December 11th, 2009 Benedict home full of kids and tims musings – fire!!! (via postie)

Author: TinyTimbly, March 24th, 2010

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Dear Friends

Just a quick update (that got long all of a sudden this morning) that contains several important items… btw – its COLD up here! Sunny, but freezing cold! Its been at least minus 6 degrees three nights in a row, and for the first time in my own memory up here in the mountains, Boise got 5 inches of snow several days ago and we got none *chuckle*. Thats really odd.

But I have lots of true God Fingerprints and direct supernatural interventions to talk about today.

A. House Fire and the Fingerprints of God B. Thanksgiving Trip Miracle… C. Status of House… D. CD player miracle… E. Status of job and home businesses F. Where do we go from here and musings….

A. House Fire and Fingerprints of God. Yes, we woke up this morning to our semi-detatched garage ON FIRE. We discovered it about 8am when we went out to take the kids to school. Low flames and smoke were visible through the office window (a partitioned off corner of the garage), active flames were going up one corner of the backside of the building, and smoke was pouring out from cracks around the garage doors and windows. Talk about a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut… I immediately threw heavy clothes on, Karen called 911 and got the kids out of the house, then I ran outside in the negative 7 degree cold, saw the smoke myself, sent a quick prayer for protection towards heaven, then hooked up the garden hose (that I had thought to drain out several days ago), and attacked the fire (I was on the Fire Department for nearly 4 years at Thorn Creek). I pulled the hose in behind me and crawled into the burning building, keeping along the floor where the air was still breathable, and began spraying freezing cold water on foot high flames that had engulfed the couch and reclining chair that had been in there, as well as burning up and into one wall. Karen meanwhile got the kids to school while the local volunteer fire department mobilized. After about 20 minutes, between 5gallon buckets of water on the flames on the back of the building, and spraying water on the burning furniture and flames inside, I got the fire pretty well knocked down by the time the fire department (most of the guys whom I know) got there. They werent real thrilled that I had been fighting fire inside a burning building without air breathing equipment, but they also werent denying that I had the fire pretty much out either. But I was still glad they came because they had their thermal imaging equipment with which they were able to pinpoint several hotspots in the wall which they then tore out and doused with a fire hose.

But when all was said and done, I lost a bunch of sound recording gear, microphones, amplifiers, several guitars, multiple computers, several sorta pricey synthesizers, some furniture, a bunch of camping gear, various other equipment, books, and CDs, and about half the xboxs and all the analog tvs that I had gathered to use to play network games with both my own and local kids (I had mentioned this in a previous newsletter). Our renters insurance will cover some of it, but somehow I doubt it will cover all of it without some hassle.

And it had started with a simple space heater cord that overheated, a heater I had put in there several days previously in order to keep the well pipes/plumbing from freezing in the sub zero weather.

And now to count the blessings. 1. I didnt lose any critical data 2. The fire could (should) have been much worse 3. Some of my gear losses will get replaced with new stuff 4. I am praying that the fire will also provide us leverage in dealing with the bank (more below).

And Gods Fingerprints… Remember how I said in my last email that I have been asking God to prove His reality to each of my children? Well I saw God at work this morning, and I think/hope the kids did too. Two of them took video of some of the fire, and when I saw it later, it was truly impressive to me. It freaked several of them out pretty good, while one was very calm about it and not even worried, trusting completely that I had things under control. Her faith reminded me of the trust I should have in my God every single day.

