Today is the 2 Year Anniversary of Our Fire

I cannot believe it has already been 2 years since our fire. I have been knee deep in receipts for the last week and Charlie has been taking care of the babies. We had 2 years to replace what was loss in the fire. They give you half of what you claim up front and then you have 2 years to replace what you have loss but it has to be more than the 50 percent less of what they gave you (actual cost). For instance if I loss a $50 sweater, they gave me $25 so in order to reclaim this sweater I had to buy it for more than $25 I got for it. Since I use coupons for everything this was a little tricky. If you have a lose in your house, here are a couple tips when dealing with insurance files.

• Highlight all the items you loss and highlight how much they gave you for the item.
• Right before you turn in a claim, if you know you want to replace an item and have not, go ahead and replace it by putting it on a credit card because you know you are going to get that money back.

Hopefully this will be my last post about the fire, and I feel like we can now really move on from it. Turning in these receipts has been hanging over my head for this last year.

Some positive aspects of the fire

• Most of the items we lost where items that we did not personally buy, and items that I will probably never wear again such as college clothes
• We had another baby so we were able to replace all of the items that Jackson lost
• Being in ministry and me staying at home, finances are always going to be hard work for us, and believe it or not the fire helped us get our car fix, and do things that had to be done. Anonymous donations came every day after our fire. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.
  

My final thoughts on the fire:

• I believe when bad things happen it is either because we live in a fallen world, or that demons are attacking. The Devil is NOT omnipresent but there are thousands of demons here on earth. I do believe the devil attacks those who are reaching thousands of people for Jesus. However, he can only attack one person at a time, and I do not believe it was the devil himself attacking us.
  
• I believe that the fire was partly because we live in a fallen world, but also a demonic attack on Jackson and our family. God allowed this to happen for our good and His glory. What demons meant for evil, God turned into good.
  
• I knew going into ministry there would be demonic attack, but really never ever envisioned a fire. Charlie had recently lead some people to Christ, and then we had a fire in our baby's room the next day. If you are in ministry, I would suggest holding on tight, and it is really important to see things as spiritual warfare and not as "bad luck."
• I still cannot believe a small little fire turned bad so quickly.
  
• God is so great and so powerful and spared our entire family of any harm. He used it for such good in our life, and it really helped us get our finances in order. God such a loving father and is so much more powerful than any demons.

"and as Your mercy falls I raise my hands
and praise the God who gives and takes away.

I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth."

Casting Crowns, Praise You in This Storm

When storm, fires, or whatever you are going through, it is your choice to raise your hands and praise our good God who gives so richly everything in Him. I hate to put things so bluntly but, no one is putting a gun to your head when bad things happen and making you complain and be bitter.

We are so blessed with eternal things and I thank God every day for everything He has given us.

Here is the first post about our fire. Charlie wrote a lot of it. He is such a great writer. You can also see other post about our fire by clicking on the label "fire" on the side of my blog.

Charlie writes:

"Make no mistake about it, brothers, if you preach Christ unapologetically Satan and his demons will attack you in some way, shape, or form. It may be disasters, it may be through gossip, it may be through unruly selfish church members. Whatever it is, the Devil has no dealings with a lukewarm church. If you are preaching Christ, hold on.

I had a taste of Hell on Tuesday morning. Hell is real. It is a place of pain. It is a place of suffering. It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. And a lot of people are going to spend eternity there and God has called every believer to do what he can to preach Christ.

Hell is real. People are going. Preach Christ and hold on."