Month: November 2017

In addition to making hospital visits, our Sr. Pastor has asked me to visit our flooded families and let him know how they are holding up and how their homes are coming along. I was feeling a little overwhelmed since there are over 30 families, but I called our associate and we prioritized them. I don’t think I will have to visit every single one, as it turns out. Some of them are keeping the church well informed.
I heard stories about how well things are going from some of them, and how terrible some contractors cheated in some cases. Two families have had to fire contractors and start over. They even had to pay to have some work undone! Most front yards are cleared and the grass is dead from all the debris that had been piled there after the flood. Many have sheetrock up and some are even textured and painted. Only one has a working kitchen and the rest are using outdoor cooking combined with microwaves to get things done. One of the families living in an RV in their driveway was very happy as they have sold the house as is and are closing on a new home in 2 weeks. They will soon need to sell the RV that they bought after they were forced from their home by flooding. The husband was another of the people that had to bust out through the roof to escape the flood waters. Many in this neighborhood had similar experiences and were rescued by boat. The waters were 4 feet deep in the homes and probably 8 feet in the streets. I think the market may be flooded with RVs in the near future as people get back in their homes and no longer need the temporary housing. A couple of the families are staying in extended stay hotels and were very thankful for the money they received from church that is helping pay the rent. (postponing the Costa Rica Mission Trip and focusing on fundraising for flood victims was the right thing to do) Several families have problems with mortgage companies holding back insurance money and slowing progress. That sounds super frustrating! My prayers with some of them brought tears. I’m really happy that God allowed me to make these visits because I believe that the faith of these families is being strengthened and they will be more connected to the church body than ever. My heart was filled hearing how grateful they were for the visits and all the help they have received from so many thoughtfull loving people.

This past week was a quiet week for me. This was the year the kids spend Thanksgiving with my son-in-law’s family. But what a wonderful week it was to just take time to enjoy the simple things…like taking long walks with my little dog (Dusty) reading, and spending time with friends.  Even the weather was perfect…the sun was out, it was warm with no humidity. We don’t get that many days here in Louisiana with no humidity!  When you slow down, its amazing how many beautiful things you can see.  God has blessed us so much and I count my blessings every day. Not only do I have wonderful friends and family, but I am so blessed to have such a great company to work for.  I think back to when I was considering applying to FDLIC, I went online to  check it out.  That was the year of the first Sabbatical and the first thing I did was call my long time friend Mark Childs.  I ask him if this company was for real. It sure sounded a little different than where we came from.  He laughed that wonderful laugh of his and said yes!  So 7 years later, here I am and saying YES every day. Thank you Kris, our board of directors and everyone that works for FD for making this company what it is!!

My sabbatical continues to be an incredible opportunity that has blessed my family and I beyond measure. We are maintaining the slower paced lifestyle and spending more quality time together than we ever have. This has easily been the best part of my sabbatical.
For my book study, I chose to take a deeper dive into the Bible. In the midst of life, I do not find the time I should to take a more comprehensive study of what I read in the Bible. My readings are too often surface level without the depth that is so vital to material growth. Given this, and the time I have available during my sabbatical, more detailed studies were my goal.
To help me through this process, I am using a study guide by Dr. Bill Creasy, called the One Year Bible. While Dr. Creasy is a professing Christian, his study takes a more “history book” approach at understanding the Bible. He creates parallels between various verses, chapters, and books while also clearly displaying the historical narrative. This study has greatly helped me better understand the Bible from both a historical perspective and the application to my life.
I will be doing my service project this next week and look forward to reporting on this.

I recently did 2 more hospital visits. I Picked up my mother in law to go pay a visit to another hospitalized church member. The two of them are in the senior group at church and good friends. My mother in law is unable to get out atl all due to recent hip surgery, so she was very happy to go see her friend. It brightened both of their days and we had a good visit.
I visited a young mother from our church who had surgery to remove a toe due to diabetes. We talked and prayed and thankfully she is recovering well. She is now back home and even came to church today.

Last weekend my bride and I took a trip to Corpus to spend some time together. On the way down we ate at Blessing Hotel for lunch and had the best fried chicken on the planet. After we ate, we were invited to take our plates on back to the sink. Pretty home-style, and delicious! In Corpus we had room overlooking the bay and marina. I had planned for us to eat seafood out on the “T Heads” and go to a comedy club. When we arrived in Corpus found out that one of the comedy club owners had opened a new place with a partner who is a chef. Dinner and show! We had a great time, and laughed a lot. We also saw some of the devastation that remains from Hurricane Harvey in the Rockport area. Debris from the storm has been piled in the median of the highway. The amount of trash was beyond belief and I’m pretty sure it has gone down from the original amount.

Thanksgiving week started out great with a couple of days fishing with my eldest son, down in East Matagorda. It was a great trip even though our trip got cut short a day because my wife needed help back home. Our two younger kids came down with the flu and even our Thanksgiving gathering was cancelled. Coming home early didn’t even matter. We had one super day of fishing. Probably several days’ worth of catching. I now can tell the story of the time I caught a 30.5” speckled trout. It was extra special because my son was there with me to net the fish and do the high fives.
I’m really enjoying spending time with each one of my closest family, and being able to talk without distractions. So often it is hard for me to focus on one person when the whole gang is together.

After the weekend at Hearts of Hope Camp, I spent the next week delivering for Meals on Wheels.  This is something that I very much enjoy.

Sometimes, that is the only conversation they will have all day.  Hopefully, it brightens their day when their food is delivered by not only having a hot meal, but a nice talk, too.

I know they add sunshine to my day.  There was one day where it was pouring down rain and in the 30s.  I was in a tiny part of town that made me nervous.  Almost every person told me to be careful.  They were so sweet.  I felt like my reservation at a restaurant was calling, “Judge and Jury — party of one.”  Yikes.  I was humbled.

I look forward to my next time to deliver Meals on Wheels.

During my two weeks, I took naps pretty much every day.  I was able to run errands without caring about the time.  I worked on some little projects for Christmas.  I took in some bike rides and long runs.   By the time the two weeks were up, I felt both relaxed and energized.

Thank you to my coworkers who covered for me while I was away.

