An evening trip to Big Lots

I made an evening run to Big Lots, just three short days away from Christmas. Why didn't I prepare ahead of time!!! Agh!

When I arrived at the store, the check-out lines are long with other last-minute shoppers. It was still early in the evening, but the plan was to find what I needed, pay for the goods, then get home to finish preparing the gifts.

I spent probably around 40 minutes walking around the store to get the items on my list, and when I got to the check-out lane to leave, I was the only shopper there ready put my items on the counter, pay, and leave. There was only one cashier at a register, so I proceded to her lane and began putting all my items on the counter. I greeted her, smiled, and began stacking all my items, but she wasn't processing them at all. As my pile got taller and taller, she finally explained that she was waiting for the store manager to come log her in, or open the register for her, so she could begin processing the goods.

The store manager was nearby helping another customer. The manager was on the phone, off the phone, looking at the sales ad, back on the phone, talking to the questionning shopper, off the phone, talking to an employee, looking at the calendar, paging someone on the intercom system, and so on. But why was she NOT helping this cashier open up the register! My cashier was the only clerk there and now there was a LONG line of other ready-to-leave shoppers behind me...it shouldn't take this long!

This blond, sweet, patient cashier made small talk with me. She really was very kind. I tried to remain positive and patient and understanding because it really wasn't this cashier's fault the wait was so long, it was the manager's lack of priority, but the cashier never criticized her seemingly uncaring manager, she just smiled and encouraged me saying, 'it wouldn't be too long and she'd get me out of there real quick.'

I imagine I waited at that check-out lane for nearly 15 minutes, waiting for the manager to open the cash register for this cashier. In that LONG 15 minutes, this precious cashier and I made small talk. She asked me what I was going to to do "this", and how was I going to use "that", and I answered her questions in short answers. But what really got to me is when she asked me where my husband works. I suddenly had to think: had I been kind and patient? My husband is a pastor of a church...how had my attitude and behavior been? Was I a good ambassador for Central Community Church, and more importantly, for Christ? Would how I had acted and talked and treated this cashier encourage her to attend my church? I then answered her: he is a pastor at Central Community Church, on Maple road. She was familiar with this big church on Maple, even had a friend who attended there regularly. She then said: I think I'll come to your church and try it out.

This experience was a humbling test for me. Three days before Christmas when all the gifts would be opened, and I was at the store on a Monday night buying more gifts that had yet to be prepared and wrapped. The long wait was a test of my patience. It wasn't the cashier's fault that the manager hadn't opened her cash register, and it wasn't the cashier's fault I had waited 'till the last minute.

I hope I passed this test and that this cashier will visit our church. Maybe she's already been there...maybe not. If my attitude had been disagreeable...if I had been impatient...if I had sighed and complained about how hot I was getting with my coat on, waiting for so long, I doubt this woman would have looked at my example and said, "Wow! I want to go to her church!". No, she probably would have thought the opposite, never stepping into a church again.

As Christians, we are being watched and judged by others. I am not responsible for how others respond to me, but I am responsible for my own actions and behavior. In that moment of trial at the check out lane three days before Christmas, when this sweet cashier asked me where my husband works, I stopped and evaluated my behavior before I answered her question. I wanted to be a good witness for Jesus Christ, but I shouldn't have had to stop and think about it. My attitude and behavior should always be one that my Lord and Savior would be pleased with...especially around those who don't know Him, and that could be just about anyone, everyone, we come in contact with!

Colossians 4:6, "Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person. "

Teaching Point: Making Room for Jesus

Imagine it: Mary – fully pregnant – traveling on a donkey to her husband’s ancestral hometown. Why go to Bethlehem? It was a political decree to return to the family’s home to be counted – a census. Not too different from the census our own government makes today, but nowadays we can stay in the home we own! Back in the days of Jesus, they had to return to their ancestral home. Joseph was a descendant of King David, as was Mary, so they had to travel back to Bethlehem to be counted for the census. God used this royal decree to fulfill the prophecy written in Micah 5:2, “But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” When the three wise men came to King Herod, this was the verse the scribes recited to King Herod to substantiate what the wise men were saying.

From what I've read, the houses in Bethlehem are built on the slope of a limestone ridge. Many of these have a cave-like stable hollowed out in the limestone rock under the house. And…the rest of the story is familiar to us all: Joseph and Mary try to find a place to stay but there literally is “no room” for them anywhere, so they settle on a humble cave, where the homeowner’s animals were kept, to sleep and ultimately to give birth to the Savior of the world. What can we learn from this?

1. No person is too lowly or too “dirty” with sin for Jesus to come to. No matter how dark a persons’ past or how cold and unfeeling his heart is, Jesus will come into his heart, forgiving and cleansing him of all sin.

2. No matter how impossible our situation may be and no matter how unlikely we think it is for Jesus to show up, He will come to us and help IF we make room for Him.

I’ll be praying for each of you this week as you, like myself, busy yourself with the activities of Christmas: the shopping and wrapping; the school programs and church responsibilities; the stress of money, or expectations, or relationships. It’s all so “busy” and "crowded" and we sometimes don’t have room for Jesus, or worse don’t make room for Him. Allow Jesus to enter into all your Christmas activities this week and celebrate His birth with overflowing Joy that God is with us! Jesus is Emmanuel – literally “God with us”.

Teaching Point: Day - or maybe a week! - of Rest

This Sunday’s teaching: Genesis 2:1-3 (quote from a commentary): “When the Lord looked upon the completion of His creative work, He was moved with an emotion of deep delight and personal satisfaction. The phrase ‘it was very good’, Genesis 1:31, might be translated ‘completely perfect’. Everything in the universe from the smallest blade of grass to the largest star brought intense joy to His heart. The cosmos was harmonious and perfect with His beauty clothed upon it. The meaning of this passage is that God did rest from His work of creation; for the present He will refrain from creating anything new.”

I will be traveling to NW Indiana with my hubby & boys this weekend, visiting and celebrating Thanksgiving with my extended family. We leave Wednesday morning around 4 a.m. and will return Sunday evening. This is the first Sunday I’ve missed since early June and I confess it’s not easy for me to be gone. But it’s time I take a few days of rest from the work here so I can be renewed and refreshed upon returning. A day of rest is so important in the life of the believer.

I believe that as the Good Lord looks down upon you, His creation, He smiles and says, “Yes, it is very good!” Everything God creates is good and brings intense joy to He heart. He worked and worked and worked, for 6 days straight, then took a “day off” to enjoy all the beauty of His creation. Yes, it was completely perfect when He created it, and we are a far cry from being completely perfect today, but I thank God for His Gracious Son, Jesus Christ, who IS completely perfect, yet died with the weight of the world’s sin, my sin, upon Himself. The Bible teaches us that the Lord Jesus intercedes right now for us, an unholy people, to a Holy, Just, and Forgiving God.

I’ll be praying for each of you [my teachers & leaders] this week and especially Sunday morning, but I know God holds you all in the palm of His hand to care for you, love on you, and satisfy your every need. These children that come Sunday morning belong to Him…we’ve been entrusted with their care for just a few short hours (although it feels like a looooong morning!) each Sunday. Please don’t ever underestimate the difference you are making in the lives of these kids! I thank God for you, your supportive families, and the wonderful service you provide week after week, month after month.

