Happy St. Patrick's Day!

     I am not normally big on St. Patrick's Day.  Mostly because I believe that most people use it to drink and make utter fools of themselves.  I have been disgusted with the way that people in my home town behave and "celebrate" this day.  You even hear it on the radio as the dj's get drunker and drunker as the day wears on.  But then the other day I read about who St. Patrick really was and it made me appreciate this holiday more than I usually do.
     When St. Patrick was young he had been captured and made a slave in Ireland.  He is actually English. He was a slave for six years where he worked outside as a shepherd.  He was alone a lot and it is believed that this is where he found God and turned to his faith for comfort.  He wrote in one of his letters that he felt that God one day spoke to him and told him it was time to leave Ireland.  So he walked 200 miles to the coast and from there went back to his home.  It was once he was home that God spoke to him again and told him that he would be a missionary to the Irish people.  So Patrick went about going through the process to become a priest.  Then he went back to minister to the people who were already Christians and also share God's word with those who were still pagan..  He is believed to have died on March 17, and that is why the Irish celebrated that day.
     When I heard this story I found it very interesting.  I had never really heard what this holiday was really about.  It makes me sad when I think about what we have done to this day in the U.S.  I had heard that in Ireland it is not celebrated as a big booze fest.  Or is wasn't for a long time.  I am not sure exactly what they do there I guess.  The point is, that when you hear these things, it helps you see how low we've fallen.  I know this is a bit of a downer, but sometimes we have to see these things to see our need for Christ.  To really see our depravity and the grace that Christ gives to right these wrongs.  In that there is hope, even though things are falling down all around us, we know where the rock is so that we don't fall too.
     I also thought I would give a quick update on the house.  We found out yesterday that there is something with the septic tank that would need to be fixed before we could get a mortgage.  It is not some small thing and we're not sure the sellers are going to want to fix it.  So we are praying about this, and hopefully there will be a way to work this out and we won't lose yet another house.  We still have hope though that this will work itself out, and if it doesn't we know that God wants something else for us.  Although something is good, it may not be good for you.  That's what I always tell myself, and I know that God has only our good in mind.  So that's where that is at, and if any of you would like to pray for us we would be appreciative.  : )
P.S. I hope to post some pics soon of my kids because I find them some of the cutest kids in the world : )