"The problem with being unemployed is you don't get to dream. You just get nightmares."
My husband's words spurred me on when we arrived home from our trip to Seattle. We needed to take charge of our lives and stop waiting for it to improve on its own.
I read in a magazine that to move forward, one needs to combine talents with passion.
I think after two years we finally have. Yesterday my husband met with an admissions director at a local college. Thirty years ago, he did the same thing. Back then we lived on a check from the VA for $405 a month, paid $175 rent for a duplex and lived without health insurance while he studied for a new career. It paid off.
I hope it does this time too. At fifty-five, it's a little more risky.
But this time we've prayed about the situation. Back then, we didn't even know each other was a Christian. This time we've got a nicer home to live in. But I still need to find work like I did back then to help us survive. This time, we have fewer options. But we have each other still.
A while ago, Sassy Granny sent me the book, Hinds' Feet on High Places. I've been trying to climb the mountain for a long time. I think this week, with God's help, we hit a nice mountaintop.
What's your recent mountaintop experience?
PS. Thank you to those who have been praying with us.
33 comments:
As you know my most recent mountain top seems more like a volcano pit. The laptop is in for repairs--I'm praying that they can save my data, aka most up to date manuscripts!
I'm praying for your job hunting, Teri, may God provide one with lots of story fodder for you!!
I pray new opportunities for you and your husband. Open doors and gifts and surprises. Our God is a BIG God and He can supply all our needs. A hug to you and blessings! :O)
What a great book! I hope you enjoy it!
I'm praying for you and for your family! Big steps can be scary but walking in faith is exhilarating! God will take care of his people. He will take care of you. He will provide!
Sometimes we just try to hard on our own to climb, instead of giving it and leaving with God.
Prayers
Oh, Terri, I want to go there and hug you til the cows come home. Do people still say that? Anyway, I'm glad you are going in a definite direction, and happy about it.
I am praying with you for a job to supplement, or that God give you oodles of writing that pays!
Love, Jen
Here is a big ole *HUG*
Gosh, the mountains I've climbed - literally and figuratively - I like the literal ones the best.....
Some climbs are far more rugged than others. We just visited the Alps so I have some sense of scale I didn't have before. Sounds like yours is an Alps-sort-of experience.
By the way. My hubby is 61, almost 62. Just a year ago he signed on with an employer who valued his experience and gray hair. I pray it'll be so with your hubby!
I pray your answers arrive swiftly.
Blessings & hugs,
Kathleen
For me, it was realizing I have time. (Of course, that may not be true, should He see fit to end my life prematurely...) But I always feel this hurry hurry, putting pressure on myself. When I can be proactive while still taking my time. I suppose it's the whole smell the roses thing.
Prayers, Terri. Hugs too.
Mountaintop has been the request for a full. Also ACFW.
Personally, hmmm, just being thankful for my life I guess. Real estate is very tough right now, even for my hubby. He's making less than ever, so I feel you guys. I hope you find a job that pays the bills and that you can enjoy. :-)
Hi Terri -
I'm glad you and your husband decided to make a course correction. Thanks for being an inspiration to all of us struggling with unemployment.
I've come to the conclusion that as long as I'm out of work, I might as well make the most of my time. My writing has moved up on the priority list, and I'm one-third of the way through my second manuscript.
Praying for you,
Susan :)
I hope things go well for both of you! Things have a way of working out when we put our lives in God's hands. It's only been 4 years since my husband finished his degree. It was a little stressful, (at the time we had 2 tiny kids and almost no money) but it was worth it and things have been relatively easy for us since. I hope they will be for you too.
What a great attitude about it all! I'm praying like crazy!!!
Praying for both of you, Terri. My most recent mountain top experience was spending time with my beautiful grandaughter. There is nothing better!
I'm glad to hear the optimism. Just have faith, and things will work out as they are supposed to.
sounds like you have a plan...I hear the other night that there are many how to books that need writing. not sure what to do with that bit of info but it might help you. how about substitute teaching?
My most recent mountain top experience would be tonight. We took Sitka and Nanuq to dog therapy at the Psychiatric Hosp. 2 different patients SPOKE and INTERACTED with the dogs that had not spoke since being admitted. One had been there for 3 years and the other a long time, too. Watching GOD perform such a miracle through my dogs makes me realize the ministry I am doing is far more important than a paycheck. I need to cut back on selfish desires and wants and be sure to live within my means in order to do this more.
Blessings, andrea
I'm praying for you and thinking of you. I love how Jeanette wanted to go hug you until the cows came home. I second that!
~ Wendy
Well Terri, I have been climbing so long that I didn't realize that I am already on the top. I also want to say that I am almost 55 and there are so many opportunities out there for me it is amazing. Age really doesn't matter anymore if you know what you are doing and let people know it too. Good luck to you both.
Sometimes my mountain tops are only a series of hills. This past weekend my youngest son got married...a mountaintop thrill. The valley was that I couldn't be there. The chronic illnesses that I struggle with daily can be days that have little pain and more enjoyment and the valleys are where I'm bedridden on pain meds. My struggle is learning to be more accepting of my physical limitations and learn whatever lesson it is that the Lord wants to teach me during these times.
As always, you and Curt are in my prayers that you will be blessed with employment and financial security.
Hugs!
