I wanted to give an update on the garden post about weeds from last week. It rained a ton after I applied the vinegar solution to the weeds, and I noticed that some are being restored. I plan to try the spray one more time, in a season of no rain and really hot days. So the jury is still out on the homemade weed killer.

Now …. to the curve balls.

In the last two weeks this has happened:

• My older brother was admitted to the hospital with blood clots in his lungs. (Prayers redeemed that and he’s home and doing well.)
• I went to a writer’s conference. The second day one of my sweet instructors, who writes children’s books, had to go home because her six year old grandson who has had a brain tumor in a quiet stage… had it start acting up again. I haven’t heard how he is doing, but I’m praying and believing good things for their family. (Say a prayer for them if you’re reading this and don’t mind.)
• On Thursday, I was beginning to feel sick and at the same time I got the message that my mom had a horrific fall and a broken hip. (She’s since had surgery and waiting to go to rehab.)
• On Saturday, I had to go to the ER, and was diagnosed with Covid, a gallstone, and cysts on my liver (probably genetic). So I can’t go help my brother who is under a strain taking care of our mom, getting her placed in rehab, and watching over our father who is at home by himself with dementia. (I need to get better fast, so I can go help. Just praying my husband doesn’t catch the Covid… so I’ll be able to go… hopefully in two weeks.)
• Our son’s water pipes burst… they were so old more burst as they were being fixed. They were without water for a week with four little kids. And they’re down to one car… the other has been in the shop for over a week. So my poor daughter-in-law has been having to load 4 sleepy kids in the car, in the dark, to drive our son to work so she could have a car.
• I woke up this morning with my O2 saturation at 92% and felt like an elephant was setting on my chest. I was reminded that the ER doctor said that this Covid is known to cause blood clots in the lungs, and the elephant thing on the chest is a sign of that. (What’s up with these blood clot scares so close together). Luckily the neubulizer brought my O2 saturation back up to 98-99%, but in the meantime, I was confessing every sin I ever committed, repenting in tears, and praying the Hezekiah prayer. You can find that story in 2 Kings chapter 20. He was going to die from an illness, but the prayer was honored by God and it got him 15 more years.

So… when Satan attacks…

FIGHT

Fight with God’s Word as Jesus did… with… “IT IS WRITTEN”

BELIEVE

That God will do for you what He says He will do in scripture. Google verses that apply to your situation, mark them in your Bible. Many times I put the date and what is happening in the margin, so I can go back and see many answered prayers. It helps build your faith.

And

Watch motivating videos like the one I’m attaching on restoration. Terri Savelle Foy covers Four Keys For Restoration in this video. It’s right around 30 minutes and so worth your time. Try your best not to just dismiss watching it. There is valuable Biblical information in it.

Here are the four keys she shares:

1. Express gratitude
2. Envision Restoration
3. Make a list of your friends
4. Sow something

You will not understand these until you watch the video linked next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxLlABRiOpI

Just click on the link. I will put a little disclaimer here… when she is talking about Job, she accidentally mentions his wives. I think she meant his children’s wives. Job only had one wife. Later she corrects it with “his marriage is restored” (one marriage). It’s so easy to slip up when trying to tell everything people need to hear.

Now, I’ll end on a positive note…

I won 2nd place at the conference for this blog. I won third place for a flash fiction piece. It was a great measurement for me to know how much more it will take to get to a first place win on something I’ve written. Because I went home sick, I had a sweet friend there who was able to walk the stage for my certificates. She was dressed so beautifully and walked so confidently across that stage, and I will just say… I actually think that was a “God Thing”. Because, if I had to do that, my heart would have been pounding, I would have been shaking from head to toe, and feeling like I was going to pass out. It was a blessing to me for her to do it instead.

I pray… if you are experiencing some curve balls in your life, God turns it all around and restores everything you need restored.

Have a great week!