Through it all....I've learned to trust.

As a whole, the things that are going on in our lives right now are totally and completely unbelievable. It's tempting to ask if it all isn't some sort of joke. Seriously. I'm so glad we have the Lord and can rest in His care, and that He is proving time and again that what others mean for evil, God intends for good!

The company that my husband currently works for has in recent years become one of the largest proponents of ho*mo*se*xu*ality in the world and a most outspoken enemy of the NRA.

They have also come to believe that any and all safety incidents are avoidable since they strongly impact their bottom line.

Their tool of choice in carrying out the avoidance of any and all safety incidents? The job safety analysis (hereafter referred to as the "JSA"). In a nutshell, a JSA is paperwork that must be filled out prior to any job being done in order to promote employee awareness of possible dangers.

Last week, Josh and a co-worker were out doing a visual inspection for a future job when his co-worker inadvertently side-stepped into some razor wire that was improperly installed too low. It had been deemed a safety risk upon installation, but the company neglected to correct it, and prior to last week's incident Josh had also gotten a very minor cut on his head from it. The injuries amounted to nothing more than a scratch one might get from a pushpin, but nonetheless were considered "safety incidents".

When the facility supervisor was informed of the "incident" he went over to do his own visual inspection. He then headed straight over to Josh's office, and barged in like a bull in a china shop demanding, with language peppered with expletives, to know why a JSA hadn't been filled out prior to the job. Josh, thinking that he was going to be fired on the spot if his supervisor's attitude was any indication, answered calmly and truthfully that one was not needed since no work was actually being done. The guy insisted that one must be filled out regardless. To which Josh replied, "Didn't you just come back from doing a visual inspection?"

"Yes, I did!"

"Did you fill out a JSA?"

"Well! That's an entirely different situation!" And having nothing left to say, turned his back on Josh and didn't recognize his presence for the remainder of the meeting.

To demonstrate not only the waste of time entailed in filling out a JSA form, but also the level of stupidity required to believe it actually makes a positive impact on job safety I relate the following true story:

In a safety meeting the company sponsored not too long ago they were asked to fill out a JSA on the simple task of picking up trash along the side of a road where the pipeline was positively identified nearby. After much deliberation, in which every possible dangerous scenario was thought of and meticulously documented, it was deemed that the job was too dangerous to be carried out. The risk of encountering falling power lines, rusty nails, snakes and so on and so forth was simply too great a risk to take in order to get some trash picked up.

Mission aborted.

Last month the "Great Safety Leader," whom in my opinion is an extremely paranoid, anal-retentive woman, was flown to another state because of a bee sting "incident." The man who got stung had taken the vast amount of time required to fill out the JSA, but was formally reprimanded (three strikes and you're out) since he had failed to list bees as being a potential hazardous encounter on the form. There was a huge to-do made at the facility because of this and the man in question wasn't even allergic. The job he was doing that required a JSA in the first place? Pulling weeds.

As a collective result, Josh was formally reprimanded for insubordination on Friday, AND there are rumors that the entire facility is going to be "cleaned out", and they will start all over again with all new employees. All because Josh asked an honest question. Is it just me, or is there something fishy here? :) Seems to me like they're desperately trying to pass the buck in order to save their own hides. Any other theories, anyone? :)

However, with the eye of faith, I can easily see that this is God's way of "compelling us to go." It is just like God to use insignificant things to bring about the fruition of great things. I'm thankful that Josh isn't losing his job over anything more serious. And the truth is, in what Josh's job entails, there is a potential threat to lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are celebrating our church's 12th anniversary with special meetings.

Special meetings = spiritual battles.

I can't imagine that we are such a threat to the devil, but I see no other explanation for all that has occurred. Last year Josh and I both were so sick we could hardly talk, but we were scheduled to sing each night. Backing out was not an option, and by the grace and goodness of God alone we got through it to the glory of God.

This year....it is so much more.

Our kids are taking turns with the flu....

Neither one of us get much, if any, sleep due to it....

We don't feel so well ourselves...

I have music commitments every night of the special meeting so Josh has to stay home with the children...

Josh needs to find a new job A.S.A.P....

Our house is in shambles....

We have more work than time to accomplish the work at home, at church, and at Josh's job... (i.e. Josh has a Sunday School class to prepare for, sermons to write, a new air conditioner to install at the church, 70 trees that need to be planted soon, gutters that need to be reattached to the house, a rock garden to finish, and I won't even begin to list the things that need to be done indoors. Suffice it to say that we have basically "moved" without actually changing locations.)

There is a good possibility that we will indeed be moving soon...

This adds to the pressure through the necessity of getting our house sale ready..

Josh's blood pressure has skyrocketed due to his stress levels which leads to extreme muscle pain and tension, and headaches...

which in turn lessens the quality of the small amount of sleep we do get.

The comfort and good in it all?

We know that none of this has taken God by surprise. He has known about it since the very beginning, and He has a plan. We trust Him; not only to provide the grace to accomplish it all to His glory, but also for providing our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Our faith is in Him and Him alone. GOD IS GOOD! He not only doesn't give us a stone when we ask for bread; He gives all exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think!

"There is no peace, no joy, no thrill

Like walking in His will.

For me to live is Christ,

To die is gain!"

What would we do without Him? I cannot imagine, and, oh, the compassion it stirs in my heart for those who don't have Him in these perilous days. "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Without Him, I could do nothing. Without Him I'd surely fail, Without Him I would be drifting, like a ship without a sail." So many are there right now...without Him.