We have been working so hard, first getting ready for students, and then teaching and taking care of little ones who are always upset by changes in their schedule. This morning I was really fighting discouragement.

Roy took off this morning to go and get emails for Sarah, so I asked him to check my email also. When he returned, he handed me my computer and I noticed that I had gotten my monthly financial report. I quickly glanced at the numbers, and immediately felt totally deflated. We were still way below where we needed to be right now. It seemed like Satan just hurled insults and accusations at me while I was sitting there looking at the numbers. He told me that we were going to have to run a school with a hundred students on half of what we normally need for just our family.

But, just like a gentle father, Jesus was telling me not to worry, that he had a plan. Nearly in tears, I went to my room. I knew I had a choice to make, worry and get depressed, or choose to trust Jesus. I was impressed to go and play with the kids today instead of finishing up the never ending work. So, I put on my swimming clothes and headed to the river with Jason, Sarah and all the kids. I did not feel like going, and I was still fighting tears, but as I acted on my resolve to trust Jesus anyway, I started to feel better.

What followed was the most fun we have had in a long time. We found a long bamboo raft that someone had abandoned, and so decided to take it UP the river, rather than down like normal people should. It is hard work to get a bamboo raft up the river, and I was hollering at Jason that we needed an engine, thinking of his boat of course. He seemed to think that HE was an engine, so he came and wrapped a rope around the raft and his waist, and started pulling. He looked like he needed help, so I grabbed the kayak paddle and started helping. The puppy decided to join us, and caused quite a bit of trouble for herself while trying to walk up and down on the slippery, round, bamboo poles while the girls were tipping the raft all over the place in their futile efforts to help us push the raft up the river. There was much laughter, hard exercise, and fun. When we got the raft all the way up to the rapids, we tried racing Jason back down to our landing. He was on a single piece of bamboo, and I thought that we had a pretty good chance of winning. But, Meme was in the kayak which was still tied to the raft, and for some reason she was paddling back up the river while the rest of us were trying to race Jason down the river. Needless to say, Jason won by a long shot, and there was a lot more laughter.

As I was hiking back up the mountain, Jesus spoke to my heart again, and started reminding me about all the blessings that I can be thankful for. One that I had almost missed in my worry was that for the first time ever, we got a donation specifically for Travis’ school! That is such a miracle, and we are so thankful! Travis really needed that money right now. I find it really interesting that the money came now after he had to make a stand in favor of the school following Christian principles instead of the world. God sure knows what He is doing.

God does not want us to rely on other people, money or any other earthy support, he wants us to trust him and let him take our burdens from us.

Tonight, while I am sitting here writing, everyone else is in the living room singing their hearts out in praise to Jesus. I think that I had better go and join them!