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What a powerful week we had at camp! Some of the most special times for me were praying over the students in my group, encouraging them in their pursuit of God and watching their faces and hearts come alive as he moved in them over the course of the week. It’s really such an incredible privilege to be able to witness God at work in the lives of people who are desperate and hungry for him. One student said he had really been struggling over the past year with anger and depression, but one evening during service God really met him in a powerful way through the message, to the point where he said he felt as free as he can remember in a very long time. You could visibly see the peace and relief on his face as he was just filled with the joy of knowing he’s fully loved by God.

While I’ll miss all of the stories like this from the past week, one thing I will not miss is the weather: at one point during one of our rec times, my phone said it felt like 118 degrees outside! I don’t think that will be the case next week in Durango, where the high the first day we’re there is forecast to be a gorgeous 68 degrees. Stay tuned…

Camp is really an incredible (while also very exhausting) experience. I am co-leading a group of 17 Junior guys, many of whom I have led in life group during the school year for a couple of years. I have never been to camp with this group before, though, so I know it will be special to be able to walk with them through what’s always a transformative time in their lives.

Day 1 set the bar high right out of the gate: God moved powerfully during our first time of worship, and several of the guys in our group had already really encountered him in a powerful way. I am really raising my expectations for what God will do the rest of the week!

Here’s the first post of my mini-sabbatical! I didn’t have Internet access for a good portion of my time, so I’ll be posting several things at once now that I’m back at home.

Here’s an overview of my sabbatical:

The first week I’ll be volunteering as a family group leader (counselor) at Beltway’s high school camp in East Texas. I’ve done this a couple times before and it promises to be an adventure.

The second week I’ll be traveling to Durango, Colorado with my family. Hopefully this will be a good recovery from camp week and will really allow me to be refreshed an enjoy time with the people I value most.

Looking forward to it!

Good day to you! So far I’ve spent almost a week with my mom who is doing pretty good considering. Brother John and sister Lyla loved giving me extra chores to do for them. Mom just enjoyed having me there and wanted it to last a lot longer. So did I.

On return from Round Rock, spent Thursday mowing some grass. My fancy new mower had a flat so I used the push mower. Didn’t get nearly as much mowed before it rained again, but did get in some exercise. Didn’t see any snakes. That made me real happy.

Friday was the longest day for Alzheimer’s. I was there helping make breakfast at 7am and lunch until dinner around 5pm. I took home the best steak dinner.yum yum.

Saturday and Sunday we’re days off home chores and meditating on God’s many blessing for the past week and prayers for the upcoming week with meals on wheels.

Monday MOW was time spent with Frank and learning middle Abilene. Last stop was a sweet lady who has an antique shop in Baird. She loved chatting all about her life.  Today, I was solo as Frank had a migraine. It was a different route and still pretty warm out.

When I got to MOW, it was really packed and deliveries were delayed because of machinery issues. I made all my stops without to many route changes. I had to circle the block a few times. There were several nice people to meet me when I got to the houses with the mean dogs. It was a blessing to feel watch over and protected by God during those times and the assistance He provided through different people in the neighborhood.

What a great day!

I would like to say thank you to all for giving me another opportunity to spend a week with my parents. A special thanks also to two of my sisters who have become full time care partners for my parents. Dad has been diagnose with lupus and mom with dementia.

I did let my parents know that I would be spending the week with them. The last Sabbatical I had did a surprise attack! When I arrived Dad greeted me with a big smile and mom had forgotten.

After I arrived, I looked over their daily routine schedule my sisters had prepared for guidance. This consist of taking vitals (twice/day), administering medication (3-5 time/day), meal preparation (I only have a kitchen because it came with the house), exercising (walking), activities (puzzles, cards, etc.), laundry, cleaning, showering and last a nap (daily, but did not include me because this was my catch up time for laundry and cleaning). I knew then this would be a challenging week!

The week actually started Saturday (6/15) before my Sabbatical due to our Sibling Reunion. There were 8 of the 10 of us siblings for a total of 24 people in attendance. There was food, fellowship, games and storytelling. This was follow by Church on Sunday as a family. A typical day for my parents is breakfast @ 8:30, exercise, TV watching, lunch @ 12:00. nap time, activity, dinner @ 5:00, family time @ 6:30 and showering @ 8:00 followed by bedtime. This interrupted their routine. All went home leaving me with two exhausted parents.

Monday started @ 4:30 a.m. Mom is a day sleeper and a night owl. She gives sleeping with one eye open a new meaning for me. The constant challenge was trying to keep her awake during the day. The average sleep time for dad and I was 5 1/2 to 6 hours per day. She average 8 to 10 hours per day. It was very difficult watching her being commander in chief one moment and then being helpless as a babe the next moment. The highlight of the days were sitting outside talking about her children and enjoying nature and the fresh air in the morning while watching the traffic on Hwy 83.

Although this disease is taking a toll on mom and the family, I still see the fight to push forward by my dad and the majority of my siblings. Dad is determined to care for mom. The majority of my siblings are going the extra mile.

I left Saturday afternoon in tears, but knowing this week had been a blessing. Please take every opportunity to thank God for the blessings of your love ones. Life is short and tomorrow is not promised.

Sorry for the delay in my post, I had an unexpected glitch today.  I was on top of things got up early got a lot accomplished before it was just about time for me to leave.   Got ready and was about to leave or thought I was but, my vehicle did not start.  I  felt a little stressed but my neighbor came to my rescue and let me borrow her vehicle so I could make my delivery route on time.   I invited her to come with me but she declined.   I made my rounds and let everyone know it would be my last day and had so many good conversations with my newfound friends.  I had a sweet little lady  said her daughter convinced her to get set up on Meals on Wheels because she had recently had surgery.  Said she really didn’t want to but it sure had helped her.  She was very appreciative for the meal and that I took the time to volunteer.   I had another couple that the husband always was the one to answer the door.  He  told me I needed to keep that smile I have not only for them but to be sure and share with everyone.  He introduced me to his wife and she said she really appreciated me taking the time to serve and for Meals on Wheels.  She shared that she was really sick and their vehicle didn’t work and that by the end of the month the meals we deliver is sometimes all they had to eat.  This was very heartbreaking to me.  I relayed the information to Gloria at Meals on Wheels and she said they would get someone out to visit with them to see if they are aware that Meals on Wheels  also provides a service where they can receive groceries.  I did not know this so I was very glad I shared it with her.  Being able to take the time to volunteer at Meals on Wheels was so rewarding.  I really am very grateful for FDLIC  giving us the time and opportunity to be of service in our community, read our devotional and book, rest and reflect is Such a Blessing!

Today was a very good day I had more people added which was a total of 15.

Some of them are becoming more familiar with me coming  and are more talkative.  I had one gentleman who commented on his food because it was popcorn shrimp said he loved seafood especially from down South.  He then proceeded to tell me a story where he and some friends were having a fish fry and having to feed over 100 people.  He said they had a 35, 25 & couldn’t remember size of 3rd fish.  They had a big cast iron deep pan they were using, poured the oil let it get hot and he thought it was ready. His friend said let me show you a trick, he threw a match in the oil and it did not ignite so he said nope it isn’t ready.  They repeated this process until it finally did ignite.  He said they would throw the fish in it would sink to the bottom and within minutes it would float to top and was ready to be taken out.  He said match trick keeps the fish from being greasy due to oil being just right said it was perfect & so delicious.  He said they ate till night time and needed plenty of Tums .  He was so happy and laughing when he was reminiscing about good times.  Very nice day with everyone.  I then came home and read some from the Power of Humility, by R.T Kendall .  Tomorrow I will see what it brings and who shares with me.

Monday I showed up to start my mini-sabbatical at Meals on Wheels.  Received  my route and I loaded up.  The route was a little overwhelming this day because it was all Apartment Complexes  off of Catclaw.   I have 4 different complexes Copper Creek, Newport Village ,Timber Ridge , Tyler Grand and then 1 residence.  It took me a little longer than what I wanted but I finally found everyone.  It was like a maze at times.  Everyone was very nice at Meals on Wheels office and they were excited I volunteered to do my sabbatical with them.

