My husband and I have spent the last year on a faith journey with the Lord and I am happy to say that I’m baaack!

A year ago my husband and I found ourselves in a discussion about simplifying our life. Our home that was once filled with kiddos and a lot of action was now filled with just us!  Our kiddos are no longer kids, they are adults now with lives and homes of their own.  We realized that we were actually living in about a fourth of our home; do we really need 3 living spaces for 2 people? And what about that horrible drive to and from work that my husband was driving each day? 100 miles round trip, who needs that? What happened to the simpler life of the Fun Fifties where you s l o w down and take life a little easier? We were perplexed! What are we doing wrong Lord? The more I thought about it I realized that simplifying our life wasn’t going to *poof* just happen, we were going to have to make some changes.

To simplify implies that it is simple!  But simplifying your life involves the C word, CHANGE! And change can be challenging, it can be scary, and depending on how great the change, it can be extremely stressful.  For me, moving 50 miles West brought all of the above, for my husband it was easy!  Women are emotional, men are fixers…there ya have it!

And so change began…

There was a house to pack up and sell, a house to buy (one that was smaller and more practical for the two of us), a job I was going to have to leave, and a new job I was going to have to find. We had a new grandbaby and children we would be moving further away from; oh my heart was in panic mode. HELP!

Interestingly, in the midst of all of the crazy emotions, I knew this was the right thing to do. I began to feel a peace deep inside my spirit, my heart just needed to get with the program! I knew we were making this move for all the right reasons and we had to trust the Lord to lead us and bring it all together for us.  Another faith walk!

So, that’s what we did. We prayed for God to take charge, to protect us from wrong decisions, to lead us to our new home and to lead that perfect couple to the home we were selling. Together we trusted God with all of the details, which were many!  And then we walked it out one day at a time.

One day at a time… 

“So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.” (Matthew 6:34 TLB) Boy that is surly easier said than done for many of us, especially if you’re like me! When I make a decision I jump in with both feet and its full speed ahead to completion! Well simplifying our life was going to take time, it was not going to be an overnight transition and there were going to be many things out of my control.

A year later I find myself sitting here in a house that has now become our home, it is perfect! The town we moved to is 6 miles from my husband’s office, he barely drinks a sip of his coffee and he’s at work. Our neighbors are like Mayberry R.F.D 🙂 Everyone is so neighborly, kind and friendly! Our son, daughter-in-law and grandbaby are 40 minutes away from us now. I was heartbroken at the thought of being so far, but they have been amazing!  They send us pictures and videos almost daily and we see them at least once a week. A few months before we moved, our daughter and her fiancé moved to the West side to be closer to their jobs, they are only 3 miles from us!

What did I learn?

Once again, I was reminded that He’s got our back. When you ask God to lead, you’ve got to get out of the way and you’ve got to trust Him. He is the Boss and He knows what’s best for us. He has a plan for your life and mine that He has personally and meticulously handcrafted! The Bible says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalm 139:16 NLT)

As we began to submit to His perfect will for our life the pieces started falling into place. Faith is grown out of the times in our lives when we are most vulnerable. Our faith is able to grow greater than our fears when we take His hand and walk with Him through the uncertainties of this life.

Welcome to our simplified life and home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours with some pretty special people recently. Jean, Mary, Neil, Joyce and Wilma are all residents at a care facility for people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Here is my story…

While playing a fiercely competitive card game called War, or as Joyce called it, Battle, a gal walked past our table and sat down on the sofa. She was hunched over and holding her stomach, I thought maybe she didn’t feel well or was disabled. I excused myself and walked over to her, maybe she’d like to play cards with us.

Her name was Wilma. As I sat down next to her, she very proudly let me know that she was a Bridge player! And so our conversation began…

Wilma told me wonderful stories about her husband Angelo; what an amazing husband he was. Oh, how they enjoyed playing Bridge with all of their friends. She reminded me several times, “We’re Bridge players!” I learned that she had been married a very long time to her husband Angelo and that they had several children, she couldn’t remember exactly how many, but she loved family, and she loved her family.

Wilma talked about being positive and staying away from negative people because like she said, “Who needs that!”

She wanted to know if I was married, how many children I had and where I worked. Wilma was very interested to know if I was happy! I shared my story and showed her pictures, oh how she loved seeing my pictures.

And then we’d start the entire conversation all over again! For about 30 minutes we shared her story and my story over and over again. And with each re-start I was taken in by her smile, her enthusiasm and her genuine interest in every word I had to say.

