Click here to read yesterday's brain dump.
Click here to read Cetelia's brain dumps.
Dump Note: Like previous dumps, this one may have misspellings and/or grammatical mistakes. Please excuse them. Since I'm not being graded for this writing, I'm not re-reading this post to ensure it's error-free.
a. Today was our first full day in our new temporary home. So far, so good!
b. It was hard waking up this morning because last night was the first truly restful night of sleep I've had since leaving NC. The bed felt so good, I almost thought about telling God I'd visit his house next Sunday.
c. On the way out the door to church, I saw the neighbors across the street pull up. Although we were already late for church (blame it on the bed!), I had to meet them. They were cool, and already knew about us. I kinda stretched the truth and said, "I'm Kevin, a friend of the _____." In my mind I was thinking, "Yeah, I'm their friend. We go way back ... like 48 hours back." I learned the neighbor (husband) is a deputy sheriff, so I'm really glad he knew we were at the house.
d. We rolled up to church about 25 minutes late, and got there in time to take communion. I had been wanting to sit in the balcony to get a different vantage, so arriving late made that happen more easily.
e. The message was about generosity, and specifically, being generous with love. I thought the message was helpful for Marriage Works! content, but also for me personally so that I'm not a jerk to my wife and kids.
f. After church we had Cracker Barrel for the first time since leaving NC. The pecan pancakes gave me the "-itis," so I reunited with that wonderful bed for about 2.5 hours after church.
g. After the nap I went to Walmart - for the the third time in 24 hours - to get some swimming trunks. Upon returning I joined Sally (Cetelia) and the kids in the pool.
i. Tonight was spent hanging with the kids, and continuing our house hunt.
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I mentioned in yesterday's dump that there was so much to say about us being offered a house by total strangers (still very, very weird). I'll share one or two things I'm thinking about in this and upcoming dumps.
j. Being at the first guest home was very hard for me. It was humiliating. It broke my pride. It made me feel like a failure. It made me feel like I could not provide for my family. It took me almost four weeks to get to a place where I was comfortable receiving from the host family. Had it not been for that experience, I could not have received the blessing we're experiencing now.
k. Being here at the second guest home has given me a whole new perspective and appreciation for being at the first guest home. I no longer see the first guest home as a result of my failure to do XYZ. Sure, I could have done XYZ better, but we were not there because I failed to do something. Rather, we were there because God had us there.
l. Before leaving Greensboro, my big scripture was Genesis 12:1a: Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
All we knew was that we were going to the Dallas area, and were homeless. So this verse described our lot well.
m. Now, we're living in 1 Kings 17:9: Get up and go to Zarephath near Sidon and stay there. I have ordered a widow there to take care of you.
This verse is interesting, so I'll go into detail in a future dump. I believe the verse is loaded with insight for our family.
