Remembering...

Today, I have been at home with some type of stomach bug. I've been thinking about how I've dealt with such a situation in the past. I remember when I hurt my back several years ago, I received a book from a well-meaning friend explaining to me how my injury was going to be used by God to bring greatness into my life. The book went on to explain how God allows sickness to come upon us and we are to derive lessons from our sicknesses and diseases. Oh, how silly I was back then.

I have since come to understand more fully the amazing and awesome character qualities of the God I serve. He is a good God. He doesn't allow sickness to come on his children any more than I allow sickness to come on my own children. I would never do that to them. I love them too much! How much more does my Father in heaven love me? His love for me is endless.

God's healing is available when you believe for it. I am believing for it. I'm trusting that God will restore me in this time of sickness. His promises are good and true. He never goes against his Word. Jesus paid the price for this sickness on the cross and there's no reason for me to have to deal with it now. I'm so thankful for that!

Faith

My Pastor describes faith as calling those things which are not as though they already are. He uses Romans 4 to back that up. Romans 4:18-21 says this: Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. That part is so important.

God's Word is FULL of promises. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of an entire nation of people. He PROMISED. Abraham was old. Really old. Way beyond the child-bearing age. What did he do? Well, at first he kind of laughed. It was truly an unbelievable thing-to have a child when you are that old. But, as God continued to assure him, his tune began to change a little bit. And he had faith that God would do it because he said he would.

As Christians, we are no different than Abraham. Where is our faith level? I can't help but go back and read the entry I wrote here about wanting to get pregnant. Up until that point, I had never wanted anything so bad in all my life. So, what did I do? I asked God for it. And I felt it confirmed to me, in my heart, that in the year 2009 (I asked at the end of 2008), I would have a baby. And I believed God when he spoke that to my heart. I stopped worrying about it, and I put the thoughts of it aside. I stopped taking fertility drugs. This was going to be God's miracle.

Lo and behold, in April of 2009, I found out that I was pregnant. Craig and I were ecstatic. So, what happened to me a few months after that when I went in for my 19 week check up and they found a tumor in my uterus? I probably could have gone into a downward spiral at that point. That would have been simple. I could have started speaking all kinds of negative things. But I didn't. Instead, I had hands layed on me for healing and I was told, "Go back to the doctor and get a good report." I believed I had been healed. God said it. I believe it.

I went back to the doctor (a specialist who used a way more advanced type of ultrasound) and he couldn't find any tumor. It was gone. Why? Because God said he would heal me and I believed it, and he did it.

Why do we make God's Word so complicated? Do we really think that God is so small that he can't heal a simple tumor? Do we think he can't provide finances when they're needed? Why do we do that to God? We're stealing our own blessings!

I want to encourage you today, if you're reading this. God has an incredible benefit package for you if you're born again. Just incredible. There's no reason why you shouldn't be experiencing those benefits. Is there? Ask God to increase your faith. He loves that prayer and HE WILL!

Farmville: Recreation or Addiction?

I write this note as an expose on the ins and outs of Farmville.

If you've been a part of Facebook for any period of time, no doubt you have come across this little fantasy land where you can actually build and manage your own farm. I must say, I had my concerns about this when I began talking to my friend about it a few weeks ago. She shall remain nameless, although when she reads this note, she'll know just who she is. For the sake of giving her a name, we'll call her Bob.

I picked Bob up for church one night and she immediately launched into a dialogue about how she had to get back on her "farm" and feed people's chickens and milk her cows and harvest her crops. I looked at her like she was crazy. "What in the world are you talking about?" I asked Bob. She laughed and said, "You should try it. It's addicting. You'll see." I shook my head, thinking of my newborn baby and how time-consuming he was, along with all of the other chores I had to do around the house. "There's no way," I told Bob, "I could never find time to fiddle around on Facebook with a farm." Most days, I was fortunate to have taken a shower and made dinner! Bob continued to discuss her "farm" and I mostly rolled my eyes and looked for ways to change the subject.

