MOTTTS

so ashley asked me to go to MOTTTS (mothers of tot's to teens) with her a while ago, and i really wanted to but i was nervous to actually go because i didn't know what to expect. well, now that she's my neighbor,(yeah!) she suggested i ride with her. so i went today...and i loved it. i felt so at home and it was my first time. i enjoyed listening to everyone share different ways that God had shown Himself to them the last week or so. it was so encouraging. it just made me think of all the times i've seen Him in my life these last few weeks, and there have been LOTS of times! one girl said that she thinks it's even more special to her when God provides the littlest things you need as opposed to the big miracles because it just proves that He cares about everything in our lives. i totally agree.

anyway...they're going through a book called Creative Corrections, and this week they talked about spanking. we read 3 verses and i loved every one of them because disciplining Elijah has been my main concern lately. he's just so strong-willed and it seems hard to find the right thing to do to get him to understand that when i say "no", i mean NO! anyway...the verse that really spoke to me today was Proverbs 13:24...

"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."

i mean, wow! it just made me realize that no matter how hard it is to find something that works with Elijah, if i love him, i'll keep at it until i find the right thing for him...which actually happens to be spanking. i started spanking him this week (just like one time right below his diaper) when he does something wrong after i tell him no, and he starts crying and then stays away from that thing. it has really worked well. i never really thought that discipline meant that i loved him, but it's so true. i want him to have the best life and to be well-liked by others, and how can he if i never discipline him? he would be a crazy kid doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. not only that, but i would hate my life, too! it would be so hard to be in the same house as him! so it's just cool that even the simplest thing like disciplining your child is in the Bible. God really thought of it all, huh? :)

anyway...just thought i'd share that my week DID get better this week! i do feel like God is in control, and it's a lot easier just to leave things in His hands instead of trying to come up with every solution for every problem myself! i'm just gonna see where He takes me, and everything will be okay! thanks for all your encouragement everyone! it is nice to know that people do care and that i'm not alone in this. it's especially cool to know other people have/or are going through this whole deployment thing, too. i can see that there is an end to it and that the sun does come up again! :) i'm really excited for the post i do next year when a.j. is back and i write about all the cool things i got out of this year!! that will be awesome!!

have a great weekend!

furnace

well, our furnace went out last night. it was just the pilot light, so bruce and sue berkey stopped by and fixed it for me, but then it went out again an hour after they left, so i called lechlitner's in wakarusa and they came and fixed it. the guy who fixed it said that i might have to get it replaced because there may be a crack in it, and i asked him how much it would be and he said about 4500 dollars! i couldn't believe it. that's so expensive!!

anyway...i was thinking about it when i got home and just started crying...and i don't think it was really about the furnace as much as the fact that a.j. won't be here this year and if things like that happen, i'm going to have to decide what to do myself...and it just hit me that he's really gone. i mean, i get to see him this weekend but that's it. i am so happy to know he'll come back at the end of the year, but it's a little overwhelming sometimes thinking of running the house and taking care of elijah this whole year without him.

i was talking to emily when i started crying about it and i was telling her that i just can't believe a.j. is really leaving and that pretty soon he will be in kuwait and there's no guarantee how much i'll really get to talk to him then, and that's how i feel connected to him, and she just said God knows exactly what i need to get through this year and He will provide that. i'm just so glad she said that because it's so true. i can worry about whether i'll get to talk to a.j. every day or whether i'll need to get a new furnace or whether i'll be able to go back to school this next semester, but there's no point because God knows exactly what i need and He will provide it. isn't that so encouraging to know?!

anyway...i hear elijah playing when he's supposed to be taking a nap, so i better go check on him. i hope you all have a great week!