A Gift Under a Pile of Books

So you can read in my last post (A "WHAT???" Kind of Opportunity) about an awesome trip that two of my sisters and I were given the chance to go on, and that will help explain what I am about to talk about.

As you know, (or should know by now) we will be leaving in about a month. I have a job at McDonalds, but that's about our only source of reliable income.

We're applying for funding from Jumpstart, as well as having asked for donations from friends and family, but we haven't gotten the applications in yet, and there hasn't been a ton of money coming from anywhere else. So you can imagine that I, being the one who is planning all of the financial stuff, have been fairly stressed about it recently.

Well, in order to relieve some small amount of stress from myself, I decided to go online and look at my bank account, and actually count how much we have already.

What I found was that I had enough to cover my own cost, plus $300, which would cover one month's rent, but I still needed another $600 for the other two months.

So I was still stressed. Just waiting, praying that God would bring in the money.

You know... God really likes surprises, I think.

One day, recently, I was cleaning my room. Going through old stuff of mine that hasn't been sorted in ages, and one of those things was my bookshelf.

As I made piles and pulled off all things that were not books, (I confess, my bookshelf over time tends to turn into an everything shelf) I found an envelope. I picked it up and looked inside, it was money.

I wasn't TOO surprised, (confession time again) because sometimes I take money out of the bank in order to pay tithe, and pay people back for things, and stuff like that, so it's usually a fairly large amount, like $300-$400.

If it had been $300, I would have scolded myself for putting it in an envelope and forgetting about it, but after counting it... I still have NO reasonable explanation for how it got there.

$600!!

Let's make this even more clear, okay? I can't even withdraw that much out of the bank at once. Which means I would have had to withdraw on two separate occasions, and put the money in one envelope for a reason, and you'd think, if that happened, I would have some small recollection of doing it. Nothing.

I asked my family, no one else left it there. It had to be mine.

Mind. Blown.

It's like an angel left it for me!

Anyway, a couple days later I was explaining to my friend about what happened, and suddenly realized that I had counted needing $600 to cover the rest of my trip to Fort Erie, and that's how much was in that envelope.

I just can't get over this, God is so amazing!!

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25, 26)

Note:

If you would like to donate toward our trip, you can email me at keturahthomson12@gmail.com about the best way of getting the money to us.

A "WHAT???" Kind of Opportunity

Hello friends!

I have talked about dance camp, and 1:11 Ministries before, but just in case some of you still don't know what I am talking about, I'll explain a little bit, as well as encourage you to click on the link above.

My sister, Rachel Starr Thomson, co-owns a ballet company with my cousin Carolyn Currey, (a professional ballerina) and their friend Mercy Hope. 

For years, they have inspired myself and my sisters. Stories of Carolyn training herself and becoming successful in her career, as well as starting a professional company, have motivated us to work hard to hopefully become professional dancers someday as well.

I actually can't even explain how much I look up to all three of these ladies, not just in their success, but in their hearts for the Lord. I have learned so much from them.

Anyways, the point I am getting to, is that recently, my mother invited my younger sisters Anna and Tabithah and I, into the living room for a meeting with her, Rachel, and my dad. They explained that they have been thinking and planning for a while, on having the three of us go stay with Rachel in Fort Erie for a few months to train intensively with Carolyn, and then go on Christmas tour with their company.

WHAT?????

I mean, umm.... Yes, of course we would love to.

But seriously, WHAT????????? :D

So that's the news. The three youngest children of this family are leaving now from October 15th to December 18th, to practically a dream come true.

I tell you all of this because it's awesome and exciting, and also because unfortunately, we can't actually afford to pay for it all.

The goal is $4,136 for the three of us, (each of us needing $1,378.70) so if any of you feel so inclined, we would really appreciate some support. Any amount would be helpful, even if it's just $5.00, that would be awesome.

If you're not in a place to donate or something like that, you can still be a huge support to us by keeping us in your prayers!

Things you can pray for us about:

1. Funding

2. Strength, improvement in technique

3. Encouragement

I just spent this whole time talking, so I thought I would let the girls have a few words of their own about the trip, so this is what Tabithah said.

Hey y'all! I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of your support and prayers. I'll miss you guys! -Tabithah

If you are interested in supporting us in any way, please email me at keturahthomson12@gmail.com, or Facebook message me, whichever you prefer.

Peace out!

~Keturah

"The Way to Get a Boyfriend is to Get a Job at McDonalds." -Customer

Hello!

Most of the time when I write on here, it's about the bible and stuff, but since this blog is about counting my blessings, I feel the liberty to also write a bit of other stuff sometimes.

What, you ask?

Well let's begin by saying that this past February, God blessed me with a job! I've been working at McDonalds, which has been great.

My recent theory is that I am now bound to live a long and prosperous life, since I have been blessed by so many people at McDonalds.

No, I don't mean just normally blessed, I mean verbally blessed. It's been interesting.

Anyway, I just thought I would share a few stories which I thought were funny, feel free to laugh, or judge... y'know, whatever. I won't be offended. Especially if you don't tell me you're judging. I would appreciate that.

So story #1! This one day at work, I was on my break, just chatting, while drinking water, life was good, but then all of a sudden, my voice stopped. In the middle of my sentence, words just stopped coming out. I kinda cleared my throat, took another sip, and tried to continue talking. Nope. No voice. 

I laughed and told my coworker, "I'm sorry," (in a very quiet raspy voice) "I don't know what's going on." I took another sip, but still nothing. So I went back out to work, and tried to call out an order number at the counter. 

"Now serving guest with the order number 901!" I croaked. I don't think my coworkers even heard me.

One of my wonderful coworkers then offered to speak for me, so all I had to do was put orders together, which worked well, until one of the regulars showed up at the counter. "Keturah!" He greeted me, enthusiastic as he always is.

(insert frog voice here) "Hello!"

Oh my goodness. Yeah. That was an interesting day.

One time I got offered a piano. That wasn't really a story, but like... Who gets offered a piano at McDonalds?

Recently, there was a guy who, upon giving him a coffee refill, decided to give me some advice and encouragement for how to be successful. He recommended universities, and strongly encouraged me to get a good education.

A few weeks afterward, I gave him another refill, and got a repeat of the speech. This time though, he actually asked what I was planning on doing with my life. I told him I wanted to do ballet, and he looked SO disappointed. After much questioning and passive agressive disapproval, he was still determined to bless me in my efforts, so he gave me a long speech about how to become successful in the arts, which, (he made sure to add) VERY few people are successful in.

That was not the last time I was to see him though! Yesterday I saw him again, and received another speech about how to be successful in ballet. I am getting the feeling he will be wanting regular updates...

Well, I'll leave it at that. I hope that was a fun read, next time I'm sure I'll be back to posting more serious stuff.

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:....... A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4)