Perseverance-late night ramblings

Romans5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God thorough our Lord Jesus Christ.....
Romans 5:3 -4 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Ever have one of those days where nothing seems to go right? Yeah, my morning was going that way. You could possibly even say it started the night before with my oldest getting hit twice in baseball which was then followed by a sleepless night for me.
It was a rough morning as well. Just the little things that add up. I left the kids with my parents and drove up to the city to finalize my school plans. I wasn't twenty minutes up the road and my mom sends me a picture of my youngest. If you are on facebook then you know what I saw. He had some major road rash on his face, concrete isn't too kind to the skin as he fell off his trike. I wondered if I should turn around then it hit me. All this stuff going on was attacks. I was under attack. Here am I, trying my best to stay strong for my kids, myself and remain faithful to my Lord. It's not an easy time in our lives but at the same time we have been blessed in many ways.
Guess what, the enemy doesn't like that. Doesn't like it when you remain faithful, especially when all you know is changing and you feel like your life is falling apart. Remember Job of the bible? Remember all he the lost? What do you remember of his faith? Do you remember how he was blessed in the end? Maybe it is a time in your life when you should go re-read the book of Job. See what lessons he has to share with you. Remain faithful in good times and especially in the bad! He is the same God and has the same truths no matter what you are going through.
After I realized what was going on I prayed. Prayed for the safety of my family, for myself during this trip. Does that mean everything went swimmingly after I prayed. Why no, in fact, it doesn't. In fact things didn't go as planned at all. I would later joke that I should have also prayed for my father-in-law to have a winch(one thing was a car break down). You see, not everything continued as I would have like but I was able to laugh at things as they happened instead of cry because it was all in the Lord's hands. I'd given it to him. In fact, I know he did take care of me because the things that happened really were just speed bumps, slowing me down for a minute instead of road blocks, completely stopping me.
A change in perspective, a change in attitude and a willingness to run the race.

clean your face

Sometime in March I ran out of the usual facial cleaner I used and didn't see it in this new area I'm in. I had come across this recipe and thought I'd give it a try. I can't give credit to whom I got it from because I can't remember! I know it was in a comment on someones blog, the recipe was simple enough for me to remember-which is saying something for my scattered brain these days!

Facial cleaner for normal skin.

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Castor Oil

Mix and place in a small container. Rub gently on face and rinse off. Great for removing makeup, although I tend to use in the morning shower.
If you have dry skin use another Tablespoon of Olive Oil.
If have oily skin use another Tablespoon of Castor Oil.

I sometimes use this on my legs as well, helps make them more silky smooth :-)

If you are looking for something new, less expensive or more do-it yourself-give it a try and let me know how it works for you!