we spent the afternoon with WBT, who is one of Baby bear's "surrogate" aunts as one of the witnesses present at our first meeting, by divine providence. her dad was not up for visitors, so we went Christmas shopping and out to dinner. her dad's cancer is wearing him out. please keep their whole family in your prayers. the time is so difficult for her and her family. I am glad we were able to spend some time with her. Baby bear loved meeting Ian, her dog. I'd never see him tolerate attention so well (he's a one-person dog, a little bit of a dog snob.) He even let her kiss him on his nose several times.

we had the privelege to be part of a God's provision for some friends from our church family. they own a cleaning business, therefore i will call them "mr. & mrs. clean" on the blog. they are about our age, and they have 3 sons. a couple of years ago, they started their own business, which has been growing slowly but surely. a few weeks ago, they were able to move from the dangerous neighborhood where they were living, to a safer community much closer to our church. (while they lived in the old neighbnorhood, their brother's car was stolen and vehicles were broken into every night around them.) so, this move in itself was a big answer to prayer. well, last night at our fellowship they mentioned that one of their cars had died.

my dad, who is retired from working at a car factory, has friends who are always selling their used vehicles. i figured that he might know someone who knew someone with one available, so i called him to ask about it. he reminded me that my mom's old car was still in their driveway. they had purchased a car from a friend a few weeks back, not wanting to put the money into the old car.

i called our friends this morning, gave them my dad's number, and they picked up their vehicle this afternoon. since the husband uses their only vehicle for driving to clients' homes and offices, mom and kids were basically stranded at home during the day. not that that's the worst place to be stranded, but it does make family logistics a little more difficult. the best part- dad gave them the car for free! so even though it needs repairs, it is a vehicle. it will get them by.

the situation reminds me to be greatful for how the Lord has provided for us. Abundantly. Our immediate family is healthy and safe. We have more time together than ever. We have a very comfortable home, two vehicles that are dependable, and most importantly, eachother. He doesn't worry about the things that distract or confuse me. Oh, I believe truth matters and one day He will reveal it through His Word or if He comes first, but there is a reason the church is often divided on secondary issues... sometimes I think part of the reason is to get us to refocus and seek Him through His word, not just through tradition, theologians, or family and friends. And yes, I consider baptism a secondary, though very important, issue (in spite of the fact that I've let it be a major issue lately. ) Something that isn't debatable is that the Bible does command us to love one another. He promises that He will supply all our needs. Not necessarily with the newest or best whatever, but with whatever is sufficient. The car could have gone to an alcoholic who would probably drive it drunk (someone who had expressed interest but didn't come to see the car for a week, until after dad had already promised it to my friends just hours earlier). Instead, it went to a family that needs it AND will use it responsibly. I imagine they had one less worry as they left town to visit their family for Christmas! Coming up with repair money is a lot different than coming up with a new car.