Life = Exciting!

Life has been exciting lately. The reason for my exceptionally long hiatus from blogging is that my husband and I have been very busy around the house. We recently painted the walls, and then changed the carpet, and bought a new car!

God has really blessed us with newness lately. My mom and brother came to Calgary to help us paint. The walls really needed something new. They were this dark brown colour, but the space is long with windows only on one side so I found it dark and kind of depressing in there when at home for long periods of time. So we brightened up the place with a great light grey colour, and accented the dining room wall with a gorgeous yellow. The bathrooms are a dark grey, and there is a beautiful red accent wall in the bedroom. We are very pleased with how it all turned out.

But when we changed the wall colour, the dingy carpet stood out like a sore thumb. It was an old Berber, cream in colour. There were dark stains left by former occupants and general traffic, and with the crisp grey walls it looked gross. So we went out a few times, looking for the perfect carpet colour and then finally found it.

Then, last Tuesday, my husband was doing some final prep around the house before him and his dad ripped out the old carpet, so I came home early to help him get everything ready. We finished edging the walls, moved the furniture around and moved some things in storage. After a few hours of hard work, my husband thought it might be nice to go test drive something, so we decided to go.

We have wanted a new vehicle for a while, but had decided to hold off. In the last month or so, we had some issues come up with our vehicle that would cost a lot to fix out of pocket, so we thought it would be a good time to get something new. So we discussed a few different vehicles that we would like to have, and were going to wait until June to move on one of them. But we went and test drove the 2011 VW Golf, and loved every minute of it. Plus, our last car was a 2007 Golf, so we know that they are good vehicles. So with little consideration we decided to just go for it and by Friday we were picking up our new car.

We have felt very blessed. God has been so faithful. He has opened doors, given us opportunities to share about His awesome love, and has blessed us with a new vehicle and a virtually new house for very little money. All the glory goes to Him. We were quoted one price for our carpet, and then the next day I got a letter from my grandma with a 200 dollar cheque in it. The day after that, the house was measured and we found out that the quoted price was about 200 dollars lower than it should be. He provided that money at a very pivotal time, so that we could pay for everything. What an amazing God we serve.

Photos to come soon! We need to move a few things around, get some stuff into storage, and hang some pictures. Exciting times indeed!

-SP

The End: The Conclusion

Purpose

I had a very good conversation with my husband the other night. I don’t remember exactly how we got on the subject (I should have written about it the next day), but we talked a bit about death, and leaving the other person behind. That’s a scary thought. I don’t like the idea of being left alone, without my husband whom I love to completely. I don’t like the idea of having to start over, learn to be self-sufficient without the conveniences of having a life partner. And usually we shy away from discussing death with each other, but this time we talked it out.

My husband spoke about how he is afraid of death for that very reason. He is afraid of leaving me behind. He wants me to be taken care of, and even more than that he wants to be the person that provides for and takes care of me. But what I said surprised even me. Ever since I started this blog, I have been haunted by the subject. I haven’t experienced the passing of a close loved one, nor do I want to. So, I have had confusing thoughts about the subject in general.

I said to him that God has determined a purpose for his life. God has set out a path for him, a mission for the betterment of the Kingdom. As long as he is following in what God has for him, he will not be cast off in death.

We finished up our conversation, and I walked down the hall, astounded at what I had just said. I had never had such a clear conclusion about what death is. I had spent so much time wondering about because I don’t know what it is, sitting in fear of it, and then all of a sudden with great conviction I spoke those words.

I am convinced that those words are not mine. I have spent so much time thinking about it, and it was with no thought at all that I responded to his fear. I know that it was the Spirit speaking through me. But since that day, I know this unequivocally. God has set out a purpose for you, and the Bible states that death has no power. God has claimed victory. Death should not be feared, for it will not occur until you have fulfilled the purpose that has been given to your life.

-SP