Live and Learn

This flood repair is certainly going to be a learning experience! We got our first initial payment from the insurance company. That is such a blessing, because now we can get started. I hope we are ready to get started. I spent a bit of time this morning researching how to treat the studs for mold when we take out the sheetrock. We are still trying to determine the best way to handle the reconstruction process. We have learned that we need a homeowners permit-thanx to my dad for clueing us in on that one. Steve is going today to the city to get the permit we need and ask a host of other questions! We also know that to protect the house from mold infestation, we have to pull the sheetrock and subfloors and let the room dry out. That means we are going to have open spaces for awhile. That scares me a bit. I like wildlife-outside, NOT inside! There isn't a whole lot we can do to prevent the house from flooding again, but we are trying to learn how to rebuild in such a way to prevent extensive damage in the future. Lots of details to chew on!

We are also learning how much everyone seems to live in their own worlds completely unaware of what is going on in other peoples' lives-we do that. My dad was telling me about what he went through when hurricane Hugo went through South Carolina-I had no idea. I have such a clearer picture of how it affects people when they endure these forces of nature. Next time someone experiences something like this, I will be able to empathize with them, and understand how to better minister to their needs. Everyone keeps asking, "What can we do to help? What do you need me to do?" I have had no idea what we need. I don't know how to answer. I know we need help. We need advice. We need people who have dealt with these problems to share what they know. We need people to show up and give moral support. We need people to call just to tell us they are thinking about us. We have needed to know we weren't alone and someone cared. Other than that God knows what we need, and we are trusting in His provision!

Progress

Yep, yep...coming along. Finally found some order around here. We finished cleaning up the kitchen, breakfast room, and bathroom yesterday. That is a relief. I feel like we can live here now! I am going to finish moving clothes out of our room today (all that is left in there except taking the bed down) so we can start demo in that room. I am pretty excited and nervous. We have been reading and researching and pricing-just trying to determine what to do! We have decided on a floor plan in there, taking out a wall, and moving the closet! We have decided to put in wood flooring. We both love wood floors. Now we just have to find it at a reasonable price! A blessing yesterday, we have been pretty solo on this project so I began praying for God to send us the right people and help. We were looking through This Old House magazines yesterday and discovered an issue on Katrina recovery. That helped alot. It gave advice on repair of sheetrock and mold prevention. We are going to try and put some of those ideas to work. We not only want to repair the house but protect it against further damage. We know we live in a flood plane and could be flooded again. The goal is to remodel in such a way that if we flood again, we won't have to remodel! ;)

Twins

My sister came home from Puerto Rico the first week of May and has been visiting these past few weeks. Her and Roque have been here to help with flood cleanup, and more importantly than that we have been able to be in church as a family...and I get to see my neices. I wondered if I would be able to tell them apart, but I can...yea! They are beautiful just like their mother. God is so good. This has been such a trying time in our life. We have felt very alone at times and at other times I have been surrounded by my brothers and sisters. Family has always been important to me...probably because growing up in a broken, abusive home, left very little room for relationships. I didn't grow up beside cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I met Steve's family which opened my eyes to the sweetness of having family. God has been so busy in our lives, bringing my brother here, and my other sister will be here soon! Woo hoo...it is never too late, and we get to spend at least this season together. Thank you Lord! PS...this is Prudence enjoying an ice-cream cone at Sunday lunch!

Where did I put that ladder?

"Picture in your mind a tall ladder leaning against a wall. Now think about your life as a process of climbing that ladder. Wouldn't it be a tragedy to get to the top of the ladder and find you placed it against the wrong wall? One life to life and you missed it!" -Henry Blackaby Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Lifeway Press 1990: pg. 46

Yep, that is it...we so often miss the point because we are reaching toward the wrong goal! I have wasted too much of my life already "doing" when I should have been sitting at the feet of Jesus and allowing Him to "do"!

"...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:13b-14

Always and Forever

While attempting to clean up, I picked up this picture I had bought back in the fall of 2007. I was wanting to redo my bedroom, so I had begun to pick out new things. So far I had three needlepoints, all with a rustic flare. I don't like flowers too much in my bedroom-wanted something romantic but not mushy. None of those pictures had been hung yet, because I was going to repaint my room after graduation (I am definitely repainting now!). All of those pictures got wet. Yesterday, one of them, a little needlepoint with "Always and Forever" stitched on it, turned up, and it was already mildewed. Shawna suggested I take it apart and see if I could clean it. I did just that, and it is good as new...the needlepoint anyway. I have to remake the rest of it, but that is ok. That little needlepoint will be a symbol of all that Steve and I have gone through in our 25 years together! "Always and Forever" is one of our songs. Oh yea, I also found, cleaning out Steve's truck the day after the flood, the anniversary card he bought for me this year. He didn't give it to me--until that moment I had not seen it. God's timing...it says volumes. It was wet, curled up, but of all the cards I have saved, this one will be one very close to my heart! I wrote a prayer on the back of it. Here is what the card text says:

Every step on our journey together

has been in adventure...

and without each of them, we wouldn't be here today

with so much to celebrate, so much to look forward to...

