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I’ve been pretty busy since my last blog.  Allow me to give you a little re-cap:

• Last Thursday, Melinda and I attended Dancing With The Abilene Stars – a benefit/fundraiser for Hendrick Home for Children, which assists orphans and struggling single moms and their children with housing and food. We had a good friend who was one of the amateur dancers, so we wanted to support her and to support Hendrick Home for Children.  Even though most of the dancing was not up to par with the real Dancing with The Stars, it was pretty good for Abilene – and raised a lot of money for a great cause.
• On Friday, Melinda and I began our journey to Houston by stopping in Temple to see my nephew, Dylan. He has been at Scott & White hospital for the past 9 months – that’s right, 9 months!  He was born with lots of internal “plumbing” issues.  In fact, he has had more than 40 surgeries, and he has a transplanted kidney – he’s had lots of physical struggles in his 41 years of life.  We were able to spend a few hours with him, and we’re grateful because he seems to be making progress, and his spirits were really good.  Somehow, someway, God is working on, and through, Dylan.
• Friday evening, Melinda and I went to a private party at my good friend’s (Michael Soper’s) home in Houston. We had a great time of fellowship with lots of my Legacy Funeral Group friends – by the way, business issues, as a topic of conversation, were avoided (as much as possible!).
• Saturday morning, I met Michael for brunch, and we got caught up on each other’s lives. He mentioned that he could really see how my sabbatical had refreshed me.
• Saturday afternoon, Melinda and I enjoyed some much needed time with each other – we explored the Galleria mall and just generally relaxed. It was a perfect afternoon.
• Saturday night, we attended Michael’s 50^th birthday party. It was a big party featuring the music of Pat Green (if you don’t know, he is a really good country artist who is renowned for “Texas music”).  It was a great party and very honoring to Michael.
• Sunday, we started the trek to Rowlett, Texas to the home of my daughter and son-in-law. Even though January 8^th is my grandson’s (Graham’s) birthday, we were celebrating today.  He turned 2 years old, and he’s definitely executing his freedom (if you know what I mean!).  We had lots of fun with our family.

OK, you should be up to speed on all that’s been going on with me.  We will be staying another two days in the DFW area, and I’ll be keeping you informed as things progress.

Blessings, Kris

I never understand how someone can look at nature and not believe that there is a Creator. Being out here in Grand Cayman with the amazing views, I can’t imagine thinking that all this happened by chance. When I went snorkeling yesterday I saw a wild turtle, a stingray and a huge variety of fish, one being a tarpon that was half my size. It’s just amazing to me that there is millions of miles of oceans with God’s creation in it. I don’t know how I could step foot in the ocean and not believe that something or someone bigger than I created this. Tomorrow we will have the privilege of doing a jet ski tour of the island and I know it will be great. I have done it before and I think this time will be even better. God is amazing, as well as His creation. I am in awe of Him this week.

The past two days have been filled with exercise, reading, catching up with friends, and  working with Jon Smith and the Abilene Youth Sports Authority (AYSA).  As most of you know, the AYSA and I have been working to fund a youth sports center for Abilene.  I have not had much time to work on the project, recently, so I felt like my sabbatical would be a good time to get after it.

Honestly, I have felt fairly lukewarm about the project – simply put, it seems that we have not been getting any traction on our fundraising efforts.  I’ve wondered if the youth sports center is really something that God has wanted me to be involved in or if it was something that I really wanted personally (regardless of what God wanted).  So, last Friday, I asked God, “Is this something that You really want me to work on or not?”  God may communicate to you audibly, but He doesn’t communicate with me that way.  When He chooses to communicate with me, it’s usually through impressions – and most of the time, I’m not sure if it’s His impressions or just thoughts I have on my own.

But this time, God seemed to be communicating to me loud and clear.  On Monday, I received a phone call that was a clear message that we should move forward.  On Tuesday, I had a meeting with a prominent local official that further reinforced what I learned on Monday.  And then today, I had a meeting with a local business owner that took everything I had learned Monday and Tuesday and multiplied it.  So, over three days, God gave me three very clear messages that the youth sports center is something that deserved my attention – as long as I was honoring Him!

I wish I could provide more details, but I can’t.  It’s a little premature to provide more information than this.  So, I’ll leave you in suspense – for now!

1 John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”  Based on what happened this week, these two verses mean more to me than ever.

Blessings, Kris

I think it’s about time I posted my first update. I’ve waited a while to make my first post, because I’ve been knee-deep in organizing projects of both a personal and sabbatical nature.

I still wake up every morning and feel the urge to get to work. A little push to make something of the day inhabits me. I hop out of bed, prepare for the day, and settle in under the warm glow of my computer monitor. Everyone has a talent, some physical, some spiritual, and some mental.

My talents only show themselves when I’ve got my fingertips pressed to a keyboard.

As such, for the first portion of my sabbatical I have been collaborating with Dr. Terry Sergeant on some new teaching material for students at HSU (Hardin-Simmons University.) I’ve spent the last eleven-or-so days organizing my thoughts, building example materials, and pushing myself to be as clearly understood as possible across a variety of guides. Never installed an IDE before? I’ve got you covered. New to Maven? I’ll show you how to master it. On and on the list of topics go, racing towards the horizon. There’s much to do, and little time.

But not too little. The power of the time allotted to me has already proven itself to be immense. I’ve been able to accomplish more in a week than I could normally do in two. It’s powerfully freeing to chase projects outside of work.

My time doesn’t only go into work, though. Not at all. I make sure to take hours out of each day to simply *exist* with my family. To talk, laugh, and share experiences. Every day is an opportunity to grow relationships. My father and I in particular have been able to spend more time together. His health is still not grand, but almost every day he works to be better. It’s slow, and I know the recovery process weighs heavily on his soul, but I like to think being next to him in the morning helps.

We’re going to be diving into Proverbs together as part of my reading promises, and I’ve already begun reading The Shack to him out loud.

My sabbatical is as much for my father as it is for me. I titled this post The Power of Free Time for a reason. I know I have this month, and many more moments that will be free to me in the future. My father does not have the same luxury. I cherish our time together, and will hold tight to this wonderful stretch of free time while it lasts.

Because it may be the last sabbatical I have with him.

Happy Wednesday,

Day 7 is here and it’s been a great day!  I am learning to enjoy the little things more and more every day! It’s nice to be able to wake up whenever, or at least until 7:15 when Tatum walks in and says, “Daddy, are you awake!” in a not so very soft voice.  What amazes me the more I get to spend time with her in the morning is her incredible joy for life.

We just walked in the door from riding scooters in the driveway for a little while and you would’ve thought it was the greatest experience ever for Tatum.  This got me thinking more about joy and happiness in my own life and it reminded me of the verse in Matthew 18 of when the Disciples asked Jesus “Who, then is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

This is such a powerful image to me.  It makes me think of the importance of humility in all areas of my life.  Here are four points that the “teaching” section of my Bible pointed out to me about this passage:

1. Humility is need to enter the kingdom.
2. Humility is valued in the kingdom.
3. Humility is needed to receive God.
4. Humility is needed to fight sin.

Once again, (as if I should be surprised) God has reinforced a point to me through hanging out with my baby girl.  As my sabbatical progresses, I find myself focusing on the most important things in life.  I feel as if my mind has slowed down enough to contemplate and understand what God is trying to show me.  Below is a picture of Tatum enjoying her scooter.

-Addison

Today I had the privilege of waking up on the 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman, along with my wife and two best friends. The hardest part on this trip will be taking my daily nap! It’s hard to get away from this beach. I’m really enjoying my devotional still, there are a lot of things I’m learning. This is my favorite place in the world. Kayla and I are very excited to show it to our friends. There is something special about getting to show someone something so special to you that they have heard you talk about a million times. I can’t wait for them to see what we always talk about! With better wifi here I will try to post more often.

Good morning from day number 6!

Yesterday morning, I was making breakfast and Tatum, our 2 ½ year old, walks in and says to me, “It’s not Christmas, Why are you still here?” I said, good morning to you too sweetheart.  Normally, I am gone by the time that she wakes up and so she was very confused.   She hasn’t quite grasped the concept of sabbatical and to be honest, I am right there with her.  The past 5 days have been spent trying to give my mind to God to let him have control.  I would like to say that has been easy, but it hasn’t.  We serve a patient God that knows how to work on hardheadedness!  I have experienced more freedom and clarity each day of my sabbatical and know that it will continue.