Teaching Point: A Prepared Place

Genesis 2:8 says that God planted a garden in Eden. God created a beautiful park-like environment and there He put the man and woman he had formed. Lots of trees of varying types grew. Trees beautiful to the eye; trees with pleasing fruit to eat. Rivers ran through this garden so you can imagine the place being green, lush, rich, and vibrant! Vs. 15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” God created the garden and put Adam in the garden, and Adam had a job to do…to work it and take care of it. In the Hebrew, this reads “to cultivate and care for it.” God is very specific in man’s location. You see, God purposefully places people where they will grow. Adam’s environment was planned and planted by the Lord…and so is yours!

Be blessed this week, my dear friends! God has created you in His own image and has placed you exactly where He wants you to be! God has a purpose for placing you here and now. What work has God given you to do in your home, church, community, and world? Take care of and cultivate the environment God has placed you in – with your husband, children, family, church, and community.

Before Jesus left this earth, he spoke to his followers these words: I am going to prepare a place for you. You cannot come now, but you will follow later. Jesus is now in heaven, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and He has prepared a place for those who love Him and believe that He is God's one and only begotton Son! Just the like the Garden of Eden that was prepared for Adam and Eve, heaven has now been prepared for us.

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8

Semi-Homemade Cookie Sandwiches

Here's my version of a semi-homemade dessert:

1 package of Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies
1 jar of creamy peanut butter

Take two cookies. Spread peanut butter on one, top with the other to make a fudge stripe cookie sandwich, and eat.

Delicious!

As close as my own breath...

I heard a sister-in-the-Lord say once long ago: she prayed that God would be as close to her as her own breath. I've not forgotton these words over the years, as I wish that for myself - that God would be as close to me as my own breath...that I would FEEL Him and be aware of Him as I am my own breath!

I'm always a bit concientious about my breath. I keep peppermint gum nearby to cover the coffee breath that comes late in the morning. Who doesn't? The check-out lanes at any store are filled with all sorts of gum and mints to cover bad breath. Even Starbucks sells a breath-freshening mint. It's a part of life! In fact, I realized we've become so preoccupied with our breath when a friend offered me a mint one day. I paused, covered my mouth and said, "Do I need it?" She replied, "It's a mint, not a hint." Ok. Got it.

As I prepared for Sunday's teaching this week, I was again reminded of just how intimate breath is. This Sunday as the teacher's open God's Word and teach the children, the kids will learn that God breathed His own breath through the nostrils of Adam and brought him to life. Adam was just a life-less shape formed from the dust and mud of the ground, UNTIL God breathed life into Adam by breathing into Adams nostrils (Genesis 2:7). Using a Strong's Biblical dictionary, this verse can actually be read: "and Jehovah Elohim molded, as a potter, a human being from the powdered dust of the soil and puffed/inflated into his nose the puff or wind/vital breath of fresh, strong life and ruddy human being became a fresh, alive breathing creature." Wow! God's breath was so close to Adam it filled Adam's lungs and brought him to life. THAT's pretty close! It teaches me that only God's breath can bring to life those things that are life-less!

Read Ezekiel 37. Verse 5 says, "Thus says the LORD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live." And they did!

Jesus breathed. John 20:22, "And saying this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is given by God and through the Bible has been called by many names: Counselor, Living Water, and many more. To me, here in this passage, I see the Holy Spirit as being, or coming from, the Lord Jesus. He breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Now, the Holy Spirit didn't actually came into the disciples until Acts 2, but this act by the Lord Jesus Christ in John 20 shows me that God's breath equals the Holy Spirit. God's breath brought life to Adam. God's breath brought life to the dead, dry bones in Ezekiel. And God's breath brings life today, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Joyce Meyer says, "You may feel as if your life is no better than the dead, dry bones described by the prophet in Ezekiel 37:1-4. Your circumstances may be so dead that they stink. Your hope may seem lost, but God has a way out. As this passage continues, the prophet does as God instructs, and he sees God totally revive and bring breath and spirit back into what once were dead, dry bones (37:5-10). The same can happen to you. God can revive things that have been dry, brittle, and dead in your life."

As I am aware of my own breath, I pray that I also will be aware of God's breath - the Holy Spirit living within me. As I breathe each and every day, I pray that God will use me to be a source of life and encouragement to others who are hurting; to those who feel like the walking dead; to those who just are too tired, too weary, and too burdened by the trials and temptations of the world. May we all feel God's closeness, His breath, as close as our own breath.

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6

Happy Birthday, #91!

Dear Grandpa:

I wish you a happy 91st birthday today - Saturday, November 8th!

Born in Joliet, Illinois in 1917. Who was president back in 1917? Were you born at home? Who was there to help take care of you and your mother, Great Grandma Buehler? How old were you when your parents divorced? Tell me the story again of the time when you were a hard working 8-year old, taking a bucket of water to the workers building a high bridge, tripping and falling? Somehow, praise God, you caught yourself on the side of the bridge before spiraling to the bottom of the pit where death awaited.

I see you in this picture, ducking so your photo won't be taken. That's not like you. You've never hidden from the camera. In fact, you've always been very photogenic, especially when Grandma was standing next to you. I actually have many pictures of you, but this one is the only one I could find on my laptop. Aunt Diane and Isaac are very handsome behind you, and Uncle Jack is busy at the grill. This familiar backyard in Crown Point, Indiana is full of green trees, geranium flowers, and many Buehler family members.

I have many fond thoughts of you and your home, Grandpa. As a child living in central Indiana with my family, I loved visiting you and Grandma, falling asleep as we travelled and waking up to see the telephone lines above the train tracks along Highway 231. That's when I knew we were almost there! I always cried when it was time to leave, but Grandma would give me a little bag of candy and I'd stop crying. Funny - chocolate still comforts me today when I'm sad. I loved the big back yard with all the tall trees. Loved walking through the tall grass and wild Black-eyed Susans, down the long path, to the pond where my dad would tell me stories of riding his horse, or ice skating on the frozen pond in the winter. I got stung in the eye by a bee when Tim and I and Brian (from next door) were messing around on the side of the garage too close to a bee hive. But the bees next door offered delicious honey for our toast, and honey candy for our sweet tooth. It was this same garage that burned down from lightening, taking the life of our station wagon, your truck, and the precious pet, Dutchess.

I fondly remember watching television at your home in the evenings. You'd finish your meal with a familiar dessert: jello topped with a little milk. Before letting me turn on the TV to watch the Donny & Marie Show, you'd make me have a bite of your jello & milk. Never been one of my favorites. But then you'd shower me with compliments telling me I was more beautiful than Marie Osmond, and I would grow up to be more successful than her. Although I was in a difficult transition at that time of going through puberty and losing my mother to cancer, you were the one who saw through the present and into the future. I haven't forgotten your encouragement!

You were so in love with Grandma and weren't shy to show it. What a wonderful example of love that endures. You gave Grandma a kiss when you woke up...when you left for work...when you came home...when you went to the store to buy some milk...when you got out of your leather recliner for any reason, you planted a kiss on Grandma and never complained about kissing those big lips with the Mary Kay orange lipstick.

You love oreos and milk; pot roast and potatoes; leftover chili and turkey salad; spaghetti and meatballs; late night popcorn and pepsi. You mastered the art of having heated political conversations then agreeing to disagree and parting as friends. You have always been financially generous, even paying for part of my wedding in 1987 when Greg and I didn't have any money.

One tradition we carry through today is playing games with our kids and extended family. When staying with you, I loved searching through the game closet and finding a familiar game we could all play together, sometimes staying up till midnight to finish the game. No television or electronics of any kind - just food, fun, family, and fellowship.

Coming to stay at your home as an adult with my own family has always been such a pleasant and comforting reminder of everything good. You're home has been the one place I could come home to where there was no strife, anger, or ugliness. Although the loss of Grandma still threatens me when I come through the door, I savor the familiar smells and sounds of your home that remind me of many precious memories!

