The Miracle of Indoor Plumbing

“Where in the world do you live that you do not have indoor plumbing??” asked a co-worker who’d seen a recent Facebook post.

“In a barn, but I have a toilet now.” I responded. Or, as Ethan says, “A shed. A shed with a bed.”

It’s nothing short of miraculous to be able to flush a toilet. How many times do we habitually do this with no sense of wonder? I guess I have a newfound appreciation and education of pipes, PVC, poop pumps, etc. It’s intricate and complicating. And my husband worked sooo hard to provide it for me.

I went 99 days without a toilet. Of course, I have had luxuries like electricity (only 55 days without it, directly); and now a window a/c unit—with bedside remote. Hopefully the camp toilet is a thing of history and will only be used for its intended purpose—camping. Although, my niece Lyn refers to our living quarters as glamping=glamorous camping.

Sometimes Scott and I lie in bed at night and wonder, “Who does this?”

Well, we do. We work until we run out of $$ and then we stop for the month. We are truly, honest-to-goodness broke by the end of the month. Two months ago I had one cent in savings and less than a dollar in my checking. I didn’t have enough gas to even get to work. BUT I remembered we had fuel in the red, lawnmower gas can. So, Scott put it in my car. God sustains and we made it to payday. It’s not fun and it’s definitely uncomfortable, but it's also an adventure!

I know it will be a year before it’s more like we want it (aka presentable to my sister who thinks I’ve lost my mind), but I do revel in these times. It’s the basic necessities (like a coffee pot) and I know that the Lord is preparing us to be uncomfortable and bug-infested somewhere else in the world where we can be a light in the dark.

My 1st Daniel Fast

At the start of 2010, when all my Lifechurch.tv friends fasted, I did not. I found out about it the day before it was starting, too late to wrap my brain around the concept. So I vowed to try it in 2011. The Daniel Fast is basically a vegan diet, no coffee or sugar, no soda, no processed, bleached white flour. The concept of fasting is to grow closer to God and when your physical body is having a craving, you feed your spiritual being by praying and reading the Bible.

Let me start with some honesty...My name is Stace and I am addicted to coffee. I drink it first thing every morning. After school I stop by the gas station to get my 32 ounce fountain Diet Coke and then after dinner I make another pot of coffee. Bad, right?

I wanted to reflect on my experience, since it was my first and I may never attempt it again. :) The first five days I had a massive headache from caffeine withdrawals. I would wake up in the morning thinking about it like a true addict. It was my biggest sacrifice and struggle. Once, when Scott and I were shopping for fruity, herbal teas we had to go down the coffee aisle and we literally had to stop and pray for resistance right there in the middle of Wal-Mart to combat the urge to buy the coffee and quit the silly fast. Ridiculous, I know this. Luckily, a friend told me about Pero and I drove to Whole Foods that very night to buy some. It's roasted barley and rye for heaven's sake, but it's hot and brown and tastes decent with soy creamer.

By day six, the headache was gone, but then came the leg cramps. I had not done any extraordinary workout, so I attributed it to some sort of deficiency. So I ate bananas and put muscle rub on them. I know it says that Daniel used no lotion, but that wasn't gonna work in winter. Oh, and I forgot to mention the acne that popped up on my face!! I literally looked like I was having a teenage breakout.

Olivia, my nine-year-old daughter, participated by default. We gave every tempting, perishable food to our middle son and his wife. Olivia went over to her cousin's house to play and the first thing she did upon arrival was go into the kitchen and ask her aunt, "Do you have any meat?"

She also asked if when the Daniel Fast was over, could we please have 21 days of unhealthy eating. And my husband declared that after this fast was over, we'd do the Paul Fast, where" all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial" (I Cor.10:23).

It was hard not to look for a weight loss on the scales. Scott and I both needed to shed a few pounds, but the weight was not falling off. We had a saying, "It's not what we're losing, it's what we're gaining."

By day nine, I hit my stride and began to feel vibrant. I read the Daniel Fast reading plan on YouVersion every morning. I looked forward to the interesting creations my sweet husband was coming up with in the kitchen. My faves include: foccacia, potato soup, Nutrein nuggets (from Tom Thumb) and bean tostados with cilantro guacamole.

The fact is, we made it! Not all of my friends can say that, not to boast. It only proves that it was not easy, especially in our fast food nation. I asked Scott if he wanted to wake up at 12:01 am and brew a pot of coffee. We've opted for sleep. I have been contemplating which things I've enjoyed and want to continue. I am not going back to Diet Coke. I can't even have one because then I'll crave it and fall back into that habit. I am going to continue being vegetarian (I had been for two years and had gone astray). I will enjoy my coffee every morning, but maybe in the evening I will drink Pero or Bengal Spice tea instead.

The last day of the Bible reading for today, said "No matter how deep you are now [with God], go deeper still. I hope that by dedicating the first part of the year to Christ, that I will continue to go deeper still in 2011. God blessed us immensely during these 21 days and more importantly, I pray He was blessed by our sacrifice and obedience. He is the only One worth giving up my morning cup of coffee for.

Amen...that it is finished!

staceLOVESscott

Dear Scott,
We are writing a story.
I love drinking coffee with you.
You know how I take my coffee.
I love that you are a talented writer and are dedicated.
I love that you read a bedtime story to our daughter.
You are committed to me.
You are an awesome homeschooling dad.
You are passionate.
When you play the piano it is like you are giving me a gift.
You are succeeding in life.
You are rich.
You have strong morals that do not waver.
I love holding your hand in the car.
You are handsome.
I love cuddles.
I love sharing my dreams with you.
Thank you for giving me a beautiful, precious daughter.
I love that you talk to Trey on the phone everyday.
You are following God and are a good leader and example to me daily.
You are fun and funny.
You are wise.
We are growing old together.
You play with our kids and grandkids.
We are making memories and traditions together.
You are an amazing chef and baker.
You know BIG words and random facts.
You are good at mental math.
You are my own personal exhorter.
I love the way you look at me.
You took away my loneliness.
Even though you are down to Earth, you let me dream BIG.
You care about our marriage; it’s important to you.
You are strong: physically, mentally and spiritually.
You have a good taste in clothes and design.
I appreciate that you don’t ever cut me down, but do a lot of building up.
You forgive me when I mess up and still love me.
I trust in you.
You care deeply about others.
We both love to travel…Road Trips!
When you eat lunch with me, I get excited when I see you coming down the hall.
I am proud to be your wife.
My life is better because you are part of it.
You have taught me a lot about love.
I cannot imagine my life without you.
Thank you for loving me and teaching me about life.
You are everything to me.
I love you.
Your Babycakes,
Stace

Love Note to my husband