God Is Faithful

There is so much that I want to share. I don't really know where to begin or even if I have the ability to say what is on my heart and do it justice.

Wednesday morning I was woken up by an almost audible voice saying "Pray." I didn't have words, but all I could think of was how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. That's exactly how I felt. All I could do was lay prostrate at the feet of Jesus.

Friday morning was somewhat similar, but I'll get to that in a minute.

First, I want to say that my mom took the stand on Thursday and did an awesome job! She is so knowledgeable in all this stuff. She used the Internal Revenue Code to prove why they believe what they believe, and talked us all through it step by step. I don't know if you all have ever seen the IRC, but it has over 8,000 sections with very small print and lots of numbers in front of each clause. It is a code. You have to have extensive knowledge to know how to read it, and you have to do extensive research to be able to understand it. My mom is so good at it; it's just in her head. My parents know that they have to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt why they believe what they believe in order to take a stand such as this, and they have not taken that responsibility lightly. They know that they are doing the right thing, and they are willing to stand on that belief at all costs.....even if it means they lose everything my dad has worked so hard for that last 31 years. And my dad has already proven that by being sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, and serving the time; knowing the whole time that he was innocent. The financial loss that my parent's have dealt with taking this stand on principle is far greater than the taxes that the government says that they owe. Not to mention the fear, intimidation, and harassment they have had to endure.

The prosecuting attorney kept trying to get my mom flustered by acting intimidating, and she would have none of it. She was right back in his face every time and shut him up on at least two very unforgettable occasions. I wish you all could have been there. It was great! :)

Friday my dad took the stand. I think he did very well. He is a very emotional guy anyway, but right now with all the stress of the trial, and the intensity of his belief and desire to communicate it to the jury, he was very overwhelmed. Plus, he feels things so strongly, but has a hard time communicating it verbally because of the tears that inevitably come.

The prosecutor is just evil, and unfortunately very good at taking what you say and attempting to use it against you for his own purposes. You have to really be on your toes and listen to the question very carefully before answering. My dad has a hard time hearing anyway, so you can imagine the confusion at times.

Much of their evidence was not allowed in court because it had to do with the Constitution and the judge wouldn't allow anything that had to do with the constitution as evidence. Makes you wonder what he's afraid of, doesn't it? It really is scary the state our country is in today, and most Americans are completely clueless. Mark. my. words. we are going to wake up any day now and wonder what in the world happened to the country we thought we lived in. America's days are numbered, and the countdown began years ago. We are one huge step closer to the end of our country as we know it. And I have a sinking feeling that the upcoming election will ultimately be her demise. Even if we had won this case, nothing short of Christians (as a whole) getting on their knees on a daily basis begging God to save our country would do. "If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land." (That may not be a direct quote because I can't seem to find the verse right now.)

Thursday night I was past the point of exhaustion by the time we got home. It is no small feat to have to get five kids ready, (including their meals) and out the door by 7:30 a.m. And, as all the people present will attest, it is very stressful to be in a courtroom all day sitting on wooden pews. The air in that room was thick with tension all day long. Sometimes it was worse than others.

We were in bed before 9:00 that night, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I know Josh was right behind me, and he woke me up when he came in the room. I had a really bad headache that made me nauseous unless I was laying still. I slept like the dead until 11:00 when I woke up to Isaac crying and AliaBeth coughing. Somehow, only by God's grace, I dragged myself out of bed to take care of them. When I finally got to bed again, I kept dreaming of being exhausted but unable to sleep.

Josh's alarm went off as it normally does at five. It almost never wakes me up, but that morning it did. I was finally sleeping so good that all I wanted to do was snuggle deeper into the covers. If I moved I felt my headache flare up. The next thing I remember was walking toward the bathroom very slowly and carefully and noticing that the clock read 5:17 a.m. The only thoughts that kept going through my head over and over again were, I have to be there today. I can do this.

For some reason I was freezing. As I was slowly making my way upstairs I prayed, "Lord, it would be so nice if the fire was going when I get up there." I can't explain the joy when I saw that it was! It was such a small thing really, but the Lord has been showing Himself faithful in the seemingly most insignificant things! Normally the fire goes off after just a few minutes, but it stayed on until after I got up to get things ready for the day almost an hour later.

Cottage cheese mixed with pineapple is the only thing I can eat when I have a headache, but I couldn't remember the last time I had bought either item. I went to the refrigerator, and found a huge carton of cottage cheese that was still good, and went to the cupboard looking for the pineapple; pretty sure that there wasn't any there. When I opened the door, there was a can of pineapple chunks sitting right in front on the shelf. All the other canned goods were pushed to the back, and all I saw was that can of pineapple sitting there as if God had just put it there especially for me. I was so excited, and thankful! As I was dishing it up I remember thinking, "Why am I getting so much? I'll never be able to eat all this." And yet, I just kept on scooping more into the bowl. LOL It worked out wonderfully. I was able to take what I hadn't eaten with me when we left later.

I went to sit in front of the fire, and if I had my back toward it, it was way too hot, so I turned around. I was still sitting as close as I had been before, but the temperature was perfect. I thought that was odd. The next thing I knew I heard a still small voice say, "Our God is a consuming fire." It made me stop and be still for a minute. It was as if I could feel God's loving arms wrap securely around me in that moment. It was tangible. I was in awe. Little by little God helped me to eat, and by 6:10 my headache was gone! And I wouldn't trade the sweet fellowship of that hour for the world. God is so good!

God carried me through the rest of the morning with many more small miracles. I kept thinking we were going to be late, and I don't remember putting my makeup on when I was getting ready. I just looked in the mirror and it was done. When I was curling my hair I remember wondering why it wasn't curling, and just moments later my hair was done, too. And it looked really nice!! :D I hadn't even gotten the kids up yet at this point and we had to leave in less than ten minutes, and even then with the roads being icy we were going to be late. Isaac was stinky, and I remember thinking, "Grrr. Now I have to go all the way upstairs to get diapers and wipes." I laid him down on the floor, and right next to him was a bag of baby wipes, and a diaper box that was empty. I looked in there anyway, and there was ONE DIAPER in the bottom of the box!?!?!? I was SO excited!

We made it to Heather's house in record time going the long way so we could avoid rush hour through the Heights, not forgetting anything, and we arrived at the federal building by 8:15. We even got a fairly close free parking spot!

The jury deliberated for less than three hours, and found my mom and dad guilty on all four counts.