When most people think of mission trips, they generally think of labor under the hot sun in developing countries with difficult living conditions, questionable drinking water, and ramshackle structures. The mission trip of which I was a part was nothing like that. I was part of a team that spent a comfortable week in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Even though it may not seem like a “traditional” short-term mission experience, I believe that it has just as much impact on the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew 19, there is a story of a rich young man who approaches Jesus with a question:

“¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The people of Belfast are rich by the world’s standards. Their daily needs are met. They have clean water, food to eat, access to healthcare. But spiritually, it’s a wasteland. There were years of unrest and violence. The battle lines were drawn on religious dissention. We spent most of our time on the campus of Queen’s University. Students have turned to relying on themselves and science instead of God. Just like the rich man in Matthew, it is difficult for them to enter the Kingdom. Difficult, but not impossible. Our team prayed (and we continue to pray) earnestly for reconciliation to take place in Belfast. When people are reconciled with God, reconciliation with others will follow.

The work of reconciliation began before our trip, and continues after we’ve come home, but I am so thankful that we got to be a part of it for a brief time. Our actions during the week were simple. We invited students to participate in a survey called the God Test to understand what they believe, and that sometimes opened the door to conversations about the Grace and Love of Jesus. Several students gave their life to Christ and we’ve connected them to our sister church there in Belfast. I haven’t seen a tangible result of most of the conversations I had, but seeds were planted and may someday come to fruition.

Lord, continue the good work in Belfast, in your Kingdom, and in me. Thank you for the opportunity to go and to work for a company that supports Your ministry. Thank you for my friends within this company who came to my sendoff and who consistently add value to my life. May I grow in adding value to their lives every day.

I am on my very first Helpers of People leave and it has been nothing short of amazing. It has been a tremendous time of renewal, time with my family, blessing others, and being blessed.

Due to my job responsibilities, I spend a great deal of time traveling, thus am away from my family quite often. These two weeks have provided me necessary time at home to spend with my family. My favorite moments of these two weeks have been the mornings; drinking coffee with my wife and watching Peppa Pig with my daughter. Additionally, due to the fabulous weather, I have had the opportunity to take my daughter to the park on several occasions. This has been a true joy.

For my service project, I helped one of DIG’s family members, as well as my wife’s grandmother whose house needed some vital work. Each of these projects left me feeling spiritually rejuvenated. There is just something about working with your hands, in relative solitude, and having time to think. These times are often when my mind is most clear and I feel God’s presence. I am not always as giving as my time as I should be, but this HOP leave just leaves me feeling stumped as to why I can be so selfish with my time. I am grateful beyond words for this opportunity.

I also want to thank all of my co-workers for pulling extra weight these past two weeks. Without the team that we have, these opportunities would not be possible.

The second week was vacation week.

I had booked a flight for my mom and I extremely early on a Tuesday morning, and we spent the night before with my daughter and her husband.  It was great getting to spend time with them and catching up.

A few years ago, Cher was in concert in Dallas.  My mom and I have since regretted not being able to go.  Mom is a huge fan of her music.  In September, I was looking for places to spend a vacation, and I came across that Cher would be in concert in Vegas for some of the dates of my vacation.  I then found a really great deal for the flight plus hotel room.  I did a little more money-saving investigative work and found that if I booked within a certain date, 2 free tickets to shows would be thrown in.  One of the shows was to see Cher in concert.  That sealed the deal.

On Tuesday of vacation week, my mom and I were in Vegas.  Since our flight landed very early, we were pleasantly surprised that we were immediately allowed to check into our room.  I have never been to Vegas and did not know what to expect.  My mom and I had a great time.  We laughed so hard, and I always enjoy spending time with her.

My mom comes in a petite package of total energy.  I have a very hard time keeping up with her, but I try to because I don’t want to miss out on any fun.  We saw a magic show, a mystery dinner show, and the reason why we went:  Cher.  We were standing up and dancing to the great music.  We had a wonderful time.  We are already talking about when we should go back.

Thank you so much for this time away from work.  I greatly appreciate it.

I returned last week from a wonderful mini Sabbatical.

I went to WI for the Hearts of Hope camp with a group from FD.  I was a helper bee and buzzed around to different parts of the camp helping wherever and whenever needed.  Hearts of Hope is a grief camp that serves families affected by the death a loved one.  It is amazing to see the transformation that these sweet families go through just over the course of a weekend.  Some come to the camp mad, and by the end of the weekend, they are laughing and smiling.  I have confidence that the seeds of hope are planted into each camper.

When I returned from WI, I spent the week delivering Meals on Wheels.  This is a great organization.  I always enjoy delivering meals.  It makes me sad to think that sometimes, the only person one might see all day is the one delivering the meal.  I had two different routes that week.  This was great because I was able to see and visit with the same people throughout the week.  On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, deliveries were made to a group of different apartment complexes.  Monday was a little bit of a challenge because this one particular complex had different building numbers that did not go in numerical order.  So by the time Wednesday and Friday rolled around, I knew those complexes really well.  On Tuesday and Thursday, I had our regular FD route that we take turns delivering to on Fridays.  There was one gentleman that I very much enjoyed visiting with on those two days.  His positive outlook was something to strive toward.  If you talk to him and don’t walk away with a smile, something is wrong.

The Helpers of People week was very rewarding.  I am glad I was able to go to camp and deliver meals.

What a blessing to have this week to help other people and that is exactly what I did! The first part of the week, I went to see my mother who lives in an independent living facility in Tulsa near my sister, Judy. My mom went to live near Judy about a year ago and is doing great! Judy takes such good care of our mom and we are so grateful for her doing this, since my father passed away in 2015. Judy and I are very close and she was very grateful that I came up to spend some time with my mom, which gave my sister a break. My mother is 87 years old and is in good health! She broke her hip back in 2015 and has to be in a wheelchair, so our assistance is very much needed. My mom and I worked puzzles, played cards and just visited about my dad and her family. She has met so many friends and everyone in the facility truly loves my mom and loves being around her. She has such a positive outlook on life, so I got just as much out of the visit as she did!

The second part of the week, I worked at PACN of Conroe. It is always such a pleasure to work with these ladies and men who volunteer their time to help our young girls and boys going through such a difficult time in their life. When I called Teri, the Administrator and asked if she could use me, she immediately said yes. She is always so grateful of my time. She said since I had done such a good job the last time I volunteered, she asked me to organize and sort out the baby food, diapers and other items that are donated by our local merchants. It is amazing to see how much is donated to this organization. This organization is really making a difference in this community. Thank you FDLIC for the opportunity to serve in this capacity!

I had something unexpected happen again on Thursday when I made my last delivery stop.  I went to the door expecting to visit with  Mr. Charles or really half expecting him not to answer due to his wife passing.   I rang the bell and a  little lady answered the door and she immediately informed me you are suppose to deliver 2 meals.  I thought perhaps it  was a relative so I let her know I brought 1 meal  due to Mrs. Gladys passing.  She  said I am Gladys who told you I passed,  my heart skipped a beat??  She said I have been in the hospital but they let me come home last night.  I explained that her husband told me she passed the previous night and she said well I am very much alive as you can see.   She said Charles has been telling people that she has passed.  Her niece has gotten a visit in the past from APD also informing her that Gladys had passed when obviously she had not.  She then jokingly asked who did you think I was the other woman already???  Very awkward, but then again kinda of humorous and also relieved she was very much alive.  So I called Gloria afterwards @ Meals on Wheels and gave her an update,  said they had already marked her as deceased and taken her off the list.   She would  take care of getting another meal delivered & also sending a case worker to check on things.    Very interesting.