Sure, some of the details changed with each rendition. For example she had been married a very long time, and then she had been married about 12 years and another time she and Angelo never married; they were happy and didn’t feel the need to! HA!

That’s what Alzheimer’s and Dementia does to people; it scrambles the information in their memories and it deletes memories all together.

Wilma was a hoot!   She had a wonderful sense of humor, a great outlook on life and was so appreciative of the time I spent talking with her.

The power of your presence…

I went into this experience thinking about what I was giving these sweet people by spending time with them.  But as I walked away I realized what they had given me. 

Never underestimate the power of a caring heart. The sacrifice of your time may reap larger rewards than you can imagine.

Oh…I almost forgot! Remember I said Wilma was hunched over and holding her stomach? When I sat down with her I offered her a cup of water. She thanked me and told me she had a cup but wasn’t thirsty. Then she reached into the front of her pants, pulled out a little plastic water cup and said, “I’ve got my cup, they charge you for everything you know, nothing’s for free!” And then she put her cup back into the front of her pants! 🙂

 

“Our Father loves us too much to let us pass through life without learning to endure.”

When I read that this morning I thought about my Grandma Mildred (pictured here with my Mom).

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines endure as dealing with or accepting something unpleasant. 

My Grandma Mildred was cold, unfriendly and not a fan of children. She seemed to tolerate me, my sister and brother, I remember her discomfort well. It would be accurate to say that she was unpleasant.

We visited my Grandma about once a month; my parents drove us to her home where we spent a few hours with her. My parents and Grandma visited while my sister, brother and I sat on the floor in front of the television.

My Grandma Mildred never played with me, held me in her lap, or read me a book.  In fact, there were many things she never did with me. She had no patience for children and it didn’t take much to annoy her.

I didn’t understand my Grandma but I accepted the fact that I had no choice but to endure the time spent with her.

What was it about this woman that caused her to be like she was? I was intrigued by her nonetheless, so when I became an adult I reached out to her and made a date to spend one-on-one time together. After that I made another date, and another, and so on.

As I did this, God began to show me things about her, things that were lost in my young mind but stood out now that I was an adult. I realized that she was at the center of many of my wonderful childhood memories.

For example, she was at every holiday celebration with her yellow ceramic bowl filled with homemade Creamed Corn and a batch of homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies! (LOVED the cookies, hated the corn!). She never missed a holiday and she never came without these 2 staples!

Those monthly visits that seemed like torture at the time? Well, God began to reveal the sweetness of the things my Grandma did during those visits. For example, about an hour before it was time to leave she would call us into the kitchen and give us each a bowl of spumoni ice-cream!

It was at one of those monthly visits that I saw The Wizard of OZ for the first time. I remember sitting on the floor with my sister and brother as we watched with AMAZEMENT at the wonder of it all!

I’ll never forget the Easter she showed up at our home with Chocolate Easter Baskets from See’s Candies Store, one for each of us kids. The basket itself was made out of chocolate and the chocolate basket was filled with chocolates, it was heaven! Every time I go into a See’s Candies Store I think of her.

My Grandma Mildred was always impeccably dressed, with painted fingernails and hair perfectly coiffed, she had this movie star quality about her. She loved her cats and the singer Engelbert Humperdink! There were alligator knick-knacks all over her house and she couldn’t pass up a bargain. She is the only person I’ve ever known who ate her meals without taking a drink until after she’d finish eating.

Yes, Grandma Mildred had a cold exterior but as I got to know her I realized that her interior was quite the opposite. I believe she loved family and actually yearned to be part of the whole.  For reasons unknown to me she was not comfortable expressing emotions of warmth and love but as we spent time together I was able to give these things to her.

I believe that enduring her throughout the years taught me that what you see on the outside isn’t always an accurate indicator of things on the inside.

Yes, God loves me and you too much to let us simply pass through this life without learning to endure.

Romans 5:3-4 says, Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…

I am proud of the relationship I shared with my Grandma Mildred and every special memory we made together. She knew my husband and my children. The last visit I had with her was unlike any other; we laughed so hard and shared so much.

It would have been easy to let go of this relationship, I am thankful that I didn’t. God surely blessed both me and my Grandma as I endured with her.

Do you have a Grandma Mildred in your life? What are you learning as you endure this relationship?

This is a story about God meeting our needs.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

In the early 1990’s we were in an economic recession and times were tough for a lot of people, including us.  My husband’s salary had been cut and I was running a home day care to help make ends meet.

This particular day I received a call from friends of ours letting me know that the husband had lost his job. They had two children and the wife was working part-time so I knew this was going to be difficult for them. I wanted to help, but what could I do?

