"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

This is not my usual blog post, and I’ll warn you now that it is going to be religious, so if that is the sort of thing that offends you then stop reading now.

I was raised Catholic. There is a lot about the Catholic religion that I don’t agree with and a lot that I do. I don’t attend church services on a regular or even an irregular basis. My husband and I had our marriage blessed in the Catholic church a few years ago and it’s probably been since then that I’ve stepped foot into a church…maybe a Christmas Eve mass, but I can’t remember. I don’t believe that someone HAS to go to mass in order to believe. Again, I don’t agree with a lot of the Catholic beliefs.

If I could pick a religion I don’t know which one I’d pick.

I do, however, believe in God. I pray to God on a semi regular basis. I believe in angels and saints and heaven and hell and everything in between. I believe that what one person does is between them and God and who the heck am I to judge? And, although maybe not a popular belief, I do believe that in the end whatever you call your God, we’re all praying to the same being…for the most part.

With all of that being said, I have 2 stories to share that my mom shared with me this past weekend.

My mom has always told us that if we were worried about something such as getting up in the morning at a certain time or getting us through something difficult that we should pray to our Guardian Angel and they will help us with whatever it is. I’ve done it and it works – every time. I’ve even heard my name said out loud when I was home alone, or heard knocking on my door, or a different loud noise startles me. Somehow I always wake up when I’ve prayed like this.

So the story – My mom, my aunt and my granny get together every other weekend and do various things. Their outings usually include shopping, a meal and a movie. My aunt, I guess, has a thing about making people wait behind her while driving and looking for a street or a parking space and will a lot of times pull over to let people go around her. The thought of someone waiting behind her stresses her out. Weird, but it’s her thing.

They ordered food from a restaurant in a downtown area where parking is off the street and the street is only one lane either way and gets congested easily. My mom wanted to just jump out of the car, run in to get the food and then come back out while my aunt drove around the block. My aunt was really stressing out about this because there was a possibility that someone behind her would have to wait if she had to wait in the street because there wasn’t a spot open while they were waiting for my mom.

So my mom told her that she’d say a prayer to their dead brothers (they have 3 brothers who died right after or shortly after birth) and their father, who’s also deceased to help with the smooth transaction. Now, I guess my aunt doesn’t believe in praying to any other being except for God – again, her thing – but my mom reassured her it would all turn out good and not to worry. She said her prayer, jumped out of the car, ran in to get the food – just as the lady was walking it up, mind you – paid, and walked out just as my aunt was pulling around the corner and someone was backing up out of a spot.

My mom got into the car and said, “there, look…it all worked out. I was coming out, and there is your open parking spot in case you had to wait”. Then my aunt said something along the lines of, “don’t you think that’s the devil’s work?” – remember, she doesn’t believe in praying to anyone but God. My mom probably just said whatever and laughed.

Then, as they were pulling away…in the sky was a triple rainbow.

Now, imo…totally a sign from above, from their brothers…like look, we’re here with you. My mom agrees.

I just don’t believe in coincidences when things happen like that!

Ok…second story.

My uncle’s best friend was visiting from out of state. He wasn’t feeling well…said that it felt like the world was closing in on him and going dark…he felt this way while driving, so he pulled over and asked my uncle to drive him to the ER. (drive his 70,000 car, mind you…so obviously something was WRONG)

They get to the ER and do tests and find out that he has a brain hemorrhage. I don’t know if they operated or what happened, but he slipped into a coma and it was determined that he was brain dead. They kept him on the machines for another 48 hours (I think they give younger people this time to see if they recover or something like that…my mom wasn’t sure either).

When there was no change in his condition or brain function they made the difficult decision to take him off the machines that were essentially keeping him alive.

Or so they thought. He was breathing on his own and wouldn’t die.

There is a priest who was a pastor at our church for a very long time and he’s a friend of the family now and so my granny and uncle asked if he would come see my uncle’s friends to give him last rites.

