cards so guess what...we were able to witness one of the best smiles I've seen on my son in a while :) My brother and his wife went overboard and thought of everything to make this Christmas great. Without them, it would have been a very different story. Our kids have been a part of this process and they know that their God is taking care of them in very real and tangible ways.
Last night we went to our small group leader's house for dinner...they're the ones who blessed the girls with the webkinz. Before leaving they gave us a card and a check collected from all our small group families. We are so blessed! I sound like a broken record!
I am still trying to figure out who has been our little elves for the 12 days of Christmas, dropping off gifts that we've needed before the holiday (flour & sugar for baking, paper products like toilet paper, tissues, paper towels... and the list goes on!). To top it off someone named "SANTA" came into our house while we were at dinner and left a bag of gifts for the kids under our tree! We locked all the doors...magic??? Or Small Group???
One final "WOW" moment was when Jamie went to deal with unemployment. Our payments had stopped unexpectedly and he was going to go down to find out why. The night before he asked the Lord to help him take care of it the next day. He'd gotten down there late because of crazy obstacles (like someone trying to commit suicide off one of our overpasses leading to down town - so traffic was diverted) - it was 3:30 when he finally got there. Trying to guage how long it would take, he asked a few people around how long they'd been there and they'd been sitting since 9 or 10 am! Getting the feeling that he would be there a while, he decided to go make copies of all his paperwork, but the copier was down. An employee asked if he needed help and he explained why he was there and she stopped what she was doing took him to her office, found his file, had him sign the needed paperwork, walked him to the fellow who handles his case - interrupting the meeting he was in! The fellow said he'd have it entered by midnight and we had the money in the bank in the next couple days! There is no way that Jamie should have avoided the line/waiting and found favor in that woman's eyes but God is faithful and can move mountains!
OOOOO...and one more! LOL...they keep coming...
One of the fellas at church knows a guy who is looking to hire someone. This fella that knows Jamie told the other guy about him, pulled him aside at Christmas Eve Service to mention Jamie to him and then we actually met him after service! Our church is pretty big so it is amazing that it played out the way it did. He is looking to hire someone for a sales position (right up Jamie's alley)! We don't want to get our hopes up - it's not the money, it's just the fact that he could have a JOB!!!! We know God will take care of us regardless...it is exciting though...
Merry Christmas....I need to sign off because my battery will die. May you all know how much our God cares for you!
This lodge is not your ordinary woodsy lodge,it is here in the Piedmont...not the mountains or the coast. I suppose we're neither here nor there. Hubby has dreams of living in a log cabin in the mountains, my dream is a beachfront home (like the one in the picture *wink*...hey a girl can dream!) For now we're right where the Lord wants us and there really is no better place to be than in His care. The rest is just geography.
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