Year of the Skunk

Well, that was a 3 week hiatus from the blog that I had not planned on...

and Dave and I have now dubbed this the "year of the skunk" for the Plasterer family. (from the chinese calander thing- if we really were into that)

It started with Dave losing his job. Many more people are experiencing this nowadays, and sadly it doesn't affect us much until it hits home. Of couse at the same time, our dryer decided to quit drying. We were looking for a cheap one to buy on craigslist but in the meantime having to lay everything out back on the porch until we had that cold snap for a few days... the laundry was piling up.... thankfully we eventually found one for free (so awesome) however it does have one of the LOUDEST squeeks I have heard - like you don't want to be watching anything or even hanging out in the rooms downstairs when it is going and can even be heard upstairs. But I can live with the squeek as long as it is drying our clothes. Then last week our dog was out back in the evening and got sprayed by a skunk. Oh my, the awfulness of that smell on your dog and in your home- I can not explain- those who have experienced it know! So it was a late evening of looking on the internet of what to do, bathing him twice, removing any clothing/blankets etc, from the area where he sleeps for fear of the stench seeping over, bad night of sleep continually awaking to the smell, and then the next day of airing out/taking care of the inside smell. It really could have been worse as within a day the inside smelled alright and a couple more for the dog to be ok. yet still not something we would have asked for at that point! Thus, our dog has a new nickname (stink face) and a halloween costume idea (skunk) and we have a theme for the year (year of the skunk):) Thankfully we are able to laugh at much of it and are truly grateful for the lessons the Lord has for us in the tough times. Difficult circumstances yet great opportunities to rely on the Lord, grow in our trust of Him and what He is doing, receiving His peace, knowing He is in control and will provide, and being convinced that this life is all about bringing glory to Him in whatever circumstances and that things are just things. I am reading 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan and love a recent quote that said, "the point of our life is to point to Him." Also doing a great bible study at church, "Seeking Him." The Lord knew what I would need, as I started both of these just before the "year of the skunk" got underway:) He is good... all the time!


Now back to our previously scheduled blog posts....

(Dave did get a job only 2 weeks after losing the other- which is an incredible answer to prayer and graciousness on the Lord's part. It is sales- with some salary, which definitely helps but is not yet what we need it to be- so just giving it a go and praying that it becomes something more or another job comes along. We will wait and pray and see)