Month: June 2017

I’d like to report a bit about my service project. As mentioned, the Lord works in mysterious ways. I was already a couple of days into sabbatical when I realized that my first and second plan to give had fallen through. In my last blog, I mentioned that my current project “fell in my lap,” and I believe God put me where he wanted me. I have been collecting gently used athletic clothing/shoes and equipment for underprivileged children. At times, I have also collected casual clothing for children and adults. In addition, I have collected for a 3rd generation Venezuelan friend whose son started a donation campaign with a local Venezuelan priest as a Gifted and Talented project. I have learned so much about both causes.

The big take away from my American project are the hole’s in a well meaning welfare system. It seems to me that logistically the problem in helping kids is that we are always dependent on parents and adults to get the resources for their children and pass the resources on to them. Beyond that we are dependent on over burdened, overcrowded court systems. Here is an example to help clarify. A real life one. Last week I received word that a 12 year old girl and 8 year old boy needed clothing immediately. Including underwear. How does that happen in our generous country FILLED with resources? Well, they left a tragic and abusive situation with only the clothes on their back. They could not go home. The courts were able to find a relative to take them in, but clothing vouchers are only given to foster parents; not relatives. The relatives will have to file for foster status in order to receive anything for these kids. IF that is necessary, it will take time. These are people barely making it, (working poor,) and have now agreed to take in two children. Ultimately God needs to work in the lives of these adults and children. It is the only answer. In the meantime, I would humbly ask everyone to be patient and Christlike when you see that addicted and abusive adult. The one that seems ungrateful and mean and no good. (I know, it’s hard for me to do too—notice I didn’t write be a doormat and give foolishly,) I wrote be patient and Christlike. Why? Well, from what I am reading over my sabbatical and what I know to be true, it’s what we are called to do as Christians anyway, but if you need more reason here it is. Those horrible, ungrateful adults were most likely terribly abused. Physically, emotionally, and sexually. (It is now believed that as many as 1 in 4 children are sexually abused.) That kind of life experience would probably harden my heart too. It could cause my life to spiral out of control with more and more bad choices. Did anyone read the Happiness Advantage? In many ways we create our own self fulling prophesies dependent on our thoughts. How can we expect a child who has survived to adulthood after being raped, abandoned, unloved, and literally fighting to survive to understand and be appreciative of kindness? How can that happen if God doesn’t soften their heart? Only He can supernaturally heal the soul. That’s my take away from my American project.

As for my Venezuelan project, I had the opportunity to witness a Christian “coincidence”. I write coincidence tongue and cheek because we know as active, praying Christians there are no coincidences. I went to drop off some girls clothes to the grandmother of the boy collecting donations. She talked to me about what is happening in Venezuela, her home country. Socialism combined with a bad leader has caused massive poverty. Where there is food and medicine, it is not affordable. Inflation is over 700%. This boy is collecting donations for a Priest who is now taking in babies daily. The parents (in anguish,) drop their children off with him because they cannot care for them. The priest is overwhelmed because he did not plan on creating an orphanage. They need items for babies. She told me this story with grave concern. I left her home feeling deeply for these parents and babies.

I hadn’t been home more than 10 minutes when my doorbell rang. A neighbor had a HUGE lawn bag filled with never used or gently used toys and stuffed animals for babies and children under the age of two. I called my friend and asked her if the priest would be interested. She became emotional and said, “absolutely!” When I brought them to her house she explained that baby toys were 10x’s the US cost before the hyperinflation began. She has no idea the cost of toys now, or if toys can even be found in the country. My take away from this project is that socialism, especially when combined with bad leaders, leads to catastrophe and revolution. Keep Venezuela in your prayers. Only regime change will begin to solve their immense problems. Revolution is eminent.

So that is all for now. In a few days, I will write my last blog, and I hope to sum up some of my many take aways and life changing experiences over the last month. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Last week, my family had a fun get together with all my siblings, nieces and nephews. We played Scrabble, watched movies, took the kids to a trampoline park and a splash pad, and generally had a lot of fun. It’s always so wonderful to connect with my little niephlings!

This week, we also got to meet up with some of my husband’s family and spend time catching up. It was great to see some old and new faces and spend some quality time with his family, which we don’t get to do very often.

Throughout my sabbatical, I’ve been exercising sporadically, and doing different kinds of activities to figure out what works best for me and my schedule. This gave me time to do some research and figure out what is sustainable for me long-term when work starts back up. For the last year, I haven’t had much luck fitting exercise into my schedule with any regularity. I’ve been so tired when I get home that I don’t have the energy to come up with a plan, let alone execute it.

But, now that I’ve tried out a lot of different things, I’ve found what I think will work for me! For the last few days, I’ve been following a trainer on social media who posts free workout videos, and I really like her style. She mixes yoga poses with cardio using interval training, so you’re never doing the same activity for too long. It keeps you moving and guessing. Based on this style, I made up a workout I could do with my favorite poses, put on some fun music, and used a timer to keep me on point, and it worked!

I got a full body workout that is perfect for my skill level/ability and that gave me energy and left me feeling tired but great. My husband liked it so much he said he’d do the workout with me in the mornings before work. It’s about 20 minutes a day, but you can do it every day. When I need to mix things up, I’ll just go and learn a new workout and incorporate new things into my basic plan. All that to say, I loved it, and I think this is something I can easily work into my schedule.

Overall, I think this sabbatical has been just what I needed it to be. Time to relax and rejuvenate, reconnect with family, read and reflect, refresh my perspective, and enjoy the rewards of giving back. With God’s help, I plan to carry over little pieces of my sabbatical into everyday work life.

Oh, and I miss everyone and I’m ready to get back to work on Monday! Yeah!!

Today was a perfect day to teach my two oldest sons how important it is to give back (as well as having a learning experience on cleaning!).  We went to Yorktown Church of the Nazarene, which is a church in one of the communities that I serve.  We cleaned the sanctuary,  coffee bar area, and all of the windows.  We have all enjoyed giving back as well as spending quality time together.  What a privilege it has been to be able to do these things!  My children have wondered why we are volunteering, and I told them that when we give to others, that we will be blessed by our Lord and Savior!  We are feeling the blessings!!  I shared with them, one of my favorite scriptures… A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.-Proverbs 17:22

Earlier this week, I spent a few hours with a good friend of mine, making freezer meals.  This is something that I enjoy doing, and am always looking for extra time to fit it in to my busy life.  It eliminates a lot of stress when I come home from a busy day at work and am able to prepare a healthy meal for my family in a short amount of time.  So many days, my husband and I, rush home, normally taking one of my three boys to either baseball, basketball practices, or games, so it is hard to prepare healthy meals with so much going on.  Thank you Lord, for allowing me so many opportunities this past month!

Hi everyone,

We got back from Georgia late Monday night.  It was a wonderful trip, I enjoyed spending time with the family. We went to Lanier Lake, the zoo,  we spent a lot of time at the pool and just hanging out. It was nice not to be in a rush the way we normally are.  We agreed to make a greater effort each summer and visit.  As much as I enjoyed seeing our families over the last month I was sure glad to be back home. I missed my Bruce Willis (our beagle), my vegetable garden, my wonderful bed and pretty much everything about my home

Tomorrow is my last day of my sabbatical who would of thought a month would go by so fast. I’m grateful and thankful that  I was able to have this opportunity.