I have been contemplating the question Tatum asked me yesterday of “Why are you still here?” and it has been a very convicting one.  I feel as if I subconsciously ask God this question quite often.  I tried to find clarity of what He was trying to teach me and He lead me to Psalm 121:8 which says, “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”  I truly believe he is trying to teach me utter dependence on him in every decision I make.  As I type this, it sounds ridiculous that I wouldn’t put Him in every decision that I make, but I believe I get caught up in the fast pace of life and don’t include Him.  I believe God is working in me to take everything back to the basics and keep it simple, which is also ironic because I tell people to keep it simple all the time!

As I stated earlier, I am settling in to my sabbatical and clarity is coming as I begin to focus on my walk, my family, and serving others.  What an awesome company that we work for and what freedom this sabbatical experience is bringing!

-Addison

Today was full of catch up items for me.  I had to make/return several phone calls; I had to work on my family budget; and I had to catch up on some reading.

This evening, Melinda and I had dinner at Cypress Street Station with Jeff Green (Brian Green’s brother – for those of you who don’t know, Brian owned Cypress Street and was one of my best friends until his death a little over 2 years ago).  Jeff had called me last week and said that he really needed to talk with Melinda and me, and he asked us to dinner.  I had heard rumors that the Greens were considering selling the restaurant, so I figured that Jeff wanted to tell me personally – since Brian and I were such good friends and since Cypress Street has played such a major role in many of my life events.  My suspicions were correct.

The Greens had made the decision to sell Cypress Street for two reasons:  1) Their family had a strong desire to carry on Brian’s legacy, but none of them had true restaurant experience and 2) Jeff had found a young couple who were very interested in operating the restaurant and maintaining Brian’s legacy.  Jeff introduced the new owners – Terry and Amanda O’Connor.  Amanda is from Coleman and Terry is from Chicago.  They met while both of them were involved in management of Uncle Julio Mexican Restaurants.  Later, they were involved in management of Ruth’s Chris restaurants.  Now, they’re interested in owning their own restaurant and establishing roots in a smaller community.

The O’Connors seem to be extremely service-oriented.  They’re very interested in becoming part of our community and honoring what Brian had established in Cypress Street Station.  Today, a new era begins!

The conversation with Jeff was heartwarming.  We shared stories about Brian and reflected on the legacy he had left, not only at Cypress Street but also throughout our community.  I must admit, a few tears were shed as we discussed the future – without Brian and without the Greens involvement in Cypress Street.  Again, as Dr. Alan Wolfelt says in order to move forward, you need to look back.

Blessings, Kris

It’s week 2 of being on Sabbatical and I must say….WOW! How great is it that I have a job that will allow me to grow mind body and soul?!?!?! IT’S AWESOME!

Today was my first day to Sub for Meals on Wheels and deliver lunches….here’s how it went…..
When I finally found Meals on Wheels (I am awful with directions and finding places) I pulled into the parking lot and noticed there were people buzzing around in and out with their bags of lunches and the big white coolers and thought “Oh gosh, I am not sure I know what I am doing but here’s I go,” I walked in and spoke to the man handing out the delivery schedules and he pointed me in the direction to Jessica the Coordinator. She was super sweet and pulled me back to her desk to take my paperwork and let me know kind of how everything worked. Then she walked me around and showed me where everything was. I actually learned that Meals on Wheels is tied in with the Abilene Public Library and Meals on Wheels Members are allowed to request books to be sent to them….They just fill out a form on what kind of books they like to read and they send them off. Meals on Wheels delivers the books AND picks them up! Sayyyy whattttt?!?! That’s awesome! Anywho, I gathered my lunches, drink bags, and a library bag and headed out the door. Thank goodness for the Map that they will provide for you because it would have taken me 3 hours to deliver lunches! hahahaha! When I got through I sat in my car and went over what the last hour was just like and I got overwhelmed with emotion…..There are so many people in this world that have to live without so many things and even some that don’t know when their next bite will be…..how I forget how blessed I am! Delivering those meals today….AWESOME!!!! GOD IS AWESOME!!

Can’t wait to do it again tomorrow! 🙂

At our company’s end of year event, Dr. Alan Wolfelt talked about the importance of going back before moving forward.  He was stressing the importance of sharing memories and thoughts about your deceased loved one before you can really move forward in life.  At church this morning, our pastor, David McQueen, discussed, “To face the future with courage we must regularly recount God’s Faithfulness in the past” – to move forward, you need to go back.

David made some really good points this morning:

• The temptation, when looking at a future that is uncertain and difficult, is to forget what God has done and look at our own strengths to face the future.
• And when we rely on ourselves, we begin to succumb to cowardice and quit living with faith and courage.
• Revelation 12:11 says, “They overcame the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
• What is the word of our testimony?  It is what God has done – how God has been faithful.
• The journey of faith is one of steps, taking our next steps with Jesus, whatever they might be.
• Sometimes those steps, often those steps, stretch and challenge us.
• The temptation is to forget (or at least minimize) how we got where we are and face the days to come on our own.
• And when we fall prey to self-reliance, fear begins to replace courage, cowardice becomes our norm instead of valor.
• To deal with an uncertain and, at times, difficult future, we have to look back, remember the work of God, and tell the stories – recounting the faithfulness of God. [emphasis added]

It is extremely important to look back on your life and see how God has been faithful, and David’s sermon really caused me to reflect.  God has been so, so good to me.  The memory that kept coming to mind was the time in 2002 when I went to the mountains with 4 other men in order to study “Wild At Heart,” a book by John Eldredge.  This retreat challenged me to choose Christ in every area of my life.  Consequently, I came back and decided to make changes to our business, to the way I loved my wife, to the way I disciplined/loved my children, and generally, to the way I approached life.  This Wild At Heart retreat literally changed the way I approached my life.

So, my question for you is this:  How has God worked in your life and shown himself faithful – what story from your past needs to be retold?”  Please take some time this week and answer this question.

Blessings, Kris

In Pursuit of His Wisdom, the book I’m reading authored by Dr. R.T. Kendall, is proving to be a fantastic book.  In my reading today, Dr. Kendall asked an intriguing question that I had to share with you.  It’s a question that has crossed my mind before, but I never pressed myself for an answer – until today!

First, a little background:  Exodus 33:12-13 says, Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’  Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight….” [emphasis added].   1 Kings 3:5-6, 9 says, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  Solomon answered… “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern you people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” [emphasis added].

Dr. Kendall expounded on these two passages, “The Two scenarios regarding Moses and Solomon are similar.  Each of them could ask God for anything – and get what they wanted.  And although their answers were pleasing to God, there is a subtle difference between them.  Moses’s request: to know God’s ways in order to maintain divine favor.  Solomon’s: to discern between right and wrong in governing the people of Israel.  Why is this comparison important?  It shows two kinds of wisdom:

1. Theological wisdom – that of Moses
2. Practical wisdom – what Solomon received”

Here was the question that Dr. Kendall asked and that intrigues me, “Have you ever fantasized that God might come to you as He did to Moses and Solomon and give you a proposition:  ‘Ask for anything you want and you shall have it?’….  So what would you say to God  if He said to you, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?”

OK, so now it’s your turn to answer the question:  If you could have anything you want from God – and knew He would give it, what would you ask for?  Think about it….

Blessings, Kris

Today was my last day at Love & Care Ministries, it was a cold one!  Our weather was crazy cold here in Abilene – it was 16 degrees on my way to Love & Care with wind chill factors in the single-digits.

When I walked into the kitchen this morning, the talk was all about the weather and its effect on our friends (the homeless and poor of Abilene).  We had a normal breakfast crowd, but the majority wanted to stick around in order to stay in the warm dining hall.  Janet, my boss, made the wise decision to leave the doors open so that all of our friends could remain out of the cold.

After breakfast, we began preparing for lunch.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup was on the menu.  So, we had to make somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 million grilled cheese sandwiches – well, maybe more like 200!!!  My job was to butter the bread and bake cookies – I was pretty good at buttering the bread, but not so good at the cookies.  However, we got it all done.

We had a few unique things happen today: 1) I had to assist one of our friends jump start his pickup truck, 2) A homeless band came into the dining hall and entertained our friends, 3) One of our homeless friends needed a place to get out of the cold, and he was having some anxiety; so we made sure that he got a hotel room to get out of the cold, and 4) We got word that one of our friends was passed out in a parking lot not far from the kitchen – Janet and I went to help him; Janet woke him up, and we gave him some food and made sure he was alright.  It was a wild day.

I ended my service with Love & Care at 1:30pm.  On my way out, I received lots of hugs and well wishes.  I admit it, I was a little emotional when I left.  I really enjoyed my time there, and I learned so much.  I’m taking away two things:

1. I was reminded of how important it is to love people, no matter what.  Jesus called us to love people, not  to judge them and not to change them – He specifically and only said to love them!
2. What a joy it is to work with passionate, caring, loving, and service-oriented people.  The true stars at Love & Care for me were Janet, Lacey, Bones, and Larry – they work hard, and they are passionate about helping anyone and everyone.

God really blessed my time at Love & Care!

Blessings, Kris

As I type L-o-v-e and C-a-r-e, it’s easy for me to understand why they named this ministry Love & Care.  Today started, as usual, serving breakfast, but something different happened today.  Some of the regulars who come in for a hot breakfast started recognizing me – as if I was really becoming their friend.  I must admit, it felt good.

I really love my boss, Janet.  She tries to come off as tough, but she is absolutely one of the most loving and caring people that I know.  If you have been reading my blogs, you know that we went on a “street feed” last night, and Janet identified some people that needed more than just food.  So today, Janet sent Bones (the chief culture officer and donation pick-up man) and I to two places that we visited last night.  One place that we visited had no heat, so Janet arranged, and Bones and I took, this family two space heaters (the temperatures will be in the teens in Abilene tonight!).  In the other place, Janet knew that a grandmother needed groceries for the weekend, as she attempts to care for her 11 grandchildren – in a home that has no more than 1,000 square feet!  So, Bones and I delivered her some groceries.  As you can tell, when Janet sees a need, she wants to take care of it immediately – she has “A BIAS FOR ACTION” – a lady after my own heart!

While Bones and I were out, we got a call that the Cancer Center wanted to donate some food.  So, we headed to Hendrick Medical Center.  While we were there, I bumped into a good friend of mine – we go way back; we played high school basketball together, but I had not seen him in a few years.  I knew that he worked at Hendrick Medical Center as a pharmacist, but he was sitting in the waiting room of the Cancer Center.  So, I asked, ” What are you doing here?”  He said, “Well, Kris, I have been diagnosed with a non-aggressive type of leukemia.”  My heart just sank.  I asked him to tell me about it, and he proceeded to open up and give me the details.  He seemed to really need someone to listen, and I’m grateful that I had the time.  If I had not been on sabbatical, this encounter would have never taken place – God is good!  Please pray for my friend, Mark Preston!

I had another outstanding sabbatical day!  I sign off today with a very grateful heart!

Blessings, Kris

Ski, ski and more ski! Since my last post I have logged about 10-12 hours of skiing! My duck commander devotional is amazing. I am very glad it is a year long devontional and not just a short 4 week thing. Tonight or tomorrow I will begin reading “The God I never knew” which is suppose to be amazing. After some solid rest/sleep we will be making our way onto the mountain for one last ski day! It’s suppose to be the coldest it has been so far (-6 on the mountain). I took my first nap in probably 3 years yesterday, after about 40 minutes I fee asleep for a good two hours! I hope to continue that trend during this sabbatical!

Jeremy

What an awesome send-off yesterday! I appreciate every single one of you attending and praying for me! It was a very powerful experience. I was feeling uneasy about my sabbatical and there was an immediate feeling of peace afterwards.  Thank you!

Now we are off to Day 1 and I am trying to figure out what this sabbatical thing is all about.  Below are some of the goals that I have for the next 30 days:

1. Rest and help my wife, Charlee, get rest. Her full-time job of raising a 2 ½ year old and 4 month old is probably more like 2 full time jobs! (She is just as excited as I am about this sabbatical).
2. Reading:
   1. Wild at Heart by John Eldridge
   2. Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal
   3. Daily Devotional with Charlee
3. Exercise 1 hour a day
4. Follow a Daniel Plan type eating plan
5. Spend quality time with my wife and kids! We plan on taking a couple of mini-vacations over the course of the next 30 days.
6. Work with some of our employees to help them fix, update, or complete anything that they need help with around their houses.

I am looking forward to what God has in store for me through this time!

-Addison

Today was a full day at Love & Care Ministries.  I started at 7:15am by serving breakfast to our “friends” (the homeless and poor of Abilene).  Then, we prepared for lunch and served it.  For the next several hours after lunch, Janet (my boss) led us and helped us prepare 100 meals for an evening “street feed” – where we take meals to the people on the street.

I left Love & Care at 2:45pm, rested for a couple of hours, and then, Melinda (my wife) and I drove back to Love & Care for the “street feed” – I was really happy to have Melinda join in.  Janet, Lacey (my co-worker in the kitchen), Larry (the leader of the food pantry), and Keith (a regular volunteer) joined Melinda and me.  We spent two hours delivering all of the meals we prepared, coats, blankets, gloves, and hats to a few homeless people and lots of poor people who simply need a little help.

I must admit, I always have some trepidation before we hit the street, but when we’re done, it feels so good.  Tonight, it felt like we accomplished something positive, and we really blessed people.  It’s truly amazing how serving, helping, and blessing others actually blesses you more!  God is so good!

I have two more days with Love & Care, and I’m sure that my days will be full and exciting.

Blessings, Kris

This morning I arrived at Love and Care Ministries’ kitchen sharply at 7:15am to serve breakfast.  It was really good to see my new friends again – they have really welcomed me in and made feel like I’m part of their team.  The breakfast crowd seemed a little light, but steady.  Once we finished breakfast, it was time to start working on lunch.

At 10:00a.m., Mark Hewitt came by to pick me up – we had plans to go visit Love & Care’s Merkel, Texas location and Clyde, Texas (home of Craig Loper and Elaine Edwards, among others) location.  Mark is the Executive Director and founder of Love & Care, and we have been friends for more than 15 years.  It was good to catch up with Mark and to ask him some questions about his ministry.  At lunch, we talked about our faith journeys.

My big question for Mark was, “How do we make a bigger impact on our friends – how do we help the homeless and poor move beyond their current status?”  He was very candid with his answer.  He said that he had thought about this question often, but he felt strongly that God simply wanted him and his ministry to love the homeless and the poor, not to try to fix them or their situation.  He said, “Sure, there are those who want help to move out of their situation, and for them, we do everything we can to help them.”  But he emphasized that, for most of them, they need Jesus – He is the first thing they need to find in order to move beyond homelessness, addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, etc.

I explained to Mark that what he saw with our friends is exactly what I saw in India seven years ago.  The only way that the extreme poverty in India could be resolved is with the help of Jesus – He is the only way when it comes to impossible situations!  As a side note, our friends who come for breakfast and lunch at Love & Care are significantly better off than most of the people I met in India.

I closed my day by having a long conversation with my good friend and pastor, David McQueen.  We shared and talked about all that was going on with my sabbatical, and as usual, he gave me some really good perspectives on what I had been experiencing.  It was really good to have some time to have an intimate conversation with him.

I would have to say that I am entering the best phase of sabbatical – where my eyes, my ears, and my heart are open, and I have the time and capacity to really listen and converse on a much deeper level.  I’m finding myself again because I’m not strapped for time and I’m not worried about the next meeting on my agenda.  It is very freeing!  As John 8:36 says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Blessings, Kris

Today I woke up from a solid 8 hours of sleep in the beautiful snow-filled city of Park City, Utah! We had big plans of snow tubing and dog sledding but those plans were thwarted by too much snow.  Instead we decided to go wander around looking for hills to sled. Kayla and I took her little brother along with us and he had a blast! Tonight I will start reading my devotional, which I am very excited about. I had one of the most restful days I have had in a long time. Tomorrow, we will be waking up early to hit the slopes before they get busy. It should be great skiing because there was so much snow today!

