We’ve had so many “Showers of Blessings” lately that sometimes I’m not sure I should share in case someone thinks I’m bragging… BUT it’s not by OUR doing, it is things that God has been blessing us with, so I decided to share anyway because maybe seeing God's love and faithfulness to us will encourage someone else who is waiting for their showers to start…
A couple of weeks ago, we went to the BIG Fundraiser of the Year for Alpha House, the Battered Women’s Shelter that our church helps sponsor. My Brother In Law does all the cooking each year because everyone in town LOVES his BBQ Tri-Tip and Chicken so just knowing that he is cooking brings in people. After dinner, they have a silent auction and a regular auction. That is always fun too because our “Goofy, but wonderful” Praise Leader from our church does the auctioning off of the things that have been donated.
This year, my hubby was determined that he would win a “Bed and Breakfast” stay at the big ranch that our friends have up in the mountains near here. These wonderful people are the ones Mick cowboyed for, a couple of years before getting married. This picture is of a “flying mount” onto my Cory while up at the ranch during a day of branding. He had run up from behind like the old cowboy movies and jumped on. Anyway, they open their ranch house for a “Bed and Breakfast” stay once a year for the Alpha House Auction.
Mike started bidding, and then another friend of ours also started to bid. Our friend suddenly realized that he wasn’t going to be in town during the times that were available, so he quit bidding and we got it for about ½ the regular price it goes for! Praise GOD!!!
We had SO MUCH FUN!!! These people are so very dear to us, and we ate such wonderful meals and talked about the Lord and what He was doing in our lives and our kid’s lives. It was WONDERFUL! The worst part of it was that I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!! Can you BELIEVE IT!!! They had so many beautiful wildflowers out all over their place that I missed. They had a bunch of these blue lupine bushes growing all around the area. I got this picture off of the web, but it looks just like it was taken on their ranch!
Anyway, after the auction, Mike wanted to rush home because it was late, but an elderly lady from our church asked him for his help to take some of the things she’d gotten out to her car for her. He did that and then we headed home. About half way home, we came across a big car/truck accident that had happened maybe 5 minutes ahead of us. If Mike hadn’t helped that lady, we could very well have been in the midst of it!
One of the drivers in the accident was walking around dazed (we stopped to help and put up barriers to stop others from running over the debris in the road and until the emergency crews arrived and we weren’t needed any longer) and he was talking about how he had been having blackouts for a while and was supposed to be getting an MRI the next day to find out why… WHY WAS HE DRIVING THEN!?!?
He had blacked out and hit the other driver almost head on (which could have been us!) Praise God for His angels (the lady) and His protection (the timing.) Luckily, they had both slowed down enough so that no one was killed, though they still totaled both trucks (a big, raised ¾ ton Pickup and a smaller pickup) Both ended up in the ditches, one on each side of the road. Praise God, in this case, for seatbelts! (The pic was taken on Robert’s cell phone at night)
I also Praise God every time I look out of our windows at our pastures which are so beautifully golden with the grain hay that our neighbors planted for us! That was such a wonderful gift, and will feed our horses for at least 6-8 months!
Another thing that happened last night, also has us so happy! Mike came in after work, with a newspaper classified ad section and said, “Someone has a camper shell for sale for only $75!” We have been wanting one for quite a while so that we could put in a back window from the cab in our truck and make a place so that the corgis could have more room when we go on road trips, and we could take them all instead of only a few of them. They would be able to go back and forth into the back if they wanted to lay down, etc. like they do in the car.
We figured it probably wasn’t in terribly good condition at that price, because we’d priced them and a decent second hand one has been going for around $200 or more. I called and asked if it had windows that worked (expecting that maybe they’d be broken out at that price) and he said yes, the windows were fine, and that it was in pretty good condition, so we decided to go ahead and make the hour trip to the big town and check it out.
When we got almost there, I called to tell them we would be a little later than I’d originally thought, and the lady I spoke to then, said that was ok, and mentioned that her hubby hadn’t been very happy that she had put it into the paper at that price, but she’d been told to put it in since they were moving and she hadn’t known what to put it at.
About THAT time, I decided to get out some extra money because we didn’t want to cheat anyone. We got there and this thing was gorgeous… looked brand new, matched exactly with our truck (which, if you remember, was sold to us by Mike's Christian boss for only $1000) and was PERFECT! We talked with the guy and he helped us put it onto our truck.
There was a garbage can open right by where he’d had this SnugTop stored, and it had some artificial turf type stuff in the top of it. I asked him if he’d mind giving that to me as we needed to put something like that on the ramps to give OC more traction, and he gave it to me. I'd thought I was going to have to buy some...
He was really nice and was going to give us everything for the price in the paper, and even helped us put it on our truck. I told him that since the Lord had blessed us so much with such a wonderful gift, that I thought He wanted us to bless him, too, and we gave him $100 instead. That was still half or less than half of what we would have had to pay, and we were able to share some of God’s love with them. Maybe the Lord gave us a chance to plant one of HIS seeds… I know WE got a blessing!
I have a wonderful friend that has shared a devotional with me almost every day for a few years now. So many times, these verses have spoken to my heart as if God is talking directly to me, and I believe that is exactly what is happening for He DOES use others to speak His words down here. So many of you have done that for me, too.
As many of you know, I’ve had some major health issues going on continually since last October… Bronchitis, Asthma, Pneumonia, and lately, Borderline Congestive Heart Failure, which they are hopeful that they have caught in time to stop or slow way down it’s progression. Needless to say, I’ve also had some days when I’ve been fighting depression, but almost always, God has sent an angel… sometimes named Angela, Sandie, Betty, Monica, Kellie… and many others, to help bend down and lift me up with words, cartoons, jokes, prayer, etc. 
From SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns: You have had many opportunities through adversity to fall down and stay down. I call to you to gather your strength and get up. You are not without help; I am with you to lift you up again if you will refuse to give up. Exercise your faith and seek My help, says the Lord, for surely I will hear your cries and come to your aid. Trust Me to lift you up again. 