Weird title for this post right? We moved almost a year ago & I have been searching for a church pew to fit in a specific space in our home. My husband found the perfect piece yesterday!! It is over 100 years old & was brought here from a tiny church in England. The color of wood matches our home perfectly, the detailing on the arms is amazing, but the wear on the seat is what caught my eye. As I’m admiring the pew I was filled with emotion, how many prayers have been lifted to God while sitting here? How many were answered? How were they answered? What/who caused the big scratch in the seat? Could it have been someone that sat here each Sunday? Or was it someone taking shelter in the house of God? So many questions go along with this piece. As I’m sitting here I feel peace knowing that this simple piece of wood held so many of Gods people.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

After a very busy first ten days, the second third of my sabbatical journey has been more about resting and relaxing. There were a couple of painting projects that we have now finished, but for the most part I have learned to not try to fill my time with things to get done while I have the time off to do them. Instead, I (Melissa and I together) have spent the last week and a half relaxing at home for the most part, now that she is moved in and we have started to settle into our new and improved lives together. We did make one road trip to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, but it was a relaxing day and no time constraints for what we wanted to do.

We began our service project last Friday and will continue through the end of this week, and possibly thru the 4th. We are working with the Salvation Army to prepare and serve lunch to school age children who come each day to take advantage of the program. Some parents bring not only their children, but others who wouldn’t be able to come. I have learned a lot about the needs we have here in Cleveland from talking to the employees at the Salvation Army headquarters, as well as the families we have met. When I asked Ivory, the woman who oversees the lunch program, about other opportunities for us to help in the future, the topic turned to the homeless. This is where I learned that we have many more homeless people than I would have ever imagined in my hometown. She opened the back door and pointed to a large slab of concrete across the parking lot and explained that many of them would gather there every night to sleep. I asked how many homeless we have in our town of about 45,000? I guessed 25 or 30 and she shook her head and said it is well over a hundred. This shocked me, then I realized that like most of us, we don’t spend much if any of our time in the parts of town where this is going on. We aren’t sure yet exactly what our involvement might be moving forward but I do know God is using the sabbatical to show Melissa and I where he can use us. I look forward to seeing where he will lead us.

Besides our service project, most of our time over the last ten days has been spent lounging around the pool in the afternoons, walking on the greenway in the evening, and basically doing nothing which has been amazing. I have been surprised how easy it has become to not worry about work and what I have planned for the next week, day, or hour. I think I could get use to this!!

It has been some time since my last post. I have spent the last couple of weeks spending quality time with my wife, kiddos, and putzing around on a few home projects that have been on the to-do list far too long. I even spent an evening in my utopia…on the farm, in a tractor, side-dressing (fertilizing) 640 acres of corn. Yes!

I wanted to share with you what I have been doing as far as my service project. There is a wonderful organization in our area called HOPE, Inc. HOPE provides sports and recreational opportunities critical to the health and development of children and adults with mobility challenges and their families.

HOPE was founded by a family whose youngest child was born with spina bifida. In 2012, the Grommesh family was a recipient of an Extreme Makeover Home Edition home which can be seen here. I cannot think of a more deserving family! Bill and Adair Grommesh are two of the most giving and loving people I have ever met.  They have truly devoted their lives to others!

As some of you know, I have two kiddos that have physical limitations. Halle, who has Marfan Syndrome which limits her ability to play high-impact sports, and Yohannes who has a partial amputation on his right leg due to a traumatic childhood injury. You can learn more about Yo’s journey here.

I have spent the last couple of weeks volunteering at baseball games, softball games, and a track meet. Tomorrow I will be meeting with the Executive Director, Adair, and their Administrative Assistant, Holly, to assist with technology as well as upping the ante on their web and social media presence to reach more families in need and more donors to support HOPE and its mission to HOPE, to DO, to DREAM.

We began going to HOPE events as an outlet for my precious Halle last fall. I quickly was swept off my feet by the love, admiration, and inspiration of the leaders of the organization as well as the parents involved. The children quickly captured my heart. I leave each event with tears rolling down my face recalling the smiles and hearing the laughter from children and adults who for a short period of time, felt ‘normal.’

I’ve always have a very special place in my heart for children and adults with disabilities and/or special needs. All of my kids get to participate. Kaleb is often a catcher at baseball and softball and Malia, well, she’s all over the place, but you can often find her in a wheel chair whizzing around or pushing someone as fast as she can and then hopping on for a free ride.

It’s my heart’s goal at each event to make someone, even if it just one kiddo, or one adult feel special.  Over the last two weeks I have made special friends that will forever be a part of my heart.  God has blessed me beyond measure as I am always the one leaving with an overflowing heart. Overflowing with joy. Overflowing with love. Overflowing with emotion. I often get in the car as tears flow down my cheeks while driving home. I’m so overwhelmed by Gods graciousness and overwhelming love for ALL his people.

I’m confident God has a very special love and place in Heaven for His children with special needs. I can’t wait for the day to see my friends be free of their wheelchairs and walkers, dancing and singing praises to our mighty Savior.  I will be dancing and singing right along with them.  And, miraculously, for the first time ever, I’ll be singing on tune!!

It is with a deep honor to recently learn that I have been accepted to be a member of the Board of Directors of HOPE.

– Nick

This week consisted of tackling those pesky honey-do’s that I’ve been  meaning to get around to since we moved into our house. I was glad to finally have the time to do some much needed house projects. (So is my wife, Shelby). The other part of my week consisted of visiting my extended family on both of my parents’ sides of the family. Saturday we took a day trip to Brownwood to see my mom’s side of the family. Many of them had not seen Emery for a while and it was a good time to catch up and as my grandma says, “show off her pretty great grandbaby”. On Sunday we celebrated my dad’s dad turning 75 years old. We had a nice party for him, ate, and fellowshipped with more family that hasn’t been seen in a while. It was great getting to see everyone.

My last week is reserved for resting and spending quality time with Shelby and Emery before returning to work. I will also continue to read my bible and daily devotional. Until next time………..

I was finally able to head North to our lake home.  Always nice to relax and rejuvenate!  Something about a body of water that can help relieve stress, if even for a short time! 🙂 My boys love to fish and spend time on the small beach area we have (photo is of my 10 year old, Alec).  I’m into my 3rd week of sabbatical and am feeling like I should be back to work.  I am really trying to enjoy these last couple weeks and make the most of it!  I feel like everything I have been able to accomplish, over these past few weeks, seems almost unreal.  It makes me realize how blessed I am to work for a company, that cares about it’s employees so much, that they would allow them time of rest!  As skeptical as I was, about taking this much time away from the job that I absolutely love, I feel like I will be so much more productive and helpful to the families that I serve.  That is a great feeling! Hoping to have many more special moments to share over the next couple weeks.

Week 2 of my sabbatical was spent volunteering at CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). I put together some training binders and did miscellaneous office work throughout the week, nothing too exciting. When putting together the training binders, I made copies on their copy machine. This machine was crazy slow, so while waiting for copies to finish I had some time to read. They had this book in the volunteer office that was compilation of testimonials from people who were at one point in the foster system and whose lives were blessed by their CASA. These stories were very powerful. These kids lives were changed by having one constant in their ever changing environment. As a parent, it made me realize that my kids have it so good. They have lots of constants and love in their little lives. It also made me realize that even though I mess up, my kids still have a consistent and safe home and they can count on me to always love them. Therefore, I must be doing something right.

For those of you who don’t know what CASA is about, check out their website.  https://bigcountrycasa.org/

This past week has been one of celebration. We celebrated Father’s Day and Garrett’s Birthday. Garrett loved his Father’s Day gift. I made him a poster of pictures of him with the kids and included the poem “The Little Chap Who Follows Me” in the middle of it. I made Garrett a pineapple upside down cake for his birthday.

We also had Skye, Garrett’s eldest son, with us for the week.  We got to have some fun during the week. On Thursday night, we went to an event at the Grace Museum where they were showing ET. We did some alien crafts, including make some alien antennae, and just enjoyed some of downtown Abilene. We didn’t stay for the movie because it was so hot but I bought a copy so we could watch it later.

I have been trying to use my time to take better care of myself. I’ve been making healthier meals, like Brown Rice Paella and Chicken Kebabs.  The past two weeks I have worked out 3 times each week. I still have my momentary lapses.  It is hard to resist ice cream when the weather gets past 100 degrees and I already don’t need any excuse to eat ice cream.

