Good Riddance 2021

 
I mean, really. Where to start? What a messed up year. I find it hard now, looking back, to contemplate the weirdness of it all. Unprecedented comes to mind. But I also saw how the Lord was protecting me the whole time. I'm convinced that He thwarted many attacks and set-ups that I didn't even know were happening until after the fact. So I'm just going to list some of the highlights. 

January 2021. I was the sole admin in a 3-man office for an Indian casino in Oregon. I was in charge of over 200 employees – making sure that all their paychecks were correct and all their leave of absences and FMLA paperwork was completed on time. 

My manager, who was my boss at the time, seemed to be constantly looking for instances of me failing and took the floor supervisors side against me on more than one occasion. The night before I was expecting some made up accusation against me to hit the fan, my boss was in a horrible car accident. He was in the hospital with a shattered foot and a broken arm. All of sudden the stress level in our department went way down. I felt really bad about it, but at the same time, the guy was like a nemesis to me. I was also surprised at the timing of the thing. I'm sure it had nothing at all to do with me, but that particular chess piece was off the table for the next 5 months. 

February 2021. There was a terrible ice storm and I literally got stuck at work for 3 days straight. The road between my job and home was closed and I probably couldn't have driven on it anyway, since it was all steep mountains and my little Honda Civic Hybrid wouldn't have made it. They put me up at the lodge for two of the nights, but the second night the electricity went out. I had to use my lighter in the pitch black stairwell to get off the 4th floor and make my way out of the building and to my office. The office had no electricity so I set up a command center in the back of one of the kitchens that had a computer. I was able to field all the calls of employees not being able make it in. My Director saw that and was impressed. More on that later. 

I also turned 55. I was now officially an honored citizen. 

March – May 2021. It starts. Not that there wasn't foreshadowing, what with the required mask wearing and temperature checks as you enter the building. The strong suggestion that you stick a needle in your arm from the outside world had come to my little office. One by one, I watched as all my friends lined up and took the jab. I tried to warn them. I even showed them the documents from the official Pfizer website stating the double-blind randomized placebo experiment that they were all ignorantly participating in. They just shrugged and got a second dose six weeks later, even after some of them had horrible side effects. At least one ended up in the hospital from adverse events and still got the 2nd shot. 

Oh – and they made me employee of the month for my work during the ice storm. 

June – August 2021. The summer of bribes. Here is a short list of some of the “incentives” government officials gave away to encourage people to go out there and take one for the team. Hamburgers, french fries, donuts, beer. The state of Oregon was one of a handful of states that actually gave away one million dollars. Lucky you. The esteemed establishment where I was employed gave away a Traeger grill, and a plethora of five dollar gas cards. Really? How much gas can you buy with five bucks these days anyway?

September 2021. I knew it was coming, yet it was still a surprise when it happened. All employees at my little casino would now be REQUIRED to get the shot. It was now mandatory and a condition of your employment. Considering how short-handed we were and how hard it was to get employees during regular times, I thought it was a really stupid business move. The Lord let me know that not only was it time to leave that job but to leave the entire state of Oregon as well. 

The rest of the year has already been posted on this blog. We are now in a good place in Kansas and I have a new job where I can work from home. 

I got a newsletter today from Christine Beadsworth where she has another encouraging word from the Lord.  You can listen to it here:

I AM the Seasoned Warrior God

May God bless you going into the new year. It is the Chinese year of the Tiger – but I believe it is God's year of saving grace to all of those who love Him and take a stand for Him. Take care my friends.

By Ones or by Twos

                                                                                

I watched as my husband walked by my “home office” on his way to the bathroom towards the end of my shift yesterday. He was shaking really bad the whole way. It took him 20 minutes – round trip. As soon as I clocked out I went online to look for apartments and houses for rent. We had been discussing the fact that he probably needs a wheelchair and we would need to move out of the RV. I read the descriptions to him and the rent amounts. Really, we can't afford much more than $500 for rent because it always costs around $250 for utilities on top of that, give or take. 

I spent about an hour looking at what was available in our area. Not much really, but I felt this urgency.  Then all of a sudden, something occurred to me. 

I asked my husband, “Are you able to do a big move? I mean physically? Do you think you are up to it?”  He was quiet for a moment. “No.” he said. “I don't really think I am.” That was the end of the search. I closed my computer. 

One of the ways that I deal with huge stressful things in my life is not to deal with them. I just don't let myself think about it, almost to the point of ignoring it. I spend my time looking up recipes and making grocery lists. The carrot recipe I tried was awful by the way. It tasted good for the first bite or two (which was probably the melted cheese.) but after that it was yukky. I won't be writing that one down in my recipe book. 

The truth of the matter is, my husband is dying. A slow painful death. He wakes up in the morning and blows blood clots out of his nose. He sleeps most of the day. When he is awake, he sometimes says weird stuff that doesn't make any sense. Everyday he gets a little bit weaker than the day before. In the rare instances when we talk about it, he tells me that he is afraid there will be a day when he won't be able to get out of bed. I'm afraid of that day too. 

