Feb.28th-Homeless in Houston-Farewel!

This is a statue of Sam Houston at the Sam Houston National Park outside Houston! We're on our way to Dallas!

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Jim, loading up and ready for the next chapter. But we are leaving Houston with no job, each other, a little savings, and a BIG BIG unknown. But "With God before us, who can be against us?" (I can tell you-The dad danged Devil, that's who, and all of his little minions who are employed at his beck & call!

Janet Holt Hall wrote at 11:29am

Godspeed as you travel into the next part of your lives..... Deut 31:8 says "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

(My new Houston friend, Janet, sent this encouragement to me on my Facebook. Needed it desperately today. See below):

Farewell, Houston! I will add our pictures later on, but we left Houston at 230 on our way to Dallas. We had a wonderful dinner with our "Angels" Charles & Janet Hall dining at Carrabas. Our first time there, but it is an excellent chain we can highly recommend (especially their bread-that stuff was obscenely good)!

Anyway, we packed all of our "wordly belongings" and left to come to the next step in the journey. Our "Angels," Charles and Janet Hall, suggested that we could be operating in cyberspace while we drove. They have Verizon connection on their computer. Now I know I am not quite in the 21st century but really long to be, especially if we are going to drive across the entire United States! So, Cricket & AT&T were our stopping points. Cricket had little coverage in many of the areas we would be passing through; AT&T had many more-ergo, there was little choice. We bought the service, so that we can surf on the internet while we are driving.

Today, we were driving to Dallas, and I am paying bills and checking e-mails. Then I get this notice from Expedia that our reservations for our plane flight to Sacramento had been cancelled. Aghast, I called them, and guess what? I had made our plane reservations for Saturday vice Sunday. Boy, did I screw up! Anyway, I was able to change our reservations, but it cost usanother 320 which is money we didn't want to spend at this point with Jim's being unemployed. We are now gearing back to the basics.

Jim was his wonderful self about it all. He didn't yell, didn't scream, didn't anything, except tell me that he loved me, and we would make this work, but I would have to do pennance by getting up at 300 am CST to catch ou 600 am flight! Ugh! I redid our reservations feeling just awful, but knowing that Jim's love is beyond my screwups. I will say that the Devil has been trying to get in little dings in-not big major majors, just little "gotcha's" to keep us off balance. But, he's not going to win. I know that God knows how this story is going to turn out!

Got to Angel's. Her friend, Janice, also was staying at what I call the "Antal B &B"! John and Angel are truly angels and open their home to any and all. Janice was a friend of theirs when they were stationed at Ft. Knox. Talk about another person God put into our paths. She and her husband had just retired from the military, planning the next chapter in their lives with lots of freedom and travel. Then, her daughter was killed when a drunk driver came across the road and slammed into the car. The children (she had four) were not hurt. Now Janice and her husband are raising these four children, and what a testimony to God. She told us this is what she was called to do, and this is her service to God and her daughter! Jim and I were so humbled just being in her presence. It's so hard to look upon our difficulties when we hear stories like this. And as I have said so many times in this blog, He has caused our paths to cross and hear stories far far worse than ours. People have seemingly just been opening up and sharing their burdens with us as we share ours with them. In some strange way, it buoys all of us, doesn't it? We are also finding more children of God handling major major attacks from the enemy and testifying to God's goodness through the dark times.

I told Jim that I have come to one conclusion. Either these are all series of bad mistakes and circumstances in many of our lives and there's nothing. Or God is in charge and He loves us enough and trusts Himself in us enough to allow us to share in His suffering, so that we can become more like Him. When I hear people who have been hurt beyond belief, lost loved ones, and are forging ahead and giving God the glory, it's a truly humbling thing.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to hear with my ears what you have done in so many lives, and how You have brought people through the darkness and back into the light. Instead of Conrad's book "The Heart of Darkness, "I should write one called "The Heart of Light and Love" if it hasn't already been written.

Feb. 27th-Homeless in Houston-The Final Day

"The Lord gave (Marathon)and the Lord has taken away(Marathon); may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:21)
"Shall we accept good from God (Marathon and Shell) and not troubles?"(The loss of the job) (Job 1:10)
"What I feared has come upon me;(no job, no house, no retirement) what I dreaded has happened." (Job 2:25)
"Blessed is the man whom God corects: so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." (Job 5:17) (How can we despise a God who loves us so much that he wants only the best for us)?