I continued to volunteer at Meals on Wheels and got to meet an interesting fellow. He is a former race car driver. On Friday, he told me about his racing days in sprint cars. Today he told me how he had witnessed a shooting in a VA hospital. He’s definitely had quite the life so far and I have enjoyed getting to talk to him and learn about him.

I feel more at rest and have been able to enjoy my family and friends more as well as take care of my family and home better. This sabbatical has been such a time of blessing.

Youth camp is like no other. I remember how impactful it was when I was a teenager and to go back and serve all these years later did not disappoint. Albeit a different experience than when I was a teenager, I believe the Lord loves the opportunity to move in mighty ways at these types of events. While I didn’t miss camp food all these years, I did miss the excitement and anticipation of the teens. Kids this age are searching and I’m so glad I serve the God who is always ready to receive their enthusiasm, no matter age or maturity level. I had the distinct honor to pray with a boy on Wednesday night who confessed he needed a savior and desired salvation. How incredible we get to partner with the creator of the universe to introduce people to Him! Gah, what an incredible experience of which I will never get tired. I also developed a renewed sense of gratitude for our youth ministers and those who prepare to put on camps like this. What an endeavor that they work tirelessly in preparation for; then go full steam and the entire week. I was tired just watching them! To sum up last week, I was overwhelmed by the power of the Spirit and would love the opportunity to go back and serve again! Now, on to the last week of my sabbatical. 😔 Although I am excited to get back to work and see what all I’ve missed, I’ve found a great grove of relaxation this month.

As I stated in my last post, my wife, daughter and I traveled to Vancouver, Canada. We wanted to expose our daughter to big city life and also wanted to do some hiking and enjoy the great outdoors.  My wife and I love the beach, but our daughter Lucy is not a big fan so we thought perhaps she likes the mountains.  She does.  We had a wonderful time.  Some observations:

The temperature never got above 65 and never got below 50.  (At least it seemed to me.)
There was never any wind.
The people were extremely polite.  Especially in traffic.  I was surprised.
I had the best coffee I’ve ever had and I never visited Starbucks at all.
I never had a bad meal or bad service.
I don’t remember ever visiting anyplace with scenery this spectacular.
I feel like I walked about 10 miles a day.

I will attach some photos below of our trip.

It is nice to be back home.  My sabbatical ends tomorrow and I am so looking forward to coming back to work.  I began my first blog post by telling about an awful start to my life.  However, one of the biggest things this sabbatical has reinforced is just how fortunate I am.  Actually, we are all very fortunate to be working for this great company.  Something else I learned during my time off is how easily I get bored.  I did an awful lot of work around the house this past week just out of boredom so I am really looking forward to coming back to work.  Can’t wait to see everybody tomorrow.

As of early June I didn’t know if the service project with AYSA would work out since there are no sports events planned during this month. As I began to make alternate plans, I realized I needed to ask God for direction. As I prayed, God’s plan unfolded. AYSA needed extensive data entry work done, and I am currently working on that project. I realized working in the background as a quiet servant fits me well. Although things may go unnoticed by people, God always notices. My motto has become Colossians  3:23, “Whatever you do , do it enthusiastically,as something done for the Lord and not for men.” Matthew 25:40 reminds me whatever I do for others, I do for Jesus, my beloved audience of One.

Until next time blessings,

I’m guessing everyone else feels the same way about their Sabbatical, but I’ll say it any way…This Was Awesome!

Words can’t describe how grateful I am for this last month! Amazing time with the Lord, forever memories with my family, times of refreshing and rest, serving others, growing in my faith and as a man of God and husband/father, getting things done around the house and much more.

This last week I was able to spend a few days with my son at his Boy Scouts camp. I’m so excited about the time I had bonding with him and getting to experience new things. I made more head way on our garage. Still can’t get my car in there but we’re closer. I also finished the Wild At Heart book. It was a good one! I plan on reading the follow up books called Fathered By God.

I go back to work on Monday. I’m prepared and excited to get going again. A big thanks to Kris for this wonderful month! I’m so grateful to work at FD and am truly a blessed man!

Oh, I decided to shave this morning since I had let my beard grow out this month. It’s all gone now.

Blessings!

Michael

God Moments: a year in the word – devotional that I began reading. I took a picture of on day and texted it to Elaine it reminded me of the Operations team.  Salt & Grace is the title for that day…Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone – Colossians 4:9

Power of Humility has been very powerful reading and I suggest this book if you have not read it to do so

I called into the office to talk to Zack to make certain my phone set up and call was working correctly since we finally had everything all set up before going back to work. He quickly worked to fix my computer that was not recognizing my keyboard or mouse. 15 minutes tops and back to sabbatical.

Yesterday (Friday) we began volunteering at the Salvation Army packing lunches/snacks for the kids.  This is the first time for the Salvation Army in Cleveland to put this type of program on. We learned there are 40 different places that put this type of program on around us to make sure that every child is feed.  The families have to apply for a grant which puts their middle school aged child or younger in this program where they get at least one meal a day.  Over this week the Salvation Army had any where from 4 to 21 kids that show up…yesterday we severed only 2, Abbey and Jacob. Jeff and I later saw Jacob, Allie (his sister) and Crystal (mom) help setting up for the Duck Race, which had to be moved the Cleveland High School due to the rain we were excepting. Jeff and I took Jacob and Allie and we put out signs around the school showing were to park.  Once we returned  back to the school the kids helped their mom blow up balloons an placed them around the racing and vendor area.

On Father’s Day Kelsey, Jeff’s youngest, stopped by for a visit she is a very busy young lady so she stayed about an hour. That evening his son, Jared with is fiancée Asia stopped by and brought smoked ribs and cornbread muffins, while I put together backed potatoes and baked beans for supper with the kids.  Ribs were delicious!.

Took a road trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg one day to purchase pickles (the best bread n butter pickles ever)…we called Jared/Kelsey (2 of his kids) and Raylene (his mom) to see if they wanted anything.  We struck out in Pigeon Forge so had to drive to Gatlinburg for pickles…once again we struck out, I cannot believe it, they always have these pickles.  Oh, well, we take off back to Pigeon Forge to the Apple Barn to purchase apple butter, apple donuts and relish for the family….donut machine is broken….needless to say the trip was not successful but enjoyed getting out of the house for the day.

The house is coming along perfectly we have one room painted completely and the living room is almost finished. I don’t think there has not been a day go by that we have not been to some kind of store to spend money purchasing things we need to help us complete our new and improved home. I have torn almost all the beautiful wall paper off the kitchen walls soon sanding and painting in there will begin one day.

I love it here in my new home town waking up to actual trees (cannot see miles and miles of flat land no longer), green grass, mountains and it rains from time to time!  Jeff has been a true blessing in my life along with his family who have taken not only me but my kids into their lives as well.  Thank you God for placing this man and his family in our lives!

Read more…

Time flies when you’re having fun!

I can’t believe today is the last day in Tres Reyes. This has been so rewarding. The people from Ohio have been super special. I will have to share more later, but suffice it to say these folks are amazing and have been great to Matt and I.

Following more work on the wall in TR, we were able to go on a prayer walk through the community. We visited 4 families who are participating in the B2B program. These moms were so honored to have us visit their homes. God broke my heart today and it was good. (I will have to share more later)

Following this emotional time, we returned to the CC. Today is the day the “Little Ones” come. These boys and girls range from 5-9 and are simply wonderful. We fed them a healthy lunch (quesadillas and mangoes) then we played with them for about an hour. After that we participated in educational classes (art, English, science, etc.). Then recess outside.

Lastly, they conducted a “mom’s market” under the palapa, where the mom’s had tables of their goodies for sale so they could help support their families. I wanted to buy everything they had, but was instructed that “pity buying” is not good for them long term.