Thank you, Kris, and the Board for allowing me the time away.  It was an incredible experience.

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with friends and family.  I was able to spend some time with my family in the mountains of New Mexico and had a wonderful time.  Prior to this trip I was able to spend some time assisting a struggling friend of mine  (physically, emotionally and spiritually) with some contract labor.  He has fallen behind and things just are not going well for him.  I decided to spend four days getting him caught up.  At first he did not like the idea, but he finally agreed to let me work with him, no charge of course.  My goal here was to be able to serve as a spiritual mentor for this man.  I believe he needed to know that someone cares.  We talked about life while painting houses, preparing rentals for new tenants and putting up new fencing.  I learned that alcohol was a real problem for him and that he has had several days where he did not work, which explains how he got so far behind with his bids.  In these four days, I spent time trying to figure out how to best mentor him spiritually.  Although I don’t have all the answers here, I am going to continue to be a mentor for him by listening and waiting for those prompts from the holy spirit to speak through me.

In my devotion time, I am continuing to learn how to grow into the man that God created us to be.  In 2 Timothy 1:6-7 I am reminded that fear is not a natural spirit that we were born with.  Verse 7 states “for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, and of LOVE and of SOUND MIND”.  I believe that what this is telling me specifically is that I am made to be powerful in my thought life, finances, relationships.  I will continue to trust the prompts and thoughts since I have the spirit of SOUND MIND given to me by God.  Fear on the other hand just has the opportunity to breed more fear.  I will look at situations differently knowing that I don’t need to be afraid, but rather trust that my sound mind and the powerful nature of God that is in me is enough to go through any situation.

Thank you for reading and God Bless.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Started off the week by volunteering with the Central Texas Food Bank Mobile Pantry.  We met the 18 wheeler truck at the First Christian Church in San Marcos.  I was instructed to unload several pallets of cabbage, onions, carrots, sweet potatoes and limes.  Back breaking work!!

As families drove in to pick up fresh produce, we assisted them by bagging and loading their vehicles.  The remainder of the produce was transferred to the Hays County Food Bank vans for distribution the next day at Saint Anthony Marie de Claret Catholic church in Kyle, Texas.  I offered to help since it happens to be the Parish I go to.

Later that evening, our family got together to celebrate my son Chris’ upcoming 22nd birthday at Chili’s Restaurant in San Marcos, Texas.  Enjoyed spending time with my kids!

On Tuesday,  I cooked 2 dozen Spice Toffee cookies from scratch for Santa Claus and helped set up our Xmas Tree in the Family Room.

Around noon, my son, Chris joined me to help the Hays County Food Bank distribute fresh produce, meats and assorted breads to countless families in need.   We distributed over 4,000 lbs of food in two hours.  I was so happy and blessed to have my son with me on his birthday.

I cooked this year’s Thanksgiving dinner from scratch.   I made a 6 lb Sweet Potato Casserole, a 4 lb Russet Potato Casserole, 2 Green Bean with Mushroom Casseroles, a 8 lb Spiral Glazed Ham, 2 Herbed Turkey Breasts (3 lbs each), 5 cups of sweet corn, Turkey dressing, 8 cups of Turkey Gravy and 6 cups of Spiced Cranberry Sauce.  For dessert, we had Walnut Apple pie, Pecan pie and Pumpkin pie with Old Style Vanilla ice cream.  It was a resounding success!

Enjoyed spending quality time on Thanksgiving surrounded by my mom, in-laws, sister, brother-in-laws, sister-in-law, daughters, son-in-laws, son, his girlfriend and our first grand-daughter.

I finished reading my second book, Experiencing the Supernatural:  How to Saturate Your Life with the Power and Presence of God by Messianic Rabbi K.A. Schneider.   According to Schneider, God is supernatural and created us in His image therefore by definition, we are supernatural beings too.   He proposes that we should not be constrained by our own physical, finite limitations and should expect the supernatural in our daily lives.  In other words, it should be a regular way of living and relating to God.  Schneider goes on by demonstrating many facets and ways one can live a supernatural life with God by listening and trusting our intuition, recognizing signs He uses to guide us, hearing God through our dreams and visions, etc.   In summary, it trains our senses to follow the witness of the Holy Spirit!

I just wanted to start by sharing some recent news with everyone.  Our daughter Keri has just told us that she is expecting our next grandchild.  Upon hearing this news, our soon to be four year old grandson Jackson, informed his parents that he knew he was getting a baby sister, not a baby brother.  Since the girls out number the boys in our family, and we have been told that this will be our last grandchild, we are secretly hoping that Jackson does not get his wish.  Either way, we are very excited.

My knee is mending nicely.  Although I’m still doing therapy daily, I have now been able to incorporate some Pilates in my daily routine.  My husband made a book holder for my stationary bike, so now I can do my daily Bible reading during part of my exercise routine.  Time management, I love it.  So that is how my day begins, Bible reading and exercise, followed by meditation.  After breakfast, its time to get ready to go out in the ministry.  Just as my job as a Planning Specialist requires preparation, the same is true for my ministry.  So I gather my sword “Bible”, my tablet, and other literature that will help me to be prepared.

The last couple of weeks have been so amazing.  Working side by side with our Pioneer Ministers has been a time of spiritual growth.  I have learned how to navigate the jw.org website more efficiently.  So now, when ask a question that relates to God’s Word, and my memory fails me, I can show them how to find the answer in their Bible in just seconds.  God’s word exerts power “Hebrews 4:12”.  No one out there has ever had memory failure, right.

I have had the privilege of setting in on numerous Bible Studies with the Pioneers.  And just as in my secular job, observing the way that others do things is beneficial to improve the quality of how I help families, the same is true for my ministry.  I feel this experience has really improved my teaching skills.  And I pray that my own Bible students will benefit from these experiences.

