Blessed & beyond

Well, this past week has been a flurry of God's goodness all over us. Last Thursday (11/20), Mario's sister, Monica, came to stay with us for a week. At the beginning of October, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer & had her thyroid removed about 3 1/2 weeks ago. On Thursday she went to the hospital to take her follow-up dose of Iodine-131 which would pinpoint & kill the leftover cancerous thyroid cells. As a result, she couldn't be in contact with anyone for a prolonged period of time - especially her 4-year-old son.

From time to time I've wondered why we haven't been blessed with our own child. However, this weekend I realized that if we had children right now, our home wouldn't have been available to help Monica relax, heal & be comfortable during her recovery. I was so happy to be able to give her a nice, cozy place where she could recuperate! She left this morning to go back to work & will go home tonight.

So, on Friday (11/21) Mario came to work at the church with me. Just a fun little weird thing to do, you know? We got a call from Monica telling us DTE Energy had just been by & turned off our electricity. WHAT??!! No, it wasn't a mistake. The past 4 months or so, I've been overwhelmed with the idea of running from one job to the next (although I'm soooo grateful to have these jobs), one of which consists primarily of managing church finances & paying bills! The last thing I wanted to do was go home & do more of it! Pitiful, I know.

In my mind, I really thought "I just paid that bill" and "that new bill just came". Because 3 weeks seems the same as 1 in this overcrowded brain of mine. To my credit, the envelope for the DTE bill did not say "urgent" or anything on the outside - I never even opened it! So, the praise report in all of this is that we had the full amount to pay the bill & even have some left over. They said they couldn't turn it back on until Monday but when we shared about Monica's situation and that she was staying with us, the rep on the phone pulled some strings & when we pulled up to the house 1 hour and 1/2 later, the truck was there & the tech was turning the power back on!!

Friday & Saturday passed fairly uneventfully, Mario DJ'd a party in Allen Park on Saturday & we were able to set up in record time even though we felt rushed because he had to work prior to the gig. On Sunday, we visited our old stomping grounds at Living Word Fellowship Church in New Haven - the church which "sent us out" to this one (JCC). We were able to minister in praise & worship with Mom & Dad, Bill on guitar, Wyatt on bass, Bruce on drums & Al on percussion. Mario played trumpet & sang, I played keyboard & sang. It was a sweet service and we were so refreshed after it. Plus, Dad bought us lunch, so we didn't do too badly!!

On Mondays, I usually work at the church then teach 5 lessons from home. Because Monica was there, I moved my lessons to another home. While there the parents of the students decided to bless Mario & I with a "Thanksgiving" food basket - which had items like toilet paper, laundry detergent & dish soap in it! Anyone who has grocery shopped before knows those things cost money & just bug you when you have to buy those & not something tasty!! I almost cried but I held it together & was very thankful. The basket also contained the ingredients for the sweet potato casserole I'm supposed to make for Thanksgiving - how great is our GOD?!

So, this week is spent in much thankfulness for us - for Monica's healing, for a home where people can come & be healed, for good friends & family, for freedom to worship in a good church, and more. I look forward to much more!