When he got to the hospital, they told the family there was a priest there to see my uncle’s friend and they said the only priest they’d let see him was Father ___ and that was who it was! So the priest went back and prayed and gave my uncle a passage to read out loud to his friend.

As my uncle finished the passage…all of his friend’s monitors went silent and he finally passed.

Again…I just don’t believe in coincidences when things happen like that!

I’m not overly religious like I said in the beginning. I believe in God. I believe in angels and saints. I believe in heaven and hell. However when hearing stories like that, and holding on to the few stories I have of my own, I just have to say that God is great and He is around us wherever we are. And I’m not one to ever say things like that out loud to others.

Miracles happen every day. Stop and pay attention to the little things.

There was a time in my life when I felt trapped and wasn’t sure if decisions made were right. I just felt lost and unsure of everything. So I let it all go and gave it to God. May sound corny, but with the burden of worry off my chest, I felt better and things all started falling into place and I felt secure in my situation and that I had made the right decision.

And things always seem to work out. I believe we’re not given more than we can handle, even if handling it seems difficult, in most cases you will see it through to the other side and everything will be ok. For me, this has happened time and time again.

Funny how two random but totally connected stories can restore someone’s faith in God and just bring things all back into perspective. Well, they did for me anyways.

——-

Have you had your own experiences such as these? Please feel free to share them in the comments! I’d love to read your Evidences of Faith. ☼ ♥ ☺

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We found out today that at least 4 out of our 6 animals have fleas. At least 2 of the cats, although I suspect that one more of them do as well, and both dogs. Fleas. Huge, well fed fleas! Since we have the epileptic dog, this is a bit of a problem. We can’t just go to the vet, get some Frontline and la dee da…all is right with the world.

Yay! Fleas are dead, happily ever after.

Nope. Not in OUR household.

We have to go a non-chemical route. So today we spent most of the day bathing dogs, rinsing dogs with Apple Cider Vinegar, vacuuming everything we possibly could and washing out bedding.

Unfortunately, that’s about all we can do until Wednesday when we get paid and can get something else to combat the flea problem.

I just hope it works.

The non-chemical route which includes something called D-iforgetwhatitscalled Earth. Which is really just dried, ground algae or shells or something. What I picture it as is that powder that Billy the Exterminator uses for the wasps or bees…the silica stuff I think. I need him to come in my house with his mullet self and his goofy looking brother and get rid of the fleas. He can yell, “AWW MAN” when he sees the size of these critters roaming all over our babies. Poor little itchy things!

First rats…now fleas. Ugh…the house needs to be condemned and set A FLAME!

In other news…I’ve decided to try a to do a weekly High/Low on my blog and feature what my high of the week was and what the low of the week was. Originally, I saw this idea in a movie with Bruce Willis and I cannot remember the actress…It will come to me. Anyways, they did this high/low at dinnertime with their kids in the movie. I want to say it was “The Story of Us” but I am too lazy to Google it right now, I’m tired and waiting for bedding to dry and eggs to cool is exhausting! Then I saw it again this weekend on another blog, which of course I didn’t bookmark…anyways, I thought it was a good idea. So I’m going to try it on. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll take it back…no problem.

Let’s start with low.

Low of the week…no doubt the whole flea issue. Before that, it was going to be that boarding our two dogs for the week we are spending in Disney World in October is going to cost almost half as much as the trip does. Unfortunately also, the best sounding place with 24/7 staff is also the most expensive. Good thing my husband, who will be known as FrankNStyne on my blog, or Frank (another new thing I’m trying on), is willing to drive to these kennels and take a tour of them. There is one I came across almost by accident that may work out ok, I need to send Frank in and scope out the place. It’s definitely cheaper than the perfect place.

Hell, we could make a low be that we’re going to Disney World in 84 days and I have no idea how we’re going to pay for it. Let’s make that the low until we go – in fact, that is the permanent low until November. How the hell are we going to get enough money together to pay for the trip, the tix, the food and boarding the dogs??

