It was a beautiful, warm, sunny, spring day in April and as I was getting out of my car after a long day at school, I looked up and saw Carlos standing in the back yard. When I walked out there to speak to him, he was grinning from ear to ear and said, "I have some good news!" "What is it?" "Jeff bought the dump wagon!" "Are you serious? He really bought it? "Yes, and he also wants to buy the truck!" The minute I heard those words tears welled up in my eyes and I started doing the craziest, silliest, happy dance EVER! Our prayers were just answered above and beyond what we had been praying for.
Carl has been driving for 20 years and when Timothy was little we would pack up and hit the road with Los during the summer months. We would plan out the places we wanted to visit and Carlos would get a load in that direction; after we unloaded we would spend a couple of days sightseeing. It was a great way to make money and vacation at the same time. By the time Timothy was 11 years old, he had already been to Pikes Peak, Seven Falls, The Garden of the Gods, The Grand Canyon, The Hoover Dam, San Francisco, The Alamo and Las Vegas. We loved it and I was hooked. One day I would be able to go with Los full time...or at least I hoped.
On May 10, 2010, we bought a new truck...well, new to us. We had been looking for quite a while but just had not found anything we liked...that Los liked. It either didn't have the right kind of motor or it wasn't the right kind of make or the right model...was too old or cost too much, wasn't the right color or looked good on the outside but was a piece of trash on the inside. Then, I found it, looking through a truck magazine I found a very nice truck with a custom sleeper. That means it had a bathroom with shower, a sink, microwave and a nice size refrigerator. "Los, look! Here's one right here! It has a custom sleeper and all. It's perfect!" "What kind of truck is it?" "It's a Freightliner Coronado." "Nope, won't work. It's a Freightliner." "Oh my gosh, really." Well, the search continued for about 2 more weeks and then Los showed me a picture of a truck he had found...IT WAS THE SAME TRUCK I TOLD HIM ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO...THE SAME TRUCK...I MEAN THE SAME EXACT TRUCK! "That's the one I showed you a few weeks ago and you said no because it was a Freightliner!" He just looked at me with that so called sweet, innocent grin that he just loves to flash. I couldn't believe the dealership still had it...trucks with custom sleepers just don't last long. Los called about it...we put a hold deposit down...and a few weeks later we were off to Columbus, Oh. We drove it...loved it...bought it! We actually got it for ten thousand less than the asking price because of a misprint in the paper. We didn't realize it then but God was already working on His plan for us.
In January 2011, after a lot of thought and prayer we made the decision to change companies. We decided to lease to a wonderful, Christian based company with a lot of customers and a lot more freight. It was extremely difficult for Carl to leave a company that he had been with for about 12 years but financially he knew he had to do something. One of the best decisions ever!
In March 2011, I started praying that if it was the Lord's will that He would work things out for me to join Los on the road. We had been trying to sell our dump wagon but just had not had any luck. One morning after I got to school I called Carlos and said, "I prayed this morning for God to send a sign showing me if I should quit work and join you or not." I know God doesn't always send signs but you see I am one of those people that love to have signs...a big 'ole neon flashing sign. You know like in the country song "Here's your sign." Well, I prayed that God would say, "Lynne, my poor little child, HERE'S YOUR SIGN!" The sign would be that we sold the dump wagon.
On a beautiful, warm, sunny, spring day, God spoke and flashed that big 'ole neon sign. He knows me so well because I know He was thinking, "I better give this girl 2 neon flashing signs." The other sign was our old semi-truck. We had not even discussed selling it but when Jeff bought the dump he also said he wanted to buy the truck. When Carlos told me that, I immediately said, "I need to go talk to Mama." "For what?" "To see what she thinks." "Lynne, you prayed for God to send you a sign. He not only sent one sign...He sent 2 signs! So do you really think you need to discuss it with your mama?" He was right and you see God knew that is exactly what I would want to do and that is the reason He said, "I need to give this child 2 signs." I did go to Mama's but not to discuss our decision with her but to do the "Happy Dance" and to tell her what God had just done. Little did I know, she already knew. Carlos was so excited about all this that he had already done the "Happy Dance" and shared our wonderful news with her.
2 Corinthians 5: 7 says, "For we live by faith, not by sight." I know that my prayer required sight...the sight of a sign. Many people believe that praying for a sign is a sign of weakness in your faith. I believe that is true if all you are doing is looking for signs and are not studying the Word of God...are not praying...and are seeking a sign that is outside the will of God. We are all humans and those with faith see signs of God every day. I believe if we are praying, studying God's Word, and bringing Glory to Him through our every day actions and words, that it is ok to ask for a sign. A sign that shows us the direction He would have us to go. Sometimes those signs may be the answer we wanted but then sometimes they may not be. He also says in Matthew 7:7 "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." Please don't take that out of context. What we are seeking for and asking for will only be given to us if it will bring Glory to God and if it is in His will. Our faith comes in knowing that God has a plan for us and continuing to love Him, follow Him, share of His Glorious and Marvelous works and abiding in Him...no matter what sign he gives us.
