Announcing . . . Kira!

Okay, it's a little hard to grab a good picture of a moving kitten, but here it is. We were a little worried about her. She didn't use the litter box for about 36 hours after she arrived. However, a little warm milk did the trick!

Have a great New Years!

Christmas

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! I tried to pace myself and did pretty well. I made a centerpiece for the table on the 23rd that came out better than I expected. My family came down as well as Greg's mom, so we had 9 around our 8-seat table. We had great munchies before our early dinner and Greg made prime rib and ham while I made rolls, potato salad, baked potatoes, and peas. A warm dutch apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream and a pumpkin pie with whipped creme rounded out the menu. Yum!

We emptied our remodel bank account by purchasing our son's coveted item. He waited 6 months for this one thing from the remodel. He and I did our research and went shopping. We ordered a Sony Bravia 46" LCD flat screen TV and it arrived the Friday before Christmas. We updated our cable package to include HD and digital and a few more channels, but we might switch to Direct TV because it's cheaper and has more and better channels. Why didn't we do that in the first place? No clue.

Since my mom got to finally see the house, I'm sharing some pictures. We are still at the 'before decorating' phase. I want to do some lettering on the walls and add an entry table, entertainment center, pictures on the walls, candles, etc. It will be fun to find the time to shop.







Today we get our new kitty. The kids went to their dad's for Christmas Eve as usual. He and his wife and just put down their cat as well. Her sister wanted to replace their cat so she brought two kittens from their ranch as a surprise Christmas gift to her. She didn't think she was ready to replace the cat so soon, but one of the kittens really took to Kristen. It is 8 weeks old, has all it's shots, comes with a cat box, litter, and food. It's black with white tips on its feet, and white tummy,and a white upside-down heart on it's face. They're bringing it to us at 2:00 today. Kristen had found a cat on the Internet called Zenith that she wanted, but Zenith lives in Selma, a few hours away. Mark and I didn't like the name Zenith. Everyone liked the name Kira so she will be named Kira Zenith. K-Z for short. (K-Z kitty!) Can't wait.

It's been a very busy weekend. Leadership training yesterday, which ended up being a 3 hour board game because one member couldn't make it due to illness, Mark's friend Andrew coming for dinner to show us pictures of his first semester at Montana Wilderness Bible School, and friends from church coming over for lunch to hear about what we're doing with the church plant. Sure makes you keep your house clean!

We're planning our advance for our leadership team. (Advance, not retreat, because Greg doesn't like the term 'retreat'.) We're going through my favorite book of all time by Erwin McManus and might do my second favorite book of all time by him as well. At the advance we'll plan the calendar year, our pre-launches, and seek God.

Well, I better wash the windows. The dogs had a field day on Christmas with the mud and seeing my mom's two little Bichon Frises inside.

Blessings this sunny, clear, beautiful Sunday!

Sadness

Today I am reminded of a book I used to read to my kids when they were little. It's called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. What a title. When we have a bad day, I remember this title. It's fitting.

We had to put our kitty Sputters down today. She had been losing weight for over a year, vomiting regularly and starting to do things in places I won't mention. She went from 13 pounds to 6 in 6 months. It was time. The doctor even said she was emaciated.

Last week I had asked my daughter, who has had this cat for 13 years to think about putting her down. I wanted her to have some ownership of the decision, but didn't want to put the whole thing on her. She has wavered between the sadness of the thought of life without Sputters to the excitement of a new kitten. Saturday was the last straw. The cat lost more things inside her in one hour than I've ever seen. My daughter was even frustrated with her, as most of it was in her room this time. I made my decision. It was humane for all concerned.

She and I went together to the vet. I warmed up a towel in the dryer and wrapped her in it. Sputters didn't even seem scared. No shaking, no trying to get away.
She and I went together to the vet. One shot put her to sleep in about 7 minutes. The next stopped her heart almost immediately. We brought her home, where Greg had prepared a grave for her. We all went outside, gave her a last kiss, layed her on a towel inside, and covered her with another towel. She looked peaceful and content. Greg began to put handfuls of dirt on her, then shovel the dirt around her. Kristen and I went inside while Mark stayed a few minutes longer. Greg finished, put some heavy walking stones on top (so the dogs didn't dig), and put a storage bin on top. When we landscape the backyard, she'll be under redwood trees and her grave will be marked with whatever Kristen chooses.

I've spent the morning keeping busy putting Sputters' things away, cleaning, and now at my desk to get paperwork done. The kids are doing okay. Mark has a friend over and Kristen is asking for McDonald's for lunch. I'm thankful it is a sunny day. A dark rainy day would have made it seem all that much worse.

Blessings on this sunny somber Monday.

Scary Day and the Great Half Reveal

Yes, I'm still here. If you're still checking my blog, God bless you for your faithfulness!

Last Wednesday was a scary day. We were in Modesto working and had just finished lunch. I got out of the truck to head to the bathroom and saw this shimmering, red/pink flashing crescent in the upper left portion of my left eye's vision. I stopped. I looked around. It wasn't going away. I took a couple of steps, it was still there. It was kind of how things look before you pass out. I walked back to the truck and stared at Greg, waiting for him to finish what he was doing. He looked at me and I said, "I have a problem. There's something wrong with my vision." He came over and prayed for me and held me. I was getting scared and panicky. I had this about 15 years ago a couple of times and thought maybe it was happening again. We got in the truck and headed for our eye doctor in Modesto. I called as we drove and thankfully he was in and could see me.

We got there and as I was standing in the waiting area talking to the doctor, it went away. Greg says it always happens. When he prays for me, nothing happens right away, but 15 minutes later, I'm healed. The eye doctor examined me well, dilated me, and assured me my retina was still attached and everything looked normal. It was an ocular migraine. I've always called it a painless migraine. You're sensitive to light and sometimes have that drugged feeling afterwards but you also have these weird flashes of light that can be like stars on a black background, crescent shaped and multi-colored, or other varieties. I had had sinus pressure in my left temple that morning and was under a lot of stress last week, so that's probably what happened. I got to do easy work the rest of the day, raking leaves, then went home. All better.

The Great Half Reveal had to do with the stress of last week. We're coming towards the end of the remodel and I scheduled painters to do the cut-ins in the living room. We have high, angular cathedral ceiling lines and I didn't have the desire or confidence to paint straight lines up there. They did some trim work too, and painted our dining room for the third time, the correct color! Totally my fault for not being able to get the right color the other two times. Anyway, we were also getting our windows replaced. Greg and I had to paint the walls and the hallway and the trim and touch up the bathroom. Greg was sick last week and two nights he couldn't do anything. In one night he painted the whole living room, while sick! We still need to do a second coat, but it's passable if you don't stand too close! Kristen's bedroom furniture was all over the living room, as we were having baseboards put in her room. It was chaos. We had to put everything back together by Saturday afternoon for our leadership meeting and Sunday for family coming down. Here are some pictures of what has transpired over the last several weeks since the last shots.

The first wrong color in the dining room. New tile.

Tiling from the living room into the hallway. Our tile guy was great, always giving us a pathway to still walk when tile was drying overnight.

The concrete pour for our backyard and side yard. We extended the concrete through the side gate and along the driveway so I dont have to get out of the truck in the dirt anymore!





Greg and our neighbors replacing our side fence. All in one day!



Kristen was in her high school drama this weekend so we were making frequent trips to Denair (20 minute drive one way) all week. We put it all together, less decorating (not to that step yet). Family came down to see Kristen in the play, minus my mom who was sick (hence the half reveal, and all was well. I could finally relax! The next hump? Christmas here. Fortunately we finally got the tree up this week. We just need to move it. Still lots to do.

Blessings on this foggy, cold Thursday.