The internet here is not the most reliable so I hope this posts alright.

Over the past few days, I have made every attempt to catch up on my reading and on my rest.  For my sabbatical, I committed to reading In Pursuit of His Wisdom by Dr. R.T. Kendall and excerpts from The Patriot’s Library (writings by America’s most noted patriots).  Needless to say, I’ve had trouble making time for reading, but I made some really good progress over the holiday weekend.

In The Patriot’s Library, I read “The Declaration of Independence,” “The Articles of Confederation,”The Constitution,” and “The Amendments to the Constitution.”  Reading through these historical and vital documents made me realize that every U.S. citizen should read them once every year or two.  Our founding fathers were incredibly thoughtful, insightful, and wise.  Our Constitution is very clearly written, which makes me wonder why there are always legal battles over it.

In Pursuit of His Wisdom is a book that requires lots of introspective thinking.  But as usual, Dr. Kendall diligently and beautifully takes complex matters and makes them simple to understand (and I need simplicity when it comes to the things of God!).  Dr. Kendall says, “Wisdom is getting God’s opinion.  For true wisdom is God’s opinion.  God’s glory is His opinion.  The root word of the Greek “doxa” (glory) means opinion.  True wisdom, then, is God’s opinion….  He therefore should be consulted first when we are wanting to know the next step forward.”

It’s funny (peculiar, not ha-ha) how God brings things to light and provides what I would call “Godly coincidences” while on sabbatical.   Yesterday, I got a text message from a friend; it said among other things, “I felt negative energy from you during our EOY week (referring to our company’s year-end meetings and events in December)…. If I hadn’t been reading your blog I would never have felt that I could share that with you….”  I responded that more than likely what was perceived as “negative energy” was total fatigue – I was worn out from a very difficult year (is anyone else glad to see 2016 go?)!  Then, today, I read this from In Pursuit of His Wisdom, “We should take full advantage of wise people God places in our paths.  We all need good mentors.  We also need friends who will lovingly but candidly tell us things we need to hear.” (emphasis added).  I’m appreciative that a good friend would tell me, lovingly but candidly, what I needed to hear – and her/his perception of me was more accurate than I want to confess, judging from how tired I was.

My point is this, it’s amazing to see God work through our sabbatical plans!

Blessings, Kris

After an action-packed week at Love & Care Ministries, it was nice to have a day of rest.  In fact, I slept a solid 9 hours last night – I cannot remember the last time I did that!

I’m finally feeling like my mind, my body, and my soul are relaxed.  I have found “…the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding….”  (Philippians 4:7).  And after spending a week at Love & Care, my heart is overflowing – I am eternally grateful for what God has done for me. I am blessed beyond all measure.  For whatever reason, God’s hand has been on me throughout my life – He has protected me, He has guided me, and He has strengthened me.  To Him be the glory!

As I reflected today on my first week with Love & Care, I kept coming back to what Jesus said was the greatest of the commandments, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).  Jesus made it simple for us – Love Him and love others.  We are not here to judge other people or to look down on them; we’re here to love others by serving them.  Jesus made the precepts of life simple for us, but for whatever reason, we do everything we can to complicate it.

I pray that all of us will humble ourselves and serve/love Him and serve/love others each and every day of our lives.

Blessings and Happy New Year!!!  Kris

It was another great day at Love & Care Ministries!  We started out this morning by serving more than 100 pancakes to our “friends” (the name that the leader of Love & Care, Mark Hewitt, has given to the homeless and poor that come for help).  This morning, it felt like things were getting back to normal – Janet, my boss, was in the kitchen all day (after the passing of her father), and Anthony was back from his illness.

After breakfast, Janet asked me to accompany Bones (Thad Oxford) to pick up some food donations.  In particular, we picked up over 550 pounds of deer meat from Stephens Processing – Brent Stephens calls these types of donations “Hunters for the Hungry.”  We also made pick-ups at United Grocery Store, Golden Chick, and McKay’s Bakery.  Bones makes regular stops at these locations plus several others, and these businesses always come through with tons of food donations throughout the year.  It is truly a blessing to live in a community that is extremely generous!

In addition to picking up food, Bones and I had a great conversation about life, about spiritual matters, and about blessings.  Bones has an incredible testimony, and he brings passion, happiness, joy, and energy to Love & Care.  He is the Chief Culture Officer for the organization.  Since, at one time, he was homeless, he has a special connection with our “friends.”

For lunch, we served more than 100 people – the Friday crowd is normally smaller than any other day.  Even so, our “friends” really appreciated a warm meal on a fairly cold day in Abilene.

Once we cleaned up after lunch, it was time to go home – nothing to prepare, since the kitchen will be closed through Monday.

What a great week!  I’m tired, but it’s a good tired.  I have learned so much in one week – I’m truly humbled!  I look forward to learning more next week.  Stay tuned!

Blessings, Kris

I walked into the kitchen of Love & Care Ministries this morning, and there was Janet (the boss).  She was back on the job doing her normal routine (even though her father had passed away yesterday).  I knew she we would be there because she handles grief the way I do – “get back to work, back to a familiar routine, and process the loss away from family.”  She’ll be in the kitchen, again, in the morning – I’m sure of it.

This morning we served breakfast to 50-60 homeless and working poor – Cream of Wheat, toast and jelly.  For lunch, we had the biggest crowd I’ve seen – over 300!  My co-worker, Lacee, had warned me that lunch on Thursday was always crowded.  We started serving at 11:30am and the line for lunch did not slow down until 12:30pm.  It was crazy.

Before lunch, I went with Larry, the boss of the food pantry, to the warehouse to pick up food supplies for the food pantry.  No need for an upper body workout today – I had a fantastic workout with “P-90L” (“L” stands for Larry).  We transported hundreds of pounds of canned goods – loading them on the truck at the warehouse and taking them off the truck at the food pantry.  Once again, 40 degrees outside, and I was sweating profusely (I know that’s a shocker to most of you!).

Today, I really felt like my presence was felt and necessary for several reasons:

• Larry really needed my help moving all that food!
• Janet and I had a chance to talk, and I could really see her processing her father’s death.
• Two volunteers that normally come on Thursdays did not show up.
• Anthony, our co-worker called in sick today (he left early yesterday because of illness).
• The “friends” that we serve are beginning to be comfortable with me.

The one thing that is really illustrated to me every day is how grateful the vast majority of our friends are for what we do for them.  Yes, there are a few that have bad attitudes, but far more than 90% of the people we serve are grateful and appreciative.  Knowing their circumstances, it’s hard for me to believe how thankful they are.  God is definitely present at Love & Care Ministries.

Blessings, Kris

Today got off to a rocky start.  I walked into the kitchen at 7:15am, and the mood was very somber.  I noticed that Bones and Larry, two of the key people at Love & Care, were serving breakfast, and Janet was nowhere to be found.  I asked, “Where’s Janet (the boss)?”  Bones turned to me and said, “Janet’s dad passed away this morning.”  We knew that he was not doing very well – lung cancer – but he was supposed to live a few more weeks.  So, everyone there was heartbroken for Janet – none of us knew her dad, but all of us respect Janet and had sympathy for her.  Please pray for her and her family.

The breakfast crowd was much lighter than yesterday, but we still served about 75 people.  After breakfast, we began preparations for the lunch crowd.  Since Janet wasn’t around, we were a little discombobulated, but we managed to put it together.  Lacee (26 years old) really came through – she knew what to do.  We also got help from another volunteer, Keith Jenkins.  Everyone seemed to step up and take on more responsibility.

Then, before we served lunch, another member of our team, Anthony, had to leave because he was not feeling well.  So, we were really short-handed.  Fortunately, Keith agreed to come back and bring his son to help serve, and thankfully, he is a man of his word.  We had a really big lunch crowd!  We didn’t have a single break in the line for 45 minutes.  I think that we probably served far more than 200.