God showed me a sign on that sunny April day not because of anything I had said or done but because it was all part of HIS Plan...not mine.
I thank God everyday and I always give Him the Glory for being able to spend all this time with My Love.
I apologize for this post being so lengthy but I was really having trouble getting started. I have been putting it off and putting it off because I just could not find the right words. I woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about it and I just started praying and asking God to give me the words. Well, He did! Once I got the computer out this morning the words just started flowing. Once again I'm left in awe. The tears have welled up in my eyes several times at how He has been planning and working things out for Carlos and me to be together on this amazing, adventurous ride...before we even started planning and praying about it. Isn't God So Good!
I hope you enjoy reading each post and I pray that each one brings Glory to Him.
Only By Grace!
Lynne
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
God's Plan
Pure excitement! That's how I felt when Carlos hung up the phone and said, "Well, looks like we're going to New Hampshire!" Pure excitement...not what I heard in his voice or saw on his face! As many of you know, the east coast and especially the north eastern states, are just not on our map. But this was a really good paying load, and we do not turn down good paying loads. Plus, New Hampshire and Maine are the only two inland states that we have not been to. So, that right there tells you that we have to go. Los on the other hand...would disagree!
We were about 100 miles from where the load had to be picked up...Compton, CA. Off we went! I immediately got out the map, the truck stop book and my travel book of all the places in the US to visit. I was like a little kid going to Disney World for the first time. Yep, I was planning out our long weekend for when we unloaded. I found a truck stop in Maine not far from our unloading destination, a car rental place and our points of destination to visit. "Oh my goodness! The weather is perfect! The trees are turning, all the beautiful fall colors! This is going to be a great trip! We can go to Portland and see the lighthouse. Look at these pictures of Camden Harbor! Wow, look how pretty Rattlesnake Mountain is! We have not been sightseeing since our Washington trip. This is going to be so much fun!" "We can rent a car and make this a weekend road trip!" What?! Why yes...my excitement had overflowed and spilled over to My Love! I mean really...how could it not! "Maine, here we come!"
WOMP! WOMP! WOMP! Our thrill just got squashed! Seriously, you have got to be kidding? Our load was two big crates. We can only tote 41,500 pounds legally on our trailer. That wasn't the problem. The problem...each axle is only allowed so much weight! We loaded those crates...chained them down and went and weighed. Nope, not gonna work! Too much weight on our drive axle. Unchain...move crates...rechain...go reweigh. Shoot fire! Still not going to work. Unchain...unload...sad...disappointed...no Maine trip...find a new load.
DING, DING, DING! New load...Crestview, FL. It's not Maine but it's only about 170 miles from HOME! Carlos had not been home since July 4th, so yes, home was much better than Maine.
I have said before that I am amazed and left in awe at how My God works. LC needed some work and we really didn't want to have to do it on the road...big bucks! Carlos always says why pay someone to do something when you can do it yourself? The Lord knew the work needed to be done sooner than what we thought! So He planned for us to go home. He also knew that my daddy would have a reaction to the flu shot that would send him to the hospital for a few days. He also knew that if I had been on the road when that happened that I would have been a basket case. HIS timing and planning is ALWAYS PERFECT!
We were home for two weeks and I wish I could say that Los got some much needed rest but that is so not the case. You know that job...the one that should only take a few days but ends up taking a little longer...well, that was LC and Los! Fix one thing and find something else! LC and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting because he is really starting to interfere with my money! High maintenance is not a term used for me...oh nooo...that would be LC! But, he is fixed and as Carlos says,"He's purring!" Sounds more like a roar to me but what do I know?
Daddy is doing good. Not sure he'll take the flu shot again or if he'll drive himself to the ER without telling us; but that is a whole nother story! Just thanking God that He is ok and that I was home when it happened.
We have been back on the road for a few weeks now...traveling with our Toot Toot! I'm all smiles! Do you remember the blog post about us taking a control building to the Solar/Snake farm in California? Well, this time we took one to a Solar/Tortoise farm in Boulder City, NV. When Carlos told me that it was a Tortoise sensitive area, I just cracked up. "From a snake farm to a Tortoise farm, that is crazy." "This time it's actually listed in our instruction sheets." "You reckon they'll have "Tortoise Crossing" signs? That'll be hilarious!"
