Counting My (Auto Related) Blessings

This was not originally intended to be a Thanksgiving post, but something amazing happened back in early October and my heart continues to well up with thanks to God for it so I just had to share about it here.

To start, I must first mention that in the early Spring, my husband was given a pink slip from his school district. Along with 92 other teachers and staff in the district that were among the 'recent' hires.

He's been a teacher for 15 or 16 years now (with a short hiatus in which he worked for a trucking company when we first moved to this area) but when we moved across town a few years ago, Jeff switched to his current school district and this year, was 5th from the top of 'the list' of pink-slips. 5th in line to be hired back if they so chose.

We're currently a single income family, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel a little niggle of worry in the back of my mind at the sudden changes I knew were looming on the horizon because of all this. The previous school year, the district had done the same thing, only that time Jeff didn't make 'the list'.

The district was being overly cautious this time around, no doubt due in part to the fact that our entire country was seeing an unprecedented increase in government spending, and frankly, things weren't looking quite so promising as they had the year before.

With all the economic uncertainty, among teachers there was talk of what had happened during another infamous economic crisis in our nation, the Great Depression...when many districts around the nation eliminated high schools because there just wasn't a sufficient tax base to support them.

If that were to happen (God forbid), they knew that the long term teachers would be shifted around among the remaining jobs district wide and there would be a lot more people unemployed.

Around this time, the building boom finally went bust in our area, people began losing their homes in record numbers, and enrollment dropped in our area.

Circumstances didn't look so good, and the situation was never far from our minds.

However, as we prayed about it and trusted the Lord to care for us, that 'peace that transcends all understanding*' settled over us.

We knew that our faithful Lord, who had provided all our needs in years past, would do so again.

And from our experience, it seemed that things occurring during just such times were especially remarkable to witness because they just didn't add up on paper.

With God, the One who owns the "Cattle on a thousand hills"...nothing is impossible.

A couple of weeks after receiving the pink slip, Jeff was honored with becoming "Teacher of the Year" at his school.

I was delighted for him, but the recent pink slip kind of put a damper on things for him. To be told you're teacher of the year material after essentially being told you are not coming back...seemed wrong, somehow.

But we continued to pray.

There was still that inexplicable sense of Peace. The Lord had always been faithful to care for us in the past...and after directing our focus continually back where we knew it should be, we knew He would continue to do so.

And blessedly, a couple of months later, his job was reinstated...with a pay cut.

However, we were thankful to the Lord for that job even with the pay cut, because a 6.5 % decrease in pay was a whole lot better than the projected 15% cut the district had wanted.

It was doable if we tightened the belt a bit.

And so we did.

And we managed just fine.

In fact, it was during this time that we experienced several substantial blessings...the gift of a camper and a computer among them.

We began to feel that belt tighten, however, and learned that we had been a bit excessive in our spending. Too much eating out. But we continued to express our thanks to the Lord our Provider, and cut back wherever we could.

I was thrilled that I could still stay home with our little Judah and not have to re-enter the work force or put him into daycare.

And somehow, in the midst of our lack of funds, we found ourselves able to give back to the Lord and others in many other ways. And we were blessed in the giving. Abundantly blessed.

Though none of this added up on paper, we always had enough of everything we needed and always had plenty to give.

Then things began happening to our cars that were out of Jeff's realm of expertise.

We had to face facts. Our paid off older cars were beginning to cost us more than they were worth.

Getting them to pass Smog and get re-registered seemed an absurd expenditure when one of our cars was barely limping along and the other needed some expensive work on it.

My long-suffering husband Jeff was also getting weary of spending so many weekends trying to keep the cars in working condition.

We continued to pray for the means to buy a more reliable vehicle. A longstanding prayer of many years, actually.

Always before, the Lord had provided something that always got us through and was generally a step up from the last vehicle we'd had, and, with the exception of our black car (which cost a mere $500), the rest of our vehicles were given to us outright.

We've had a long history with these auto related blessings.

There was the red compact.

The pick-up. Which, like a cat, seems to have 9 lives with us.

The van.

The camper.

Each time, we felt enormously blessed, and thanked the Lord for His provision.

Jeff, self-sacrificing man that he is, always made sure I had the best of the cars to drive, seeing as he didn't want me and the kids stranded around town.

More recently, he was driving the black car. It ran pretty well but is totally falling apart inside due to it's age.

This year, due to the whole "Teacher of the Year thing", Jeff got as his reward the most coveted parking spot on campus...right outside the school office.

However, he'd been a little too embarrassed to park there on account of having to tuck the door handles into the car each time they got out.

They were attached only by the electrical cords that operated the electric windows and locks as there was literally nothing left to attach the deteriorating foam handles back to, short of bolting them through the door itself...a step he wasn't willing to take.

Needless to say, our car situation was really wearing thin for Jeff, but with finances being tight, there wasn't a lot of wiggle room for a car payment.

And so we continued to trust the Lord and pray.

And then, out of the blue...the most remarkable thing happened...and from a source we never ever would have expected!