After a few weeks of this nonsense, I thought to myself, "What is the big deal? It's a game. A little farm that you maintain and take care of. How can people get so into this?" I decided to check it out for myself. So, I loaded the application and then I looked at my new puny little farm.

I started with six little plots of land. When I put my cursor on those plots, a little message came up that prompted me to plow. So, I plowed. Hmm...I had some nice, fertile soil. Another roll of the cursor and I saw something telling me to plant. Plant what? I clicked on it. I was taken to the market. Oh...I could BUY seeds to plant. I bought some soybeans and planted those. OK, now what?

I sat there for a minute and thought, "This is stupid. I'm waiting for six patches of soybeans to grow?" I went on to something else. But...my mind kept drifting back to that little farm. I decided to go back. The first thing I did was look at my little "farmer". I made him into a her and made her hair the same color as mine. That was better. Then I decided to go back to that little market and see what else I could buy. There weren't many things that I could buy but I browsed through it all.

It didn't take long for me to get a neighbor. Bob. She was ecstatic that I had created a farm. She sent me a gift and fertilized my crops for me. That was nice. Maybe I should do the same for her. I visited her farm. Suddenly, I'm on the next level. Bob says I need to plant more. So, I do. Before long, I'm getting more neighbors and they're sending me gifts. I'm fertilizing their crops and my soybeans got ready to harvest! Hmmm...this could be a nice way to spend some down time. If I ever have any.

A few days later, I got a phone call from Bob. She was frantic. It seems her "puppy" was needing to be fed and she was not able to feed it. She asked me if I was home because she was going to have me feed her puppy. If it didn't get fed, it would run away. When I explained to her that I was not home, she started trying to find a way to get to a computer so that she could feed her "puppy".

Really???

This caused me to take a step back. I wondered if this was how crack users start out? You think it's all fun and games and then before you know it, you're sucked in! I asked Bob to take a long hard listen to what she was asking me to do right then. She hung up the phone mumbling something about needing to feed the puppy and doing anything to get to her before she ran away.

"Maybe I shouldn't do this," I thought. I pondered the phone call all the way home. My crops withered that night. I couldn't become one of "those" people and I wasn't going to get back on that farm.

The next day, I checked it out again. My poor crops had withered and I plowed that land to take them away. I planted something else. "OK," I told myself. "I'm not going to be glued to this thing. It's going to be for fun and THAT'S IT!"

I started learning how to plant crops that I knew would be ready to harvest when I'd be at the computer. I bought a chicken coop and began building a nursery barn and a horse stable. Asking people for parts for my buildings began to be part of every day life. Having a dinner conversation about my farm was second-nature. Alas, I was becoming addicted. So much so, I started managing my husband's farm. And when I saw how many coins my daughter had on her puny little farm, I had to really control myself and not go into her farm and start expanding.

And then I got my own little puppy. She's a sweet little puppy. Her name is Cheerio and she eats at 11:30 every morning. And if I'm not there to feed her, Bob will if I ask her to. And I'll feed her puppy and we'll harvest each other's crops if we need to. It's like an alternate reality. It's not recreation. It's addiction. Consider yourself warned.

Now, please excuse me. I have to harvest my strawberries and send every one of my neighbors a board.

Ignorance About God's Word

I just have to vent. This is a real source of frustration for me. Probably because I was ignorant about God's Word for so many years. Now that I know what God's Word says, it makes so much sense. And I can't understand why others fight it so much.

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matt 7:8

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matt 21:22

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:10

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:24

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom 12:2

Why is it that people add things to God's Word? I did a search on Biblegateway.com and I put in "ask and receive". I got the above verses, all except the last one. When I put in "God's will", I got the last verse. There are so many people who are praying WRONG! Why are we so afraid to ask God for what we need? And why is it that we have such little faith in receiving it? Sure, when I look at our dryer breaking, and I look at our bank account, I wonder, "How is this ever going to work out?" But that doesn't mean I'm going to let those thoughts fester in my mind. Because I KNOW that I serve an amazing God and I stand on what He says in His Word. This morning I was told that if it was God's Will, I would get a new dryer. I reject that! I have a family of six. I do laundry every day. I don't always have the van here so that I can go to the laundry mat with my clothes and besides that, I have a little baby to lug around with me. I NEED a dryer in my house. I don't feel that I'm asking outside of God's "will" for me to get a dryer. God knows I need one, we are faithful in our finances, so when I ask God for a dryer, I'm waiting in eager anticipation of getting one!