Among other things… 1. There were at least 10 separate 1gallon plastic gasoline jugs (full- for the chainsaws) in the office, several of which melted badly and deformed in the incredible heat of the fire, but did not rupture, leak, burn, or explode… 2. We have 2 separate phone lines here, both of which also go into the garage office. When I got up at 6am this morning, line 2 was nonfunctional, which I now know was because the phone line in the garage had melted. Which means 2 things. The first is that the fire was burning in my office for at least 2 hours before it was discovered at almost 8am, but for whatever the reason, it burned very slowly, even in the intense, several hundred degree heat that it had generated (as recorded by the fire department thermal imager, and by evidence that the plastic faceplates on several of my computers and stereo had simply liquefied and dripped to the floor), 3. and even though phone line 2 had shorted out in the heat, line 1 (with wires in the same cable as line 2) remained active so we could call 911 at 8am, over two hours later, after the phone cord had first melted. 4. I discovered a live electrical cord lying on the floor that the insulation had melted off of in the heat, that was sparking directly into the water on the floor (why that breaker didnt pop I am not sure). But I did not get electrocuted while crawling/laying on that wet floor just 5 feet away, spraying water on the fire. I couldnt just turn off the power because I couldnt reach the breaker panel in the smoke and heat, and that panel also controlled the pump in the well that was my garden hose water. But this live cord in the water on the floor does explain what felt like fire ants (no pun intended *chuckle* ) that I thought I kept feeling bite my ankles, or the sharp chainsaw sawdust poking me there (but I had fresh socks on), under my heavy insulated coveralls… When I finally discovered and unplugged this cord, the ants all went away! Imagine that. 5. Based on the heat damage in the office, I simply do not understand why the flames were not higher or worse. One of the fireman said it was quite a plume of smoke visible in town. I myself was honestly expecting higher flames when I went inside. I also had visions of the movie Backdraft dancing in my head, and was praying that that didnt happen here as well, because it truly WAS a perfect backdraft scenario. But several of the fireman also commented on it, that the fire could have been a LOT worse, and that if I hadnt attacked it when I did with the hose, the building likely would have been a total loss. I do suspect that we were scant minutes from the flames really taking off and being beyond our ability to knock down at all and save anything, given that active flame had already penetrated the walls to the outside (but not the ceiling….). 6. The garage ceiling/attic is completely enclosed and reached several hundred degrees (fire department thermal imager), but did not burn or catch fire (???). Some of the rafters/trusses have some minor charring on them, but nothing actually caught fire. If it had done so, the building would have been a total loss, as well as letting the flames leap frog to the house. Why the ceiling wasnt penetrated while two walls were, simply doesnt make sense to me, unless you take Gods protective hand into account. I have little doubt that if the ceiling had been penetrated in the least, it would have been all over in a matter of minutes.

So I have a lot to be thankful for tonight, though I am right now dealing with some cuts on my hand that I dont remember getting, a headache, an adrenaline crash, and coughing up smoky phlegm… (I wonder why…*grimace*). Dont get me wrong though. I am NOT complaining *chuckle*.

And its interesting to me that just yesterday, I verbalized to God that my “stuff” wasnt as important to me as following Him was, and that if I had to give it all up in order to please Him and/or to reach our dreams, I could do so. So now it feels like He was just checking my sincerity on that. I AM bummed about losing so much of the sound gear, musical instruments and computer equipment, but I also recognize good things that are already coming out of the situation, and Im okay with that. The whole situation is just something that will sit in my spirit for awhile I suspect, as I ponder and absorb it.

But the fire is not the only way we have seen Gods fingerprints recently J.

B. Thanksgiving week miracle. For Thanksgiving, we were invited to go to Oregon to visit Karens parents. But unfortunately, our suburbans transmission is toast, and we had no way to get there. To rent a passenger van big enough to take us all was much too expensive for us, so we decided on renting two smaller economical vehicles to take us instead. Nevertheless, the day before we were to leave, Isabella wanted to pray and ask Jesus to give us a 12-passenger van to travel in. I had been praying that God would make Himself real to each of my children, and this was His chance apparently, to be real to here to her.

I say that because when we got to the airport to rent the two vehicles, less than 2 hours before we were to pull out of town for Portland, the rental agency wouldnt rent us the 2 vehicles we had picked out, for various reasons. One vehicle yes, but two no. That left us standing there with a “deer in headlights” look on our faces. The counter person apparently had pity on us, and Karen and I were praying furiously for God to open up something. A half hour later, we walked out of the airport with the rental keys to a 12 passenger van, for less than the price of the 2 vehicles we had originally asked for, and for less than half the price that had been quoted to us on the phone just a day or two before. Im not sure how she did it, but the rental car lady apparently found a way to quote unquote upgrade us to this van cheaply. And let me tell you, Isabellas eyes got big when we drove up in the answer to her prayer. It was very cool.

So we got in and started driving, without even knowing where the gas money to get back home was going to come from. But I figured that if God had answered little Isabellas prayer like He did, He also wasnt going to strand us there in Portland either. So we started driving. And God provided the money to get home through two people who unexpectedly helped make it happen. I pray blessings on these two people, and am thankful to them.

C. House Status. The house finally went to auction Tuesday after being delayed 4 times, and the bank has retaken possession of the title. So in one respect, we are no longer under the power of dishonest landlords, another answer to prayer. On the other hand, we dont know yet what kind of deal the bank will be willing to work out with us (especially now with the garage being burned). Im praying about this as I play phone tag with them. What we work out could help decide the future of our dreams here in Idaho City.