We returned to the mission house for a group dinner of homemade tostadas. After dinner we shared our mountain top moments with the group. And we cried tears of joy. I think we let our love light shine today…

Today, we were able to work really hard (much trabajo)!

We are building a new structure (Resource Center) at the community center in Tres Reyes that will provide an area for locals to learn new skills (sewing, carpentry, painting, etc.). There will also be an area for the mom’s to sell there items to support their family and more space to house missionaries.

We moved dirt, busted rocks, made some concrete, etc.

It was a great day!

Today, we watched a video about poverty. We learned that sometimes our good intentions can cause more harm than good through “unintended consequences”.

One small story here. Julie Cooper (B2B Staff) shared that she once wanted to help a new mother in a poor area of Monterrey, Mexico. She brought a case of baby formula (enough for a month) for this mom to feed her newborn baby. When she went back to check on them a few days later, Julie was shocked to see the mom was feeding her newborn “Coke” in the baby bottle because she sold the formula for $ to feed the rest of her family! This happens all the time in poor areas.

providing $ and an abundance of clothing can sometimes be the worst thing to do (it can be disruptive to the locals). We learned in order to truly help someone for the long term there needs to be an understanding of the local needs, situations, etc. because donations can sometimes put small business owners “out of business.”

We then went to Milka’s house to install the doors and windows we made yesterday. Along with some major yard work, security gate and concrete.

Milka was overwhelmed at the end of the day when we prayed over her family for unity, protection, faith and courage. We all shared tears of joy.

Today our small group question is from Mark 4:40 “What are you so afraid of?”

Today is Father’s Day and even though my earthly father is no longer with us (has passed away in 2010), we celebrate all fathers and especially our Heavenly Father.

We had the opportunity to worship today at the Vida Life bi-lingual church in Cancun. It was a truly amazing experience. We sang in English and in Spanish.

“Santo, Santo, Santo, yo qiero verte”, which means Holy, Holy, Holy, I want to see you.

Let me tell you, it was powerful. We sang praises and prayed for around two hours and it was great.

Following a great lunch we got to work building doors and windows for Milka. She is being reunited with her twin girls who have been in an orphanage for years. She did not have space in her one room home so B2B has been adding on rooms etc.

This house will be a home soon enough.  Praise be to God…

Today, we were able to meet the mission team we will be working with. There are 22 total people (all from the Cincinnati area). Here is a picture:

It’s so difficult to describe all that is going on here in TR (Tres Reyes), but B2B has been working here now for six years. God has provided an incredible community center for the kids/moms to come to for a “safe” place.  In the middle of some of the most extreme poverty I have ever seen is the community center. It is complete with a giant palapa for shade, outdoor brick oven for pizza, soccer field, basketball court, commercial kitchen, library, dental offices, common area, class rooms, computer lab, etc. IT IS AMAZING!

In our small groups we are exploring “Questions Jesus Asks.” Today we looked at John 6:70, “Have I not chosen you?”.  We have been graciously chosen by the King to go, give, share, learn and work.

So thankful to be a part of this experience….

Last year while in Cancun on the incentive trip, the Company worked with Back2Back ministries to coordinate a one day mission trip in the community of Tres Reyes Mexico. I was so impacted by that experience that I knew I wanted to return. This time I was fortunate enough to bring along our oldest son, Matt:

Today we travel to Cancun and will meet ghetto rest of the mission team. This is the first time we have been able to do something like this as father and son. I am so excited to see what God will do…

“And when you pray, don’t be like those people who don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing, thinking that God will hear them because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7

God already knows what we need even before we speak it. Whether its long or short or if we don’t even have the words to express ourselves he understands us. Now that is a truly beautiful thing.

This is the view that I have been enjoying every morning since we got to Georgia, its the perfect place to read my devotional, have my reflection time and drink my coffee.

This week is SERVE at our church and I thought it would be a good opportunity to do some volunteer work as a family.  Our boys really enjoyed serving food to the kids of our church, who are working so hard this week, to help folks in need.  Participants are rehabbing homes, landscaping, trash clean up, visiting nursing homes, hosting free block parties, and a host of other projects.  It is exciting to be a part of a church family that gives back to our community in so many different ways.  Our family was only able to play a small part in SERVE this week, but it was still nice to enjoy a great evening of fellowship and giving back!

One of my goals for this month is to spend one day with each one of my four children.  With a family of six, rarely, do we get to spend one on one time together.  So I took a day with each one of my children.  Taylor’s (2) day with Dad involved  swimming pool, watching movies, and napping.  Cooper’s (6) day involved soccer, basketball, swimming, and milkshakes.  Logan’s (9) day with Dad included football, basketball, putt putt, and lots of laughs.  My oldest, Emma (11), spent the day with me bowling, basketball, lunch at Chick fil a, hiking, swinging at the park.  One thing that all four children did on their day with Dad was to spend some quality time with folks at the assisted living center known as Spring Arbor of Greensboro.  As a father, it does your heart good to see your children helping others and bringing  joy to older generations.  Each one of my children spent time, shared laughs, shared smiles, and loved on these people.  Each one of my kids had a great attitude and seemed to really enjoy their time there.  I was on the sidelines watching and thanking God for His goodness!

Lots of fun this past week!  This week, great time with family and deepening our relationships with God!

Tomorrow we fly to Brazil!
0445 departure from the church…….drive to Chicago……fly to Miami………fly to Manaus……..11pm arrival…at hotel around 1am”ish”
It will be a long day, but it will be so worth it!

The last week or so has been full!   I’ve been a bit quiet on here so I thought I’d give you an update.
I had to build a small (VERY SMALL) deck + steps for the back yard.  It’s not quite done…but, almost there.  I’ll add a railing and then it will be safe!
 It’s nice to be able to “do this stuff” without having to hire it out.

OH—–and then, when you think you’re almost caught up with life—–LIFE happens!!!   The very next morning, I had to go to Lowe’s and buy (and install) THIS!!!!!
  Plumbers have my respect!

Too much drama for me!  hahahha

Over the weekend, I stopped by Bass Pro and picked up a hat.  I rarely wear hats.  But, I’ve learned that it/when I’m outside all day long in full sun near the equator, it is highly advised to cover the ol’ noggin.

Yesterday, not one…but TWO different people that I saw ended up giving me money to take with us to Brazil.  They want me to share it with those who are less fortunate.  I’ll find out what the best way is to help them.  Maybe buy something that people would need and then take it with us on the boat?  We’ll see!!!

My barber yesterday gave me a small gift crafted from wood.  He sent a few bucks with me to bless someone else with.  Here’s my hair-do!  Before / After =o)   hhehehehehehe

Today, I did a little bit of shopping for the trip.  Some candy to bring to share with others.  I also bought a super cool Survival Knife that I hope to give away while there.

While in Brazil, I “might” be able to share a post.  We’ll be “in” the interior for about 5 nights and then back to the city.  The nights in the jungle should be without Wi-Fi.  But, I’m sure the city will not be a problem.

IF you think of me………I appreciate your prayers.  I’ll be preaching a few times in the interior and in the city.
In Manaus, I’ll be preaching July 2nd at “Central Church” for their evening service.  What an honor!  I SO look forward to it!!!

Blessings,
Robert

What a beautiful day! Since this is the longest day of the year, I figured I can take a minute and blog…

Kayaking on the lake

I got up early this morning and decided to go kayaking. As I made my way to the middle of the lake, there was such a calmness to the water. I stopped to enjoy the peacefulness of my surroundings, and it was almost as if God was saying to me, “Be still and know that I am God.” It was pretty awesome. Then, I was reminded of a podcast I had recently listened to from Andy Stanley. In this podcast, Andy said, “We’ll never get what we really want until we discover what is most valuable. But choosing what’s valuable doesn’t come naturally. We’ve all had the experience of getting what we naturally want, only to discover it’s not what is most valuable—it’s not what we ultimately want.” He went on and added, “When we discover what we really value, we are less prone to settle for what we merely want.” Wow! I cannot think of a more powerful combination of true statements. These words have been rolling around in my head. However, Andy closed the message with a statement that really made me stop in my tracks. He said, “What you really want and what God really wants for you may be closer than you imagine.” This statement hit me like a ton of bricks. How many times have I struggled with this assertion? It’s critical for me to put aside those natural wants and pursue what I ultimately want. In doing so, it’s incredible to realize that what I really want and what God really wants for me may be very similar.

