Tag: car maintenance

Posted on in Finding Grace Weekly Recap, Gratitude, Life is Short, Miscellaneous, Parenting

Finding Grace #422

You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?!

This was a great week. Most of the week was fairly normal with work and school. Friday probably had the most excitement, as you can read further below.

On Sunday, we celebrated Easter. Lydia and I went to one church service and volunteered at another. The kids were very excited, and we had some funny experiences together.

The weather was perfect this week. Although the mornings were cooler, by afternoon, temperatures reached the 50s and 60s.

One cool thing that happened on Thursday was that I finally hit 100,000 miles on my Subaru! I will have had it for eleven years in August. At first, I put a lot of miles on it, driving back and forth to see family in Illinois. But I haven’t done that for a few years, so this milestone took a little longer than I expected. Thankfully, my car is in good condition. I am going to try driving it another 100k!

Lydia’s orthodontist’s wife apparently works at a spa next door to his office. So, on Friday, I received one of three free hour-long facials as a courtesy. Orthodontics are expensive, so this perk is appreciated! Lydia said my face is now glowing…. I’ll take it!

Yesterday was also my parents’ 49th wedding anniversary! They are a blessing to so many, and I am so proud to call them Mom and Dad. I appreciate how they have invested in my life, and I continue to learn from them!

Also yesterday, Lydia and I went to a the funeral visitation for a coworker’s dad. I wanted to go support her, and I also wanted to make sure Lydia had the experience. She has been to funerals before, but it is always good to know how to act in those often sad and uncomfortable experiences. 

Today, I was on-call for work, though I didn’t get called in. I woke up early to prepare and then did a lot of cleaning while waiting for my phone to potentially ring. I descaled my coffee machine, did three loads of laundry, helped Lydia organize her bedroom closet, made some Amazon returns to UPS, and caught up with some reading and bills. It felt great to be productive!

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!

Posted on in Fear/Don't Fake Brave, Journey of Grace, Miscellaneous, Perseverance, Prayer, Wisdom, Worship

Crashing Into Grace

Over the weekend, we got several inches of snow. I spent much of Sunday clearing my driveway so we could get out that afternoon.

Later, as we pulled out of the, my all-wheel-drive Subaru got stuck in the heavy snow. (That doesn’t happen often, but the snow plow had not been through yet.)

I could have made it through but decided to back up instead and turn around. Well, I ended up hitting a big snow bank with a good amount of force and put a dent in my fender! Grrr…

I was pretty disappointed because I try to take good care of my car so it will last.

So, on Monday, I tried to pop out the dent on my own, but it was near my exhaust pipe and kind of awkward. I couldn’t get enough leverage or oomph.

Monday night, I posted online to ask for help (or recommendations) on social media. Two friends commented that I should heat up the area with a hairdryer to make it pliable. Genius idea!

When I put Lydia to bed, we prayed for wisdom to fix the dent. After that, I heated up the area as suggested. I was ready to try anything!

At first, the heat didn’t make much difference. So after a while, I put the hairdryer on a 5-gallon bucket to give my hands a break. Meanwhile, I found a variety of tools/objects to help me pop the fender back into shape.

I prayerfully tried a lead pipe (too long), a hammer (too risky), a bottle emptied of its fluid (not quite strong enough), and a few other items. Nope.

After an hour or so, I was really frustrated. I prayed again, saying, “Jesus, this is not a huge issue in light of everything else. But I’d really like to fix this and I can’t do it on my own. So You’re going to have to help me.”

The Lord loves to help us and show Himself strong on our behalf.

So once again, I let Him.

Then, the idea came to me to try one more time from underneath with my hands only (no tools). I had tried it earlier but only by kneeling and trying to push/pull it from the outside.

So, finally, I crawled under the car again and just pushed with my fingers.
Suddenly, everything very gently moved into place, like the easiest thing ever.

This all required a fair amount of faith and ‘elbow grease’ but I am grateful it is fixed. If you look close, there might be a slight mark or tiny indentation left, but I’m calling it a sweet Victory in Jesus’ Name!

I was so excited and posted a praise report (similar to this) online.

Several people commented on how God loves to help us with the little things. Yes!

To me, the dent proved just one more way that the Lord works for my good and His glory (see Romans 8:28). Praise God!

As my Aunt Deb mentioned online, “Faith moves mountains and car bumpers.”

I hope this example shows that God can help you do mighty things, too! No problem is too small or too unimportant for Him. Put your faith in Jesus… He loves you so much!

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Heavenly Father, thanks for Your help with my car! You do all things well. Thanks for the sweet reminder of Your love and grace. Help me trust You for greater things as well. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Questions: Do you have a recent praise report? How did God show up?

Tasks: Listen to this song called “Nothing is Impossible!” Don’t wait to pray until a “collision” occurs in your life. Ask God to help right away!

Posted on in Miscellaneous, Travel, Wisdom

Tires, Target, and Thankfulness

Last week was an expensive week in the car repair department. Before you think I am complaining, let me explain why I am so grateful!

On our most recent road trip back to Fargo, a warning light came on during a thunderstorm. It said my tire pressure was low, but I did not have a flat tire. We were still over two hours from home. I checked all my tires each time we stopped; they looked fine.

I’ve had plenty of flats on other cars over the years, and am pretty good at changing tires! Thanks, Dad! But changing tires far from home and with a child is different.

pile of tires

After we returned home from our trip, I noticed a nail in the rear driver-side tire. Great. This was the third time in less than one year that I have run over a nail. But by God’s grace, I’ve never had a flat tire on this car! Soon, I had made an appointment to fix my tire.

Back in May, I was getting an oil change and was told that I would need new tires by this fall. I was surprised because I didn’t think they would wear down that quickly. We’ve taken several road trips over the last few years, but I didn’t expect to need new tires so soon. But yes, apparently putting over 35,000 miles on your car will do that!

That day I received a quote for new tires, but thought I would wait. It was a lot of money!

Before this most recent appointment, however, I reviewed the quote for new tires. As I researched tire options, I realized the cost was average for tires and the labor seemed very fair. Still not convinced that I really needed new tires, I did the penny trick. This is where you see how much of Lincoln’s head is seen, which translates to how much tread is left. Guess what. ALL of Lincoln’s head was showing!

Yep, I had not noticed it before, but my tire tread was almost bare!

Psalm 25_4

While I certainly needed to get the one tire fixed, I knew I’d probably be back in a couple months anyway. I asked several questions and asked about all the options. In the end, I decided to buy four new tires and avoid the time crunch later.

I wasn’t planning this expenditure for July, but value my time and the safety of my family. And, even though it was a good chunk of money, I was grateful Dave had always set aside money for car repairs. So, it was already in the budget!

I discovered Target was only about a block away, so Lydia and I walked there. I needed to buy a small gift for a friend that day. I was glad to take care of that while we waited because it saved me ‘daycare time’ later on.

Then, we walked back to the shop, thankful for the exercise. My car was almost done. It was getting an alignment, which I learned was very needed. Two tires were pulling off-kilter, but I had grown used to it. I didn’t realize how far off it had been!

After the technician explained to me all they had done, I was grateful to get it fixed! As I drove off, I felt like I had a new car. It drove so smoothly and quietly!

wheel on car

You likely have had different challenges lately! But we can all appreciate God’s protection and wisdom to make good decisions. We can have peace when making decisions knowing He covers us with His grace.

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Heavenly Father, thanks for taking such good care of me! Thanks for showing me the right path to take. Give me wisdom for life’s decisions. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Question: Have you had an unexpected expense that turned out to be a blessing?