"On a Dark, Two-Lane, Back Road...."

Warning Tip #1- Do not eat Mexican food when you are going to have car trouble, on a dark two lane back road, still 30 mins from home.

Ah yes.....

Some may know, and many don't, that our son is on his second vehicle in less than a year of receiving his license. And with this second vehicle has came some frustrating challenges. I won't go into all the details, but will say - this car has been in the shop 3 different times now. . .with the first time requiring them to hold it in shop for SIX weeks, the second for 4 weeks, and the most recent for 1 day. The first time being the engine was blown. The second time...well, the engine was blown again. The third time...that's where my story comes in. :)

Dad was going to break the engine in this time. As you know the first 1,000 miles are crucial to that happening. In order for that to happen, Dad gets to take Mom driving to each of her far-away favorite eating spots more often! We also get to go for alot of loooong driving sprees which I love! Afterall...Dad loves to drive - Mom loves to ride. We have quite easily racked up the necessary miles in a very short amount of time....much to Levi's delight (he gets his car back sooner). As Levi would listen to the engine though, he would repeatedly tell his Dad "something just doesn't sound right about it.". But, he could never pin point it.

That brings us to last Friday night.

Dad and Mom, were out driving son's car, coming back from Huntsville - a little over a hour away from home. We had a nice dinner in Huntsville and were driving through Conroe to see some homes we have been considering moving to in the not too distant future. While driving, the power steering goes out. Seemingly odd - we decide to just deal with it and continue on. Next, the word "Battery" displays as well as the word "Brake". (It's a stick shift, if that matters)
 Hmm...well ok. David made sure we still had brakes....and thankfully we did. He had looked under the hood earlier and noticed a belt had came off which in turn affected everything else. Not too much of a concern because we assumed the battery alone would last us the rest of the trip of home.

Guess what?

At 9:00 pm, on a two lane back road, we were pulling off on the side with a now non running car. Yay.

Thankfully, we had called our son, Levi, earlier and told him to be on-call for us in case needed. It messed up his plans for the night....but hey!
Mind you...we were not on the highway, which would have been so much more easier to find us....we were on the dark back roads. So, David gave Levi instructions to find us, called a tow truck, and then we waited. As we are waiting, our flashers are going quite dim.....nice! It just added more to the adventure! A police stopped as well as one other person. But, help was on the way....at least we believed it was. :)

As we waited, there was LOTS and LOTS of frogs and various insects of the night making their beautiful melodies. I sat there and laughed telling God "Thanks for the enjoyment! I get all I want for free right now!" That is something I have always loved - the songs of the creatures of the night. I have many stories of that love, but won't share that now. Waiting was not done nervously or worringly, for as I shared above - I love adventures - and that's just how I saw this one. I knew God would get our son to us...and He did. I knew we would get the help we needed to get the car home....and we did. God was in control.

There has only been once in my lifetime that I have NOT enjoyed an adventure (that I can recall) and that would be when David, me, and my Dad seriously got lost in the woods!! That could be a whole other Blog in itself, I tell ya!! I will tell you....that the trails were looong G O N E, we could have desperately used a machetti (sp?), the familiar sounds of civilization were deceiving and confusing us from every angle, and we were going in circles. To no help whatsoever my "dear" Dad was behind me saying such things out loud as "Well, I think we may have enough water til someone finds us." and other various no helping words. Should have left that man at home!! Let's just say it scared the crap out of me in every sense of the word!! Lol!! I will say - we survived, found our way out, and lived to tell about it. Today....well today, as much as my heart is IN the woods and LOVES the woods....I do need to be somewhat confident that we in fact can know that we will make it out in a confident manner. My fearless leader, David, is very good about that. :)

As I said, our son did find us and I was very proud of him! He was driving his dad's Camaro, which in turn brought on a potential race with another car while he was enroute to find us. Thankfully, after showing off just enough he "maturingly" (haha) left it alone. Good job, son. ;-) After a time, the tow truck arrived also. Car was loaded and we met them down the road, at a convienent store, to pay them.

No, this is not an alien spaceship. Rather it is my one and only picture of our entire "adventure". Description: Car being hooked up and loaded to tow truck. :-)



As you will recall....I started this Blog off with a Warning Tip.
Yes, dear ole Mom should have made a pit stop before getting in car to go home...especially when it's over a hour away and we just had Mexican food. But she didn't. So dear son took Mom into the store while Dad took care of business. Have I ever told you, my readers, about me and motion sensored restroom lighting? YUP. At least one Blog covered that situation well....probably others too. As you can guess, I was in another motion sensored restroom. Remembering what I already knew about these things, I decided to wave my arms in the air ever so often. Seemed to work well enough this time...for they stayed ON throughout the whole entire process!! YAY!! :)

Sooo, car was towed back to our town and left at shop....once again. However, shop was very apologetic and even reimbursed our money back from the towing. Problem was fixed and car sent back on it's way the next day. All in all, this car has been towed not once but twice to this shop and driven there by son at night for them to find next morning. Hmm....

And now?