Last night I had the honor of helping at a church food pantry.  It felt very rewarding to give back to a community that has been so good to me over the past couple years.  I helped take groceries out to cars and load sacks of food for walk ins.  The two gentlemen in the photo were my wonderful helpers!  I really enjoyed meeting new people as well as seeing some familiar faces from the small town.  One of my favorite bible verses comes from Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  Tomorrow, my family of five will be preparing and serving dinner at our church, Union Chapel Ministries, for SERVE week.  Thank you Jesus, for all of the wonderful blessings thus far!

My second week was all about spending time with family.
The first part of my week I spent my time with Shelby and Emery. Tuesday we took Emery to the pool. It was the first time she’s ever been in a big pool. She was unsure at first but warmed up to it quickly. We swam and played hard in the pool and as soon as we put her back into her car seat she was passed out from too much fun. On Wednesday we went to the park to play on the playground. She loves the swings and going down the slide. It was another exhausting day of fun for all.

The end of the week and weekend were spent with Shelby’s family in the Dallas area. It was good to get away and spend time with them since we don’t get to see them as much as we would like. We were able to see some family members that we haven’t seen since our wedding day three years ago. As usual Emery was the life of the party. On Monday night I got to go to my annual father-in-law / son-in-law Rangers baseball game. I’m thankful he chooses me and we have that time together to hang out, catch up, and eat some ballpark hotdogs.

Family time is very important and I’m glad we were able to have this time to spend with Shelby’s family.
Another part of my sabbatical has been some daily reading time. I have chose to read “The Book or Mysteries”. This was not my initial choice but ever since Kris gave it to all of us as a gift, I have found myself enjoying reading it and wanting to continue reading it as a part of my sabbatical. Something that I have taken away from this book daily is The Mission of Day 1, “Today, open your mind, your heart, and your life to that which you don’t yet know, that you might contain that which is greater than yourself.” It’s been something I have thought about everyday of my sabbatical and will continue thinking about it going forward.

I’ve been blessed to share the majority of my sabbatical with family and friends.

On Friday, I got to spend the day watching the second round of the US Open. It was held at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. One of the guys we followed was Brooks Koepka, and he ended up winning the event.

Brooks Koepka, 2017 US Open Champ

On Saturday, I was back serving at the Sunshine Food Pantry. Again, it was a great day of meeting new people, and helping out many who are less fortunate.

Wrigley is getting comfortable at his new home…

This last week has been all about reward & repair for me. I’ve spent almost every morning reading, journaling, reflecting, and embracing the beauty of the outdoors. When it gets too hot to sit outside, my husband Pressley and I have enjoyed spending time together talking, laughing, and enjoying good food and favorite shows.

Last Monday, as I sat on my porch enjoying the morning reading and reflecting, I realized how pretty our patio would look with a few globe lights. I did a little research, talked to my husband, and decided to order a 100 ft. strand of lights to string in our yard. Now, a week later, we have our lights up, and I love it! It will look even better at night :). Plus, it gives us a little spot to sit at night and enjoy a glass of iced tea, and take a little bit of the sabbatical life into everyday life.

We also welcomed two new little babies into our lives this week. We got a couple of baby chicks to add to our backyard flock to ramp up egg production. These two will be blue egg layers, our favorites!

In the mornings, we’ve been reading through our Bible reading plan as usual. Every morning, we listen to three chapters from the New Testament on our YouVersion Bible app. We’ve read through the Bible several times together during our marriage, which has been absolutely transformative. For the last few months, we’ve read through the New Testament 2 times, and we just started our third round. I’ve also been reading the Book of Mysteries that Kris gave us. Wow, there are some good nuggets in that book. It’s given me a lot to chew on and think about during my reflection time.

For my sabbatical reading, I chose to read A Life God Rewards: Why Everything You Do Today Matters Forever by Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Prayer of Jabez.

It was a quick read, but on a very important topic. His whole point was that what we believe determines where we will spend our eternal life; what we do with our lives determines the degree of reward or comparative suffering that we experience in that life. If you imagine your entire eternal existence as a long, never-ending line, our lives on earth are the very first dot on that line. While our lives are short, they determine the direction that line will go for the rest of our existence! Our lives on earth set the trajectory for our lives in heaven, or the rewards that we will enjoy.

Jesus spoke a lot about rewards in heaven because He wants us to enjoy His good pleasure when we meet again. What’s amazing is that our Father is constantly watching and recording the good things we do so that He can reward us in heaven. Even giving a drink of water to someone in His name  (Matthew 10:42) or a prayer spoken from the secret places of the heart (Matthew 6:6) is deserving of a reward in the Lord’s eyes.

I think that many times, the enemy tries to tell us that God is only watching us to see where we mess up. But if you read Hebrews 11, the hall of faith, you see that God doesn’t keep a record of wrongs. (Because God is love, 1 Corinthians 13 is a perfect description of His love toward us!) Hebrews 11 shares the stories of the champions of faith from heaven’s perspective. While we know from the Old Testament that each of these were flawed human beings, the Hebrews account is a record of how God sees them once their sin has been removed as far as the east is from the west. Beautiful, isn’t it? God is not watching us to see how we mess up. He’s watching us to see what we get right, and he is carefully recording the best version of our stories to be retold again and again in Heaven for His own glory.

I’ve been encouraged and strengthened from these moments of reflection this week, and I’m continually laboring to enter His rest. My struggle is that I keep trying to take up my burdens and carry them instead of giving them over to Him. My burdens and worries and cares have no solutions. But He said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. And He always has something much better for me in return if I open my hands and release my burdens to Him. He exchanges a crown of beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for despair (Isaiah 61:3). He always has something much better in store for us if we only have the courage to cast our cares upon Him. He loves us so much!

After crossing 3 states 998 miles later we arrived in Cumming, Georgia yesterday at 7:42pm. I have a total of 7 brothers so it is very difficult for us to be together at the same time. As a matter of fact we haven’t all been together since we were kids. For this gathering only 4 of us will be together.  Having your family close by is a true blessing that not many of us have.

Our stopping point was in Vicksburg, Mississippi we visited the National Military Park and of course the Mississippi River.

My 2 other brothers Eddy and Emanuel will arrive on Friday to join us they will be traveling about 9 to 10 hours. Prayers for safe travels is greatly appreciated.

My husband, Terry, is also enjoying some time off work this week, so we ventured out this morning on the Cardinal Greenway, which spans 62 Miles from Marion, Indiana to Richmond, Indiana.  The trail actually runs on the back side of our property, so it is nice having quick access to nature and exercise!  What started out being a relaxing ride on our dual bike, ended with a flat tire and walking about 2 miles back to the house!  Love all of the great memories being made!  One of my favorite things, that occurred over these past few days, was planting my first garden!  Hopefully, we will have yellow and green peppers, cucumbers, and a variety of tomatoes over the next few months.  It’s exciting to see how God is working in my life and allowing me to do things I rarely get the opportunity to do.  Our church is participating in SERVE this week, which is a program to give both children and adults the opportunity to serve our wonderful community!  We will be volunteering later this week as a family to take part.  Service projects, outreaches, worship and bible teachings are some of the things being done to help local families.  This evening I am helping at a food pantry in one of my funeral home communities.  I will share about that opportunity later this week!

My super hero does not wear a mask! This was the theme for RED SCHOOL this week.