On my break today, I looked over at him. He had his back to me with the headphones on, watching a movie. His breathing was strange, like it was hard for him to take a breath. I almost lost it at that point. I had to pull myself together to get through the rest of my shift. Thank God, it was my last break. 

There was an email newsletter from Christine Beadsworth waiting for me after work. I don't know why but her little podcasts have been hitting me right in the heart. Like they were written to me personally about my circumstances. This latest one especially. Not all of it, but some parts definitely. You can listen to it here:

Plucked and positioned.

She had a word from the Lord that she wrote in her newsletter. This isn't all of it, you can hear the rest on her podcast, but this was the part that really touched me.

“Surrender fully and trust that the hour of your greatest usefulness to the kingdom is at the door. For I will sow you anew, seed by seed - precisely positioned for My maximum glory. Know this, I have your future securely in My hand, and no one can pluck you from it. As the dew that falls, I will quietly scatter My seed handful by handful - not carelessly, as one tosses aside chaff, but carefully and tenderly, will I place you by ones and by twos. While the world is distracted by the light show of the fallen ones, My hand will work speedily and surely to pluck you and plant you. Ready your heart, for even now, I take my hand from My bosom in readiness to move.” 

It is good to know that the Lord has our future securely in His hand, whether it be by ones or by twos.

One Day at a Time

My husband is not well. He is getting worse these days. He can barely get around the RV and making the trip from his chair to the bathroom, a distance of roughly 15 feet is challenging. Every day it is looking more and more that he will need to be in a wheelchair soon. While coming to grips with the reality that he needs a wheelchair, it is also a fact that he could not use a wheelchair and live in an RV. There is no room. 

We are starting to look at renting a house or an apartment – but rents are so high that, we haven't found anything we can afford. We still have a month left on our current lease, so hopefully something will show up then. The Lord has promised to meet all our needs, and this is definitely a need. Please pray for my husband. 

My sister is having an operation today. I am praying for her as well. 

The Shaded Side of the Mountain

A new podcast from Christine Beadsworth can be found here.

Have a great day!

Beating the Crowds

It was dark when I drove into town this morning. Someone on Buckeye had a blow-up trailer with Santa in their yard. It looked like the one from the you-tube video above. Just thought I'd share.

I wanted to get my groceries before anyone else was up and about. The store will be closed tomorrow. That's a nice perk. There was only one other car in the lot as I pulled into my usual spot. Sweet! The feral kitties and their shelters are gone. I wondered about that.

The guy who bagged my groceries asked me where I've been lately. I let him know that I'm working now and can't come to the store every day like I used to. I guess I'm a recognized regular now. LOL. I asked him where the cats went as we walked to my car. He said someone came and got them. Hhmmm, hopefully they will be well taken care of. I asked him if he had any damage from the storm. He told me that he lives on 3rd Street and they were all protected by the mill. I told him about how I felt sorry for those on 3rd because they never see the sun. “Naw,” he told me, “It's nice. It never gets too hot.” Funny.

My husband has recently decided he is never eating pork again. Ever. He says it is biblical. Well, that rules out ham for dinner. I'm okay with it. I am making meatloaf, stove top stuffing and cooked carrots. Not necessarily traditional fare, but I have half a bag of baby carrots that I really need to get rid of. I found this recipe that I'm going to try here. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Hug your family this weekend. My family is all far away – so hug each other and says it's from me. Take care everyone! Love you guys!

P.S. Blogger is trying to tell me that the word Street above doesn't exist. Whatever - spell check sucks.

V Park

The R is missing from the sign near our spot. It must have gotten damaged in the storm. Now it just says V PARK. 

I am enjoying my training. I'm loving the work so far. I am busy these days, but I have Friday off the next two weeks (paid holiday!) so I will get a decent blog post out soon. Take care of yourselves!

Sad Winner

Remember the raffle at work? The one where you had to upload your V card for a chance to win $2500? If the company could reach 70 % V rate then it went up to $7500. Our class checked to see who won. I didn't pay any attention to who the winner was. When the contest first started, I checked to see what the V rate was for the company. At the time it was at 49%. At the end of the contest the company didn't make it to 70%, but it did go up to 54%. This stupid contest raised the rate by 5%. How very sad. Now think of all the companies running contests like this. Yep. People will sell their birthright for a bowl of stew. Others will just be worn down and give up and get it in the end. 

When I first quit my other job over this, my father-in-law told my husband, "Why doesn't she just go get the shot?" My husband was pissed. He told my father-in-law that if I had done that, he would have lost all respect for me. He loved the fact I was willing to take a stand. Still does. 

The time to make a stand is now. It is not going to get easier either. Resist the devil and he will flee. The consequences will be dire if you don't.