I have been doing my volunteer work at Meals on Wheels since Monday.  The first day I met  with Gloria and she assigned me a route which happened to be in my neighborhood.  I made the rounds which was slightly different from the usual because I didn’t have a wing man like we do at work.  I made it through with the help of  my friend Google Maps and managed to finish without any mess ups.

On the second day,  my sister  Elda wanted to help and I gladly accepted.  This time the route was different and it was in the Fairway Oaks area which also included the Dialysis Center.  We met several friendly people today. We had one stop that was for a little old couple Charles and Gladys .  We only spoke with  Charles and  their little dog Mini.  He was a very sweet man.

My niece  Victoria, who is Elda’s daughter came in from Arlington area  today and I got to visit with her .  We told her about our route and she wanted to help me on Wednesday.  She drove to my house  and off we went which also allowed us to catch up during our route.  We happened to get the same route as I had on Tuesday.   When we came to our last stop which was the little couple,  Charles told us Gladys had  passed away during the night.  It was so sad but he said she had been hospitalized for awhile now.  We visited with him and then said our goodbyes.  I called the office to let Gloria know and she said she would report it to caseworker.   I just never expected something like this to happen.

During the evening time I went with Laurie and Sonya to the Fields of Faith at Shotwell Stadium.  The music and speakers were awesome and it was amazing to see hundreds of our youth accepting Christ. Very powerful.

I don’t know which route I will have today but I am blessed to be able to help. Very grateful that our company gives us the opportunity to go out in the community to  be servants and  also to stop and rest our minds, body and souls which I needed very much so.  Worked on relationship with my niece who is going through difficult situation and this time allowed us to be able to talk.   Read my bible and my devotional. This has been a very good sabbatical week and I feel that God has placed me in very different situations this week but it was where I was needed to be.  Thank you all.  Blessings.

I just spent the last two weeks on a mini sabbatical and it was quite refreshing. I got to spend time in Michigan with my parents and Aunt Betty enjoying the cool weather, fall colors and God’s awesome natural wonders. Two of the four National Lakeshores are in Michigan and we got to visit both as well as seeing 3 of the 5 great lakes! My dad and I did a half marathon and my aunt did the bridge run in Sault Ste Marie. We ran across The International Bridge from Michigan to Canada at sunrise and it was beyond gorgeous! We also went across the Mackinac Bridge which is interesting because it’s the only way to drive between the upper peninsula and the mitten and stay in Michigan. When I returned to Texas, besides sweating, I delivered Meals on Wheels and helped at AYSA. MoW was shorthanded so it was a great week for me to be available. I met a lady and had an extended conversation with her on my last stop of my last day. Be praying for her as she’s staying in a hotel until her house has been cleaned of mold. She’s having a hard time since she’s been in that house 20 years and it’s what she and her blind dog, Rascal, know and love. Originally, I was scheduled to help Pregnancy Resources, but they didn’t need me. They were super grateful for my willingness and persistence to help, though! Because I wasn’t needed there, I was able to help Michelle and Aaron at AYSA. I helped organized shoes in their instant replay used sports “store” and then we made it a fun adventure to clean out, organize, and condense their attic. I’d show you progress, but we took pictures on a one-time-use camera we found in the attic. It “expired” in 2010, but hopefully we’ll get some photos of the memories we made. Thank you FD for an extended time to spend with family and help the community.

My hubby, Chris, is passionate about running…and most recently, triathlons. Because of his passion, we have been able to do some pretty cool things throughout the course of our eleven-year marriage! Our latest adventure took us all the way to South Africa for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship race!

As we began planning our trip, we decided that we really wanted to incorporate some Helpers of People activities. It was quite the process for us…we had a plan, but sadly, that seemed to fall through. So, we came up with a second plan and moved forward with that for our mini-sabbatical. God has a funny way of working things out the way He really wants, though! I always think it is so neat to see him working in our life.

As odd as it sounds, Chris became friends with a guy named Garreth through the social media platform Instagram about two years ago. We have since met him and his family in person and we’ve all formed quite a good friendship! Crazy stuff! Fast forward to this year, when the championship race location was announced — it just so happens that Garreth was born and raised in South Africa, in the very same town that the race would be held! And even more, his family still owns a farm there, where his mom currently lives. I can’t make this stuff up! He offered to let us stay at the chalets on his farm, and he actually ended up being there for part of the time we visited.

Garreth’s family uses their farm, Seaview Guest Farm, as a place where local leaders come together for leadership conferences and development. Their goal is to “teach a man to fish” with strong leadership principles that can change their entire life path. The farm consists of the main house, where his mom lives, as well as six small chalets and a handful of dorm-like cabin rooms. His elderly mom runs the non-profit business and farm locally and Garreth runs it remotely from Texas. Since his mom has had some health issues this year, we developed a plan with Garreth to help her do some things around the farm that she can’t keep up with at the moment.

Right around the time we were packing our bags and getting ready to head to Dallas for our flight, Chris received news that changed our sabbatical plan! Our original plan was going to fall into place after all! We were both very excited! So, while Chris did help out with a few things around the farm while we were there, and while I will be helping one of the local South African leaders with a marketing plan once he is ready, what I have to share here looks a little different than we anticipated. As a very analytical and by-the-numbers planning kind of girl, I could have let this stress me out a bit! But, our experience was so incredible and we were thrilled with how God worked it all out! We were honored to participate in two separate volunteer events with the Ironman Foundation, both of which were partnered with Ironman 4 the Kidz.

Early Birds Daycare
On Thursday, 8-31-18, we visited the Early Birds Daycare facility that had just opened about one week earlier and was funded by the Ironman Foundation. During the Ironman Expo earlier in the week, we helped pack backpacks for the children that were handed out during this visit. Now, to be transparent — I am not really a “kid” person…so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this experience. I can honestly say that I was incredibly moved by the entire day there!

When we arrived, we were met with the little toddlers singing a song for us! It was such a sweet sound. We all filed into the playground area where we each handed out a backpack to one of the children. Chris and I found two little girls and spent some time with them going through their goody bags. We helped them open their snacks and drinks, which they thoroughly enjoyed all at once until they were gone. Then we introduced them to their coloring books and crayons, and spent some time coloring with them. They really loved the sheets of stickers — they loved sticking them on their faces and bodies! Throughout the fun, we were taking selfies with the kiddies. It was joyous to see how enamored they were with their reflection in the camera phone. We finished off by spending some time pushing them on the swings and seeing their joy.

This daycare is providing these children with a safe place to spend their days, and they are getting food and skills that are necessary for their survival and their future. It was amazing to see how much the Ironman Foundation pours into this community and how appreciative the teachers and children are of everything. I loved spending a day in this environment and pouring into the sweet children.

Eastern Province Child & Youth Care Centre
We spent the day after the Ironman race, Monday, 9-3-18, volunteering with the Ironman Foundation again. Altogether, about 25 of us rode a bus to the centre, where we were met by the wonderful staff members. After a few of the small children sang us a beautiful song, we were educated on the mission of the centre. They currently have 104 children of all races between the ages of 4 and 18, and they provide residential care and schooling with the aim of producing productive citizens for the South African community. Because the children live at the centre, they have age- and gender-specific cottages on the property to take care of their needs. Our mission for the day was to help repaint one of the cottages.

We broke into groups of four and were led to different rooms in the cottage by one of the employees. Our leader was Sonya and she was spunky! She showed us to one of the bedrooms and explained the painting process — the walls would be a light gray and the trim, doors, closet doors, and window sill would be a dark gray. They had everything prepped for us, so we were able to meet the other two people in our group — Peta and Jan — and get started painting right away.

Chris pretty much took care of the wall painting, while us girls handled the trim and doors. I grabbed the small roller and went to work on the closet doors (which took up most of one wall). I was also able to accomplish the main door, too! It was quite humid there, so about three coats of paint were needed on all of the surfaces. We painted for hours, and it was amazing what the four of us were able to accomplish!

