Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Trust

Without getting into specifics, God is sooooo good!!! We were really blessed today - at a time where things were looking very precarious, God stepped in and BAM blessing fell! Aren't we lucky to have a God who knows our every need and who loves us enough to look out for us!?!? I just wanted to take a quick minute and remind everyone how blessed we are and to encourage you that, if you're struggling, God knows and He is working - whether you see Him or not, He's actively working in your life and wanting you to trust Him. He is trustworthy.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Updates

Ok, its been a week and I am really enjoying my job. There are still a couple aspect of my responsibilities that I'm unclear about exactly how to do them... I've been assured that they will come with time. :) I really like my co-workers and I think it will be a great place to work. One thing that is great - the company is restructuring and so, all of the employees are feeling a little out of sorts. We're all learning together.
The kids have been in school for 2 weeks. Nathan has finally stopped freaking out when he's is left and Chloe has always been fine. However, Lowell and I are not fine. We are really unhappy with this school and are seriously considering enrolling the kids into the charter school as planned. Well, they're already enrolled, they would just start school there at the end of this month. There are pros and cons both ways. But we are really upset about some of the things that are happening here at their school... Nathan is not thrilled about the idea because he finally got settled, but we are thinking that it may be for the best... I'll keep you updated.
I have this week off of school - I just finished Pharmacology and I'm going to start Intro to addiction counseling and Professional Ethics next week. I was blessed by being able to borrow the Ethics books from a girl who already took it. The next few weeks will be a little dicey with getting used to working full time as well as taking two classes instead of only one... Its all about time management, I've been told. We shall see! :) I think its going to be about stress management too! Nows the time for me to start practicing meditating on the Word, for sure! He is the Prince of Peace, after all!!! :)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Work and School

I start work tomorrow. I'm a little nervous and completely excited! :) I am a little nervous about being away from my babies so much but I know that having the extra income is crucial to our survival. And I am completely confident that God has given me this job and so my time will be blessed. My schedule will be Friday through Tuesday from 3 - 11:30. So, I won't be home with the kids get home from school and they'll obviously be asleep when I get home.. The upside is that the kids have a half day on Wednesdays and so, one of my days off, I'll be able to spend a lot of time with them. Also, since I don't leave until 2, I will be able to hang out with them Saturday mornings and go to church with the family on Sundays.
One part of my job will be leading groups with the women who live in the shelter. Lowell loves to tease me by reciting the part of 28 Days (the movie about rehab with Sandra Bullock) "Together we're better, we're better together. Yeah, us!" Anyway, he thinks its funny. I will also be working with the children in the shelter. I'm sure I'll also be helping out with housekeeping, intakes and will have tons of paperwork too.
We didn't go to church today. Neither one of us slept very well... Yesterday we discovered a wildlife preserve about 10 minutes from home and so, today, we're going to go take some water bottles and sandwiches and go hiking around. Lowell said we'd take our Bibles too and we can read a story to the kids and talk about it; our own little version of church. It is a little cooler today, only around 100 degrees. Chloe is sitting next to me, reading Pinkalicious. She has grown in her ability to read sooo fast! She's quite astounding! :) Nathan is reading the Hardy Boys books but still does better when he's reading to either Lowell or I. There are quite a few vocabulary words in those books that he doesn't know and, if left to his own Now that he's understanding and appreciating the story, he really likes these books. I'm impressed with his reading ability too.
I finally found a program that will take Jillian and who has funding assistance available for us so that we don't have to pay for her to go to preschool. In about a week, we start all the application process and she can't hardly wait! I have one more class and then I'll be finished with pharmacology. My next class is Intro to Chemical Dependency Counseling and I'm taking Ethics online so, I'll be taking twice the class load and working too... :) Can't be too busy, can you? Intro to chemical dependency counseling is different from pharmacology because, right now, we've been learning about the physical effects of drugs and how they work in the brain - affecting chemicals and creating addiction. In this next class we're going to be studying different ways to treat addiction and addicts. I'm looking forward to it. In Ethics, we are (obviously) going to study the different ethical issues with being a counselor.
We're continuing to be blessed, again and again... :) I am thankful for all your prayers and letters! Keep em coming! We still haven't really gotten a social network setup here yet... So, I get a little lonely sometimes... Thankfully, my kids are never at a loss of things to do to entertain me. I just adore them, you know... they're amazingly wonderful, precocious and sweet. Blessings all around.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Blessings

Watching the news tonight my heart is breaking. There are some terrible stories happening here in Phoenix - some that are making nationwide and world wide news... You may have heard about the little 8 year old Lybian girl who was gang raped by 4 boys ages 9 to 13... And her family is disowning her because their culture still supports the idea that rape is the woman's fault. She is currently in the care of CPS.
In the past month, there have also been 5 murder/suicides here in the valley. They have all been families with small children and all have been attributed to financial stressors. It breaks my heart thinking about those small children who lived the last moments of their lives in fear from the people who should be loving them more than anyone else. I can only remind myself that they are currently being rocked and held by their Heavenly Father who will never, never forsake them.
I know that the world is full of people who are hurting. It is my sincere prayer that God will use me to show His love to at least a couple of them so that they can be delivered from their life of hopelessness and into the freedom that comes from letting God be the ruler of their lives... The pain in the world today gives Christians a perfect opportunity to show the love of Christ by being His representatives here on earth. It is our job - our comission - to be loving and to reach these people who are hurting. Lord, open my eyes to hurting people around me and show me ways that I can bring a little love and a little light into their lives. And then when they ask why, I can say "Because Jesus changed my life and poured His love out on me, so I'm sharing some of it with you."
And to all you readers, I'm sending some love your way today too! :) God Bless!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Answered Prayer

Again I'm reminded that God is faithful... I spent the last three days in a terrible state. I had headaches, stomach aches... I was a wreck. I was completely stressed about this job decision. There were a few moments where I could see God's hand working and those times were greatly appreciated. For example, instead of asking me to work fast food, the gas station called me back and said they wanted me as a cashier. Now while that may not seem like a big deal, a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. One of the biggest struggles for me was knowing that I needed to get a job (because we have to have the income) but not wanting to sentence myself to a job that I would hate... (I worked at Subway in college and I hated it...) But I was determined to be faithful and to honor whatever gift of a job that God gave me. So, I viewed the transition to cashier as a gift from Him. The pay was exactly the same and the hours were too, but it wasn't fast food! And they also gave me until today to let them know. The other job, the one at the domestic violence shelter, was supposed to let me know today at the latest whether or not I got the job as a family advocate. So, today I called the New Hope center (the dv shelter) because I needed to let the gas station know my decision... I called at 1pm. They said that they would be calling my references this afternoon and would be able to let me know by 4pm. So, with butterflies in my stomach I waited... 2pm... 2:30... I thought for sure I'd have to wait until the very last minute... And the phone kept ringing and each time I would freak out... And it wasn't them... Until 2:45, I got the call. And, .... I GOT THE JOB!!!! Yipee-i-o!!! I feel soooo blessed and sooooo relieved! :) I know that I've been blessed with a great opportunity and I'm so thankful!!! Thank you for everyone who prayed for us during this search and this terribly stressful weekend. The pressure is off! If all goes well, I should start Friday. :)

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Adios Training Wheels

We've had a very exciting development here at the Casa de Trent. Chloe has learned to ride her bike with no training wheels!! I took her last night to the park and she just took off. She really didn't need any help, just a little balance and the reminder to keep her knees in and eyes on where she's going... She's doing amazingly! :)