Since Anthony was ill, I was given one of his post-lunch responsibilities – cleaning the restrooms!  I must admit, I haven’t cleaned restrooms in a while, but it came back to me pretty quick.  Much to my surprise, the restrooms were pretty clean – I really thought they would be extremely dirty, but they weren’t!

After restroom duty, Lacee asked me to help her make the salad for tomorrow’s lunch – and yes, I washed my hands really good!  I cut up vegetables, and we got the salad ready to go.  That was the last task of the day.

I went over to the food pantry to ask Larry if he needed any help, and he said that they were caught up.  So, I left a little earlier today.  Again, with the death of Janet’s father, everyone was heavyhearted, and once we finished serving lunch and cleaning up, I think that all of us took a deep breath and were glad that we survived without our leader.

Blessings, Kris

Well, I made it through day 2 at Love & Care Ministries!  And it was a great day!

The day started early again – 7:15am.  When I got to the kitchen, I noticed that lots of people were already there for breakfast. So, I hopped right in to help – Janet (my boss) allowed me to step in for her in the serving line.  Today, we had considerably more “friends” (the term we use for the people that come in for free meals).  We had over 100 for breakfast!

After breakfast, Mark Hewitt, the Executive Director of Love & Care, conducted a staff devotional. He challenged us to show more love to our friends and to engage them more. It was a wonderful message to get all of us focused.

After the devotional, we went back to the kitchen where Janet directed our preparation for the lunch crowd.  I had to cut away for a while in order to help Larry, the manager of the food pantry, unload approximately a gazzilion cases of various bottled drinks. Let’s put it this way, it was about 40 degrees this morning, and by the time we had finished unloading the drinks, I was sweating like crazy!  It was a great workout!

By the time I had finished helping Larry, it was just about time to serve lunch – 11:30 to 1:00.  We had a much bigger crowd for lunch as compared to yesterday – close to 200!  While we were serving lunch, Janet began preparing “to-go boxes” for an afternoon delivering meals on the street.

At about 1:30pm, Janet said, “Let’s go!”  So we (3 volunteers, Janet and Larry) loaded up a truck with 84 meals and over 120 drinks, and we hit the streets delivering meals to anyone that we identified as homeless.  In addition, we stopped by a few motels that Janet knew housed some people that really needed a meal. To end the day, we stopped by an extremely modest home (an overstatement) to deliver the remainder of our meals and drinks to a grandmother that was taking care of 11 grandchildren – that’s not a misprint, 11 grandchildren!

Today, Janet taught me a few valuable lessons:

1. Know the people – Janet really knew the people we delivered meals to.
2. Love the people – Janet loved on everyone we saw.
3. Don’t judge the people – Janet showed no judgement, even though we saw some people that were not the most respectable of people (to say the least).
4. Bless the People – Janet made sure that before we left each person, we blessed them (each person  knew that we were there in the name of Jesus).

Another wonderful day at Love & Care!

Blessings, Kris

Today was my first day to work with Love & Care ministries, and it was a great day!  Love & Care provides meals and clothing to the homeless and poor of Abilene, and our community is privileged to have such a wonderful organization.

I have been assigned to the kitchen.  When I showed up this morning, at 7:10am, I met my boss, Janet.  Janet was incredibly patient with me all day long.  I know this is hard to believe, but I’m not accustomed to serving 200 meals a day!  She is one of the most organized, confident, caring, and strong leaders I’ve met in quite some time.  She definitely knows what she’s doing!

We prepared and served somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 meals today, and according to Janet, it was a slow day!  The best part of my day was working with and getting to know my co-workers.  Lacee, Anthony, Bones, and Larry were outstanding today – they are very hard working people and extremely helpful.  I asked each one to tell me their story, and they were very open with me.  Each story was unique and compelling; reminding me that we all have struggles in life, but with the help of Jesus, everyone can find their calling and have success.

As I reflected on my day with Love & Care, I thought of the words of Jesus:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  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,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Blessings, Kris

Ok, I can say it for certain, “It’s Saturday!”  So, I can actually say with confidence that it feels like Saturday.  But it’s not just any Saturday, it’s Christmas Eve!

All families have their Christmas traditions, and one of ours is attending our church’s Christmas Eve service. It’s always a wonderful, moving experience!  To close the service each year, we sing Silent Night and light candles – it is an awesome sight!  This year, it was even more awesome because just before we started singing Silent Night, one of our pastors, Randy Turner, read this passage from the Bible, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”  (Matthew 5:14-16). This should sound familiar to most of you – this was the passage used at our company end-of-year meeting to launch our Sabbath Year, a few weeks ago.

I tried to take a picture of what it looked like once everyone had their candle lit, but the pictures I took did not do justice to this special moment.  However, Randy Turner shot a video from his vantage point on the platform.  Here is the link so that you can see, and maybe feel, the moment:  https://www.facebook.com/randyandbobbieturner/posts/10211771908522593.  Everyone is letting their light shine before others!

I’m grateful that my church has such a meaningful Christmas Eve service.  It really sets the mood for the true meaning of Christmas Day.

Blessings, Kris

Today, I found rest.  For the first time, since I can remember, I slept a solid 9.5 hours last night.  I guess I can finally say that my mind is at rest, and my soul is at rest.  I was reminded of Matthew 11:28-30 which says:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I guess I gave up today, I turned it over to Him, and I took on His yoke.

I’m extremely grateful for this time to dial it back and to learn to rest again.  It’s a blessing to break the routine, to do something different, and to relax my mind.  God is good!

Blessings, Kris

Today was another great day!  I slept in this morning until 8:00; I read my Bible passages; I got my exercise in; I had a long lunch with my pastor and good friend David McQueen; I studied ethics for my CPA continuing education; and I read The Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence, and The Articles of Confederation from The Patriot’s Library.  A very good day – but it still felt like Saturday!

The good news is I’m starting to relax. I can feel myself calming down and settling in.  I think it will take another two or three days before I fully adjust – but I will adjust.

Until tomorrow…

Blessings, Kris

Honestly, today has felt like Saturday – all day long.  Just like my sabbatical in 2010, it’s going to take a few days for the idea of 30 straight days off to kick in, but I know it will.

Here are a few things that I plan to do over the next 30 days:

1. Sleep and sleep well – Let’s face it, 2016 has been a hectic year, and frankly, I’m tired!
2. Continue my quest to read the Bible over two years – I’m one year into it, and I’m on pace!
3. Fast all alcohol, processed sugar, and bread.
4. Exercise 45 minutes to an hour each day – combining the 21 Day Fix, abs work, yoga, and light running.
5. Work with Love & Care Ministries – feeding and clothing the homeless and poor of Abilene.
6. Read “In The Pursuit of Wisdom” and read some of the pieces from “The Patriot’s Library.”
7. To attend a couple of birthday parties – a good friend in Houston (celebrating his 50th) and my grandson (celebrating his 2nd).

I hope that by going public with my plans, all of you will hold me accountable.

I really appreciate all of your prayers, and I know that God is going to be working in me and through me.

Blessings, Kris

I can’ believe it, but my sabbatical begins in less than 8 hours!  It’s exciting.  I must admit, I’m a little anxious, but I know it will be good.  I truly need a break, and I need your prayers!

Well, stay tuned.  I will attempt to blog often.

Blessings, Kris

This is my first blog for Sabbatical 2017 and it is strictly a test.

I took my Helpers of People Leave last week to spend time with my mother in Ft. Worth, Texas.
After my father passed away in April of last year, we moved our mother to a nursing home close to two of my brothers who live in the Ft. Worth area.
My sister, Judy, met me there and we spent quality time with my mother, taking her out to dinner, cleaning up her room, taking her gifts (a small Christmas tree) and other items for her enjoyment. We laughed and we cried. We all miss my dad, but so thankful that we still have our mother.
My mother has dementia, so at times, it was very hard emotionally and physically, but we enjoyed it and so did she.
I’m very grateful for the Helpers of People program that FD offers to their employees. With my schedule, it is very hard to take off and spend that time with her as needed.
Thank you Kris and the Board of Directors for this special gift.

I have just completed my mini sabbatical.  It was a wonderful and rewarding time.  I want to thank Kris and the Board for the opportunity.  I am very appreciative.

I spent time at Meals on Wheels.  I delivered to a little over 50 homes in one week. The smiles and gratitude from the sweet people I delivered to was so rewarding.

I also helped out at Disability Resources, Inc.  Two years ago, I spent my mini sabbatical there, and it was nice to go out again and spend time with the lovely folks at DRI.  This time, it was during their Pumpkin Patch fundraiser.  The first day I helped the folks by moving pumpkins to make room for another truckload of pumpkins.  One day, I was playing basketball with some of the folks.  And the rest of the time was with great volunteers when classes of children would come to visit the pumpkin patch.  I had so much fun.

It’s funny that I went out to lend my time to try to help others.  But in reality, I was the one that received the rewards.

I’m grateful to FD for the opportunity to take 4 days to be with and minister to children! Last fall, when I was working the Children’s Grief Connection camp in Minnesota, a discussion ensued about having God as the center of grief ministry to children. Being involved with grief ministry for a number of years, I knew there was a program somewhere that did this….somewhere?? Little did I know, it was 3 hours away from Abilene! CAMP AGAPE was started 16 years ago and the founder’s vision was to offer an experience where children could be exposed to Jesus while in the midst of their grieving situation because as we all know, HE IS the answer in all of our lives!

When I contacted Kim at CAMP AGAPE and told her I really wanted to come and “see how they did camp with God”, she was more than receptive and offered me a volunteer position of “Buddy”. This position involves going everywhere with your camper; whatever they want to do. I was all in for the experience and couldn’t wait!

With that said, we know the enemy is strong in wanting to thwart anything good so I believe getting sick the Wednesday before I had to leave was just that……an attack from the enemy because I rarely get sick. I was literally a phone call away from cancelling but pushed through. I really didn’t want to miss this opportunity (or give-in to the enemy)!

If you ask, I can give you details that will blow your mind of how the hand of God was on the very tiniest of details during the week in orchestrating healing. Here are just a few stories of the experience. In advance, all praise and glory to God for orchestrating HIS perfect plan for the week!

Her name was “Anna”. Her paper on story read like a horrific fiction novel. Mom did a drug overdose at age 28 when Anna was 5. Dad is bi-polar, spending most of his life in prison and/or in rehab. A boyfriend in Anna’s mother’s past abused Anna and her sister and he now sits in prison. Anna has moved around most of her life; until age 8 when she and her sister went to live with her grandparents. They are in their 70’s and their life plans didn’t include raising 2 teenage girls. Lots of anger. Lots of loneliness. Lots of unanswered questions. Anna looked at me with her beautiful brown eyes and said; “do you like being a mommy?” What a loaded question. What Anna was really asking is; “why did my mommy kill herself. Am I not worth living for?”

“Kate” is 9. Her brother died 1 ½ years ago of cancer. On the outside, Kate indicates she’s fine and handling the death well. We know better; something isn’t right. We’ve been at camp 3 days and she still hasn’t really opened up. Then…..the horse activity. Yes, animals are so powerful in the healing process! As Kate is riding the horse, she has to pick up colored balls that represent emotions. When asked if she felt guilty about anything in her story, she said yes and picked up the white ball. Then, when asked what she felt guilty about, she said; “I was playing with my brother and scratched him and gave him cancer. He died because of me”. When Kate’s mom came to pick her up, she wept. You see, since her son died, Kate’s work has suffered at school because she’s developed a need to have to wash her hands all the time. Kate had been carrying around the lie that a scratch causes cancer for 1 ½ years! Talk about a different child after that burden was released!

CAMP AGAPE isn’t just for children ; the adults that attend have their own stories they are working through. The couple that lead worship. He’s a Christian comedian. Super funny and the kids couldn’t get enough of him! His wife shared that they have been involved with CAMP AGAPE for 6 years. Three weeks before last year’s camp, on the day their son celebrated his 17th birthday, he was murdered. As Mrs. B put it; “Of course we fulfilled out commitment to lead worship for the kids but I was numb and still in shock. Then, this year came around. It hasn’t even been one year since our “Tanner” has been gone. I spent months arguing with God that we just couldn’t come this year and participate. I’ve spent so much time arguing, I’m missing the blessing! This is EXACTLY where we need to be! Why do we run when the emotions get hard?

“Cody” came home at age 10 to find his dad had killed himself. He called his mother to come home. He called 911. He stayed with his dad until help arrived. He had nightmares for years. He came to CAMP AGAPE as a camper – 3 months after the incident. He accepted Jesus. He went home and told his mother about Jesus. They went to church. In Cody’s words: “before camp, I was already planning on how I was going to kill myself. The nightmares, the pain from what I saw was too unbearable for me. CAMP AGAPE saved my life. I stand as a 19 year old man before you with gratefulness in my heart that someone cared enough to show me a better way”.

It was a powerful week! Out of the 34 children at camp, 5 accepted Jesus. We praise the Lord for the seeds planted in these children’s and adults’ lives.

For me, it was “mission accomplished”! I saw and experiences first-hand how camp should be run…..with God as the center and foundation. It was beautiful!

Side note: Only because of God’s healing power (Thank you friends and family for praying for me!) was I able to have the stamina at camp.
Nadene Smith

My husband, Roy and I left a week ago and headed to Nashville, Tennessee. We knew it would be a difficult trip for us. We were meeting his brother and sister-in-law there to spend time with Roy’s sister, Suzanne and husband, Larry. Larry had been diagnosed with Alzheimers and Parkinson’s Disease. Suzanne had decided to move Larry to an Assisted Living Facility in the next couple of weeks. We knew she would need lots of emotional support during this very difficult time. Because they have no children, we are her famlily. This was a very difficult time for all of us. Larry is only 67 years old.

Suzanne and I are very close. She is like another sister to me. We laughed, we cried! Suzanne wanted this trip to be as normal as possible because she knew this would be the last time we would all be together, before he was admitted. It was so hard to see Larry, who was once a CEO of a large insurance company, not be able to dress or even feed himself. He would try to communicate with us and I think at times, he knew what we were saying. But, it was so sad! Alzheimer is such a horrible disease! It was like a death.

Suzanne and Larry have a strong faith and that is what has got them through this so far. They have a wonderful church home and family and friends that have been there for them. I know that God will give her the courage and peace she is needing.

As I thought about how God would want me to spend my Helpers of People Leave, it became evident that this is where I needed to be this past week.

I am so thankful to be part of a company who truly believes in their people. To be able to take the time and be able to be there for them is such a blessing!

Thank you, Kris and the Board of Directors of FDLIC for this awesome opportunity!

Blessings,

Vicki Dickson

I will be with DIG for 10 years in December (2016). In those 10 years I have been through horrendous things in my personal life that would normally include loss of employment due to instability. But, because Kris has laid seed, watered, nurtured and loved his employees, they have also learned to do that with their coworkers. Instead of being considered damaged goods, I was not only loved and cared for with grace, I was allowed to continue to grow into the successful career I have now. Sometimes people think that Christians pretend to have it all together. Like we are a club of snobby, wanna be perfect people. What I wish everybody could experience is what I have learned by working for this company. Christians are broken people. Christians do not have it all together… But by the grace of God, we are loved. And other Christians will lift you up and extend grace in your darkest hours. Most importantly, because I have been extended that grace, I am able to go out into the world and extend grace and love to others that are hurting and broken. I don’t believe God wants us to stay inside our own four walls of His mercy and grace but to go out and be His helpers of people in the world. Having the opportunity to do that through the generosity of DIG is one of the biggest blessings I’ve ever received. I have struggled my whole life trying to figure out my purpose. Many people wander their whole lives never feeling they have made a difference. But, if you’ve ever had the feeling of joy when you helped somebody in need, I believe you have found your purpose. Just the simplest thing can make a world of difference to somebody else. If you don’t know what to do or who to help I prompt you to listen to your heart. That little voice inside your head that says, pay for their meal, open that door, go pray with that person…. If you think “where did that thought come from?” That’s your purpose. That’s God. Something that may be so small to you, may be the biggest blessing to somebody else. And in that blessing you are serving your purpose. To be a helper of people. To be Gods hands and feet.

For my helpers of people week I chose Pregnancy Resources of Abilene again.  I can’t really say enough about what a great organization this is. I was able to deliver the check from our bake sale, (that I volunteered my husband to make a cake for and raised $45 I might add).  It’s a blessing to be able to be a part of such a great place.  In addition to my helpers of people week, I spent my vacation going to Vegas and selling and buying a house while moving in the hottest weather imaginable. All said and done it was a fast and labor intensive 2 weeks.  I’m glad to be back.

Last week I attended Camp Bonita kids camp with my church Beltway Park for the first time.  I have been involved with children’s ministry for four years and each year I have thought about attending but never pursued it much further then just thinking about it.  I am so glad I finally decided to go.  The week was amazing!

Monday morning started out early since counselors needed to be at the church at 6:30 a.m. for a wonderful bus ride.  Once we arrived at camp in New Mexico things moved rather fast.  I, along with two other women and two junior counselors, were counselors for a group of 3rd grade girls.  Altogether between the five of us we had 13 girls to look after for the week.  I must say we had a group of great dance party loving prankster little girls.  This trip was special for me because my son was attending Camp Bonita for the first time as well.  I was able to see him throughout the trip.

The week was planned with scheduled activities to keep the kids busy but the best part, besides worship time, was the small group devotionals and down time.  This is the time where the girls were able to bond and share their stories about God and life with each other.  It is so much fun to view life through a child’s eyes and to watch them worship the Lord like no one is watching.  All-in-all camp was amazing, fast but long at the same time, and a growing experience for me.  I went in feeling way out of my comfort zone.  By mid week I had prayed over a few little girls and all my worries had been taken away I knew I was where I was suppose to be.  By the last night I was ready for my own bed, but I wanted to stay longer as well.

I am grateful for the experience and will definitely be going back to camp in future years!

After a several year hiatus, I decided to return to Camp Bonita and attend Kids Camp with my church, Beltway Park.  If you recall, the camp encountered a devastating fire in 2012 that destroyed part of the property and some of the buildings and housing.  As a result, I hadn’t been since summer of 2011.  Attending camp this year was special for me as it was the last year my oldest son (JD) was able to attend as a camper.  Next year he will be joining the youth so I felt this might be a special year at camp.  Also, as I have previously mentioned my wife and I took a 17-year old girl into our home that needed a safe place to live.  She went with us as a junior counselor.  This added to camp being special as the first time we met her was in 2010 when we first went to Kids Camp.

As a quasi Kids Camp veteran, I had some expectations going into the week.  I thought I knew what to expect and what my role needed to be.  As is typical when serving, expectations went out the window on day one.  Some other men and I had the privilege of leading eighteen stinky fourth grade boys at camp.  I was amazed, exhausted, encouraged and challenged in more ways than one.  Early in the week, one of my co-counselors challenged me by saying “we are not these kids’ mommas.”  The Lord really challenged me in this.  My role wasn’t to make sure these kids behaved or chewed with their mouths closed.  I was called to lead, shepherd and provide a safe place where kids could be challenged to begin and/or deepen their faith.  This was a freeing thing for the Lord to reveal to me early in the week.  With everything we did, whether it be activities such as playing gaga ball (I love this game!) or waiting in line for a meal, we fostered an environment of fun and incorporating Jesus.  This allowed me personally to lead two boys to a personal relationship with Jesus!  Praise the Lord!  I was also able to encourage and speak life into numerous other kids as well as counselors.  In fact, the Lord used me to pray over another counselor that was experiencing knee pain and He provided complete healing.  This counselor went from sitting with ice on his pain-filled knee to feeling zero knee pain at all.  Praise the Lord!  I was incredibly encouraged to spend this precious time serving and pouring into kids.  I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to pour into others as well as be challenged personally in new ways.

It’s all about God’s timing!

This week was not my original plan for sabbatical, but God had different plans. I wanted to do it in June and was going to do meals on wheels and help in the office at the Alzhimers Association. However, Alzhimers didn’t need me and I ended up having to move it up to May.

God knew what He was doing!

I ended up helping at Pregnancy Resources after MOW every day. Not only did I get to use my copy machine and hole punch skills, but I truly got to be a blessing because God placed me there THIS WEEK. They were short on volunteers THIS WEEK due to vacations and graduations and an employee was out a few days unexpectedly. I got to use a little bit of design knowledge and wowed them with a layout in Word. It was nothing to me, but a huge blessing for them that I “just happened” to be there to create these encouragement cards. Cards they needed THIS WEEK! To me, this is big- I got to use my love of baking, of all things, to bless PRA. One of their employees is heading overseas to do mission work and her last day was THIS WEEK. You can’t have a going away party without cupcakes. One lady said, “People want to know how to bless us and I always say, ‘money first and food second!'”

God has an interesting way of orchestrating our talents and passions to further His kingdom. Yes, even through baked goods!

The past several days have been very busy.  Just in the past week and a half the project has been moving very fast.  The building I am working in is 5 stories and I seem to make 15 to 20 trips a day from top to bottom and back.  I am very envious of the folks living in the North with the beautiful changes in color here in the Catskill Mountains.  Temperatures are definitely cooler than Texas.

We have breakfast every morning with a Bible discussion on various topics.  This morning it was based on Judges chapters 7 and 8 about Judge Gideon.  The discussion was how Gideon was to select 300 men to go against Midian, Amalek and all the Easterners who numbered 120,000. Gideon and each of his 300 men had 3 items each which included a Horn, Large Jar and a Torch.  The account is in Judges 7:15-25.  Gideon and his men were successful.  In chapter 8 we see how Gideon was able to calm down a situation with the men of Ephraim who were offended that Gideon had not invited them to the battle.  Verses 1-3 relate the way Gideon was able to calm the situation.  A good listen for us regarding Humility.

It has been very refreshing to work with volunteers who are dedicated to completing a project to benefit others they do not personally know.

This has been an exciting opportunity to work on a project that will benefit so many around the world.  My assignment has been to work with volunteers from all across the US to complete one of the housing complexes. This complex has 2 floors designated to be an infirmary for the 4000 volunteers that work and live here.  The Watchtower Bible Printery has been in operation in New York since 1909 publishing.  Bible literature is being published in over 700 languages, distributed worldwide and is being made available at no charge to help people know the importance of God’s Kingdom with his Son as King of that Kingdom.  Special thanks to FDLIC for making this oportunity available by allowing me the time to have a special part in this construction project.

Arrived late Friday night in White Plains, NY on a flight with James Taylor.  We landed with Strong winds, Heavy rains and cold temperatures.  The storms continued until Sunday when the clouds cleared.  Made a trip to a local winery with some friends to rest up before the Construction begins.   Stay tuned.

I have done a few different things for my Helpers of People week in the past including volunteering at the mission, meals on wheels and renewing relationships with family members.  This year I wanted to do something that I knew nothing about.  I know that our company supports PRA, Pregnancy Resources of Abilene, but I knew absolutely nothing about it.  My perception was that it was probably just the opposite of Planned Parenthood and that was a good thing.  So I sent an email to Kris Ritter and asked if I could volunteer and see what they were all about.  The first thing I noticed when I got there was how friendly everybody was.  It seemed like everybody truly loved their job and what they were doing there.  I was given a quick tour and run through and then given a project of making information folders.  To most people this would be considered grunt work…..  I loved it.  It’s mindless work that needs to get done and in my effort in doing so I was able to pay attention to what was going on around me.  When I started to realize what this information can do to help save lives of children I had a moment of clarity.  It doesn’t matter how small the job, every folder I touched and put together was an opportunity for me to help somebody choose life.  That’s a huge deal and I was so thankful to be a part of that.  Throughout the week I continued to make folders, helped with mail outs for donations, pulled charts and whatever else they needed. I can’t even count how many times I was told thank you for my work.  I was also privileged to be a silent witness for two sonograms.  It’s been 14 years since I have had that experience.  It was so cool to get to see somebody witness the life inside of them for the first time.  Hearing the heartbeat…..such a miracle. When my time came to an end, I was pleasantly surprised that they had a little gift waiting for me to show their appreciation for my help.  That was a first.  It felt really good to be appreciated so much.  I will definitely be going back to volunteer there again and I’m so thankful that I work for a place that gives me the opportunity to do so.