We've got such sweet memories between us--

crazy days to laugh about,

not so funny days we thought would never end,

joyous times we'll count as the best of our lives.

I hope you know this journey we're on

means more to me than anything in the world--

and nothing sounds better than spending the rest of my life with you.

Tradition

Years ago I began writing in select Bibles of mine to my kids. I wrote to each one of them in a different Bible, and at their high school graduation I gave them that Bible. Daniel got my first Bible-the one Steve bought me right after I was saved. That Ryrie was what I cut my teeth on. I remember when I first got it, my very first Bible, I would sit around and just study it! Robert got the one Bro. Nunley gave me in 1994. Bro. Nunley taught us so much about grace and introduced us to the Cambridge Bible-My Bible of choice today. Katherine got my Rainbow. It has been my school Bible for years. She just graduated so was the last one for me to pass one on to. I started this tradition in 1997 and just recorded special moments, when I wanted to say something to them throughout the years. Right before graduation I asked special people to sign it. Well...back in September when Aaron was born, I was at church with Robert and Gabrielle. I noticed he was using that very Bible (although he has many.) I was so blessed.On to Katherine...she had lots of family here for her graduation and most of them had an opportunity to sign it. We then passed that one to Bro. Roger, her current pastor, for him to sign it. Right after that the flood hit, and he still had that Bible. Saturday evening, Katherine and I were studying for our Sunday School lessons. She was going to be teaching the adult ladies' class at Barron Rd. for youth Sunday. I glanced up at her, and it hit me that she had the rainbow. I asked her when she got it back, and she told me Bro. Roger gave it to her on Wed. She was studying from that Bible, and it is the one she used to teach her first Sunday School lesson. Daniel has never mentioned it, so I really don't know what he did with his, but I know it meant an awful lot to us to be able to start a legacy with him. We told our children from the time they were little that someday they would be accountable to God's Word. Our words are just words, but God's Word is life. I know His Word does NOT return void, it accomplishes what God purposes it to! Sometimes I am so confused about everything...and at other moments I am so awed. To see my children treasure something so priceless to me blesses my heart in a very real way. In those Bibles are my notes, prayers, verses that have meant something to me, notes from people who have loved me and shared their lives with me...and they have a part of me and my Christian walk to hold on to. Prayerfully, it will be something God also uses in their lives.

Demolition

The demolition has begun...yesterday we teamed up and cleaned out the shed. That in itself was a chore. Lots of stuff to be sorted through and thrown out. We were able to save some of the kids's school work which is now laying all over the place drying out. The shed looks a lot larger empty! Then there is the deck...Steve, along with Katherine, my brother Rich, Shawna ( a dear friend), Roque and Alisha took to the deck with sledge hammers, saws, flat bars, and drills. They took down the first part and part of the upper level. It was an interesting thing watching that come down, and Steve and Rich plan out the new deck. We also just about got the kitchen back in order. We have been washing and bleaching everything-but..in the middle of cooking dinner, trying to clear places to sit down and eat, cleaning up from the shed/deck project...I walked into the living room and noticed the couch was wet...really wet. Confused, I looked around and discovered the ceiling was dripping wet and had been leaking on to the couch. It was buckled and about to come down. We pulled all stops and attacked that...turns out something is wrong with the a/c and it is leaking into the ceiling. We cleaned everything up, the ceiling did not collapse, but we have no a/c for the moment and it is hot! Right at that same moment, Doreen (sister-in-law) was heating up the oven to cook and it caught on fire! LOL. Turns out I had dropped a baby shoe inside the oven when I was drying those out, and it caught on fire. Steve, really busy dealing with the ceiling, stopped to put out the fire! All of that happened within a few minutes of each other. It would not have been funny in the least if we didn't have 10 people in the house at that moment, all of us with at least some sense of humor...so instead of tears, we laughed! My Sunday School lesson today finishes up Joseph. I love the last section in Genesis 50:20 where Joseph tells his brothers that "...God meant it unto good..." In all things, even this moment, knowing God has a plan that I may not know or be able to see is comfort and peace. There is much to do, still lots of cleanup and lots of packing to do, and of course the insurance company to deal with, but no matter...God is sovereign. He knows the plans He has for us! Demoloshing/clearing out the clutter will give us more opportunities for a clean start and new growth!

Sweet...