Equatorial Guinea fires security chiefs after clash
25 Feb 2009 14:42:23 GMT 25 Feb 2009 14:42:23 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove
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Source: Reuters
(Adds details, background)
MALABO, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea's president has sacked three senior security and defence officials a week after gunmen attacked the oil-producing country's island capital, state media reported.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo fired his security minister and the vice-ministers for security and defence, and reshuffled six other senior posts responsible for protecting the volatile Gulf of Guinea state, state media said late on Tuesday.
The Feb. 17 attack triggered several hours of fighting near the presidential palace. Obiang was away from Malabo at the time. His government accused militants from nearby Nigeria's Niger Delta of mounting the attack.
Nicolas Obama Nchama was named as the new security minister while Julian Ondo Nkulu and Vicente Ella Olomo, were named vice ministers of security and defence, respectively.
At a rally meant to shore up national unity over the weekend, Obiang said that the authorities were aware of the identities of locals who had been helping the attackers by guiding them by telephone.
Obiang has ruled the former Spanish colony, which pumps around 380,000 barrels of oil per day, since he toppled his uncle in a palace coup in 1979.
Last week Spain said the attack appeared to be criminal in nature. Gunmen operating in the Niger Delta have become increasingly bold, launching a seaborne raid on banks in Bata, a town on Equatorial Guinea's mainland, in December 2007.
Delta militants denied any role in last week's attack. (Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Louise Ireland)

So, maybe in some way a small justice was done in this little part of the Dark Continent. Only God will know the outcome.

I didn't post yesterday, as I probably was at the lowest point since this entire thing happened. Yesterday was the day that my wonderful, strong, brave husband had to go through the worst humiliation a man can endure. Being involuntarily terminated. And Jim took it like a true true Marine and the man he is. If I only had half his character in my little finger. It's so very hard to watch the person you love have to endure injustices, but that was our day, that was our duty.

I awoke to the above information that the evil little Vice minister of Security who had accused Jim of planning this stupid coup had been fired along with three of his minions. I got excited thinking that maybe justice had been served, and now we could return to our lives, and Jim the job he loved. That would have been an easy fix to this drama. I called him and told him about it. He didn't know about the latest news as he was on his way to the office. He called the manager of Marathon over in EQ and asked him if there was now a possibility he could return. There was again, a resounding "NO!" This has been the strangest thing. I've said before, Marathon really came after Jim to get him, and this one little thing happened and through a series of sheer stupid blunders, Jim is the only one that is really suffering; it's almost as we have been declared persona non grata not only from Equatorial Guinea, but also from Marathon. Things still don't make sense, but in the end, Jim and I both believe God's hand is in this and we have to trust Him.

Anyway, back to my whining-I went with Jim down to the Marathon International HQ to the HR. As we came into the monolith tower, we both just looked at each other; I couldn't stop the tears, as I know we were both thinking the same thing-remembering our coming there in September excited about this new journey, this new opportunity, and feeling Marathon's caring and all the things they were giving us just to get Jim to come to work for him. They spared no expense, met our every need. That seems like a million years ago (was it only five months)?

We went up to the 37th floor and the HR office. Two HR personnel sat with us and explained our TAP (basically involuntary separation and benefits). It was very sterile, by the book, and very difficult to watch my husband who is the epitome of "doing the right thing" and being so strong, have to endure this. But, I will say, he did it like a true officer and gentleman. There was not one bit of anger, bitterness, or whining. He is the consumate professional. My heart was breaking for him.

After enduring that, we then drove back to the office where Jim has been working at AMPCO (one of the subsidiaries of Marathon). It' s a smaller company with a smaller staff. Jim introduced me to the people who work there. He had told me that they had been very kind to him. The ladies had organized a pizza party, and we all sat around the conference table. They gave Jim a card, Paul Michele the President of the company, said a few words, and Jim was very strong as he thanked each of them for being so kind to us during this difficult time. I also apologized to Paul privately. He's the one I mentioned in a previous blog that I had gone off on at dinner one night when his wife had told me he had influence with the EQ government. He has been kinder to us than anyone and put his money where his mouth is by paying for this transition. Marathon certainly hadn't done it, but I suppose all the $ comes out of the same pot in the end.