Behind the Eight Ball

Ever notice the older you get, the less you get done in a day? Take yesterday for example. My plan was to paint all the trim in the hallway and actually paint the hallway. Greg was supposed to finish the living room ceiling and paint the hallway ceiling. I got one coat of trim on the hallway.

My plan was to make turkey soup. I got the stock cooked. This morning I have to make the soup before work.

Perhaps going to the paint store, Valley Distributors, Target, Wal-Mart, the bank, and 2 trips to Kristen's school had something to do with it.

I did get the Christmas letters printed!

I started figuring out Greg's irrigation control system, but knew it was too complicated and too dark outside at 8:00 to finish that project.

I was going to clear out the area behind the wall unit to caulk the baseboards. I got distracted by other things.

I got the laundry done!

I did help Greg clean up the Cypresses he cut down out front!

Most of my Christmas shopping is done thanks to Amazon.com, but I can't wrap anything because we have no tree up yet and no where to put anything. Oh yeah, and it hasn't arrived yet!

Well, so much for a recap of yesterday. I've asked Greg to hire about 5 people from Labor Ready to help me get this stuff done in a day. He didn't go for it. If only I could wiggle my nose and make it all happen. Seems I got so much more done in a day in my 20's an 30's. Blessings of a productive day on this gray Tuesday.

A Quote

Greg and I were talking the other day about spiritual maturity and I said something he thought was good enough to quote, so I thought I would share it with you. "Transformation is never comfortable."

When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, a metamorphosis occurs in the physical body that can't be comfortable, but it is so worth it.

Puberty and menopause aren't comfortable, but both offer something better than before.

I wasn't comfortable coming to Christ. I remember being anxious. Baptism was an anxious time as well. Being asked to give the Bible reading and prayer in front of the congregation was a time of nervousness, sweat, shaking, dry mouth, heart pounding, etc., but I grew through it. Teaching was the same. Praying with a group of people the first several times, and leading ministries all afforded at least once sense of discomfort.

If we truly desire God to transform us, we can expect it to be uncomfortable. The greatest service our churches can do for us is give us the opportunities we need to be stretched and grown, not to be made comfortable. The sincere will embrace it and move forward. Others will dig their heels in, giving in to a selfish desire stay an infant, and refuse to go grow. Where are you?

Blessings on this chilly, overcast Friday.

Why Why Why?

Just for fun . . .
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries
are almost dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already
know there is not enough money?

Why does someone

Believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to
check when you say the paint is still wet?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a
beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks
when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear
helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the
word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from
apes,
Why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use
the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that
mattresses
Are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that
something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their
vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine
it, then put it down to give the vacuum
one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the
end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those
enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a
shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we
say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say,
'That really hurt, why don't you watch where
you're going?'

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's
falling off the table you always manage to knock
something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in
summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear
father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE......

The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is
suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of
your three best friends -- if they're
okay, then it's you.

Private or Personal?

I was reminded of an event from the past this morning. Many years ago two couples from our church had a falling out and as a result, one couple left. I wasn't particularly close to either couple but would often think of the couple that left and be concerned about them. One day I emailed a pastor and asked if they were doing okay. The response I received was "If you want to know, ask them." At the time I remember feeling shoved away. I wasn't asking for details about what happened, I wasn't a gossip and have never been part of a gossip circle. I just wanted peace about them or to know if I should be praying for them. At the time I was a fairly new Christian and trusted this was the appropriate response. In some ways it was. The pastor was trying to stay out of the situation and send me directly to them. However, I didn't know them well enough to call them out of the blue and didn't want an awkward situation. I also wasn't looking for anything more than if they were okay. Yes or no. Communication was definitely lacking on both our parts. If I had been asked why I wanted to know, or if I had explained why I wanted to know, I trust I would have received a more appropriate response.

The situation reminded me of the question, "Is our faith private or personal? Our relationship with God is as individualized as we are. How we came to know Him, our experiences with Him, how much we choose to grow, are all personalized to us. Is our faith private? Absolutely not. We are called to fellowship, called to be ready to share our testimonies, called to bear one another's burdens and joys. And how can we do these things if we keep everything bottled up inside us? In a true community of faith, things are shared in a healthy way. Not to destroy someone's reputation, but to lift them up in prayer and with encouragement. I truly believe a tone must be set from up front and often about the sin of gossip, but the flip side must also be taught, to feel safe and free to share in order to lean on each other in our time of need.

I remember going through some unsure physical ailment a few years ago and Greg asked if I minded if he shared it with some people. My attitude was, "Sure, the more people that know about it, the more people will be praying for me."

Let's not hide our difficulties from one another. God may use it to give us hope and peace from someone who already went through it or use us to give hope and peace to someone going through it after us. Let's not miss an opportunity to be blessed or to be a blessing. And let's not let life's past hurts influence our todays and tomorrows. Life's too short.

EQUIP Update

Yesterday marked the first leadership training session for EQUIP. The three hour session had plenty of variety. We caught up on every one's week, (which is a really good way to find out prayer requests!), Greg and I shared our testimonies, we went over our vision and values, how EQUIP got it's name and what it stands for, and had a time for worship and prayer. We also shared a meal together. It was a great time and there was lots of laughter. This team will work well together.

If you read my last blog, I had a bit of a panic about how to share my testimony with new parameters placed on me. I tried all week to find the time to dedicate time to preparing this, but couldn't find it. It was an act of faith that God would have me share what was important. The words flowed freely as I spoke of my journey with God. When I was done, which took maybe 5-10 minutes, one of the team members said, "I salute you" a few times. Another team member said we had a lot in common. I take that as a testimony told "rightly", as it deepened my bond with them. Greg told his after me, it was typed out on 2 or 3 pages and he went into great detail. It lasted about 30 minutes and everyone got a good sense of his journey.

I must say it was a frazzled, stressful day. It started with me taking Kristen shopping for a skirt or dress for her to wear today on a school trip. It was required. We spent 4 hours going around Turlock to find something. It is REALLY hard to find something modest for an 85 pound 16-year old these days! Add to that the dress code rule for her school of the hemline being no more than 3 inches from the floor in the kneeling position. And she's much more strict on herself and following these rules than I am. In the end we found 2 skirts and a pair of shoes and she has tops at home she can wear.

Then it was home to clean house (I worked Friday), shower, and put together a salad. I didn't end up with enough time to make the meal so we ordered in. It worked!

Today we have plenty to do after church. Blessings on this gorgeous fall Sunday!

S-T-R-E-T-C-H

I'm finding myself stretched almost daily. Last night Greg told me that when we start our leadership training Saturday for our new church, I'm to give my testimony. Up until now, he has referred to it as 'tell them everything about where we've been.' Easy enough. The good, the bad, the ugly. I can do that. I was thinking. . . this is information sharing. The purpose is to make sure everyone knows everything about us, so if anything ever comes up, nothing will be a surprise. Last night, however, he put it in a different light. He called it a testimony and said, "If told rightly, it will impact their hearts." He said he was even sharing verses. It felt like this was a much bigger deal than spilling my guts. I had to tell it rightly in order to impact their hearts. Verses! Yikes! And he wants me to go first! I'm feeling very threatened. All of a sudden I feel like it's a competition, and he won the toss. I'm sure it will be fine and I'll come up with something that will work, I just don't like how I got a different spin on it than I got before. At least it wasn't last minute. That was stretch #1.