Yesterday I came across a young woman with two small children living out in the country.  I was  astonished to hear that her family did not own a television.  When I ask her what Church she attended, she said that they quit going to Church because they found them to be too judgemental.  I ask her if she still believed in God.  And she said, “yes of course.”  I then ask if she thought it mattered what name we used for God.  She said she wasn’t sure what I meant.  So, I read Psalms 83:18 to her from my Bible.  The New World Translation.  I then ask her who the most high’s name was according to this scripture.  She said “Jehovah”.  Then she said, “I don’t think that is in my Bible”.  I explained that God’s name had been taken out of many translations of the Holy Scriptures.  She then went to get her Bible, which was the King James Version.  In that translation, Psalms 83:18 reads:  That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.  She said that she had never read that before.  I ask her if I could come back next week to show her in her Bible what God’s name means.  And she agreed.

What a privilege it is, to share God’s written word with others!!!!!!

Amazing how fast this week has gone by! First on my list to do my first week was a real cleaning of my house, closets and yard….Well none of that happening. I think God had other plans for me. One of the things I wanted to do while I was off was to visit my best friend from High School that I have not seen in maybe 3 years. The last time we spoke was about 6 months ago when she called to tell me who died from our small community of Simpson. I was surprised when she called the week before my Sabbatical started. Of course my first thought was….who died? But no she had ran into another one of our girlfriends from High School that wanted us 4 ladies to get together for a mini reunion! And that is just what we did last Friday Night! It has been a long time since I laughed so much. I think we were getting a little loud in the restaurant when the table next to us leaned over and said ‘If I had to guess, you are the class of? These ladies were my best friends all thru High School. Three of us had met 3 years ago for supper, but the other one I have not seen in 40 years. It made me really stop and think about how important our friends and relationships are. I feel so blessed to have been able to have this time with these ladies and we have committed to getting together again soon.
On a sad note, the one that called me is suffering from some medical problems that the doctor from the small town can not diagnose. She is not able to drive any longer and is always in some type of pain. Her and her husband are raising their 2 grandchildren and hard for them to go out of town to seek another opinion. So I am working on getting her in to see a doctor here in Baton Rouge. I just pray that I can be of help to her, and I ask for your prayers as well for my Friend Eloise.
I was also able to spend some quality time with my youngest granddaughter who I am so very proud of. She will be starting South Eastern University next year to study to be a Physician’s Assistant.
It has been a great first week spending time with friends, family and just enjoying my down time.
Thank you Kris and our Board of Directors for this time. I feel so blessed to be able to work for such a great company with so many wonderful people. It is hard for people to believe when you tell them about our Sabbatical time.
I wish everyone many blessings during this Thanksgiving week.

11/12/17
Did my sabbatical start today? Maybe it started yesterday. Regardless, it has dominated my thoughts for days and days. To be blessed with this opportunity is overwhelming at times. I don’t want to waste it! Thirty days seemed like a long time, but now that I’m getting started it seems short. It’s another case where your vantage point changes your perception.
Thirty of us from church were supposed to be going on a mission trip to Costa Rica right now, but hurricane Harvey changed all that. We had to focus our efforts on helping the families flooded out and postpone that trip until next year.

11/13/17
Today I did a hospital visit. This gentleman has been a mentor and encourager to me since we came to our church 13 years ago. He has been in the hospital for weeks with infections and fluid retention. He has had an LVAD for over 2 years and needs a heart transplant but he was taken off the transplant list last week. He has too many other health problems for the doctors to risk the transplant. He didn’t want to talk much which worries me. He is usually interested to know about the kids and my latest fishing trip. I’m not sure if it was medication or his mood. We just watched TV for a while, until the physical therapists came and took him for a very short walk. The nurses came after that to drain fluid from one lung which made him feel better. Before I left, we held hands and I prayed for him.

11/15/17
Today was my first time to volunteer with The Gathering. From talking with an organizer on the phone I expected to be interacting with people suffering with Alzheimer’s and similar conditions. This time they met in Alvin, TX only about 20 minutes from my home. I showed up early to a very warm welcome from the lady in charge of the Alvin branch. She gave me the run down, and had me sign some paperwork. This meeting was the “Birthday Party” theme, celebrating everyone’s birthday no matter when it was.

Some clients were dropped off and others had caregivers that stayed. Their abilities varied according to the seriousness of their condition. Some were almost unaware of what was going on around them. Others were high functioning and others fell somewhere in between. Every client was happy or at least pleasant. The volunteers were all sweet people and had their own ways of interacting with the clients. I observed the men volunteers for a few minutes before finding my place. I ended up visiting and assisting 3 gentleman with 3 different levels of capability. They were all a joy. The organizers had a good agenda and we stayed busy with crafts, exercises, games, singing, a devotion, lunch, birthday cake, ice cream and a prize game. We even had a visit from two real clowns! We were doing pretty good all this time, but then came the BINGO. They play a little differently in that they don’t clear the board when there is a bingo. They kept going, and my tiny brain was about to get challenged! I was trying to help my 3 new friends with their cards and not miss anything. The longer we played the tougher it got. I wasn’t the best assistant, but I’m happy to say that nobody got mad at me for messing up or missing something. We had a good time.

We closed the meeting, holding hands and reciting the Lord’s Prayer. As we broke up I thought about how fragile we all are, and how we all need the help of others at some point. I’m really glad I volunteered and plan to go back again for my sabbatical is over. It’s heartwarming to brighten the day of these people and to give their caregivers a break. All the clients had balloon hats that the clowns made, some presents, and they were happy or at least content.

Hi everybody.  I have just returned today from the adventures of a mini Sabbatical.

Friday the 3rd, a group from Funeral Directors Life traveled to WI to serve at the Grief Camp for Children’s Grief Connection.  I absolutely love this camp and everything that takes place over the weekend.  I was a Helper Bee buzzing over to lend a hand wherever the Queen Bee sent me.  It is amazing to see the transformation of the families that attend.  They come in on Friday not knowing what all will transpire.  By Sunday, there were bonds of support and friendship formed with other families and counselors.

I also believe the families go home leaving with a precious gift:  Hope.

I attended a one day silent retreat at the Diocese of Austin Cedarbrake Retreat Center in Belton, Texas about two hours away.  The retreat center is situated on 67 acres of wooded land with walking trails, a canyon, a small creek, a lodge, a chapel, a hall and many cabins.  Apparently, it is one of the largest catholic retreat centers in Texas.

The theme of the retreat revolved around Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

The day began inside the main Lodge by pondering on the following three passages from Matthew.  A common denominator in the word “come” in all three passages brought me joy knowing that God wanted me to come and spend time with Him today.

