I love what God is doing in my life these days. Some of what He is doing I am unable to share as of yet, but I will as soon as I am able.

What I can share, I will.

Last October, I put my two weeks notice in at my job. The idea was that it was time for me to work my Primerica business full time. That was MY plan, that was not God’s plan…God seemed to approve this step, but for completely different reasons. God used the next two and a half months to bring me to a place where I completely trust Him to provide for me. The full effects of that time are still in discovery. From the beginning of November to Mid January, I made approximately $200. Certainly not enough to live on. Several things happened to support me during that time, most of which was help from my parents and the emptying of my savings account.

I found that I spent much of that two months dealing with all sorts of garbage from my past – emotional mostly. God was helping me to face anger that I had buried, and to heal from some past scars. He was also teaching me to forgive myself and trust in who He made me to be. I was right that God was tearing down so that He could build me back up. I am quite thankful for that time…though it was not easy going through that time. I am sure I would not have dealt with so much so fast if I had not left Progressive.

By mid January, I decided that it was time for me to go get a job. I needed money pretty quickly so I put some applications in on line, and then I went to a temp agency. My plan was to get into a temp- to hire situation and be on with a company in pretty short order. When I went in, the agency said they had a job they thought would be a good fit. Unfortunately, the job did not start until the end of February. I told them that would be fine, but if any temporary jobs came up I would appreciate the income. I was told in pretty short order that those kind of jobs very rarely come up. I was not worried, I knew I had God on my side.

Within two days, I had a job offer for 1 day, then was asked to report to another job the next day. That job was with a physical therapy clinic as their front office staff member. It was a pretty perfect fit – if you ignore the corporate office! I met two very nice people, Mills and Stacy, and a few that I do not get along with so well. God provided peace and grace with the person I did not get along with.

From the beginning, I was told that the clinic really liked me and wanted to hire me full time. I gave information to have a background check done and prepared to become an employee. There were a few hiccups along the way between the employment agency and the company. These became a major problem. So much was the problem, that I was told my assignment had ended as of Friday May 3rd. At first I was shocked. I was not totally surprised, but to have it done with no warning… Then I found out that Mills did not know either. I had to tell him! I can’t even begin to understand why he was not the one to tell me. He offered to give me any kind of recommendation I might need in the future. He is very appreciative of the work I did for him and the clinic.

Now, it starts all over again. This time, however, I have this amazing sense of peace. The Bible describes that as a peace that passes all understanding. It is right…I don’t understand it, but I certainly feel its presence. God is AMAZING! I am perfectly aware of my responsibilities, but I am not at all worried about them. This last week, God has provided for me in an amazing way.

The week after I left the clinic, I was able to get in about 16 hours of work. I figured this meant that I would get paid round about $100 or so. I know that is not near enough to live on, so I prayed about it. I asked God for food and for gas. I figured the rest of it would work itself out.

On Thursday, I was headed home after work, and I realized that I did not have very much to eat. I was reminded that my friend had told me I could come over any time. When I arrived, she had just finished cooking dinner. She asked me to stay, and I was not about to say no! She then asked if we could hang out later that night. I agreed. She ended up taking me to the grocery store with her. I was not thinking anything of it because this family is on government assistance. They are in the same boat as I. She is on WIC, and told me on the way to the store that there is too much food on the certificate for them to eat in a week. She wanted to give what she did not need to me. SO, I left the grocery store with: 2 ½ gallons of lactose free milk, 2 bunches of bananas, a loaf of bread, a med size jar of peanut butter, 1 dozen eggs, 2 quarts of apple juice, rice, olive oil, garlic, lentils, black beans…almost too much food for ME to eat in a week!

I was thrilled. If I had tried to do it on my own, I would have been eating out of cans the entire week. God provided fresh, good food. Wow!

Friday, I went to a visit a new friend. God had introduced this woman to me at the Women’s conference earlier this month. When I left her house, I did so with $120 in my pocket. I did not ask her for the money. I did not tell her how bad things are right now. She told me she knew that I needed the help, and handed it over to me.

I also got a rebate check in the mail (not the IRS one…) that I have been waiting on for about 2 months. God is always on time!

I have also been learning a lot about my past behavior. God is showing me loud and clear how I was not honoring Him with money. He is teaching me to trust Him with EVERYTHING I have, that includes my paycheck. I am not by any means proud of how I used to behave, but I am glad I get the chance to start over and begin again. I look at this time period as a chance to build on God's foundation, not my own. I am really understanding the man who built his house on sand!