It was like our own version of the movie Facing the Giants.

This beautiful truck was driven over to our house one sunny Saturday in October.



At first, we were ready to scold the young man and his fiancee who brought it over, because twice, in previous weeks, they had come over to show us their brand new vehicles, asking Jeff, "So, what do you think?"

And both times we'd shared in their joy.

You see, their excitement and joy was bittersweet for them, because they had come into a large sum of money from a life insurance policy which had been paid out when the fiancee's mother was involved in a tragic car accident a couple of months ago. Heartrending events still fresh in everyone's mind.

"It's a beautiful truck" Jeff admitted, adding in his fatherly tone, "But you two need to get in and see a financial planner and make sure you have enough set aside to buy yourselves a home. It's not everyone that gets the opportunity to start their married lives off this way..."

The young woman pulled out her camera. And the young man said, "Actually...this truck isn't for us...it's for you."

And Jeff's mouth dropped to the ground.

"NooOoOoooo..." he replied, shaking his head. "I can't accept something like that from you guys!" He went to hand the keys back. "It's too much!"

The young man held his hand up, "No it's not...it's a gift."

The young man had wisely thought to bring along his grandma (Jeff's mom) as backup. "No, Jeff...this is a gift from him to you...and you need to just accept it as such."

And the words this young man spoke as he hugged us both and told us how much he appreciated our impact in his life brought tears. We were truly humbled beyond words.

This young man is an extended family member who we love like our own. And in fact, one of the two main reasons we moved across country 13 years earlier was to be here for he, his siblings and his mom as they underwent a terrible time in their lives.

13 years ago, when all this stuff was going on in our lives, we just prayed...trusted God and took a leap of faith...and He not only caught us, but provided for us every step of the way. Moving money, a job, a place to rent which was an incredible deal and was literally doors down from their family...we knew it was meant to be and we were happy to do whatever we could to help our family.

We never dreamed that our obedience to God then would, in a sense, lead to such an amazing gift these many years later.

Our wonderful Lord used these generous souls to bless us with that beautiful truck outright.

And let me tell you, once we got past the shock, there was much hugging and happy-dancing going on in our driveway.



It's the newest vehicle we've ever owned...with low mileage and all the bells and whistles plus a full 3 year warranty...which means we can even take cross-country trips in it! Praise the Lord!

As we took our beautiful new-to-us truck for a spin later that evening, we pulled out some CD's (because this vehicle was the first vehicle we'd ever owned that came with a working CD player inside) and as we drove, we sang praises to God at the top of our lungs...astounded and utterly giddy at His provision.

And the next morning, we all peeked out the window and Jeff exclaimed, "It wasn't a dream!"

And Jeff now happily parks in that hard-won "Teacher of the Year" spot at school, thanking Him every time he gets behind that wheel for answering that yearning for a reliable vehicle...beyond his wildest dreams.

The Lord has truly been good to us, and for these and many other blessings I am especially thankful this Thanksgiving.

Every good and perfect gift comes from above. ~James 1:17b

*Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:6-7

:: :: :: ::

It bears mentioning that this couldn't have happened in more perfect timing, as the black car all but gave up the ghost on the side of the freeway yesterday afternoon.



Here was Jeff, administering first aid to the vehicle.

Turns out that running out of gas was the least of the car's problems.



And yes, that is a bowling pin used to hold up the hood of the black car. We're classy that way.

Unfortunately, the black car had to be transported home via ambulance tow-truck, and is now in critical condition in our driveway.

We fear she is not long for this world.

Thankfully our van is still viable, and in a couple of weeks when Jeff completes what we hope is the last major repair on it for a long while, she should be good as new for a long while.

Thankfulness abounding,

Frumpmama

Thrift Store Blessings

For the past few years, I've had some creative projects ruminating on the back burners of my mind. Things which I hoped might result in generating some extra income by nature of my making and then selling things from home, while at the same time beneficial to my personal wardrobe in that I could finally use up some of the fabric and patterns I've squirrelled away by making myself some new dress clothes.

These past 3 or 4 years, whenever my very considerate husband has asked me in advance for a list of ideas for gifts for Birthdays, Christmas or anniversaries...I've usually included a certain thing which I knew existed, but wasn't even sure what it was called, I'd just seen them at the fabric store.

I think I may have written down something along the lines of, "One of those mannequin things that you can adjust to your exact measurements and shape, drape clothes on them and then be able to achieve a custom tailored fit and perfect hems without having to try the clothes on twenty times."

Which is probably why I never got one. Jeff doesn't even like to ask for help finding the Artichoke Hearts in the grocery store...I can hardly imagine him putting himself out there like that in a fabric store full of ladies.

Well, there was that and the steep price tag.

The only ones I'd ever seen were in the $250-$350 dollar range.

This past Spring, I came very close to purchasing a full-size, wrought iron armature from Pier 1.


It was on sale for $90, which I believe was half off the normal price.

It also had decorative red chandelier pendants wired into it, and I'm nothing if not a sucker for bling. Especially old-fashioned, Victorian era looking 'bling'.

