Being Obedient BRINGS BLESSINGS!

I've learned this lesson before and have quite the testimony of it, but I guess the Lord wanted to remind me of it this summer... You know our money troubles I was complaining about earlier this month? Well that has all changed! I can fully give credit to the Lord for blessing us in unexpected ways since then :)

Within the last week we had talked about making a change for our family that would allow us to be more obedient to the Lord's commandments. It was a hard choice to make and it meant that my daughter and I might not be able to go to my husband, Wayne's, Army training graduation some almost 3,000 miles away. It was a bit heartbreaking to accept that fact because it was the highlight that had been getting me through his being gone, but we knew being completely obedient was more important and that the eternal blessings would be more than worth the sacrifice if it came down to it.

Immediately (I want to say the very next day after making this choice...which is unusually fast) we started seeing our financial situation change! It was amazing! I've been working hard to make the money for our trip with my jewelry business and at this point I'm about $250 away (after so many people have been so kind to shop or host parties for me, some even with only a couple days notice to host), we found out some money that was owed to us is being returned, and my mother is going to go with me at least for the first part of the trip so that we can drive instead of buying airline tickets (because I didn't want to drive alone for 3,000 in case something went wrong...plus that's a lot of driving for one person in a day or two). This right there was enough to make everything seem better at least for the moment. We'd still be able to go to Wayne's graduation and everything would be fine financially until Sept. when we might need to pick up some extra part-time jobs to make it through the end of the year with the money we have spent on flying Wayen home for the 4th and our going to his graduation and the headache the Army gave us pay taking 60% of our pay for 2.5 months.

But then the blessings KEPT coming! Wayne was in a motorcycle accident 9 months ago and a settlement still hadn't happened, so there were unpaid medical bills and a lot of grief. Finally, just yesterday the final negotiations happened and we reached an agreed upon settlement amount! So now those bills will finally be paid and there's also a good chance we'll be receiving the money they are giving us for missed work and pain/suffering SOON! How amazing is that!? This means that not only do we not have to work extra jobs this fall, but Wayne can even take off a few weeks after he gets home to spend time with family! THIS IS AMAZING! We will still keep working hard because we want to get out of debt and rebuild our savings after it got depleted this summer, but it's so comforting to know that we not only have enough, but extra!

I am so grateful to the Lord for having blessed us like this. I knew being obedient brings blessings, sometimes more than just eternal ones, but I am amazed how just how much the Lord has blessed us already. I can't wait to be reunited with my husband and to go to the Temple that weekend to express our thanks to the Lord in His house :)

P.S. Thank you so much to all of you who have supported us, loved us, and helped in any way you can. We sincerely appreciate every little bit of it from babysitting for free to fixing plumbing to loaning money. I hope we can return the favor and bless your lives as well.