365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 172

I don't think I will ever get use to hearing the threats people make in the anger and frustration. My job brings those threats to me every so often. This time it was from a man that had once again received an invoice for an alarm company. We apparently have the wrong address. I was miffed enough myself because I had emailed the alarm company to give us an up-to-date address without any response so I tried the phone number. I ended up with a dead line with the first number so tried the 800 number and was told that I couldn't speak with the person listed as our contact. I pretty much laid it out for the person I was talking to saying I needed an accurate mailing address and that they had several outstanding invoices. I had to call the man back who had threatened to call his lawyer if he continued to get harrassed by these invoices being mailed to his home. Nobody likes conflict but I have become pretty good at getting things resolved and leaving the person with a good frame of mind. The man was happy to hear I had gotten it all resolved. I consider it further training on being a peacemaker combined with a law enforcer. Everything I do is God's training. Do you know what God has been training you on? When you see it as part of God's training, you will have more peace about it and face it with confidence.
Proverbs 3:26 ...for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 154

Conflict is not may favorite thing to be in the middle of but I found myself exactly smack in the middle of it on my trip to San Antonio. My sister had gone into her more quiet moody mode and though it didn't bother me, it bothered my mom. She ended up blowing up mostly towards my sister but like I said I was right there in the middle. It turns out I was the problem. My sister, at first, denied there was any problem but my mom persisted and it came out. She was thinking that mom loved me more because she thought my mom was talking with me more during our trip. Funny thing is I have felt that way a bit here and there with their relationship in the last couple of years because it seems to have gotten closer and I have felt left out but I have been quickly able to put it in the proper perspective and let it go. It was spiraling out of control so I suggested we do a bible study together as I had my notes from my workshop recently about John 16:33. We had done a bible study kind of thing together on our trip to Phoenix a couple years ago and it was wonderful. To me it was a common link that could bring us together. Our love for and faith in the Lord. My sister didn't respond at first but when I got up and stood in front of her I gently told her that we needed to bring the Lord into this and let him help. She came and sat down with us and we started the bible study that eventually led to other topics that helped show us that we are all the same, we all feel alienated or like we don't belong. We all feel like we aren't loved as much as someone else. We all feel like we have no friends. In the end we were laughing and saying we need to do a bible study at the beginning of our trip instead of at the end. The Lord helped bring peace into each of our hearts and brought us together as one body. It really was a beautiful thing to see unfold before me. Thank you Lord for my mom and my sister and for bringing us together as one in you. Col 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as memeber of one body you were called to peace.

We always get something for each of us to remember the trip by. It's always been jewelry. You see crosses everywhere in San Antonio and because of our conflict and the Lord bringing us back together again, it seemed very appropriate that we get crosses. So, we found a shop with lots of cross jewelry and we each picked our own cross. This is a photo of us in the airport to head home where our crosses.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 24

Last night I was in the new spa with my daughter. It's not like we don't get plenty of opportunity to spend time together. That is her love language, quality time, so I make sure she is getting her love tank filled but there is something about relaxing in a hot tub at night with the dark sky and twinkling stars that just made it a very opportune time to really connect with her and see how things are going. So, she opens it up with 'let's talk' so I asked her how things are going at school with teacher, class and friends. Everything is good until we get to the friends part. She tells me one of her friends is hurting her. By this she meant she is getting hit, kicked and scratched by this 'friend'. Unfortunatley, this is not the first time with this 'friend'. They had this same issue back in either Kindergarten or 1st grade and I had to conquer my fears of confrontation and approach the mom at the bus stop and pull her aside to let her know what was going on. It seemed to have stopped but is now rearing it's ugly head. It may be because they are in the same class again but it apparently only happens at the lunch line in school, on the bus or at her house. Hmmmm... sounds like she's only doing this when she knows she can get away with it. Faith is a gentle and very-kind hearted person and says she doesn't want to hurt her feelings but also says she is afraid too because she doesn't want to hurt her more. Oh my... so for the first time probably ever, LOL, I told her I was going to pray about it and talk with Dad about it to see how to proceed. So, that next morning I was taking work off because my shoulder so I walked her over to the bus stop and afterwards walked the mom to her house telling her about the conversation I had with Faith. Of course, the protective defensive nature in a parent came up but we just discussed and decided to give the girls a break from playing with each other and she would talk with their teacher and her daughter. So, although I am not sure she is feeling like this is an issue with her daughter, as Nathan puts it, you have planted the seed and made her aware and that's all you can do at this point. So, I am thanking God for the opportunity to learn more about my daughter and her life and thankful for his guidance in how to deal with it.
Psalm 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.