Tackling Tuesdays

"Fear is the glue that keeps you stuck.  Faith is the solvent that sets you free." - Shannon L. Adler

There's nothing like that panicky fear of not knowing what to do.  That reminder that control is an illusion.  Faith is letting go of the fear and trusting in God to come through at just the right time.  My daughter had to learn that lesson once again.

Last night, after I'd entered the tax information that she'd given me, my daughter A was facing the prospect of having to pay over $200 in taxes to the IRS.  She was hoping to get money back so she could pay some bills, but instead was looking at having to dish money out.  I told her we'd work on it after a good night's sleep, when our heads were cleared, but she couldn't sleep.  She lay in bed for several hours turning the whole thing around in her head over and over.  I, on the other hand, prayed about it with my son E, then went to sleep.  I knew it was something God would reveal at the right time, so I chose not to worry about it.  This morning, as soon as she got up, A had a million questions about why and what and how.  I told her we would delete the entire return and start fresh, looking for possible errors and ways to bring her debt down.  That's what we did, and God began to show us different deductions that she could take that hadn't even occurred to us the day before.  In the end, she went from owing over $200, to now getting back over $300.  God is so good!  Why should we panic or fear?  

At 10:00 I told her we had to stop so that E could start school.  I got him settled with his English live lesson and started fixing my bed (no, I hadn't even fixed my bed yet).  Suddenly Molly started barking at the door.  She does this when she hears someone coming, usually the mail lady or the UPS man.  This time, though, it was J, my kid's father.  I think he came to see if E was actually doing schoolwork.  He doesn't approve of me homeschooling E, but there isn't anything he can say to change my mind.  E is doing better than ever in school, and he actually likes it more.  He's learning and progressing, and getting very good grades.  J watched him for a few minutes, used the bathroom, then left.  It was pretty annoying, but at the same time it was satisfying to know his purpose was defeated.  

E finished his English class, then did his music and leadership work before stopping for lunch, fish tacos.  They were so good!  After lunch he did his algebra assignment and got 100% on his quiz.  Woohoo!!  He's getting the whole statistics thing with no problem.  He still needed an hour to finish the day, and I knew we'd probably do it when we ran with our running group, but I decided we would watch a video sermon my Sunday school class had been watching called "Is America A Christian Nation?" taught by David Barton.  I highly recommend this video.  David Barton provides documented proof that the Founding Fathers were all Christian men, and that our government was founded on Christian principles.  It was a great teaching, and we both got encouraged by it.

After our run, I took a shower and continued working on income tax paperwork for my kids.  I won't be sending anything in yet, since the software I use (H&R Block) has an update coming up, but I want to get as much done as possible so that all the returns can be sent in early.  But now it's late, I'm tired, and I still have to clean up the kitchen.  So I will say goodnight to all, and pleasant dreams.  God bless.