February

Hi everyone!

I am going to try and make a post a minimum of once per month to keep this thing going. Julius started it when we first heard we were pregnant last year, but it has not been maintained as we had hoped. I guess when things are hard who wants to write about them, right?

Well, things are looking up again and we are excited about what has been going on in our lives lately. God has truly gotten our attention these past few months. Our possessions have been put into storage; our housing has decreased from a two-bedroom apartment to RV to guest bedroom in my sister's home in Houston; and we have both become unemployed. How many more worldly distractions do we need to remove to notice God is calling us back to Him? NONE!

Recently, Julius and I were reminded about how we need to be praying. Rather than saying "Lord, a job...any job will do," we must be specific in our prayers. If we do not know what to pray for, we must step back and ask for His wisdom in knowing the desires of our hearts, as He was the one who placed them there. BIG REVELATION! We have taken this to heart and are making steps to fix our faith and spiritual path together.

Recently, we started doing a near-daily devotional with each other and are learning how to talk to God and to know what we need to know to be better Christians. The book we are using to help us along is called One-Year Walk With God. We tried to find something that was for couples, but all that we found were those that focused on fixing a relationship through God's love. While that is very useful for many marriages, Julius and I are not at that point. We are doing this devotional together, talking about what the verses and message mean to us in our life right now, and praying together. This has taught us so much, as the messages are talking directly to our current struggles and teaching us how to pray more specifically.

It was an answer to one of these prayers that we have finally decided to settle in the Houston area for the time being. We are feeling so relieved to know that we have a warm, solid place to live that allows Julius to help around the house as a kind of rent, and to know that we are to look locally for jobs. We have already started Julius' business, Patton-of-All-Trades, and I am going to be working hard for awhile trying to get him established. I do not know what the Lord has in store for me, being so close to my due date, but our faith and endurance is growing. Praise you, Lord.

I will go now, but I will be back. Six months along and anxiously awaiting the arrival of our precious daughter, Evelyn Lucile.

Check out Julius' business website at www.handypatton.webs.com