Stretch #2 came in the form of a Pastoral visit. There has been a part of me that has resisted doing a 'visit'. I never liked the idea. I guess it's because I've had one and didn't appreciate it at all. It was 1986 and I had become a Christian a few months prior. I was still living somewhat of a worldly life, not dressing appropriately for a Christian woman, halter tops and too short shorts. I had visited one of the larger churches in Turlock and filled out a visitor card. One summer Sunday afternoon there was a knock on my door. I didn't have a peep hole and opened it. There stood 2 Christian men and a Christian woman from the church to visit me unannounced. Imagine my discomfort! They pretty much asked if they could come in and so we sat in my living room while they asked me questions and I asked them one question at their prompting. I wondered, "Why is it that when the choir finishes singing on Sunday morning, there is no applause, but when they finish singing on Sunday night, there is applause?" A logical question for someone trying to find out why there was an inconsistency in their worship. They replied, "Well, we feel Sunday morning is a more reverent time and applause is not appropriate then." I felt it was a weak explanation which didn't make sense to me at all, so I didn't attend there much longer. (Not to mention the unannounced and uninvited visit!).

Back to my second stretch. Greg had been wanting to visit two of the couples in our small group for some time. We had tried setting something up to see them for sometime. The men were open to it, the women not so much. (You know how us women are, we have to clean everything, which means extra work, never feel like it's good enough, and stress over it). I didn't want to put them through that.

We've done a few things for these couples the last month or two and have been by their houses because of it. We found out where this one couple lived because he and his 4 kids were at the Bible study one night (his wife was home sick with the flue and an infected root canal procedure) and he got symptoms of the flu while there. He was in no condition to drive home, with the effects coming out both ends. Greg offered to drive him and the kids home to Ceres while I followed in our car. We had to stop at our house to get my license and when I came out, he lost it in the gutter of our driveway. Anyway, that's how we knew how to get to his house. So, we set up a time to see them yesterday morning and went over. We had a great visit for about an hour, prayed for them and a friend who was there and left. I felt a little like we were intruding, but they didn't make us feel that way. I think it's because I'm kind of a private homebody and I assume others are too. Greg says that Pastors of small churches have different expectations on them than Pastors of larger churches, that's why Pastors of larger churches don't normally do home visits. It's good we went. We found out that they need 2 sets of bunk beds, as their kids don't have a place to sleep. IF YOU KNOW OF ANY BUNK BEDS OR 4 TWIN MATTRESSES OR 2 DOUBLE MATTRESSES LET ME KNOW. We'll pick up and deliver.

I continue to be stretched in this new role. Sometimes my flesh wants to fight it because these concepts are new to me, but I'm not going to let it win. There's too much at stake.

Blessings on this foggy/sunny Wednesday!

Remodel Update

It's been awhile, so I thought I would give everyone an update on where we are on the remodel. We have almost all the electrical done. We need to install some bulbs in the can lights. The concrete guys pour the back patio/walkways and side of the driveway tomorrow. We are are part way done with baseboards and need trim installed around doors and the window in the living room. Then we paint the living room. We need to paint the extension one more time. It was first painted a green that was too dark, like a hunter green, then we swung too light to a lime green, but I think we've found the right color now. We're also waiting for a plumber to come and use a special tool to remove our existing bathroom fixture so we can install a new one. Someday, the vanity will be replaced.

The things that are on our list as God provides are an entry table, an entertainment center, and our desks and office furniture. Because of the dimensions involved, we'll have to do all these items custom. Instead of doing these now, we decided to re-roof and replace 6 existing windows, so structurally, we'll be fine for the next 20-30 years.

I'm happy to say that for the first time in months I woke up this week WITHOUT a new layer of dust on every surface! What am I looking forward to most? It just might be the 20 yard dumpster that's coming so we can throw all our demo stuff away and clear the backyard for landscaping (Greg's favorite part!) It also might be the table and hutch coming Saturday. I just wish the extension was painted the right color first!

Today was spent removing trims from the living room doors and window, going to physical therapy to fix a slipped sacroiliac joint that went out in July after pulling nails from rafters, then again when helping someone move by taking something off the moving van in September. Then I went to work for four hours. Tonight, it's trying to tackle my desk. Tomorrow, we wrap the back of the house so the new concrete doesn't splatter against the new stucco. (That would be so ugly!)

Blessings on this chilly Tuesday night.

An Example

This post is dedicated to my friend, J, who had a bone to pick with me for not blogging since Tuesday. Thanks for encouraging me to keep blogging!

As I was reading through Job this weekend, I read chapter 29 and was quite impressed with Job's character and the way he lived his life. I saw this as an example to follow. I don't think I'll ever measure up, but it's good to shoot for this. Check it out:

1.Job continued his discourse:

7...."When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
8.the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
9.the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
10.the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11.Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
12.because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.
13.The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing.
14.I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
15.I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
16.I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
17.I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
18."I thought, 'I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
19.My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
20.My glory will remain fresh in me, the bow ever new in my hand.'
21."Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
22.After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
23.They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
24.When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
25.I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.

Before I read this, I thought of Job as a wealthy and righteous man who didn't deserve the difficulties he was facing. I felt sorry for him. But when I read the itemized list of things he did for the poor, handicapped, and needy, I had an all new respect for him. This is true not because of how he was treated by those around him, but because of his generosity and care for all people. He is an example, for sure.

One of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey I've mentioned before is to begin with the end in mind. I've taken this class a couple of times and taught parts of it. The exercise I did with the class was to have everyone write their epitaph. They had to imagine they were at their funeral and people were getting up to eulogize them. I had them write what they expected them to say. Then I had them write what they wanted them to say. Hopefully they were the same thing. Usually they were not. Then we had to figure out how to close the gap. They had to write the step they would take to correct the course of their life regarding their behaviors, attitudes, and words. They also had to consider mending bridges.

If you want to end your life with a list of accomplishments like Job's, what do you need to do now to make sure that happens? Remember, it's not for the accolades of men, we do everything for the glory of God.

Blessings on this chilly Sunday night.

Miscommunication

We are blessed to have a wonderful Christian man doing our tile floors. He speaks about 95% Spanish and about 5% English. This requires me to pull my Spanish from high school out and do my best to communicate with him. I do fine speaking, as he can understand me, but when I try and understand him, that's where the trouble is. He knows enough English words so we don't have to call his wife very often to interpret. My ears just can't separate the Spanish words when he speaks at a normal pace. They all run together.

As he was leaving yesterday, he thanked us again for the work. Then he said something like, "Que Dios, something something trabajo something something trabajo." I got the "That God" or "Because of God" part and the work parts, but I couldn't decipher the rest and put it all together. I can read and interpret well, so maybe I'll have him or me write it. I did ask him to speak more slowly (a very handy phrase) but I still couldn't make it out. I feel like I missed out on something very important, but I'm determined to find out what he said.

I think of the times when talking to someone in English and there was still miscommunication. Sometimes we are interpreted as having a certain heart (usually bad) and that was neither what we said or how we felt, or what we meant. Sometimes we read others' body language and misinterpret that. We can go through life thinking one thing about a person that is totally wrong. Is that fair to them or to us? Nope. That's why clear, frequent, open, and total communication is so very important. I think of all the relationships that have been prematurely aborted because of miscommunication and it breaks my heart. Let's vow to not only communicate accurately with others, but also to verify they understood the heart behind what we said. Let's also vow to make sure we understand others accurately. One of Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People states "First seek to understand, then to be understood." A good rule to live by!

A Mysterious White Powder

Okay, so it's not so mysterious, but a white powder covers everything. Last night Greg grinded the concrete floor of the kitchen. We did our best to tape plastic over everything, but quickly found pockets of what looked like smoke billowing into the kitchen and living room. Donned with our masks and vacuum cleaners strategically placed, we did our best to eliminate the damage. No matter how much I wipe things down, there's more dust! I'm fighting a losing battle I'm afraid.

I've found a huge blessing in my new found occupation. Besides working for and with my husband, being self-employed, getting stronger, and having a flexible schedule, I found that I can connect with God throughout the day even better than when I worked for a church. Alone in God's creation, picking weeds, caring for the plants He made, I find myself listening to the Holy Spirit more. Without the distractions of the demands of others, I knelt this week on a rocky, hilly planter in the middle of a beautiful lawn. As I pulled weeds it occurred to me that weeds were everywhere. Kind of like sin, it's everywhere. I was appointed to help remove it. But my abilities are limited. I can pull them out, temporarily stopping them from view, but they could pop back up again. Only God can remove them for good. Kind of like sin. Does that mean God is like Round-up? I can't quite make that connection, but I do know that the more we desire to be like Christ and form a closer relationship with Him, the more sin is replaced with the things of God. We no longer desire to chase after the things of this world, they become less and less appealing. We desire to replace them with the Godly thoughts and actions.

Take time today to experience God's creation. It's going to rain today, but rain is a beautiful thing that God has provided. Find Him in His creation today. Blessings on the rainy Friday!

Early Christmas

After a hard day at work, we went to small group. I was pretty excited because I was able to teach last night. Greg and I had bought a case of hardcover NLT Life Application Bibles to give away to folks on the west side. They day before I went to Target and got gift bags and tissue in bright neon colors to wrap them. While there I thought, 'I don't want the six kids to feel left out that they didn't get anything', so I bought some age appropriate toys to keep them occupied during the teaching. Then Greg and I went to the local Bible store and bought Bible covers and highlighters for them. I put the bibles and highlighters in the cases and wrapped them in tissue and put them in the gift bags. Then I wrapped the boxes of toys.

We arrived, and with Greg's mighty, "Ho, Ho, Ho!" we came inside. The kids were quiet and so expectant wondering what was inside. The oldest boy told me the boxes were for the kids and the bags were for the grown ups. Smart kid! The kids went first and opened the gifts. We explained that they were from the EQUIP church and belonged to the church, as someday they will be used by other kids as well, but for now they could play with them while at Grandma & Grandpa's house. They were great with that. The parents opened their gift bags and were thrilled. The youngest daughter said she had been praying for a Bible cover for over a year. Yeah!

Greg ran interference with the kids so the moms could concentrate on the teaching. It was great. I was exhausted after yesterday, so we got to sleep in a little this morning. Self-employment is a great thing!

Off to work. Blessings on this cloudy, cool day!

New Stuff

I'm finding it impossible to blog on Mondays. I have just enough time to get up way early, throw on work clothes and hit the door at daybreak. I even eat in the truck. So, here's an update on what has gone on in the last 2 days.

Sunday we went to another church to check out what they did. Several people have asked us what we thought about them but until Sunday we couldn't answer because we had never gone. Though what I heard prior was controversial, we found it to be a great experience. We were greeted warmly at the door and handed our bulletins. We were welcomed by a couple we knew and got to catch up a little before service. The associate Pastor came over and introduced himself as well and welcomed us. Then the Pastor came over and called us by name and welcomed us. He said he heard we were planting a church on the west side. We caught up with him a bit and I got to catch up on his brother, who I worked with at Gallo many years ago. The worship was great, the teaching was on track and relevant. As we exited the front door, the Pastor offered to help us plan our church plant and asked that we call him. I filled out a visitor card and the associate Pastor called us that afternoon. All in all it was a great experience and we're glad we went.

Sunday we pretty much did stuff around the house and watched football. Yesterday was a good hard workday and last night I fell asleep on the sofa with Greg at 6:00 for a few minutes while our tile guy grouted what he did on Saturday. He offered to come back tonight and Wednesday night and tile more, but Greg wanted him fresh on Saturday, so he'll be back then to tile the kitchen. Yeah!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. Besides teaching, we have gifts to bring. I love bringing gifts! I have lots to work on today and tonight we will probably grind down the rest of the concrete and pull up some carpet to prepare for this weekend. Maybe I'll do some painting today as well. Blessings on this fall Tuesday!

Update

I'm slapping myself for being so sporadic in my blogging and having to try and remember where I left off Tuesday! Wednesday night was our Bible Study on the westside. We had our new youth pastors Josh and Monica over so everyone could get to know them and they had instant rapport. We played a game called Loaded Questions which was great in getting everyone to know each other better. We laughed constantly. I get to teach this week and then next week we'll start a marriage series. Josh and Monica will be caring for and teaching the six little ones so all the adults can focus on the teaching.

Wednesday Greg and I worked the Turlock route and Thursday we were in Modesto. Greg assigned me my first area to be totally responsible for; the rose gardens and planters around the sanctuary of a church in Modesto. Friday I helped him for a couple of hours at our church and got to mow a new area.

Yesterday one of the couples at our small group was having a garage sale to make rent and we saw the opportunity to bless them. We called them Friday night and told them we had appliances and boxes of kitchen stuff they could have if they wanted it to sell. They came over at 7 yesterday and picked it all up. It blessed us to have it gone. Greg rearranged the garage and I can park in it again! They sold enough stuff to make their rent! Yeah!


Our tile guy came at 7:30 and started tiling the new room. He laid 92 20" tiles yesterday and will come back Monday night and grout it. Then he'll be back on the weekend to continue tiling into the living room and kitchen.


The stucco guys also came at 7:30 and started on the back of the house. I went and picked up pizza and soda for everyone at noon and we had fun talking in Spanish and English and finding out about every one's families. The tile guy ha 4 kids! The stucco supervisor came from a family with 10 kids and another stucco guy had 11 kids in his family! Yikes!

Today we're visiting another church. Should be interesting. Better finish getting ready. I hate being late! Blessings on this beautiful 85 degree Lord's day!

Burned!

Let's see if I can catch you up on all that has happened since Friday. Saturday we had a board meeting at our house, which went well. After that, Greg and I went to work for a few hours. At the second job site, I had finished edging and was putting the edger back in the truck. Because of some prunings, I was having to shove and maneuver the edger into the truck. My training as a mother taught me that when you need to put a bottom-heavy item somewhere in front of you, you grab it by the bottom and shove it forward. Not wearing gloves, I grabbed the edger by the hot metal piece at the bottom and let out a yelp! The edger was tossed a little into the air and landed on the tailgate while I tried to figure out what happened to my thumb. Not realizing I had lost the cap to the gas reservoir a ways back, gas also flew out of the edger, as it was full.

Trying to decide if I was mad at the edger, felt victimized by the great pain, or just needed first aid, I walked towards the building to find water. I didn't have a key on my to the building so I had to use the hose. The hose required pliers as there is no way to turn it on by hand. Back to the truck, couldn't find pliers, but then FINALLY found them, I walked back and had cold water run over my second degree burn. I admit I was crying quite a bit. Greg was nowhere to be found, mowing out of sight and earshot. After a few minutes I stopped, figuring I might be able to get back to work if I could bandage my thumb. I walked back to the truck where the fire on my thumb returned. I couldn't find the first aid kit either, grabbed the pliers again, crying all over again, and headed back to the faucet. Greg saw me and wondered, why is she crying about watering the trees? Then he looked at me and asked, "Are you hurt?" He jumped off the idling mower and ran to my rescue. He didn't know if he should hold me, help me, or laugh. He'd never seen my cry so hard before. He got more water on my thumb, which helped with the pain and the crying. He got the first aid kit but didn't really have anything to put on my thumb for the pain. I refused acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Each time we took the water off, the fire returned. Plan B. He asked if I could suck it up and continue working. I told him my pride wanted to keep working, but there wasn't a hair of obligation to work anywhere in my heart. I wanted to go home and put my thumb in a glass of cold water. He called Mark and he came with a baggie of cold water for the ride home. What a great son! I sat on the bed with my thumb in cold water for 2 1/2 hours until the pain subsided enough to take a nap. The burn area turned white immediately, a sign of second degree burns. I was able to work yesterday, with gloves, which I will always wear from now on.

So, yesterday we worked at Safeway. I got to mow most of the lawns, even the ones at the entrance. I got to edge and weed and shovel dirt too. It was a full day and Greg said he was so proud of how hard I worked. Last night we went to parent teacher conferences, which was very good.

On the home front, we have green in the new room and the red in the kitchen is done. The green is darker than I imagined. It's a pretty color, but not what I had in mind. The bathroom is almost done. We need the towel bar installed, the light fixture, and some touch up done, which I'll probably do today. My desk needs attention too, laundry, etc.

This Saturday we start tiling the big room. Next week I hope to get the dining room table and china hutch delivered. Lots to do. I need to make lists.

Blessings on this beautiful, cool, Tuesday!

Scary!

What a crazy couple of days since my last post! Greg and I met with a guy who he wanted to do our tile floors Monday night. He struck me as someone with a drug history but seemed pretty okay that night. We agreed that I would meet him at Lowe's Wednesday at noon to pick out the mortar, grout, etc. He called and said he couldn't make it until 12:15. No problem. I got there at 12:10, waited in the front of the store until 12:20, then headed to the back in case he was in the tile section. At 12:25 I called him on his cell and he said he was on Monte Vista Ave. and would be there in a couple of minutes. At 12:50 he comes staggering in, slurring his words, is constantly in motion, mumbling, can't concentrate, it took him 20 minutes to pick out the mortar from about 4 choices! I told him he looked like he wasn't feeling too well, and was he under the influence of something? He said he lost 1/2 a tooth and couldn't keep his plate up. I thought, if you have plates, then a lost tooth shouldn't hurt a bit! He didn't say he took anything and didn't miss a beat or seem the least bit offended when I asked, as though he's been asked that before.

I started feeling really freaked out. I couldn't wait to get out of there! He was supposed to come over and start working on the floor, but I thought, I don't want him using a saw on my property! He'll cut off a finger or something then I'll have a lawsuit, yikes! We went out the store and he said he had to go to the temp agency to pick up a ticket then would be over in 20 minutes. As soon as got in my car I called Greg. No answer. I drove to where I thought he would be working but he wasn't there. Kristen was home. Finally I got Greg and told him this guy was on drugs. He called the temp agency and had them tell him we wouldn't be needing him. Whew! That was close. I've never felt so threatened in my life! He was nice, but he was totally out of it and not very lucid. Even the temp agency said they've been watching him lately. Greg said he sounded out of it on the phone message he left that day.

With our new board coming Saturday morning, I was in a pickle to get the bathroom done. I was already painting and needed a tile guy fast! Friends of our let us use their saw, then when the tile guy fell through, they let us contact their tile guy. What a godsend! This sweet, Christian Hispanic man and his wife came over at 6:30 yesterday morning to see the job and agreed to do it all today so we could use the bathroom tomorrow for the board meeting! Yeah! He doesn't speak English so I get to try and remember my Spanish and communicate with him. He's very patient with me! God surely protected us from making a horrible mistake on this one!

The painters are here doing their thing. They're even going to make my corners straight in the bathroom and touch up the kitchen too. A professional job. Yeah!

I worked with Greg 9 1/2 hours yesterday. He said he was glad he married a strong wife. My shoulder is a little sore from lugging around a full large trash can several times yesterday, but a good kind of sore. He said I'm ready for mowing our largest account on Monday. Yeah! It's a little scary thinking I'm going to be doing corporate lawns. I remember Gallo's beautiful grounds. I'll be very careful. Greg said it's the most challenging time to learn to mow, it's wet and the grass is high. That means there could be ruts left when turning and I have to know the height to mow. Luckily he helps me with that but says I have a good eye to know what to set it on. Since I'm not working with him today, I have to help him Saturday afternoon. Should be a pretty easy half day though.

Today, I'm trying to be productive. It's hard, as everything is covered in plastic and I can't get in the bathroom. I'm pretty much making lists and doing laundry and running errands.

Blessings on this gorgeous Friday, and thanks for reading my rambling!

David

Sorry it's a day late, but the bathroom has taken all my attention. On to David.

The beginning of Charles Swindoll's book on David talks about three priorities for a God-Appointed Servant Leader.

The first quality God saw in David was spirituality. "The Lord has sought out . . . a man after His own heart. When you are deeply spiritual, you have a heart that is sensitive to the things of God. What hurts God, hurts you. What burdens God, burdens you. When God says, go this way, you go that way, without much hesitation, argument, fear, or anxiety, you cast your cares on Him and you just obey.

2 Chronicles 16:9 says that For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. . . When God corrects you, you adjust your behavior. You're grieved over what grieves God. The things that displease God concern you.

The second quality God saw in David was humility. God found David faithfully watching the sheep. A shepherd back then was considered a blue-collar worker. No public upper education needed, no fancy clothes. Just someone who was willing to be the sheep's advocate, day and night, and insure their safety and health. Charles Swindoll puts it this way: "It's as if God says, "I don't care about all that slick public image business. Show me a person who has the character, and I'll give him all the image he needs. I don't require some certain temperament, I don't care if he has a lot of charisma, I don't care about size, I don't care about an impressive track record. I care about character! First, is the person deeply authentic in his or her spiritual walk or is he faking it? And second, is he or she a servant?""

This quote reminds me of the verse that talks about God using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. It's just like God to take those things that have been the most battered, the least attractive, the slightly quirky, to do great things for Him.

The third quality God saw in David was integrity. Psalm 78:71-72 says, From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands."

Charles continues with, "Circle the word integrity That is so significant! God is not looking for magnificent specimens of humanity. He's looking for deeply spiritual, genuinely humble, honest-to-the-core servants who have integrity."

Scan your heart today. Ask yourself where you fall in regards to spirituality, humility, and integrity. Ask God to reveal where he finds you in these areas and where you need to grow. Then ask Him how you are to grow. I've been finding that God is full of answers, but we seldom ask him any, other than "Will you please . . .?" Start asking questions that start with How and What and When and Why and Where. "How can I grow deeper in the knowledge of you?" "What will my next ministry step be?" "When will you call me onto my next assignment?" "Why do I feel stuck?" "Where will I be a year or five years from now?" He has all these answers. Seek Him with all your heart.

Blessings on this sunny Wednesday!

Saving Grace

Not what you think. I don't remember if I blogged about the frustration of having striped ceilings or not. If not, I have them after several coats of primer. The saving grace comes in the form of a painting contractor who may (hopefully) save my tail and finish the painting. I'm too gun shy to try and finish it myself, though I'm doing the bathroom. Hopefully, Greg will approve the bid and we can move on to tiling the floor and finishing up.

I've taken a break from the painting to concentrate on other things that have been neglected, like my desk, the ironing board, the bedroom, and better cooking. The bathroom has been prepped for painting as soon as the spackling paste dries on a few spots and Greg unscrews the light fixture box, which has stripped screws due to the installation, I'll get painting. We bought the new toilet last night, bone colored, elongated bowl, and chair height for when we're too old to sit all the way down on a standard toilet! Greg will install the toilet and faucet this week, hopefully, before our board meeting on Saturday. Yes, I am cutting it close!

Here's what a wonderful husband I have: We had 2 coupons at Lowe's, the better for $25 off a purchase of $250 or more. The toilet was $221 complete. The coupon expired 3 days prior. Greg said I had to find another $29 worth of stuff and then he went to the service desk and asked if we could still use it. He probably explained that I had been trying to get him to go buy the toilet for a week, but he put me off, and could they make an exception. They did! While he was negotiating, I found a salad spinner and a couple more kitchen utensils I needed. What a great shopping experience I had! Greg got brownie points and gold stars and pats on the back and compliments all the way home. He's my hero!