Matthew 14:28 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’

Matthew 11:28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 28:6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.  Come, see the place where he lay.

I left the Lodge and decided to follow one of the many hiking trails while pondering on why did I come today and did I truly believe I could trust God with all my heart, mind and soul?

Trust is a choice we must all make even though we may not understand or know the way.

As I walked and prayed, I came across a limestone ledge overlooking a small canyon.  I was mesmerized by all the beauty of mother nature around me and I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to shut up and just pray with Him.  After a few minutes, I started hearing the faint sound of water gurgling from the bottom of the canyon which by the way I was able to videotape on my I-Phone which unfortunately, I was unable to attach to the blog.  

As I questioned the Holy Spirit for the significance of the water gurgling out from the ground, He told me that God was the living water and to trust Him.

After lunch, I attended mass inside the small Chapel where I questioned myself, what fear do I have that I will offer to him today?  After all, one cannot have trust while harboring fear.

I realized right there that I had to make a choice to trust Him.  I had to risk loving Him with all my heart without falling victim to any internal fears I could be harboring.

After mass, I decided to do some more reflection and meditation.  I sat down next to a stone water fountain similar to the one I had heard earlier in the Canyon.

How I wish I had childlike faith.  I figure it is better to be hot or cold than it is to be luke warm in God’s eyes!

I finished my first book, Waiting on God: Strength for Today an Hope for Tomorrow by Dr. Charles Stanley.  God has an awesome plan mapped out for each of us, but He only reveals it one step at a time.  God uses delays to prepare us for His plans.  God uses our hurts, losses and disappointments to produce character qualities we will need to accomplish His plan for our lives.   According to Dr. Stanley, why does God require that we wait?

1. To receive His clear direction
2. To keep us in step with His timing
3. To test our faith
4. To strengthen our faith
5. To sift the motives for our desires

By heeding His instruction, we are conformed to the image of Christ and empowered to walk obediently in His will and according to His schedule.  Sometimes He restrains our blessings until we trust him because by waiting it teaches us to walk by faith, trusting God’s timing instead of giving in to immediate self-gratification.   Sometimes we pray selfishly so God delays in answering our prayers in order to give us time to see situations from His viewpoint not ours!

Isaiah 64:4  No matter what we are facing, we can know that God always acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.  Since He’s the omniscient, omnipotent, and sovereign God of the universe, He can do what no one else can, and He always works for our good.

Happy Friday blog followers.  This will be my first blog following my first week of sabbatical.  I underestimated the difficulty of resting the mind.  It has taken this much time to let myself escape the daily routines that my subconscious so desperately wants to go.  Through discipline and quiet time I have begun to really enjoy the moments of my daily devotional (in which I have not actively done in many years).  I am focusing on the “man” that God created and how we, as men have drifted far from the plan that God created us for in relationships, work, family, etc.  One of the lessons has dealt with the need for adventure.  This adventure is different for everyone.  For me, it will be the call of the wild.  Tomorrow I am meeting up with my best friend and my dad for a New Mexico Rocky Mountain hunt.  Just us and God’s creation.  It is something that I look forward to each year as a grab my archery gear, food and water and head out.  With my mind in a “sabbatical” mode, it already feels different as if my mission is to concentrate more on the wonderful people who will be around me more than my prey.  I look forward to sending some pictures to show just how beautiful this place is and what it will do for my soul.  Thank you Jesus for the opportunity and the people in my life that allow this experience to happen.  I pray for safety and fellowship conversations directed by you.  Thank you Lord for this time of rest and enjoyment and I pray that with your help, I can be a blessing to all who are around me this week.  Amen

I spent this week along with another week of vacation (driving to Lubbock to see our grandson, Zach, who is involved with the Saddle Tramps for the Texas Tech Athletics and our granddaughter, Carson, who is also attending Texas Tech University).  Had a great time with family and friends during this time attending the Texas Tech vs. Kansas State game.

I came home from Lubbock with the flu, so spent the next 4 days in bed recuperating from this bug(:  Not a fun time!  However, after that I was able to spend some time volunteering for PACN (Pregnancy Assistant Center North) in Conroe.  It is always such a honor to be able to spend some time with this organization from time to time.  I started volunteering with this organization in 2007 and try to stay involved when I am able.  When I called to ask the director if she could use my help during this time, she immediately called back to let me know that “yes, she could use my help!”  She was needing someone to organize the formula and baby food that had been donated.  This meant going through each one and discarding any items that had expired, etc.  When I arrived there, she apologized to me and said it was going to be more of a bigger job than she had told me over the phone.  When I walked in the room, there were boxes everywhere!  Someone had just dropped off a truck load of formula, diapers, baby cereal and baby food and each box needed to be open and sorted out!  She explained that ever since Hurricane Harvey, there have been so many donations to this organization.  God’s people have been so good!  I immediately went to work.  It was so good to see how God was supplying these young families and their new babies food, clothing, diapers and a safe environment for them to be counseled and trained on how to take care of their newborn.  One lady came in carrying twins! What a blessing to be able to help her during this time.  I also learned while I was there that there was a young lady contemplating abortion.  She was 17 weeks along!  We all prayed for this young girl to not go through with it, but her mind was made up!  So sad(:  We will continue to pray for her to make the right decision.  After spending several hours in that room with all of those boxes, the director came in there expressing her gratitude for my help.  She said “Evidently, the Lord knew we would need you to day, because there was no way that we could have done this without your help!  Thank you so much!”  So remarkable to see God work in this way!  The next couple of days, I spent it visiting my mother in the nursing home in Ft. Worth.  It was so good to see her and I know she enjoyed the visit too.

Again, I want to thank Kris and the Board of Directors for allowing us to have the opportunity to be a part of God’s work in the Helpers of People program.  It is always a good time to reflect and refocus on the bigger picture.