This week should be pretty good. I am getting paid again this week, and my mother is coming to visit on Saturday. I am picking her up at the airport that afternoon. She is in town until Tuesday, and then I am leaving Wednesday night to go to Seattle for almost 2 weeks.

The Seattle trip was planned before I knew that I was going to be struggling financially. As John said yesterday, “sounds like another opportunity to trust God.” I could not agree more. While I am gone I will be loaning my vehicle to a friend who is moving during that time. I don’t mind helping her out…I would hope someone would do that for me if I needed it.

So, I am excited about the upcoming months. God is moving powerfully in me and hopefully through me. I can’t wait to see what He is going to do next!

A few weekends ago, I went on a women's retreat. It was an amazing time and God showed me some incredible things! The theme of the weekend was Shalom. I am not going to take the time now to explain the depths we dove into on that topic. I will, however explain just a little bit about what God taught me that weekend.

The last session of the weekend, we were using scripture to directly combat specific lies that keep us from shalom. These lies came from our first session. The lies chosen did not resonate with me. I felt God asking me to read the verses that had been chosen to combat the lies. I read through them. Matthew 6:25-31 really stuck out to me. I have read those verses and have heard many sermons about those, but not in the way God wanted to speak to me.

Basically, He told me that the flowers and the grass are beautiful simply because God made them to be that way. If I, who am more cared for than those, are made in God's image, how can I be anything less than beautiful? The simple answer is that I can't be anything but beautiful!

now comes the hard part...getting my head and my heart to believe it. Though that is proving easier than I thought.

Last night I was watching my friend's little boy, Tenyson, for a few minutes while she went around and socialized. Another friend came and joined me. Her little girl, Nadia, was playing with Tenyson. I was laughing with them both and encouraging the interraction between them. Tenyson got my attention (I think he was trying to get my glasses or some such action...) and Nadia said the coolest thing. She tapped me on the shoulder and whispered in my ear, "Miss Christa, you are beautiful!"

How sweet of God to give me such an honest compliment from a child in a time when I was not expecting it! I gave her as big a hug as I could and thanked her very much!

God is awesome!

me

Holy Cow!

It has been three months since my last entry. It is not that things are even keel, but I guess I fell into the same trap everyone else does. The "I'll do it later..." trap.

So now, I have to catch up a bit.

February was not too notable. I was learning my job at Town and Country. I really enjoyed working with Mills and Stacy. They are great people. I did not like working with K - enough said. I did not do anything with Primerica, though I should have been. \

March - in comes Easter. Ah Easter. This is my second Easter here in Austin. Last year, I went to lunch with people from KidStuff. John Murchison hosted that one at Papacito's. It was GREAT. I had a good time last year. So, when I found out he was hosting another one this year, I decided that I would go. I had tentative plans with a family, but they ended up falling through. This year, John and his parents (and sister) hosted a dinner at the church office. It was potluck, and went very well. In fact, I think it went better than last year. It was easier for us to hear, and I got to meet some people I did not know very well. John's parents are great! I enjoyed meeting them.

At Easter dinner, I met Shaun. He leades a KidStuff small group and after a lengthy conversation, he invited me to join. I had been looking for a new group. The last one I attended kind of fell apart. I have since joined the group and am very much enjoying these new people.

The rest of the month was pretty calm.

April - Usher in the 1 year anniversary of my vision. Things are still in progress, I will post stuff here when I am able to talk about details. If you are reading this, please just keep it in prayer. ASk that I be patient and allow God to work in His timing. I despirately do not want to ruin anything through impatience or rash action.

At the beginning of the month, Adam, Stephen, Travis, Ian, Dave and I got together to start work on the KidStuff CD. The rehearsal pretty much tanked. I am sure that Adam was much more disappointed than I was. I am still in prayer about this, I know that God put that on Adam's heart, and I want very much for it to be a great ministry tool for the families of our church.

May - May has been a bit tumultuous. When I say a bit, I definitely mean more than that. HOwever, through all the craziness, I have peace. I know that God has given that to me, so I am thankful. I know that He is taking care of me and He knows what I need. The difficulty in this is that I am going to Seattle for 2 weeks at the end of this month. That makes it difficult to work the business, and to have any income coming in. Well...we shall see. I know that God provides, and I trust Him to do so this time too.

I have just been given a tip for a place to go check out. I shall add it to my list...

Pedernalis Falls State Park. Evidently it is right down the road. The cool thing is that the Law Firm I am working at right now has protected the ranches around the park so that they will not be developed! Yippee!!!

that is all for now. I really should lighten the data load on this computer!

me.