True Story Tuesday

So, I could write my TST post all about how Rachel and my sister ganged up on me on Saturday.  Bullied, really.  Coerced me into revealing for all of the FB world the nickname Rach so lovingly bestowed upon me. 


Or I could write about the endless emails that have gone back and forth since that fateful post referring to my new nickname.   I have spewed coffee on more than one computer and snorted drinks up my nose.  I have made my hubby read over my shoulder every night. 


But, instead, I will attempt to let Saint Poopicusgate go quiet, fade silently into the distant memories of blogland.  I hope.  We all know it won't happen anytime this century, but a girl can dream, can't she?




This TST takes us back a few years.  A sweet young lady we had mentored was getting ready to leave on her first DTS mission with YWAM.  We first met her when she was in kindergarten.  It was a privilege to see her grow and follow God's calling on her life.


Her 18th birthday fell right before she was to leave.  Her parents invited everyone down to a nearby town to go to one of our favorite restaurants.  We had a wonderful evening, laughing and reminiscing.  When it came time to pay and leave, our waitress came to our table with a surprised look on her face.  She told us that our bill had been paid for.  The bill for all 20 of us.  And, in fact, the entire restaurant had been paid for.


Okay, where are the cameras?  Seriously, are we on Candid Camera or something?  Cause this cannot be real!


For real, a very sweet older gentleman came in for dinner and paid for the entire restaurant.  The staff told us that he does this a few times a year.  We thanked him as we left, truly touched by this random act of kindness.  To this day, I wonder about that man.  If he had family somewhere.  What possessed him to spend thousands of dollars on perfect strangers multiple times of year?


I like to think that, that night, we met an angel. 

Thankful Thursday... God's Provision

This whole experience these last two years, if nothing else, has taught me so much more about trust than I ever expected to learn. While I am nowhere near where I want to be in trusting my Daddy, I am learning.


This week we have seen His provision in ways we would have never expected.


Katrina has been growing out of clothing, especially dresses, at a ridiculous rate. Some of our friends gave us clothes their daughters had outgrown. Included in the sack were four dresses.


Jerome closed a deal today that we sincerely doubted would get done. The client is in extreme physical pain, is very emotionally unstable, and has treated Jerome, well, like dirt. There have been numerous times that any other agent would have walked away. Jerome stuck with it, and today it closed. Right when God knew we needed it.


Another friend brought a garbage sack full of sweatshirts and jackets to our house last night. She was in charge of clearing out her kids' school's lost & found, and getting rid of everything. We now have at least a dozen new sweatshirts for myself & the girls.


We really needed two new tires and front brakes for my van. But we didn't have the money. At all. This week, we got a bonus from a client that was the exact amount we needed to do both.


When Jerome's parents left for France at the beginning of the month, they also closed the restaurant downtown for the month. Yippee, our mom got her first real vacation in who knows how long. But, they had a lot of food leftover that would go bad before they opened the restaurant again. We got sent to, essentially, clean out the fridge. Needless to say, this month my grocery bill has been diminished because of my in-laws' blessing. Much of the food we were given were items I won't normally buy - things like bacon, asparagus, French cheeses, grapes. My sweet mom-in-law even had the bakers bake six loaves of sandwich bread & freeze them so that we would have plenty of that while the bakery was closed.


Do I still worry? Unfortunately, yes. Do I still have trouble trusting God's plan when I can't see it? Yup. But, . Because is it getting easier to trust, even when I can't see? Absolutely. And weeks like this one, I never want to forget.


What are you thankful for this week?

God is Bigger Than The...IRS (sung to the tune of "God is Bigger than the Boogeyman")

*DISCLAIMER* Apologies to the book club girls, who already heard this story, but I had to post this here too!


In the past two years, Jerome & I have walked through some rough stuff. Most of the time, my faith that God will provide has been nil. I have always believed that God would come through for others, but not me.

Part of the reason I write this blog is to serve as a memorial for me. I don't ever want to forget the times that God has met me.

About a month ago, I began reading Beth Moore's book Believe God for a women's book club. The timing of this book was nothing but Divine. I know that God knew I needed this book for such a time as this.

