BURIED UNDER 324 BOXES

 A e-mail from my long time art teacher dated 1/7/25. subject line in the email:  No, I"m not dead, but I was buried...! 



Dear Friends:

As I mentioned in the above email subject line,"No, I didn't die or fall off the face of the earth, but I was ( and still am) buried under exactly 324 boxes that we've had to keep walking around , pile up in a corner, trip over, or sit on top of to eat our meals.

We brought and packed way too much furniture and "stuff" from our 2800 sq. Ft. home in Illinois to our only 1700 sq. ft. new home in Tennessee.  So far I've broken the hanging rods in two closets by overloading them with clothes and more boxes.  I guess people in Tn. aren't used to having very big wardrobes with lots of heavy winter coats & boots - otherwise, they would have built bigger and stronger closets!

My husband and I were also led to believe the Tennessee climate would be a lot more balmy and milder than Illinois -- so far, we've had rain, freezing rain, snow and 17 degrees tonight.  So much for "balmy"!  Although, I must admit, the few days that were mild ( 50's) and sunny, we're very pleasant.

We just got our internet, e-mail, and T.V. set up this evening by the Xfinity technician, so this message to all of you is my first email message that I've sent to anyone from our new location.  I had intentions of sending everyone Christmas cards showing my new address, but this overwhelming and all-consuming moving process that's still not over, has stolen any normal Christmas or family time from us ( we never even had time to buy any of our grandchildren any gifts or each other).  We missed Christmas entirely ( except for church services!).  Luckily, the church is only about 5 minutes from our house.  

So, none of you received a Christmas card from me like I had planned, but you are getting this e-mail greeting instead. I hope all of you had a better Christmas and Happy New Year!  When we get more packing boxes out of our house and can get back to some normalcy, I hope to email more often to see how everyone is doing with their artwork.

My response:

Dearest Carol:

Dearest: 

Thanking God you are there and safe! Sounds like the true meaning of Christmas was upon you. Moving just like Mary and Joseph, Jesus entered the world. Not with cards, presents and all the worlds Christmas materialism but simple, with peace but YET difficult circumstances. A perfect example of that little families life way back in Jesus beginnings. What a blessing for you to experience love, new home and new beginnings. Peace is truly upon you both. A sense of what truly needed to be done (the move) and no matter how difficult it is,  the peace upon you both to know it needed to happen! As we both know our strength, energy and life come from the Holy Spirit leading us to get daily things done in His time and His power. 

Reflect on the story of Jesus birth and you realize how blessed you are that this past Christmas was very different from others but fruitful! 

I am grateful you wrote us a quick note in the midst of your chaos but it’s sounds like organized chaos. Especially if you know there are 324 boxes! 

Seems like He’s got you just where He wants you. You are in His hands. Because like the song, HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS!  My prayer is you will continue to see the light of the Holy Spirit making a new path with all the strength, power, understanding, knowledge, love, wisdom, clarity, peace, gratefulness and hope to complete this task before you! He is a promisekeeper! 

Two verses come to my mind right now, Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.” Philippians 1:6 “He who began a work in you will carry it onto completion.” 

What a wonderful God we serve!

Anticipating more delightful Jesus sightings stories I like to call Godcidences, from you. Looking forward to corresponding!

With love from above,

Elaine 

e-mail response dated 1-18-25 THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT

  

Sorry I wasn't able to get back to you sooner, but our email service, wifi, home phones, T.V., etc. all went down just two days after it got connected.  The Xfinity guy has been here three times so far to reconnect it.

Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your always inspiring words.  The way this whole move to Tn. came about has been very amazing.  It seems like God has been leading and directing us with every step -- some of the many situations over these past few hectic months seem to have been miraculously handled by Him time & time again with some ultimate plan in mind.  So I'm very excited to find out who He wants us to meet here or what he wants us to accomplish.

 I think it is safe to say that I shared these letters because it really helps us all see that your stories similar to this is important. 

Acts 17:28 "For in Him we live and move and have our being, As some of your own poets have said, "We are His offspring!"

Love that verse! We each have our stories. 

THE FOOTSTOOL

I hear 

each day is a new day let us rejoice and be glad! So in the midst of things sometimes being difficult, I want to live this out.