"The Copper Mountain Solar site is built upon a Desert Tortoise habitat. The Desert Tortoise is a protected species in the state of Nevada and is very active on the access roads and site. You will be required to check in at the guard station and be escorted to the site to mitigate any interaction between vehicles and Desert Tortoise. You will also be instructed on the proper way to control an area if one is to be spotted. There may be delays when heavy truck traffic is present due to slow speeds." Those were the guidelines on our Instructions and Rules sheet. Just as with the snake farm, we didn't see any Tortoises but we did see a "Tortoise Crossing" sign. I literally cracked up when we saw that. We see all kinds of crossing signs but that is the first Tortoise Crossing sign that we've seen. There's always a first time for everything. Maybe next time we'll actually see a crossing Tortoise.
After A LOT of prayer and encouragement from My Love, family and friends...especially Amelia, I have decided to turn my blog into a book. As Timothy says, "It may be the death of me!" but Carlos keeps saying,"You can do it!" I am listening to Los but I'm afraid Toot may be right. I have already had to start over...after being half way finished...because Satan (a.k.a. my computer) decided to eat it. I searched and searched and Toot searched and searched for two days trying to find the thing. Los kept saying, "It's in there somewhere!" Well, I sure as heck wish it would show it's face because I can't find it and the more I searched the madder and more irritated I got. The more I sighed and fussed the more Carlos laughed. I am so glad he found it amusing because there was ABSOLUTELY nothing amusing about it to me!!!!! I thought,"Oh no, Satan, you are not going to get the best of me!" I finally just said the heck with it and started over. Timothy asked me one night if he was going to be in the book. "Yes, of course you're going to be in it." "Well, I wasn't sure if I made the cut. It was a tough audition!" That boy cracks me up! He keeps me laughing all the time!
When I started the blog, it was just a way for me to write about mine and Carl's time together, what we saw, what we were hauling and where we had been. Just a way to stay in contact with family and friends. I never intended to include Bible verses and certainly not any kind of devotion in it. God had a different plan. I have to admit, my confidence level when witnessing to others especially strangers, is very low. I'll share about the things He has done for me, how He's helped me through difficult times, answered prayers, His love for me and mine for Him, to close friends and family but hardly ever to people I barely know and oh my goodness definitely not to strangers. Most of the time when I start writing a post, I have no idea what verses I am going to include or if any at all and absolutely no idea how a devotion is going to be tied into it. That is what's so wonderful and amazing and fascinating and exciting about how God works. He takes our crazy, unbelievable, hilarious, frustrating, stressful, thrilling and awesome everyday life adventures and turns them into a testimony of His commitment, faithfulness, understanding, protection, forgiveness, comfort and unconditional love for us. I've always thought God answered my prayers about leaving teaching just so I could spend more time with My Love. I don't know...never thought about Him using my voice to speak His words or in this case write His words. I am just a simple, country girlie girl from south Georgia who has been chosen by God...no way did I think the adventures of this truckin' duo could be used to speak to others about His awesomeness!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
'Til we meet again!
Only by Grace!
Lynne
We were about 100 miles from where the load had to be picked up...Compton, CA. Off we went! I immediately got out the map, the truck stop book and my travel book of all the places in the US to visit. I was like a little kid going to Disney World for the first time. Yep, I was planning out our long weekend for when we unloaded. I found a truck stop in Maine not far from our unloading destination, a car rental place and our points of destination to visit. "Oh my goodness! The weather is perfect! The trees are turning, all the beautiful fall colors! This is going to be a great trip! We can go to Portland and see the lighthouse. Look at these pictures of Camden Harbor! Wow, look how pretty Rattlesnake Mountain is! We have not been sightseeing since our Washington trip. This is going to be so much fun!" "We can rent a car and make this a weekend road trip!" What?! Why yes...my excitement had overflowed and spilled over to My Love! I mean really...how could it not! "Maine, here we come!"
WOMP! WOMP! WOMP! Our thrill just got squashed! Seriously, you have got to be kidding? Our load was two big crates. We can only tote 41,500 pounds legally on our trailer. That wasn't the problem. The problem...each axle is only allowed so much weight! We loaded those crates...chained them down and went and weighed. Nope, not gonna work! Too much weight on our drive axle. Unchain...move crates...rechain...go reweigh. Shoot fire! Still not going to work. Unchain...unload...sad...disappointed...no Maine trip...find a new load.
DING, DING, DING! New load...Crestview, FL. It's not Maine but it's only about 170 miles from HOME! Carlos had not been home since July 4th, so yes, home was much better than Maine.
