Only in L.A.

This is just too funny! I had to share it with everyone.

Only in Los Angeles!

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Well, it has been some time since I last posted. I wish I could say that in the resulting 7 weeks, we have made significant progress in the cleanup and recovery process. Alas, I cannot. Instead, God has been teaching me what He meant in 1 Thess 5:18 when He (through Paul) said "In everything, give thanks." Four simple words with so much power and authority. In the midst of my frustration and pain of dealing with the fire, I find myself challenged. I have never struggled to give God thanks for all the good things in my life. Something wonderful happens and I say "Thank you, Lord, for this blessing. Thank you for loving me and giving me these good things." God has been showing me that this is only half of the effort required. I focus on the word "EVERYTHING" and am convicted to give thanks for all the bad things as well. "Thank you, God, for allowing these bad, unpleasant things to happen so that I can become more and more dependent on You and Your strength. Thank you for pushing me to grow in love and patience and understanding, both for You and for others in my life."

I have not yet mastered this great command. I may never "arrive" in this lifetime. That's ok. The important thing is that I TRY and God has richly blessed me in the process. I have been given opportunities to do so many things for His glory and to find joy in places that I wouldn't have even looked if I hadn't been seeking the strength to give praise and listening to God's gentle guidance. He truly knows what is best for me and I CELEBRATE in that knowledge. It is SO freeing to accept that I don't have to have it all under control or figured out. I am learning (over and over again) to LET GO AND LET GOD. There are times when I get impatient and wrench control back from God, as if I could somehow do better. :/ How marvelous that He doesn't give up and leave me to my own devices!

Ooops!

So, I've had an interesting weekend. First, some background info. Grandpa left on Wednesday to visit John & Tonya in KY which meant I had to remember to keep the fire going in the boiler so the house would stay heated. I did that just fine until Friday night when I forgot to add more wood before going to bed. I woke up around 2am Saturday absolutely FREEZING because the fire had gone out and the house temp had dropped to 58F. I went out and couldn't find any embers whatsoever so I laid down kindling to start the fire from scratch. I tried lighting it with matches but it wouldn't stay lit so I thought it would help to put in a little kerosene. I went back into the garage from the woodshed to get the can labeled "kerosene" and poured a little bit on the wood. It proceded to explode into flames which knocked me off balance and caused me to drop the fuel can. The can also caught on fire and the wall of the woodshed and subsequently the gloves I was wearing. I was able to throw off the gloves but the fire was spreading FAST and I couldn't get past it to the door leading back into the garage. The flames and smoke forced me to use the the 10' sliding door as my exit point. I struggled a bit with the latch, but I knew I had to get it open or I would die in the woodshed. I finally managed to get the latch loose and simply pushed it out from the wall so I could slip out. I ran around to the front door and called 911. The dispatcher told me to get a cordless phone and GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! I scooped up my purse so I would have my cell phone and since the cat, Charlie, was at my feet, I grabbed him too. I ran out to the yard and stood by the old truck while I spoke to the dispatcher. I threw Charlie in the cab of the truck and promptly forgot all about him for several hours. I left the cockatiel and fish to fend for themselves. I didn't try to save anything at all. After the trouble I had getting out of the woodshed, I wasn't taking any chances of getting trapped again. I called Mom on my cell while I had the dispatcher on the cordless and told her what was happening. The fire trucks arrived pretty quickly (it only FELT like it took them 200 years) and they immediately started working to keep the fire from spreading to the house. I called Phil Rombach and Mom called George & Trina and all 3 came to stay with me while the firefighters did their thing. My car was in the garage and Grandpa's tractor was in the woodshed, so they were completely destroyed. The garage is no more but the firefighters did a phenomenal job saving the house. The fire did get under the eaves of the house on the SE corner which meant they had to rip out the ceiling in the loft in order to put out the fire in the rafters. The east half of the loft was soaked, but it could have been a lot worse. I gave my statement to the county fire investigator around 4:45am and then went down to Lottie's house to get some sleep. Mom left IN around 4am and arrived here Saturday afternoon. She's been a tremendous help to me with the recovery process. It's going to be a long road to restore things back to normal but I am thankful to be alive and well. It's a miracle I escaped from the woodshed (Jamie Martin borrowed the tractor on Thursday night which meant we had to get the sliding door unstuck after the freezing rain from Thursday morning) and yet another that I wasn't burned. God is good. He must still have plans for my life! :)

P.S. I apologize if anyone is offended by my warped sense of humor. It has been an extremely traumatic 48 hours and I'm tired of crying, so I'm looking to laughter as a release for the emotional backlash.