Accident

So, you may have heard I was in a car accident yesterday afternoon - very scary. 

We were in town for Mason's speech therapy, I had all three boys and Makanna with me.  Since we had heard there would be storms, and Marshal needed some last minute Science Fair book, and Makanna LOVES the library, we decided to stop for a few minutes.  Well, a few minutes turned into about an hour and when we left it was pouring rain.  So I left 4 children huddled under the eaves of the Library while I ran to the car and pulled it up so that they could all get into the car without getting soaked. 
They piled in, buckled everyone up, and off we went.  We were on Brushy Fork, about 2 miles from home, and I came over a hill to see a Silver/Gray Ford F150 in our lane - and still coming!
I swerved into the grass, and thankfully they missed us, but that put us on a collision course with some phone poles, two or three veers on and off the road (thankfully no one was coming) and I could not get the car under control.  It struck one of the three poles I was trying to miss - just behind the drivers door on the B -brace, snapped the pole into 4 peices, and we slip to a stop in the ditch. 

Terrifying yes, sort of painful (for me) as I hit my head on the driver window, and my shoulder slammed into the other side of that B brace, dislocating it, but it could have been much worse. 

When I think about this I am so thankful: 
All the kids were buckled up and safe.
Because of the way they loaded in at the Library, they were all on the opposite side of the car from the impact
The Durango didn't roll or flip
We hit the only 4" wide spot on the entire side of the car that wouldn't wrap around that pole - it broke the pole instead!
No serious injuries. 

So - while it stinks to be in a car wreak - Thank you Father for taking care of all of us!
They totalled the car today  - no questions, just cut us the check on the spot.  So we are now car shopping. 
Please pray that we find something affordable and that my shoulder (and everywhere else) stop hurting =) 
Thank you for all of your prayers and concern.  We serve a MIGHTY GOD!
Amanda

Sunny Days

I have had a really rough last few days, I mean really rough!

Last December I was really hurt by some people who I trusted, the events that led to that hurt were filled with turmoil and strife.  I look at life the last week or so and I see some of the same things.  It really bothers me, that is not a lesson I want to repeat, so how do you deal with angry people?

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up strife.

Romans 12:18 says ' If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.'

We’ve heard the saying 'put your best foot forward', and yet each one of us does our best in the best way we know how, right?

But here Paul is telling us that we must go beyond our best, we must take that extra step to reach a place where we can truly say “I’ve given it my best.”

For me, it’s hard to do live at peace 'as far as it depends on' me, because depending on the severity of an issue I won’t take that extra step. I will do the norm and say okay I did my best. But Paul is saying it is not enough for to just do the norm. I must stretch myself to the limit and once I’ve done that, then I can say I’ve done my best.

Sometimes our best is when we don’t have to put much effort into a thing. Our best becomes if someone rubs us the wrong way then they can forget about us taking that extra step, because we don’t think they deserve it after the way they acted with us.

(Praise God for going the extra step for me! In His great mercy and grace he delivered me, and forgave me EVERYTHING!)

It’s hard to live at peace with people, but Jesus can help me to live at peace with all men(and women!), if I allow the Holy Spirit to change my mind, I will see that when I do try to do my best, it far exceeds what I thought I could do! And it is a blessing to me!

Jesus knows that there are some people who will not allow me to live at peace with them, but that is in His hands - I am His child, His responsibility, He can handle it!
Goodnight,
Amanda