There's No Place Like Home

If you know me at all, you know I'm a homebody. So a Stay at Home order and Social Distancing are actually comforting during this crazy Coronavirus pandemic. However, it's weird knowing we can't just go and do whatever we want whenever we want. I just want to go shop for pansies and gardening supplies!

Although it's a super crazy time, I've been mostly worry free. Maybe I'm in denial... or maybe it's because I've seen God bring us through so many other tough situations - raising kids (am I right!), homeschooling, lay-offs, job changes, moves, floods, health issues (um, cancer), etc. You know, LIFE! Here is one of my LIFE verses:

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. - Jeremiah 17:7

While I'm not worried, I am concerned. Concerned for my girls - two with a history of pneumonia and one with a history of asthma... for my grandkids who are only 2 months old and 2 years old... for my father-in-law who has health issues... for friends who have lost their jobs. I'm sad for my high school senior son who got laid off from his good part-time job (thankfully his school was already on-line)... for my college girl who is now home to finish the semester on-line and missing her friends and all her belongings. I'm a little anxious for my husband - who hates change - and is now working from home and is a little anxious about the future of his job. I'm wondering about my mom and sister who are in other cities hunkered down alone... and wondering what's going to happen to my neighbors, country, and world.

I'm counting my blessings that I'm not in the middle of chemo during this pandemic. I just had lab work done and a visit with my new oncologist a month ago, and everything looks good. I'm probably just as healthy as anyone, but my family isn't letting me take any chances. Except for gas station stops on our trip to see our adorable new grandson before quarantine and a drive-thru run to Chick-fil-A, I haven't been out for almost four weeks! Hubby and Jarod are doing all the grocery shopping and TP scrounging!

So what am I doing during our sudden family togetherness? Pretty much the same as always only trying to make sure everyone else is doing okay! I'm taking advantage of free on-line lectures and Bible studies, enjoying all the music that artists are posting, working on some crochet, doing yoga, and trying to strategically run the vacuum so I don't interrupt anyone's school or work - ha! I'm taking my Vitamin D and getting natural Vitamin D when the weather cooperates. The yard and garden are calling me, but so are my coffee and puzzles!

With all of us home all day every day, I'm intentionally focusing on my attitude:

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. - Psalm 19:14

I'm also trying to stay informed about the virus and sift through everyone's "expert" opinion and advice. I'm trying to understand the power of the government - federal and state - to basically shut down our country and then watch them fight as they all claim to have the best way to help we-the-people. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think. I want everyone to be safe and healthy, but it's a bit scary at how fast and how limiting the government can act. My next free lecture might need to be on the Constitution...

I don't have any answers... so I'm praying.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O LORD; you surround them with your shield of love. - Psalm 5:11-12

May He be glorified! I'm glad we're all in this together. And when we get through this, we'll have another testimony of God's incredible provision. For now...

Pinch Me!

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desires. - Psalm 37:4 (NLT)

Those desires probably won't be served up on a silver platter...and the process may be difficult, but God is always good! I am surrounded by his goodness and am loving it!!!

Over the past few years the desires of our hearts have changed, but thankfully God knows best and provides in His perfect time! We are at a new beginning after waiting over two years while God worked out all the details. 

Our family had been involved in a ministry for over 9 years where our jobs, housing, and kids' school were all part of the package. While it was a great set up, leaving became a bit complicated. Once we decided to step out in faith, it's been fun watching God put all the pieces together.

We had been debt free for seven years! That's a really good thing... until you start thinking about buying a house. Daryl had no credit score and I was non-existent in the system. So for two years we played the credit card game and ended up with excellent credit and qualified for a home loan!

Even before knowing we'd be able to buy a house, we resigned our ministry without other jobs lined up. That was a foreign concept to us, but we felt we needed to take that step. My mom graciously invited us to stay with her during the transition, so we left our stuff in storage in Oklahoma and moved to my mom's in Kansas...actually to my childhood home! That's not weird at all - HA!

After a crazy time of trying to prove our residency at my mom's, we enrolled our son in a Kansas public on-line high school. God quickly provided a part-time job for me as a preschool cook - which was great but physically exhausting. We sold our old Jeep for more than we expected (which covered repairs needed on our van). God provided an anonymous cash gift when we really needed it. Daryl picked up some free-lance graphic design jobs and had a chance to decompress after a stressful couple of years. 