As a reward for all of our hard work, we were able to visit some of the children in their classrooms! They were prepared to share some of their work with us. Chris and I found our way to TJ’s desk, and he was a cute little guy. I think he was about 10. He proudly went through three of his class workbooks, showing us the things he had written and drawn. It was very impressive! He spoke very good English, and shyly asked us a few questions along the way. He was very excited to hear Chris had done the Ironman! I let him down a bit when I admitted that I, in fact, had NOT. Ha! The thing that touched me the most was how serious these children were about school. They were very lucky to have the opportunities provided by the school, and they were taking full advantage that.

This whole experience was out of my comfort zone, on many levels. As I mentioned, I’ve never been drawn to children; I am also not drawn to manual labor! The entire day was so perfect though, and filled my heart with a joy I haven’t felt in a long time. I loved the time with the children, and the manual labor turned out to be quite fun with our little group! I am so, so grateful that our original Sabbatical plan fell into place. God put me right where I needed to be!

Sabbatical Reading
For my personal growth reading, I was very excited to choose “Becoming Myself” by Stasi Eldredge. For my full Sabbatical in 2010, I read her popular book “Captivating”. That book made a significant impact on my life, and I was ready to dive into this new one. Well…my Kindle tells me I am 54% through the book. I am still working through it. I am sad to report that this book is NOT impacting my life in the same way as her previous book. In fact, currently I am not even really sure what her point is. She seems to be all over the place with her thoughts, and I can’t quite pull the meaning out of it yet. I will finish the book and see what I can glean from my notes. There will be something there, in the end.

I want to thank Kris Seale and our Board for the gift of a mini-Sabbatical…it was a refreshing two-week period that allowed me to reset and also to be a blessing to others. Also, a big thank you to Allison and my amazing Marketing family for taking care of everything so well while I was away!

To wrap up, I’d love to share some photos with you! Enjoy!

This daycare was in the middle of shanty town…a community of shacks. The pinnacle of poverty.

I colored with this sweet little girl for a bit…she also got a kick out of selfies!

Chris and I with the two girls we bonded with…they were precious!

The main building at the Eastern Province Child & Youth Care Centre.

Chris and I enjoyed our time painting!

Painting the full wall of closet doors

Our painting team! Peta, Jan and the Babers!

TJ was a very smart little guy – we enjoyed seeing his school work!

These older girls – they were SASSY! And great dancers!

This was the cottage where we painted — upstairs bedroom, all the way to the left!

We will definitely be doing more volunteer work at future Ironman events through this amazing foundation!!

David and me at camp

I’m just finishing up another year at Mountain High Camp in Red River, NM. This is the same camp that I volunteered at for my sabbatical last year.

I can’t express how blessed I am to be able to participate in this camp. It’s a camp for adult survivors of traumatic brain injuries. We worship, play games and eat at Bobcat Pass, worship some more, fish, shop, have a dance and just enjoy each other’s company. It truly is God’s camp. My camper this year is David from Spring, TX.  He was supposed to be my camper last year but was unable to attend because of Hurricane Harvey. He received his brain injury when he was involved in a car accident in 1980 at the age of 17.  He is a joy to be around.

Thank you FDLIC for allowing us to take a helpers of people leave.

Blessed to be working with “Friends of the Elderly” in Palacios, TX. Mark Hewitt has helped advise their direction on how to change their mode of operation from a government-based facility to a faith-based facility. The goal is to provide more service to the community and to allow the community and local churches to participate more, thus having more resources and providing more services to more people that come here. Currently, this facility is for the elderly. They have a new Executive Director, my friend, Becky Rusk. Her staff has been working so hard to improve all of the services. There is so much going on, and there is so much to do. I am honored to have had a minor hand in their projects this week. They serve hot meals and provide activities for the seniors at the center. John Anthony Guerra, their Senior Center Supervisor, is working hard to help deliver these meals to the home-bound in Palacios and the surrounding communities. They have amazing vision for all the new things they are doing. God is present everywhere. Thank you, FDLIC, for helping to make it possible for me to be here on my sabbatical this week. Your prayers are felt for these people. I work for an AMAZING company!

James. John Anthony Guerra. Me. Linda. My new family.

My mom volunteering and helping me break down old metal chairs to be turned in for cash for metal.

Ripping the old fabric off metal chairs.

Old metal chairs seats separated from the metal frames. They recycled the scrap metal for cash.

Doug and my mom. He entertained us during our work with his piano playing.

Taking a break with Toby. He comes here every day for a hot lunch and dominoes with his pals. So many stories about growing up in Palacios. He was my favorite buddy!

The entrance.

Linda is the facility Activity Director. She has a heart for these lovely people. She’s a jewel! In the pink shirt.

My new friend Doug. He’s waiting for his lunch!

Friends of the Elderly facility.

Bagging 150 pounds of rice in quart baggies. My job for one of the days I was there.

One of the gals in the kitchen carried this 50 pound bag like it was a pillow. No messing with that girl! She was a beast.

Bagging the rice for the facility.

Tammy. Maggie. Me. Susie. My girls in the kitchen. Love them.

Tammy and Maggie working hard to get out a nice hot lunch for the elderly.

The theme of my time away was rest. I needed to get out of the routine and be refreshed so that was my goal. I spent some restful time on the beach in Jamaica with my family. While I hoped this would be a highly intentional family-focused time together, my teenager and tween had other ideas when it came down to it. This time is difficult for parents and kids are pulling away and becoming increasingly independent. That is a good thing and when I step back and assess, it is healthy and is truly natural. However, it can be a struggle as we figure out how to navigate this pulling away and still have intentional relationship. For me, this has absolutely been the case. I love that my boys are independent and confident but it’s tough when they choose friends over my wife and I. Again, completely natural and a good thing, but is still tough in the execution. After getting home from vacation, I served with Love & Care Ministries. What a time of blessing this turned out to be. I attempted to plan out my service time (what’s so wrong with being a planner?!) but was unsuccessful. Thus, I had to simply show up and get put to work. This worked out great as I knew I was exactly where God wanted me to serve. I spent my week serving in the soup kitchen. Some of the time was in the actual lunch room serving meals, talking and interacting with homeless and impoverished people of our Abilene community. Other times I participated in taking food to the streets, the way the Love & Care ministry began many years ago. It’s humbling and incredible to be reminded of just how blessed I am. There are so many things as simple as air conditioning, clothing, the abundance of food and many more that I easily take for granted. I took the opportunity to take each of my boys with me to serve. This also was incredible and very rewarding. Each of my family members serve in our own ways but to be able to serve together was a fun experience. It bonded us in new ways and provided a new commonality for us to experience together. Another aspect of service while I was away from work was serving my family. With my boys, I looked for ways to tell them yes almost every time they asked for something (wisdom and discernment first!) and I looked for ways we could build relationship by doing things together. With my wife, I tried to lighten her load. Being a stay-at-home mom and homemaker, she never gets a true vacation. She always has laundry to do, people to be fed, etc. So while I was off of work, my goal was for her to never cook a meal (me and the boys helped on this, plus eating out was our friend) and I did as much laundry as I could. She was a little sneaky on this front though as she tends to just jump up and get things done when necessary not wait for someone else to get it done. All in all, I had a fantastic time away on my vacation as well as helper of people leave. In addition to spending a very large amount of time with my family, serving and enjoying vacation, I was able to watch a ton of soccer which was a real treat for me. Thanks for everyone at Parkway allowing me to be off. And I’m grateful for DIG and the opportunity to enjoy helpers of people leave. I’m grateful for our set of companies and all of the incredible benefits.

My 2nd week was spent on vacation.

A few days before I left on vacation, my car starting acting up.  Perfect timing, because Bobby, the mechanic I use, got the car in right away and fixed it within a few hours.  My bike also spent some time getting a tire fixed right before I left.  Gary, the bike mechanic is efficient on getting repairs done quickly.

