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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessings,

Vicki

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks,

Shaun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a wonderful way to start my day!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The following is some of the subjects that was discussed:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Howdy folks,

Well, today is the last day of my sabbatical. Last week I served with Love & Care Ministries in their kitchen, food pantry, & on the streets feeding those in need in Abilene. Working with L&C was certainly a rewarding experience! I was incredibly impressed how swiftly folks were served & how the kitchen always seemed to be tidy even during service. Of course, the people who work there are remarkable, Christ-like individuals who I respect a great deal for the work they are doing. I am happy that I spent my service week with L&C.

Over the weekend I have been resting & mentally preparing myself for my return to work. I also got a haircut so that y’all would be able to recognize me. Not to mention, I was able to watch so many baseball & football games I don’t think I could count them if I tried (GO ASTROS). Additionally, I deep cleaned my apartment which was much needed!

Anyway, thank you all for keeping up with my adventures throughout my sabbatical. I couldn’t have asked for a more delightful experience. What a blessing this time has been!

I will see you all in the morning,

Alec

It’s about two weeks until I start my sabbatical, and my mind is flooded with thoughts on how to make the most of it. Coming off of this Harvey flooding disaster, I guess the timing couldn’t be any better for a break. I’m thinking a lot about avoiding wasted time. A nap is not wasted time, right?

For the last few weeks I have been planning time with each member of my immediate family. A weekend away with my bride, a fishing trip with my number one son, a Casting Crowns concert with my daughter, a day trip with my mom and taking my youngest son to play in the woods. Also, there are several good friends that are going to get calls for lunch so we can catch up.

I’ve arranged to help our pastors visit home-bound and hospitalized church members, and volunteer at the Brazoria County Gathering Place, which has activity-based socials for people with Alzheimer’s and related disorders. I pray that God will help me bring some joy and comfort to people.
I also bought a new book to read entitled “How To Disciple Men”. Our “Blast and Cast Men’s Ministries” executive director contributed a chapter, so I had to check it out.

Sorry to end abruptly, but prospecting hour has arrived!

I spent the last week working in the Mission Mart.  It is the resale shop for the Grant County Rescue Mission.  The Mission is just like that organization in your town that provides service to “the least of these”: Shelter, food, and a chance to survive, sprinkled with the Hope, and held together by the love of He who holds us all in the palm of His hand.

So, people donate stuff (that is the kindest word I can use to describe it) to the Mission.  The Mission uses volunteers and some paid folks (usually residents of the mission) to sort through the donations.  Unfortunately, much of what is given is garbage.  It goes to the dumpster.  Things that can be sold are priced and taken to the floor or stored for such a time as they are needed there.  Clothing that is too used or dated (or too dirty!  Do you suppose if the belt is still in the pants, they were washed before being stuffed into that plastic bag?) to be sold is placed into huge bales.  It is sold, by the pound, and somehow transported to Africa.  Metal products that cannot be sold on the floor is saved and sold for scrap.  This way, even things that are completely unsuitable can be valuable.

In theory, this should all happen seamlessly.  Donations should be processed within 24 hours of reception.  Unfortunately, it has not been working this way. Stuff is piled everywhere in the intake area.  Bags and boxes of clothing are everywhere.  Stacks of books fill the space.  To make matters worse, the store they have in a neighboring community is switching from its normal format to be a Christmas Store.  All their non-Christmas stock is being funneled into this space.

My plan is to come in and whip the reception area into shape.  To do this we need to process what is in the area, and come up with a plan to make sure that we are not over-run, again.  I had planned to be back earlier the week before to line up volunteers, but if you read my last blog, you know that did not happen.  At any rate, I show up at 9 AM Monday morning.  I am pleasantly surprised to greet 3 additional volunteers from my church in the next 15 minutes.

To say that sorting through the things people give to the mission is humbling would be an understatement.  To speak, out-loud, some of the things I touched in the last week, would be worse.  At any rate, we cannot formulate any kind of plan until the mountain of donations is sorted, so that is where we begin.  The primary component of the pile is clothing.  The clothing needs to be sorted.  Things that could be sold need to be folded and placed into tubs to be priced.  The clothing that is not suitable for re-sale in the store goes into bins.  From the bins, it goes into the baler.  Tim, a resident of the mission, mans the baler.  When he has a sufficient quantity of clothes, they are compressed, bundled together, and a fork lift moves it to the stack of bales across the room.  When there are enough bales, they load them into a truck, off they go to Africa, and the Mission gets the money it needs to keep operating.