Happy 91st Birthday, Grandpa! I love you! See you in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving!

November 4 - Election Day

I read an appropriate quote in my Barbara Johnson daily calendar today: "Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday - but not nearly enough."

We have all been affected in some way over the past two years as we prepared for this 2008 Presidential election. We've all had conversations with our families, spouses, and dear friends. We have forwarded YouTube videos, cartoons, and letters from leaders we respect. We've seen the television commercials, watched news coverage, and maybe even some of us have had heated discussions with the other side as we passionately express why we will vote for the man we believe will be the best leader for America over the next four years.

We've worried about what will happen today - Election Day. But does that worry in any way help the results of this election?

God's Word says,

Psalm 75:6-7, "No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another."

This Election night, many of us will celebrate. Many others will be sullen and downcast. Us? We're having a party for five: grilled steaks, pasta with a mushroom and gorgonzola sauce, romaine salad, and apple pie for dessert. I've cast my vote already, as has Greg. Whatever happens tonight will be what God has allowed to happen. I'm not worried; I trust in God and God alone for my future and my family's future, no matter which candidate will be celebrating.

We live in a great country where this day, November 4, is a celebrated freedom we have been privileged to participate in for greater than 200 years. May God continue to bless these United States of America!

We've all said it: "I'm so tired!"

So the expression goes. We're all familiar with it; we've all used it!

I arrived at church yesterday afternoon to finish getting materials ready for Sunday morning and then attend the evening worship service. I asked a co-worker how she was doing and she responded with a variation of "I'm so tired!". I encouraged her and then moved on about my business not thinking of it again.

This morning I was back at the church getting ready for the crazy morning, and I heard another co-worker ask this same person how she was and she again responded with the same variation of, "I'm so tired!" Hmmmm.

There have been many responses I have wanted to respond with when asked, "How are you?". Here are just a few:

"I feel like crap!"
"I'm frustrated that more people don't volunteer!"
"I have severe cramps and hurt in this entire general area."
"I'm emotionally drained!"
"How can you ask me that when you're walking away?"
"Do you always wear your hair like that?"
"I'm worried about my son."
"I don't want to talk about it!"

but instead...I smile and then usually respond with a variation of: "Doing well!" Yes, it may be stretching the truth a bit at that moment, but will it make any difference if I tell them I ache, or I am sad, or I'm tired and really didn't want to get out of bed this morning??

Below are a few Bible verses that I desperately need to memorize (again) and repeat about every 20 seconds throughout the day:

"Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch at the door of my lips." (Psalms 141:3)
and
"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any virtue, and if any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

Maybe the next time I'm asked, "How are you?", and I'm tempted to reply in the same way as my tired coworker, I'll instead reply like Greg's Uncle Tom:

"Thankful!"; "Forgiven!"; "Outstanding!"; "Better than I deserve!" ...ESPECIALLY when I'm so tired!

Praying for a "D"

We really aren't asking for much...just a passing "D" grade on Lewis' report card. He really cannot afford anything less than a "D" or he runs the risk of not graduating next May, the end of his senior year.

It's been a very long 12 years in school for Greg, me, and our oldest son. Classroom settings are uncomfortable and boring for many children, especially boys - so during the school year, at semester's end, report cards have caused a lot of friction, lectures, meetings with teachers, but also words of encouragement to try harder.

Grades are all these kids are measured on; and not everyone is cut out for the typical school schedule with long hours in chairs and multiple-choice test questions.

I believe Lewis will one day be a very accomplished hard-working adult, but for now we're just pray for a "D"!

I HATE SPIDERS!

I sent my husband a text message today even while I knew he was in staff meeting: "I admit it: I ABSOLUTELY HATE SPIDERS!"

Yes, I know this confession is not an emergency 911 call for many of you, causing you to stop, drop, and roll, but for those who don't know me very well, here's the news flash: I am absolutely, confidently, and certainly reliably freaked out over SPIDERS - not the tiny ones, but the big fat fast wolf spiders!

I've not always been this way. When the boys were young and watching me ever so closely, I was cool about spiders and would gulp down my hesitency just to make a good impression on the boys. I'd kill the darn ugly thing without them ever knowing my inner caution, but now that they're older and I can simply call for any of them to come to my rescue, I hardly ever kill a spider! There always seems to be someone available to rescue me!

Well...not today. Before getting showered and dressed for the day today, I ventured down to the basement to make sure the sump pump was working properly after all the rain we've had over the past two days. I bent over, touched the tip of the plunger that rises and then causes a trigger to empty the sump, but the tip of this lever suddenly moved, startling me. It was a small wolf spider trying to get out of my way, and I screamed! I decided to just let the sump pump do it's thing, turned around to exit the small unfinished part of our basement, and there was another spider, a bit larger than the first. Startled, I screamed again. Then - the monster of them all - a ginormous wolf spider right near the door where the baseboard meets the wall. It was huge! I screamed yet again, performed a little temper-tantrum, tried to think of a way to claw through the wall board to the room next door so I didn't have to get so close to the darn ugly thing near the door, then called for the dog who likes to bite and kill the spiders. Jacki-wacki didn't see the stupid arachnid despite all my pointing ("No, not my finger...Over there, dog!"), so I ran through the door. It definitely was less painless to run through the open door then to stand there watching the gross thing and yelling at the dog to turn around and sniff higher (as if she understand English!!!) AGH! I wasn't wearing shoes to stomp on any of the spiders. I was alone so there was no boy to help me kill 'em.

Once safely back upstairs, I wrote Greg the confession over a text message and reminded myself that the pest control sprayer was coming later in the week.

When Cameron, my 15-year old, got home from school, I bribed him with money to go back down to the basement to find any and all spiders and kill them ($.10 per spider). He and my nearly 13-year old son, Isaac, did just that. I think I talked my way out of paying him money by agreeing to make his favorite dessert. Haven't heard what that dessert will be but it's gonna be extra sweet for this precious boy who isn't afraid of spiders, and loves to protect his momma.

BTW - after I encouraged the boys to move all the furniture in the basement to make sure no spiders were lurking underneath, waiting to come out when we're down there watching movies, he did find a small, dead brown recluse. YIKES!

I don't use the word hate very often...but I definitely, absolutely, confidentally HATE SPIDERS!

Blast from My Past

Wow! Who would have thought!?!

Greg went to the Wichita airport last Saturday night to meet and greet Team #1 as they arrived from Uganda, Africa after a 2-week long missions trip. As he was leaving, he turned around when he heard his name called. There, calling his name, was Amy Murrey (pictured with me on the right).

Amy and her family were stationed in Stuttgart, Germany with the Air Force when Greg and I and boys were living on the Germany economy as American ex-pats from August 1997-February 1998. We met Amy and her wonderful family at the only English-speaking church in the area. She became my instant friend. She became my link to speaking English, eating poptarts and Kraft macaroni & cheese (military commissary), watching Young and the Restless, and playing as well as shopping with friends. They were and continue to be wonderful people!

Amy and her family relocated to Memphis, TN 9 years ago and have lived there ever since. Amy and her son, Joseph, were on the same flight from Memphis to Wichita, KS with our Team #1 just returning from Uganda, having had a layover in Memphis. As Greg greeted and meeted the team, Amy saw Greg and made contact.