One section of the book really stuck out to me. Beth was talking about Matthew 17:20, which says:

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. "

Beth wrote that sometimes God does not move the mountain in the physical way we expect. He instead wants to meet us at the top, and that is how the mountain is moved. This small little tidbit has rocked my world. I have asked God to move mountains, and sometimes He has. When He hasn't, I have doubted my faith and His love for me. What He wants, instead, is for me to climb the mountain with Him to experience Him at the top.

Last week, I received a check for $363 from the IRS. Last time I checked, the IRS was not in the business of randomly handing out money. But, who am I to doubt the Federal Government (*sigh* a post for another day)? So I deposited the check, thanked God for providing an unexpected provision exactly when we needed one, and half-expected men in suits to come & take me away.

Then, Friday night, we got home & checked the mail. There were three letters from the IRS. Dang. Knew it was too good to be true. Wondered if they were threatening death & dismemberment for getting behind on our monthly payments from our 2007 taxes. Yes, we were still trying to pay off our 2007 taxes.

I opened the first letter. It said, amidst the legal mumbo-jumbo that they had adjusted something and were giving us a $1800ish refund. Excuse me? Really?

The next two letters told Jerome and I (yes, we each got our own letter. I felt very special.) that they had applied about $1500 of our refund to pay our 2007 taxes, and they were sending us a refund check of $363.

The mystery check I received last week. So, we had $363 we weren't expecting, and one less HUGE bill! Only My God!

The funniest part about this story is that we had just finished having a discussion on the way home regarding finances. An actual discussion, not a fight. But still not fun. And God knew those letters were waiting for us in the mailbox. I wonder if He was giggling.

I told a friend this weekend that, while I would not have chosen to walk this battle in the first place, I am so glad I have. There have been numerous times over this journey that God could have removed the mountain miraculously. But He hasn't. There have been times I have wondered why He hasn't. Instead, we have walked together up the mountain, and each time I stumble, He lifts me back to my feet, dusts me off, and prods me along the path. I am so excited for the day I will stand with my God at the top of this mountain, and I am praising Him for showing me the path up it. I know now that God knew what I needed. He knew I needed a good walk with Him more than I needed a mountain removed.

YIPPEE!!! YIPPEE!!! YIPPEE!!! WOOHOO JESUS!!!

J has been working with this couple to find a secondary home in Durango for a few months. He's taken them to quite a few properties and had fun getting to know them. They decided to put offers in on two houses, work through the negotiation process, and see which one they were able to get the better deal on.

One house is listed at $499,000, and they submitted an offer for $439,000 (reasonable). The other house is listed at $750,000, and the people wanted to submit an offer for $439,000 (ridiculous). J knew that this was really low, that the sellers would be insulted by it and not take them seriously. So he told his clients that. They still insisted upon submitting the offer, so J did it.

Well, in emailing back and forth with the selling agent, J mentioned that he was almost embarrassed to submit this offer, that he knew it was too low. Somehow, this email got attached to some documents that J emailed to his clients. Well, they saw the email and, understandably, got very upset. They emailed J that they were very disappointed in him, that he was not representing their best interests. They told him they were terminating their relationship with him and were going to find another realtor to complete the deal.

We were pretty upset. J knew he had screwed up and made a huge mistake. He emailed them and left messages on their voicemail telling them as much. He told them that he understood why they were going to go with someone else, that he had violated their trust, however unintentional, and that he wished them the best. We thought we had lost both the deal and the clients. A costly mistake. This all happened on Monday. When I emailed our small group the week's prayer requests that same day, I asked them to pray for our finances without going into specifics. The wound was just too fresh to talk about.

Since J told me, I had been praying for these clients. I really felt like there was something spiritual going on. So, I've been praying for this deal. Well, honestly, I don't know how much faith I had that God would turn this deal around. I was also praying for these people, but I was praying that He would bring a deal to replace it. I didn't even tell J I was praying for the deal to come back to us because it seemed like such a long shot to me.





But...










God works the night shift!

Well, J got an email from this couple today. They told him that they forgave him. That they understood that he was expressing his personal feelings towards a colleague. That they appreciated all the time and energy that he had put into helping them. That this incident was not a reflection of who they believed J to be. And that they didn't want to see the commission from this sale to go to anyone but him!!!