Tomorrow I hope to share with you what cool things I've discovered in my David book and m Multi-ethnic church book. Good reading!

Blessings on this sunny Monday afternoon!

New Job

Today was my first full day (9.5 hours) in my new job with Greg doing landscaping. Most of it was fun and challenging. We started by going to Ripon (about 30 minutes north) to pick up several flats of annuals, then to Modesto (about 10 minutes back north) to LaLoma (a gorgeous neighborhood on a river) to prepare to plant them and do some detailing. The homeowner came out and chatted with us and expressed he didn't want to lose us as his landscapers. (He won't!)

Then it was off to Turlock to stop at home for a potty break and cut my bangs (they were driving me nuts, especially in this wind). Off to the storage unit to pick up the big mower and to a residential to mow (I mowed front and back), edge, and blow, then to a subdivision of 10 homes where I mowed 6 backyards and learned to use the commercial edger. A little detailing and then we were off to our church. Yeah! I like doing our church because it's beautiful and because I get to ride on the big mower, which is a blast. Greg said my lines were straight! I got to edge there also, then off to the storage unit to unload.

To celebrate, Greg took me out to Lampost Pizza. Honestly, tonight's dinner tasted better than any dinner I've had in months! It pays to burn calories! I'm not even tired, but I know that when I go to sleep and then roll over, my body will experience the stiffness I've come to know lately from all the painting I've been doing.

You might be wondering where we are on the house. Well, since I've been home this week, I've put 2 coats of primer on the walls in the new room, 3 coats on the ceiling, 2 coats on the kitchen ceiling, and 3 coats of paint on the kitchen walls. My biggest frustration is that the paint is streaking. I've never had a problem with paint not covering well in my life, and now, all I get are streaks! Needless to say we're getting quotes from painters to have it all sprayed before I go bonkers. I'm not taking any chances with painting the new room with a roller, though the walls came out well with the primer.

Can't wait to actually live in the house when it's done, cook a real meal that takes more than a little baking or microwaving, and sit at a table to eat a meal. Tomorrow, I tackle the bathroom!

Blessings!

Wide Awake - Finished

It took me a long time to get to finish this one, but last night, I finally did. With everyone out of the house, I was determined to read the last 10 or so pages. Now I can concentrate on David by Charles Swindoll that a dear friend of mine just gave me.

There were a few paragraphs I would like to share with you from my reading last night. I've been privileged the last week or so to talk with a handful of people who are searching for God's will in their life. What does he want them to do? How does He want them to serve? Check this out:

by Erwin McManus

In one sentence, God unwraps for us the power and significance of prayer: "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know." We think we know what prayer is, but I often wonder. For most of us prayer is when you ask God to solve your problems and tell God what you need and, of course, what you want.

Have you ever considered the possibility that how we pray and how we engage God is pretty much senseless? Do we really think God is saying, "Oh, thanks; I don't know how I missed that. Oh, you need a job? I thought you should be unemployed all your life. Oh, you want a wife? I was going to give you a poodle for Christmas. I'm so glad you're clearing everything up for me"?

When we pray, we act as if God has been missing the point the entire time. "This is what I need, so pay attention, God. Amen." That's not really what prayer is supposed to be about. God invites us to connect on a much more profound level. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know."

This is what God is saying: The reason you need to be in conversation with me is that I created your imagination to be a playground where you and I can get together and I can blow your mind away. I'm going to stretch the boundaries of your dreams. Just ask me, and I will begin to share with you the dreams I have for your life and for all of humanity. You can talk to me about the small stuff, or you can listen to me, and I will let you in on what I am thinking. It's going to be big!

Remember Adam? He didn't say to God, "God, thanks for the elephants. They're really fun to ride. I'm not so sure about the rhinos; don't ever mount them from the front. God, thanks for everything, but I've got an idea. I need a woman! Koalas are cute, but they're a terrible date." Adam didn't have a clue. He couldn't even conceptualize a woman. God put him in a deep sleep. Why? Because God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. God knew something Adam needed. Something Adam didn't even know he needed. God knew what Adam would want, what Adam would need, something Adam couldn't even imagine.

...Isn't it possible that the life that your soul longs for is beyond even your imagination? Is it possible that no matter how big your dreams are, how expansive your imagination, how ambitious your goals, they pale in comparison to what you would begin to see for your life if you would invite God into your life conversation? He is saying to you, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know."

I remember praying a similar prayer in 1998. I was feeling called to ministry, but didn't have a clue what God wanted me to do. In the midst of praying about ministry, I was a little torqued that someone I admired was marrying someone else. It was at that time that God spoke six simple words to me. "I have great things for you." I didn't know what that meant but I assumed it meant ministry. When I started a small group for single moms, I thought I had arrived at God's 'great things'. Little did I know that in 10 years, I would have gotten married to a wonderful, Godly man, been a church administrator, have a nearly remodeled house, be in a very good financial position, be starting our own church, and not have to work for anyone but my husband. I could easily say, these are God's 'great things', but I know better than to put him in a box like that. He may surely have other 'great things' down the road. His boundaries are endless.

Pray some dangerous prayers today. Seek God's will for you. He might very well surprise you with more than the desires of your heart and dreams. Blessings on this gorgeous Wednesday!

Condemnation

I have found that some people don't know too much about condemnation so I thought I would share some thoughts that have been going through my mind recently on the subject. I think I've mentioned this in the past, but it's always worth repeating.

Sometimes when a person is feeling beat up emotionally, they stay in this state for weeks. Some don't know why it is happening. They may have had a conversation with a believer who was trying to help them in an area they are struggling with. They turn the blame on the believer, feeling the believer was trying to condemn them. More times than not, it is actually the Holy Spirit convicting them instead. The Holy Spirit gets our attention by bringing up an area we should be better at, like spending time with God, giving, fellowshipping, etc. In this case, the best thing to do is make the correction and the conviction goes away.

Other times, it really is condemnation. The enemy finds an area we're weak in and starts telling us what a horrible person we are. The difference between conviction and condemnation is that the Holy Spirit draws attention back to God. The enemy, however, tears us down, and makes us feel unworthy, drawing our attention to ourselves. God would never make us feel unworthy. One leads a choice to repentance, the other to a focus on us and our sin.

Once it is determined that it is condemnation from the enemy (which lasts as long as we allow it to), we have a choice to make. When someone tells us a lie, we have a choice whether to believe it or not. It's totally up to us. We can choose to be sucked into this lie, believe it, join the enemy in beating ourselves up, (which he just loves the help!) or we can choose not to believe it and replace the time we have been spending on the lie, on something much more healthy. Philippians 4:8 says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." God doesn't want us spending any time on the negative. God made you wonderfully, He doesn't make mistakes, and he doesn't make junk. Why ever believe that you are anything less than wonderful?

If this blog helped you, I would love to hear from you! You can email me at gshazenberg@sbcglobal.net. Have a blessed, cool Monday!

Prayer Walk

We had quite the morning this morning. We had 6 people join us, two that were new to our prayer walks. We got a bit of a late start, as we enjoyed a time of showing off our new kitchen. It looked like the weather was clearing as we left. As we headed out onto the streets of the westside, we were approached by a man on a bicycle. He showed us a missing child bulletin. A little boy didn't come home from school yesterday who lived in the neighborhood, a neighbor of this man. We promised to keep our eyes open and to pray for his safe return. The police were on every street, knocking on every door, calling every house.