Blessings,

Vicki

Started off my Sabbatical journey with a bang by scheduling all of my service projects during the first week.  I signed up with Habitat for Humanity to build a wooden A-frame house on Saturday in Lockhart,Texas but after an epiphany a few days earlier, I decided I was too out of shape for the job at hand.  It was hard to swallow my pride and I rescinded to the idea of a softer service project.  Thus, I started on Sunday instead with Mobile Loaves & Fishes at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Austin, Texas.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes feeds countless homeless underneath bridges and street corners.  I felt like the boy used by Jesus to feed the hungry known as the “miracle of the five loaves and two fish.”  I was assigned to the kitchen area where I proceeded to make 75 ham & cheese sandwiches, 60 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and 120 kosher hotdogs along with loading up several dozen apples, oranges & bananas.  One can imagine how easy it is to make a sandwich but spreading peanut butter and jelly is tiresome and extremely messy!   After this experience, I would be content never to see another peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!!!

Later that evening, we celebrated with the rest of the family my eldest daughter’s 32nd birthday at The Olive Garden Restaurant in San Marcos, Texas.

Spending quality family time is important to me and everyone seemed to get a kick out of my earlier challenges with peanut butter and jelly.  We were blessed by having my in-laws in attendance since they are now permanent residents in our home.  First Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”  I said a blessing and we all proceeded to enjoy a hearty feast with endless salad and bread sticks.      Mangiare!!!

Early Monday morning, I headed to downtown Austin to volunteer at Caritas of Austin, a soup kitchen for the homeless and destitute.   Carita’s feeds in excess of 350 homeless every day and I knew I was in for a arduous day!

After unloading a truckload of food, vegetables and fruit into the kitchen food pantry I was given the task of sorting out the pastry sweets on large cookie sheets.   I guess they figured I couldn’t mess up the ready made sweets versus cooking.  Oh well…, they will never know?  The chef decided to make Shepherd pie, mashed potatoes, toss salad, fruit salad and sweet bread for dessert.   In all, we probably spent about 2 hours doing food prep before serving.

Two off duty policeman handled the homeless crowd outside allowing small groups of forty within a 1 and half hour time span.  I was assigned to be a busser which sounded similar to the word–buzzard and in fact, I found out it resembled the bird’s favorite pastime which was scavenging and eating leftovers.  I was responsible for receiving the dirty trays and leftover food.  I expected most of the food trays to be empty but apparently homeless are picky eaters too!  LOL  (lots of laughs)

In Matthew 25:35 “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

When we feed the hungry, clothe the poor, Jesus says “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

On Tuesday, I volunteered at the Central Texas Food Bank in their warehouse division.  The facility is 135,000 square feet and has a new 4,000 square feet kitchen with blast chillers that can freeze fresh and prepared foods in under 90 minutes.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

In the course of 3 hours, we sorted 14,753 lbs of food with an estimated meal value of $12,647.  Several families lost everything during Hurricane Harvey.  We must always be thankful for the food that the Lord has provided us with.  No matter what it is!

My sabbatical started on October 23.  It’s my son’s 29^th birthday!  He recently started a job as a nurse practitioner so he’s been very busy.

I have a very good friend in a rehab center who fell and broke his nose.  Mike Schweer has already endured breaking his neck not once but twice before.  He was released from the hospital the same day and sent home.  This was in August!  I spent some time with him and his wife Nellie that first night and I noticed he was in extreme pain.  After several hours of trying to quell the pain, Nellie called her cousin who is a doctor and asked him to evaluate Mike.  Mike went back to the hospital and they found a herniated disc in his neck and he needed surgery immediately.

Thus, began the most challenging time of his life.  After he surgery, he was unable to speak or walk or consume anything via his throat.

Mike went into rehab at the hospital and since then has been in two different rehab centers.

Today, three months later, Mike still can’t swallow solid food or any liquids.  The first week of my sabbatical, I spent with Mike so Nellie could get some rest and tend to many issues at home like paying bills etc.  It also gave her a break so she could go do something for herself.

Mike is slowly improving.  He can walk with a walker and although his voice is weak, he can talk to some extent.  He has been fed through a tube in his stomach for over 90 days now.

But, last week he received a different kind of PT on his neck and it improved his ability to swallow.

Nellie told me if I took Mike for a ride I could take him to his favorite place; Starbucks.  But he can only have two teaspoons of black coffee.  The doctors are afraid Mike may contract pneumonia if anything other than water or ice chips finds it’s way into his lungs.  So Nellie instructed me, in front of Mike that he could only have two teaspoons of black coffee.

So after Nellie left for the day, we did his speech exercises and talked a great deal about the challenge he’s faced.  Then we went to Starbucks.  I was terrified he would fall on my watch.  He had a brace on his neck and a huge belt on his waist that I used to help him walk.  When we went inside Starbucks, Mike asked me what I wanted.  I said I would take a black tea.  He said he would order.  I reminded him he could only have a small black coffee.  He then ordered my black tea and a grand soy latte with whipped cream!  I reminded him that he was restricted to black coffee.  He argued that it was fine now that he could have anything!  The young lady behind the counter recommended a coffee with a very small amount of mocha.  Mike immediately said that would be fine with whipped cream.

Well Mike got his coffee with mocha but I did restrict him to just two spoon fulls.

During my sabbatical, I’ve spent as much time with him as possible.  He’s a fighter.

I’ve been reading a book called “Jesus Calling”.  It’s a wonderful book with daily readings from the bible.  I have been reading it every day and have found it extremely helpful in knowing that Jesus is with me all the time and has reminded my how my relationship with Jesus needs to be.  I am like many others today, a electronic junkie. I feel naked if I don’t have my IPhone on me.  Here was the writing on October 24.  I know this is long but it was so appropriate for me.

“Lie down if green pastures of Peace.  Learn to unwind whenever possible, resting in the presence of your Shepard.  This electronic age keeps my children “wired”, much of the time too tense to find Me in the midst of their moments.  I built into your very being the need for rest.   How twisted the world has become that people feel guilty about meeting this basic need!  How much time they waste by always being on the go rather than taking time to seek My direction for their lives.

I have called on you to walk with Me down paths of peace.  I want you to blaze a trail for others who desire to live in My peaceful Presence.  I have chosen you less for your strengths than for your weaknesses, which amplify your need for Me more and more, and I will shower peace on all your paths.”

This was a great reading for me as I started my work with Mike and my sabbatical.