A couple of special college friends prayed Daryl through several interviews. When he accepted a job offer, I immediately quit mine :) His job puts us closer to two of our kids and our only granddaughter! It's still in Kansas so doesn't mess up our son's schooling! It pays enough that I won't have to work (a BIG desire)! And... we are able to buy a house - with a fenced back yard for our dog and an amazing front porch for me!!! And how exciting to have a house for the grandkids to visit! Daryl's new employer has been great during our transition of house hunting, commuting, and finally getting moved. It's been refreshing for him to feel valued and appreciated - which was evident when he walked in on his first day to a brand new Mac!!!

We are so excited to be homeowners after being tenants for over 9 years! And with the 3 month transition, we were able to move during the crisp cool fall weather of October instead of the horrible hot summer weather of July. Just another blessing of God's perfect timing! And we had incredible friends help us load the truck!

We've connected with a sweet couple in our new city through a college friend. They go to church with two of Daryl's co-workers - so we're ready to get involved in the church as soon as we get settled. Our realtors and lender have been so helpful to us as well as a lot of fun. And the beginning of this month was our LAST payment for our son's braces - just in time to start making house payments!

There have been a lot of hard days mixed in with the good days, but it's all been worth it! This is a snapshot of how God has been putting together our puzzle. He knew two years ago where we would be right now - HOME SWEET HOME. He is AMAZING!!!

Our Home

Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.

Psalm 37:7a (NLT)

Intentional for 2018

I always think I'm not going to mess with picking a word for the year...but then a word quietly fills my head and won't leave. Some past words have been:

Simplify

Faithful

First

Come Alive

I still have a couple of these words spelled out with Scrabble letters where I can see them every time I open one of the blinds. This year's word won't fit on the Scrabble holder, so I made a sign.

visit my Etsy shop - intheGAPdesigns

Over the past couple of years I've tried to protect myself from doing things - or not doing things - out of guilt or obligation. Now I'm to the point where I need to be more intentional - in my spiritual life, my relationships, my finances, my home, and my health. I need to follow through and finish what I start, and the word intentional sure sounds less painful than discipline - HA!

I'm building on some goals I've set during the past two years in these areas and have a good idea of what is realistic and attainable.

• I'm not going to memorize a book of the Bible (I have a hard time memorizing a verse), but I can be intentional in daily readings to complete the Bible this year. 

• I'm not going to be everyone's best friend, but I can be intentional and pour into my family and a couple of special friendships.

• I'm not going to win the lottery, but I can be intentional in budgeting and tracking our spending through Every Dollar by Dave Ramsey.

• I'm not going to have a perfectly clean house (ever), but I can be intentional with a specific chore for each day.

• I'm not going to become a fitness guru, but I can be intentional with realistic exercise goals and healthier food choices.

Being intentional about being intentional almost feels like I'm learning to walk and just taking baby steps. I'll probably take a few steps forward with a couple of steps back...and I may even fall down. You would think I'd have life figured out by now, but even at 50 years old, I'm still a work in progress...intentional progress.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

Rain, Rain, It's Okay - Part 3

After 4 months, I'm finally realizing the blessings of the flood. As I was walking by the old house the other night, I found myself thanking God for the flood... for seeing His hands and feet in action by those who helped us move... for the purging we were forced to accomplish... for a house that is on a hill instead of in the "hollow" area... and for Jessika making the brave decision to move into the dorm at college.

I mentioned to my 16 year old son how I can finally see the good in the flood. He agreed! He showed me some artwork he's created for tattoos he'd like to get someday. He wants the Japanese symbols for strength and flood, one on each wrist, to remind him that strength comes after the flood. Wow! He's been processing more than I knew. I'm so glad he's seeing the good!

Alone, these realizations may not seem like much. But after the stress of the flood, moving, and not knowing where we'd end up living, they are like milestones for our family.  I'm thankful I can now consider these trials as joy (James chapter 1). And instead of dreading the rain as something negative, I'm beginning to recognize the imagery of water washing over me as God's cleansing, forgiveness, and grace.

I'm feeling more settled in our house and enjoy making it home. Today I've been doing things that I haven't done since the flood - my Saturday routine of making fruit leather, baking, and hanging out with my family. I've missed those normal things; and even though it's a little bit different in this house, the familiarity is comforting.

I'm thankful for God's mercy that falls like a sweet spring rain!

Strength came after the flood.

Rain, Rain, Go Away - Part 1

Rain, Rain, Go Away - Part 2

Rain, Rain, Go Away - Part 2

Following the flood, we felt very lost and needy. The maintenance department on campus probably got tired of hearing from us, but when a vacant house suddenly gets occupants, things need done... like hooking up the washing machine, repairing the hot water heater, fixing plumbing issues, etc.

