Seasons

Well, it would seem that after our season of ease of transition, which I told you guys I was prepared for anything in, we're now settling into a season of "hard times."
Fortunately, as I mentioned, God is growing me leaps and bounds and for the first time in my entire life I'm not flipping out like I normally would be which means that---gasp-- I might just have matured a little! Yay.

Yesterday was the coldest day we 've had so far, getting down into the thirties. We were so psyched, until we discovered our heater wouldn't work! We called Wayne's dad for backup space heaters and, in the process, called our HVAC guy to come out and fix it. Turns out there is a good reason it doesn't work-- it's a gas pack. Which is ironic, since the reason we rented this house in the first place is that it was supposedly all electric and thus, we could afford it. (see, the gas deposit, for us, is $300. Yikes!)
Last year, you'll remember, we had a similar incident when Winter struck and we decided to tough it out with space heaters, baby and all. Annika survived, althought I admit we had some fever scares that probably could have been avoided by being warm. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE being cold. Anyways, so it looks like baby Ishod is going to be born into a cold world too, because there is simply no way we can afford to pay the deposit. Even if we could, we wouldn't be able to afford the monthly gas bill, so it's just stupid. And that's ok.... I am not feeling like it's the end of the world. Wayne, on the other hand, is pretty upset, and I can see why. But I just feel like I need to learn something here, so I'll just have to do without. We are never promised an easy ride.

Anyhoo.... so as all this is happening, we are praying steadily about circumsizing our little guy. We REALLY want to do it. Well, me more than Wayne, because without the snip we could be preventing him from later identifying with his Jewish heritage, etc. It's a REALLY big deal for me. That being said.... the Word is clear that it is no longer a necessary issue, and fewer and fewer kids are being circed, so he won't be the wierd one if he stays here in America. If we do end up in Israel, though, I 'm going to be feeling bad. I want my kids' identity to start at birth, you know?

It costs about $400 to do it medically, about $200 to do it "religiously," but we are having a TERRIBLE time finding a mohel who would even consider performing the ceremony for two people who are total Jesus Freaks, much less for no money. But pray I will.. and I'd love it if you joined us.

In related news, we've been hit with a stack of "final" bills from our stay in Cali which is pretty appalling...considering that most utility companies we've dealt with here end up sending US money back, and a couple of bad decisions on my part (I caved in and got us cell phones, which was super stupid, because now our comm bill is gigantic each month... duh.)

Satan is totally attacking us on the financial front, as are the consequences of some poor stewardship (what?? I really NEEDED that yarn!) which is the scariest place to be when you're about to pop with bean number two. And about to pop I am.... I'm effaced and dilating away.

So, meanwhile, I'm not stressing out, because I'm relaxing in the promises of my Lord to prosper us in His timing and in His way. We've been in the scary place before, and He's always pulled us out. We've repented of our poor stewardship in the cell phone and yarn and sword area..... and now we've just got to sit tight and watch God work.

We still don't have a car seat, a bouncer seat, or diapers.

In the same breath, though, I can say that He has been totally present and active in our lives in every other way... I had a knitting student today who really blessed me. Good conversation, fun knitting times, and a believer with a really interesting world view and tons of things to talk about. It was great to be able to contribute to my family's needs too.

I've been getting deeper and deeper into the Word lately, even though I haven't slept in four days (and when I say "haven't slept," I mean I slept for about fifteen mins each hour while Annika wasn't coughing or barfing from 9 pm to 5 am) I'm still getting up and doing my devotional. I feel like a soldier again--- It reminds me of BCT when we survived just fine off three or four hours of sleep each night for weeks on end. Sleep is a crutch. There's a war going on.

So, that's my news. No baby yet, but I'm expecting him any moment. I don't really have a plan for what to do with Annika when I'm in the hospital. My mom doesn't get here until Nov 16. We are so excited to meet him. I feel like there are forty thousand things to do before he gets here, so I've been spending more and more time overexerting myself on loads of laundry, housework, filing papers, and enjoying the things i wont be able to do once he's here, like cooking dinners and reading books and knitting like a maniac.

I'd appreciate any prayer to help us through this season! Let us learn what must be learnt and let our way of life be sustained... and most of all, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus :)