Author: Allison Ford

The last week of my sabbatical can be best described as restful, peaceful, and full of joy. Garrett and I spent some time with our friend Tripp and his daughter Tara. Garrett and I got to have some much needed socializing in and Tara and Odin got to play with each other. I took some pictures of the two little boogers with Snapchat filter, which made them even more adorable.

I also got spend some time with my great friend, Jaclyn, on her birthday. We had not seen each other in several months since she lives in Dallas and it was great to see her and catch up.

I wrapped up my sabbatical readings, The 360 Degree Leader and the Just Like Jesus Devotional. Both had a lot of powerful insights that I hope to apply in my life. I’m not perfect but I hope to bring what I learned from these books into daily activities.

I also finished my application to the MBA program at Strayer University and applied for several scholarships.

In wedding news, our rings came in the mail. And yes, my ring is a Wonder Woman ring. I will be Mrs. Robertson in just one week.  It was on March 1, 2013 that my life changed forever. Garrett and I had our first date and I knew then that this was the guy I wanted.

This sabbatical has been such a blessing and has opened my eyes to what is important in my life. I pray that continue to bring what I have learned during this time with me every day.

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.

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 has been such a blessing. First, I got to spend time with my mom in San Antonio for her birthday. My stepdad and my mom both mentioned how much it meant to her for my brother and me to be able to come down there for her birthday. On Sunday, the minster at my mom’s church, MacArthur Park Church of Christ, preached on the Armor of God and talked about when he lived in Abilene when he proposed to his wife.  I figured it couldn’t be a coincidence that the sermon was about the scripture on our sabbatical coin and my hometown was even mentioned. Here is the link to the sermon if you would like to listen to it: http://mpcc.buzzsprout.com/5224/521586-ambassador-in-chains. My mother also gave me an old photograph of my grandmother with her mother and sister that I was able to add our family records that I keep.

“Pupa” is an Italian term of endearment. It can mean “doll” or “cutie.”

Monday, I was blessed by two wonderful guys who are also on their sabbaticals. Alvino and Taylor transformed my yard into such a beauty. They trimmed trees and bushes, edged and mowed my lawn. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate everything they did for us.

I also began delivering for Meals on Wheels. It really is one of those things that is so simple to do that leaves a huge impact on people. I delivered a meal to one lady and I realized from the delivery sheet that her birthday was the next day so I wished her an early happy birthday and her face lit up with the biggest smile. She even told me about some of her birthday plans.

I’ve been reading The 360 Leader by John Maxwell, which is about leading from the middle, and The Just Like Jesus Devotional by Max Lucado. Both ask you a lot of big questions that are often times hard to answer and its usually not intellectually difficult but emotionally difficult. Here are two hard ones from each: “What is worth spending your life on?” (Maxwell) and “How would you have responded if Jesus, knowing everything about you, knelt before you to wash your feet?” (Lucado).

Maxwell’s question might be easy to answer in some categories. Most people want to spend more time with their families and on their relationship with God but after that it gets kind of blurry.  You could even ask a bigger question and ask yourself “Am I spending my time in the way that God wants me to?” I know for me that question could be oftentimes be answered with a big fat “No”. I’m pretty sure that God had not intended for me to make so many trips to Taco Bell in my life and that instead of ordering a 5-Layer Burrito I should be doing something more valuable with my time. But what should I be doing? Perhaps today writing a blog is something I should be doing. It may make a positive impact. God always has a way for opening doors to others. I used to write quite a lot when I was younger.  I used to write poetry and even wrote articles for some newspapers and a magazine. I have even kept up a couple of blogs in the past. As I am writing this, I am realizing that maybe something I should be spending my life on is writing.

Don’t worry I’m not going to forget Lucado’s question. I personally think that if Jesus tried to wash my feet that I would not want him to, especially with him knowing everything about me. I wouldn’t want anyone to wash my feet, let alone someone who knows how imperfect I really am. I would feel so incredibly unworthy and embarrassed. Perhaps some of the disciples felt this way. One of thing Max points out is that Jesus washes the feet of Thomas, Peter, and Judas. One doubts the resurrection of Jesus, one denies him, and one betrays him a way that leads to his death. None of these guys knew this was in their future but I think they knew what was in their hearts. They knew that doubt, fear, and evil lived in there and here comes the Savior to wash their feet. Peter even says that he would never want Jesus to wash his feet. I can only imagine the tension in the room. Jesus also says he does this to be our example. How many of us could humble ourselves enough to wash someone else’s feet, especially people we know everything about, good and bad?

Besides getting to read some pretty impactful books, I also got to take Garrett and Odin to the CALF (Children Arts and Literacy Festival) this year. It was our 3^rd year going and it was spectacular.  What I love most about the CALF is how it brings literature alive to kids. This year’s illustrator was Garth Williams, who illustrated Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, The Three Little Pigs, and much more. We also got to spend Saturday with Jessie Martin and Addie on Saturday at the CALF. I loved the ventriloquist Nancy Worcester. She taught the kids and the adults how you can build a better world by building a better you. I only wish all children’s entertainment had such positive message.

The power of this week makes me look forward to next week even more and I hope that blog número dos can only have as many positive things in it as the first.