Monday comes and goes.  We have one bale which has been moved, and we are about 2/3 of the way into making bale number two.  Time to go home and shower.

Tuesday….no volunteers but me, today, and Houston (or Abilene) we have a problem.  The fork lift is broken.  No fork lift means they cannot move the bales.  Oh well, it will get fixed, so I keep on sortin’.  I have filled the bin by quitting time, so tomorrow it will get baled.

Wednesday….still, no forklift, and the powers that be have decided that some of the old storage methods are unsuitable.  They need to be torn down.  This means we have to shuffle.  Space is a valuable asset, and we don’t have much of it here.  I feel like we are doing one of those puzzles where you keep sliding the pieces, so you can move the piece you want into the space you want.  My mother in law shows up to help.  My pile of clothes to be baled is ever increasing.

Thursday….Rumors of fork lift and fork lift repair are rampant!  But no, it still does not work.  Interestingly enough, I have been fighting the urge, all week, to take this matter into my hands.  I am sure that I could find someone to get it fixed.  I am also pretty confident that I could raise the money to get it repaired or find a new-used one.  But I have been reading this book on humility and the previous two weeks showed me that I don’t get to plan or fix everything.  This battle is not mine to fight. I am a volunteer.  My job has gone from planning the future, making sure this backlog of donations never happens again, to catching up from the past.  All I need to do here is keep sorting.  Today, I have two volunteers who have come to help me.

My goal was to have this area sparkling by the end of the week.  Everything in its place and a place for everything.  Here is the reality on Friday afternoon.  There is a pile of clothing waiting to be baled.  And by pile, I mean pile.  It easily stretches 10 foot square.  It easily stands 5 feet tall.  We are probably 75% sorted.  The fork lift is still broken, and I think the place looks no better than it did when I walked in on Monday.  As I prepare to leave, someone else shows up with donations!  I am defeated.

Lori, Sasha and Betty, the ladies who run the store, on the other hand, are elated.  They cannot believe what has gotten accomplished.  They expected us to get done about 1/3 of what we did.  They tell me the fork lift will get fixed, the Lord always provides.  Tim, the baler dude, about talks my leg off now, and at the beginning of the week, we barely spoke.

I guess I do not get to decide what success is.  I just get to help.  And, I vow to stop making plans, or at least, I plan to!

As my sabbatical continues I realize how great it has been to have so much free time and to be able to use that time to bond and help others. This past weekend was busy, exciting and oh so tiring!

The weekend started off as I volunteered for the Muckfest event hosted by the MS society. It is a massive mud run similar to that of the mud run put on in Abilene for AYSA. The day for it was cold starting at 8 am at 40 degrees and ending around 4 at 50 degrees. Thankfully as bad as that sounds I was running around enough to be glad it was that cold. At the event, I was given the job as special ops captain so I would be dragged all over the event to help in areas as needed. The best part about that role was being able to talk and interact with so many people as the day went on.

Also, this weekend was my mother’s 60th birthday party. My sisters and I got together to surprise her and we all came up to take her out to dinner. Somehow she didn’t remember I was coming up after the muckfest to pick up stuff that was left there from the wedding. So it ended up being an amazing surprise when she saw all three of us arrive without any warning. It was great to hang out with my mother and family again and eat dinner together just like when we were all little.

Throughout my time with FD I have been fortunate enough to develop relationships with customers that extend beyond a business relationship. As a Select Producer I worked with Niedhard Minges Funeral Home in Cincinnati. One of their funeral directors is John Wiessmann. John and I have become good friends over the years. We both share common interest and hobbies like deer hunting, camping, sporting clays and the outdoors in general.

One of my hobbies that John began to take interest in is Taxidermy. Over the years I have mounted my own whitetail deer as well as close friends of mine. Last December, John contacted me to asked me if I would mount his deer and teach him how to do it. I quickly said yes and was very excited to pass this skill along. We both have had very busy schedules and have not been able to connect to complete the mount until now.

