New Beginnings

Our New Jobs

Well, it's been a long week.  Fortunately for me, I am done for the week, but hubby has one more day.  I want to say thanks again to everyone who kept us in your prayers--it was much appreciated, and certainly felt.  We are both doing well with our new jobs, which is a blessing.  Hubby has truly been enjoying his new position, perhaps partly because there has only been one or two other workers in the office with him for the week, but probably more because those people have been great to work for and with, according to him.  I'm really happy for him!  I have had quite a week, trying to learn my new job.  I will have someone there to train with me one more week, which is good--there is so much to have to remember to do on a regular basis!  But I do think that once I get the hang of things, it will be an enjoyable job.  The people are nice, and I'm working in a God-centered environment, so really, what more is there to ask for? 

Yay October!

I am truly glad that September is officially in the record books.  With the exception of our awesome trip to Gettysburg, I think I could have just done without it!  It would have been just fine.  I suppose life is like this all of the time--when it rains, it pours, so to speak, and it can apply to good or bad situations in life.  At least, that's how it's been for us!  But for everything that happens, there is a reason, even when we don't see it for ourselves, or at the time it happens.  Life is going to be full of Septembers, but what matters is how we handle them, together as a family!

One thing I do love about October is the fall-ish feel the air now has.  The chill even when the sun is shining , the smell of the leaves in the air, and the pure beauty of the world around me as the fields turn to a golden sea, waiting for harvest, and the spectrum of colors in the patches of trees along the roads and in the fields.  When skies are clear, they are the most brilliant blue, and when there are clouds, they are like puffy cotton balls, floating through the air, waiting for the sun to set so that they can reflect the final warm reds, oranges and purples of the evening before the sun disappears and brings forth another chilly night.  When the skies are gray and rainy, the thing I want to do most in the world is curl up with a steamy mug of cocoa and my best bud.  To me, this is the perfect time of year, as I wait for the first snowflakes to start falling, before I have to break out the heavy coats, gloves, and scarves, and before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season befalls us all.  I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  To me, it is so important to stop and appreciate what is around me, and thank the Lord that I have the privilege to be amazed by His creations, because in the grand scheme of life, we are only here fleetingly.  Enjoy what is still good in the world, because what is still good becomes less and less as time goes by.

There are many times when I find myself wondering why things happen, but when all is said and done, it really doesn't matter why, does it?  I think that it's more important to handle whatever situation I find myself in with the grace and compassion that the Lord expects of me.  When and if I do so, I become stronger in my faith!  1 Peter 1:7-9 is a great passage for this: "7These (trials) have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible  and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."