Greg called me as he went to get the car and said, "You're NOT going to believe who I just saw!" (How do you answer that!!!!) When he said, "Amy Murrey", my mind began to turn and move through the past and quickly remembered the face with the name with true amazement. It has been 10.5 years since we embraced and hugged goodbye, yet one does not forget the face nor the person. Amy became my best friend - my sister in Christ - when we lived 5000 miles away from everything familiar. Amy was a gift from the Lord to me when I grieved for everything American.

After staying up late with Amy and her son in our home, here in Wichita, Kansas, last Saturday night, and another day together on Sunday, it truly was a blast from my past. The voices are the same. The laughter is the same. Our values and politics are the same. All that shows that has changed are more wrinkles around the eyes, gray hairs on our heads (just me...Amy looks just as young!), and the children being taller and smarter than we are!

God is just SO good to arrange such a supernatural reunion. To open our eyes and ears to see and hear the blessing he wants to give us. I thank Him so much for my friend, Amy, whom I've not seen for 10.5 years. (Read back through my posting on going to Paris...Amy and her family took care of Lewis while we were away.) Never did we think God would arrange a reunion in a small airport in the middle of the United States on a late Saturday night.

Simple Blessings

A shipment of Colorado peaches came into the church not too long ago. Someone had ordered them and couldn't pay for them, or maybe they changed their minds. I don't know the story. What I do know: there were some peaches from Colorado that needed to be bought, taken home, and eaten.

I REALLY wanted to buy some of these AMAZING peaches, but really didn't want to spend any money. They're not cheap. So I didn't respond. Even my husband was pleased that I didn't buy any. Local peaches are much cheaper, but not nearly as juicy and delicious! I would settle for what we had.

A couple nights ago as I was leaving church, my friend Debbie had a tray of these peaches. She walked by me and I secretely began drooling over them. I stopped, gasped for breath, and said, "Peach Pie!". It was a reminder to an event that happened about a year ago when we came to visit the church. I brought a peach pie made from Colorado peaches to Wichita to share with Debbie and her family. Yes - it made the long trip on the interstate even with me constantly whining to my family - "Watch out for the pie!".

Debbie hadn't forgotten about that pie from last year, so she turned over to me the complete tray of peaches and encouraged me to make a peach pie. Debbie had a lot on her plate and the last thing she needed to do was take time to prepare the peaches for pie. I had the time to clean up and prepare the peaches, so the exchange was made and I walked out of the church with a tray of large, colorful, juicy Colorado peaches.

I made the pie the next morning and took it to work to share with Debbie. I froze 8 cups of prepared peach slices for Debbie to use in the future. And we got to enjoy a couple peaches for breakfast.

God is so good to me to allow me to still have some peaches after not paying for them. Debbie got her peach pie, with another potential pie in the freezer, and she didn't have to take the time to prepare the peaches. We all got what we wanted.

The point is I knew I wasn't supposed to spend the money, even though I really wanted to. God blessed me and gave me my heart's desire to have just a few of those yummy peaches, and I was able to help a busy friend in the process. God is just so good to us! When we give up what we want God offers us simple blessings in exchange.

Thank you, God!

Looking Back

Reading about Abraham in the Old Testament is a favorite story for me. I love Abraham and his amazing, incredible faith in what God would do for him and his family. Here God calls him out of his homeland and tells Abraham to go to a new, foreign land he'd never been to or seen before. Abraham had no map, but He had God.

I've caught myself twice in the last 24 hours saying something about my "homeland" (Colorado). As I've said before, when we tossed around the idea of moving to Wichita, Kansas, I had to look on a map just to see where Wichita was! I had no idea where this new land was that God was calling me to. I had lived in Colorado 12.5 years and it had definitely become my "home"land.

Yesterday I jokingly confessed to my friends that I still had my Colorado driver's license, just in case I was called back home. Today, I told a friend that I still have my cell phone number as a Fort Collins, CO number (970 area code) because it's the one thing that still helps me feel connected to Colorado.

Can you imagine Abraham living in Canaan, the land God had called him to, the Promised Land, yet he still sighs, looking back towards the land of Ur, wondering what life would have been like "back home"? Ludicrous! I believe Abraham would have been dishonoring to God by not appreciating the present. What makes Abraham's testimony so strong is that he DID NOT look back!

I feel I am dishonoring God by looking back at what we left behind. I sincerely need to stop looking behind, over my shoulder at what I've left behind and keep my eyes on the horizon -the future! (Remember the story of Lot's wife who looked at what lied behind her? ... sure don't want that same outcome!)

God is going to do great things here in Wichita. I only need to thank Him for where I am and appreciate where He's going to take me next. With God, it's got to be a more promising future than the wonderful past I've left behind.

My Boy, Lewis - What I Want

All three of them are born from Greg and I, yet they are all so different.

Lewis - he has been texting me from school this morning.

"Can u call the school code tell them to tell ms zipfel that i can watch the movie?" (don't know what "code" means...)

I answer, "What movie?" (he obviously forgot to have me sign a permission slip....)

Lewis: "O the movie is kite runner" (so I check online to see what this movie is about...)

I call the school and leave a phone message for Ms. Zipfel. I write Lewis to tell him I took care of it.

Lewis: "Thanks mom love u!"

I write him back to remind him to go see his guidance counselor about a class he's supposed to be taking to graduate on time in May.

Lewis: "Ok o i got my school pictures!" (Do you think he'll remember to go see Mr. Burman, the school counselor?)

Lewis: "Ill show u when i get home luv v" (I think he means "u").

Lewis is a 17-year old sweetie. Has a great smile after getting those braces off. He's not on any organized sports team, but he's everybody's 1st pick on the open field. He is intently interested in geography, history, and now politics. He is NOT interested in homework, cleaning up after himself, and eating healthfully.

Back in kindergarten, Ms. Lauer said, "Lewis marches to the beat of a different drummer." How true. Spoken like a prophet. I know that God has a great plan for Lewis, and Lewis will do well in whatever area he decides to focus on. But I wonder if we, Greg and I, have created an environment where he won't want to leave? Have we made living at home so comfortable that he won't try life on his own? When I was his age I hated being at home! Lewis hardly leaves, unless it's for school or work.

The move to Wichita was a hard one for Lewis especially last year. He left behind quite a few (hundred) friends, as Greg and I did as well. I wonder if Lewis might still be trying to "find" himself here - which social circles he belongs and is accepted in, how far to venture in a city four times the size of the one we left, etc.

As a mother, I want what's best for Lewis. But also - I want Lewis to want what's best for Lewis. I want Lewis surrounded by friends that bring out the best in him. I want Lewis to ...

But it's not always about what I want... It's about what God wants and how Lewis, and his mother, will submit. The Bible tells me that God has great plans for Lewis; plans to prosper him, not to harm him (Jer. 29:11). The Bible says no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9). The Bible tells me that Lewis is wonderfully made...each day Lewis lives has been determined by God Himself in advance (Psalm 139). The Bible tells me that God has a job description for Lewis to do good things (Eph. 2:10).

I believe Lewis will always march to the beat of a different drummer, to a sound different and maybe unfamiliar to those around him. And I hope his dad and I will be right there on the sides of the parade encouraging him and spurring him on to be the best he can be, whether he's living at home or not. That's truly what I want...

The Annoying Head-on-a-Wall

The family dog - our sweet precious Jacki-Wacky. Seriously she is bored nearly all the time so she spins to catch her tail. She barks. She growls. She whines. She absolutely LOVES her kennel where she spends her time when home alone, and when we've all gone to bed. There is one thing, however, that drives her insane: Critters. Even BIG critters!

