Three Unexpected Events

One never knows what will happen from one day to the next.

The first unexpected event involves God surprising me at Back-to-School night.
I have been praying and wishing that my son had the type of boss that knew more about his struggles...and would give him a chance. Maybe a family friend could employ him, and be a mentor to him, as my son is beyond listening to our advice. But there is no one in our life like this.

Well...God works in the strangest places. I went to Back-to-School night for my younger son. As I walked into Science class, a husband and a wife waved at me. I looked closely and realized they were friends who I hadn't seen in years. They asked about my boys, and when I told them that my oldest son was studying welding at the junior college, the man showed immediate interest. "I always need welders," he said. I shared a tiny bit about Corey's situation, and it didn't seem to phase him. He really wanted to help. "Tell him to call me." He gave me his card. From what I remember about these friends, they are in the business of building movie sets. But that is not important...what is...is that they have a faith in God.

So I brought the card home.

He didn't jump at it.
Sigh.

He glanced at the card for a second and said, "I want to apply at another place first."

I don't feel a need to argue with my son. I'll remind him from time to time and God will guide my son to this man, if it is His will. But I'm so encouraged!

The second unexpected event is that my husband has postponed my son's eviction from our home which was supposed to be on Sunday. My husband received an invitation from a friend to spend the weekend dirt biking. Mozart really needs to get out, as he's been buried under his composing for too long. He needs a break. The son doesn't know about the postponement yet. I'm delaying so he'll keep looking for a job. Yet Mozart postponed things because I certainly did not want to evict my son without my husband here.

The third unexpected event happened only a few hours ago. My husband rolled his motorcycle out of the shed and proceeded to get it ready to go riding. My oldest son and a friend were here. They watched Mozart ride the bike up and down the street. I started to feel a little happy to see Mozart and the young men together. This is the one interest that husband and son share...and it has been so long since the bikes have been out.

My son's friend, "Ax" asked if he could take a spin on the bike. My husband asked him if he had ridden before. "Yes." So Ax slid on a helmet and took off out of our driveway. He let the clutch out too fast and the bike wheelied. (Front tire up in the air.) It wheelied straight across the street and up our neighbor's driveway and crashed into their wood stairs leading up to a deck. The stairs and hand rail crumpled, the bike fell, and Ax fell against the stairs. Fortunately Ax is fine except for a ripped shirt, scrapes and bruised ribs. But the frame is bent on my husband's motorcycle. It cannot be fixed. "I guess I'm not going riding this weekend," said Mozart.

Here is Mozart doing a wheelie on his favorite bike.

Even though this is bad news, somehow I feel that God is in control, and somehow good will come out of this. So far...my son and his friend have gone over to the neighbor and volunteered to help repair the damage. I also saw my son's compassion for his bruised friend. He waited on him hand and foot, bringing him ice, water, and he even made him dinner. He tried to console him...as Ax feels pretty bad for wrecking the motorcycle. I also saw some compassion in my son for his father's situation. As he came into his father's office and volunteered to make him a new bike frame. (Using his welding skills.) This will not be possible, but Mozart said he appreciated my son's offer.

It turns out that Mozart will still go riding. He won't be on his favorite bike, but his riding buddy has an extra one. He is quite sad about his bike, as he has sunk a bit of money into it over the years to make it ride well. (He does have a spare bike...but it's doesn't ride like his favorite.)

Nonetheless, things are at a different angle in the household this evening. Father and son are speaking...the young men will be helping our neighbors, and I am looking forward to a peaceful weekend. (You know what I mean...when the husband is away, a wife can relax!)

Have a good weekend.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding."
Proverbs 3:5

Sliding Down Again

Oh dear...the interview went well, but the son is not hired.
The father placed another deadline on him. He must have a job by this coming Sunday.

Time to trust, once again. I'm re-reading parts of Allison Bottke's book "Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children." It's helping me to stay strong.

I finished "The Shack". I really enjoyed it. Now Mozart is reading it.

I'll be back soon with a longer post.

Have a nice day.

This and That

I'm reading a good book. It started out a little slow. Then it sped up. Next, it seemed to get silly. Finally after reading one third of the book, it became more thought provoking. Now I'm deeply engrossed.