I was honored to be able to serve 7 days/6 nights at a leadership church camp called Super Summer. I served on the Executive Staff this week for the June session held at Hardin Simmons as a “Team Leader Coordinator” leading 14 young adults serving as “Team Leaders”. These young adults would serve as “TLs” for the 75 students we had in Red School. At this June session, there were over 600 students (grades 8th to freshman in college) coming to learn more about the Lord and returning as stronger leaders within their youth group, schools and communities. 

The 14 young adults I was able to work with impacted my week as I watched them each grow as adult leaders. As 13 of the 14 had never served as Team Leaders, my role was to guide, train and lead them throughout the week as they poured everything they had into our students in Red School. The weekend of training started out as an emotional one as we each reflected on our personal walks with the Lord, sharing our testimonies and clearly focusing on leading the students as they came onto the campus.

Once Monday arrived and we were all dressed up in our best Super Hero get up, the students arrived and we focused on what it meant to Know and Share the Gospel. The TLs did such an amazing job leading the students in family group time and school sessions. As they poured into their students, I continued to pour into their lives as well. The week was a very busy one due to the schedule being jam packed with school sessions, family groups times, rec and worship with the entire campus. I can confess I didn’t even come close to 6 hours of sleep a night, but thank goodness I still have several weeks of recovery!

After a long hard week at camp, I am thankful for the weekend. I am also thankful for the way the Lord places people in my life to remind me of His goodness, His grace, and His love for us. I am thankful for FDLIC and this opportunity to serve not only the 14 young adults, but the 600 students that were impacted by camp this week.

Below is our end of week picture, missing one TL who left early to return to Honduras.

My kids and I got back home Friday night. We ended up staying another week in El Paso and really enjoyed spending time with family, but oh my goodness, we ate just about everything we wanted (gained a couple of pounds in the process), would stay up late and do it all over again the next day.  So even though I did enjoy my time there, I sure was ready to come back home to my normal.

That week, we went to Bob-O’s Family Fun Center. We got to ride on the go karts, played miniature golf, got on the bumper boats (my favorite), practiced our batting (mine wasn’t that good), and played laser tag which was pretty cool and fun.

I was also able to spend time with my aunt and uncle. My aunt will be getting married in July and she had been needing help to clean up her backyard so I told her that I would help her.  By the way, I love cleaning and organizing and so I quickly jumped at the opportunity when she mentioned it.  My cousin, my aunt, her fiancé, and me started cleaning at 10 in the morning and finished around 3:30.  They tried quitting on me a couple of times but I didn’t let them 😏. After we were done, my aunt thanked me but said that she wouldn’t let me help her again because I wouldn’t let her take breaks 😱 (lol), which I did but only short ones. My biggest regret is not taking before and after pictures to show, lol, hopefully I’ll remember next time.

And so as I was driving back home, I was thinking about everything I had done and am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be with my family without having to worry about time and also thankful for making it home safely.

-Thank you my Jesus for being with me and for always bringing back to you, reminding me to trust you and have faith in you.  For loving me unconditionally and showering me with your many blessings.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.-

Part of the goal of sabbatical is to re-connect with family and friends and I have done a lot of that since camp.  My brother and sister and their families were in town and we played golf.  Even though I am not a terrible golfer, I am the worst in my family.  I shot 85 at Diamondback and was feeling ok with that round.  My sister, who is 65 years old, shot 76.  She had 5 birdies and was even par with 3 holes to play and she fell apart.  Next I went to Lubbock to visit some old friends that I grew up with.  We played more golf up there.  I shot 89 then 87.  My friend Bill shot 75 then 77 so once again I got spanked.  However, it was a lot of fun and great to get to see everyone.  Golf is such a great way to spend time with family and friends.

My book study is called “7: An Experimental Mutiny against Excess” by Jen Hatmaker.  It is an interesting book and I recommend it to anyone who feels their life is too busy.  But, the author is quite verbal.  This book is over 200 pages and I think it could have easily been under 35.  The author never misses the chance to use a couple of paragraphs where a sentence would work.  Anyway, she takes 7 areas of her life and tries to simplify to 7 items each.  The 7 areas are: clothes, spending, waste, food, possessions, media, and stress.  For each of those areas she limits herself to 7 items.  For example, with food she limits herself to: chicken, eggs, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, and apples.  She went an entire month just eating those foods.  She drank only water, which she did not count as one of the 7 food items.

Anyway, it is an interesting read.  I am on media right now.  Although I don’t think I will try anything as extreme as the author, this book has inspired me to try to simplify my life.

I just returned from a trip to Vancouver, Canada with my wife and daughter.  It was a great trip and I will talk about it (including a few photos) in my next post.

-Matt

This week has been one of beginnings and endings. We were able to move everything out of our old apartment and into our new house. We had almost everything, but now the old place is completely empty. Our lease isn’t up until July so we took our time. My wedding dress arrived in the mail. Believe it or not you can get a nice dress from Singapore pretty cheap and sized correctly. The theme of my wedding is Financial Peace and not Crippling Debt. Side-Note: Did you know the average cost of a wedding in the US is $25,000? I spent my wedding money on a down payment for a house instead.

I continued to deliver Meals on Wheels.  I took Odin with me one day and he was my little helper. Everyone on my route seemed joyous at the sight of a child.  Odin made sure to tell everyone to have a good day. I can’t describe why it feels good to do it but I think Dave Ramsey had a point when he said “He’s (God) a giver, and we’re made in His image. The goal of this is to make us more in His image each day. We’re more attuned to our spiritual DNA when we are giving. Don’t give out of a performance-based or legal-based mindset, or because God will give back to you. Your life is simply better when you give, and you should give.” Giving brings us closer to God, so even when it is as simple as delivering meals, it still puts on the right path with God.

It has been a fairly quiet week. I feel relaxed and not up to my ears in stress. Anyone who knows me knows that I am controlling and sometimes letting go of things is hard but letting go has been such a blessing.  It as Rick Warren says “Worry is the warning light that God has been shoved to the sideline. The moment you put Him back at the center, you will have peace again.”

Day by day I am getting closer to living a life of peace. Until next week, that is all folks.

This week I spent my evenings serving at the South Point Church food pantry/clothing closet. The lady in charge is Ms. Val, we go way back to my previous career. She had been recently widowed & had spent the last year dealing with major depression. Ms. Val was assigned to my department & I immediately wanted to help her, but wasn’t sure how. I started praying for her. As time went on she started opening up more & more. She told me about the night she attempted to take her life. After that Ms. Val looked at me & I’m not sure what type of response she was wanting. I was a bit taken back, I said “Wow God has big plans for your future.” I invited her to church each week & she politely declined time after time. After quiet a while she accepted, I think to get me to stop. She showed up & has never left!!! She was baptized shortly after & serves God with her whole heart. I’m am so blessed that I get to call her my friend & sister in Christ. I get to see first hand an example of how to serve. She works the food pantry/clothing closet each month & knows that God will provide for each person that walks through the door. June 2017 SPC served a record 33 families (120 people)!! This is huge!! Gods light was shining bright this past Saturday from a little gym behind a church in Abilene, Texas!!!

As I prepare to rejoin the ranks back in the office tomorrow I reflect on what the past 30 days have meant to me, and some of the words that have helped me cope with, understand, and enjoy the experience.  Some words are mine from a journal I kept; other words are not my own.

…

I hiked into and out of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison with a 70 lb. belly boat on my back and an 8’6″ fly rod in one hand.  It was thoroughly exhausting, but the solitude of the canyon and the emerald green water from which the rocks steeply rose was a sight to behold.  It was here that I had one of the most powerful moments of clarity in my entire sabbatical experience; a true gift from a loving Father.

“Wisdom placed her hand on my feverish forehead and said, ‘Advance and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.'”
– Khalil Gibrar

Midnight, May, Colorado, and 9,000+ feet of altitude make for mighty cold toes.  Despite FOUR pairs of socks.