So not only have these sweet people forgiven J (so cool), but they have retained his services and are continuing to negotiate a deal. We have learned a lot this week. J has learned NOT to put ANYTHING in an email that he doesn't want to become public knowledge. He has learned that integrity is admitting when we have screwed up. We have learned to forgive each other, forgive ourselves, and move on. I have seen God answer a prayer that I wasn't sure I had the faith to pray. And we have seen that when our friends pray in the Spirit, given a situation but not the details, that God WILL show up!

Friend, I have struggled with faith since I accepted Christ. Struggled to believe that the Lord of the Universe cared enough about little old, sin-filled me to answer my prayers. That when I prayed something for myself, God would answer. I cannot doubt that any longer.

I have seen checks come in the mail exactly when we needed it. I have seen friends tell me something that only God knew I needed to hear. I have seen my God show up on my behalf.

I have always read the verse about the mustard seed and moving the mountain, and understood what that felt like. Usually I feel like my faith is about as big as a mustard seed. And when the mountains don't move, I get discouraged. What I am now realizing, however, is that if the mountain doesn't move, it isn't that God doesn't love me. It's that He wants to meet me at the top of the mountain.

When you pray, and God says no, it isn't that He doesn't love you. It's that He has something better planned than what you asked. It takes faith to wait for that "better". But it's worth it. Believe me, it's worth it!

Thankful Thursday...Answered Prayers

It's been a few weeks since I've been able to do a Thankful Thursday post. Between work & life, I've barely had time to keep the house clean, let alone keep up on the blogging. I will get caught up on the posts though, I promise. I have some fabulous ideas running around in my head that must get out (they're giving me a headache).

I think I relate to Peter the most out of all the disciples, for a few reasons. I've been known to share my opinion without thinking about it first, my family is considered to be rednecks, I get a great idea and try to run with it without thinking it through first. But the way I feel I can most relate to Peter is the issue of faith. I see him as a man who absolutely knew that Jesus was the Son of Man, the Messiah, yet struggled with faith on the day-to-day level. He had spent every day with Jesus, witness to perhaps thousands of miracles. When Jesus told him to get out of the boat and walk to him, he did it. Immediately. As long as he looked at Jesus, he was fine. But, as soon as Peter's line of sight turned towards the waves instead of Jesus, he became overwhelmed and started to sink.

I know that I know that I know that Jesus will never leave me nor forsake me. That He does have my best interests in mind. That He will hold me in the palm of His hand. And, yet, it is easy to take my eyes of my Savior, focus on the waves in my life, and become overwhelmed.

This week, I am so thankful for two answers to prayer that, honestly, I didn't even think about after I prayed them. And, yet, God loved me enough to remember them, and answer them exactly when I needed them most.

Prayer #1:
Saturday morning, the girls & I went garage sale hunting. I had been thinking, in the back of my mind, that I would really like a new pair of casual brown sandals to wear to work. I needed something comfortable yet nice enough for work. But, like most things, that little prayer got forgotten in the everyday. At the Florida Mesa Madness, a huge yard sale at Katrina's school, a woman was selling a TON of shoes. And guess what? A cute pair of brown leather sandals, that fit me perfectly, for $1!

Prayer #2:
Back in January, I was preparing our taxes for the feds. Mind you, we are still paying on our taxes from 2007, so the thought of having to pay even more was daunting, to say the least. I was feeling really discourages as I was preparing everything for our accountant. I prayed as I was gathering, "Lord, it would be really nice to not have to pay anything. I know better than to ask for a refund (cause that never happens when you're self-employed), but if we could just break even, that would be great." I gave our information to the accountant to prepare and forgot about it.

Last week, I realized we hadn't heard from him yet. Jerome called our CPA, and he said that he would have everything ready this week. He also had a surprise. Not only did we not have to pay anything (a specific answer to my specific prayer) but we were also going to get money back, which would be applied to our 2007 debt! God answered above and beyond what I expected.

Monday morning, Jerome received some bad news about the financing for one of his deals. This deal may or may not go through now. I must confess that, like Peter, I allowed my focus to go to the waves rather than my savior. And I felt myself sinking. But God, through my amazing sweet hubby and an awesome friend with wise words, picked me up and lead me back to the boat. God knew we were going to receive this news. I know He answered my two specific prayer ahead of this to remind me that He will see us through this as well.

I am so grateful that my Jesus picks me up!

For the Saunders...please pray!

