Restoration

Last night was one of those nights when I found it hard to sleep. I have never been a good night sleeper, but when I am stressed, it is even worse. I wasn't flipping channels, the television was just still on from when Dean went to bed. I wasn't paying much attention at all. I hadn't even realized when a preacher came on the channel. He was speaking about loss and restoration. That really hit me.

For more than 2 years, I have felt an intense loss - loss of our home in Longview- our friends, our family being close, our house. I have never been very materialistic. Until this house in El Paso, when we looked for a house, we looked for something where our family would be comfortable, but where we could host gatherings for our Sunday School class or other church things. At Mobberly, we looked for a place where we would be able to host the youth for all kinds of events. We wanted to find a place like that here, but in reality, we took the only one we could find that had three bedrooms and allowed dogs.

I have allowed myself to be miserable here. I have held on to that loss like it was a security blanket - like it gave me identity. That is not the way I want to be. I don't want to live miserable or with regret. I don't want to be gloomy and always feel like I have suffered a great loss. I remind myself of Eeyore - he is always gloomy and has lost his tail. Like Eeyore, I have had wonderful friends who have come alongside me and tried to encourage me. I have continued to live in a negative world.

It is time to move on. Yesterday, my dear friend Amy and I were chatting. She has always been the kind of friend who will speak up and make me face the real issues within me. She doesn't just stop at the surface. I read what she was saying. I really can let go of the house. I called Dean and suggested that we make a counter offer. He worked on a couple of different proposals. I was okay with them. I could live with any of them. Then, he met with a friend who is a realtor. They talked about the options. Rick was in the middle of putting them together when we got a rude email from them. That sort of put those right out the window.

And so, the struggle continues with selling the house. The feeling of loss is still here. Every time something happens with the house, I feel the same intense loss all over again.

Last night when the television preacher talked about loss and restoration, I was listening. I got up this morning and starting reading scriptures that deal with restoration - I am no longer going to focus on the loss - just the restoration. I used google and looked up some different things about what scripture says about restoration. One of the sites was talking about lent and the significance of the 40 days. I looked and 40 days from today is Christmas Day. I am going to focus on restoration for the next 40 days. I will focus on allowing God to work in my to bring restoration. Jesus came on that original Christmas to restore the world's relationship to the Father. I am going to use the next 40 days and restore my relationship with Him.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

sigh

Well the deal on our house is not going to happen. Despite our best efforts and giving in where we really didn't want to give in. They had planned for his brother to buy the house for him. That was a great plan- except they offered us 11k less. We refused. Now we have to go through with the eviction. We are struggling. We want to do everything legally. We can't afford a battle in court.

We have no money to do anything extra right now- including spending money for our trip in January. We still have to pay tuition, too. Dean is going to try to get some overtime. I am probably going to look for a part time job somewhere.

So many things just seem to be overwhelming us financially.

Please pray for a fast solution to getting the renters out and getting it listed and sold.

AT&T is not making me a satisfied customer

I am really disappointed with AT&T. Below is the letter I wrote to them.

I purchased an IPhone 4 as an upgrade in Sept at a corporate store. I asked about insurance. I was given only one option - a $70.00 year plan. I asked the salesman if something happened and i had to replace the phone, how that would work. He said instead of paying the full price, I would pay an amount that would be the like the upgrade fee I had just paid. I paid for the plan. I was not told this was not an insurance plan.

Today my phone was stolen from by bag. I called to file a claim. After several calls I was transferred to Apple where i was told that what I had purchased was not a insurance, but it was an extended warranty. It would not work for a stolen phone or a phone that had been damaged. I was told my the lady at apple that this was a very common thing for ATT customers to be misinformed.

After several more calls (approximately 2 hours on the phone) I was put back to customer care. I was told that there was nothing that could be done despite the fact that i had been misinformed by an ATT employee. I was not asking for a free phone. I only asked that I be able to purchase a phone at the same price that the salesman had told me I could. The last person that I spoke to said there was nothing he could do, but he would credit my account for the current balance. That would have been 199. He only credited it 100.00.

I have one line that has not been used in a year now. I could not cancel it even though my son had moved to a foreign country because I did not have his utility bill. It was suggested that I upgrade that line and buy the phone on that one. That would be fine, except my son will be home in 9 months and he wants an iphone as well. That means that I will have to order a new line of service in order to get him the phone he wants. I will continue to pay for a phone line that no one is using - at 10.00 a month I have already spent 120. I will have to spend an additional 240 on a line that no one uses in order to get him a phone.

I am very, very disappointed in this whole situation. I feel I am being penalized because of the incompetence of an ATT employee. Instead of offering me insurance as I requested, I was given a warranty. It is very frustrating to me that ATT will not stand behind their customer when it was an employee who misinformed me. There should be some way for me to be able to repurchase an Iphone 4 for the 199 without adding another line of service or jeopardizing my son's line and his ability to purchase the type of phone he wants.

As I said, I have paid 10.00 a month for 12 months and have another 9 months before he comes home. That is 210.00 of fees for a line that is not used by anyone. If I had not purchased the insurance I would not even be asking for this. In good faith, I bought a year of 'insurance' that turned out to not be insurance.

I would really appreciate someone taking care of this matter for me. As I said, I would be willing to purchase the phone at the rate of 199 and not jeopardize any of our other plans. I will also purchase the insurance that is 11.99 a month- an option I was not offered in September. I was told today they could not make it retroactive as that would be fraud. I think being told that I have insurance when I only have a warranty could also be construed as fraud. I have been a loyal customer for a very long time.

We had decided to stay with ATT despite the fact that my daughter has awful coverage in Santa Fe. At this point, I am very disappointed we made that decision. I wish I had been given the opportunity to purchase insurance for my phone. Had I been given that option, I would have paid the copayment today and had another phone on the way. Instead, I have no phone. The cell phone is the only phone that I have. I use it for personal as well as business. I will probably lose business because I am unable to access my phone. I must say I am a very dissatisfied ATT customer.