“Your attitude of mind covers your home.”
– Charles Stanley

I had the opportunity to serve Abilene through two amazing organizations – Palette of Purpose and Freedom Reins Ranch.  It was incredibly rewarding.

“Something within fishermen tries to make fishing into a world perfect and apart – I don’t know what it is or where, because sometimes it is in my arms and sometimes it is in my throat and sometimes nowhere in particular except somewhere deep.  Many of us probably would be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect.”
– Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

I’ve put limitations on a limitless savior for far too long, and I’m beginning to fully embrace a Jesus who desperately wants a relationship with me.  I want it, too.

“Setting eternity in our hearts was cunning, so that every last one of us would be haunted all our days with unmet longings that would cause us to seek the only Fountain that can quench our thirst.”
– John Eldredge, Beautiful Outlaw

“You learn a great deal about the true nature of a person in the way they love, why they love, and in what they love.”
– John Eldredge, Beautiful Outlaw

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend this time with my family, my children, and some friends that I had fallen out of touch with.  Each person has spoken into my life, often at a time I desperately needed their words and encouragement.  To say I’m grateful to them, and to FD for the opportunity and time to experience a sabbatical, would be an understatement.

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.  The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time.  On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops.  Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.  I am haunted by waters.”
– Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

P

I am drinking my morning coffee, reading and reflecting on this week. My only plan was to be still and  listen and then follow the path of God’s will and direction. Truly He has shown me that plan each day. When we give our time to God, He gives us the time we need.

   It’s good to take time to appreciate and enjoy the little things in life.  My husband and I spent time viewing the “strawberry moon” and 3 days later saw the sun shining through the clouds making it appear like a lightning bolt. Those were both peaceful and WOW moments!

   On my birthday, my husband gave me the greatest gift of all. He arranged for me to spend time with some family members I have really been missing lately. I can honestly say time seemed to stand still and I heard God’s voice in my soul say “just enjoy the moment” and so I did. 🙂  Oh I was so thankful  and my cup runneth over with gratitude and joy.

     I have also been available to help friends and family in a  moment’s notice whether it’s a favor, an extra pair of hands or just a listening ear. I am so thankful and I have a song in my heart as my service gives blessing to others and puts a smile on their faces.

     So as I close my blog this week, I can say a seemingly ordinary week has actually been extraordinary.  God has shown me no matter what, there is a blessing in EVERYTHING.  He reminds us in His Word that He has good plans for us and that He is able to make EVERYTHING work for our good when we love and follow Him.

My heart is full of thankfulness to the Lord
and to Kris and FDLIC for this special time of growth and
renewal. There will be a different “

Hi everyone

This week has been a blessing, I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my mother.  We did a bit of shopping and lots of gardening and cooking.  Her week wasn’t as busy as it would be back home but that was my goal. My mom does so much for others back home that at times she forgets how to just sit down and have someone else take care of her.

So today we begin our 998 mile long journey to Georgia to meet up with my brothers. We will be stopping in Vicksburg, Ms for the night. Prayers for safe travels is greatly appreciated.

For months I’ve needed to organize/clean/throw out stuff in my garage. We can only park one car in it now and I’ve vowed to remedy this. This week I’ve managed to de-clutter some and make some extra room for my car. However, I’ve got a long way to go.

I have also needed to removed several tree branches in the back yard (particularly some that were hanging on our roof and over our fence). I’m happy to report that I finished that task. I did cut my hand pretty badly but nothing too damaging. I guess this is what I get for doing manly stuff 😉

I’ve most enjoyed waking up late and taking my time each morning with a good cup of coffee in hand. I’m learning this month that I rarely, if ever, slow down. This is something I must learn to do. It’s been refreshing to simply relax and enjoy my day, whether I did something or not.

Another highlight from this past week has been what I’ve been learning and convicted of from my time reading “Wild At Heart”. I’m super glad I chose this book and have been blessed and challenged from it. God is using it in ways I never expected. Thankful!

I’m so enjoying this time!

Michael

As many of you may know, I’m painting the exterior of my house during my sabbatical. Monday morning I woke up and just started working on the daunting task. I purposefully chose not to play music or anything because I wanted to hear myself think. Do you know what my inner self was saying ALL day on Monday? “There is NO WAY you can paint this whole house by yourself!”  Maybe I should have prefaced this blog post by mentioning how independent and stubborn I am. It is very difficult for me to ask for help with anything. Fast forward to Thursday, I woke up and almost starting crying because I felt so overwhelmed by the huge amount of work I still had to do. Truly, I had not even put a dent in the task by the time Thursday came and I was already so tired. This stress and anxiety was not how I pictured my sabbatical. So I swallowed my pride and called my father in-law for help. And guess what? He has a SPRAY GUN! My excitement toward getting the job done has instantly returned. I also have a friend coming to help me Tuesday and Thursday next week. If only I had called for help when I started the project rather than a week into it, I could have avoided that feeling of being so overwhelmed. It may seem silly, but at almost 30 years old, I’m just now learning that asking for help isn’t such a bad thing.

This first week has been a week of silence and self reflection for me.

The first 10 days have been full of changes, some minor and some major.  My sabbatical began on Wednesday June 8.  After my daily quiet time and reading from the devotional book which I have chosen for this year (Uncommon Life Daily Challenge) by Tony Dungy & Nathan Whitaker, the realization sunk in that Melissa would be here in the afternoon for good, FINALLY!!!  I spent most of the day straightening the house and preparing for the major changes that were about to happen.  She arrived around 6 and looking like Jethro Bodine coming up the driveway with her car packed the the limit with the remainder of “her stuff”.  The only thing missing was Granny in a rocker on top of the car.  After a few minutes of resting from her long drive and dinner, we unloaded the car and left the real unpacking for later.  After four long years of waiting for this day it was finally here, and now the real fun starts.

We spent the next few days “moving in together”.  This means we cleaned out drawers and closet space to accommodate Melissa’s clothes, shoes, and all the other “stuff” she brought with her.  We found that I had a lot for items for Goodwill which had been pretty much just taking up space.  Now the reality sets in, she’s here to stay forever this time!!!  This was the biggest change for both of us, and one we have been looking forward to for a long, long time.  We spent the next week together 24/7 and it has been an amazing time finally seeing everything God has put in place for us come to be.  To top it all off we get to experience our sabbatical together, what a blessing!  We have accomplished so many things over the past 10 days.  The following is a synopsis of my first 10 days.

We have settled in to a routine of daily quite time alone.  First thing each morning we find our spots to be alone and read. meditate, and pray.  The book I have chosen to go along with my daily devotional is “Wild at Heart”, by John Eldredge.  It is a very interesting take on how God created a man’s heart different from a woman’s.  It’s full of descriptions of men in the scripture and how they are created for adventure, battle, and basically manly things.  I also plan to read a small condensed book from Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life which is entitled “What on Earth Am I Here For”.

We have been shopping on several occasions.  Lowes has been the number one target so far, but we also watched the bank account decrease as we have patronized a host of other local businesses in an effort to make the former single guy’s house into a home.  Some of these stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Trees & Trends, and Hobby Lobby to name a few, were new to me but I have learned they are all part of the home improvement plan.  I’m having to learn all over again that decoration is an important part of the marriage.  Fortunately, I have a great teacher.

Our service project at the Ronald McDonald House ran into some timing and training issues, so we had to begin praying about finding something else.  God provided that quickly for us as we stopped by The Salvation Army office on Friday.  They were excited to see that we were not only looking for something to help with now, but also as an ongoing venture.  They gave us a couple of events to work later in the month but also said they would like to interview us after they get our info in their system to see where we could fit in moving forward.  We will be having that interview next week and are looking forward to seeing what doors open up for us as a couple.