We have a deer head on the wall in Cameron's bedroom. It was killed by a hunter-friend of ours many years ago. The meat long ago ingested and digested. Because this friend has MANY trophy heads and body mounts, this one particular mounted head didn't make it into the trophy room so it was laid on the floor of their basement home office. While working for these friends in their home office years ago, I constantly and consistently tripped over this deer head over and over. One day, around Cameron's 13th year birthday, I asked my friend Randy if Cameron could put this head on the wall of his bedroom, to give it a proper home. Randy agreed as he loves all three of my boys (they call Randy "Uncle Fester"). The deer head was promoted then from Uncle Fester's basement office floor to Cameron's newly painted bedroom wall. The precious deer head moved with us to Wichita as well last year and is still proudly mounted in Cameron's bedroom.

We've had the deer head for 2.5 years now...and the dog is still bothered by it. Just moments ago, I was again startled by a familiar sound: I'm sitting in the main floor hearth room and above me I begin to hear growling, snarling, barking, and spinning sounds. You see, Jacki looked up and "found" this head AGAIN! She has seen it for years, but something stirs within her occasionally and she must go into Cameron's bedroom on the 2nd floor and begin yelling at this dead head for no apparant reason. It just bothers her.

I'm home alone. I didn't make any deer animal sounds (that would be interesting). There is no smell. So why did she go up there just now bothered by and threatening the dead deer head AGAIN!

Maybe dogs aren't too different from humans. There are things in my past that for no reason, enter my mind and cause my blood pressure to rise or my pulse to race or my anger to burn. Why? What was it that triggered my mind and my memory to think or dwell upon something that makes me "spin" in my mind, "bark" at my family, "growl" at those who are only trying to help?

Maybe I'm bored....

Or maybe I just need to get over it! If it's not going to go away, then I better learn to live with it. If it can't be removed, then quit looking at it! If it belongs to someone else, then stop picking it up!

It's fun to look at my neurotic dog, try to diagnose her, and even learn a few lessons from her. As much as I complain about this crafty canine, she is a lovely part of our family. I believe we're all a little neurotic...just like her. Spinning, growling, barking, and snarling at those things in life that aren't real anymore.

Most of the time these things that bother us are better left dead. Let's stop mounting them in places where we remember them, and instead give them a proper burial, never to be seen (or heard from) again.

Sunday Reflections

I absolutely love a hot cup of tea in the evening. While living in Colorado, we were close enough to the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder for it to become a great location for our family to shop at to stock up on our favorite teas, as well as to take out-of-town family members when they came to see us for a lengthy visit.

My senior pastor referred in a recent sermon series that difficult, sometimes surprising situations are "Hot Water Experiences." If you put a tea bag into some hot water what you'll get is hot tea that is perfectly matched to the flavored tea bag it was steeped from. The same is true with life experiences. How we react to situations is a direct link to what we've been "steeped" in. (and there have been a few types of tea I wouldn't want to taste again...as well as tasteless reactions and responses I would rather forget!)

This morning I had many lovely smiles and hugs from several preschoolers, dirty diapers, chocolate pudding stained on 2-year olds clothes, new flooring in one room that made using it impossible, excellent dependable volunteers, but a few surprises, some not so fun, as well. I ALWAYS come home from church and relive the morning in my mind; analyzing what I could have done better...or how I'll handle a similar situation the next time around. I ask myself - what was the result of this hot water experience? Was it pleasant?

I pray that I stay steeped in God's Word each and every day, so that when the hot water comes on, the result will be a pleasant, not bitter, hot cup of tea for those around me to enjoy. There are going to be surprises each and every day. It's how I handle those surprises that will leave a lasting taste in our mouths.

36 Hours in Paris

I was speaking with a coworker today about an upcoming trip she and her husband have to The Big Apple in December. Her husband has always wanted to go to New York, and with one free plane ticket and some usable points at a Hilton hotel, his dreams are about to come true. They have booked the trip to New York City, and they only have to pay for the wife's plane ticket. The time they'll have to tour New York: 36 hours.

Greg and I had 36 hours once to tour a city I had always dreamed of visiting - Paris, France. It started back in the early 80's when I was in high school French class. I was in my 2nd year of French language and was desperate to run away from home. I had many desperate thoughts during that time of my life and running away where nobody from home could ever find me was the easiest and less fatal option. Common sense won, however, and I never did leave home, but it was in my heart that one day I'd make it there.

Fast forward to the late 90's. Greg and I and the boys are living in Boeblingen, Germany for what was supposed to be a 1-year assignment. One year turned into a possible two year assignment, which after 5 months into our foreign assignment were told we would only be in Germany for one more month. YIKES! I had decided and had the support of my husband NOT to leave Germany without seeing Paris so we had to get b-u-s-y! We found accomodations for the three boys and with the help of a travel agency, booked two beds on the midnight sleeper train, as well as one night hotel stay downtown Paris. We literally had 36 hours in Paris. The adventure began!

If words could adequately express the time Greg and I had in Paris, I would use them here; but words do not tell the complete story. It truly was magical - the trip of a lifetime. The sleeper car was very interesting. Six beds in a cabin smaller than my bathroom. Greg and I got the last two beds available in our cabin, the two top bunks, and once we laid down our noses literally were inches from the ceiling. Good thing it was dark in there!

We arrived at the Paris train station at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. We made our way to the hotel (can't remember how we found it) and surprisingly were let into our room! After a quick change of clothes, we were out the door to see all we could possibly see. Fortunately, we had done our homework so we had maps, subway plans, and a definite agenda. Nothing would stop us, and nothing did!

The trip was all I had hoped it would be and so much more. Observations: There really is love in the air. We breathed it and experienced it. DO NOT eat the sheep kidney. It looks like a piece of poo on a plate! Enjoy a sidewalk cafe' in the drizzling rain. Arrive at the Louvre before it opens and RUN to the Mona Lisa before anybody else has an opportunity to step in front of your camera. Check out the cross walk signs - a check mark to move forward and cross the street, then a man with his hands on his hips with his legs spread apart to discourage you from crossing the street. Don't restaurant hop - we had appetizers at one restaurant and dinner at another and were given the "stink eye" at the first restaurant. Wear very sensible shoes! OUCH! Buy an umbrella there so you have something practical to bring back to the states. And don't take pictures of the police officers in the subway. They carry BIG guns and don't like their picture taken.

I'm excited for my friend who is accompanying her husband to New York City. They'll have approximately 36 hours to play and I know they'll accomplish a lot. What's so beautiful here is that my friend is excited FOR her husband. This has been his dream and it is now becoming a reality for the both of them. My dream was to visit Paris, France. When the dream was originally formed, I was a miserable teenager who was just trying to find an escape from reality. What God gave me, however, was 36 hours in Paris with a lovely man to share it with.

For you - love your life! Do the things that you've always wanted to do, and do them with someone you love. Thank God for these wonderful experiences. Then encourage someone else to enjoy the next 36 hours!

LOST THEN FOUND

Last night we had just finished eating dinner and were enjoying a family movie in the basement family room. I touched my diamond rings on my left ring finger, and felt something unusually sharp and pointed. Dreadfully, I looked at my left hand and I saw the empty hole where my mother's diamond once sat within four white gold prongs. The diamond was gone. The prongs were extended and deformed. There was a black hole. We stopped the movie and I showed my husband. Silence penetrated the room as we all realized the hopelessness of the situation. What do we do? Where do we begin to look?