I realize I can't do it on my own. I need God to show up.

I recently was reminded by author Kristi McClelland that we "Kingdom Adventures".

Immediately I reacted with, huh? Adventure. I didn't like that word for us moms who are holding down the fort, caring for the sick, feeling sometimes sick ourselves, relational dealings...on and on. But as I was reading the bible and then remember my own adventures (sometimes daily), I reframed the biblical definition in which I choose to live and the word can work.

After all as a teacher, I started my preschoolers day to run around singing in cowboy hates getting our minds and bodies going for a new day with the song, "The Greatest Adventure" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I believed sharing that Jesus makes a way where there seems to be no way and that is an adventure.

Like. 

Sitting reading my bible and a thought pops in my mind. You should get a little stool to put your feet on as you read.  LOL! Then I look up on market place for one and I make an inquiry and before you know it, I kid you not, I am in my car going to pick it up! This lady and her husband were selling alot of stuff trying to downsize for a big move. They both have had very serious health issues. Her story was so inspiring to hear. I asked if I could pray for them in their next steps. They did not want to leave this farm they were on but God was leading them elsewhere. She cried as I prayed. I asked if she knew Jesus personally and she said yes! She said this was divine appointment for her day. She needed to hear from God. God used me to hear that He was with her for 20 years in this house and now He has another plan and will be with her there also.

You see I went on an adventure! She is going on a new adventure! You are going on an adventure! It to me is God's reassurance in small ways that he want to console, love and be there all the time. He uses us in organic ways to do that. I could have never imagined that would happen that day. God showed himself to me personally through meeting this women and it made my day. It dimmed and frustration I was experiencing at the time. I had my eyes on the prize, Jesus. Lift up our eyes to the heaven, where does our help come from? 

We must look into the eyes of the Father and let Him take care of the rest. 

Let's pray:

Father in your world you bring us to adventures and we need to see you. Thank you. It's in my DNA to know you and love you and want to see you! Thank you for the good you bring daily when we ask. Guide me constantly in this way. Amen.

In the end I know that Jesus is my "FOOTSTOOL" guiding me on great Adventures.

SPA TREATMENT

 As I sat in the spa quiet room. I rested and made a prayer for my time. "Lord show me how to rest and speak to me." I waited and waited, but let me add my mind raced with "When the timer goes off I will go here and do this and what about texting that....blah.blah,blah."

mind racing...

I did see in my mind-Be still and know that I am God. But I sort of thought to myself...that can't be it I know that verse that is nothing new. New I wanted something new! 

mind racing...continues

Be Still

mind racing...continues

Ahhh, I have so much that I am allowing my brain to think. Lord, help me with my thoughts.

Each time a racing thought came to my mind, I thought, no! stop it! It took sometime to stop. But I was persistent in asking God to help me. Help me I got a problem here. I sensed this, God was showing me that I do this all the time and don't allow my brain to be quiet. I continue to examine my heart with tears in my eyes. Then I really did rest in a worship song and the flashing ticker tape in my mind... BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

It is a week later and my beautiful moment with the Lord continues to teach me and resonate with my heart. The Holy Spirit shows me this in a loving, gentle way!

Priceless! The spa treatment was the best I could have asked or ordered up! No other treatment needed! I wanted other treatments but I needed this one.

God as you spread your word over the world asking us to be still and know, help many in the world to respond. Respond and be healed. We have a epic problem. Thank you for your healing power.

This story continues. I was fixed on determination and realized what verse do you give me Lord. I open up my bible study homework and there it was. 

Luke 9:51 When the days were coming to a close for Him (Lord Jesus)  to be taken up, He determined, to journey to Jerusalem. 

determination, resolution, steadfast, set your face to go

All of these words are used in different versions of the bible. Jesus had just cast out demons and he knew His time was short. He was determined to finish His work here on earth. He took His disciples through Samaria to go to Jerusalem. Everywhere He was going was becoming more dangerous. People loved Him or hated Him. He goes on to say, "For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Just like Jesus we must pray for strength and ask God to help us complete the work here on earth with determination.

Jesus truly is the best "Spa treatment" for all eternity in fact.