The first thing I did was pray and asked God to bless them. Suddenly I got a notion to go through my pantry and donate from what I had, what a great idea! I grabbed food items and paper products along with laundry detergent, etc.

Then my mind started to think bigger thoughts. “What about the neighbors on my street? Why not give them the opportunity to bless this couple.”

To be blessed by others is great, but we also need to be a blessing to others when we are able.

So I got in my minivan and drove house to house, knocking on doors and inviting my neighbors to help this family. I was overwhelmed with their responses; they could not have been more generous. They gave me bags of food, cleaning products, and bath and laundry items. My neighbors were so willing to help this family out; a family that they didn’t even know! It warmed my heart.

Finally I was at the last house. I knocked on the door and an elderly woman answered.  I introduced myself and explained what I was doing.  She told me that she didn’t have any items to donate but wanted to know if it would be alright to give the family a check.  I told her I was sure they could use it to purchase whatever they didn’t receive from the other donations; she seemed so happy to be able to participate.

The elderly woman handed me a check for $35.00.

By now my minivan was packed with grocery bags busting at the seams so I drove over to our friend’s home.  I knocked on their door and asked them to come out and help me unload some things.  I wish you could have seen their faces when I slid open the side door of my minivan, they were amazed! I explained that my neighbors and I had gone shopping for them in our pantries; they were really moved by the outpouring of generosity.

The three of us gathered all of the items and took them into their home.  Then I handed the wife the check for $35.00 and she began to cry.  She explained that her checkbook had gone into the negative that day for…$35.00!

God is so faithful and amazing!

It’s real life experiences like this one that build my faith and reveal the truth of God’s word.  He keeps his promises.  He said he would meet our needs and he does, every time.

Do you have a story to share about God meeting your needs?  I would love to hear it!

In the early 1980’s my husband and I were on our way back to Arizona after visiting with family in California.  It was nighttime and we were driving east on Interstate 10 when suddenly our car started to act funny.   As we pulled over to the side of the highway the engine died!

The highway stretched out for miles with no sign of a car coming in either direction…AT ALL.

It was very dark and I was feeling a little scared – what the heck were we going to do?  All of a sudden a car pulled up behind us!  WHOA!  Where in the world did this car come from? We were shocked and relieved all at the same time!

My husband got out and walked up to the car and spoke briefly with the driver, an old man.   He came back to our car and put the car into gear.  The old man pulled his car up closely behind ours until our bumpers touched.  He began to push our car up the highway to the nearest off ramp, which by the way was quite a distance up the road!

The off ramp brought you to a stop sign where you had to take the overpass to get to the gas station on the other side of the highway.  Then you had to go down this REALLY long road to get to where the gas station was.

This nice old man pushed us all the way to the gas station, how thrilled we were!

Finally off that dark highway and parked safely at the gas station we got out of our car to walk over and thank this nice old man for helping us…he was gone!  *BAM* No car, no old man…he vanished!

There is absolutely no way this nice old man could have driven off without us seeing him.

First, he didn’t have time.  Second, when our car stopped we got out immediately.  Remember that long road leading to the gas station?  Surely we would have seen his taillights as he drove away.  Not to mention you could see the highway from the gas station completely dark in both directions!

As I stood there looking down the highway a wonderful feeling washed over me.  It was the peace the bible talks about in in Philippians 4:7, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  (New Living Translation)

I knew right then and there that this man was sent from God.  I have never forgotten that night, that man, that encounter.

Thank you Lord for watching over us.  In Psalm 121:5-8 it says, “The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (New International Version)

Do you have an angel encounter that you would like to share?  I would love to hear about your experience.

The first story my husband read as a little boy was Stuart Little by E. B. White. Stuart Little is a small, white, talking mouse that lives in New York and has human parents. He sleeps in a cigarette box, drives a toy model car and goes on wild adventures. Some of his adventures are exciting while others are scary and even sad. My husband was frightened of mice, but he imagined owning a mouse like Stuart Little and dreamed of the adventures they would have together. At age 58 he still recalls this 131-page book because it left such an impression on his young mind.

Books have the ability to take us places and impact our lives. Some books, like Stuart Little, make such an impression they stay with us forever.

What books have impacted your life?

The bestselling book of all time is the Holy Bible.

Throughout its pages we read about God and His infinite plan for all mankind. We are introduced to Jesus, God’s son and our Savior. We read about the many exciting adventures that Jesus encountered as well as numerous miracles He performed. As you read about Jesus’ love for humanity you will be awestruck!