Borrowing from my daughter's vernacular...After a really hard week and a half...through lots of tears, confusion, chaos, and total inability to focus on anything, God comforted my heart. Yesterday, Steve and I were at the Saturn car lot. He had been researching Saturn Auras and thought we needed to look at that car so we were there to do that. I have had a really hard time reading my Bible-one my Bible is somewhere ??? So I have been grabbing a different Bible. Somehow reading a different Bible then my own doesn't feel quite right-then there is the focus problem which keeps me from being able to do anything but look at words. Yesterday, while waiting in Steve's truck for the salesman, I picked up his Military New Testament. In the back of it, there are references to verses for particular problems. I turned to the comfort verse. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Hearing God speak gave me such comfort. We looked at the Saturn. I was feeling so pressured and had no reasurrance this was the right vehicle. We left that lot and stopped at another one which had had a Sebring convertible I just had to look at. It was sold, so we drifted around the lot looking at other vehicles. The salesman came out; we took a look at a few; nothing struck me. While we were waiting on him for yet the third time to bring keys out, I spotted a red jeep. A jeep had caught my eye on a different lot too. This one had everything I wanted in a vehicle so we sent the salesman for the key, drove it, loved it, knew it was the right one, and bought it...SWEET. I know God led us in the right direction, calmed my fears about choosing the right one, and made it possible for us to buy this one. It was just the punch I needed to get going...not the car...but the reassurance that God is right here with us, the prayers of others are intervening for us when we can't pray for ourselves, and God has a plan even when we don't know what it is! Living in Christ is nothing less than SWEET!

Exhaustion

It has hit...pure exhaustion...the physical and emotional demands are so heavy right now, and I am just tired. I am not getting much done in the way of cleanup at all. Yesterday, Kat and I worked on sorting through paperwork in the shed. Some of it will be salvagable which we are thankful for! It was certainly a dirty job! Steve cleared all the debris from our driveway which helped tremendously. Kat worked diligently on laundry which desperately needs to be put away. We are making slow progress to say the least, which considering we are waiting on funds to come in to begin the big stuff...it isn't all bad. All I know is that with car shopping, working, trying to function in this chaos, and very little restful sleept...this is what exhaustion looks like!

Flooding 101

Flooding 101: Wow, how different it is experiencing a flood as oppossed to what I thought happens in a flood. It has been almost a week since our area experienced an incredible flash flood. Water came down in record amounts in a record amount of time. Before we even had time to consider the possibility of flooding, it was upon us! For about 6 hours we fought with the water pouring into our house and vehicles, attempting to protect anything we considered valuable. We scrambled to grab books, lowlying items, important paperwork, pictures, irreplacable mememtos. We unplugged electronics and got all the electrical items up above the water line, moved cars to higher ground, brought in the animals...a story all in itself. We tried to stop the water, but it was futile. The entire house flooded from every possible angle. Water came in through doors, under the floors and baseboards, in through the ceiling and walls; it even poured in through electrical outlets. There was no stopping it. Every room flooded simultaneously. Now to praise God: My sister was here with Alex, Chris and Taylor were here too which means there were 7 people in the house...God's number for perfect completion. With that number, and all of us thinking differently, much which would have been lost was saved. Everyone went in different directions accomplishing totally different tasks...things which never even entered my mind. Not only did that help with our own property, it allowed us to help many others. In the middle of our chaos, we realized vehicles were being stalled out front and people were stranded. My family scrambled outside to help get people out of cars and to stop more vehicles from stalling. Chris and Taylor went down the road and blocked traffic from coming through while we opened our home (not exactly a dry place at the moment) to families who were stalled. They too helped us salvage material. We formed a line to our attic and passed everything we could get up there to a dryer place. It was a long night and the days that have followed have been just as long, but praise God! All is safe...it is a mess...we took some losses, but much was also gained...somehow God knows just what is important and what is not. In the weeks that follow, when we clean up, throw out and began remodeling (whoo hoo) may God remind me how temporal everything is...and what really matters- His GRACE and His PRESENCE in the midst of every storm! Knowing He is here, even when I don't know where my Bible is...turns out they ended up in the attic. The only Bible I could find was one of Robert's from his childhood which was left up on a shelf in our office. (Really glad I put that there). He is here when the world is swirling around us and kneeling to pray is impossible. He is here when we have been up for two days and can't begin to find clothes, get showers and get to church. He is ALWAYS here. My heart hurts for those around me that are going through the same storm, but without His reassuring presence. We have already experienced a small measure of who God is in providing for us...we have been given coupons to eat out every day...we have had food. The insurance agents have already been here and been so gracious, so willing to help us. We will have our first round of insurance payments this week. Our needs are great, but God is greater! Thank you, Lord!

Quote of Interest

"Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write." John Adams 1765

What else is there to say following that??? Not enough individualism in our world, although there is a pretense towards it...too much, "Be an individual-dress, talk, eat, be entertained, etc...just like me." I read an essay by Spurgeon recently on eccentricity. His observation was that someone is labeled eccentric when they deviate from the circle with its center at what society deems "normal" at that moment in time. Normal changes, society doesn't stand still, life keeps moving. Lord, let me dare to read your Word, think like You, speak the Truth, and write as You would direct. Then I know I will be an individual, because You love me uniquely and deal with me as uniquely yours. Then I will also be eccentric, because following you puts me outside the center of the "normal circle." Walk in Faith, not by sight!