I went to San Antonio for several days.  I took my bike and drove to New Braunfels to ride up and down River Road, which is next to the Guadalupe River.  It was so pretty and very relaxing.  After my bike ride, I found a fun bakery named, 2Tarts Bakery.  They make their baked goods every morning.   I sat outside at one of their tables, kicked up my feet, and enjoyed the morning and a delicious cinnamon roll.

I very much enjoyed my time in San Antonio with family.  We had a great time visiting.  I can’t wait to go back.

Kris, thank you so much for this time.  I took advantage of daily naps.  I liked not worrying about the time on the clock.  I had a great time both helping with Meals on Wheels and spending time with family.

Monday, I returned from my mini Sabbatical.  I had a wonderful two weeks, and I would like to share some highlights.

I had planned on taking my dad to Italy the day before Father’s Day.  We were both excited, since we didn’t even need our passports or would experience any kind of jet lag.  Italy, TX has a bike ride that we have never done before.  So we got up early that morning and headed to Italy to take part in the 63-mile ride that is called, Tour d’Italia.  We both had so much fun that we are planning on going next year.   I enjoyed my day with Dad.  And he finished 5 minutes before I did.  Way to go, Dad.

My first week of my mini was helping out with Meals on Wheels.  This is something I look forward to and like visiting with others.  It is sad to think that sometimes, that is the only contact they might have with people all day.  There was one day that we were able to take a box of fresh tomatoes and could share with those on our route.  I took the box home and divided up the tomatoes into bags and delivered them the next day.  The tomatoes were a popular gift and sure did bring a smile to everyone that received them.

I am so happy that my first week was spent delivering meals.  I  hope that I brought joy to others, because they sure did bring joy to me.

First, I wanted to say thank you to Kris and the Board of Directors for allowing me to take this past week and serve with kid’s camp, Camp Bonita, through Beltway Park Church.

I must say this past week was amazing. I have enjoyed going to camp in the past but I think this time was the best, not only for the kids but for me as well. It was a time to refocus my attention on God and not all the crazy of everyday life. I was able to walk side by side with numerous counselors while leading a group high spirited 5th grade girls. I started off Monday morning getting myself and my son, who is also a 5th grader, to the church for counselor check-in at 6:30. Once all kids were checked in and accounted for we were off to Bonita Park Camp in NM on seven charter buses.

Once there we could get settled into our rooms before activities began. The 5th grade girls cabin is a little over a quarter of a mile up a mountain….my legs and lungs screamed at me a lot this week!
The theme for camp was God is for me. The theme seemed very fitting because a lot of times it is hard to believe that God is for you all the time. Going through daily lessons with our group of girls opened my eyes to the struggles that so many kids are going through. Being able to pray over these children and show them they are truly loved is the absolute best feeling. I enjoyed watching the campers worship the Lord the way we all should all of the time no matter who is watching or our situation.
Daily activities included color war, paintball, zipline, leap of faith, crafts, and much more. We had great food with little down time, which was great with me, a lot of walking and little to no connection to the outside world, which was also great with me.  By the time Friday morning came everyone was tired and ready to get back home.  I was a little sad to leave the mountain views, but I was ready to get back to my own bed.

Being at camp with these kids had made miss teaching on Sunday mornings. Eventually, my schedule will allow the teaching time again and I look forward to that.
This I know, that God is for me….
Psalm 56:9

Abilene is so fortunate to have won the bid to bring the TX SLAM to our community!  This Juniors Tennis Tournament is the largest in the nation and will have 1100, 10-18 year old’s and their families in town for 8 days.  It’s a blast and so much fun!  I love being involved because tennis is a great sport and supporting these kids that have worked so hard through the year to qualify for this tournament is tremendous!  Also, having this tourney helps the Abilene economy; pumping in about $1.4 million dollars in over an 8 day period (It’s the largest sporting event that Abilene brings to town that creates the largest economic impact)!

I’m so blessed to be able to take off a week to volunteer for the SLAM (Thank you FDLIC!).  I chair the committee that makes this tournament happen so obviously, being able to participate for the whole week is a gift (last year I didn’t take of work but was there weekends and nights and just felt like I missed so much!).  Eight months of preparation have gone into getting ready for the tournament! Courts, (Well use all 120 tennis courts in Abilene from middle schools to Universities.  Picture attached is from our work day this past weekend!), fund raising (Takes about $40,000 to host), player packet assembly, party coordination, and volunteer recruitment (Over 100 volunteer hours a day).  I work with an incredibly gifted team of people to get this done!

So….Saturday, 7:30 am the tournament starts!

PS:  Also, for my sabbatical, I’m working with my husband and Kris to host a Sports Center large donor THANK YOU dinner!  Kris has been unbelievably generous to AYSA and thanking $50,000 and up donors for making the Sports Center a reality is such an incredible gesture.  We’re planning a fun evening so Wednesday of my sabbatical will be spent helping Jon.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Kris Seale and the Board of Directors of FDLIC for allowing me to take some time off this past week to serve others. I, again, volunteered to help out at the Pregnancy Resource Center (PACN) here in Conroe. When I first asked Teri McGiffort, the Administrator, if she could use my help, her first response was “Always!”. I found out later that 85% of the people that help out there are volunteers. What a blessing to be able to be a part of this ministry! I spent the most of my time there working in the store, next door to the center. My job was to go through the donations, mark the items and price them for the families who come through there. The people who work there are amazing! Listening to their stories was a blessing. One of the girls whom I was working with told me that her mother, who ran the store, had had an abortion when she was a young girl. She expressed some grief for the fact that she could have had a sister. She, herself, had even considered to have one! But, by the grace of God, she didn’t. This was the reason that she was there helping out. She wanted to maybe make a difference in another young girls life and, hopefully, share there is hope!

My plans are to continue to volunteer in this organization. I truly have a heart for these young girls and their unborn babies. I know God is allowing me the opportunity to serve in some capacity during these times when I am available.

Thank you again for the opportunity and time that was spent helping others!

Vicki D.

1. Today was a very productive day again.  I was working on the labels that are going to be tied to the gift bags.  They each have to be stamped with Pregnancy Resources and then they will add the name on the other side of the label.I also had to make five more Bows for notepads.  After that I joined some other ladies that were working on the Terra cotta pots.  We had squares of  green tissue paper that will be used as the leaves for the  cupcake flowers.  We had to carefully position them onto the toothpicks.  This is what they look like and then before the event they will position each cupcake regular size and mini ones to create the floral arrangement.Tomorrow is going to be my final adventure. I look forward to seeing what it may bring.

Today I worked on something that does not come easy to me.  At the fundraiser they will be having some gift bags to hand out to I believe she said to the board members?  I was given notepads, pens and ribbon .  I had to measure out ribbon to required size of 24 inches, cut, and then make a bow to go around  pad and clip the pen on it. It was a very nice silver ribbon that I had to work with.  The problem was making the bow look nice and fancy. Holly said it’s just like tying your shoes.    Evidently this is not my calling because I did not find it to be that simple but in the end I think it all turned out presentable.  I will definitely need to pray & read my devotional tonight . So  tomorrow I will be able to bring out my creativity in whatever they need me to do.  Blessings.

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I started off my mini sabbatical minutes after leaving work on Friday by volunteering in the kitchen for “Night to Shine” – a Prom for people with special needs. I helped unload tons of food donated by Abilene restaurants which was amazing to see. Through the evening, I replenished food for the guests and watched them dance the night away. I also got my workout in by checking on the food upstairs in the respite room. Not only does Night to Shine love on the guests, but also their caregivers by providing a room with live music, massages, and food.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I delivered Meals on Wheels and volunteered at Pregnancy Resources of Abilene. I was able to pray for the babies and families while doing some organization (love it!) and numbering their “Life in Bloom” tickets. They also gave me a super random job that no one had time to sit down and do, but needed to be done. There were 9 trash bags full of stuffed animals wrapped in Christmas paper that had been donated, but needed unwrapping. It was a fun job and I was more than happy to take care of that for them! I ended up filing 2 bags with the unwrapped plushies.