It took days to get everything moved out of the flooded house and to get all the wet items washed. It took weeks to sort through tubs and find things trying to figure out how much to unpack and put away not knowing if/when we'll get back to our house. We were hopeful that our house would be repaired so we could move back and carry on as normal. Yeah, right!

Unfortunately, four weeks after the flood, we found out the house was going to be demolished. Even though we don't own the house, it was sad news to hear. We had lived there for almost eight years. Now what? Well, we had to clean out the attic...and the shed... The shed had flooded more than we realized and was a nasty smelly mess. We threw out anything that was wet, moldy, or absorbed the moldy odor - our Christmas tree, books, furniture, memorabilia, etc. We were tired...tired of moving, tired of the wet, tired of the smell...just tired!

We finally had everything moved over to the other house. Would we get to stay? Nothing was decided for almost four more weeks. We were starting to feel at home in the other house. We were fixing things, deep cleaning, painting, doing yard work and landscaping, and enjoying the new neighbors.

Then came the dreaded news that we'd have to move...again...to another house on campus...a much smaller house than what we had...and by the end of next month!

While the timing and details are being worked out concerning the move, we are searching for the lessons God is wanting us to learn while trying to remain joyful.

The kids are not thrilled to move back to the same area that flooded... in fact, we all cringe a little at the sound of rain and thunder. Jessika is changing her college plans and now moving away for the school year. Jarod is frustrated about losing space for having friends over and a place to hang out and play games. Daryl and I will have to purge and downsize even more.

Those aren't bad things...but they aren't what we want to do. What about our hobbies and collections? Do I give up stamping while we're in the smaller house? How long would that be? Does Jarod's nutcracker collection go in storage? Jessika's books? What about no office space for Daryl? Smaller bedrooms? Less bathrooms? No laundry room? No dishwasher? I know, these are all 1st world problems...but right now they are our problems...

I keep thinking how ironic it is that when we went through cancer, there was nothing to question - we just did what had to be done. So this should be easy...it's NOT cancer...it's just a house... But right now, it's our life and it doesn't feel any more settled than it did eight weeks ago when water started coming in under the back door.

Is God testing our obedience - OR - Is He preparing us for new opportunities?

Do our kids sacrifice again for our ministry - OR - Do we make changes for them?

Thankfully, we love and serve a mighty God who loves us and already knows how this is all going to work out for good!

Finally finished at the old house!

Be sure to read Part 1

Rain, Rain, Go Away - Part 1

I'm a creature of habit... even bad habits... And I'd rather be at home than anywhere... So when our house flooded and we were forced to move out, I was immediately way out of my comfort zone and happy place.

On April 29, I was enjoying a lazy Saturday morning at home with my family during a spring storm. The ground was saturated from a previous rain, and we watched the normally dry little creek bed fill with run-off water and quickly overflow. Since we've seen it overflow before and never reach our house, we didn't take the flash flood warnings very seriously.

Daryl was fixing breakfast while I made my morning cup of coffee. I went to look out back again, started to take a sip of coffee, and saw muddy water coming in under the door. The only words I could form were, "Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Oh, crap!" I grabbed all the towels I could find in the laundry room and tried to stop the water from going into the kitchen. Yeah, right!

Towels did not work...

My daughter Jessika was still in bed and jumped up to see what was going on. The bathroom across the hall from her room was already filling with water. In what seemed like a few seconds, water was everywhere! It was coming in the back door and flowing out the front door... and it must have come through the floor and walls! Our carpet appeared to be floating.

Yuck!

I was frantically going through the rooms trying to get stuff up off the floor while Jessika was trying to keep Buddy (the dog) from getting swept down stream! Daryl and our son Jarod worked on unplugging all the electronics. Daryl was zapped when he touched a power strip while standing in his flooded office! The table, counters, beds, furniture, and even bathtubs were piled with stuff, and water continued coming in. We called a friend to bring us a shop vac. Yeah, right!

My bed...

We were still getting stuff up off the floor when we were told to evacuate. We each quickly packed a bag and carefully waded out to our neighbor's pick-up that was high enough to still get through the water. Before we left... not knowing how high the water would get or how long it would stay... Daryl and Jarod kept me from having a total melt down by moving the cedar chest (hand made by my dad for my 21st birthday) up on the coffee table. I just couldn't leave with that piece of my dad sitting in nasty flood water to be ruined!

The end of our road!