A year and a half ago, when I prayed and asked God for Craig and I to have a baby, I waited in eager anticipation for a baby...when I was told I wasn't going to conceive! I feel like I missed out on a lot of blessings when I was younger because I didn't understand how to pray. I didn't get that I was supposed to believe that God was going to give me whatever I asked for. That's not to say that I should ask for things that are sinful. I used the example this morning that if I had prayed for a baby when I wasn't married yet, that would not be right. So, knowing how to pray is the key.

How many blessings are we missing out on when we don't believe that God is going to bless us? I'm not going to live my life that way. Of course my Daddy in Heaven wants to give good things to His child. If you're reading this, and you have a desire in your heart, if that desire lines up with the Word...ASK! What have you got to lose????

So, this past month...

You may have noticed that I've been missing in action. Or...maybe not. LOL. Either way, I have been. It's been a very trying month at our house. It's a story you might not even believe.

About a month ago (I'd have to check my documentation...and yes, I've been keeping records), we had a water softener installed. It was wonderful! But as soon as it went in, things started happening at our house with our electricity. The lights would get really dim, bulbs blew all over the house, some of the lights would get really bright while in another room, stuff would just simply turn off.

At first we were told that it wasn't a big deal. Our local electric company was called and they came out to check things out. We were told that the old fuse box we had in the house was out of date and needed updating. They said there was corosion behind it, but that we really didn't have anything to worry about. The house certainly wouldn't burn down or anything. We relayed this info to the landlord who said that sounded good and then they continued to ignore the problem.

That week, we came home from a softball game and we were sitting in our kitchen (by candlelight) when we heard a loud popping noise and saw bright light coming from the room where I computer was. I hurried out to check it out and the computer was sparking. Craig hurried and got it all unplugged and everything but it was too late. The back of our tower was smoking and we knew it was ruined. We also knew that if we hadn't been home when that happened, our house would have burned down. Without a doubt.

The landlord came over that night after I called about the computer (he was supposed to have come over that day and the day before but he never did) and checked things out. Of course, it wasn't HIS fault that our computer got fried. It must have been a faulty surge protector. He proceeded to do a walk thru of the house and commented on lots of different things like, the condition of the carpet, some water damage on the ceiling that we hadn't noticed, and some other things. He was only in the basement checking out the electricity for a very short period of time. He also pulled the filter out of our furnace and said that we needed a new one. The furnace was still running. Incidentally, it doesn't work anymore and that's somehow our fault.

He came over several times in the week that followed. Sometimes he would come late at night. Always wanting to tinker with the electricity and never fixing the problem. In fact, everytime he was here, the problem seemed to get worse. Our TV started turning off by itself. We bought a Wii and that broke. And then our tv quit working all together. Now, let me remind you, this didn't happen all at once. This happened over a period of four weeks when our landlord just continued to ignore the problem.

So, I finally called Code Enforcement to get them to light a fire under their butts. They got an electrician over here to inspect things and ended up replacing the fuse box with a breaker box. When that was done, the electrician was still getting voltage fluctuations throughout the house. So, he called the electric company back and found out that it was ACTUALLY their problem from the beginning. I kind of felt a little bad that they went and replaced the system but at the same time, if it had been taken care of the right way from the beginning, that might not have happened.

So, now our house is up for sale. The landlords don't want to mess with it anymore and they want out from under it. So, we've got to find an aparment or another house to go to. We don't have the BEST relationship with them because of all of this stuff. But, we know that God's favor is with us and that He'll put us in just the right place.