The second week, I traveled with a friend of mine to Ireland.  David is a huge fan of Irish literature and Irish music.  He visited the James Joyce museum and spent dinner with the curator and his wife.  I arrived a couple of days after David so he was able to scout out the best places for music.  David plays the harmonica so I got to witness him sitting in and playing with flute, violin and bagpipe musicians in a few different pubs around Dublin and other areas of this beautiful country.

We attended a rugby match between Connacht and a team from South Africa called the Cheetahs.  I was fortunate to meet some of the players and coaches after the match.  It was a bitter cold, wet night but a wonderful experienced nonetheless.

We spent some time on the Dingle Peninsula where the locals couldn’t understand why I wanted to watch the world series.  It was funny.

I only spent seven days there but was able to get a great feel for the culture and the land.  I drove the rental car and believe me it gets really tense when you’re in the rural areas where the roads are so narrow and you’re driving on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car.  That was very tense indeed.

I’m back on the states, spending time with my friend Mike and just finished with my team’s rugby playoffs.  We were not as fortunate this time as we lost to a team from Iowa Central Community College 102-3!  They were loaded with players from South Africa, New Zealand, France, Ireland, England and Australia.  It ended a great season for us.

I started another book called “The Imitation of Christ”.  It’s a very different read than the first one.  Just now getting into it.

Thanks,

Shaun

Today was spent just doing nothing serious.  I went to the gym and got a short workout in before my friend interrupted me to tell me his delivery to his house had arrived.  Tom was waiting on a few parts for a trailer for his sport plane.  He bought two new wheels and a couple other parts that I can’t even describe but they are part of the trailer he uses to tow his very small two seat plane.  We opened the boxes and had a good time assembling the new parts and then realized he needed a welder to complete the job.  We went to the garage where he stores his plane and fixed the garage door opener.  This took two hours!  The wings of the plane fold inward and the plane fits in his garage.  I should say it does now.  He had to cut a large hole in the back of the garage and bought a yard shack and placed it at the rear of the garage over the hole in the wall so the plane could fit in.  The shack is connected to the garage so it looks like an extension of the garage.  Which it is.

The plane is a tiny aircraft that is easy to operate and can take off and land in a very short distance.  Tom’s been a pilot since I met him over 35 years ago.  I spent time with Tom on my last sabbatical and enjoyed spending time with him again this go around.  Tom’s an engineer and although it may sound like this wasn’t a restful day it was in my mind because I was with a life long friend who I enjoy being with since our sense of humor is so similar and i enjoy how he takes on a problem and manages to fix it.  Like when we were finished fixing the garage door opener and fuel starting gushing out from one of the gas tanks which is located at the top or front of the wing!  It was funny, (not at the time) watching two guys scrambling to capture the fuel in anything we could.

It was great fun just doing something with an old friend.  I spent the rest of the day resting and doing a little reading.

In “Jesus Calling” November 15 ironically dealt with approaching problems with a light touch and that we shouldn’t focus so intently on the situation that we lose sight of Jesus.  “Our mind gears up for battle and your body becomes tense and anxious.  There is a better way.  When a problem starts to overshadow your thoughts, bring this matter to Me.  Talk too Me about it and look at it in the Light of My Presence….. You will always face trouble in this life.  … Approach problems with a light touch by viewing them in My revealing Light.”.

Funny how that fits in with the things Tom and I encountered today.

In anticipation for my sabbatical my wife and I made all kinds of plans to truly enrich this time gifted to me (and my family). Now that I am a couple days into my sabbatical I see that my family has received more out of just slowing down and that time spent intentionally with one another is so good for our souls.
I began my time with a visit down to San Antonio area to visit both of my grandfather’s, they fortunately live close to one another. They were enthralled to spend time with my daughter, Allie and I thoroughly enjoyed time to sit, visit and let the day pass slowly. We also got to eat at some of our favorite places that have many fond memories entwined with good food. As they get older I can’t help but notice each conversation seeming deeper and I find myself eager to soak up these moments that truly are already proving this time to be a gift.
Once we arrived back home it was time to adjust to not having to go into work each morning, not a bad thing to have to “adjust” too! With a little girl who’s just over one, each morning is sweeter than the last. Before sabbatical a typical morning didn’t include much time with her or my wife but now we all enjoy coffee and breakfast together and there’s not a day I’ve taken this for granted. I’ve gifted my wife time alone during the day that she doesn’t normally get much of and made it a point to help around our house and invest in my family and the change of pace has brought me so much clarity and gratitude.
When explaining to others why I’m not at work this month and what plans we have for our time, I routinely hear people so surprised and intrigued. It continues to remind me of how important it is to love what you do and to find something that grows your mind spiritually as well as intellectually. This sabbatical carries so much weight in understanding how we can entwine our work with our spiritual walk and I believe this to be a struggle in our society today. Slowing down doesn’t always come easy for me but I see it everyday refining my ability to comprehend the good that comes from resetting and renewing your mind.
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

For my third week of my sabbatical I spent most of my time in my tree stand. Hunting has always been a huge part of my life ever since I was in the third grade. There is something about being in nature perusing wild game that has had me hooked since I was a kid. Some of the animals that I hunt include Squirrel, Rabbit, Pheasant, Raccoon and by far my favorite is Whitetail Deer.

This year has been an abnormally odd season compared to past Bow seasons. I haven’t quite pin pointed the cause but I feel a lot must do with the weather. We have had a few cold fronts with Northeast winds that transitioned into warm fronts back to cold fronts with southwest winds. Because of this unusual weather pattern, the deer have not been moving like normal. I decided that due to the lack of movement I have seceded to take advantage of my time and finish up my book I am reading for my sabbatical.

The book is titled A look at Life from a Deer Stand by Steve Chapman. I figured what better way to read A look at Life from a Deer Stand than from a deer stand. I have really enjoyed this book because Steve shared some of his hunting stories and how they have impacted his life, the sacrifices that not only a hunter makes but also the family of the hunter makes and how being in the woods brings him closer to God. I can really relate to a lot of what Steve Chapman talks about because I have been able to experience a lot what he talks about. If you are an outdoorsman then I would recommend this book.

