Blessings From All Around

We have been so blessed lately by friends, family and even strangers that I thought a post about them was due. :)

1.

Our Baby Shower (Aug.7th)

My wonderful friends, Sarah Cornett & Sarah Rafeedie, threw a shower in honor of Aiden and me and they did such a great job!!!! Everything was absolutely beautiful! I don't have pictures yet, but I will definitely post some as soon as I do. It was such a wonderful time being surrounded by friends and family who are happy for us and who were so generous to us! We received so many clothes and necessities! Like blankets, bath stuff, diapers, toys, books, car seat cover (which is needed in Alaska!) and much more. We were blessed beyond our dreams. :)

2.

Eli got a new job! We had been praying all summer that God would open the doors for a new job and He did! It is with Xerox as a technician and a step forward, money and career wise! We are very excited. Now, the only "problem" with this job.... Eli has to go to Seattle for two weeks of training. We told them from the very beginning that we're expecting a baby in mid to late September. Unfortunately, there is only so much training he can do up here with out the training in Seattle and Xerox can't just pay him to sit around here doing nothing so Eli will be leaving Sept. 26th for two weeks. :( We were given the choice of Sept. 6th or Sept. 26th for the training dates and after talking and praying about it, we decided to go with the later date. Please join us in prayer that Aiden does not come later than his due date, Sept. 21st. We're pushing it kinda close! I'm personally hoping he comes around 38 weeks..... :)

3.

Eli came home the other day with two surprises! First, FedEx's district manager's wife (who lives in Hawaii and whom we have never met) knitted us a beautiful present! A cute little baby hat and booties! Apparently she makes them for all the employees. Secondly, Eli had (at work) helped out a couple of ladies from the State Library, I believe, with some signs and had told them we're having a baby. Well, they came by and gave him some baby books! Brand new and two of them are by Eric Carle. I love his stuff! I was shocked by their kindness and generosity!

May God bless you all,

Courtney

80 Mugs = A Community Center in Russia

Who knew that such a cute little mug could help support a building project in Russia? Well, here's how......

This past Sunday Rod preached a sermon on faith in God, even when it seems crazy and people around are laughing at you, using Noah as an example. During the whole service up by the stage had been a table with 80 cute ACF (Alliance Christian Fellowship) mugs. Then, right before the band started up, Rod told us of our missionary family's (in Russia) idea to build a community center to use as a place to witness, build-up christians and start church plants. But they need money. He then went on to tell us of the idea he had, using these mugs. Each mug was for sale, this week only, at a great deal of $500.00! If each and every one of these mugs sold, we would raise $40,000.00!

Now, we have done some "crazy" things before, most recently giving up the very shoes on our feet for Soles for Souls. But this one hit me like none other. If you know me or having been reading some of my past posts, you'll know that money is a tough subject for me. It's almost like a security blanket, the more we have, the safer I feel. So when Rod told us the price, I was kinda shocked. Of course I wanted to help, but that was a lot of money. Even more so with a baby on the way! I just started thinking about the things we needed to buy and how expensive they were going to be. So started a tug-a-war within me, the whole time wondering "does God really want us to do this or am I just feel peer pressure?", while watching other people walk up and grab 1 or even 2 mugs.

Eli was working in the sound booth, so after about 10 minutes of wondering (and worrying), I walked back there to talk to him about it. Then started the emotional part (I blame being pregnant!), tearing up because I could not bring myself to take a step and trust God in this matter. Eli was one the who said "God will take care of us, let's do it". So holding hands, we walked up, grabbed a mug and then had communion.

All 80 mugs were gone in 20 minutes. Yeah God!

Now looking back, I feel great about it. God has blessed us with jobs, a place to call home, family, friends, etc. I should be using those blessings to bless others. And if $500 for a mug is how God wants us to bless others (and trust Him to take care of us) then let's do it!

Somehow I can't remember how faithful He is.