After that, we left, and I just fell apart. I think I cried for two hours on and off. I'm still teary as I write this missive. Jim continues to have faith in our God that we will get through this. Deep down in my soul, I believe that, too. But it's just this interim that bothers me so. I love comfort. I love routine. I love having our home, flowers, staying home and relaxing with Jim, and just watching Andy Griffith! Now, for an undetermined amount of time, we are just moving in a direction. So, here's what our plans are after we leave Houston tomorrow.

We'll drive to Dallas, drop off our excess bags at Jim's brother's house. Spend the night the fly to Sacramento. Rent a car. Hopefully, we will get a room on base at TRAVIS AFB. Monday, pick up our car, tow it to the Honda dealer for repair, then we'll drive to Pasadena. Jim has a job interview. I'm not thrilled about this upcoming possibility, but I shan't say any more at the moment. I asked God not to let this opportunity happen, but in the end, "Not my will, but Thy will be done." I think this is our Garden of Gesthemane. Sometimes I feel like I'm walking into the mouth of the lion. But I do remember that God was in the fiery furnace with Shadack, Mishak, and Abednigo. So, I'm sure if this is the path we have to take, He will go with us.

After that evolution, we'll drive back to Sacramento, pick up our car, then head to WA to accept delivery of our Household goods that were stored in San Jose. We'll stay with our wonderful Angels, Ed & Chere who are letting us stay with them for a few days. Ed's heading to Iraq, so it will be good to be with them before he heads over. They have been such dear people to us and also our property managers of our condo.

Then, we'll drive back to Dallas, pick up our bags, and head to Jim's moms in Florida. We'll be there for an undetermined time-if Jim takes this other job, we'll leave the end of March; if not, then we'll be there until Jim gets another job.

I am not anticipating this entire month, but I know that we will get through it with God's help, lots of friends and family who have shown unconditional love, and each other.

I will start a new blog called "Making Meaning out of Madness" and enter as I have internet access and time. This has been quite healing just writing my thoughts and getting some kind of clarity.

So, we've been rejected, cut off, but blessed with friends we never knew, family that has kept us in prayers, lots of angels in every corner to ease our burdens and most of all we have been blessed with each other. I told Jim last night, there is no place I would rather be than with him while he is going through this. I am excited to see how he will "land on his feet." His mom always tells the story of when he played football in high school, would get knocked down, bloodied, and get up and keep on playing the game. I would say that pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

Feb. 25-Homeless in Houston-3 Days Til Liftoff

Well, today I went to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). This is a wonderful, organized non-denominational Bible study that I would highly recommend. Having attended one similar in the 70's, I can attest that you will learn more about scripture and God's purpose in your life.

Another Angel, Sharon Mineer, picked me up. This was arranged by Angel Janet Hall. Part of me didn't want to go, since I'm out of here on Saturday, so what the heck; but the stronger part of me said, "Just GO!" (Figured that must have been God, so go I did)!

Oh, my WOW! I know God was speaking to each of us through the lesson, but He really screamed at me! The lesson was from Numbers 11-Complaints and Numbers 12 Criticism-oooo, ohhh, ouch! I'll just list a few of the lessons that were taught both in the small group and the general lecture. I will also add my asides as they apply to me:

1. God will silence complainers and criticizers. (Youch)!
2. Complaining angers God.
3. I lack nothing, yet I still complain. (another Youch! God has provided for us every step of this path He has brought us down-yet I have still complained-I mean, Marathon had sold our condo in CA, and we still didn't lose any money in this horrendous market. On top of that, our final settlement came on the Monday before we were kicked out of the country on Saturday-another provision that I cannot forget)!
4. God expects me to learn from my experiences-(My only question is should we return to Africa, since three times we have encountered near misses with either death or prison-Jim's answer is a resounding "No!" He sees it as an opportunity and believes we help more people when we are in Africa, than anywhere else. But, I keep reminding him that we haven't been "called" to do mission work in Africa-and he just chuckles-hmmmm!).
5. Negative attitudes and negative people corrupt a society. (the news media-drive bys as Rush would say-people I have encountered, especially in Malabo who were biting and negative-I cannot afford at this juncture to even entertain negative words or attitudes as Jim and I are pushing to get through this trying time. Although, I would like to see the evil little dictator in Equatorial Guinea and his minions get their comeupance)!
6. Negative people are never satisfied.
7. It's easier to remember the "good old days" and forget the "bad old days." (This was when the children of Israel were wishing that they were back in Egypt even though they were in bondage.
8. Let me see about complaining-I used to complain about cooking everyday in Malabo as I'm not much of a cook and the challenges of cooking from scratch were things I didn't want to deal with. Lesson learned-God gave us restaurants for five weeks during this period of exile, and we are sick of them much like the children of Israel complained about the "manna in the wilderness" and God gave them quail for a month. They were given so much that the got sick! I think I got the message! I also need to be very thankful for the provisions that the oil company has provided us during this period of transition. I haven't been as thankful as I should.
9. Moses brought his complaints to God. I need to do the same instead of complaining to others. IT won't change the situation.
10. The Israelites complained instead of asking God to help them. One of the ladies, Peggy, in the Bible Study small group, shared an instance where she asked God to take care of the details of a problem rather than her just barging in and taking over the situation. When she did that, God answered her prayers. I need to ask God to be in the details of these last few days and show us he "pillar of fire" as we move forward. I still have no idea where we will be this time next week (execpt on this planet). I am a detail person and would like to see the details, but God will have to work this out, and I need to trust in Him for these details.
11. Complaining reveals a lack of trust in God. (Ouch!)
12. God is sovereign. What He allows in my life isn't too hard for Him to handle.

Numbers 12 is about Criticism within the family:

1. Sin always leaves scars.
2. Envy can lead to the disruption of the family. The lesson was about Miriam, Moses' sister, beig envious of Moses' relationship with God and being in charge when she was the "big sis." (hmmmm-some food for thought)! Sin in the heart will manifest on the outside as jealousy, envy, and confusion and lack of communcation. Boy, that sounds like what happened to Jim in Malabo!
3. God defends His own; He doesn't need our help! (Another ouch-I want so badly to defend Jim's innocence in this mess, but God really doesn't need me to do that. I just need to be supportive as his wife and be there for him).
4. If I really trust God, I will wait on Him to work. I am setting in God's hands, and nothing touches me that He doesn't allow.

So, the question to me from all of this is: How much do I really trust in God? The answer, honestly, I don't know. Stay tuned . . .

Feb. 24th-Aunt Irma Update

Happy news for our family! I just called mother, and guess what? Aunt Irma is back at mother's from the nursing home. She sounded great and was sharing about her departure from the home. They wheeled her out amid dozens of roses! Isn't that typical Aunt Irma? She has full time nursing care during the day provided by the state. It's a new program. Again, she sounds like the "Queen Bee" surrounded by her servants. Some things never change, but isn't that good news!

Again, in this entire lunacy-one bad balanced by one good!

Feb. 24th-Homeless in Houston-The Final Days Part 1

To those of my family and friends who are trying to make sense of our lives through this blog, I won't be posting today as far as details go. Just know that we are safe, we have each other, and Jim won't be working for Marathon again. I'll send the details when I think it's appropriate. Please, continue to keep us in your prayers. Thank you for your love.

Beth

Feb. 24th-Homeless in Houston-The Final Days

Well, last night the end of any hope with Marathon was dashed. Jim got a call from the HR in Findlay, Ohio. They decided to "restructure" the job and gave it to the other candidate. I can make no sense out of this entire situation. Jim is more qualified in his little finger than most other candidates seeking a job in the security sector. Marathon pursued Jim to get him into their company, and now, even though they have given us a fairly decent severance package, I still feel abandoned.



Jim, on the other hand, seems to have a much stronger faith than I do at the moment. He's up early, slept well, worked out and trusting in God. He even told me that he and the Good Lord "had a good talk this morning," and Jim is positive that things will work out.



There is one job tentatively out on the table, but it isn't what either of us are excited about, nor is it in a place either one of us wants to go. I won't go into detail yet, in case I jinx the offer, but suffice to say, the story of Joseph will become too true if this is Jim's only opportunity. I'm talking about the part in Joseph's story where he was put into prison, rose to the top, was released, then falsly accused and thrown back into prison. If this opportunity avails itself, we will be returning to our own "prison."