Now my son has been looking online, once again, to find another car. O yes.
Uncle Dan, if you're reading this....you probably should give him a call soon. He's looking and found a "fox body" 92 Mustang!!! Uh-huh.....call him!! But be nice and don't be a dream crusher! By the way - - how do you feel about selling a 06 Infiniti G35?? :-)

As always....I want to tie my readers in with how God works in our lives.
I know that God gave the peace and assurance needed that night to believe he would work it all out and we would be taken care of. He not only gave it, but proved it to by meeting our needs. In all of life, I believe he wants us to have that assurance. That peace that says even though I don't know how, I don't know when, or I don't know where....God will supply all our needs and bring us safely through. Remember, he may not give you all you want, but he most assuredly will give you all you need. Trust him, even when it's the hardest to trust, for he alone is trustworthy. He is a faithful God and stands ready to be your everything in this life. Let him. He loves you with an unimaginable love for now....and forever.

"Thank you, God, for being our great Navigator who leads us through and out of all life's 'adventures'!" :-)

"Who Turned Out the Lights?!"

Just the other day David decided we would go out for lunch to a spot we hadn't frequented lately. It was a nice surprise when we pulled up! For those who do know and those who do not. . . there is ONE thing I try never to leave the house without. And that would be - HAND SANITIZER!! As you can guess, I did not have mine. I headed towards the restrooms to wash my hands. As I neared it, I remembered the motion sensored lights in the hallway just outside the restrooms. They nicely appeared on as I entered the hallway. It was a different story once I reached for the Women's handle and attempted to enter. I pulled it open only to find darkness on the other side with no visible light inside. I thought "Well, the inside of the bathroom is the same way, so shouldn't me pulling the door open make the lights come on??" I mean what's the meaning of "motions sensored lights" if no apparent movement is causing the effect of light?? I decided to enter, while keeping my foot propping the door open, and see if I could find a switch. No such luck....not a single switch anywhere inside those walls! I began waving my arms and saying "Heeelllloooo!!" Still nothing.

For some reason, there seem to be funny stories that appear when it's me and motion sensored lighting.....O and well - restrooms too. I can remember one such funny incident and actually wouldn't have minded seeing it on a sensored video! Yes, it was that funny. For lack of telling too many details - - it was me, in a restroom, trying my best to keep the lights on while in use of facilities. In other words...leaving stall and taking a lap once up and down the aisle, as well as lots of jumping up and waving arms and saying "Helllooooo!!! I'm in here!!!" while in stall. Could it be said perhaps they're saying I'm a bit slow in the stall? Ha! Couldn't be! I blame it on poor time management of lighting! ;-)

Now where were we......
Back to the present complication.....as I'm still propping door open with one foot and nothing is happening, I wonder if I can stretch myself to the sink all the while still propping door open with foot. Not gonna happen. I'm no Stretch Armstrong. A thought crosses my mind to go try the Men's Restroom. I decided against. As the situation lingers, I then decide well....maybe I should just let the door go and see what happens while I stand here silently in the dark. Guess what? - - - I let the door go. . . was all the way inside. . . and BEHOLD the lights came on!!!! No more wondering, no more darkness, and soon, no more dirty hands. :-)
Dumb idea if you ask me.....but hey I found the light!!

As I came back to my seat, I told David all about it (of course) and that's when the Blog processing mind started taking over inside of me. As you know, I'm always looking for an inspirational thought to cross by me to share with my readers!

So many directions God could take me to share this with you.... faith, letting go, trusting even when we don't see, direction......etc.

As always though, my heart leans towards giving you HOPE. Hope in the waiting. Hope in the unseen. Hope in the past. Hope in the present. Hope for the future. Friends, maybe there is a place in your life that you are at and you feel as if you are left standing there with the door open and no one is turning on the lights to light your way. Maybe you have held onto that door for so long that you don't know how to let go of it and watch God Almighty provide the direction you are seeking in your life, or that of your children, or spouse or whoever it may be. We have ALL been door holders at one time or another in our lives. Afraid to let go, afraid to trust, discouraged because the "light" isn't seemingly coming on in our lives, our children's lives, our spouses. Friend, let me remind you. . .  Jesus IS the Light and He IS always there to light our way...no matter the situation, circumstance, or the person. Our hope IS in Him. We must remind ourselves that His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. Isaiah 55:8. Also know that He has the plans for each of our lives. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

There are MANY unknowns in life to us. But we take comfort in knowing....God is always and forever in control. "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

We trust - "For I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:8. "Trust in him at all times, O people, pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." Psalm 62:8.

We hope - "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24 "Those who hope in me will not be disappointed." Isaiah 49:23c

We wait - Lots of waiting!! "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 28:14. "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1.

Friend, I leave two verses that I believe sum up the whole Blog.
"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4-5.

"The Lord is my LIGHT and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1.

Whatever door you may be hanging onto may it be fear, doubt, discouragement, undecided direction, worry....let it go in God's strength (and not your own) and watch him bring the needed Light to your soul that you may be searching for. Allow God the time needed to work in your life, your children's life, spouse's life and DON'T give into discouragement when you don't see it happening right away. God's timing is perfect no matter the wait. Believe it. Hope in it. Rest in it. :-)