D. CD Player miracle. The other night in family circle, in an otherwise quiet and still house but for the wood stove blower downstairs, we finished reading the story of Hudson Taylors life, a man who touched China with his life and his love of the Lord. He outlived two wives, multiple children, and many coworkers that died in the Lords service. Some of my kids were impressed, while others were not. One child in particular was not impressed that God hadnt saved either of his wives or multiple children from death when their premature times came. So I got out an old book I have that is called Voices From The Edge of Eternity that details hundreds and hundreds of true deathbed experiences of both Christians and atheists (powerful book, btw, and one that came to me by a miracle also). I read to everyone the first short story about a woman who loved the Lord and who stood briefly at the threshold of heaven before she died what should have been a horrible cancer death, who described some of who she saw there and the joy she experienced, just before she then stepped over into eternity, triumphant in her pure joy and victory over death.

That precipitated a discussion about how if we love the Lord, death isnt something to be feared, but will instead be a time of great joy and reunion. Likewise, each one us needs to make sure that our lives are right with Jesus, so that He is waiting there to meet us when we each approach deaths door ourselves.

And then, at a moment in conversation that couldnt have been more perfectly timed, the CD player in the other room suddenly turned on, by itself, and started playing the Christmas song Silent Night Holy Night, with what seemed to me to be an emphasis on the phrase, Sleep In Heavenly Peace.

We all just kinda stared at each other around the room and experienced God-chills… It was pretty amazing. Feedback from some of the kids later convinced me that it had indeed made a pretty strong impression on them too *chuckle*. God is proving Himself real to each member of my family in turn, as I continue to pray that He does so.

E. Status of jobs, income and home businesses. My unemployment runs out at the end of this month, with nothing definite lined up to replace it yet, other than with our own endeavors. I have been using the time, among other things, to successfully work out some of the technical problems and details of the whole hydrogen assist fuel system that I have been developing for cars and trucks. Ive installed several systems already now, with another one on order. But it feels good to finally have a solid product that I can feel good about selling to people, that can, in the right situation, reportedly almost double peoples gas mileage (the best Ive done is 50% better so far, but theres more I can still do to make it higher). So between getting ready to gear up production and marketing on these gas mileage improvement kits, getting ready to gear up on the new author book publishing business, and Karen working on several sideline businesses of her own, we hope to have income back in place by January. All of these businesses can be reached from my homepage at http://www.timbenedict.net

F. So whats next? Im not really sure, in all honesty. The fire sure brought on a reality check in some ways…

The things that I do know are this (it always helps to focus on what you DO know, when the unknown seems big and scary). a. God has taken care of us in several very tangible ways recently. b. God has fingerprinted several situations around us recently that gave us God chills c. God has ALWAYS taken care of us d. We have dreams of our home, a camp, and a retreat center, located right here in this little valley, but that these dreams are completely subject to Gods timing and will. They might or might not happen, and I have to be ok with that. If they happen, it will be because God made them happen, and not before. e. I can trust that God will CONTINUE to take care of us, and meet our basic needs, so long as we continue to try to put Him and His desires first in our lives (its the best insurance money cant buy).

If you want to pray for us, pray several things: a. That me and Karen dont get stressed out and overloaded, thus destroying our trust/faith/testimony in God b. That each of the kids would truly recognize Gods fingerprints for what they are, and choose to respond positively to Him c. That we have wisdom in building our businesses d. That resolving all the issues and insurance paperwork surrounding the fire this morning would go smoothly e. and if you think of it, that our dreams for our home/camp/retreat center right here in this little valley, would still come to pass.

I am also starting to clean out, restore, winterize, and set up our three rv trailers to be able to accept guests and/or visitors or anyone else that would like to come up to the mountains for God-time, respite, peace, and/or a visit. Let me know if you would like to help us restore them to functionality for others to use, or to just stay here briefly and use one of them yourself for your own personal prayer retreat (we will try feed you one meal a day with us too if you like). Just call and talk to me, and we will see what we can work out. I wont be opening up this availability to just anyone, but if your heart is sincere, and I sense God behind your request, I will try to make one of them available for several days for you to stay in here at no cost. 208-392-6723

But remember, when the unknown looms in front of you and looks all scarey and all, just focus on what you DO know, and WHO you know (God/Jesus- at least I dearly hope every one of you reading this newsletter know them, especially going into the Christmas season). Then the unknown loses some of its power, and its easier to move forward.

Sincerely, -Tim, Karen and Kids Benedict

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