We had decided to meet at the elementary school at the half-way point in our walk. As we approached it, the alarm was going off, a fire truck was parked there along with other cars and another came as we headed into the middle of the school grounds to pray. We split into two groups and prayed for the westside and for the boy's safe return that hour. We then headed back to our cars and debriefed. God spoke of refreshment and renewal, a time of God calling the westside people to himself, and a time for the residents to open their hands to others. God told me to not grow weary. As we finished sharing and began to pray, a lady and her two kids asked us if we had been looking for the boy. We said yes and she said he had just been found at a friend's house where he spent the night. We rejoiced in his safe return. We finished praying and as we did, a light rain began to sprinkle down on us. It was so refreshing.

May God thoroughly bless your day, this drizzly, cloudy Saturday.

EQUIP Announcement

We are happy to announce that Josh and Monica Kemper have joined our Leadership Team. They have a great background working with youth and Monica has taught women's Bible studies. They have a heart for marriage ministry and we look forward to see how God will use their gifts and abilities going forward.

I got most of the extension primered yesterday. A small section of the wall remains as well as the kitchen walls. Greg and Mark worked on the ceiling last night and when the sunlight hits the room I'll see what needs to be finished. Looks like Saturday is paint day after the prayer walk. Also on tap for today is helping Greg get a load of debris to his truck this morning, a trip to Modesto to pick up the bathroom fixture and my replacement left contact (I've been wearing a trial pair with a piece missing in my left eye for a month or more), meeting with the cabinet guy for the dishwasher facing installation and a drawer guide repair that I kind of broke, bill paying, lesson on the big mower, and bed. Whew! Ambitious? Yes. Do-able? I hope so!

Blessings on this cloudy, cool Friday.

Bogged Down

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the huge task of painting ahead of me. Please pray for me. Vanessa suggested a painting party. Not sure. I hate asking for help.

Anyway, we have a prayer walk this Saturday at 8:00. Please pray that God will continue to fill us and direct us as we pray for the westside.

Gotta go, lots to do.

Blessings this cool, fall Thursday.

My First Day as a Bum!

My daughter has been referring to my 'in-between-jobs' time as when I'm a bum. I don't really care for that word because I intend to work very hard during this time painting and tiling and fixing things up. But it was nice to get up this morning and not think about what I had to do at work, not put too much effort into what I would wear and know that if she was late getting out the door, it didn't matter, because I was coming home. Takes a lot of pressure off!

I'm dedicating the morning to God, then it's off to lunch with my best friend and maid of honor, Vanessa. She's the one person I can talk a mile a minute with and still have stuff to say.

Yesterday was a great day. The staff prayed for me and Greg at our staff meeting, I received a special gift from a special friend, then the staff had a great lunch at Red Robbin. I received a wonderful card with well wishes from everyone that I will always treasure. I received an unexpected bouquet of flowers from my mom, wishing me well on my new venture. The vase is gorgeous and totally matches the new room! The day ended with me packing up my stuff and having a great exit interview with my Pastor. I slept great last night and look forward to today.

This has been a joyful transition. Thank you New Life Staff for making it wonderful. Blessings on this glorious Wednesday, the first day of the rest of my life.

My Last Day

Well, I wish I could say I had this really good, insightful blog to post today about transitions or something, but I haven't put much thought into it. As I leave my job of only 3 1/2 years (a record for me, most jobs stints are much longer) I'm surprised by my elated mood. When I left Gallo, I was also very happy, looking forward to working at the church. As I leave the church, I'm also very happy, looking forward to planting a new church and enjoying all that comes with ministry. I look forward to seeing Greg finally enjoy the calling God placed on him so many years ago and absolutely flourish at what God created him for.

Much of my reading in the Bible these days point to a restored Jerusalem. I think of the Westside that way. Though many have turned from God, He is calling them back to an abundant life with Him. I can't wait to see what God will do in individual lives, families, and the entire neighborhood.

I invite you to continue reading my blog and following the gestation period and birth of this new baby church. It's an exciting time, and I pray that through this, God will spark a desire in you to take risks, put all your faith in Him, and go for it!

Blessings on this gorgeous Tuesday.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Church Planting

Sorry it's been awhile since I've written. Between the speed of my life and being tired from it and allergies, blogging has been squeezed out. I hope to be more regular.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine sent me a link to a church planting website. I really liked what it had to say about describing the qualities necessary for successful church planters. You can see the list here.

We continue to make slow progress in planting our church. I hope to have a more detailed report next week sometime. In the meantime, we're wrapping up the World Vision Experience in our church today, we have a sheetrock inspection today and the tape and texture happens this week I hope. Our pocket door frame to our bedroom was installed yesterday and the sliders came out. It's fun watching this happen. I'm also winding down my job and delegating a few responsibilities out so nothing gets dropped before a new administrator is hired. It certainly is a season of change!

Here are a few shots of the house in the last week.

Stolen Car

Sometime Friday night our son's car was stolen from in front of our house. If you live in Turlock or the surrounding areas and happen to spot it, please call the police. Here's a picture. He's named it the Flamin' Bean.



Our garage sale was moderately successful. Though we didn't make much money, we did sell two items that we really wanted to get rid of, our kitchen cabinets and our freezer. We may try again in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we're praying about just giving the stuff to people on the westside who might need it.

I'm feeling awful with allergies. After church, we have an appointment to counsel someone on their finances, then clean out the extension for the sheetrockers on Tuesday, then to Escalon to visit Greg's mom and sister, who's visiting from Montana.

Busy day. Blessings on this gorgeous Lord's day.

Great Bible Study

As I've mentioned before, we changed our Wednesday night prayer meeting on the westside to more of a Bible study. Last night Greg did a great job teaching on Matthew 18. He weaved the lessons on forgiveness together with a lesson on gossip and a lesson on the difference between just saying "I'm sorry" with the importance of also asking for forgiveness and what that means to both parties. He talked about cancelling a person's debt and gave great real life examples of the obligation to restore. He even put me on the spot on a couple of role plays. It was fun. Everything clicked with everyone. Next week we start our series of great people in the Bible by studying the book of Ruth and one of the people in it.

Tonight Greg speaks at the Turlock Gospel Mission and Kristen and I have a meeting at her school for the Junior/Senior Banquet. Can't wait for tomorrow. I get to work around the house! Everything in the extension has to be cleared out this weekend including our sliding glass doors. Coming down to the end!

Blessings on this gorgeous Thursday.

Remodel Update

It's been awhile, so here's an update. Saturday we got the sink and dishwasher working! Heaven actually opened up and all the angels began singing! Monday we got the refrigerator installed. Yesterday we got the microwave installed. Wahoo!
Yesterday they papered and chiken-wired the back outside of the house and I think they're stucco-ing today. Soon we'll do the sheet rock and texturing, then it's all mine to tile and paint. That should work out well with me leaving my job. Hopefully it will all land at the right time.

The World Vision truck rolled in last night and we will start setting up the exhibit today. We met with the tour staff yesterday and learned that the head person is from a church in Fresno that was a church plant 7 years ago and they are now planting their fifth church. Way to go!

Much to do. Trying to conserve energy. Yesterday I was running on fumes and spent the evening by myself reading my appliance manuals, as I didn't have the strength to work on the house at all. With all the work Greg has been doing and me on the house, we are planning a 2 day family trip to Yosemite to rest and re-center before we fall apart. Can't wait!

Blessings this amazing Wednesday.

Split Brain

On September 3rd, Kristen lost her purse. She remembers taking it to Sizzler to celebrate Mark saving our tail in our business. While Greg was working on a big 4 week project, Mark had to do our commercial and residential maintenance routes for those weeks. He did a great job. We wanted to bless him with a meal at one of his favorite restaurants.

Kristen doesn't remember taking it home. She lost about $40 cash, gift cards, and her driver's permit. Sizzler didn't have anyone return the purse, so Friday I took her down to the police department to report it stolen or lost. We talked to a very nice police officer, maybe the Chief. As we were leaving, I had an idea. I had always wanted to talk to a police officer about the types of crimes on the westside. Don't want to go in blindly you know.

