Fiona is the 1986 XJ6 Jaguar we bought when Adam got his new job. $2500. She was a fabulous deal, since Adam realized immediately that the car was really worth about $4000, just as we bought her. This allayed our fears, as we handed over the cash.
Now that Adam doesn't have work again, we need to sell Fiona, which is a sad thing for my husband. He's wanted a car like this since his teens, and now he's had her -- for a few weeks. Ah well. Such is life.
In preparation for selling Fiona, Adam is doing as much reconstructive work on her as possible, to increase her value. The previous owner had already done some nice stuff -- upholstery, head-liner, tires. But the dashboard was in rough shape. In fact, all the wood work was old, dry, cracked and peeling. Adam replaced the strips of wood on the trunk, and on the doors. They looked gorgeous. Then he redid the glove box, also lovely. Now, he's doing the entire dashboard. If you'd rather hear him tell about it, here's his post.
He ripped out the top and front of the dash. Eek! I find this all rather terrifying, and don't want to watch. He has all the schematics and manuals though, and is keeping meticulous care of each little screw and bolt, taped to paper and labeled. But doesn't it look horrid?
Some of the gauges, sitting out -- um, like the speedometer.
See what I mean about labeled? That ugly orange thing is the top of the dash, turned upside down.
Here it is, just before he took the wooden dash out. You can tell how the glove box has already been redone, but the rest of the wood work hasn't. The photo is too fuzzy to tell, but some chunks of wood have varnish that's peeling off and ugly.
More dashboard stuff removed:
There ARE moments when my husband shows his organizational gifts!
So, he chipped off the old varnish. Then he replaced it with polyurethane, about 8 or 9 layers, combined with lots of gentle sanding, to make it silky smooth.
It's shiny and new now.
I'm very proud of his work. Because he doesn't have income right now, the improvements he makes on Fiona are basically adding money in our pockets (hopefully), when she sells. Next step? Putting her all back together. I'll photograph and post, if I dare.
I'm glad I wasn't an Israelite, fresh out of Egypt. Can you imagine? With your back against the deep waters of the Red Sea, and your face looking into the power of Pharaoh's army? And you, holding all that Egyptian gold and silver, that you'd just left with? God struck them with the horrible plagues that released you from Egypt, but where is God now?
You are stuck, with nowhere to go. Between the sea and the army. If you survive this day alive, Pharaoh will take you back as a slave and order you to make bricks without straw or clay!
Have you ever felt like there are no options? No choices at all? Life is at a standstill and there's nowhere to go? (I'm feeling that way now.)
Exodus 14: 13,14: "But Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.'”
Stand by. While you keep silent.
There are many ways to respond to trouble, and they're not all bad. David often complained to God about misfortune, and I've seen that as permission to do the same. But the Israelites grumbled. In their complaining, they didn't think God would do anything. David at least always believed God could deliver him. One can also react to trouble with denial, or anger, or vengeance, or despair. None of these are good.
Sometimes God puts our backs up against a wall. All options are removed, and we are in a situational straight-jacket. "Stand by," He says. "Be silent." If you will watch, you'll see what I will do. Don't be afraid." (Yeah, right!! I feel like saying.)
In the past week, I've had so many friends say something like this: "I can't wait to see what the Lord will do with this! He definitely has a plan for your family. Let's watch and see what it is. I wonder what He'll do next!"
I believe this is the expectant, trusting, hopeful attitude we're supposed to have. It's very difficult. It's difficult again, each morning. But it's essential to becoming the child God wants me to be, which is a big purpose of the trouble in the first place. Stand by, I'm telling myself. Don't grumble. Watch for what God will do.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I'm discovering how much I've been sending out email responses to people who aren't getting them. Here are my friends who have never read the lovely replies I've written:
Pom
Carolyn
Sharon
Sarah (in Boston)
Mary
There may be others. If you've left a nice comment several different times, and never heard from me, the reply is drifting out there in cyberspace, in a land called "no-reply comment."
However, a few friends do seem to get my email replies. They are:
Gretchen Joanna
Gumbo Lily
Melissa
Michelle
And others, I hope.
At first I thought it was a gmail thing -- that if Google handles your email, it would link us together automatically. But that's not the case. Maybe there's some little box you or I have to click, to make it work, but I don't know which one. I never click the box on a blogger's comment thread to let me get emails for all the follow-up comments, b/c I don't want 23 email comments about that blogger's post, from people I don't even know, that aren't even written to me. I wouldn't blame other folks for not wanting that either.