I then headed to Peoria, IL with my parents where I got to meet my 3 month old nephew, Locke, and celebrate my niece’s 3rd birthday.

Wren chose to have a princess party which was most fitting since she loves pink and only wants to wear dresses! We got in early enough on Friday evening to help with cleaning and decorating and on Saturday I made cupcakes and assisted my brother in the kitchen. Wren insisted we each wear a “neck-a-lace” while party prepping.

The party was a success and while Wren napped off her sugar high, I made Brian build a snowman with me!

It had snowed all during the party and since we don’t see real snow in Abilene, I also made my dad build one with me!

On Sunday, we participated in a children’s Symphony event where Wren got to try her hand at the upright bass. We might even end up on Peoria public television!

On Monday evening, we were able to bless Brian and Sarah with free babysitting so they could go out. It was good to see family and to soak in all the kiddo snuggles since it’s rare to see them with the 1,000 miles between us. I’m very grateful for the time during the mini sabbatical to be able to visit!

On our way back, we stopped to see some sights including the Illinois and Arkansas state capitols (we tallied them up and determined I’ve seen 18 of the 50) and Lincoln’s tomb. We also stopped for a visit with my grandmother which was my first time to see her since she moved to a dementia care facility. She seems to have adjusted well and we discussed her many traveling adventures from when she was younger.

Funeral related fun facts I learned on this trip:
Lincoln had multiple funerals on his way from DC to Springfield and was finally buried 20 days after he died.

The card game, Uno, was invented by a barber and sold to a funeral parlor owner who mass distributed it.

1. I have one more week in Jamaica before I have to say see you later to my love. Nothing went as planned during this time but, the faithfulness of the Father through our amazing friend was very evident. We had planned to go off for our honeymoon but, that didn’t happen because family expected us to spend Christmas with them so we cut the honeymoon short and did that.

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So I have been in Jamaica for a week now and the time to the big day is fast approaching, but first my birthday. I know, who picks the same month as one’s birthday and holiday to get married? Here is the thing, I didn’t grow up receiving or giving gifts really so even though it is fun and I exchange gifts more now that I’m an adult it’s not that big of a deal. What is important thought is getting together as a family sharing a meal and just hanging out which is exactly what we did this Christmas.

My birthday was on Monday December 18th and our wedding would be on the 22nd. I spent my birthday with Oneil traveling to get friends from the airport. Beth (best friend/maid of honor) and family would also be flying in for the wedding on that day.  Oneil and I were going to tag along with my nephew to meet Beth and Bryon at Montego Bay airport then drive back with them, we didn’t want them traveling alone due it it being their first time in Jamaica. That didn’t happen so we stayed in May Pen and went to the hotel to welcome them there. They arrived safely and we got to spend a little time with them before heading back home to Blackwood’s which is about and hour from the hotel.

The following day the rest of the wedding parting and friends would be flying in for the wedding. We made two trips to the airport due flight times being different and not close enough to pick up everyone at once. Abby came late afternoon and was picked up by Oshane (nephew), Derol (brother), Oneil and I. We went to a restaurant by the beach and had some lunch while we awaited Shannon who would be flying in from Hati. We picked up the rest of the crew that evening after dropping Abby and Shannon off at the hotel. We hug out with the gang on the 20th and took them to see the reception venue on foot because with thought it wasn’t too far from the hotel and we’d take a nice not so long walk. It turned out to be a lot further than we thought. They were troopers and serviced the adventures trek.

We had the rehearsal and heading back to my house for dinner and chill time. The big day is here. The pastor had been adamant about us not being late for the wedding. Nerissa (mom), Beth (maid of honor) and I got ready at the hotel and was at the church at 1:30PM. Turns out the groom had yet to arrive and no one could get a hold of him. An hour and a half later he arrived, needless to say people including the pastor was upset and asking me questions I didn’t know the answer to. He came and the show went on, my amazing maid of honor and friends kept me sane during the hour and a half wait. I thought the bride was supposed to keep the groom waiting/sweating and not the other way around. All I cared about was him getting there safely so we could get married and start our lives together. The enemy had been against us from the beginning but, when God says yes no weapon form against us will prosper. We are and will continue to be victorious through Christ.

Seeing each other for the 1st time in 5 years

Jamaica!

I flew out Monday, December 11th and started the trek to Jamaica. Three flight and a delay later I made it and was reunited with my love and family.

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It is amazing how quickly four weeks can go by. I feel like it was just yesterday that I began this sabbatical journey. So many things have changed since then. I became a mother, Josh became a father, and we welcomed a beautiful daughter into our lives. It is amazing to think about all the ‘firsts’ we have yet to experience.

Last week, we got out of the house and visited some friends. The owners of one of my Funeral Homes invited us over to their home. We met for lunch and they were able to meet Lucille. It was wonderful. I haven’t been out of the house for that long since she was born! We started talking about the holidays and her possibly going to meet Santa. They told me not to worry about it, they had a Santa suit! Before we left, he put on the Santa suit and Lucille was able to get her first pictures with Santa Claus. IT was great not having to worry about crowds and her possibly getting sick. It was a relief to be able to start this tradition with the comfort of friends rather than strangers.

I have finally started getting out of the house with her on my own. It is nice to be independent again. She loves car rides and doesn’t mind being in her car seat while we are out and about. We have another doctor’s appointment this week for her month-old check-up. I am looking forward to seeing how much weight she has gained! We are also going to try to visit some friends and enjoy our last few weeks together. Time really does fly.

I wrote these notes before going to Abilene for EOY meetings and the party. It was great to see everyone and gain inspiration through the presentations and workshops.

12/7/17
There are only two days left on my sabbatical, and like many others, I can’t believe how fast it went by. I have felt many emotions during my time off, but mostly gratitude. Our executives are so unique in their approach to the employees, and hope that it will always be so. Sabbatical is beyond the comprehension of many people that I told about it. I was hesitant to talk about it much, because I didn’t want to cause any resentment or jealousy in others. My prayer is that by telling others about my sabbatical the idea may reach other companies that will bless their people with something similar.
One of my goals during sabbatical was to spend time alone with each of my family members. I wanted to strengthen our bonds and show them just how special each of them are to me. I wanted to make a purposeful effort to do this. It was good to let whoever I was with do what they want, and just be with them. I really enjoyed that. Last night around the table each child and my wife shared the photos we took and talked about the good times we had.
I’ve never been an avid reader, but my time allowed me to focus more on that. I was able to read a lot of “How To Disciple Men” and found some great information that I can use in working with our church Men’s Ministry and with Blast and Cast Men’s Ministry. I originally bought it because one of the authors is our Executive Director at Blast and Cast. I also recently stumbled onto several parts of C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity” which are on Youtube.com as audio with illustrations. I found the presentation concept very engaging and interesting. If anyone is interested they should search “C.S. Lews doodles”. I enjoyed both and would recommend them to anyone that has an interest.
During sabbatical, I helped our pastors with their visits to hospital patients and some of our Harvey flood victims. Over the years I have learned of the positive effects of these visits, and heard of the disappointments when they don’t happen. Your immediate family is probably first on scene in an emergency, but they need to be followed quickly by your brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to visit those with troubles, and we are called to care for one another. I believe these two things really bond God’s people together and prevent them falling away. I feel blessed to be a part of strengthening the bonds between people so that they will continue to come to church and hear God’s word. He does the heavy lifting, but we play a role for sure. In one of our studies the speaker said “God doesn’t need your help, but your neighbor does”. That really stuck with me and I aim to be a help where I can.
I also volunteered with “The Gathering Place” which provides activities for those with memory problems such as Alzheimer’s. I have written a little about my first experience in an earlier post. Yesterday was my second time, and much more relaxed since the guests were familiar to me. It was held at a different church this time with some new volunteers joining in. (They rotate amongst several local churches in Brazoria County) When I arrived I was one of only two men there preparing for arrival of the guests. The other fella turned out to be the pastor of the church. He normally does a devotion and blesses the meal, but today he had to leave early for a dentist appointment and decided I was the guy to fill in for him. Whoa! That was not what I was planning! I was reluctant and nervous at first, but I eventually took the job. It was quite an honor, but I’m not sure my babbling about Advent and Christmas symbols was intelligible. I’m just giving thanks to God for the privilege!
Next week I will be reunited with friends and associates in Abilene, and I am really looking forward to see everyone. It is a highlight of the year for me because of the care that is taken to prepare meaningful events and classes.