Usually, I am very particular on the buck that I harvest every year. I am very proud that the last four years I have taken a buck that were worthy of making the wall in my living room. I decided that this year I wasn’t going to focus so strongly on taking a wall hanger but harvesting a management buck. A management buck is one that doesn’t have the best genetics. A hunter chooses to do this to benefit the overall deer herd. The sacrifice is once you harvest that buck you cannot take another buck because Ohio is a one buck limit.

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to be blessed with a great management buck. Honestly it really felt good knowing I did something that was going to benefit the overall herd and overall quality of deer in the years to come. This deer will also eat very well so I can see Jerky and snack sticks in the future.

Our trip to the lake house in Breckenridge was both restful and healing.  We were there five days and by the last day I abandoned my crutches.  I am still having to do therapy to get complete range of motion back in my knee, but my family has quit calling me hop-along.  We had four great weather days while at the lake, and took advantage by spending them on the pontoon boat. The fishing was better than we had anticipated.  We caught so many Crappie fish, that my husband Rusty was tired of cleaning them each day.  I’m looking forward to our first fish fry!

The peace and tranquility of the lake was a perfect place for meditation.  A time of reflection.  We talked about our short and long term plans for the future, and our spiritual goals.

Our youngest daughter Keri, her husband Travis and our only grandson Jackson who is now tree years old, joined us the last two days.  They live in Fort Worth, and we haven’t seen them in six months due to each of our hectic schedules.  Children grow so fast at that age, I still can’t believe how he has changed.  He has his Grammie & Pop wrapped around his finger.  But doesn’t most grandchildren?

On arriving home, it was time for me to make plans for the following week for my ministry.  So I called a few of my spiritual sisters and scheduled time to go out with them in the field ministry.  Because I work full time, Saturday has always been the day I set aside to go out and talk to people about God’s Kingdom.  Which means going door to door in my community.  So, what I have been doing this week is a new experience for me.  I have been joining our Pioneers in taking Bible literature to the businesses in Andrews.  And because the majority of those businesses are oilfield, we start our day at 7:00 am.  By that time, they have usually dispatched their crews, but if they are still in meetings we do not interrupt, we return at a more appropriate time.

I wanted to share an experience I had with one business owner.  His name was Steve.  When I gave him the Awake Bible Journal, he told me that he had heard that Jehovah’s Witnesses did not believe in Jesus Christ.  I ask if he would allow me to share a couple of Bible scriptures with him?   He agreed.  I opened my Bible to John 17:3 which reads: This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.  Then we looked up Matthew 20:28 which reads: Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.  So I told Steve, of course we believe in God’s only begotten son.  That without Jesus there would be no hope of everlasting life.

Wanting to keep this short and not interfere with his business, I gave him this website: www.jw.org.  I told him just go to the three dots with the bars beside them at the top right and click, then click About Us.  I thanked him for his time, and ask if I could return next week and answer any more questions that he may have about us, or God’s Word the Bible.  He told me that I could count on him having more questions.

What a wonderful way to start my day!

So its been thirty days since I last went up to work and so much as changed in that time. I feel different and yet feel like nothing has happened or changed. So much excitement and growth have happened over the last 30 days I don’t fully know how to describe it. I feel that looking back now I should have taken more time on the last few days to reflect on the whole journey I was going thru.

A little recap and ramble on about my adventure seem to be the best way to help myself attempt to evaluate everything that happened and the growth I experienced.

Week one I got a strong lesson in humble patience as I prepared for the wedding. Which surprise surprise the week ended in a very successful wedding with only minimal cake smashing. Thankfully I do not have any photos of that currently. Afterwards, I got tasked with preparing the honeymoon. I figured out all the details and not to toot my own horn too much but I think I did a great job at surprising Chelsea and treating her since she did so much work and planning for the wedding itself. This week had so much and strangely enough a lot of opposites it was weird. By that I mean the first part of the week I was a follower and had to learn to let others order me around and trust in their plan and vision. At the end, I had the opposite role as Chelsea had to trust my blind instructions and prep that the honeymoon was going to go smoothly and that I didn’t forget something.

Week two was pretty different compared to the other ones. This week was our honeymoon and I don’t know if I learned much as most of the time was just spent alone or with Chelsea relaxing on a cruise ship. We did get a lot of opportunities to learn more about ourselves and each other. We pushed each other outside our normal comforts and that was an interesting thing to get over our little hold-ups. I also took this time to start reading which as a note made me feel a lot smarter/cooler when I was reading on a balcony overlooking the ocean.

Week three was finally a chance initially to just relax and do absolutely nothing. Being one of the few times I was truly free without a schedule I took this opportunity to embrace the joy of freedom and didn’t schedule or plan anything out. If something came up I would go and do it and my day went just randomly. It was weird and I did enjoy just enjoying the day as it was presented but felt really out of my comfort zone doing absolutely no planning. The week ended back to my normal-ish way of having some decent planning. I spent the weekend in DFW and back home in Sherman. I was able to volunteer at the Muckfest for MS and spent the entire day running around attempting to look like I know what I was doing while helping people. Afterwards, that evening was my mothers surprise birthday party where my siblings and I all showed up in Sherman without her knowledge. It was great spending time with my folks and my siblings just like when we were all little.

Week four was initially planned to be a repeat of last week with me spending some time with friends and by myself to relax, reflect and enjoy the last few days of freedom. It did start out like that initially but quickly changed as what started as a normal week ended with a lot of excitement and is bringing with it a lot of lessons and stress. Chelsea and I took this time to start looking for a house and have been looking for some time. Although we don’t have a house picked out yet we have started to eliminate houses down to a short list of finalist and are “enjoying” the whole process that is home buying. And silly me underestimating the work and stress this does has been a “joyous” event so far.

All in all, I’m so very glad and blessed I was given this opportunity to go on this sabbatical journey. I will admit as shocking as it might be I am glad to be going back to work as I was getting a little stir crazy missing my common routine and daily schedules. I’m so excited to see all of my friends faces some of whom I haven’t spoken to in over a month. During my time off I became somewhat of a recluse and took the time to be anti-social in a way and focus on myself, immediate family and goals I had for this time. Im sure I’ll want to retract the previous statements shortly after waking up tomorrow early for the first time in thirty days.