Ah, the complicated world of the internet.
So, many apologies. I'll keep working on this communication thing.
Many thanks to Sharon, Pom, and Mary for replying to my last post about how I should answer comments.
But as of 30 seconds ago, I'm so confused.
You see, your comments get to sent to me on my email. And I usually click "Reply" to them, and write an email response, and send it off. When I investigated, however, I found that I wasn't sending Mary's reply to Mary (I think), but to something called "Noreply -- blogger" or something like that. Eek!! Does that mean that all these responses I've been emailing for all this time, haven't gone to anyone? That can't be! I know sometimes people then write me back again. I'm SO confused!
Mary, Sharon and Pom -- did you get an email from me, answering your comment? Please let me know. I have to figure this out. It's driving me nuts!!!
Okay, this is just a post about blogging. But I have this one issue: how do I respond to your comments?
1. I can leave a comment here, in response to you, but you might not come back to read it ....
2. But if I don't leave a comment here, it looks like I'm rude ....
3. Your comments also come to my via email, so I usually respond to you with an email ....
4. But if I do that, I don't also come here to respond, so again, it looks rude ....
5. But it's rather weird to answer you twice, once via email, and once in the comment box.
Do any other bloggers have this problem? Am I just an idiot that I don't know how to answer my dear friends? Any help? Anyone?
(I bet you folks on Wordpress don't have this issue, do you? :)
When I face trouble and heart-ache, I read. I look for wisdom, help and comfort from the experiences of others. Here are some odds and ends I've found lately:
#1. Ps. 112:4 -- "Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous." Or, as James Ward's song says, "Even in darkness, light dawns, for the gracious and upright!"
This is a huge comfort to me, because I truly believe -- I know -- that my dear husband has acted uprightly in all he's done. He's acted in love for God's people and in concern for their welfare. Yet we are in darkness, in trouble and difficulty. This verse from Psalm 112 tells us that the righteous man is sometimes in darkness, but when he's there, light dawns on him! The darkness does not remain. God brings deliverance, help, and a new day. What a comfort!
For a listen to James Ward and his choir at New City Fellowship, here is his fabulous song, "Death Is Ended." I couldn't find a Youtube of the other one.
My mother sent me a clipping from Banner of Truth. The article is about Alexis, Baron von Roenne, a German who opposed Hitler and went to his death for it. These words from Psalm 112 about the upright man, were a description of him, in this article. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace." Ps. 37:37
#2. My mother also sent me a prayer letter that they used at church this past week. There were many verses about the importance of prayer, but I was most struck by this one: "Prayer is part of our chief end: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. [This is from the Westminster Catechism.] '...and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.'" Ps. 50:15 Look at how all these things are connected! My trouble, my prayers about my trouble, God's deliverance, and His glory. It is a seamless thread of purpose, His plan altogether. I do believe it is the main goal of my life to glorify God and enjoy Him. What better glory can there be, than a miraculous deliverance of someone in trouble?
#3. My husband has tweaked his blog. It used to be just a theological blog, with his sermons and thoughts on Scripture. He's widened it to include his varied interests and skills, which are many :) But here's a quote from him, from a post about forgiveness and mending broken relationships. "Real repentance is a mourning for a broken relationship. When we forgive one another, it is simply not enough to remove the offense; the relationship must also be restored ...." Wow!! Usually we think of repentance as turning from our sin, which is true. But real repentance -- real turning from sin, is founded in a deep desire to be right with God, a longing for the close relationship that we've lost with Him.That's what we should feel, every day.
#4. I've always struggled with whether God will really take care of me. How do I know He will provide? He can, but will He? Of course, there are many promises, and I must remind myself of them over and over. A new one occurred to me. Jesus tells his disciples (and us) that he will not leave us comfortless. He will be with us, even though he's returned to heaven.When we are sorrowing, he comforts. Now, consider James 2:15: "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" Jesus said to us, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled" - be comforted in sorrow and cared for in need. He's not going to merely say those words, without acting on them as well. He's no hypocrite, giving lip-service to mercy, without deeds too. So, I believe that since my Lord has told me to be comforted, He will give the things to make that comfort happen. He'll put feet to his words.
He's already doing that. I've had such warm, loving emails and messages from friends, I just can't tell you. One dear pastor friend emailed today, and included a precious prayer for us, in his email. I cried as I read it. With love like that from Christian brothers, how can I worry? How can I bemoan my trials, when without them, I would never receive such expressions of friendship and love?