I officially have a three week old baby. She has been staying awake longer during the day and loves he lights on the Christmas tree. It is fun to see the personality she is starting to develop. We made our first trip out of the house, that wasn’t a doctor’s office. Let’s just say this is the first time I was excited to go to the grocery store. Lucille did great! She was quiet the entire time, and even was awake for a little while.

We had family over last weekend and probably will have more over this coming weekend. Everyone seems so surprised with how much she is growing and changing. It is hard to tell the changes she is making when we see her every day, so we are trying to document with pictures.

We are starting to plan her trip to Santa for the upcoming weeks. There are so many things to look forward to now.  Christmas is right around the corner and I look forward to spending our first one together as a family. I can only imagine how much bigger she will be by then.

What a wonderful month it has been, with a few surprises along the way. My mission was to work with the homeless here in Baton Rouge, but instead I ended up painting for a new friend.  A few weeks ago I met this lady at a new bible study group I had visited for the first time.  The couple’s house where we met had been flooded last year and they only had a couple of rooms completed.  They had not been able to move in yet because they have been slowly doing the work themselves. They had cooked a big pot of gumbo and rice (the best ever) and as we visited I met Loretta.  As we talked I found out she was looking for a small house to buy, somewhere in my area of town. She said she was on a budget and in the price range she was looking, it would probable need some repairs or painting. I joked and said I would be glad to help her with the painting and my only charge would be a home cooked meal.  For those of you that know me, cooking is not something I do a lot of.  I gave her my number and a couple of weeks ago she called!! She was in her new home and asked if I was still interested in painting and how much do I charge.  I laughed and told her painting was not a business for me, but I would be happy to help her.  I mean, what else could I say?  I thought what have I gotten myself into.  Not that I did not want to help, but I have not climbed a ladder in 4 years!  So this week I finished 2 bedrooms and her living room.  I have to say I did a lot of praying before that God would give the strength to complete what I had promised. And of course he did and during the process a new friendship was made. Loretta turns out to be an excellent cook and now I am having to beg her to stop trying to feed me:) It has been truly a blessing getting to know Loretta. She is such a dear lady, and come to find out we have a lot in common.  My body is a bit sore now, but its a good feeling knowing I was able to help her.

This is the last day of my Sabbatical and I have been so blessed to have this time off.  I feel rested, renewed and ready to see my work friends again. Thank you again Kris for all you do for us.

Week one of my first Sabbatical ever! I got to serve at Pregnancy Resources this week. I spoke to Chris who is in charge of the volunteers and staff. She has worked there for 12 years and loves what she does. I began the task of removing files 4 years or older to be archived. I got a tour of the facility on my second day and got to learn a bit more of what they do. Every person that comes in for a service gets to be prayed over, they get there baby’s first gift (a bear) if they have a positive pregnancy test and is shown the loves of Christ thought theses amazing people. They give formula to moms for their babies, offer classes and so much more.

I went into this serve opportunity not necessarily knowing what I would be doing for the week, but simply wanted to be of help in any area of need. The need was filing paperwork. That is not glamorous and I am not one that like to be in the spotlight, so that was totally okay with me.  However, part of me struggled with the purpose in it, what significant difference an I making moving files from one place to another. Does that sound like Jesus? No it does not, so I asked him to give me His perspective on this seemingly insignificant task.

He showed me that He was using me to help the volunteers and staff have more time to pray with and over the people they serve, find file more easily, because they don’t have to fight through all the files that shouldn’t be there and make room to serve more people in our community. It was good to be reminded that it is not about me. My heart is greatful.

Next time you hear from me I will be reporting from Jamaica! I fly out on Monday morning, I welcome your continued prayers for favor and that all goes well. Blessings!

Over the weekend, we entertained my father-in-law’s 88th birthday.  His niece, Haydee and her husband, Tomas came from Corpus Christi early Sunday morning to celebrate his birthday.

We had breakfast at Garcia’s restaurant in Kyle and celebrated his birthday by singing Happy Birthday to him and also celebrated Haydee’s & Tomas’ 1st year anniversary.  They left shortly thereafter back to Corpus Christi.

The rest of the family decided we would should take my father-in-law out to eat lunch at Cracker Barrel in Buda.  As we were heading out, we received a call from his niece informing us that they were stranded in San Marcos by the side of the road.  They said not to worry that they would try to contact a mobile mechanic.  It was Sunday and I realized they probably would not reach any one so I offered to help them even though I was not feeling well (small headache and nauseated) from the night before.  I also realized that I would be giving up spending time with the rest of the family in Buda if I decided to help them.  The Holy Spirit prompted me of the Homily message from the week before when I visited the National Shrine in San Juan.

My recollection of the short Homily from a week ago is as follows:

The priest asked the audience the following two questions:  Who are you and Why are you here?  We are from God since He created us in his image and we are here to meet, love, and serve others period!!!

So I went home, picked up my tools, and had Tomas ping me their location on my phone.  On the way to San Marcos, I asked God to help me since I was still feeling kinda weak from the night before.  A few minutes later, I arrived and removed a faulty pulley around the Serpentine belt because it was completely frozen.  I took them to O’Reilly’s Auto Part store and they purchased a replacement pulley.  I had them request a loaner tool (a tensioner bar) from O’Reilly’s to re-position the Serpentine belt.  Fortunately, they had one!  I couldn’t believe how easy everything turned out.  My energy level was high and my nausea had gone away.  The whole process took less than an hour and I was off to Buda to rejoin the rest of the family at Cracker Barrel.  God’s timing is good!!!   I arrived as they were finishing their food but was pleasantly surprised to be served a plate of hot food that had been ordered for me while I was en-route.

We sat outside Cracker Barrel in their rocking chairs and handed my father-in-law his birthday cards and presents!

Earlier in the week, when I was shopping at HEB I felt God prompting me to pick up a crossword puzzle.  I questioned it because I have not worked on a crossword puzzle in more than 20 years but I complied and purchased a 1000 pieced crossword puzzle.  Little did I know it would be difficult and take me more than 4 days to complete it.  God taught me a valuable lesson while completing this puzzle which I would like to share with you.  As human beings, we like to know what our destiny is?  However, God doesn’t think the way we do because he knows the past, present and future of our destiny already.  He may tell you what you are to become in the future but He won’t share with you the details on how you will get there.  As human beings, we like to be in control and know what is coming up.

King David was told by God when he was a young man that one day he was going to become king.  David knew the end result and was elated but he did not know the details.  Little did he imagine that he would be running for his life for several years and live in a cave before he became king.  If God shared with us the details there would be no need for faith.  God already knew what the completed puzzle looked like.  I just had to be patient and faithful in placing one puzzle piece at a time.  God intentionally leaves out the details of our lives so we have to depend on Him every day, not ourselves! 

I took the liberty to read Joel Osteen’s latest book, Blessed in the Darkness which talks about how all things are working for us through God’s grace.  Joel assures us that God will leads us through green pastures as well as guide us though dark valleys.  Joel encourages us to trust that God’s hidden blessings in times of trouble will transform us as we grow closer to him by faith.

It is hard to believe that my 30 day Sabbatical is coming to an end.  All in all,  it was a good experience.   I feel rejuvenated in mind, body and soul.  Thank you Kris for the opportunity to get closer to God!