I intended to volunteer at Abilene Day Nursery but for one reason or another it just wasn’t a good fit. I thought to my self who needs my help? I remembered I always volunteered at the food bank in college and decided to give them a call. I talked to Chad who was ready to receive my help. He let me know in three days the Abilene Food Bank would have their annual inspection. Most of the food banks employees would be hard at work getting the warehouse in spotless condition leaving them little time for normal daily work. How perfect?! I met several groups of volunteers my two days as the food bank from college students to Nuns. I also got the pleasure of serving with one of the food banks regular volunteers Mrs. Lo. With the sweetest soul and fun spirit I had the best time. In the two days there we cleaned, sorted and boxed 4 pallet boxes of food. It was a great feeling knowing how many kiddos will enjoy the ‘sweet snack’ boxes we packed.

I started my sabbatical on Tuesday Oct. 24th, and by Saturday my prayers were answered.  My Surgeon said that I needed to skip my Circuit Assembly which was scheduled for Oct. 28th in Abilene.  I had been looking forward to this Bible discourse entitled “Don’t Give Up In Doing What Is Fine!”.   Starting at 9:30 am and ending at 4:15 pm.. Determined to follow his instructions, but at the same time not miss this spiritual feast, I checked with Academy Sports to see if they carried a reclining fold up chair.  They did.  This allowed me to keep my leg elevated, and disposable ice packs provided the second part of his instructions, to keep the swelling down.

I am so thankful for my sister who was my chauffeur.  This allowed me to keep my leg propped up during the four hours it took to get there and back.  Also for the good friends who carried my chair and bag.

The following is some of the subjects that was discussed:

* Why Is It Difficult To Do What Is Fine?
* Avoid Sowing To The Flesh
* Use Social Media Wisely
* Choose Wholesome Entertainment
* Fight The Spirit Of Envy
* Invest In A Secure Future
* Keep Working Good Toward All
* Avoid Mocking God-In What Sense?
* Keep Sowing To The Spirit
* Develop Good Study Habits
* Use Bible Principles To Guide Your Life
* Do Not Let Your Hand Rest
* What We Will Reap If We Do Not Tire Out

For me, meditating on this spiritual food will take days.  My husband has a few days off, so the next part of my sabbatical will take place in Breckenridge on our Pontoon Boat, spending some quality time with my better half. Hopefully, with the sun on our face!

Is it really over? Thirty days just flew by! For thirty days I have not looked at a sales report, considered what I am going to get my customers for Christmas, or even complained to Jeff on the phone. Man, am I proud of myself. Well, I guess the time I spent reading that book on Humility was well spent.

This last week was all about checking off things on my “To Do List”. It was an extensive list. And again, I planned to get it all done. I just finished cleaning the garage, the last item on the list. Now Amy won’t have to clean snow off her van in the morning. To be perfectly honest, everything between the beginning of the list, “call Pella to get window fixed”, and the end of the list “clean the garage” is not completed. I know, things never go as planned. Ironically, I do not care! I did get to do some really important things. “Have Lunch with Aunt Norma” and “Spend a little time with Josh” did get accomplished. I feel good about that.

One thing that really surprised me was how long some of the things took to get accomplished. Things that should have taken 5 minutes to complete ended up taking over an hour. For instance, getting a simple signature card changed at a bank literally took 65 minutes. 65 minutes! All this time putting stuff in a computer, signing it digitally, using a PIN number, and then, the culmination. She pulled out a paper signature card and said, “Sign here!” It was quite a metaphor for life. The things that should be so simple, have been made so difficult. Some of them have been made difficult by others, some by government, some by technology. But really, lots of it has been made complicated by me.

I really appreciate this last 30 days. The time to think, to relax, to not rush from task to task, has been incredible. To “not be ruled by the list” has truly been a gift from God. I am so thankful to FD and Kris for the opportunity. Seven years ago, when I was working 65 hours a week in the funeral home, the FDLIC (yes, at that time we were still FDLIC) rep handed me Kevin Gaffney’s card. She said, “If you need anything over the next 6 weeks, call him, I am going on sabbatical. I remember thinking how different that was, and asked her tell me more about her company. When I decided it was time for me to make a career change, I remembered that event. Today, I am honored to be a part of this fine organization.

If I had to state my main lesson, it is that God’s plan is superior to my plan. I need to spend more time resting, resting in that assurance. Am I going to quit planning? Honestly, there is no way I will quit planning. Will I try to be less agitated when my plans go awry? I hope so.

Its crazy how fast time has flown by during the past few days and yet still seems to be plenty of time left to enjoy. Since my last post, I’ve been doing some more reading and just relaxing around the house. I’m not for sure how to describe how I feel because I’m not for sure how I feel being off. In a way, being such a recent college graduate it feels like just another summer vacation, especially since I start grad school in the spring. On the other hand, it feels so much more than that looking back at all the things I’ve accomplished and lives that have touched me and hope that I have touched many of them. I don’t really know how to give this time the proper description anymore having finally experienced it.

With a little under a week to go, I think now its truly see how amazing, rare and somewhat weird this opportunity has been for me. Going into this I didn’t know what to expect and here 3 weeks in, still not for sure how to feel entirely. I feel like I’m going a bit stir crazy now, the first two weeks were relatively busy but now I haven’t done much. I’ve actually been actively looking for work around the house;  from laundry to organizing random sections of the house, I’m sure Chelsea loves it but I think I’m losing it.

I was blessed with two beautiful lunch dates! Their faces may look familiar. Kristy was my first friend at FD, I was sad to see her leave but excited for her new job as a mom. She assured me Sunny is keeping her very busy; still adjusting to her new schedule but never bored. It warms my heart to see Kristy care and love on Sunny, she is a natural. Watching the two of them together gives me hope that I will one day get to experience motherhood.

One task I wanted to complete while on sabbatical was a new fence. I now know why the quotes for all the fencing companies were over $2,000. Fence building is hard work! Why would we need a new fence? Our old fence was four foot tall and half torn down with the newest addition to our family, four feet wasn’t going to cut it. With help from Taylor County Sherriff Office’s finest and family we have a new fence! Now my Houdini dog and our new puppy Guss have a safe place to run and play.