The Bible says, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 American King James Version)

Jesus laid down his life for his friends, for all mankind.

Many years ago my husband introduced me to the story of Stuart Little. Like my husband, I loved all of the adventures Stuart encountered. It’s a fun story! A make believe story.

The greatest story of all time is the story of Jesus, it’s a true story. This story will leave an impression that is eternal.

The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16 New International Version)

I believe, do you?

Regardless of our age we all have the need to feel liked, loved and valued; to know that we matter. When we experience rejection it crushes us and leaves us feeling small and worthless. Left unattended it festers into a poor self image and attacks our self-confidence and self-esteem, that my friend can make life very difficult.

Have you considered the power behind the words you speak? For example, I have three adult children and I have nicknames for all three of them. My oldest son is Ryan James and since he was about two years old I have called him “Ryan-Bob.” Next is my son Justin Louis who I call “Louie or Little Louie,” although he’s not so little anymore! And then there’s my daughter Randee Gayle who I call “Baby Gayle;” yes, even at the age of 27! Nicknames can be fun and endearing, they can make you feel special and unique and as I’ve seen with my adult children, nicknames can stick.

I’m going to hug the porcupine as I share with you a name that my father used to call me when I was growing up…“Stupid.”

I want to describe my father to you. My father is one of the funniest people I know. He is quick witted and has the best sense of humor. My father has this engaging way about him that draws you in. I like to think that those are a few of the qualities that I inherited from him.

I loved my father dearly. When I was a little girl I waited in the front yard for him to come home, I got so excited when I saw his truck approaching, “dad was home!” I had this need to make my father happy with me; if dad was happy, I was happy.

There was always tension in our home. My parents had their struggles and the frustrations they felt spilled out into our home life. My father was short on patience and exerted his frustrations verbally; it didn’t take much to set him off. During those times of frustration he would seek me out and drill me about the issue at hand, it always included him calling me “stupid.” I never understood why he took his frustrations out on me.

The power behind the word “stupid” was fierce and crippling. The rejection I felt from my father when he called me stupid stopped me dead in my tracks and stripped me of all self esteem. His rejection became the driving force behind my need to find favor with him and make him happy with me. I wanted his favor, his love and his approval. I became a pleaser.

The Scars of Rejection

There are many ways we experience rejection, left unattended our scars can last a lifetime. It amazes me the number of people I minister with whose scars found their roots in rejection; rejection that oftentimes began back when they were mere children. Those scars can cripple us from becoming all that God intended us to be. In my case, I let the power behind the word stupid hold me back. I was in bondage to fear. Fear of not succeeding. Fear of not measuring up. Fear of not fitting in. Fear of failure. Those fears became the crutch I used to make bad choices in my life. I lacked the self esteem to do differently. Those bad choices came with some pretty heavy consequences.

What about you, what has rejection cost you?

Here’s the deal…we cannot escape rejection. It isn’t something that we can always control, but we can control our response to it.

What will your response be? Grow thick skin? Act like you’re tough and don’t care? The truth is…we do care! No one wants to live a life of rejection.

Come Over

I don’t need to understand why my father behaved the way he did for me to love and forgive him. I believe God can heal my heart and restore my self esteem as I hand these painful memories over to Him. I also believe God can heal my father’s heart and restore whatever brokenness caused him to behave the way he did. We are blessed to serve a God who’s in the business of healing and restoration. When we choose to hand over the ashes of our lives to Him there is healing.

In Jesus we are over-comers! I always say, “You can’t be an over-comer if you refuse to come over.” I genuinely believe that.

Who has suffered more rejection than Jesus? His own people rejected Him; they were expecting a conquering king not a suffering servant.

In John chapter 6 of the Holy Bible it says that even after Jesus performs miracles right before their eyes, still many turned away and rejected Him. In versus 35 and 36 it says, Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.”

Jesus suffered rejection time and time again. Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends and a disciple, yet he rejected him three times. Judas Iscariot rejected Jesus with a kiss which led to his arrest! Jesus never let rejection change His course, He overcame and He continually handed it all over to his Father.

Are you getting the picture?

If we are to be like Jesus then we are to overcome like Jesus. Sometimes the hurts are harder to overcome, I know all about that. I also know all about the healing that takes place in our hearts when we hand over those hurts to Jesus. He is the Comforter of our soul; if you hand over your hurts to Him he will remove the sting and replace it with His loving mercy.
He promised that He would never leave you nor forsake you and I’m here to tell you, He never will.