I am always amazed and overwhelmed by God and His faithfulness. Yet somehow I always forget it and think that there is no way I can deal with or get through whatever is going on. My most recent "incident" started yesterday....

I got home from work and decided to check the mail (first mistake!) and of course, they were bills. One was addressed to me and had no return address. I was curious and opened it right away. It was a letter from a collection agency. Being me, I freaked out immediately. The letter said I needed to pay my hospital bill within the next 3o days, and there is no way we just have an extra $1,ooo laying around. I cried. What were we going to do? Why did they send us to a collection agency? Isn't it a law that hospitals have to allow people to make payments? And to top that off, I had only received this bill about a month ago and had sent in a payment (these were the thoughts running through my mind). I showed the letter to Eli and he was just about as confused as me, but he was able to calm me down and tell me that we'll figure it out. The rest of that night I was kinda in a fog. I didn't want to think about it, but it's hard not to. We went to a BBQ for a friend of Eli's and that helped take my mind off it for a while, but it came creeping back up, frustrating me, giving me a headache. During this time, I did pray. But I think a part of me wasn't really into the prayer. All I could think about was how horrible this was, we're going to be in debt for years, etc. My mind always runs to the worse case scenario. Before we went to bed we prayed about it and I felt calm and was able to sleep. My darling husband told me that he would call the agency in the morning and figure out what was going on. I woke up feeling peaceful and knowing that God was going to get us through this. I have tried not to think too much about it today and I didn't want to bother Eli any more than I already have about it. Especially when he is at work. Well, I just talked to him and apparently the hospital accidently sent the wrong accounts to the collection agency! It was all a mistake! When I heard that, my first thought was "God is amazing!" Here I was freaking out, thinking the worse, and it was just a mistake. God knew that..... I wonder is He trying to get my attention? He is always here for me, will give me the strength to endure, and loves me. Every time something like this happens, He gets us through it. But I forget that. I need to thank Him on a daily basis, but somehow I never think to do that. Maybe that's what He is trying to teach me, to be constantly praising and thanking Him. No matter what is going on.

Marriage Challenge

We have started a new series at church called Sexual Revolution. I'm sure you can imagine how funny and awkward the sermons can get! It's about how the world has messed up our view of sex and what God meant it to be. So, not only are we hearing about it on Sundays, we are also reading a book called 30 Day Sex Challenge, by Paul & Susie Wirth. And the challenge is exactly what you're thinking...... have sex for 30 days (if you are married, if you're not, stay pure!). But it is not just about having sex with your spouse, it's about developing a deeper intimacy with each and God. For each day there is a verse to read and then either some questions about your relationship like, "how easy is it for you to talk about sex", and "what do you hope to gain from this book", or ideas on how to create a more romantic, intimate relationship. And there is so much more I could say about this, but not nearly enough room. Go to awkwardsexblog.blogspot.com to learn more and see what the pastors have to say!

So in the spirit of being romantic, Eli sent me flowers the other day! He's such a sweetie. I had the pleasure of arranging them myself, which means I get to play around.

Praise God!

I have so many reasons to being praising God right now. Not only is it BEAUTIFUL outside, but it actually smells like summer and I am getting a tan. :) But the biggest reason to be praising God right now (at least for me) is that my biopsy report came back clear! And it only took them two days instead of the five they told me it would take. Amazing! I am so relieved, thankful, overjoyed, etc!!!!!! The only thing I have to do now is get a check-up once a year to make sure nothing has changed. But that doesn't bother me at all. Now I get to enjoy Memorial Weekend and the rest of my summer without this HUGE weight hanging over me and dragging me down.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. I was and still am overwhelmed by everyone's love and support. It meant a lot to us. Thank God for wonderful friends and family.

Have a good and safe Memorial Weekend!