It will all come together…it will all come together…ok i feel better. Now to the high.

High of the week…probably the spur of the moment decision to enroll in a different college and actually get my shit together as far as school goes. I’ve enrolled and been accepted…yay…to Baker College Online where I will be working towards earning my Bachelor’s degree in Web Development. They also have an Associate’s but I thought what the hell, go right for the Bachelor’s. I was feeling ambitious that day. Right now, I’m feeling kind of sick and nauseated about the entire thing.

I am hoping that all of my transcripts make it there (all of…yeah, there’s only 2) in time for me to start attending classes the 1st session of the fall quarter. If not, then the 2nd session. And I’m going for 2 classes a session until I die from the stress of it all or the end of the year – whichever comes first. Actually, we get a HUGE hunk of money from my job towards tuition and I thought I might as well use up all that I can before the end of the year, good plan, right?

Yeah…for a girl who wrote this blog just back in February about how stressed I was…with work, school, home…I sure am ready to put myself right back there. I’m just tired of taking classes with no direction…and I did actually register for that online history class I wanted and I was pretty excited about it…and then I got to thinking and one night I was googling and well…here I am today all enrolled and accepted and waiting for transcripts and for an advisor to tell me just how many of my previous credits transfer and what classes I will be taking.

So now I have direction. I can say, “I attend Baker College and I’m working towards my Bachelor’s in Web Development” – whatever that is. heh

I just may be a little crazy.

Actually, it is a very good move and I’m very excited about it and ready and anxious to get it started.

And I think the bedding is done and I’m pretty sure my eggs are ready to be made into egg salad for breakfast.

Night all…

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My time for a new phone is in exactly 3 days. I do not need a new phone because I ♥ my Blackberry with my whole being. I have spent long hours getting everything to work exactly like I want it to and bought numerous – ok, maybe just 4 – applications that do fun things (like tell me the weather in my city, my work’s city, the city where my in-laws’ lake home is, and Orlando or one that changes the color of my LED light to match each and every little transmission). I love my Blackberry. I really really do. I do! I swear.

So why is the title DROID!!!!!!!!!?

Well….I decided that I just wanted to “play” with a Droid powered phone. I just want to see what all the fuss is about. If we weren’t on Verizon and had AT&T, you can bet your sweet bippy that I’d be sportin a shiny new iPhone. And yes, I already have a kick ass iPod but I’d load that iPhone up with apps!

Ahh…iPhone…will you one day be mine?

NOPE…back to reality.

Ok…so I’ve sent my husband to the Verizon store probably a dozen times asking about the DROID powered phones and decided on getting a HTC Incredible. I was set in my decision. HTC Incredible. I was even looking for cases! I was GOING to pick out a Casemate Gelli case to match my beloved Blackberry’s case. The only downfall is that the HTC Incredible are backordered about a month, so I would have to wait to get my hands on that new baby.

And, and, and THEN yesterday, Verizon announces a BRAND SPANKING NEW Motorola Droid is coming out on July 15th. The DROID X. July 15th.

Thank you Verizon for this timely announcement.

So of course, since I made a decision on what phone I want, another lovelier, wonderfuler phone comes out. At least I didn’t actually make a purchase.

So the Droid X. It’s a monster of a phone. I think it’s twice the size of mine! It’s HUGE! I need to see it in person…actually, maybe it would be better to be surprised. lol It just looks HUGE. Not iPad huge, but cell phone HUGE!

Yup…that’s the monster above. But boy does it look cool when people are using it!! I’ve watched probably 10 videos and read a few reviews. The only thing I am concerned about is that I really like the way the HTC Incredible’s screen looks! But, there are all kinds of apps and widgets so I guess I will find a look that I like.

Here’s the Incredible.

Pretty, isn’t it? Hmm…

See the dilemma? What to do…what to do…

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