I asked questions about the gang names and types, how to identify them, what their habits were for violence, where they were from and where they went. Did the crimes happen mostly at night? What kinds of drugs were most prevalent? For about 10 minutes I grilled him and he gave me lots of information. Halfway through my brain split. One half was talking and listening about the westside, the other half was saying, "Are you nuts? Your 16 year old daughter is standing right here! She's already got a few apprehensions about her safety, why are you exposing her to all the dangers?" My analytical side took over. I reasoned, well, it's a good way to open up this conversation and find out what she's thinking about all this new info!

It turned out very good. She decided she wanted to learn martial arts to help protect herself. We haven't gone any further down that road yet. I let her know of some plans we have for ministry in that area and she was thrilled.

Do you ever start going down one road and some common sense, or conscience, or Holy Spirit or even the enemy shows up and tries to convince you to do a 180 and go in a completely different direction? Do you listen to it? Do you reason with it? Are you usually right or wrong? At 16 I think it was good to not hide the dangers we'll be facing on the westside. I want her to be fully aware. The police officer was kind enough to tell us how to tell the different gang members apart. He also wished us well on what we were doing. We plan to be partnering very closely with the PD.

May both sides of your brain have a blessed Tuesday!

The Chase

As I was thinking about my last blog where I wrote about Jesus leaving the 99 and chasing after the 1, I started to think about how God created us to chase or be chased.

God pursues us and we pursue God. Men pursue women and unfortunately, some women pursue men. God didn't create women to be pursuers, he created them to be responders. It's the same in the botanical world. The pollinator (bee) seeks out the flower. In the animal world, predators chase after their prey. Now, God could have done that differently. He could have had the prey, once seeing they were about to be hunted, could have been made to freeze in place and drop dead of a heart attack. That takes all the fun out of the pursuit, plus it wouldn't give the prey the free will to fight for their life by running away. You'd have a lot of unfit, fat predators in the animal kingdom that way. God is consistent, if he did that in the animal world, he would probably do that in the human world. The human race would be wiped out in no time. I digress.

So, why would God create 'the chase'? Why would he give all of us a desire to go after something, to chase after something with passion? I think part of it is a survival instinct. In this day and age at least in this country and other developed nations, we don't have to chase after our food, we just leisurely drive our car to the grocery store. No violence, no running, no chase.

But inside us we have this drive to achieve, to conquer something. Some people conquer mountain tops or marathons or their Olympic event. Some people seek after a disciplined life. No matter what we decide to chase after, God gives us a choice. It's called free will. This free will gives us the choice to decide to chase after good things or bad things. Some who seeking joy and satisfaction in this life chase after things that aren't good for them, like drugs, alcohol, ungodly relationships, or material possessions. After a while, they discover these things don't bring satisfaction and the joy is very short lived.

Seeking after God and his will is a good choice. If you look up the word Seek in your Bible's concordance, you will find all kinds of verses on seeking. We're told to pray and seek His face and turn from our evil ways, to seek His will in all we do, not to seek honors, to seek the Lord while we can, not to seek ending our marriage, and that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

God designed us with a desire to pursue Him. He also gave us that same desire to pursue interests. It's our choice whether we use that desire to pursue good things or evil things. Choose the good, always.

Blessings this cool Monday.

A Charge

I was reading in Ezekiel again this morning and found a great chapter. Ezekiel 34. The whole chapter was about Shepherds and I felt as if God was giving me a charge. That's the term that keeps going through my mind when I think of this chapter. Webster's dictionary defines a charge as a person or thing committed to the care of another. This is exactly what shepherds or Pastors do. They care for others.

Ezekiel 34 talks about good shepherds and bad shepherds. It reads:

1.The word of the LORD came to me: 2."Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3.You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4.You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5.So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6.My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

7." 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8.As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9.therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10.This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. 11." 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12.As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13.I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14.I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15.I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16.I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

17." 'As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.
18.Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19.Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

20." 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21.Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away,
22.I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23.I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.
24.I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.

25." 'I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26.I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27.The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28.They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.

29.I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
30.Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord.
31.You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.' "

My Bible has a little table in it comparing the good and bad shepherds:

Bad Shepherds
Take care of themselves
Worry about their own health
Rule harshly and brutally
Abandon and scatter the sheep
Keep the best for themselves

Good Shepherds
Take care of their flock
Strengthen the weak and sick, search for the lost
Rule lovingly and gently
Gather and protect the sheep
Give their best to the sheep

As I read this, I felt like God was emphasizing the importance of chasing after lost sheep. I don't mean the unsaved, though we are called to do that. But as shepherds to chase after those who may leave the fold for some reason. Maybe they're angry or hurt because of something someone said or did or didn't say or didn't do. Maybe they're backsliding. Maybe they're not challenged enough or don't feel listened to or cared about. Maybe they're just busy or have had a baby or their car has broken down and they haven't made it to church in a few weeks. Jesus left the 99 to chase after the 1. We should never be too busy to chase after the 1.

Sometimes people choose to leave the fold. We should not let them go without a conversation about why they're leaving. It's not a healthy way to leave for them or the church body. So many slip away unnoticed. In the church world we call this the back door. This creates more hurt for them and confusion for the body. Just last night someone asked, "Where is so and so? I haven't seen them in church for weeks." They actually left months ago. People want to be chased. They want to know someone cares. When we create an atmosphere of accountability, such as having a conversation about why someone is choosing to leave the flock, it brings closure to the person leaving by allowing the shepherd to release them. This is especially true if someone is a member of a church. It frees them up to become members of another church. Though it is perfectly legal, people shouldn't have concurrent memberships at churches. We don't do it at health clubs and we shouldn't do it with churches. It also gives the shepherd the opportunity to discover why they're leaving, so they're not wondering about it. It also alleviates the awkwardness of running into that person in a store and not knowing what to say or feeling like you want to avoid them because you don't know how they feel about you. It's also helpful to know in case there is an unhealthy area in the church that needs addressing that the shepherd wasn't aware of before.

It was good for me to read this, especially as we begin to pastor in a few months. Blessings on this sunny Saturday.

Inch by Inch

Last night I got to cook on our new cooktop! We had a breakfast dinner. It was great! Jim even said how very nice the cooktop was. It glows in red! It senses when something is on it or not, and tells you when it is still warm. It even has a timer. Five burners is so nice! I've been cooking on 3 because 1 was flakey for about a year. Right now they're wiring the sub panel into the main panel so I can have the double ovens working.



Yesterday was a bit of a hard day. I had a filling at the dentist. I was blessed it was so quick, about 30 minutes because it was just a crack that created a chip, though the chip was still in place between my molars. The hygienist flossed the chip under a filling about 2 weeks ago. The bad thing about the work yesterday was I think he drilled parts of my tongue accidentally. I have these pink grooves on the side of my tongue and he mentioned the most challenging part of the filling was keeping my tongue out of the way and the tooth dry. Yesterday it was so sore! A little gly-oxide and I'm much better.

Today will be a great day. I get my back fixed. I get to shop for pots and pans and silverware and dishes. I get to have my first training lesson on the x-mark 60" mower. I think the fridge and dishwasher and faucet will be installed today so I'll have running water in the kitchen!!! That's the thing I've missed the most for sure. You probably don't realize how much you wash your hands and food when cooking until you have to walk to the bathroom every single time to use the sink. And that's only if no one is using the bathroom, otherwise it's a trip further back in the house to the master bathroom. I shouldn't complain, some people don't have clean running water at all. I'm blessed.

Time to finish breakfast and hit the stores for the 9:00 openings. Blessings this gorgeous sunny Friday.