A lot has happened this week. Some good, and some not so good.

I will start back on Monday, the 3rd. I got up that morning with a full "to do" list. It was a good thing I didn't have to work that day as I barely had time to breath.

I just don't know how women who have full time jobs "do it all". My hat is off to y'all, that's all I can say!! God has to have blessed you with some great angels to help you get it all done.

I had not slept well Sunday night. I guess it was about 3:30 A.M. before I really feel asleep, so when the alarm went off at 4:45... Well, I guess was glad I had not thrown it out the window as it was only doing it's job! After all, it was just an innocent bystander. Anyway, at that point I decided to go back to sleep until my sweet husband's alarm went off. Then, I intended to ask him to follow me to Walmart so I could drop off my car for an oil change, and then have him take me to the gym. I figured I could then walk back to Walmart, or catch a ride, to pick up my car. It seemed like a good idea to me. I figured it would only take him 10 minutes; and it would help me out. If not, I would fit the gym in somewhere else in my day. Well, his response was something to the effect of why had I not asked him this prior to the morning. Of course, my comment to that was, "Because I didn't think he wanted me to wake him at 3:30 A.M. to tell him. Then I would have been wide awake again; and so would have he. Well, I could tell by the "man tone" in his voice, he did not care too much for my idea. (Sorry men, but you know y'all have "that" tone, just like us women have one, too.) So, anyway, I said not to worry. I would take care of it on my own. I headed off to Walmart and told the man who checked me in that I needed an oil change and my tires rotated. That seems like a pretty simple request, right? An hour and a half later they call my name. Now, while I am there, I was multitasking by also doing my grocery shopping (of course I have frozen food, too). I get up to the counter to pay and discover they had not rotated my tires. I will just tell you now, it was NOT easy to let Jesus shine through at that moment because the last three times they have done the exact same thing. Then, to make matters worse, they tell me I have wait for the three cars IN FRONT OF ME. This after I had arrived before 7:00 A.M., and had helped the man set out the display tires, so he could check me in. At that I asked to speak to the manager. Thankfully, the manager knows me and gets them to finish my vehicle right away. Praise the Lord!! I will just say it again, Praise the Lord!! After that, I ran to Office Depot to make a few copies. They open at 8:00, and it is now 9:00, so they should be ready for customers, right? WRONG!! Or so I thought... You see, what Satan tried to do that morning was get me mad, and not let me be the witness I needed to be, but God is so good! I went in the store; and out of FIVE copiers, NOT EVEN ONE OF THEM WAS WORKING!! Can you just believe my luck?? At that point I kind of felt like I just needed to go home and back to bed! But with so many things to get done, not a chance. I walked up to the counter and asked the man to help me. He looked at my originals and said he couldn't copy the page from the magazine. I said, "Well, I am Lynn Loecher. Here is my license to prove who I am. I helped co-author the article, so I am giving myself permission to copy it." It was from a church newsletter, FROM EIGHT YEARS AGO. I just did not want to go to the church to copy a single page. I proceeded to tell him the article was about my husband having an affair, and how God had restored our marriage. I continued that the rest of the story was we are still together and are now adopting 2 girls. He asked if he could read it. I told him I was in a hurry, but that he could make an extra copy and I would happily pay for it. He did so; and I left. The rest of my day went reasonably well, but I never did make it to the gym. I know from past experience that if I don't get there by 5:30 in the morning I just don't get there at all. Oh well, maybe next time...

I did make it to the gym on Tuesday. Go girl!! I even walked 4 miles in 57 minutes, which is good for me. I had to work that day; and afterwards had a long list of things to do. One item was to run by Walmart. While in the store, I "ran into" the man from Office Depot; and he me told how much he enjoyed reading our article. He also shared that he and his wife were separated, as he had had an affair; but that she wanted to work it out. He said they were going to dinner together on Friday night. He then told me he did not know why he was in the store on Monday morning as he was not supposed to work that day, but he had gotten his days goofed up and came in on his day off day. The guy who was to supposed work that morning never showed up; and that's why the copiers had not been turned on yet when I arrived. Anyway, the man said he was sorry again; and I apologized for my poor attitude. I told him I felt it was a "total God thing" as God knew I was going into that store; and he needed to be reminded that if he would put God back in the center of his life things would work out. If my Monday had started the way I intended I would have missed a divine appointment to be a witness for Jesus. At the end of the day, when I laid my head down, I was still able to say, " I got it all done, and I will get up and do it all over again tomorrow."

Wednesday was another busy work day, then church. It was a great service, but it always is if you are there to worship Him who gives you life. It was not one of my better moments at home later that night, though. Over the weekend Tim and I had a conversation. He said it was Saturday. I thought it was Sunday. That's not important, though, but he thought we had decided one thing. I didn't know we made any decisions about it. Basically, he had said he wanted to re-join choir; and I said if he wanted, then he should, but we needed to figure out how to fit it in on our busy, busy schedule. I thought that meant we would sit down and talk about it some more. He thought that meant between him and the choir director, I guess. (Just kidding.) When church got over, he said, "I will see you at home after choir practice." Well, that went over like a lead balloon! As you're probably already guessing, "Not so great!" By the time he got home I was fit to be tied; and I laid into him as if he had just committed a crime. I was HUNGRY. You see, we had been going to Subway for dinner immediately following church the last several weeks so I had not eaten. Not a good thing: hungry, tired woman, still not over the Walmart episode from Monday morning, still holding a grudge about the gym, and then this miscommunication. Well, when he got home... look out. He clearly know I was mad. Real MAD. Thankfully by bed time I peaceably said good night, and gave him a kiss, and said I loved him, and we would figure it out somehow.

Then Thursday, and the StairMaster at the gym. -- I want every one to know that machine was invented by Satan himself as a sick joke. 39 flights of stairs in 12 minutes, to burn all of 57 calories!! Then 4 hours later I could hardly move my legs to get in and out of the car. Sorry, my A.D.D. kicked in. -- A song by John Waller comes on my MP3 player:

WHILE I'M WAITING

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on you, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on you, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on you, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

The lesson I have learned this week is that when things don't go the way we desire, or people don't do what we want, it is OK. We are waiting on the Lord; and in that time we are to serve Him and worship Him. I am so glad I have a husband who is so in tune with the things the Lord wants him to do. Well most things! I want to be the woman God intends me to be.

I am learning it is OK to say that small 2-letter word Tim has tried so hard for so many years to get me to say, "No." He would say, "Let's practice before you leave. When someone asks you to do something, can you say, "No." No, I can't say, "No." Well, this past week in my quiet time with the Lord, He showed me that I needed to step down from co-teaching a weight loss class at our church and become a student for a while. To sit, and be still, and know He is God. To let Him be in control of my life. So, when the lady I teach with called me and asked if I was coming back, I told her, "No." I could hear the angels in heaven clapping and cheering me on for being obedient to the Lord; and it felt good, too! That's very hard for me, but if I don't seek HIM I will miss the lessons He needs to teach me. As well, He told me we are on a tight time table. He wants the girls home for Christmas. So we cannot miss a step, or we could miss a deadline and possibly not get them here. How would I feel if it was because of something I did that they would not be together for Jesus' birthday? I don't even know what they know about Him, but I feel an urgency to get them here to pour out His love for them.

Sorry this was so long. I hope not all weeks are this busy, but in the long run it was a GREAT week. Please be in prayer for the man from Office Depot and his wife. And if any of you have any prayer requests, please feel free to send them to either of us. We would love to pray with you, or for, you.

I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful weekend with Jesus!

Lynn