After serving on Kodiak Island last summer, my family and I were in complete agreement that we needed to return this year.  Outside of the breathtaking views and incredible scenery, the people are amazing and in a lot of cases in desperate need of Jesus.  We decided to return this year as part of a team to put on VBS (Vacation Bible School) for a local Baptist church.  The relationships we began in 2014 needed to be reunited and the seeds we planted needed to be watered.  So, we took a team of 15 people (6 of which were children) to teach, sing with, love on and be silly with children aged 4 to 15.  It was supposed to cap at sixth grade but there were a few older girls who wanted to “help” but really just needed to be loved on.  So, we obviously couldn’t turn them away or get onto them for not leading.  VBS was very tiring and we were going strong for hours straight, but we wouldn’t have changed a thing.  We met the challenge of matching the energy level of the kids (or at least came close).  Part of our mission was to encourage the local church.  This included us attending their little-attended church on Sunday and meeting the members but also pouring into Pastor Gary and his wife, Candy.  One of the last nights together, we led Gary and Candy in worship and prayed over them for strength and courage on their daily quest to reach the lost for Christ.  As a side note, they estimate 90% of the population of Kodiak is unchurched.  What an incredible opportunity to make a difference in a lost environment!

While in Kodiak, we also did some clean-up around the church and parsonage and well as some lawn work for one of the elderly church members.  If you think mowing the lawn is the same as it is in west Texas then you are incredibly misinformed.  Due to the mountainous terrain, it is uncommon for any of the residences to have lawn mowers; they typically just use weed eaters to take care of the grass.  We didn’t think this was much of an issue since the properties are typically smaller.  Then we drove to the outskirts of town to a 1.5 acre property.  It was grueling to carefully manicure all of the property, but we did have access to two machines so we were able to switch out.  All in all, we had an incredible time.  It was a blessing to be able to reunite with some of the children from last year and reach many new ones.  My family and I are blessed to have an opportunity to serve like this.  My boys will forever remember this mission work and what it means to give of ourselves and work for the Lord.

-Chad

Wednesday and Thursday were interesting days. One of the things I had noted that I would be doing was working with my pastor to update our ministry to the seniors in our church. We spent time Wednesday morning working on a 2015 agenda for our Young at Heart Ministry. One of the things we have been praying about for some time was for someone to step up and lead this program. He called me yesterday to tell me that a man in our church who is a principal at one of our elementary schools in town and had been an educator for over forty years had stopped by his office and told him that he was resigning his position and retiring from education effective December 31 and that he and his wife wanted to take over the Young at Heart Ministry. Our prayers were answered but certainly not in the fashion we had ever imagined. What a great God we serve. I also had a great visit with a family that have recently retired and moved to Sulphur Springs. The have attended our church and I wanted to visit with them to answer any questions they have about our ministries and find out about their relationship with Christ. We had a wonderful visit talking and sharing about all the great things Christ has done for us through the years. We prayed together and asked God to show them where he wants them to serve him in Sulphur Springs. Hopefully He will bring them to Central.

I am continuously amazed at how God works when we pray. The answer may not always be what we want and the solution may seem to come from left field because His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. If we just ask and be ready to receive He will work. We can relax in His arms knowing that His best will be accomplished if we will just pray for His perfect will to be done and accept what He chooses to do when He wants to do it.

This has been wonderful week of rest, renewal, and restoration. Today I will spend time in Bible study and prayer. Contemplating things I knew already but was reminded of again this week.  I have once again been reminded that those that have walked with God the longest have much to share if we will just ask and listen. If you are reading this blog find a senior citizen this week and ask them to tell you what they have learned through the years about God. I have also been reminded again that when we work, we work but when we pray God works. Spend time today and every day fellowshipping with your heavenly Father.

Yesterday was a wonderful day spent studying the Word of God. Part of what I wanted to do with my week was use some of the time to increase my knowledge of the Bible and deepen my relationship with my Lord. For the last four months I have been leading my Sunday School class in a systematic study of the Book of Acts. We are now in Chapter 18 of this great book about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of what we call the New Testament Church. It usually takes me two lessons per chapter. Some chapters take longer than others. I ask my class to prepare for these lessons by reading each chapter five times before coming to class. I also ask them to write down questions that come to their mind as well as observations they may have about what they have read. I want the Word to reasonate in their heart and mind. I have been very concerned for a long time about the Church becoming more and more irrelevant  in our world. It seems that with each passing year the church loses a little more of her influence in our communities, our nation, and our world. I began the study of Acts with my class, about 20-25 folks on most Sundays, to see what it was about these early Christians that enabled them to turn the world upside down for Christ. Over the last few months it has become evident to me that there was a passion for Christ present there that is lacking in most churches today. There was a boldness to take on the government, the false teachers and the religions of that day. They were willing to endure persecution, make whatever sacrifice of self and possessions the ministry required and boldly speak out on behalf of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences. The difference Christ made in their life was so evident that the term Christian, little Christ, was given to them by non believers. It was meant to be a derogatory phrase but the early Christians wore it as a badge of honor. What a testimony! As I spent yesterday preparing for this coming Sunday morning I was reminded again that the message of the church is simple. Jesus Saves!! It seems to me that in this day and age the church has become irrelevant because we have tried so hard to be relevant. God’s Word changes lives. The early church knew that and boldly proclaimed it. I am learning that over again as I study the book of Acts. Chapter 18 is where I will be this week . I had a great time yesterday studying and praying. I would encourage every Christian to read again the Book of Acts and ask yourself if the passion for Christ you see there is the passion for Christ you see today. It has certainly opened my eyes to my own shortcomings.

Yesterday was great. I began my day at one of the local nursing homes. I visited first with a lady who is the mother of one of the ladies in my Sunday School class. Even though she is only in her early seventies she recently has suffered two heart attacks and a stroke. She is in the nursing home rehab section and is looking forward to the day she can go home. She seems to be making good progress with that. I prayed with her and asked the Lord to give her His peace. I went to see Mrs. Emma. She is 93 years young and has been in the nursing home for four years. We talked about her life and she told me how much she missed her husband Amos even though he has been gone for almost 25 years. We talked about her home and how much she missed lived there. After a nice visit I went to see Aulbert. Aulbert was in the dairy business for over forty years. He is 92 and is in the nursing home for rehabilitation. He fell and broke his leg and it is taking a long time to heal. He misses being at home with his wife and is looking forward to getting out of rehab and returning to be with her. My last stop was to see Gary. He is 65 and will never be able to return home from the facility. He is confined to a wheelchair and has a feeding tube. He has cerebral policy and cannot speak. However, when I walked into the room he smiled at me. We just sat together for a while. He has such a great spirit in spite of his condition. When I left I left his room somehow I felt renewed in my spirit. There is in all of us a longing for home. In this life it means returning to the place where you raised your family and spent your holidays. Hopefully the people I met today will be able at some point to return to their earthly home. For Christians it means more than that. Each one of the conversations I had at some point came around to Christ. Linda, Emma and Aulbert each expressed their supreme trust in Him as their Lord and Savior and knew that when this life is over that they will go to their heavenly home. That excited them. I also believe that there is a place in heaven with God for Gary. I also know that there is a place for me. My heavenly father is building a home for me as I write. And soon He will come and take me to it. Last night I returned to my earthly home. It is a place of love, joy, and happiness. I have so many great memories that have been made here and continue to be made. But it does not compare to what awaits me when this life is over. When I truly and finally arrive home.

I have been looking forward to my Helpers of People week since I put it on my calendar in January. I am going to spend this week visiting with the families and individuals in our church who are unable to attend services in person due to age or health. Some of them still live at home while some are confined to assisted living facilities. I am also going to be seeing some of our folks who are in the hospital and will work with my pastor on updating our Senior Citizens ministry at our church. I would ask those of you that are reading this blog to pray that I might be a blessing to someone this week. Pray also that God will use this week to teach me things that I need to learn that will help me in my walk with Him and in my ministry to other believers. Please check back in from time to time to see how things are going and keep me in your prayers.