I began asking myself questions - When was the last time I looked at my left hand (yesterday). Where had I been and what I had done in the last 24 hours? The answers to these two questions were endless! I had cleaned showers and toilets, 4 of them, been at the church preparing the classrooms and gone to Worship, fixed several meals in the kitchen, organized bills, played games with friends, been to Sams Club, stripped beds and washed sheets, walked around the outside of the house showing my youngest son which weeds needed to be pulled, etc.! Maybe an easier question would have been where HADN'T I been! The options on where this 35-year old expensive diamond could have been were absolutely endless! The diamond could be anywhere!

The diamond is important to me in that it belonged to my mother. She died when she was only 34 years old, passing away in a hospital bed at home in 1977 with the ring still on her finger. When my Dad eventually gave it to my younger sister, Charlotte, she in turn gave it to me as the first born daughter. The yellowed hospital tape was still wrapped around the silver-colored rings - tape that had been wrapped on to ensure my mother's rings would stay on her ever shrinking fingers. She's gone to be with the Lord now, and the rings have been with me on my left hand next to the rings my husband gave me for many years .

What makes the rings precious to me is that they belonged to someone I seem to forget more and more as the years go by. I have vague memories of her busy-ness, as she worked and took care of family of five. She was an awesome cook - everything was homemade! She was a registered nurse. She cleaned the bathroom sink every day with Comet cleaner. She sewed Halloween costumes for all of us and hosted the neighborhood parties for families. She tolerated my love for Donny Osmond and Shaun Cassidy. I loved the way she sang at church and prayed at the table on Sunday afternoons. I even remember trying to pray at our Sunday dinner lunch exactly the same way she would pray, anticipating her every word, only to be disappointed when she prayed something else. Darn!

Through my teen years, it was VERY difficult for me to hear others speak even the fondest of memories about my mother. I would always cry. You see, I LOST my mother to a dreadful disease. It took her life. But then I FOUND someone closer than any kiss my mother could ever give me - I found a deep and abiding love and relationship with Jesus Christ!

My mother wasn't able to take the diamond with her to heaven, as I won't. But it's a precious memory of her that I am gladly able to wear today. I thank God in heaven for the things in our lives that are seemingly lost, for they cause us to pray and trust in Him. Sometimes the "lost" things in our lives are found within seconds, as this diamond was - other instances may take a lifetime.

Last night, Greg had instantly prayed we'd find the precious stone...I had been hopeless from the moment I realized I'd walked thousands of steps in many places throughout the day. Within a few seconds time I had realized the diamond to be lost, however, I found it on the carpet just below where I was standing.

Whoever may be reading this - I share a favorite scripture from Romans (15:13)- "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him; so that you may overflow with joy by the power of the Holy Spirit."

I believe that in God's economy, nothing is ever really lost. My mother isn't lost - I know exactly where she is. She's with the Lord in heaven. The diamond wasn't lost - I only had to open my eyes and look down, and there it was on the carpeted floor beneath me. I pray the same for you. May the "lost" things of this moment be "found" as you pray and trust in Him!

God's Timing is Perfect!

I am so proud of my husband! Click here to hear him preach. We have three services each weekend at church; the recording here is the 3rd of the three times that my hubby was blessed to be able to deliver the Word of God to the congregation. It will only take about 25 minutes to watch, or listen. I like to watch him. Maybe you will too. He's got a great teaching style and this sermon is packed with great stuff!

Greg and I met during my senior year at college in Anderson, Indiana - 1987. He was in the process of a divorce and his pregnant soon-to-be ex-wife had returned months earlier to her family and homeland of Germany. It was a tough time for him and everyone involved. In fact, I was a friend of Greg's younger sister, Jenny, who also attended the same college. Before meeting Greg, I remember her telling me about how sad she was that her brother was getting a divorce. I think she may have even asked me to pray for him! I felt bad for her, him, and their family. I had not experienced divorce in the family before. Although I had seen Greg in the computer lab at the college (one of his part time jobs), it was his sister Jenny who introduced us. The rest, as they say, is history.

My dad's deepest desire was for me to attend this Christian college where my mother had received her nursing degree many years before, and get married to a pastor (he told me those exact words). When I informed my Dad that I was engaged to a divorced computer operator and father of one, and would move to San Jose, California - well, let's just say it's not what he wanted for his daughter, and he told me so.

Jump many years into the future, 20 years later, and you can now see that my husband is an ordained pastor, working at Central Community Church as Executive Pastor, and was able to preach before the multitudes his heart's desire - the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Son of God.

What I'm trying to say? God knows the desire of our hearts (Psalm 37:4 ). We don't always get what we want when we want it. Sometimes it takes 20 years...possibly not even in our lifetime! (like Bible hero Moses who only got a glimpse of the Promised land from a distance, but was not able to enter it, even though it was the desire of his heart to do so. Deut. 3:27. God had chosen Joshua to take the people, not Moses.)

What I know is that God is never late...He's never early...He's always on time! Just like you can't rush a baby's growth in his mother's womb...and you can't cause the corn to grow any faster than the weather conditions allow...and you can't wish for the bird's egg to crack open in the nest before it's due time. God's timing is perfect. In these 20 years since Greg and I got married, we have had many, MANY life changes that only God can ordain, create, and enjoy. It took a long time for Greg and I both to be ready for Greg's ordination, and now pastoral position.

My Dad was blessed to get the desire of his heart, and to see it while he's still living. May we all be a little more patient - not getting anything too early, or too late. But right on time!

I Laughed Until I Cried

Has this very strange experience ever happened to you? It happened to me yet again tonight. I'm watching a movie upstairs in the den while Greg and the boys are being ever-so-serious watching 'Braveheart' downstairs in the basement. Because I CANNOT tolerate the blood and gore (it makes me cry), I watch chick-flicks instead that strangely sometimes, make me cry. Ha! Tonight was one of those nights.

I absolutely love the movie 'Sahara' with Matthew McConaughey. So I rented 'How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days', which stars Kate Hudson and (guess who) - Matthew McConaughey. At one point in the movie (scene 12 - Our Family Album, in case you really want to know), I laughed so hard I cried. In fact, I had to STOP the movie, go to the bathroom, and still I was laughing! In the bathroom! It totally cracked me up! The tears running down my cheeks were completely silly and unexpected.

I remember a distinct time when Cameron cried because he was laughing so hard, many years ago. He was very confused by the feeling, and asked us why he was crying when he actually had been laughing. Greg and I reassured him, but being that Cameron requires understandable answers to EVERY question and sorts of confusion, we talked that feeling/sensation until it was DEAD! Agreeably, it is a strange sensation - to laugh until you cry.

Tears have come unexpectedly many times for me in my life. Sometimes it's been because I've been laughing uncontrollable, but there have been other times as well...

...like when Greg has been so gentle and tender, and I experienced true love for the first time.

...like when the Lord has shown me my past sin, and I've been so sorry and then truly repentant.

...like when I hurt a friend to the soul, when I should have been unconditionally loving.

...like when my mother was lowered into the ground and I saw a family member look at me, at the age of 12, with incredible pity.

...and then visiting this grass-covered gravesite as an adult, missing many good years with my mom.

...like when I realized God had been close by me, had never left me, yet I accused Him of forgetting me.

...like when I had to get on a bus to travel to the airport, flying to Indiana to attend my beloved Grandmas funeral, leaving my husband and boys behind.

...like when my boys were very young babies and I couldn't help but look at their precious faces, lying in their crib, fully realizing their innocence and dependence.

...like when someone I sincerely trusted deeply and unfairly hurt someone I love.

...and when Greg was laid-off from Hewlett-Packard, two weeks before Christmas (and then God turning it into one of the best experiences of our married life!)

