Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Bye Bye Garage

Courtesy of these guys...... okay, it's my husband's construction company.

I'm joining in the linky party at Remodeling Guys Round Up. Please click on http://www.remodelingguy.net/?p=1130 this link to see all the great remodeling projects going on.


This is my old garage turned office/new entry area for mom. I really like it!! What do you think?



All of my entrances have at least 3 or more stairs and it was just too hard for mom after the stroke. Hubby has been dying anyway to get out of the house to do his work. He had taken over the dining room and it was kinda out of control. Mom couldn't hardly get into the house and so hubby came up with this idea!!


This is my parent's van. Now mom can just come out of the van and into her new entrance. Just a couple of small steps with new handails put in and this entrance into the home puts them right at the top of the stairs to the basement where her elevator chair is waiting. The bonus of this for us is that hubby now has a huge office he can move into. But mostly we had to do it for her. It's still junked up from construction on the outside but I couldn't wait to take some pics.


Braxton wanted to help too.


Okay guys, let's get started!! They are putting in wood strips on the bottom of the garage floor to begin framing. Very loud drilling into concrete. My man is in the white shirt inside the garge.



Can you believe it looked like this when they started and it was finished in the same day!! All in one day. Good golly!!


Boy, it was fun watching them work. I sure could never do this.




Here's a picture of the work trailer. Pretty neat huh?


I really like the pictures. People can drive by and see his work and get all of our information at the same time.


Brandon and Brownie were playing.

BEFORE







AFTER




The man did pretty good huh? The siding was left over from a previous job and so was the framing wood. The insulation was left over from when we built the house. All I had to pay for was a few things like the doors and I am broke now. But, it had to be done and we will recover shortly. Surely? I hope. Money is tight now but mom was suffering and what are ya gonna do?


Some really neat things are happening around here still concerning struggling with the sinful nature of man and the fruits of the spirit. Wow, it's just amazing to me. I watched church on TV this Sunday again. I watched Pastor Jentzen Franklin (wow is he annointed!!) and he was talking about the very same things!! The fruits of the spirit and living them out will defeat the sinful nature in man.OOOHHHH!! Yes, that's what I was waiting for. How, do you defeat that sinful nature? Paul was talking about it and then he said to live by the spirt instead. (To recap my latest adventure with God) Then I said, God I still don't understand what that means and I asked him to show me. Closed my eyes again and thumbed the book 'til my finger got caught up in a page and of course it was in Galations this time instead of in Romans where He just had me. It was the page that contained what the fruits of the spirit are. Oh, pooh, I guess I should say what that was again but I am really short on time but I promise if you look down a couple of posts it is there. I am trying to memorize them.... You know, because I need to live them. Oh, I am a dork. I was still a little confused as I blogged about but then God sure finished it off for me this weekend with a double whammy!! First Pastor Jenzen Franklin said it, it was just so simple. He just said it. You defeat the sinful nature in man by living by the fruits of the spirit. I was like are you kidding me? Boy, Paul, couldn't you have just said that in your letter to the Romans? Sheesh. Pastor Franklin was like nailing it man. So I was thinking hard on this and I said well, living by the fruits of the spirit (okay, I'm gonna have to go pull this up!) Galations 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindnes, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Does anybody remember me saying that I feared it was going to be the last part of that scripture being self-control, that was going to be the key to that scripture?? Because that is coming and it is HUGE.) I can see how living that way can defeat the sinful nature but how do I start off? I mean, if anybody has read this blog for awhile, especially when I first started back in April I think, then you know I battled some serious depression and negativity! So that is my battle with my sinful nature right now, it all started out of prayer to God as to why I continue to be negative (although much less now!) and freak out and go off in my home and do not act like who I want to be, why I prayed am I doing what I do not want to do and continue to do what I do not want to do and then God takes me to Romans where Paul is talking about the sinful nature in man making him do what he hates and not do as he wants to do!! Totally God taking me there.... So to tie all of this in..... now Pastor Jentzen has told me how to defeat that sinful nature by living by the fruits of the spirit and if I live by those fruits listed above I will be able to do what I want and not do as I hate and have the victory. Only one little problem..... how to begin? How do I actually live that way? After all, if it was easy woudn't we all be doing it and y'all I'm behind the eight ball with my issues. Oh, boy did I become negative Nelly!! So here's the double whammy part. Then I click over to Joyce Meyers later in the day, I so love her. She is talking about WHAT? Controlling your emotions!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, that's right. controlling your emotions. She preached a whole big nice sermon on what????? Self Control. Oh sweet peas, nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! Dang I knew it. I just flippin knew it!! I blogged about it a couple of posts back, I just knew that last part of the fruits of the spirit was gonna bite me in the booty!!!!!!!!! Lordy lordy. I had made an excuse for myself although I didn't realize it was an excuse. I can't control myself Lord, please help me I have prayed a farkzillion times. Help me not to flip out!! Help me not to say I hate my life anymore or I wish I was dead. Well, I may as well be real here if this is going to actually help anybody. Do you know what Joyce said? You see, Joyce Meyers is a lot like me. We have a lot of the same personality traits and we have some same issues so I really look to her. So she says that she would just go off sometimes at home, okay alot, and she wouold be upset at just whatever and just start going on and on and it wasn't nice and she just couldn't stop it. She had no ability to control herself basically. Then she said she was praying about it one time and she was telling God that she wanted to stop but she just couldn't. The Lord told her she could and she said no Lord, I can't control myself, I can't. Then she said he showed her a kinda vision where she just began to picture in her mind another occassion where she was going off about her life in her home and the doorbell rings and it's her pastor. Suddenly when she sees her Pastor she is all smiles and calm and collected and so gentle. Oh, come in Pastor and talking softly and just being as sweet as can be suddenly to him. She is talking sweetly to her family instantly and totally under control as the Pastor is now in her home. Boom, vision over. Just listening to her vision was very impactful. She said instantly she knew that could happen and if it did she would be under control in a matter of seconds. So now I know I would too if my pastor came over in the middle of one of my why my escipades. Well now, the Lord said, I guess we have established that you do in fact have the self control to stop. So stop it. Get youself under control. Oh, poop. I just knew that self-control thing was gonna bite me. She said but God, you could just zap me and make me better but he did not do that for her and I have asked too ( I type laughing this!) and obviously he wants me to control myself without his zapping me. Dang. Later on in the evening I took a bath and took Joyce's book about living without conflict into the tub. She put the final nail in for me with this one. If you can live by the Spirit/ living by the fruits of the Spirit you will have consistancy. The consistancy of your worship and life attitudes will be what defeats the enemy in your life. If you consistantly live this way you will be able to defeat the sinful nature inside you that makes you do what it is that you do not want to do. (Didn't that just answer my original question to God that started all of this!!). You will then be victorious and will be able to live as you desire. Ahhh, sigh of relief, Amen.

