365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 355

I write this praise a day ahead of schedule because Wednesday is No Electricity day in the 4^th grade and my daughter has been gearing us up all week for this so that we as a family can do it at home for that day. You do have to plan ahead. Tonight I will be looking for candles, planning a dinner that does not require heating and trying to get the rest of the family on board for our one day of no electricity. This will be a good experience for our kids who have never gone through a black-out for any length of time and give them and us a real appreciation for what blessings electricity brings to our lives.  Thank you Lord for the gift of schools and teachers that teach not just the abc’s but things like this that play a vital part of our lives and need to be appreciated. No Lights, No TV, No Computer, No Microwave, No coffee pot, No hair dryer, NO alarm clock. I am guessing it will be okay to keep our fridge and freezer running. YIPES. Seriously, what would we do with out electricity? 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 344

You really never know what kinds of blessing a day will bring. I love the unexpected. Yesterday at 12:30 my co-workers and I heard a loud pop and than the lights went out. However, our computers were still on but programs weren’t happy and so seeing how it was lunch-time we all choose to just go ahead and take our lunch. So, I took an hour long lunch at my desk reading a book and was able to get my programs up and working so started back to work. That didn’t last long… Another bigger pop and everything went out. This time the entire building was out. Okay, so now what?! The utility company was already outside working on fixing things and they had originally predicted 2-3 hours from the time of our first phone call to them. Well, now we have no phone, computer, lights and one co-worker who brought soup for lunch couldn’t heat up her soup. We had laughs about going to the dark bathroom using a cell phone that accidentally would be blinking a red light taking a video and we crumbled about the waste of time and the controlling aspects of our boss who told us to wait another hour. The experience was two-fold. It was a blessing to not have to work the afternoon and deal with frustrated alarm companies. Our boss did finally say we could go at 3:45 so we got off early on a Friday! The second aspect made me think of how we rely on electricity and the effects when we don’t have it. For us, it wasn’t a big deal but for those out on the East Coast who are without it for days now because of Superstorm Sandy, it’s not a laughing matter. Thanks be to God for blessings in disguise and for the reminder of being blessed everyday to have light, heat and all that electricity brings us. Sending prayers heavenward for those struggling without electricity.

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.