I called my "bestest" friend, Pat, this morning, just to get her wisdom. She has been through so much in her own life and is one strong pillar to lean on. Her words were wise pearls: God will get us through this; it won't be fun going through, but we will be able to look back after this is over and see the end of this and the reason for it. Pat believes that God is moving, and somewhere deep down in my soul where things make sense, I believe that, too. However, on the surface, nothing that has happened makes sense. I mean, two months ago, December 24th, we were having Christmas Eve dinner for the MPRI guys on the compound in Malabo; our biggest stress was where we were going for our first vacation off the island, and now two months later, we are in a hotel with our bags and each other.



And that is the bottom line, we do have each other to lean on throughout this challenging time. I don't know what I would do without Jim, his strength, his belief in God, and his love for me (especially when I doubt).



So, now we are working on Plan C. Some of the things we are having to think about:



1. Where do we go from here? We are thinking of Jim's brother's in Dallas on Saturday night.

2. Do we hold our excess bags there, or do we ship them on to Florida and Jim's mom's house?

3. When does Jim fly for the job interview? Will I go with him? It's looking like next Tuesday or Wed.

4. How do we get to CA to pick up our one and only car at Travis AFB?

5. When do we get Marathon to ship our stored furniture, and where? (They will hold it for 90 days, then it's our expense). Since our retirement home is WA, we would like to get our stuff back in that area.

6. What's our drop dead deadline for Marathon to get our stuff out of the Guinean custody and back to us in the US?

7. If they don't get our stuff back, do we file a claim (according to our hiring package, they owe us that).



All the details are very stressful to me. We will be meeting one more time with Marathon's HR on Thursday to hopefully iron out the details.

_______________________________________________________________

Jim's interview in Pasadena will be next Mon/Tues/Wed. If he decides to sign then it's back to Africa again. UGH!!!! But, if that is truly what God wants, then I need to be ok with it, and pray for his wisdom.

We had a really fun night tonight and got our minds way off this drama. Saw the Pink Panther 2. Although it wasn't as funny as Pink Panther 1, there were some funny moments, and it did the magic of taking our minds off our troubles. We laughed a lot, especially the part about Mr. Pope and his stealing the Pope's signature ring. Now that was funny! Then we went to Market Square in The Woodlands and had a wonderful dinner (again on AMPCO's dime)-they have treated us very well in all of this. Walked around the town-it's one of those little planned towns with music piped in on the streets and upscale shops, back to the Hilton Refugee Camp for cookies (they have homemade cookies every night for the refugees), and now in our "home." I'll miss it, but it's time to move on. Looks like we'll be driving to John & Angel's in Dallas on Saturday, then fly to Pasadena on Sunday or Monday, then Sacramento on Thursday, get the Honda fixed, then drive up to WA state to get our stuff put in storage that still remains in San Jose. We don't think we will ever see our other things that are being held by Guinean customs and criminals. So, I guess we either file a claim or take this to court. UGH!!!!

Feb. 23-Homeless in Houston-The Final Week

Nigeria ’Not Certain’ Who Attacked Equatorial Guinea (Update1)

By Dulue Mbachu and Antoine Lawson

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria is unable to ascertain the identity of gunmen who attacked Equatorial Guinea on Feb. 17, Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe said.
Equatorial Guinea’s Information Minister Jeronimo Osa Ekoro blamed rebels from Nigeria’s Niger Delta region for the attack near the presidential palace in the capital, Malabo. Nigeria’s renegade Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has denied it was involved.
“The authorities in Equatorial Guinea themselves are not certain about the identities of those people,” Maduekwe said in remarks broadcast on state-owned Nigerian Television Authority today. “But whoever they are, whether they are militants from the Niger Delta or they are mercenaries from outside Africa, this kind of act should be condemned.”

Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony, was the target of a failed coup d’etat by foreign mercenaries in 2004. It vies with Sudan as the third-biggest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria and Angola. The country has been ruled by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo since he seized power in a 1979 coup.

Equatorial Guinea’s embassy in Libreville, capital of neighboring Gabon, said today that 15 people captured after the attack are being interrogated by the police. The assault was staged by fighters traveling in an unspecified number of boats and were repelled by Equatorial Guinean forces using helicopters, the embassy said.

