PRAY AND PRAY HARD

Our weekend has been filled with the good, the bad and the ugly. I attended a funeral service this weekend to pay my respects to my step-mom who recently lost her father. The service was like no other that I had ever attended. It was uplifting and very personal at the same time. My step-brother and sister were grieving with the loss of the only grandfather they had ever met and for me this really hit home. My own grandfather is so special to me and I can't imagine what it will be like when he goes home to heaven to be with our Lord. And today was Women's Sunday at church and the emotional testimonies from the women of our church really got to me. The service made me think about my own testimony and legacy that I want to leave behind. Like these women, I am not perfect and I have my flaws. But with the help of Jesus, I persevere, and I am becoming a strong and more faithful woman to God. I am proud to say that I am a Christian, I am proud to hold my head up high when I walk out of church and I am proud to be married to a man who devotes the same amount of time and energy to our Lord that I do.

As many of you know, I lost my job back in July and I am still searching for a new one. By the grace of God, we have been able to maintain our personal finances and for this I am forever thankful. We have made a commitment to each other this year not to spend money on unnecessary items (material things that we really don't need). Pat and I are planning a mission trip with our Youth Group at church (no cost for chaperones, yay!). We have prayed very hard for God to open a door for us to share our own testimonies and our own struggles. I feel he is moving in our lives more now than he ever has, partly because we are letting him. We have given all of our faith and trust to him. I came across a women's retreat sign up today at church and I really want to go. Bad news is it's $50! I know this doesn't seem like much, but it is an unnecessary expense. I could wait and go on the next one, but I really feel like God is pulling on my heart to go. What's one to do, PRAY AND PRAY HARD!!!

So that is what I am going to do, I am going to PRAY AND PRAY HARD for God to bless me in some way financially so I can go on this trip, I hope that all of you will keep me in your prayers too!!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8