I know I have a few "lurkers" and readers that do not follow our dear pastor Linn's blog. I have wanted to post about what has been going on this week, and to ask you to plead in prayer for them with me, but I simply did not know where to start. My heart is so heavy, and so hurting for this family, that I couldn't even begin to write.

Wednesday morning I received a call at 7:15 AM from Linn. When she answered, she was so hysterical I could barely understand her. Their home was on fire. She had gotten all the kids out of the house, but couldn't get diapers for the little ones. For those of you who do not know, they have 9 children, both by birth and adoption, with 6 of them at home. Her husband Dwight was about an hour away at a pastor's retreat. We live nearby, so as I quickly grabbed diapers, wipes, whatever I could think of, Jerome & the girls began praying.

The day was filled with frantic emails & phone calls as the news spread. Praise God, everyone is safe, but they believe they have lost most of their belongings. The damage to their home is extensive, but they believe it is repairable. They are now beginning the process of sifting through what is left of their belongings, a task I cannot even imagine.

And, when the timing couldn't be worse, their son Graham had to be rushed into emergency surgery yesterday for acute appendicitis. He is recovering well, but this dear family is beyond what they can handle. I know God's word says that He will not give us more than we can handle, but I can't imagine much more than this.

Two fellow bloggers, Lori and Lydsey, dear friends of the Saunders, have built a blog dedicated to updates about the family. They are also using this blog as a way for people to communicate how amazing this family is. You can go there for updates, and to leave encouragement for the family. They have also set up a ChipIn account for people across the nation and the world to be able to give to this family. Lurkers, this is the time to come out of hiding! This family could use all the support and prayer you can give. Please pray especially for the children - they are mourning the loss of their beloved possessions - blankies, stuffed animals, etc. Two of their precious family, Elizabeth & Elijah, just came home to them from Uganda right before Christmas.

Thank you, my dear friends & family, for lifting up this family with us.

Thankful Thursday...On Sunday?

I know, I know... I am so late it isn't even funny! I completely missed Christmas & New Year's, and I'm three days late this week. Well, better late than never, right? I have spent much of the last few weeks reminiscing over the last year. I have been so humbled by God's provision, mercy, and grace over the last 14 months. I feel like I have grown more in the last year in my walk with God than I have in the last 11. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that Daddy has to go through to get me past my stubborn nature. And yet, for all the good, bad, and the ugly, I would not trade this year for anything!

Our "year" actually began on November 2, 2007, when our precious Violet was born. What a surprise her pregnancy was! Only 7 months after Madison was born, I was pregnant again! But what a gift she has been. Her birth was divinely ordained for such a time as this - I can't wait to see where God takes her next!

Our Christmas picture from 2007, taken by our friend Roxanne Vargas.

In January, we took a family trip to Paris with our great friend/babysitter extraordinaire Katie Swartzman. You might say we were crazy, taking 3 children under the age of 5 on a transatlantic flight. Yes, yes we are! But I would not trade the memories for the world! Here we are on the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Feeding the birds in a little park next to the Seine River.


Relaxing in the apartment. How the children have grown in a year!


Yes, I was crazy to take a 2 month old to France! But even more crazy to take Madison, who wasn't walking yet, and just as stubborn then as she is now!


Our family at Disneyland Paris. Such a great day, with so many fun memories with the girls!


By far, Kat's favorite part of the trip - getting to meet Cinderella!



She looks so little in this picture!


And Madison is so little, too - still a baby.

Shortly after our Paris trip, we decided that I needed to go to work to help with our family's finances. God opened an opportunity for me to work at my parents' office. I was there part time until September, when I started full-time. We have learned so much humility (how do you tell your parents that you want to work for them?) and grace (parents that still love you even when you have to admit that you've royally screwed up). We have seen God provide, financially, emotionally, and spiritually, in ways that we would not have imagined. And His ideas for provision are so much cooler than ours! We have seen Jerome's business go from losing 6 deals in 3 months to having a home under contract that was only on the market for 2 weeks! We have had friends come alongside us to watch our children so that I can work (many, many, many thanks to all of you). We have had friends, family, and mentors pray for us continually. We made it through 10 months with no real estate sales, and God provided. Such a great time to be alive!

Violet during 4th of July celebrations - what a party animal!



The Blegers terrorize Indiana! Cousin Michael got married October 4, so we ALL flew TOGETHER (thanks Mama) for the celebration. And we're all still alive! Seriously, it was a great trip, and so wonderful to watch the girls with their great-grandpa. He is so precious & loving, just like his daughter.