P.S. I do have quite the bruise from the biopsy which I would love to show off, but that would probably be inappropriate, considering where it is. :)

Peace

First, thank you for all the prayers! I can't even tell you how much that means to me and how they have helped me. God has truly blessed me with an amazing family, awesome friends, and a truly wonderful husband. I have been very at peace this past week about all of this. There are moments of sadness, being scared, and wondering why me?! But God has been here through all of it, reminding me that He is sovereign and will use this time in my life for Him.

Second, I married an amazing man! He is truly my soul mate. Eli has been my rock in this storm, well, besides God. :) When I am upset and crying, he knows just how to comfort me, knows what to say to calm me down and to make me laugh. I am very blessed to be his wife. We've been married for 10 months exactly today. Crazy how time flies! And I am so excited to spend the rest of our lives together. :)

And now on to an update:

I am going in next Tuesday (the 25th) to get a biopsy. My doctor said that apparently the radiologist saw something he didn't like or wasn't normal for a cyst (which is what we thought it was). This is definitely not what I wanted to hear. I wanted it to be nothing or something that would be easily taken care of. And of course they want to absolutely sure of what it is and so do we. So it could still be something minor. I have already cried my eyes out about it, so now on to praying and knowing God will take care of me. One good thing, though, is that both the hospital and the radiologist are preferred providers with our insurance. :) That made me happy!

Thanks again! You are all wonderful and I love you so much!

Psalms 23:4 and being scared

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. - Psalms 23:4

This verse has always comforted me. I can remember being 5 or 6 and waking up in the middle of the night, scared to death because I had a bad dream. Of course I went to my mom and told her. She reminded me that I had just memorized this verse in AWANAs and told me that I should pray this verse to myself (if that makes any sense). If helped me fall right back asleep and I usually don't fall asleep very quickly after I get scared! Ever since then, this verse has stuck in my mind and whenever I am afraid, it pops right back into my head and I remember that God is always with me. Which is the most comforting thought in the world.

Tomorrow I am going to get an ultrasound because there is a lump on my breast. I am very scared. And I know the chances of it being cancer are very, very low, but Satan has a little voice in my head that keeps telling there is still a chance that it is cancer and it scares me to death. I had kept this to myself for awhile, because I am a private person. After I made the appointment, I told my mom and sister about it. And then last night, I told a friend (Amanda) who in turn told other girls in our community group. I was too afraid to actually tell them myself. Yesterday was hard, I was scared, worried, upset, etc. But after I told Amanda, I felt at peace. And then today, Psalms 23:4 came to mind. Just in time to comfort me and give me peace. I'm still scared, how can you not be when you don't know what it is? But I know God is there and will help me and Eli through this time, no matter what happens.

Worry...

Worry is something I have always struggled with. Amazingly, every time God helps me deal with it. I tend to go back and forth with trust. One day I'm good, everything is going to work out and the next I am a complete worry wort.

About 2 weeks ago Eli was snowboarding and and crashed into a snow wall (more like ice wall) and hurt his leg. He stayed off of it for a day, hoping that would help the pain go away. Well, it didn't. His leg was all swollen and very painful to walk on. After about a week of this, he went to the doctor and got it X-rayed. No fracture, no nothing pretty much. So we were told to go get an MRI because it could be a torn ACL . A week later we finally got an MRI, only to find out that we wouldn't find out the results till Monday. I was pretty frustrated at that point, because I had to worry for 2 more days! Finally Monday comes around, Eli calls me at work and his leg is fractured. But hopefully no surgery. And now today. He went to an orthopedist who told him his leg was fractured in 2 places and that there was a sliver of bone that had broken off and could possibly get into his kneecap and mess it all up. So now, he is probably going to have surgery to remove it. And of course all of this costs money, which is a huge thing I worry about.

Throughout all of this, I have been like a teeter-totter. Eli deals with this stuff much better than me. I know God will help us through this, but the worry is still there and distracts me from thanking God that it's not a torn ACL which would be much worse. I pray for God to remove my doubts and worries, but it's so hard to just let go.