African Union Condemnation
African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping “strongly and unequivocally” condemns this week’s attack, the Addis Ababa-based organization said in an e-mailed statement today.
Ping “is concerned about these unprovoked and unwarranted attacks by unknown persons and groups, and calls on those behind them to stop the attacks immediately.”
This week’s attack underscores the need for countries in the Gulf of Guinea, which holds one of the world’s richest hydrocarbon reserves, to increase their security cooperation “in order to confront non-state actors who wish to destabilize the region,” said Maduekwe.

In recent months attacks have increased off the coasts of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, threatening shipping and oil operations in the Gulf of Guinea, according to Bergen Risk Solutions, a Fantoft, Norway-based security advisory company that works in the Niger delta.
To contact the reporters on this story: Dulue Mbachu in Lagos at dmbachu@bloomberg.net; Antoine Lawson in Libreville via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: February 19, 2009 06:10 EST

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah-more insanity from the "Dark Continent." Wonder why it so deservedly got that moniker??? Anyway, last night, we had a pleasant dinner with Brian and Debbie Hodgsen from Marathon. He is a chemical engineer; Debbie is his lovely wife whom I sponsored when she came to Malabo on her Advanced Trip. We ate at a wonderful Latin American Restaurant and shared stories. As Jim was relating our experiences to them, I realized he is much more bothered by this than he is letting on to me. I know he wants to keep me from worrying about our situation, and I know he has a strong faith. But last night, I realize as he was sharing that he is bothered, he is hurt, and I just cannot stand to see him that way. He is such a very good man, an honest person with so much integrity. He does not deserve this.

I woke this morning with a heavy burden to keep him in my prayers all day. As low as he gets, Jim gets up, goes to work, works out, and promises to love me. I wouldn't take anything for being with him, and I want to help him through this mess. Deep down in my soul, I know things are going to work out in a surprising way. But in the natural, I cannot see how. We have blessings-at least if there is no job with Marathon, we have some savings, Marathon has offered some type of severance, and we can make it for awhile. I think what I'm dreading most is just living out of these damned suitcases and in motels and with family and friends for an undetermined amount of time. But, Jim remains positive about our many blessings, all the people (including Brian and Debbie who offered us their home for a week), Janet and Charles, perfect strangers who have made our lives so much easier introducing us to a great church, Bible Study, and even Spanish classes, the wonderful staff here at the Hilton Garden Inn, Stacey, the gentleman who gave us an entire free month's pass for the 24 hour fitness gym next door prior to his resigning, and on and on, John & Angel letting us come up just to get out of the hotel. I even have to thank Paul Michele, the President of AMPCO, who has generously taken care of all of our needs both in housing, food, and transport until Saturday. This has been a constant balance of good and bad-good, the people; bad, the situation.

Nevertheless, here we are on Monday, Feb. 23rd. On Saturday, the 28th, things come to a close and we must move forward. As Jim says, we have Plan A and Plan B and a half of Plan C. So, we will be going SOMEWHERE, just not sure which direction.

My Bible Study lesson is from Numbers and it's all about the Children of Israel complaining, angering God, and wanting to return to Egypt. Remembering the past good food, but forgetting the slavery they found themselves in. One of the questions asked in the Bible study for his week is:

What is our response when things are hard or you do not get your way? DUH, and Ugh. I probably don't handle it really well based on this latest challenge. But I know that the Bible teaches that in whatever circumstance to be content-in much or in little. In difficult circumstances I am comanded to:

1. Praise the Lord-Psalm 16:6
2. Be still before the Lord, wait patiently, fret not for evildoers-Psalm 37:7
3. Keep a happy heart (is that possible when things are going south)-Poverbs 15:13
4. Be content in all circumstances-Phillipians 4:11-12

My daughter, Missy, reminded me that I have asked for patience and now am in the classroom. Thanks, daughter, but I am aware and most certainly will think twice before asking for this again. Getting close to God is a heavy requirement, and I am seeing how easy it is to trust when we are in the sunshine. It's those murky, damp, dark places when we cannot see beyond our noses that it is the most difficult to believe and to trust. I am thankful that I have Jim to lean on and that he is truly leaning on God much more than I am, otherwise, I'm not sure I could make it.