Since they arrived home at 5am, I wasn’t able to welcome them as soon as they entered the door. Instead, I welcomed them by jumping on top of them while they were sleeping at 7am. It was so nice to have them back, however, that pleasure was short lived.
When I returned home from Ulpan that afternoon, I entered a house of stress, as our sewer had overflowed and my dad was trying to stop it before it exploded. Meanwhile, my grandparents came over to get help with their laptop. I was definitely not prepared for all the demands I got as soon as I walked in the door. My dad was shouting for me to help with the sewage, while my papa was asking for my help with his computer. I was being pulled from every angle!
After being alone for six days, it was a quite overwhelming to have a house filled with noise and chaos. The first night my parents were home, I had no energy left to talk to them and had to drag myself up the stairs to bed. Thankfully, things started to get back to normal by Friday.
An unexpected, yet very exciting, event took place this week. I was on my laptop checking my emails and deleting all the spam I get when one of the emails caught my eye. The title was “Blog and YA Fantasy Giveaway.” I was on the verge of deleting it when I got the feeling that I had to open it.
I’m very glad I listened to that feeling because it was an email from Azalea Dabill, a new author whose books I’m very excited to read, telling me that I had won her YA Fantasy giveaway! For the first couple of seconds, I was sure I was reading the message wrong or that it was spam, but it was most certainly real.
As I continued to read the rest of the message, I was again amazed at what it contained. Not only had I won a giveaway of 15 books (wowzers!), but Azalea Dabill had actually found this blog and read it! She said that she really liked my posts and wanted to subscribe!
Since then, Azalea and I have been emailing back and forth. It’s been so awesome to write her and get a reply! I've loved learning more about her and reading about her life.
In Ulpan this week, my friend Marine told me that she had saved baby owl from the jaws of her cat. I was quite surprised at this information, since we were in the middle of class, but went on to ask her what she planned to do with it. When she told me that she had no idea what to do with the baby owl, I contacted my friend, who is a bird specialist.
After getting a reply, Marine, Kate (my other Ulpan friend), and I piled into my car to take the baby owl to the local zoo. We only had thirty minutes to deliver the bird as we were on break, but that didn’t stop it from being a very fun adventure. We made it back to school just in time!
Along with all the events that have taken place this week, I’ve somehow found time to start a new book! After getting burnt last weekend, I’ve been getting a bath with coconut and lavender oil to help the pain. I hate baths, so I decided that I would start reading a book to help me get through the agonizing thirty minutes I had to sit there to let the oil soak in.
The book I’ve started is called Reshaping it All but Candace Cameron Bure. I was really in the mood for a nonfiction book and I think this is the perfect one. It’s a very motivating book about spiritual and physical fitness. I don’t need to lose weight, but this book is still challenging me with my love for food and my walk with YHVH.
One of the things I love about Candace’s book is the theme behind it. Every page Candace wrote has God's love and power shining through the words. I love how each chapter contains one or more scripture verses and teaches me something that I really needed to hear. It’s a very good book, one I highly recommend you read.
As this new week begins, I look forward to the surprises that await me. Every week something new happens, some good some bad. Yet through all the events that occur in a week, I’m continually learning how to react in all situations.
Getting used to my parents being home has been a challenge but one of the verses Candace Bure wrote in her book really spoke to me. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustworthiness, gentleness, self-control...”
I am meditating on this verse day and night. I even wrote each Fruit of the Spirit on a post-it note and stuck them all over my room and bathroom so I would look at them throughout the day. Being reminded of the Fruits of the Spirit has really helped me remember the woman YHVH wants me to be, the trial is actually responding the way Yeshua would.
My prayer for this week is that YHVH will continue to train me and show me how to respond correctly. Whenever I respond badly, whether it be to my parents or friends, I always hear Him tell me that what I said was wrong. It’s a challenge to respond the way He wants us to when we’re stressed out or exhausted, but it’s very important that we learn how to react correctly. You may not realize it, but YHVH cares about how you react and is willing to help you learn how, we just need to listen and obey His voice.
“Let Me instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; Let Me counsel, My eye be on you.” Psalm 32:8