Sticks & Stones

I originally didn't want to write a post about this because I wasn't sure how people would respond, but today during church I realized that you (the people who care about us) just need to know.
I'm going to give you a little civics lesson.  In England they celebrate a holiday called Guy Fawkes day.  It's commemorating some guy (pun intended) from the 1600s that created a plan to assassinate the king, but was caught, supposed to be hung & quartered, but killed himself right before he would be killed.  For some reason, England celebrates this day with fireworks and good fun.  Some of the former English colonies continue to celebrate some version of this holiday.  Unfortunately, in our community, it is celebrated as a day to act ridiculous, stupid, and a bit violent.  It's bad enough that several kids that I know didn't attend school on Friday because they are scared at what the other kids will do.  And they say the teachers can't do anything, "because it's Guy Fawkes Day."
Well, we went through the whole day with no significant difference.  But about 11pm I was watching soccer and doing some things on the internet (all the girls were asleep or in bed) when I heard the terrible sound of a brick coming through our kitchen window bouncing off the sink and onto the floor.  Obviously I jumped up to investigate, freaked out, and readied myself for what else may be coming through.  Nothing else came through that window.  It was obviously a Guy Fawkes Day stunt ("prank" doesn't work for something like this) that we were the target for.  My nerves were now on edge as I tried to figure out what to do.  I investigated around the house, called our security company, and tried to work through it all logistically & spiritually.  I eventually fell asleep about 2am once the nerves calmed enough.
Today's service & message at Hillsong were helpful for me in dealing with it.  Through it all I was reminded that God asks for us to lay down everything at his feet, to trust Him for the results, and to walk in faith.  I know what we've gotten ourselves into here in Ocean View, but sometimes I want to pretend that it isn't what it truly is (unsettled, broken, and sometimes dangerous).  The reality is that stuff like this, having our car broken into, people trying to steal from our house, and things like that are probably going to happen a couple of times a year.  We'll have to deal with it.  Each time I have to keep walking in faith knowing that God is still God and that our troubles are just part of our lives here.  I can't ignore it and it doesn't really help to hide it from you.  
So that's a small part of our weekend.  We actually had a fantastic weekend, this was just the one hiccup.
Thanks for your prayers & support and if you meet anybody named Guy Fawkes tell him I'm not a big fan.
Cheers, Casey