Thorns and Why Some Trials Never End

The beast and I were in Chicago last weekend for a volleyball tournament, and while I was there, I was able to visit our church's "mothership" (Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows). The message was about trials and was given by lead pastor, James MacDonald, who is currently undergoing treatment for prostate cancer - To say that the message he was called to deliver was a difficult one is an understatement. Anyway, I really wanted to share a little of what James taught because there are so many around me who are going through an enduring trial (grief, financial hardship, physical illness, addiction, etc.).

The key verses from scripture are:

Job 23:10 - He knows the way that I take and when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold.

2 Cor. 7-10-To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

First, James defined this type of thorn (different than a "seasonal" trial) as an enduring source of personal pain allowed by God for our good.

Here are just a few of the important points that James made during the message:

-God could prevent the affects of sin in our world; however, He normally allows our broken creation to go on, BUT inserts Himself to display His glory through us. This occurs in the difference in the way believers respond to their trials vs. the response of unbelievers in the same type of trial.

-Satan was the messenger of Paul's thorn. In other words, God did not cause the thorn. Satan's goal is to harass and torment us into painful hopelessness.

-If God wasn't intending to use the thorn or trial for good, He wouldn't allow it. The thorn keeps us from being conceited - thinking we can handle it, we can fix it, or we can settle it.

-We must have God's grace to live with the thorn. The scripture concerning this in the original language actually says, "Sufficient for you is the grace of Me".

-You don't get this grace until you see the need for it.

-We should boast in our thorn to experience Christ's power. We do this by counting our blessings, elevating our prayer life (focus, fervency, frequency), having deeper and longer times in God's Word, sharing our story, and focusing on the prize.

-We should be content in our thorn to experience Christ's purpose.

39 Dollar Glasses

Here's another great find that I came across in one of the many money-saving e-mails that I receive. We were a little skeptical about ordering glasses on-line, but we were pleasantly surprised when we received Kenney's glasses! And yes, they were only $39 + shipping. Check it out for yourself!

http://www.39dollarglasses.com/

To make it an even better deal, use coupon code RedTag20061117 to get $10 off! We just ordered Kenney's 2nd pair using this deal. We have out-of-network vision coverage, so we will get reimbursed in full (minus shipping) for the 1st pair of glasses ;0)

(See the picture from the Purity Ball post to check out Kenney's 1st pair)

Purity Ball

Kenney and the peacock attended a Purity Ball put on by NVCL this past Saturday. It was a very special event to say the least! The evening included flowers, a nice dinner, dancing, letters written by fathers to their daughters challenging them to live lives of purity, a signed pledge, and a purity bracelet.

Yes You Can!

I mentioned this in a previous post, but here it is again. You CAN shop at CVS, come home with merchandise, AND make a profit! Here's how we did it...

I bought:
(1) Colgate Total - 4 oz. - $2.99
Used $1.00 off coupon
ECB's earned - $2.99
Total: FREE plus $1.00 overage!

(2) Neutrogena Facial Bars - $2.99
ECB's earned - $10.00
Total: FREE plus $3.60 overage!

We have gone to the next level, and Kenney now has his own ExtraCare card :0) He will be doing the Neutrogena purchase tonight. He has $6 in ECB's, so he won't pay anything out-of-pocket, but will come home with 2 bars of soap and $10 ECB's!! I love CVS!!

Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure

If you do not already sponsor someone, would you consider sponsoring my mother?

Dear Friends and Family,

I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure on April 18, 2009 in the fight against breast cancer. Six years ago, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I was one of the lucky ones because it was caught early. I have walked every race since then with the exception of last year.

One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure® can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

Please join me in the fight by donating in support of my participation in the Race, or by contributing generously to the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically underserved communities in 21 central Indiana counties and national breast cancer research. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to the address listed below. Whatever you can give will help! If your employer has a matching contribution plan, a $25 donation will qualify you to ask for the match. I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!

Sincerely,
Darlene McNaught

To sponsor my participation online, click here.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Here's a great deal that I found this weekend on the Madagascar 2 DVD. CVS is offering the DVD for $4.99 if you purchase $20 in P&G products (not hard for us since Pampers, Tide, Crest, etc. are made by P&G). If that wasn't a good enough deal in and of itself, when we purchased Hostess donuts on Sunday, I noticed that there is a $4 mail-in rebate with the purchase of 2 family-size packages of Hostess products (again, not hard for us) and the Madagascar DVD. Here is the link to the form - http://www.hostessmadagascar2.com/RebateForm.pdf

In the end, I will have paid $.99 + tax for the DVD!

Little Known Fact About the Tooth Fairy

Apparently (wink wink) the tooth fairy makes mistakes at times. The chipmunk, who had lost her second tooth in the last week, woke up this morning to find her tooth in the baggy still under her pillow. Thankfully, I "remembered" that occasionally the tooth fairy gets confused and leaves money under the wrong pillow. The chipmunk was relieved to find a dollar under the beast's pillow after searching under the pillows of all of those who were awake this morning before she left for school. She was a little disappointed and skeptical until her Dad confirmed that his sister had also experienced this type of "mistake"! Guess who gets to put a tooth under her pillow tonight :0)

CVS Deals

It was a good weekend at CVS - Here's what I bought:

(2) Colgate Total 6 oz.

(1) Huggies Wipes -232 ct.

(2) Glade Essential Oil Jar Candles

(2) Oil Candle Refills 3 ct.

(1) Palmolive 11 oz.

(1) Lubriderm Lotion

(2) Jergens Lotion

(1) CVS Baby Wash

(2) Act II Popcorn 3 ct.

I used $12.50 in coupons and $20 in ECB's for a total of $18.74 out-of-pocket!

Last Thursday I bought CVS gummy vitamins for the kids (they were buy one get one), and I had a coupon for a free 2-liter. I used $5 in ECB's, so I spent $.52 for 2 bottles of vitamins and a 2-liter. I love CVS!

So You Think You Can Dance - Part 2

Part 2 of this post...

I guess monkeys do have rhythm!

Games

Here's what was going on the other night while I was cleaning up after dinner. I love when everyone gets along and plays nice :0)

The peacock is learning to play chess at our
homeschool co-op. She fared pretty well
against the beast!


I think the roadrunner is pointing out where he
will play next to win. If you look closely, the
chipmunk already has 4 in a row!