Blessed, Yet Discouraged?

We are officially back from our vacation! We had a great time. The weather was beautiful. We camped with several other people and had such a nice time. Our week was spent sleeping, reading, swimming (the waves were great), and relaxing. We enjoyed late night walks on the board walk with a clear sky revealing many stars and a bright moon. God's creation is such a wonder and I am always reminded of His great work whenever we are out camping. My dad and nephew Cole spent a couple of days with us as well as my cousin Jess and her husband and daughter. The more the merrier! At one time we had 7 people sleeping in our tent! I have some pictures of our trip that I will post later.

We left the camp site on Monday and headed to Holland, Michigan to stay with Ben's aunt and Grandma. There was a Glupker family cook-out on the 4th with many family members gathered together. I am so thankful for Ben's godly heritage, he comes from such a great family! His grandma lives a couple of miles from Lake Michigan so we spent a few hours there in the sun.

After we left Holland, we headed over to my sister's house to watch fireworks with her family. We got home that night at about 12:30. We were exhausted by the time we got to bed - only to get up early for work the next day.

Speaking of work, I discovered that I am getting more responsibilites in the office. It is a somewhat difficult position that I am now doing (on top of what I was already doing), but I am thankful for the experience that I am sure will come in handy later. I also got a raise which of course is a blessing!

Although there are so many things to be thankful for, I am a bit discouraged today for a couple of reasons. One, our teaching positions at the school have been filled. I am thrilled for the sake of the school, but saddened because our involvement in the ministry there is officially over. There is no turning back now - whether our house sells of not. Two, the couple that seemed so excited about purchasing our house bought the house right next to ours while we were on vacation.

Ben continues to smile and remind me that "it's all good because God is good." I know in my head that God has a perfect plan for our lives. We are trying to faithfully follow His leading. Sometimes I find it difficult to be at peace with the path that I am on only because I do not know or see the direction the path is heading toward. Where will be in 3 months? Will we have jobs? Will be in Michigan? Will we have insurance? I was encouraged to read Adam's blog today (see my link to A. Thomas) and be reminded of the power of prayer and what a friend I have in Jesus. I certainly don't want to forfeit peace by carrying all of my burdens. God is good, He does have a plan, He is still in control, I have nothing to worry about.

Just as I am typing this post I received a phone call from a friend who wants to bring a prospective buyer to our house. It only takes one person to buy our house - maybe this will be the one!

For my own sake I need to remind myself of the blessings of God:
- I just got a promotion at work after only a few weeks of employment with the agency!
- We enjoyed a great vacation with wonderful family and friends!
- Ben still has work!
-I just got another job! (I forgot to mention that - I am now the custodian at our church again for
a while)
- I got to see some old friends (Liz (Lunney) Collins, Michael and Rebecca Saunders)
- Our anniversary is next week!
- I have been challenged by my reading lately. I will discuss that later.