The other thing that happened this week was that our car broke down. So, we're also shopping for a new one. My father in law is helping with that some and hopefully in the next day or two we'll have a new car. Well, new to us anyway.

But you know what? To God be the glory! I know that we are going through this stuff so that God can come out victorious. We are tithers and seeders in our church. God will take care of us. His Word says so! God never promised us that we wouldn't have trials. But He did say that when we had trials, He would be there with us in the midst of them. And I'm counting on Him for that! He always does what He says He will do!

Pregnant! Warning: Graphic Discussion About Peeing On Sticks

I still can hardly believe it.

For those of you who wonder about due dates, I'm not 100% sure. According to the websites I've checked, I'm due December 17. But I don't know that I ovulated when you would during a normal cycle. I was in the ER a month ago with some throat issues and before they did a chest x ray, they did a pregnancy test (pee test) and it was negative. So, I'm not sure how pregnant I really am. I'm sure they will do an ultrasound soon and I'll know more then.

I bought the test on a whim last night. I had gone to the doctor (regular medical) for some breathing issues and she gave me some prescriptions. I walked across the street to Rite Aid to get them filled and wandered around the store. I wandered to the pregnancy tests. These were my thoughts:

"Man, this is day 51 of my cycle. I've never had such a LONG cycle. Something isn't right."

"If I buy a test, Craig is going to kill me."

"How many of these tests have I bought and taken only to find that they're negative? I'm just setting myself up for disappointment."

But, in the end, I put it in with my prescriptions. I went home and had to pee so bad by the time I got home it wasn't funny! Haha. I went straight upstairs and did the test. The "test" window had a line in it before it even got to the "control" window. I couldn't believe it. I glanced at it as I was cleaning up and thought, "No way!" There it was, plain as day! I have waited so long to see that positive test!

When Craig got home, I had him sit down. He looked a little panicked. I just kind of looked at him with this big smile on my face and said, "I'm pregnant." He said, "What? No way." I showed him the test and the instructions on how to read the test. He started crying and hugged me.

This morning, I said, "You know, you already think you're the man...now you REALLY think you're the man, don't you?"

He said, "Yeah, well...I'm pretty impressed with myself." Haha

But, and this cannot go without being said, God gets all the glory. I was on Clomid for five months with no pregnancy. I asked God to bless me with a baby this year and He told me that He would. What God says He will do, HE WILL DO! There is no doubt about that in my mind. God is good and He is all-powerful and He is moved by our faith!!

I'm so thankful and so in awe right now. And it's an honor and a pleasure to share it with you all!

RIP Henry The Octopus

Henry the Octopus suffered a painful and agonizing death this morning at the hands...er...paws of Gizmo of Corning, NY.

Henry was a loved member of the Colwell household. He joined the family circa June, 2003 as Matthew's beloved Wiggles Octopus friend. Tragedy struck this morning at approximately 9:04 am when Henry was overtaken by one, Gizmo, species: Canine. Gizmo is a one year old lhasa-apso/american eskimo canine who has been with the Colwell family since April of 2008. Henry was abruptly struck in the back several times by the canine's large nose before being picked up by one of his eight limbs. Gizmo then carried Henry to the rug in the daycare room and proceeded to chew. Unfortunately, Henry's screams were not heard by the remainder of the family due to the fact that he was, in fact, a toy.

Ultimately, Henry met his end when Gizmo tore one of his eight legs off and threw it across the room. She then began to remove the beads that made up the stuffing inside the toy octopus. Henry continued to scream, but again, he was a toy.

The burial took place in the Colwell family garbage can. Services will take place today, January 13, 2009 and will consist of people looking at Henry and shaking their heads as they continue to pour food, waste and paper products down upon his head, thereby, burying him in the garbage.

His remains were sucked up off the carpet by the Colwell family vacuum. The Colwell family wishes to extend many thanks to the vacuum for it's quick recovery of Henry's remains.

The vacuum was unavailable for comment.