Dirty Kees and Broken Cars....

Today...whew...what a day!! This has been one of those days that I am glad is over...but thankful for the lesson I learned today.

We had big plans for the day...plans to do yard work...for me to go grocery shopping with my coupons and all...plans to buy new Crocs(best shoes ever)...plans to clean out the garage. Well the grocery shopping didn't get done...the coupons are still waiting to be printed and clipped...the Crocs are still at the store. We did get some yard work done though and for that I am thankful.

This morning Ric had to take Charlie to get his baseball pictures done and when they finished up they got back to the truck and there was a flat tire. Ric and Charlie worked super hard to get the spare out and the tire off and change it...all while the truck was teetering on a flimsy little jack. They got it changed and took it to Wal-Mart to get it repaired....and it took them forever. By the time they got home it was close to 2:00...they left at 10:00. Ric's first job was to finish mowing the grass since it ran out of gas on me yesterday. We have to jump our lawnmower to get it started(I'm not sure why we do this??) and when Ric tried to get his truck to start to jump it...it died. Not the lawnmower people...his truck!!!! Seriously??? My van has broken down on me twice in the last month....my washer has broken twice and my dryer once....seriously! Enough is enough already!!!! He works on his truck for a while...gets it started for it die again....and then we moved on to dinner and then tried to do something in the yard since the whole day had been a bust.

We were moving all of the landscaping rocks from the flower beds down to our playground area and lets just say....it was a lot of rock! We both worked together...out of frustration...me through tears....sweat...the whole time I was just talking to the Lord! I asked him what we were doing wrong...why was all of this going on in our lives....were we out of His will....what was it?? After about the fourth trip from the front yard to the playground in the back I was reminded of my favorite movie Facing the Giants. I told Ric..."we are doing the death crawl right now...we can't quit...and no I am not talking about these here rocks...we gotta keep going." He quietly nodded his head and kept shoveling the rocks....and then twenty minutes later the lawnmower broke.

We got the kids in and got them up for showers and Charlie, my oldest at 8, was filthy. His knees were so dirty....I don't think I have seen dirtier ones...EVER!!! I laughed and said...."make sure you get those suckers clean...they are filthy"!! He said..."I've been on them all day Mom....when I was working on the tire with dad....working on the lawnmower...doing the yard work...all day I've been on 'em Mom".

As we prayed tonight with the kids my heart grew so heavy....it has been a tough day...but I prayed through my tears that we would Praise Him in the good times...and Praise Him in the tough times. I was a broken girl...and grateful that broken cars and dirty knees reminded me today that in all things....good and bad...I should Praise Him!

Most of all, I pray that my knees would be as dirty as Charlie's one day...."just 'cause I'd been on 'em all day"! Thank God for reminders like that....and for dirty knees and broken cars!

Psalm 109:30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.