I asked God to read the book with me. I felt this was appropriate, as He is mentioned in the book. I wonder if God enjoys reading fiction about himself? I'm sure He is amused by it.

The book is "The Shack".

I'm enjoying it immensely. And I think it will help me as I walk through this unknown road with my son.

Speaking of my son, I have been living in dread of Sunday. That's his deadline for getting a job "or else". I didn't want to follow through on the "or else"--but I knew I must.

So after many reminders to him--throughout the week--of what might happen to him....today he made a call. Then he came to us and said he had a job interview on Monday.

So we are giving him an extension on the "or else".

I am so relieved that I don't have to turn him out on Sunday.

Thank you so much Lord.

Change of topic.

It has been hot here in Southern California. I'm wearing shorts right now, and it's 9:00 p.m. Yet it's getting a little cooler in the morning and at night (but not much). I'm looking forward to fall...and also to rain. We are in a severe drought here.

Goodbye for now. My younger son has been patiently waiting to use the computer. (He and his brother's computer is down)

(Yes...I have the scripture verse on the computer. (I'm referring to a previous post) My oldest son has had his friends in here, using the computer. Now they all see the verse. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5,6)

Prayer and Trust

It has been a hard week with the recent hurricanes battering the coast. And here in Southern California we're dealing with a train crash. Pray for those who have been affected by these hard times.

I've been thinking about our troops and trying to remember them in prayer. I ran into an old friend at the market. I hadn't seen her in years. Her son is in his 5th year of the marines and is heading toward Afghanistan this week. She said that her son said that many of the soldiers feel that we have forgotten about them. It's true. We take them for granted. At least I know I do. So I will try to pray for them every day. They are truly giving their time and their lives to make sure America—and you and I—remain free and safe.

In my own life, once again, I need to trust God for something big. My 21 year old son lost his job at the end of July, and almost 2 months later...he still is unemployed. Therefore it has happened that he must have another job by next weekend, or he will no longer be allowed to stay in our home. I am worried he will not have a job, and I am worried about what will happen to him.

It's so important that when we are going through hard times that we pause to remember how God has been faithful in the past. Even if we can only think of small things. So I will turn my mind to those things. Not long ago, God got my son a job in the nick of time, before he was ousted to the street. The Story. We don't know how things will work out in the future...but God is in the future. ..and He's got the bases covered.

A Date with Mozart

Mozart and I go for a walk almost every night after dinner. It gives us the chance to talk. We can easily go through a whole day without saying anything except little snippits like...
"Have you had lunch?"
"I'm going to pick up D. from school."
"Do you know where the check book is?"

But tonight we didn't go on our usual walk. We went on an UNusual walk. It all started when we remembered that we neglected to pick up the car from the mechanic. He fixed our flat tire a couple of days ago and the car was still parked on the street next to his shop.

So around 8:00 p.m. Mozart suddenly said, "Oh..we need to get the car. Maybe we can walk up there."

"Walk all the way up there--into downtown?"

"Yeah. We'll walk up...then we'll drive the car home."

"Okay..." I was surprised at this adventurous idea coming out of Mozart.

"I'll by you an ice cream when we get there," he added.

Now he REALLY had my attention!

So we walked up our street with tall trees on both sides and the stars forming a canopy. (all 5 stars--and Jupiter) We crossed the boulevard and entered another quiet neighborhood. Finally the street became lighter with the glow of "downtown." We spotted our car, then headed to the drug store for ice cream.

Since this was an UNusual walk, I decided to order an UNusual ice cream flavor.
"One scoop coconut/pineapple in a sugar cone please."

Mozart didn't get anything. He still needed to eat dinner. (he had composed through dinner)
I don't know why I did it, but I grabbed a plastic spoon on the way out.
"Try some." I said.
This was a big mistake.
Mozart wanted another bite...then another.
And in the car on the way home..."How 'bout another taste?"

Now he wants me to find the flavor at the market.

Well I must say, inspite of the ice cream situation, I had a wonderful time! Sometimes the best things in life are free...or I should say they are only $1.29 for a scoop.

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My sons have been using my computer because their computer is out of order. At first I thought of this as an imposition. But I'm coming through that now, and I think I will make the best of it. Today the idea came to tape a scripture to computer--underneath the screen. I'll change it from day to day. Maybe some verses from Proverbs?