It’s been a while since I last blogged. In my last bold post, I confidently declared my blissful expectations of Summer 2014. {Check out my comical last post, My Tribute to Summer.} Boldly, I confessed how I was going to live in the moment and have a memorable summer with my family. Well… my life, my plans, my summer got interrupted. My lofty plans for the best summer yet were rudely interrupted by a minor but messy house fire! The A/C thermostat randomly caught on fire. After the first day of Vacation Bible School, the boys and I returned home to a house filled with black smoke. The fire department even got to pay us a visit. The fire caused some damage to the floor and walls immediately surrounding the fire – however, the smoke permeated the entire house. The burning plastic thermostat was immediately underneath the A/C intake and smoke went throughout every square inch of the house. Every inch of fabric in our home – including our clothing, furniture, and drapes – had to be confiscated to the dry cleaners for eight weeks. Every single item in our home also had to be sanitized and wiped down. We ended up not being able to properly live in our house for eight weeks during the clean-up and renovation. The A/C and ducts were replaced, all the walls and baseboards completely repainted, and over a thousand square feet of wood floors were ripped out and replaced – all the while, a busy, one-year old was getting into everything. My plan was to have a blast of a summer while the reality quickly became navigating insurance companies, contractors, and being displaced from our home. All this craziness left me edgy… well, a little mean at times!

Has your life recently been interrupted?

Oh, I forgot to mention that we had just moved into the house at the end of March 2014.  We bought a house that sat empty for a year then quickly renovated it ourselves before moving in. (So we had just painted it a few months prior before repainting it again.) Are you feeling my pain now? We gratefully got the house back together just days before Josiah started kindergarten. Whew!

Since August, the time lost was redeemed as we changed the name of our non-profit from Hope 4 Joseph to Joseph’s Joy along with launching the new updated website. We finished creating the bylaws and articles for Joseph’s Joy along with officially obtaining our 501 (c)(3) status. YAY! In addition to all of this, we completed our book which is called, Joseph’s Joy: Living with Unstoppable Hope. (My next blog will have more information.)

So… where did 2014 go?  It flew by! It has not been an easy year, but it has definitely been a productive one! Once again, it has been confirmed that God truly does work out all things for my good, even when it does not feel good. I decided to make the most of my failed summer and enjoy it anyway. Living in the moment, was a skill that I tried to exercise. Only living one day at a time helped me from being overwhelmed by it all.

Have you ever felt  frustrated when plans did not go your way, then later looked back to see that it was a blessing in disguise?

 Every time I mop my new wood floors, I think of just how great a blessing it turned out to be.

May you ponder this verse today:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28