Stayed upon Jehovah

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed; finding as He promised perfect peace and rest.  The past few weeks have been a huge obstacle and stumbling block for me.  We have encountered some very disturbing things that have tried our faith and have shaken us up a bit.  With that being said, please keep us in your prayers; we need them very much right now.  I did re-discover that God has not changed, it is us who have changed.  Abbi had a Bible lesson last week on the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho and Ai.  (Joshua chapters 1-3 and 6-8) I was amazed at how the Lord delivered Jericho into the hands of the Israelites with only a few specific stipulations; they could not utter a noise until day 7 when Joshua commanded them to shout, and they could not take any spoil of the city because it was to be given to the Lord's treasury, and one man could not follow the rules.  Achan took some silver and gold from the city of Jericho and hid it.  God had done so much for the Israelites, and it seemed as if they did not appreciate it and did not believe Him.  They were specifically told NOT to do something.  You would think after such a huge blessing, they would obey.  Not so.  How often do our lives follow this pattern?  We seek the Lord because we need something, and when He blesses us with our request, we fall back into the same pattern of disobedience and sin.  Because of Achan's disobedience, the blessings of God were not with Israel when they went to conquer the next city, Ai.  They lost men and they had to run with their tails between their legs.  They questioned God's faithfulness, when the disloyalty was within their people and not the Lord.  This may seem unfair because all the people were punished for Achan's disobedience.  Our sin, however, carries consequences and affects many generations to come.  Our children with suffer consequences for our actions.  Are we living our lives so that our children will have a Godly example to follow, or are we passing sin onto our children who will in turn pass it to their children and so on?  God told Joshua to deal with Achan's disobedience.  Achan and all that he had were stoned and burnt.  Sin carries a heavy price.  What are you willing to pay for your next sin?  You don't get to choose your consequences, just whether or not you will make the right decision.  After justice was served on Achan, the Lord blessed Israel and gave them the city of Ai.  It is never too late to seek God's forgiveness and restore your fellowship with Him.  The same God who performed mighty works for the Israelites is the same God we serve today.  God has not changed.  He may not have parted the Atlantic Ocean so I can walk home instead of having to brave the way of air travel ( I HATE FLYING!), but the miracle He performed in my life is on far more a grander scale than this...He saved me!  That's not even the half of it, He also keeps me saved!  The other blessings I receive on a daily basis are just my "extras". Have you every gotten a present that was "Just Because"?  There was no birthday, holiday, or anniversary?  Maybe someone gave you something "just because" they love you or "just because" they thought of you.  My daily blessings are my "just because" gifts from God.  Nothing special, it is "just because" He loves me. 
Another reality that really jumped out at me in this story was not just the way God blessed the Israelites, but also how He blessed them.  When the spies were sent out to search out the city of Jericho, a harlot (probably your modern-day prostitute), Rahab was who God chose to use.  God used a harlot to deliver the city of Jericho into the hands of His people!  Not a rich man, not a prophet, nobody special; a sinner.  Rahab believed in the God of Israel and chose to follow Him.  And just the same way God destroyed all Achan had because of his sin, God blessed the family of Rahab because of her obedience and submission to Him.  It works both ways; the path we choose to take, disobedience/punishment or obedience/blessings, is up to us.  I am so thankful that God gives the same opportunity to all people with no matter to social, financial, physical, (etc) standing.  Now I know that I am no better than a harlot, trust me.  But if God is faithful to the harlot and her family because of their obedience and faithfulness to Him, He is surely also faithful to those of us who love and serve Him today.  While the enemy is on all sides, we can rest assured knowing that the God of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of Israel is the same God who fights on our side today!  THIS gives me great comfort in my darkest hour, which has to come to pass here lately. 

We are all doing pretty good other than a few sinkholes in the road.  Rob's school went well.  I am thankful to report he graduated with a good grade!  :)  I am so proud of him.  We are going to tackle promotion now.  Please pray that we can get everything together he needs.  He has a few hurdles to jump to get to the finish line for this.  I am preparing for a few things also that I need prayer for. 
We had a nice dinner and after-dinner coffee tonight with some great friends.  We grilled ribs, or Rob did.  My husband is a master chef when it comes to the grill! Our pastor and Ms. Isabella will be leaving for the states here shortly.  We wanted to have a nice dinner for them before they leave.  We will miss them so much! 
Fisher is doing fantabulous with his potty-training!  He has been having very few accidents! I am so proud!  He is also a very well-mannered little boy.  He says "please" and "thankyou", "yesmam", and "yessir"...usally without being told.  He has also gotten to where he expects "everyone" at the dinner table to say the blessing...out loud.  We all have to take a turn praying before we are able to eat.  Guess you can never pray too much! :)  Priceless! 
Hunter is doing pretty good also.  He has had a bit of difficulty re-adjusting to the authority of daddy again.  He has become a big helper though.  He loves to use the vaccuum to help!  I like that!  I am having to upgrade his spelling/vocabulary. It is too easy for him.  He is so smart when it comes to school work.  He doesn't enjoy it much, but he is good at it!  :)  I am hoping the enjoyment comes with time. 
Abbi is still learning more Italian.  She has more of her friends coming over all the time.  A couple of the moms stopped by yesterday.  The Lord has really blessed Abbi.  She has such an impact on everyone she meets.  One of the moms told me that her children would stay at our house all the time if they could.  They enjoy spending time with Abbi. 
We will be saying goodbye to Rita soon.  I can not really explain it all, but it will be sad.  She will be going to live with another dog handler and his family.  It is the best thing for all of us.  It may seem silly, but we will miss her very much. 
That should catch everybody up on our life for right now.  I am hoping to do some traveling soon with more adventures to report!  :)  Until then....ciaooo!