Happy New Year!

So, I have slacked a bit with the blogging. What can I say??? Each evening, I have come to the computer to blog, but my mind feels blank. Blogging takes work and thought and lately, by the end of the day... I have the ability for neither. Instead, I find myself clicking "x" out of my blog and instead, sitting with my husband and enjoying a movie. That has been super nice. I NEVER watch movies or TV (except Good Morning America as I'm getting ready in the am). We have been on a movie kick. I think it started after Christmas. We each got new movies and then Dane did too. Each evening we watched one and then after that, we decided each evening to go to Red Box and get a movie. I can now recommend Bridemaids (it was the 2nd seeing for me and I still found it just as funny), Super 8, and Warrior (such a GREAT movie!!!). We have put a stop to the movies though. LOL. You get NOTHING accomplished when you are perched in front of the TV. Now that I am signed up for my doula certification (YIPPEE!!!!) I have 5 rather thick books to read. Not that I am complaining... I love having a goal to reach towards and I am captivated by my material, I just have to make time for doing that.

We had a great Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at my in-laws and then traveled North to Tennessee to be with my dad's family that evening. Christmas morning, we celebrated with just me, Brent, and the boys and then my parents came over. It was a smaller group than we are used to, but we had a wonderful Christmas. It intimate and it will be a Christmas I never forget.

We have been busy since Christmas. I have to tell all of you about how BIG my God is. You all know about Brent losing his job. It was a complete shock (he had been with the company 10 years) and the news sort of took my breath away when he told me. After all, I was sitting in the ICU waiting room with my mother-in-law and 2 screaming boys. My FIL had been involved in a horrific accident just 2 days before. His truck was hit by a train. Life was in chaos and the future was unknown. There is no way to explain the peace that accompanied the news though. I wanted to be scared. I wanted to cry. I wanted to ask God, "WHY????" But none of that came. Instead, I felt complete peace and assurance of the road we were headed down. There have been days since then that I have felt fear or anxiousness, but I know it is the devil bring that doubt to me. It only lasts a little while and with prayer, the Lord gives me that peace back again. I have known since the moment Brent told me the news that the Lord would provide and take care of us. I'll be honest, I did not know how he would, but I knew he would. You probably all remember me telling you about how he provided 4 more houses for me to clean out of thin air and how He provided all of them just weeks before Brent got laid off. I did not (ONE TIME) look for another house or advertise that I needed more houses to clean (Back in the summer though I had tried to get more to clean and no one was looking to have their houses cleaned. BUMMER, or so I thought). People started messaging on FB and calling me. They had heard I cleaned and were hopeful I might want some more. What a blessing. I did not understand at the time why the Lord was providing all of these houses. I questioned if we could afford where we moved. I now know the Lord provided those so close to Brent losing his job to give us peace and assurance that He was going to take care of us and that we had no reason to be fearful. I may be about to get another one as well. Between my cleaning (only 2 days a week every other week and one day a week other than that) and Brent's unemployment checks (and cutting out a few expenses we did have) we can pay what we need to with nothing left over. Literally. That part is scary. We've always saved and now we will no longer be able to. We literally live paycheck to paycheck. Thank the Lord, we still have a savings albeit small, it's there. We are not wanting to touch that at all and have that for an emergency because with our new budget, there is no room for an emergency. Not even a $20 one. LOL.

Sorry, I got off track a little bit. Ok, with Christmas things were tight (even though I had finished all my Christmas shopping except for a few things). We had lots of driving to do and gas is not cheap. We had food to fix and food isn't cheap. A few people I clean for told me they didn't need me until after the new year due to kid's home for the holidays or travels. It did scare me, but we just prayed and trusted the Lord to provide. It all started when I was cleaning for one of my clients. We had had the propane tank filled up the day before and we were short some money (quite a bit of money). I knew I needed to stop by the gas company on my way home from cleaning and pay and I was just praying that the Lord would provide the money we needed. I get to the house and they hand me a Christmas card. It has cash in it. The cash was the EXACT amount we needed to pay for the propane. Seriously! I stalled out on the tears because that would have been embarrassing, but later on when I was scrubbing the shower, I bawled. THANK YOU, LORD!!! He continued to provide though. We were in Cartersville on the 23rd. I have been trying to sell my massage table and supplies for quite awhile for quite a bit of money. I have not heard one thing since posting it. I get a message from someone wanting to buy it for a Christmas present. We make plans to meet on Christmas Eve on our way back into town before heading to TN. When we stop by the house to pick up the massage table, there is something taped to our door. It has our name on it and when we open it up, it is a check from our church with a note attached. They said they knew Brent was jobless and they wanted to be a blessing to us during the Christmas season. We both started crying. Talk about an amazing church family. They love us and we love them. Liberty Baptist Church truly is an amazing group of people. We thanked the Lord for providing gas money for all our travels. We then headed to meet the man wanting to buy the massage table. He bought it and Brent and I both thanked the Lord for providing the exact money I was losing from not cleaning (talk about a BIG God!!!). We go to my grandparent's and they surprise Brent and I with $$cash$$. We planned to put that straight into savings to help in the days and weeks to come. He still was not done though. The week after Christmas, we had someone (who shall remain nameless) give my us a blank check and tell us to pay our rent for January. We were literally speechless. Our rent? The whole thing? All of it? You are going to pay all of OUR rent????? WHY???? You have no idea what a blessing that was to us. I felt as if the Lord were sitting right there with us telling us, "You are mine and I am going to take care of you. Just trust Me." How could I not trust him after all of that in 2 weeks of time????

I am still in shock with his provisions.

As I look back over 2011, I can truly say it was a year of valleys. There were mountaintops within, but they were spread out among many valleys. The best thing about valleys??? You know a mountaintop is just around the corner. I am amazed at all we have been through this year. There are times that stand out in my mind and I thank the Lord for His presence in my life. I am thankful that I am His child. What a scary thing it must be to go through this harsh world without the Lord. If I didn't have Him and His promises I don't think I could have made it through some of the storms and valleys we experienced this year. I am so grateful the Lord found me worthy enough to face what we faced this year. I am thankful He took the time to teach me what He taught me and to lead me each way He chose. Where we are right this second, is right where I know God was taking us all along, it was just a hard path. I am so thankful we trusted Him even when we didn't understand why He was bringing us down all these roads. Looking back now, I would face each hardship again. I know we are in His will. I am looking forward to continuing to watch Him provide for us in the most amazing ways. I am looking forward to reaching the mountaintop we are headed to. I can see it. It's in the distance and it is going to be so worth this valley once we get there.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May God bless you in 2012 as never before.