To recap:


1. Lord, why am I living and doing the things I don't want to do. Why am I unable to do as I want?


2. God takes me to Romans Chapter 7. (Struggling with Sin) Specifically versus 14-24. and into Romans Chapter 8. These are the two chapters on the pages I was lead to.


3. Next day, still confused Lord, please show me more. Takes me to Romans3 and I feel led to read on through chapter 8. Ah, much understanding on why we sin and how.

4. God, I am still unsure of how to defeat this.Please show me more. (same day). Takes me to Galations 5. (Freedom in Christ and Life by the Spirit) BTW, Galations 5:22 is the last scripture of the second page and it was already underlined by me previously so it jumped out on the page.


5. Pastor Franklin and Joyce Meyers wrap it all up with showing that living by these fruits of the Spirit will defeat the sinful nature which keeps us from living the life we want. Self-control.


6. Jennifer finally gets it. Ta da!! It's a lot so I am gonna write down the fruits of the Spirit on paper and put them on my mirror in the bathroom and on my fridge even though I hate stuff on the fridge, this is important!! Okay, I have to CONTROL MYSELF and make myself stop ranting about my poopy circumstances. Just stop. Focus on consistanly living by these fruits, (which ties into the devotional I posted one or two posts ago!! Remember she said it takes atleast 21 days of doing something for it to become a habit??)Consistanly living these fruits which are all the things I desire for myself and my family so greatly will defeat the enemy and give me victory!! Could it really be? I am so excited to think victory can be mine! Wow, I sure want all of those qualities in Galations 5:22 to describe me. I am just beside myself at all that God has shown me and it is really just a miracle in my opinion. I can't wait to see how I do. Anyone want to join me? Living life by the Fruits of the Spirit.



I really encourage everyone to read those chapters and follow along. Start with Roman Chapter 7 and Eight. Then take a dive back into Chapter 3 and read all the rest of Romans. Then hop over to Galations Chapter 5. Really beautiful all tied together with the help of a devotional and Pastor Jentzen Franklin and Joyce Meyers. I had a big question for God and he just answered it for me. That was a lot to answer and it was complicated and He answered it. Wow. I am amazed at how He led me through that whole process of learning and understandin WHY I do what I don't want to do and then learning how to NOT do it anymore. Incredible.



5 comments:

Jadehollow said...

Jennifer.. Thanks for sharing your new space. Great job!
Debbie

dawnkristine said...

Thank you for the inspiration!

chanteusevca said...

Jennifer, I found your blog while perusing all of the wonderful remodels through remodmeling guy. But even more, I read that you discovered what God has been telling me too about living a spirit controlled life full of the fruits of His spirit. Bless you for sharing your heart and God's heart for you and for the rest of us who believe and want to follow His path for living our best lives. Oprah doesn't have the market on living your best life -- only the Holy Spirit can help us achieve it.

en Agape,

Victoria in Texas

Remodeling Guy said...

Hi! Your garage looks great and I bet your husband is happy to be out of the dining room! A good place to work makes a real difference. I hope he's sold some jobs and it's paid for itself already!

Thanks for joining the Round-Up...sorry it took me forever to get over here!

Tim

Anonymous said...

Hi Jennifer - I found you this afternoon while looking at the remodeling guy - how I ever found him, long story. Anyway - it's neat that the Lord is sharing with you thru his Word! This morning hubs and I were talking too, about how to be Spirit Led - because I am afraid I will lose my job, and hubs is in construction... so you know how that is right now - and, the same thing is true about FEAR - living in the Spirit is the way to live in peace and hope. And, God doesn't ask us to do it by ourselves - yeah - He gives us the Holy Spirit to live a victorious life! He never leaves us - never. You are a sweet girl - and I am so glad that I found you today. :) Hugs, Patti