Which would have looked stunning in the corner of my bedroom, which at that time was decorated in a beautiful red-velvet and white color scheme complimented with red transfer-ware plates, matching roses and a few little black wrought iron touches.

My goal had been to add in a beautiful bargain priced Persian rug in my color scheme and keep things that way for years...until someone dashed my vision to pieces by saying things looked vintage and romantic, alright...in a rather boudoir, 1860's brothel kind of way.

I suppose the 'Old Timey' Photo collection of ourselves on the walls in there only added to their perception. Can I help it that those studios never seem to have proper ladies costumes?

Needless to say the Pier 1 version of that mannequin was adorable, and within reach price-wise, but still wasn't wasn't exactly what I'd been looking for.

I passed it up, and when I returned later that day having had second thoughts, it was gone, the decision made for me.


I've made my peace with that my bedroom decor now. It's no longer red velvet but a brand new color scheme.

Anyway, having met that dead-end in my search for a dressmakers form, I went online looking for rock-bottom prices, scouring e-bay and Craig's List. They didn't have what I was looking for either. Unless I wanted a 1950's model with uber-small waist, flat behind and rather pointed bosom.

In my search, I did happen upon some instructions for a "DIY Body Double" tutorial.

It involved stripping oneself down to just a bra and panties and then dressing in a large plastic garbage bag (sticking your head and arms out of precut holes) and then having your friends or family assist in wrapping you very snugly in 3 layers of duct tape. When done, they very carefully cut you out out of it, and then you retape it and can stuff the 'mold' until it holds it's shape well enough for sewing purposes.

While the concept was a good one and would make for a very accurate casting of ones figure, I simply could not imagine subjecting myself to such torture a process for a number of reasons:

1. I am ultra-modest. I was the girl in high school swim class who wore a t-shirt over her swimsuit while showering, then scurried off to a restroom stall to change into my clothes.

2. I am horribly claustrophobic.

I wasn't even aware of this about myself until after my very first asthma attack. That makes a person feel extra-smothery real quick, especially in tight quarters. I can't even sleep in a sleeping bag while camping anymore because I feel too bound up. As much as I loved the look of my leather dress boots with jeans a few of seasons ago, the second I'd get into them, I'd start feeling that panicky fluttery feeling and have to take them off. For me, being taped up in duct tape and plastic would be akin to a straight-jacket.

3. I just can't imagine asking the form-making assistance of a.) my friends, b.) my family, or c.) some stranger off the street.

I still die-a-thousand-deaths remembering the time when, as a goofy 10 year old, my folks had a nice couple from church over for dinner. They stayed late enough that my folks eventually told us kids to go get ready for bed. After changing into my pj's (which was one of my dad's comfy old worn t-shirts which hung to about mid-thigh on my 10 year old self) we'd just crawled into our beds when my dad called us all back downstairs for goodnight hugs...and forgetting completely what I was wearing I ran to obey...and passed right in front of the couple that had been visiting...WITHOUT ANY PAJAMA PANTS ON. **blushes** It's a side of myself that I'd rather not share with friends and family, lol.

4. The face-casting project during my college sculpting class scarred me beyond repair. Smearing ones face with petroleum jelly, inserting straws into nose and mouth and having someone else pile on globs of freshly mixed plaster whilst laying in a reclining position and needing to remain still for a half hour while the plaster set...is a surefire recipe for possible asphyxiation and/or panic attacks. Not to mention that the chemical reaction taking place in freshly mixed plaster makes it extremely hot. As in scalding on your already slicked up face.

However, the same Lord that knows our needs and desires and all of the goofy little idiosyncrasies that are unique to my situation knew that I still desired one of those silly mannequins for that plan that had been a-brewin'.

Whenever I'd finally save up enough to go get a brand new one from the fabric store, I would end up standing there behind the pattern section looking longingly up at the display, but always ended up talking myself out of it. I'd walk away empty-handed because I just couldn't justify the expense.

Looking back now, I see that was simply the Lord's leading, because today...all that changed.

I had some mad money allotted for my little monthly thrift store 'route'. While I wasn't looking specifically for the mannequin, I was passing by my favorite thrift store on my side of town. I popped inside and found a couple of goodies for my walls, then headed for it's sister store across town where I needed to go for some of my other errands.

Judah and I walked into the Salvation Army Thrift Store **cue Hallelujah Chorus** and behold...there it was!

Not the hot pink busty/petite sized mannequin...not the average girl version in blue...but the big-n-busty-girl version in gray that was juuuuust right for my purposes.



"It was my twin!"

And it was only $50!

So, in honor of the One who blessed me with this wonderful find, I will give 'her' a Biblical name.

I think I shall call her...Esther.

For she is lovely in form and features. (Esther 2:7b) **winks**



Now if only I'd quit 'startling' every time I walk in the craft room and see an unexpected humanly figure in the corner.

Then again, the only thing worse than that would be a humanly figure in a closet!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..."
~James 1:17