To finish up my sabbatical, I did my service project. For this, I felt called to serve my Church, The Well. For those of you that may not know, The Well is a recent church plant that is backed by the Acts 29 ministry. As is typical of these churches, the congregation is overwhelmingly comprised of younger generations, especially college students and young families with small children. Given this demographic, the Church nursery is nearly overrun every Sunday. Thankfully, The Well does have another space that the children’s ministry can expand into; however, it is in need of attention.

Going into my sabbatical I knew that I would be serving at The Well, but given the constant changes in the Church’s needs I was not positive what I would be doing. Given the churches current needs, I was blessed to be able to perform some tender loving care to what will be our new children’s area. I spent my time on my knees painting baseboards, walls, and generally cleaning the space. What I found most rewarding about my project was to have some alone time in our new Children’s area. During my time, I was able to pray for this new Children’s area and the kids that would come through these walls. I prayed for those that would nurture these kids and that they would have the words to bring kids to Jesus. This alone time was certainly fruitful and I hope that both the physical changes I made and the spiritual pleas I made will be evident.

Wrapping up, this sabbatical gave me amazing opportunity to serve, rest, and be with my family. This past month has been more joyous than I could have thought and it was perfectly capped off with my daughter starting to walk yesterday. It was quite an ending to an awesome month!

The first two weeks of my sabbatical have been a whirlwind. We welcomed Lucille Autumn Koehler into the world on November 18^th at 1:58am. She decided to bless us a few weeks earlier than expected, my due date wasn’t until December 4^th. She was born a perfect 6lb 13oz and 18.5in long. Once we were released from the hospital we entered our new life as a family of 3! (Plus our 2 Great Danes, Hansel and Gretel)

It is crazy to think that just two weeks ago our lives were so much different. We are now figuring out her schedule, between feedings, changing, and sleeping. She has been an absolute blessing. Thankfully, she has made this adjustment easy on us so far, she has a steady routine that we try to follow daily.

During my first two weeks at home, we have had quite a few visitors. Our families have come to see Lucille a few times a week. Josh’s family travels over 2 hours to spend time with her. It is wonderful to be surrounded by family. She has been showered with love and affection since the day she was born. Hansel and Gretel enjoy her as well, from the moment we walked in the door they knew she was their baby sister. They have been gentle and loving, they even follow us to the nursery when we go to change her or put her down for a nap.

I am looking forward to making as many memories as possible during our time at home together. The next few weeks will be ones I will cherish forever.

I just made it home from a week in Gulf Shores, AL with my dear friend Mary and our 2 4 legged children. I met Mary 30 plus years ago at the cemetery where I started my career. Mary was the General Manager at that time. About a year later SCI bought the cemetery, built the funeral home and Greenoaks became one of their premier combos. She retired after 30 plus years in the business. Mary is more like my big sister and helps me so much when I am out of town taking care of my Dusty. We’ve not been able to get away like this for about 6 years, so this was very special for both of us. For many years I have always gone to Destin or Panama City when I traveled to the coast. We decided to try Gulf Shores because it was closer and its harder for Mary to drive long distances now. Everything was perfect! The beach was so much better than it was the last time I was there…….many years ago. The water was clear, the sand was white and the weather perfect. We rented a beach house, which was a first for me. We have always stayed in a condo. Not many of the condos will accept pets, and we were not going to leave them behind. After our stay in the house, it will be hard to go back to the condo:) The week was spent reading, long naps, a little shopping, the best oysters and drinks at the Flora-Bama and long walks on the beach. There is nothing better than walking the beach at sunrise talking to God. God has truly blessed us in so many ways, with so many beautiful things.

Left Monday to my mother’s home in College Station, Texas.  Later on in the evening, I had supper with my mother, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, his wife and their two young sons – Thomas & Alexander.  I truly enjoyed spending time with them especially Alexander.

A few days earlier, my Mom asked me if I could drive her to Mission, Texas so she could place my father’s cremated remains at Valley Memorial Gardens.  I found it strange that God had orchestrated this trip during my Sabbatical.

The plan was to get up early on Tuesday and drive the 8 hours to Mission, Texas.  Unfortunately, during the night my mother became ill and could not accompany me on the trip.  My Mom was devastated since hotel reservations and cemetery funeral arrangements were made and could not be refunded within 24 hours.   She attempted to negotiate with the hotel but they flatly refused to refund her money.  Therefore, I offered to make the trip on her behalf so she wouldn’t lose her money.

My Mom mentioned shortly thereafter that she had heard a clear voice calling out her name early that morning around 3:00 AM and thought it was me.  She even walked towards my room but realized that the door was closed and I was sound asleep.  I assured her it wasn’t me because I would have never called her by her first name.  I believe it was my dad trying to communicate with her!

My dad passed away in late August and was cremated thereafter.  My sister took half of my Dad’s cremated remains in early October to Kentucky to be laid next to his parent’s graves as he had requested on his death bed.  My mother insisted on holding my Dad’s remaining ashes at home until she died and was placed to rest.  As several weeks went by, my mother created a small altar at home around his urn which greatly concerned those around her (friends, neighbors and family) because they thought it was sacrilegious.   I elected not to pressure her and to honor her wish sensing she needed some more time to process his death.  To this day, I believe my Dad was trying to let my mom know early that Tuesday morning that it was time for him to be laid to rest?  All I know is that it felt oddly strange?

I left my mother’s home and after traveling for several hours, I checked in to the Embassy Hotel & Suites in Mission, Texas.  I decided that evening to venture out and enjoy an order of Patos (carne guisada tacos with cheese) from one of my childhood favorite eating place-Mrs G’s Tacos N More which was formerly known as El Pato Mexican Food before Mrs. G sold it to a private investor who extended her 6 humble locations to over 14 locations throughout the Rio Grande Valley.  El Pato is recognized as a rite of passage in the Tex-Mex culinary world and has been written several times in Texas Monthly since 1986.

Greasy but, irresistibly tasty!!!!!!!!!

Early Wednesday morning, my Dad’s cremated remains were placed deep inside a single ground space that my parents are expected to share next to other deceased family members.  My mom being a devout Catholic plans to be buried in a traditional casket and placed above his cremated remains.

Their was no one available to officiate the burial so I decided to read the Twenty-Third Psalm out loud, the Lord’s prayer and a Prayer for the Dead that I found online on my I-phone.  It felt strange witnessing the burial of my father on my own.   However, I felt a genuine sense of peace after the funeral.

Afterwards, I decided to go to San Juan, Texas to the National Shrine – Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle.

The statue of Our Lady was humbly displayed inside a much smaller church next to the new larger Basilica several years earlier.  It was rescued by Father Patricio who coincidentally married my wife and I thirty three years ago (which also happens to be Christ’s age when He died).

My recollection from talking to Father Patricio was that a small private airplane intentionally plowed into the smaller church as an apparent suicide causing lots of destruction and a blazing fire.  Father Patricio was performing Mass and personally rescued Our Lady from the blazing fire.  He mentioned that no one inside the small church was hurt thanks to Our Lady’s protection!

As word traveled of the miracle that day many devout Catholic’s started pilgrimages to the small church requiring a much larger church as time went by until it became a national shrine.  Father Patricio passed away a few years ago and chose up to his death not to take any credit for saving Our Lady from the blazing fire that proceeded from the airplane crash.   It was truly an honor to know this humble man of God!

While I was at the Basilica, my mom called and asked me to follow up with another family friend, Father Lee Acosta who unbeknownst to me suffers from Parkinson’s.

The Basilica provides for their retired and sickly priest’s and I was allowed to see him for a few minutes.  As I was leaving, I found it strange that God had led me to a Parkinson’s patient since I suspect my mother in law may suffer from Parkinson’s in the near future!  My father in law suffers from Alzheimer’s and both are living with us since Summer.

I found the trip to Mission and my visit to the Basilica in San Juan strangely orchestrated by God.  I prayed for many while I was there and even made a small petition to Our Lady on behalf of my sister who is fearful of becoming a quadriplegic perhaps later on in her life.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for reading and God Bless.  Happy Thanksgiving.