There have been many times when I've cried unexpectedly, for whatever reason, yet I know the Lord has saved each tear I have shed (Psalm 56:8). He is SO precious to me, as I am to Him. Precious enough that He would capture my every tear in a bottle. I can't thank Him enough for the tears He gives me to express my innermost feelings, especially when they come upon me...unexpectedly.

Thursdays - My Fav!

I love Thursdays. It's got to be my favorite day of the week!

I don't work at the church on Fridays, but I do work on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings, as well as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Wednesday night, and Thursday.

You might logically think that Friday's are my favorite day of the week, but they're not because I'm cleaning, and I'm washing, and I'm organizing, and I'm driving, and so on.

Today is Thursday. Today was a great day! I LOVED today! Why?

1. I got my church classroom bins ready for Sunday morning - ACCOMPLISHMENT!

2. I laughed with my boss, a lot - JOY!

3. I had ice cream with all the toppings at 1:30 this afternoon in the office break room because the office fridge will be cleaned out tomorrow - Friday - and we needed to eat the ice cream before it got tossed - A SPECIAL TREAT!

4. I cooked frozen pizza for dinner and my boys LOVED the self-rising crust - CHEAP, EASY, AND IMPRESSIVE!

5. I ate the most DELICIOUS bagel sandwich for lunch. (Good thing I went to the grocery store yesterday, Wednesday.) - SATISFACTION FROM MY LABOR!

6. I got my outdoor potted plants watered and fed with some extra plant nutrients - BEAUTY!

7. I now know what tasks I plan on completing tomorrow, Friday, my day off - ORGANIZED!

8. I'm getting ready to watch a movie with my boys and Lewis wants me to select it - CONTENTMENT!

9. Two people have looked at my blog today. (I was probably one of them!) :) - ok, PITIFUL!

and #10. My husband came home a little bit early to see me since he had worship team practice tonight. He is SO precious to me! I was laying on the couch watching HGTV when he got home and he actually came into the den and watched with me - TRUE UNASSUMING LOVE!

Today was a great day. I thank God for today!

FARDING vs. FARTING

Went out to eat lunch with three great ladies today. As we were leaving the restaurant and heading back to the church to work, we somehow got on the very serious and hysterical subject of farts. How the dialogue digressed so far I'll never (try to) remember, but it was SO "dead dog" funny!!!

Rush Limbaugh, on his Friday, August 1, 2008 radio show, shared that many years ago he was pulled off the Chicago WLS airwaves for 45 minutes because he said, "One of the things we can do to really clean up highway safety is to get women to stop farding in their cars. If you get that stopped, we'll be safer. You can see it every time it happens. If you get that stopped, get women to stop farding in their cars, then they'll be paying attention to driving, and it will be a lot safer out on the roads." The word "farding" is actually defined as "to apply makeup" (French), but it sounded like Rush was saying "farting". Many listeners were incredibly shocked.

Apologies if this subject is a bit too personal for anybody reading - but isn't truth even a little refreshing? Did you know that belching after a meal in some foreign country somewhere (or so I've heard) is a compliment to the cook? Might farting be a compliment to someone in someway somewhere? (We do have rules in our house for flatulence. If you're brave enough and want to shock my boys, just ask one of them about "doorknob".)

To keep up appearances, though (I AM a pastor's wife), I think I'll stick with farding.

The Choice

Today is the day that Lewis was again planning on leaving home to drive back to Fort Collins, an 8.5 hour drive, to spend time with friends for the week. His last full week of the summer before school starts, and the 2nd attempt to get back to Colorado, driving solo. So why did he not leave today as planned, seeing Kansas in his rearview mirror? He made a choice. Lewis had the cash saved to make the trip - just enough money to pay for fuel there and back, with a few bucks to use with friends while "hanging out". But something happened this past Thursday that caused him to make a choice yesterday, a difficult one, that changed his plans for the week.

While out on the lake this past week, Lewis jumped into the water with his cell phone still in his pocket. It is now ruined despite the great efforts he made to get it cleaned up and working again. One reason Greg and I had agreed to let Lewis drive to Colorado for the week was not only is he a good and trusted driver, but he has a cell phone and is able to call for help at any time. No phone - No trip.

The cheap (free) alternative was to transfer Lewis' cell phone number to his old and not-too-glamorous cell phone. Voila! The trip would continue as planned. But since Lewis had lost his i-Pod last month by leaving it out on the back deck he was restaining, and a thunderstorm hit that evening, he had his eye on a new phone that also was an i-Pod - the DARE. Cost? $350.00 - the same amount he had saved to drive to Fort Collins and back. What's a 17-year old boy to do?

Lewis had to make a choice. He investigated his options. Got smart about the past (Fort Collins) vs. the here and now (Wichita, Kansas). What choice did he make? He bought the DARE and is completely satisfied with his decision. His money is gone and there will be no trip - BUT, he's got his phone and i-Pod.

Life is full of difficult decisions. Either decision may satisfy. What will you choose?

P.S. In momma's eyes, I couldn't be happier! I wanted to make the decision for him, but had to leave it up to him so he has nobody else to blame. Also, he now realizes the cost and appreciates the value of these teen toys. YEA!

If I Could Do it Again...

I'd say something more encouraging, and
something else less critical.

I'd stop and listen to the one who needs to talk things out, and

not participate in the gossip.

I'd relax just one hour more with my hubby sleeping next to me, and

enjoy the quiet moment of his breathing.

I'd rise out of bed just a bit earlier to spend time with the Lord, and

enjoy a holy presence with a steaming cup of Starbucks coffee.

I'd be a little more humble, and

raise up the one who truly needs and deserves it.

I'd pay a little more attention to what the boys are saying, and

less time on the phone hearing my own voice.

I'd play one more game, read one more book with the boys, and
give my husband just one more kiss good bye.

I'd walk the extra mile, smile a little more genuinely, blow one more kiss, and

hug just one more child.

I'd make another batch of chocolate chip cookies, and

walk a plate of these warm treats to my elderly widowed neighbor.

I'd do a splashy cannonball into the pool, and

not worry about my hair or who was looking at my hips.

I'd give someone the benefit of the doubt, and

not convince myself they're just out to get me!

If I could do it again I'd still strive to do better, and

still wish I could do it again.

What would YOU do differently if you could do it again?

Verbal Vomit

If you've ever had children, you know the mess their vomit can make, especially on carpet. No matter how hard you try to clean it all up, there always seems to be a stain to remind you of who did it and when.

I made a little mess this week. It doesn't need much clean up, thankfully, but I have a mental reminder that I whined and vomitted, verbally, on friends who really didn't need the mess.

It's been Vacation Bible School all week - my first super-sized VBS program. Always great anticipation in the preparations, but by the end of the week all the volunteers and workers are ready for a break. By the end of Thursday morning, I was a semi-sick, ticking time-bomb, ready to blow, but desperately trying to hold it in. Oh how I tried to hold it in - like being truly sick and running to the toilet with your hand over your mouth as to not make a mess...(gross picture, I know, but do you get what I'm trying to say?). I ran to my bosses office and I spewed it all out, unfortunately. She wasn't alone - there were two other children's leaders in the room that I complained and whined to as well. I remember standing there spewing out the words of frustration and thinking, 'Stop throwing it all up! You're making a mess!' Was it abusive or rude? No. But there were other leaders in the room who might have been dealing with their own issues at the time, or celebrating the great week and all God was doing in the lives of these children! I really should have prayed it and not said it.