Madison & Papa at a Tucker family wedding in October.


The princess & the King! he, he, he... I only say "King" because we are constantly reminding the older princesses that Mommy is Queen of the Castle!


The infamous poop night! If you missed that post, click here and prepare to laugh until you pee your pants. I will NEVER forget that night.


Our 2008 family picture, taken in October by my daddy. While Mom did really silly, embarrassing things to get the grandkids to smile. They never did that for us. They threatened... yeah, again, good to be the grandkid!





Violet's 1st birthday party! Such a little princess!

The Tucker/Bleger family trip to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. Violet got to meet that family, including the great-grandparents, and we got to wear shorts! God is good!

They still love the ears, even after a year. And now, Violet actually likes to wear them.

They're big enough now to perform in the Christmas program at church.

All in all, this has been an amazing year. Filled with joy, heartache, praise, prayer, miracles,tears, laughter, family, friends, frustrations, fears, provision, and trust. I believe that is the most important lesson I have learned this year - trust. I CAN trust Daddy! Thank you , my friends, for sharing in this year with me, for walking with our family, for holding us up in prayer, for laughing with us, for sharing life. I am honored, and looking forward to what God has in store for 2009. It's gotta be good!

Our Boiler Fairies

So, Friday, while I was home with a sick Madison, my friend Jo called. She had read my post about our boiler miracle. She then told me that her dad, who is a plumber & handyman extraordinaire, was on his way over with the parts to fix the boiler. He came at 1:30, left for more parts at 2, came back at 2:30, and had our boiler fixed by 3. For the first time in at least a month, the actual temperature of the house matches the temperature that the heater is set at. We now lovingly call them our Boiler Fairies! Thank you to wonderful friends! We are so blessed to be a part of this family.

Our Miracle for Today

Okay, so I've officially lost it. It is MIDNIGHT and I am blogging! But I know that I cannot go to sleep without sharing God's amazing, tangible miracle He just gave me. But first, the background to the story:

We went to Indianapolis for a wedding the first weekend in October. When we got home, we discovered that the pilot light in our boiler, which in turn heats the house, had blown out. So, we relit it and went on with life. Well, this pilot light has become the bane of our existence. At least 2, if not 3, times a week, we discover that it has gone out. Usually in the evening, when I realize that I'm really cold. And usually when we're ready to go to bed. So, we relight it and move on. Please understand, Jerome & I know very little, if anything about boilers. We only know that, in order for our house to be warm, the little blue flame has to be there.

Tonight, the pilot light went out AGAIN! ARGH!!! I am so frustrated with this thing! I relight it, only to discover an hour later that it is out. I relight it again, to no avail. By this time, it's bedtime. So, we decide to let it be for a while. I read in bed while Jerome fell asleep.

About a half-hour ago, I got up to try it again. Nothing. The pilot would light, but wouldn't stay lit. Again. Nothing. Again. Nothing. At this point, I simply sit in our "utility" room, and cry. I am so ticked off at God that I tell Him so (for those of you who are wondering - yes, that is ok). I'm learning how to truly express myself with my Daddy, so I let Him have it with both barrels. How can Madison get well (she has a massive case of croup) if I can't keep the house warm? How are we supposed to keep the house warm in the winter? We have a fireplace, but I am very allergic to smoke. Why can't we just get one little break? Don't you think we've been through enough lately? Does one more thing have to break that we can't afford to fix? WHY?

Then, I try one last time. I have already decided that I will get the portable heater from downstairs for our room, & put extra blankets on the girls if this doesn't work. I told God, "Look, right now, my faith is about nil. I have been through so much crap (yes, I feel this is an appropriate use of this word, considering the situation) lately, I need to know that You are still there for us. Please Lord, just one tangible evidence that You care." And I tried, one last time. AND IT STAYED LIT! AND IT TURNED ON WHEN I FLIPPED THE ELECTRICITY SWITCH! AND THE TEMPERATURE & PRESSURE GAUGES ROSE! AND IT'S STILL LIT (yes, I just checked)!

And I just recalled going through the very same situation with our well last winter during the huge snowfalls. And God miraculously fixed our well. And He can miraculously fix our boiler. And He can miraculously fix me. And that's the best part! Have a miraculous day!