I have said before that I am amazed and left in awe at how My God works. LC needed some work and we really didn't want to have to do it on the road...big bucks! Carlos always says why pay someone to do something when you can do it yourself? The Lord knew the work needed to be done sooner than what we thought! So He planned for us to go home. He also knew that my daddy would have a reaction to the flu shot that would send him to the hospital for a few days. He also knew that if I had been on the road when that happened that I would have been a basket case. HIS timing and planning is ALWAYS PERFECT!
We were home for two weeks and I wish I could say that Los got some much needed rest but that is so not the case. You know that job...the one that should only take a few days but ends up taking a little longer...well, that was LC and Los! Fix one thing and find something else! LC and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting because he is really starting to interfere with my money! High maintenance is not a term used for me...oh nooo...that would be LC! But, he is fixed and as Carlos says,"He's purring!" Sounds more like a roar to me but what do I know?
Daddy is doing good. Not sure he'll take the flu shot again or if he'll drive himself to the ER without telling us; but that is a whole nother story! Just thanking God that He is ok and that I was home when it happened.
We have been back on the road for a few weeks now...traveling with our Toot Toot! I'm all smiles! Do you remember the blog post about us taking a control building to the Solar/Snake farm in California? Well, this time we took one to a Solar/Tortoise farm in Boulder City, NV. When Carlos told me that it was a Tortoise sensitive area, I just cracked up. "From a snake farm to a Tortoise farm, that is crazy." "This time it's actually listed in our instruction sheets." "You reckon they'll have "Tortoise Crossing" signs? That'll be hilarious!"
"The Copper Mountain Solar site is built upon a Desert Tortoise habitat. The Desert Tortoise is a protected species in the state of Nevada and is very active on the access roads and site. You will be required to check in at the guard station and be escorted to the site to mitigate any interaction between vehicles and Desert Tortoise. You will also be instructed on the proper way to control an area if one is to be spotted. There may be delays when heavy truck traffic is present due to slow speeds." Those were the guidelines on our Instructions and Rules sheet. Just as with the snake farm, we didn't see any Tortoises but we did see a "Tortoise Crossing" sign. I literally cracked up when we saw that. We see all kinds of crossing signs but that is the first Tortoise Crossing sign that we've seen. There's always a first time for everything. Maybe next time we'll actually see a crossing Tortoise.
After A LOT of prayer and encouragement from My Love, family and friends...especially Amelia, I have decided to turn my blog into a book. As Timothy says, "It may be the death of me!" but Carlos keeps saying,"You can do it!" I am listening to Los but I'm afraid Toot may be right. I have already had to start over...after being half way finished...because Satan (a.k.a. my computer) decided to eat it. I searched and searched and Toot searched and searched for two days trying to find the thing. Los kept saying, "It's in there somewhere!" Well, I sure as heck wish it would show it's face because I can't find it and the more I searched the madder and more irritated I got. The more I sighed and fussed the more Carlos laughed. I am so glad he found it amusing because there was ABSOLUTELY nothing amusing about it to me!!!!! I thought,"Oh no, Satan, you are not going to get the best of me!" I finally just said the heck with it and started over. Timothy asked me one night if he was going to be in the book. "Yes, of course you're going to be in it." "Well, I wasn't sure if I made the cut. It was a tough audition!" That boy cracks me up! He keeps me laughing all the time!
When I started the blog, it was just a way for me to write about mine and Carl's time together, what we saw, what we were hauling and where we had been. Just a way to stay in contact with family and friends. I never intended to include Bible verses and certainly not any kind of devotion in it. God had a different plan. I have to admit, my confidence level when witnessing to others especially strangers, is very low. I'll share about the things He has done for me, how He's helped me through difficult times, answered prayers, His love for me and mine for Him, to close friends and family but hardly ever to people I barely know and oh my goodness definitely not to strangers. Most of the time when I start writing a post, I have no idea what verses I am going to include or if any at all and absolutely no idea how a devotion is going to be tied into it. That is what's so wonderful and amazing and fascinating and exciting about how God works. He takes our crazy, unbelievable, hilarious, frustrating, stressful, thrilling and awesome everyday life adventures and turns them into a testimony of His commitment, faithfulness, understanding, protection, forgiveness, comfort and unconditional love for us. I've always thought God answered my prayers about leaving teaching just so I could spend more time with My Love. I don't know...never thought about Him using my voice to speak His words or in this case write His words. I am just a simple, country girlie girl from south Georgia who has been chosen by God...no way did I think the adventures of this truckin' duo could be used to speak to others about His awesomeness!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
'Til we meet again!
Only by Grace!
Lynne
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