I saw on the History Channel the other day, a woman explaining that, like in the trials of Jobe, God allows unpleasant things into our lives for a purpose. We don’t normally know the purpose, but, as Christians, it’s irrelevant; we have faith that there IS some method to our trials and go on as best we can. I see no conflict between accepting God’s will and trying hard to manage your trials as best you can…after all, maybe that’s the point.
Best Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
This just feels right. I'll be thinking of you both!
Terri I am so there. Looking for work and provision. Here is a devotional a friend sent me from a local christian station. I hope it will encourage you and your hubby.
October 20, 2009
The Ram is on its Way
Glynnis Whitwer
"So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.'" Genesis 22:14 (NIV)
Devotion:
Have you ever been in a situation so desperate that it looked hopeless?
Have you ever sat at the kitchen table wondering how you were going to pay the electric bill? Have you ever stood at a door that's been slammed in your face by an angry teenager and despaired at ever having a relationship with him again? Have you ever had your heart broken so deeply that you wondered if you would ever feel whole again?
Sadly, we live in a broken world where desperate situations happen every day. I know someone reading this devotion is wondering how she will make it through the day because her situation looks hopeless. If that is you, I encourage you to keep reading. I believe God has a message of hope for you today.
That message is found in the Bible, in the story of a man who was dealing with his own desperate situation. His name was Abraham and he faced the greatest testing of his life. After longing for a son for many years, God finally gave Abraham a boy, whom he named Isaac. Abraham never imagined God would test his faith by asking him to sacrifice his son. But it happened.
It had to have been the darkest day of Abraham's life as he trudged up the mountain, with firewood strapped to his son's back. Every step took Abraham closer to what he believed to be the sad ending of a hopeless situation - the death of his son. Yet in spite of his sorrow, Abraham trusted God. His heart wasn't soaring with joy. He wasn't dancing up the mountain. But he put one foot in front of the other. Walking through the darkness of the situation; obeying His God's commands.
Unbeknownst to Abraham, something else was walking up that mountain. Quietly. Out of sight. On the other side of the mountain. Something else was putting one foot in front of the other. Only Abraham couldn't see it.
For every step Abraham took, a ram on the other side of the mountain took a step.
All Abraham saw that day was his solitary journey of pain. As he got closer to the top of the mountain, his dread must have increased. I wonder if he asked himself any questions. I would have. I would have wondered why hadn't God intervened?
Why hadn't God stopped this testing? Couldn't God see that Abraham was a man of faith? Why test him in this way?
But there was no answer. There was no voice from heaven. And so Abraham kept obeying his God's command. He put Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice his one and only son.
And just at that very moment, at the very last second, when it looked like the end had come, God spoke, stopping the sacrifice. Abraham looked up and there caught in the thicket was a ram. Abraham took his son off the altar, replaced him with the ram, and offered the sacrifice to God.
Abraham named that place "Yahweh-Yireh" or "The Lord Will Provide." And the story was written down for generations of God-followers to read. It was written so that you and I today would read it as we face our own hopeless situations. It was captured in print so that you and I would know that God is already planning for our provision. We don't see it. We don't hear it. But we can trust that our God is at work. On your behalf, and on mine.
I choose to trust God today. A ram is on the way.
Dear Lord, You know how desperate I am today. You know that my faith has wavered. Although I want to trust You, I'm having trouble doing so. I ask for Your intervention in my situation, and for an increase of my faith while I wait. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
I love your attitude. I will continue to pray for God to show you the way!
I'm not sure about any moutaintops, but I seem to be conquering the mole hills recently:)
I feel like I scramble up toward that mountain top again and again. Sometimes I feel like I get there, then I get knocked off again. Feeling like that a bit today.
I'm excited for your husband and his new endeavor!
Couldn't think of one specific mountain. Seems i am forever climbing and falling. Prayers for the both of you. Take care.
this is such great news Terri. He lets us wait but never lets us down. His timing is perfect. And His promise never changes - to guide, lead, open and close doors - regardless of age. My mountain - took a step. Spoke at a church albeit in the dark, presold some books and now another church asked a friend if I would come and speak. Keep looking up.
Praying for you to find the right job Terri, peace in your heart and your home.
Diane
Hoping for the best for you and your husband, Terri.
Terri, I am so glad you have seen the view from hilltop. Breath- taking.
My mountiantop came yesterday. Hearing the Lord answer my prayer, giving me the direction I had been seeking for my first WIP.
I thank God for the mountiantop, but I grow in the valley.
I read that book almost 20 years ago when I became a new Christian. It was very good. I would certainly recommend it. Hope your new endeavers work out.
I love, love, love your attitude! You are such an inspiration!
And I did have a mountaintop experience this week. Tired of eeking out the same old word count or not quite making the goal, I thought, maybe it's time to dream big? And if I dream big, maybe I should do big things?
I've challenged myself to finish the first draft of this book by next Friday. Guess what? I tripled my daily word goal yesterday! Wish me luck!
Still praying for you...
All I can say Terri is that God's perfect timing is more than likely not ours. I have had a few mountaintop experiences these last two years. I am believing that one day we will get over that mountaintop and fly.
Continued prayers in your direction.
Oh, Terri. I'm praying for you and your husband. Sometimes faith is harder the longer you walk with The Lord. Your faith will not fail you!
My most recent mountaintopper was just this morning. I was up way before dawn and The Lord and I conversed. He showed me some things that I was twisted in my thinking about. It was really cool. Breakthrough!
Thanks for sharing yourself with us all!
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