Curse you, mini-vaaaaan!

I'm so upset I could spit.  I called this morning to check on the status of our van.  It's been a whole week and I was under the impression that it was going to be ready on Friday.  Today is Tuesday.  I also could have sworn I heard the guy in the background telling the one on the phone with me that it was ready on Friday.  No phone call to let us know?  Even days after seeing that it's still sitting in their parking lot?  Strike one.

I was told it was ready and was super excited about getting it back!  Justin is working this evening which means he is off this afternoon so after picking him up from work, we headed straight to the mechanic's shop to get our beloved van.  As he was walking inside to pay, I decided to go ahead and leave expecting that Justin would get home around the same time since I had to drive so slowly (because I had a crockpot half-full of soup sitting in the seat next to me.  Our ladies' bible class had a luncheon today. :)).  Imagine my surprise and serious disappointment when I get a call from Justin (as I'm pulling into our apartment parking lot!) telling me I needed to come back and get him because the van won't start.  Major bummer.  Strike two.

That alone is enough to be upset about, in my opinion.  Even more than that, though:

1. We were told replacing the starter would fix the problem.  That was no minor expense.  It added $286 to an already $100 bill.  
2. It looks like that bill will be going up again and who knows by how much this time.
3. And this is the biggie:  This could very well mean not making it to Georgia over the Christmas break for my Papaw's 75th birthday party. :`(

Please pray for us.  The things that have been happening over the past month are really more frustrating than devastating (for more details, see "I'm blaming the van").  We still have our health and our God and for that I am ever thankful.  There are people in this world who have it far worse than we do.  I keep reminding myself of that when I start to have a pity party.  We are truly blessed.  We would sure love your prayers, though.  Thanks for letting me vent.

Sunday's Spiritual Smackdown

**Warning- this is an exceptionally long post (and coming from me, that is saying something. ;)) so feel free to break it up into bite-sized pieces if you need to or take a moment to settle in with a nice, hot cup of cocoa and plan to stay for awhile. :) )**

I cried nearly the entire time during church Sunday...both during assembly AND during class.  This is not an exaggeration.  I was really quite a mess.  I know God's hand was especially at work in my life that morning, tugging at my heartstrings.  He had a message that I desperately needed to hear.  I can say this with full confidence because I know that if we'd gone to assembly first like we usually do (Our church has 2 morning services.), and then to class, I wouldn't have been listening as intently.  I probably would have missed it.

I'm Blaming the Van

Yesterday was quite a stressful day.  We've all had them.  It was the kind of day where you have to intentionally and continually remind yourself that things really aren't as bad as they seem and they could be much, MUCH worse.  When days like these come around, I laugh to keep from crying.  It's all a matter of perspective and we've all heard the familiar phrase, "When it rains, it pours."

The beginning of the day was pretty uneventful other than not feeling well at all.  Sore throat, "achiness", sinus congestion.  In fact, Sadie and I stayed in our pajamas most of the day and I even laid down with her and took a brief nap.  Brief meaning 15-20 minutes, tops.  That's not exactly my definition of a nap, but nonetheless I was thankful for even the slightest bit of rest.