Calling for prayer

I haven't posted in a long time, but now have a sense of urgency.
God has been teaching me lessons of surrender, of giving up what I think I need and trusting Him instead.
Satan has recognized this and I am under spiritual attack.
It is very strange how he and his minions know my weak points and every attack is tailored to beat me down. Satan has used even car repairs as a means to defeat me. (Not to mention family conflicts).
A little while ago I was writing a note to a friend, describing this attack and asking for her support in prayer. While I was writing I felt a blow to my head as if a blast of air had struck me and a wave of dizziness swept over me. This is very unusual and I'm not convinced it was entirely physical.
But on some level, (I hesitate to even say this), once the enemy is recognized, the battle can be exhilarating. GOD WILL PREVAIL. It is not really my battle, I just need to surrender to the One who already won this battle.

Colossians 2:15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Pray for me today, that I may constantly return to the source of my victory. Pray for our family, that we may enjoy one another. Pray for our business which has a higher purpose than to just be profitable. Pray for our church body, there is much suffering and sadness among our little congregation.
Thank you for your prayers, I will receive strength because of your support.

We have only done our duty (it sounds like a joke but it's not)

In my weak and human moments I sometimes complain. (Yes, I really do). One wonders how anyone could possibly ask you to do one more thing, yet God just taught me something about self sacrifice.
I know that one shouldn't just randomly open one's Bible and expect to land on exactly the right teaching for the moment (usually if I try this I land on a genealogy). However yesterday this is what I read:

Luke 17:7-10 (New International Version)
7"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"

I totally get this, since our time on this earth is temporary, everything we do should be focused on eternity, and our duty here on earth is to sacrifice our time in order to serve our Lord.

So... Alan and I are in a time of transition. Our role in church is increasing, we will be more involved in training and mentoring leaders. We don't know what the future holds but yesterday we took a step of faith and signed a contract with a business broker to start the proceedings to sell the business. Admittedly, in light of the economy, this doesn't seem like the appropriate time, but we trust that God will show us the way.

There are so many uncertainties. We will still need income, Nic will need a career (currently he works for us, but he knows it would be difficult to work for someone else), also, we support several different ministries and don't want to cut those in any way.

(This is private news by the way, I feel that it's OK to write it here because only family reads my blog)

On to lighter news, the bathroom is almost finished and I love our walk in shower.

This picture is of the sink area. On Saturday, Alan showed the bathroom to his Mom. On Sunday she called an offered me a mirror. Evidently she thought that what is hanging on the wall behind the sink is a picture.

I bought this mirror at Pier1 with my free AC Delco money. Every time we sell an AC Delco part a percentage goes on a credit card which can only be spent in certain locations. Pier1 and Bath and Body works are two of my favorite places to spend free money. There are some perks that will certainly be missed if the business sells.

The cat... (Aka, Sweet Pea -because I found her in my garden, or Queen Latiffa -because she's big, black and beautiful, or Inspector Clouseau -Alan's name for her since she inspects everything)...enjoys the bathroom as well.

Soupy Saturday

On Friday Samantha, my efficient Girl Friday, mopped the office floor three times, I was teasing her about being OCD but we both agreed that at least we can tell when the floor is clean with all it's nice shiny white tiles.

Well, it rained all Friday night and Saturday this is what we found...

I really missed Samantha this Saturday!

Quotations

I just discovered G.K. Chesterton, his quotations really resonate with me, I also found his biography fascinating.
Here are a few quotations that tickled my fancy:

There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.

Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.

I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean.

If there were no God, there would be no Atheists.

It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.

And my favorite:

Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.

What NOT to say

Never call a business saying: "Hi, this is Jan and I need to set up an appointment to come in and audit your business".
Really, if you have been contracted to audit a business you should at least identify the company you are working for, otherwise you will NOT be well received.
Recently I taught a Bible study to our Hispanic women's group. I was teaching about looking at our hearts honestly and recognizing our sin. I looked at the women and said: "as I look at you, you all appear to be very good people" (they all nodded their heads), "but", I continued, "we all hide bad attitudes in our hearts". In the interest of being open and honest I then used an illustration from my personal life.
Many years ago, we had a relationship with a man who was very opinionated and somewhat domineering. (Let's just say he rubbed me the wrong way). One Sunday when a group of several men where gathered he turned to me and said "why don't you and my wife go and prepare a meal for us?." I have since learned a little humility, but at the time I looked at him and said "I am no one's servant!" (do you detect the righteous indignation?). I eventually apologized to the man but it took me about 5 years to do so.
After sharing this tidbit of honesty with my ladies, one of them spoke up and said: "I would never feel that way, I count it an utmost honor to serve a meal to others"
So much for honesty, I think I'll ask her to teach next time!.

A series of unfortunate events

Sometimes you wonder why you even get out of bed in the morning.
Last week at Global Auto Inc. was like that...one disaster after another.
The first disaster was a nice deep scratch in the door of a Jaguar, we followed that up by knocking a ladder into the side of a Hyundai Tiburon and finished up by gouging the rim of a 2008 Lexus. $1200 dollars later all is over and done with.
It is what it is my friends, it is what it is.
As painful as it is to spend that kind of money on avoidable disasters, it seems like nothing when you compare it to my friend Mirna's sorrows.
Mirna is a widow with two young daughters. She works for a doctor and had taken a second job to help make ends meet. During the summer, while walking her dog, she tripped and broke her foot in several places. Her injury required surgery and while she had insurance she was still left owing $38,000. While she was home recuperating from the surgery she discovered that she had become a victim of identity fraud. Several months of frustration and several thousands of dollars owed to a lawyer later, she was cleared of responsibility. During this time she was not miserable rather she was rejoicing in trusting God to meet her needs.
Those two events are nothing compared to the news she received Dec 31st. Mirna's oldest daugher aged 14 wasn't feeling well and they performed some blood tests at which time they discovered that she has leukaemia.
Please pray for my friend Mirna and her daughter Tatiana. Mirna is barely holding on and she badly needs to feel God's comforting arms around her.

Blessed Saturday

It's Saturday morning the world is covered in a blanket of ice but inside our home all is well.
We are closing the shop next week so, even though I never work on Saturdays, today feels like the first day of vacation.
I sit here at the computer while my hair color is processing, thanks to Nice and Easy, with a happy tummy, thanks to Kim's southern biscuits and gravy. REALLY FANTASTIC! (I would add a link to the recipe but don't know how, if interested look at Kim's posting on November 3 and 4). I didn't make homemade sausage but the biscuits were light and tender and the gravy wonderfully savory. Thanks Kim.
Both my boys ate breakfast with us in spite of it being 10 AM on a Saturday morning. Nic, (now 20), makes us chuckle because he can no longer sleep in, he was awake by 7:30! Daniel (still a teenager) had to be dragged out of bed, but he cheered up nicely towards the end of the meal.
In spite of the ice storm, a grim report from my dentist and the poor economy, this past week has been full of blessings.
We were able to pay our bills, eat well and enjoy one another's company. On Thursday I worked very late so that payroll would be ready on Friday and so that I could go to the dentist. My good friend Josefina showed up late afternoon and brought me dinner! Truly this was a blessing from God. She didn't know how wonderful it was to come home late and just pop dinner in the microwave. Now the hymn "make me a blessing to someone today" keeps floating through my mind.
Now to wash the mountain of dishes...