The office:  We had to find a way to rearrange my office so that Melissa could set up everything she needs to work from home.  It is a large room which of course I had cluttered up with things that were not necessarily needed.  We were able to find a new piece of furniture for the scanner/printer during one of our shopping ventures.  Not sure what was wrong with the folding card table I had it on but she said it had to go.  We bought Melissa a new office chair (much nicer than mine by the way) and set up her desk, then tested her computer and phone equipment which is all working well.  We also went thru my filing cabinets which I also found were filled with old useless papers and documents.  By the time we finished with my stuff and some that she brought with her to go thru, we accumulated almost 100 pounds of paper that we hauled away to be shredded.  We now have one small filing cabinet and have all of our personal documents combined in one drawer and my business files in another.  A sense of accomplishment was felt by all!!!

We have been busy but have found plenty of time to rest and relax.  Sleeping in every morning is a pleasure.  One of us seems to sleep in later than the other but I won’t get into that.  We have found several movies and Netflix series to watch in the evenings.  We even spent one evening watching our Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Finals.  They lost but it was fun introducing Melissa to another sport and realizing that we have crazy NHL fans in Tennessee too.  We spend time just sitting outside talking and planning the next days activities, or lack of activity, whichever the case may be.  We have spent two afternoons so far with more to come, at the pool in the apartment complex where we just moved my mom.  My sister and I have helped mom sell her house and move her into a very nice one level apartment.  She just couldn’t handle the stairs any longer so we have been dealing with this for the last few months but now she is moved in.  It’s only five minutes from where we live so Melissa will be able to help us keep an eye on her.  We have already been by to visit with her three or four times since Melissa arrived.

Exercise:   We have made time to walk on the Greenway here in Cleveland.  It is a beautiful 4 mile stretch which has been built over the last 10 years for walking/running and bicycling.  It runs beside a creek, through a couple of parks, and parallel  to one of the main streets in town.  There are several different areas where you can park, depending on where you want to start and how far you want to go.   We are walking a different section each time.

So far, just having the time off from work has been the hardest thing to get use to.  Even when I’ve been on vacation, I would still get phone calls and texts from customers as I’m sure everyone else in the field does also.  Being able to let everyone know ahead of time and explain the sabbatical has made such a difference.  I said it has been hard to get use to, not impossible.  I have adjusted and the feeling of freedom is amazing.  Now that the moving in, unpacking, redecorating, and making changes is in the books, I look forward to the next 20 days which will be more calm and peaceful.  We will be taking a couple of road trips to enjoy the beautiful area where we live and make sure Melissa gets to spend some time in the mountains that she loves so much.  But mostly I see myself taking the opportunity to relax and pay attention to what God has in store.  I’ll let you know how the next 10 days goes.

The first part of sabbatical is easy, it’s just like a normal vacation to me. It’s the beginning of the second week that is more difficult as you really have to get settled in and get used to a different pace. This week I focused on resting and relationships. While I did this the first week as well, my second week didn’t have a beach or vacation activities scheduled. So I forced myself to sit more, to think and read and pray more. Also, since I had a lot of free time on my hands I wanted to spend time with my dad and brother. My brother and I are not very close and rarely get to see each other even though he lives in DFW and works for my dad (who I more regularly see, although we don’t have an extremely close relationship). So I made it a point to go see them and connect. It was good to spend time with them. Even though relationships take work and regular connection, this was a great time to further relationship. I’m grateful for this opportunity and that I made the time to prioritize relationship.

Next week: youth camp! I’m a little anticipatory since I’ve never been to serve. But I know the Lord has incredible things in store and I’m excited to join Him in what’s He wants to do!

• We had fresh mango this week so time for a quick Smoothie:

I love time I get to spend with the whole family. Feeling so blessed to get to connect with them. It’s such a joy to even share the small things like breakfast at home, game night, errands etc. We may never have this time together again so I want to cherish everymoment.

I feel like God wants to cherish those moments as well.  Until next time

..

Oh yeah. First bath for Bentley.

This past week has been fantastic!  I’m so glad the family fun time is not over yet.  We spent 3 days in Galvez with the Carpenter side of the family.  I am truly grateful to have such wonderful in-laws, and a fun family.  My children are, of course, the most blessed by it.

We went to the beach, the boys went fishing, and my niece, her friend, and my son took surf lessons with my husband.  But perhaps the most fun occurred with the much anticipated (by my 9-yr old Reece,) family Bocce Ball tournament.   She worked for hours making “Bocce Ball Boss” shirts for herself and daddy.  A video of their funny warm up is below for those of you not on facebook with me. =)

Carpenter Bocce Ball

And my service work finally came to me…a little later than my liking, but I found it when I stopped looking.  It was the weirdest thing.  Somehow when I went to register with Northwest Ministries, my application went to Deonna Molina at the Wellness Center.  I can understand if I was on our email system at the time, but I hit the “email questions” tab directly off the Northwest Ministries website.  I’m not sure how it defaulted to our wellness center, and I’m sure it was user error, but it really messed up my plans.  It became more complicated when I decided to use my default plan–Meals on Wheels.  Unfortunately for me, Meals on Wheels is run by, you guessed it, Northwest Ministries so the required paperwork and orientation wouldn’t make my deadline.  I was trying to decide what to do about this when a friend (mother of a kid my son plays football with) asked me what I decided to do for my service work.

I like my friend Damian very much, but we couldn’t be more different.  She is an African American lady who was raised in the ghetto’s of Baton Rouge and Houston.  She was able to rise above it and she is now a practicing attorney who has been married for 15 years to a teacher.  She has two children.  She continues to have deep ties to the ghettos and wards of Houston and works with some sad family situations that are usually the result of addiction and abuse.  She had this idea to start a 501c to specifically help the disadvantaged children she meets to participate in activities.  Ballet, gymnastics, football, track, basketball ect.  She is creating a “free” store in exchange for 3 hours of community service work.  Even when kids have registration fees waved, and somehow get transportation, they don’t often have the shoes, cleats, equipment, practice clothes, leotards and so forth to fit in and really participate.  Parents may not have the proper casual clothes to go to the games.  She told me she was starting a collection to personally give to those she met in need.  Since I live in a somewhat upperclass neighborhood, I knew I could help, and from that I started my porch pick up project.  I ask neighbors and friends to leave their gently used stuff on their porch, and I will pick it up.  It’s really gaining steam so I am also helping another friend who is sending items to Venezuela.  What’s really neat is that this is something I can do beyond sabbatical.  I can’t wait to hear some stories of kids/people helped, but that will take some time.

I am enjoying my daily devotional, and I look forward to our next family trip to the Frio.  We are bringing a friend for Reece since she feels left out by her brother and cousin who are teenage boys.  Please pray all goes very well and that the little friend we bring for Reece loves the Frio as much as we do.  It will be her first time away from home without family.  Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers.

The second week of my Sabbatical has flown by. I have enjoyed my routine of working out, journaling, and doing my book study-devotional. I am reading a book by Louie Giglio, called, Goliath Must Fall.  It’s about winning the battle against your giants. Louis is a great communicator, and has helped remind me to…fix my eyes on the size of my God, not the size of my giants.

I had the opportunity to spend this past weekend with friends in Chicago. While there, I got to attend a Cubs vs. Rockies baseball game, and catch up on all the new Wrigleyville improvements. I am amazed at the transformation. So much has changed since I visited last fall. One of the new developments is the open-air plaza, dubbed The Park at Wrigley. It’s kind of like a “town square” outside of the ballpark. Future tenants (restaurants and stores) will open throughout the year. However, the Trophy Room is open.

The past few days, I’ve had an incredible time hanging out with family. The weather has been hot, and perfect for boating. This little one enjoyed taking over the wheel!

We visited LOST CANYON and enjoyed a quaint horse-drawn carriage tour through a magnificent mile of cliff-walled gorges. This place is right down the street from where I live, and it is the first time I have visited.  What a gem! The trip takes a half hour, and offers unbelievable views of the Wisconsin Dells.