another Saturday night and I ain't got no ...ice cream

It's Saturday night and I am craving ice cream. My favorite treat, albeit very fattening, is vanilla ice cream with a table spoon or so of melted peanut butter on it. YUM! Oh, I can't stand it...I am so in the mood for that. (think happy thoughts, thinks happy thoughts) Our Saturday started uneventfully. All three kids had sleep overs (at other kid's homes)! Cool! Rick and I hit the 'bucks and had a quiet morning, then he went off to his office for a while, then the kids came home. Sarah's sleep over was a birthday party and my my brave friend, Julie, who hosted the sleepover for her daughter, invited 14 little 8 yr olds and, guess what! ... the power went out from 6:30 til 3 am. yikes! I hung around for a while, til 9:30, then I sort of bailed on her. Later, I stayed up very late, watching the Weather Channel and Hurricane Ike. I felt very bad for the people and I was trying to stay awake, feeling a bit helpless realizing that all I could do was pray, so I did. It's a terrible tragedy. Hurricanes are pretty scary. We have been through a few of them here and it is difficult to say good-bye to your home when you have to evacuate. Not knowing what you might come back to after the storm is unsettling, but just like most other situations when you are helpless to change the situation, you become so aware of who is in control and what really is important. Last night, I was so thankful to be healthy and that my children and husband are as well. Most importantly, I am so comforted by the faith they have in Jesus Christ. He always comes through. Even though natural disasters happen, and terrible tragedies occur, like the derailment of the train in LA, the LORD is always there to get us through one way or another.

If we didn't have trials and difficulties, we would believe that we can do life alone on our own. In situations where we have no control or explanation, we have the comfort of God's promise that He will get us through the waters when they rise too high and He will deliver us through the fire and He will walk with us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He doesn't cause these things to happen and He is not powerless to stop them, but He does prove His love for us when we decide to lean on Him and allow Him to teach us things about our world and ourselves and eternity. Something that I learned in my study of Daniel last year (Daniel 3:13-18) is the three different scenarios facing us when going through a "fiery" trial. This is from the Beth Moore study by the way. Scenario one: God can deliver us from the fire(so that we don't have to go through it)...our faith is built Scenario two: God can deliver us through the fire( like me, going through cancer,but He went through it with me)..our faith is refined John 11:4 1Peter 1:7 Scenario three: God can deliver us by the fire ( straight into His arms)...our faith is perfected 1 Cor 15:26 Hebrews 12:1-3 I am rambling , but so be it, and I am not sure that I am getting my point across because I am still thinking about ice cream and peanut butter, nevertheless, I am so thankful for the blessings He has showered on me. It may sound weird to be thankful and feel blessed when I have been through cancer stuff numerous times, but it's all good and I don't know what else might be in store for me and my family, but the Lord is getting us prepared to face things and showing us His faithfulness. I'm not saying I won't be anxious or worry, but Jesus is always faithful to be with me when I am. My situation is nothing short of... extraordinary(not to sound boastful). There really aren't any statistics for what I have been through. I am not saying that no one has ever been through this sort of thing before, but it is unusual and I think unexpected for me to still be here with you today. Cool, huh? It's the Lord. Plain and simple. In a way, I need to put the things that God has done for me in the past and start looking for the things He is doing for me now or will do for me in he future. He's always at work and refining. Take a little time and think about who and what you put your trust and faith in...man, money , stuff, or Jesus Christ who died for you so that you don't have to have fear or anxiety about what might happen on this earth. Jesus gives you the gift of life everlasting with Him. After all , everyone is going somewhere after they die, you've got to chose the right path. Boy, am I preachy or what? Maybe I should go back through this post and delete all of this but I am not going to . I am just going to hit post and...whoop,there it is. I love you guys, and I just want you to take a little time and think about your relationship with the Lord and what faith is. Maybe read a little bit of your Bible or just click on the link on my blog to look at the Bible online. There's lots of commentary and info on it. Well, I am hitting the POST it button now. Have a great weekend, we sure are. Much love, Joann

Here's a cute picture to lighten things up a little bit.

we were at the beach the other evening and the water was like a bathtub with bubbles from the storm out at sea