I mean that with the utmost respect, I just can’t seem to come up what my heart is screaming to say….and SWEET fit the bill….flippin sweet works even better….
Let me begin with the irony part first…I shared last month my struggle with tithing. I know it’s required, but every time we do, something bad happens, usually a FEW things. And last month, I felt God calling me to TRUST Him.
And I did. I gave my tithe willingly, with a giving, cheerful, TRUSTING heart.
And Brooklyn fell and had to go to the hospital to have her head glued up.
And Mike got REALLY sick.
๐
But it changed NOTHING. I still gave that tithe, and I still trusted and everything was just fine.
This month, I took the same tithe and with a giving, trusting heart, I gave my tithe AGAIN.
And Mike got very sick AGAIN, this time with STREP and had to miss 2 days of work. NICE.
AND, they are sending him to an ENT to schedule him to have his tonsils out. EVEN BETTER! Nice little hospital stay, hard recovery for an adult, but HEY, it’s just his TONSILS! It’s FIXABLE! Thank you, Lord, it’s just his TONSILS!
We are blessed. In the grand scheme of everything, we are BLESSED, and I will gladly give back. I am not deterred and I will not WAIVER. I trust God. I TRUST Him!
Speaking of……
Our family has decided to participate in Heidi’s 12 days of Giving and it’s been an unbelievable experience. It meant our family received LESS in order to give MORE, and some days were difficult for the kids to understand that, but most days they were in it with their whole hearts!
One of our days of giving was helping a family for Christmas. I wasn’t able to help as much as I wanted to, but I was able to help and I was HAPPY to do it! However, there was another family that I was unable to help and I was so upset not being able to do anything.
I have a sweet friend (yes, one of my idiot friends ๐ ) who was helping a family for Christmas. A single mom on the list for a new heart and lungs with 4 children. Because of her condition, she was unable to work and her kids would have nothing for Christmas, so Hannah enabled the help of several people and their Christmas will be WONDERFUL! However, I was unable to do anything and I was so sad. ๐ฆ
She called me Monday to say the kids had WONDERFUL things, however, the mom had nothing. ๐ฆ So she called the mom Sunday to find out what she would like….guess what she wanted? Never gonna guess….
A FAMILY PORTRAIT!!
I couldn’t believe it!! THAT I can do! I can do that for her! I would be HONORED to do this for her! I could not imagine the pain she is going through…a family portrait so her kids will remember her…I am excited to do this for this family, and I thank GOD for the opportunity to do it! I only hope that my photography skills will not fail me that day. I want to do them justice!
Oh yes….it just keeps getting sweeter….
Then TODAY, I went to Old Navy to see what I could find for my handsome honey, and I wandered to the back of the store where the boys department is and I knew I was supposed to help another family. Their youngest child’s handsome face flashed in my mind, and I knew I was supposed to help them.
I do not like credit cards, honestly. They scare me, and especially for ME, I fear something happening and not being able to pay them off, so I try very hard never to charge anything. And I JUST paid my Old Navy credit card OFF…but here I was charging clothes for this family…and when I couldn’t find anything for the 2 oldest girls….I headed to Fashion Bug….with my only OTHER credit card….yes, that I just paid off as well….
I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I have a job, so it will get paid off eventually, I have no doubt. I will not worry, I will not stress. I will TRUST! And I will thank God Almighty for giving me the ability to GIVE when in my head it doesn’t seem possible!
Last one….and I promise I’ll stop….
My kids do not have money. They very seldom ever have money of their own to do anything with. I just don’t ever have that extra money to GIVE them for allowance, so they just don’t have it. So when we went to the Youth Christmas party and there was MONEY and gift cards given for the gift exchange, I KNEW those were the ones that my boys were going to go for! And boy did they fight to get that money! LOL They “stole” it in the game and challenged and won and lost many times, and in the end, Chandler lost and went home with another gift (slinky and bubbles and something else) but Austin was ELATED to go home with a $10 Walmart gift card! He was on CLOUD 9 over FINALLY getting it AND being able to take it home! And I heard so many wishes and ideas on what he could buy with his $10….I was so happy for him to be have it.
Then today, when I went to Fashion Bug to pick up gift cards for the older girls in the family, Austin asked me if he could run to Walmart to spend his gift card. So off he goes…
He comes back and informs me he wanted to buy something for the youngest (and only boy) in the family. He proudly opens the bag and pulls out a toy he bought for him.
I simply cried. My son who was so happy to have money to spend…gladly gave to someone else so they could have a Merry Christmas.
I couldn’t be prouder.
God is FLIPPIN SWEET!
My son, who doesn’t like to smile for the camera, but has a heart of gold…