In a previous post, I mentioned that I’ve been pretty sick and that’s affected our finances which is especially scary since our one car is no longer drivable and we didn’t know how we could afford a new one right now. Then I said that God could do anything, and He has! We feel so blessed right now.
First off, we went to the Focus on the Family marriage simulcast yesterday at our church. I didn’t really feel much better, but Eric was excited about it and I figure that if your husband wants to spend several hours talking and learning about how to strengthen your relationship and marriage you should not pass up that opportunity, especially if you’re going through tough times. We were really blessed by the speakers and got lots of great nuggets of wisdom. Just a few things that impacted me:
Gary Thomas – “I got married to be loved, but God gave me marriage to teach me how to love. It brings out our faults: selfishness, pride, insecurity, etc”
Beth Moore – “We as wives want our security and identity from someone who is struggling with his own security and identity. We expect to use our husbands as mirrors to tell us how valuable we are all day every day…The more we demand affirmation from our husband the more reluctant he will be to give it…We can drain them dry of affirmation trying to feel security in our womanhood…We can get everything we need in Jesus, He loves, values and cherishes us everyday, even when our spouse is unable to.”
John Trent – “When you’re driving, what keeps you between the lines is 2 degree changes of the steering wheel. If you fall asleep at the wheel and cross six lanes of traffic then wake up and yank the wheel 180 degrees, you roll the car. Same thing happens in life. Big problems need small solutions.” (I really liked this one, maybe we can work on some of the overwhelming things in life if we look for small ways and baby steps)
The second blessing we experienced was that not only did we learn a lot and enjoy the marriage simulcast, but they had tons of snacks there, and at the end put out ziploc baggies to take home what was left. We probably saved $10 by the veggies and pre sliced cheese that we took home. I used some of the cherry tomatoes and snow peas to make pasta for dinner that night.
Our third blessing, and this is the most exciting, is that we have a car! One of our LHGH leaders and her husband offered to let us borrow their third car, then when Eric called them yesterday, they said actually we could have it! It’s a 1985 subaru wagon in bright red (just like the vintage ad above). I have to try driving it today to make sure I can drive it to work in the dark safely, it doesn’t have power steering and is a standard which I haven’t driven in a while. It’s so exciting though, Eric and I both cried when they said they were giving it to us, it’s such a relief that we aren’t pressured to find a new car right away and have transportation. God is so good! Things are still tough, but we really feel taken care of and know these hard times are making us stronger.
Here’s the pasta we made that night. I used a pesto sauce and goat cheese, then Eric was bummed because he thought that it would have mozarella chunks in it, so I said just throw some in! My stomach is still a little weak so it was too rich for me. Next time I’d just use fresh basil instean of pesto and then it’ll have less oil and cheese, so the recipe reflects that. Enjoy!
Cherry Tomato and Snow Pea Pasta
serves 2
Ingredients
6 cherry tomatoes cut in halves or fourths
6 snow peas shelled
1 clove garlic minced
2 servings spaghetti or other pasta
about 2 TBS goat cheese
1 TBS fresh basil
about 16 small chunks of fresh mozzarella
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water before draining. Mix pasta water with tomatoes, peas, garlic, basil and goat cheese in the pot. Simmer on low until cheese is melted in and water is thickened. (about 3 minutes) Add noodles and mozzarella and mix well.
Diana, your post just zinged to my heart. I found myself weeping this morning in frustration over the tasks that life, and God, have placed in front of me, wondering how I could ever even begin to accomplish them. Yet he works miracles, and we move forward. What a blessing that someone else in your congregation recognized your needs and acted. Thank you for sharing.
Your post encouraged me today. Thank you! God is awesome.
” Beth Moore – “We as wives want our security and identity from someone who is struggling with his own security and identity. We expect to use our husbands as mirrors to tell us how valuable we are all day every day……”
I must think of this when I am being demanding….
Thank you for sharing, Diana.