We've never even thought about what to do in a flood. I figured we were going to be homeless and everything inside the house was going to be destroyed. Thankfully my mom suggested bed risers or even cinder blocks to put under our furniture. That got our brains working! We found a stack of bed risers, so later that afternoon when the water went down enough to walk back to the house, we put our main furniture up on the risers and then put trash bags under other items. Our piano is on wheels, so I rolled it forward, put down plastic lids, and then rolled the piano back onto the lids so it wasn't directly on the soaked carpet. The house already smelled bad, and the carpets sloshed. We tried using the shop vac again. Yeah, right!

Thankful for bed risers!

Because we live on the campus of Cookson Hills, we had lots of offers for places to stay. Since we were dragging along our freaked out wet dog, we decided to camp out in the former preschool room - it was carpeted and had access to a bathroom! Plus, we were soaked and more than a little frazzled with so much to process... we knew we wouldn't be very good company. It was nice to be with just the four of us - and the dog.

Our survival kit!

Sunday morning we headed to Walmart for tubs - lots of tubs. Not knowing if/when we'd be able to stay in the house, we decided to pack up things that we didn't want to get damp and smelly - like all of our books! Then we saved Jarod's nutcracker collection! While people on campus were helping two other flood victims get moved out of their wet homes, we found out they were coming to help us next. An empty house on the other side of campus was going to be our temporary home.

How in the world do you wrap your head around moving out of your house in ONE DAY??? I just stood on the sloshy carpet looking around at the total chaos of stuff piled everywhere. I was overwhelmed... with the smell... with all our stuff... and knowing people were on their way... The horror of people seeing ALL my stuff quickly faded when they walked in to help at the flooded house while others were getting the temporary house ready for us.

Our friends and co-workers were definitely the hands and feet of Jesus. They were so kind and willing to serve by supplying tubs, packing and moving, and providing food and drinks. They knew when to let us cry and when to give us hugs! If we were going to be flooded, we were at a good place for it to happen.

Those two days felt like forever, but we were just beginning our time of being unsettled!

...to be continued...

Here's Part 2

We Have This Hope

What is this hope? Not the kind of hope we throw around in casual conversation...

"I hope tomorrow is a nice day."

"I hope I get a letter in the mail."

"We hope things turn out for the best."

I'm talking about the hope we have in Christ - for salvation and eternal life!

This hope can easily be taken for granted. Growing up in a Christian home and being at church whenever the doors were open, sometimes hope was a given. It just was. And it wasn't until facing cancer that I realized the power of this hope - this hope in Christ. Because without the promise of salvation and eternal life, a diagnosis is meaningless... healing is meaningless... and life is meaningless...

I was sweetly reminded of this incredible hope while representing Cookson Hills during a missions weekend at our church. I admit, I tend to tune out when it comes to talking about missions or listening to missionaries. A lot of us probably have images of huts in the bush with memories of boring slide shows... But it's a whole new world out there!!! Missions is everything from children's homes and schools to coffee houses and libraries!

The weekend gave me a new appreciation for today's missionaries and the importance of sharing this HOPE with people. In fact, I came away with four distinct observations:

1. Persecution of Christians is Real

We can easily distance ourselves from the persecution of Christians around the world because it's so far away and isn't personal. Our speaker for the missions weekend was very real and had been very persecuted in his home country. The government caused a wreck that injured his son, injured his wife, and killed his unborn child. His home was invaded and belongings confiscated...at least twice. He and his family were harassed and received death threats to the point that they were forced to escape the country for their safety. They are now based in the United States where they work with Gospel Wave Media Ministry and share Jesus via satellite.

2. Heart Language

People need to hear Jesus in their heart language or mother tongue. Our speaker shared that watching the Jesus film years ago put out by CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) and hearing Jesus speak in his heart language was the turning point for him. Jesus is for ALL people, so we need to share Jesus in ALL cultures... not just our "American" ways.

3. Technology Rules

Did you know most people around the world have cell phones or satellite? Even in the desert??? And in the slums??? People may not have electricity, but they have solar powered chargers for their phones! Or someone in town may have a generator and collect a fee to let people use it to charge their devices. Technology has opened up a whole new opportunity to reach people in closed countries. People may not be allowed to meet in person for church, but they can meet in chat rooms on-line.

4. Israel is Vital

Praying for the peace of Israel is obviously important for the people of Israel, but it is also vital for spreading the gospel to the world. It is a satellite hub for many ministries. Gospel Wave uploads their programming to Israel where it is then sent to closed countries.

So... what does this hope mean for those who don't know Christ? What if they worship Allah or another god? What if they worship L. Ron Hubbard or another person? What if they do more good works than I will ever do? It doesn't matter how much they believe in their god or how good they are, they have NO HOPE without this HOPE!

Jesus is the only way to salvation!

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

People need to know about this hope, and we need to tell them!

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 6:19-20