Taking back words once their said is an impossible task. A pastor once used the analogy of squeezing toothpaste out of the tube...once you squeeze the paste out, it's impossible to get it back into the tube. Verbal vomit is the same. Once the words are spewed out, there's no way to get them back in your mouth, you just have to clean it up. I've cleaned up a lot of my kids vomit over the past 17 years and it's never pretty, fun, or appetizing...but it must be done.

Side story - early on in my friendship with Robin, I knew she was very special. She and a few other ladies had come over to my house on Silver Oaks in Fort Collins. Cameron had eaten some corn bread with jalepenos baked in and had thrown up in the kitchen afterwards. While I got Cameron to the bathroom to clean him up, Robin was in the kitchen cleaning up the floor. I'll never forget this new friend who got down on her hands and knees to help a new friend clean up the mess.

What do I learn from this?
1. We all verbally vomit at some time, in some place, regretting our words.
2. To clean it up, we must get down on our hands and knees and ask the Lord to help us clean up the mess, and ask that He help us not repeat this offense! Maybe some healing needs to happen before we share the contagious sickness with others.
3. Sometimes, we need to intercede and help our friends when they verbally vomit, as we would if they actually had physically been ill.
4. Although the stains may remain after the clean up, time does help cover up our mistakes.

Psalm 141:3, "O Jehovah, set a guard to my mouth; keep watch on the door of my lips."

Leaving the Nest - Part II

The tears fell down my cheeks that Sunday morning, despite the great efforts I made to smile and pretend they weren't there. After giving me many hugs and smiles and words of encouragement, my baby was leaving church, going home to pick up his suitcase, and get on the road. He was very excited!

I got a call from Greg just over an hour later to tell me that the car had overheated (hmmm... never happened before...) and Lewis was on his way back home. Fortunately Lewis was only an hour north of Wichita and not six hours into the trip, stranded on the western plains! Praise God for His perfect timing!

After getting the Volvo's thermostat replaced, Lewis is planning on repeating this adventure in two weeks...two weeks more for me to prepare for his leaving the nest.

Leaving the Nest

My friend Jack once said about me that I could move anywhere and adjust because I'm a "nester". I see what he means. I can move and unpack very quickly to put everything in it's place (exception: this past move...I'm still not entirely done!). I like to keep the house neat and picked up (not necessarily always clean). I like everybody to be home. I can move furniture, clean a cupboard, or hang some pictures and feel I accomplished so much. But one aspect of nesting is changing in my home. My children are getting older and wanting to spread their wings and leave the nest.

Outside the nest is an environment where I do not have control. There are hardships, uncertainty, dangers, and distrust. Inside the nest is safety and familiararity: family movies, board games, homemade chocolate chip cookies, school night dinners (and homework) at the kitchen table, Italian night (ask the boys), and summer vacations. How do I let my little ones leave the nest and fly away?

My oldest son (and the Lord has blessed me with three) is 17 years old now. Although he's taller than me and has bigger feet than me, I probably outweigh him by about a pound. I can still take him (NOT!). Anyhow - he's made some friends here in Kansas, but he is still best friends with those he left behind in Colorado eight months ago. After attending an international youth conference in San Antonio this next week, he's planning on driving our Swedish chariot back to Colorado to have a week with friends. He has worked and saved enough money. He's nearly paid his debt to society (his parents - $40 from a speeding ticket still owed). He's given us no reason not to trust him. He's learned how to change the oil, check the oil, and change a tire, and he's willing to make this trip in July with no air conditioning in the car. So why can't I let go?

Because there is safety in the nest. I have control in the nest. I gave birth to this boy, nursed this boy, lost hours of sleep to care for this boy, took care of every doctor appointment, broken bone, and cut, bathed him, carried him, fed him, encouraged him, and mothered him in the nest, and now he wants to leave. I cry not because I feel betrayed, but because I know I need to let go and let him - give him permission to leave the nest. It's very hard.

I'm like the mama bird that made a nest in our backyard grill this summer (yea, not too smart on that one but we accommodated mother bird and let her continue with her nesting, using the charcoal grill instead...). This beautiful European starling prepared for this baby by going to great lengths to build a nest in this gas grill. She gathered sticks in the yard and then worked REALLY hard to pull them through a small opening on the side of the grill. It's an amazing testimony to hard work, commitment, and diligence! Really! A beautiful and very large nest! Two of the three eggs hatched already and now they are all gone. The babies have been birthed, nursed, cared for, fed, and then let go. The nest in the grill is empty. I've got to let go, too - it' s just so hard.

Dear God - please watch over my little (and very tall) son who I am releasing to whatever is outside the nest. Leaving the nest is easy and exciting for him, and oh so difficult for me. I trust You to watch over him and take care of him because you love him even more than I do. (Matthew 6:26)

(He'll be gone only for a week. Sunday's coming - and he'll be back...)

Staff Changes = Pursuing Christ

"Following Christ isn't something that can be done half-heartedly or on the side. It's not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we are. If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream. When we stop swimming, or actively following Him, we automatically begin to be swept downstream."
- Francis Chan, Crazy Love

(Thanks, Kristin, for posting this quote! It's a great one!)

POEM

by Annie Johnson Flint

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercies,
To multiplied trials His multipled peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

Bittersweet Street

Driving to church with my hubby at 8 a.m. this morning. The drive to our church has become a familiar drive since we both work there and worship there. One, two, and sometimes three of our cars drive that street to church every single day, with hardly any exception. Driving this morning , though, I felt a sense of heaviness building as we knew the church announcement of another pastor's decision to serve another church would cause many to react in a variety of ways...and sometimes, unfortunately, it's not very pretty.

As we drive this very familiar road, Greg is praying aloud. We are holding hands and praying over the morning and our various roles of responsibility - over our pastor as he preaches - over the safety and security of our children - over the congregation - and praising and thanking the Lord for His many blessings. I've got my eyes open (as it's nauseating for me to close them in a moving vehicle) and we pass a street I've passed a million times (well, maybe not that many, yet) but never noticed before. The street sign says: Bittersweet Street.

So what's it like on Bittersweet Street?

It's bittersweet that we have released three wonderful men from our church body to let them pastor in other churches. We can all be sad that they, and their families, are moving on, but oh how sweet that they have been in training at our church, for a number of years, and are now ready to use this God-given wisdom, refreshment, and experience in other congregations.

It's bittersweet that some members in the congregation would rather judge, point fingers, gossip, and assume the worst instead of enouraging and edifying the body of Christ and realizing that staff changes happen - frequently - even in churches! Just because someone is leaving doesn't mean something is wrong. In this case, it shows God's amazing power (and timeliness!).

It's bittersweet to see our leaders agonize, evaluate, question, and yes, lose sleep over these transitions, but oh how sweet to see them trust in the Lord with all their heart...acknowledging Him in all their ways knowing He will guide their paths (as the Word promises in Proverbs 3:5&6).

It was bittersweet when we moved here to Wichita from Windsor, Colorado. I absolutely loved my life back in Windsor - my wonderful neighborhood and caring neighbors, the kids in established schools, important ministries within our local church, volunteer groups we were a part of, and our many, many great friends. Believe me it was VERY bittersweet! But we knew God had called us to use all we had learned and all we had experienced in Colorado and begin serving Him here in Wichita. Bitter to leave - but oh how sweet to serve Him here.

God, however, is not bittersweet! He is always, always, always sovereign and in control. And you know what? Sunday's coming! May I be His instrument of peace - spreading around even more sweetness (a tender term of endearment my husband voices to me every day) rather than bitterness. May we all be a little more sweet than we are bitter.

And, please God, may I never dwell on Bittersweet Street...

A Few of my Favorite Things...