NOTHING WAS GETTING THROUGH

It is a little embarrassing to say, but I have been a victim to my own stupidity! Yes, this can be the story of my life more often then I would like.

Here is a list of my electricity bill over the last past months.

Feb: 85
March: 80
April: 85
May: 91
June: 101
July: 175

I had visitors for a while so I expected/anticipated the climb in the bills. Not so much my July bill, (yes I about croaked when I saw it) but some little facts that make this info harder to swallow. Beside having family stay with me here and there, I live for the most part relatively alone. With work and other things, I live in my place to sleep, eat, and occasionally clean. ;) My AC is really never set for anything lower then 77-78 when I am at home. (Don't worry, if I expect company I crank the puppy down.) However, for the last month or so, my unit has read that the house was at 80 or 82-sometimes clear up to 89. The AC showed that it was on, I could hear it working, but there was nothing cool about the interior of my house! The July bill is misleading, because you would think with that payment I was living in the bliss land of what my sister would say is 64 degrees.

Yes.. you could say time to service the unit. This is where my own stupidity comes into play. I have not had the AC serviced since I lived here.... um that is going on past seven years! As long as the cold air was coming out, I was fine. Right?! Oh I am a smart one :D! For the last few weeks I have felt I needed to check out my filters. I didn't want to be bothered... surely a simple impression should be followed without all the additional red flags! (Well you would think anyway... I choose to not obey the smallest of impressions at times--don't ask me why for the only answer is I don't make the time, or brush thoughts off as not being significant.)

My dad came and helped me take out the three filters for my AC unit. I wish I had taken a picture--and perhaps it is better that I did not. My thin metal filter was CAKED! And when I mean caked, I mean CAKED! So much that when I first sprayed water on it... the water had no cracks to penetrate through, thus all the water bounced off the caked filler and splashed black debris all over me! (Thank goodness for bleach!) Who could have thought particles of dust could make such an impenetrable wall.

I soaked, rinsed, sprayed, and soaked again. My sink and tubs have black rings, which I have yet to take care of, of gross goop to prove the process. After much effort, a sink that overflowed spilling dirty water all over my floor, three towels later, scorching water, and lots of physical agitating over a period of 30 mins, I finally had all three filters cleaned off and set for drying.  Seriously, lets hope the professionals have a better system than the one I created! ;)

A few days went by and I finally assembled my filters back into my AC unit. And, then for the first time, I spent a good 20 mins setting/messing with my controls to make my AC do what I wanted it to do. Yes, I have always been the gal that when she wakes, leaves for work, comes home, and later crawls into bed adjusts her AC unit. Not by lots of degrees, but rather I have never spent the time figuring out how to make my unit fully automated at the temperatures I would like to wake, live, and sleep in. I know, I know, I am a smart wonder! :)

I now report after a few days of a unit cleaned and a properly set device--MY LIVING ENVIRONMENT HAS IMPROVED! Probably just how the engineer envisioned the wonder of such a convenience could/would be.

Have I learned my/some lessons?! You bet I have! I now have a testimony of:

• Filters--CLEAN ones. The next time I think the tire store is trying to just get more money out of me by suggesting my filter needs to be replaced, I will now probably say yes for replacement every time I am asked.
• Cooking aprons would be a BIG PLUS to wear when spraying off full filters.
• Taking the time to program something that is meant for programing... a MUST. 
• Following through with simple impressions really does bless your life. **I already knew this testimony, however amazingly how I sometimes fight God on following through on simple, seemingly insignificant impressions. He has ways to bless my life, great and small if I will but obey. Remember the Dryer?! (Click here).

My life is so much like the filter and the ac unit. What am I allowing to pass through my filter. A filter is meant to catch "dust"particles and to allow good wholesome things pass through and make my air "life" all the better. Whatever I am allowing to come to my filter and stick, without proper use of the atonement timely/daily cleaning, can over time, cause a wall of caked up gunk that will not allow anything good, namely the spirit/light/Christ "air" to penetrate, let alone get through. And if those things are not getting through, then my life isn't filled with the sweetness of what God would have my life consistently filled with. Interestingly, even with a "caked" life, the very thing to uncake it is the same thing that I want going through it. **What a win, win.

God, the master programmer and engineer of life, has given me programs of scripture, prayer, study, church, sacrament, fasting, tithing... that when properly set in order and applied, will help my unit of mortal life--run smoothly! With such things my life can be on "auto" run--constantly out-putting blessings to fill the spaces of all aspects of my being.

Who would have thought... all this from a plugged filter! :)

All things testify there is a God!

I am grateful for clean, working, programmed correctly AC units!