I have always enjoyed teaching someone something that they show great interest in and watch their skills develop. Some of my most fond memories as an at-need director was taking in mortuary school students that have never seen an embalming and train them on the process and the science behind it all. Over the weeks, I would watch their skills develop to the point they were embalming and I was just over seeing.

John came over on Thursday and we spent the day together mounting his deer. I am so grateful to have been able to spend this time with my friend and help him complete his whitetail deer mount! (The foam pieces and the pins in the images below are only there to keep everything in place while the glue dries. Once the glue is dried the pins and foam pieces will be removed.)

I would like to say thank you to Kris, the Board and my FDLIC family for giving me this opportunity/blessing to spend a week with my parents.  A special thanks to two of my sister who have been care givers for my parents for the last four years after my mom had a heart attack and now suffers with dementia.  Dad also suffers from lupus.  There have been many difficult days, but my parents are fighters.

Surprise!  Surprise!  I did not tell my parents that I would be coming to stay a week with them.  I rang their doorbell last Sunday morning and stepped in with my luggage.  Guess who is here for a week?   Dad gave me a big grin, mom ask the question, “what about Leonard?”  I assured her he would be okay.  Next question, “what about work?”  I assured her it had been okayed all the way to the top.  Her next reply was, “well I need to talk to him(Kris).”  I do not know about what nor did I inquire further.  She was in a debate with one of my sisters about finishing her breakfast before Church.  She asked me are you with them or me.  I took the fifth and kept my mouth shut.  I was thinking to myself this is going to be a challenging week.

I went to my old bedroom which I had not slept in for some 40 years.  On the bed was a note that said, “Good Luck!”  The other sister handed me a daily routine schedule.  This consist of taking vitals before breakfast, taking medications, encouraging activities during the day (puzzles, games, etc.), lunch and more medication, nap time @ 1:30, vitals again @ dinner and more medicine, daily walking & visiting around 6:00 pm and showers starting @ 7:30(that is for everybody).   Monday & Thursday are laundry days.  Wednesday & Sunday are Church days.  It was a great schedule, but I ran into two road blocks.  First, both of them got a cold (Doctor appointments).  It threw them all off schedule and me as well.  Second, Dad usually cooks breakfast and my sister cooks lunch and supper.  I became the fulltime cook for all meals.  Those of you know I only have a kitchen in the home because it came with the house.  I not only did all the cooking, but my mom, dad & one of our guest complimented me on the meal one night.

Dad and I would start the day by watching the sunrise.  It was our one on one time to talk about Church, family, sports (LA Dodgers to be exact), politics and solved the jumble word puzzle for the day.  Mom usually joined us around 9.  She can be stubborn, but I am too.  Our activities included word games, cards and her favorite, dominoes.  The key was to keep her busy otherwise she would sleep the day away.  I got my walking papers on Wednesday, but told her politely thanks, but no thanks.  She decided to let me stay.

When I married Leonard 43 years ago, my mom told him she had a no return policy.  Dad and her wanted to keep me by the end of the week.  Words can not describe the memories of this past week.  My prayers go out to all care givers.  It is a ministry that requires patience, more patience, dedication and love.  My parents have always been independent and now my Dad says he humbly swallows his pride and let us help.  They are both fragile and I thank God we still have them.  I left today (Sunday) sad faces with one of them being mines.  Precious memories, how they linger, how they will ever flood my soul.  Thank God for two great parents.

These days have been very quiet and uneventful. Although I made plans to volunteer at a nursing home for a couple of days, there were conflicts that did not allow me to offer my time.  It just did not work out.  So I went another direction.  

Proverbs 19:21Amplified Bible (AMP)

This is the second day of my sabbatical, and I am finding it to be both spiritually and physically healing, not to mention mentally.  Last week I had to have knee surgery, so I am starting out at a turtle’s pace.  I have already started exercises.  Tomorrow I get my stitches out, and hopefully get rid of these crutches.  Although pain medication and I do not get along, I found it to be a necessary component for this part of the process.  So I apologize for not writing this yesterday.  I just needed a little time to clear my head.

Last night I began reading the book “The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived”.  Of course, this book is about the life and trials of the only begotten Son of God, recorded at John 3:16.  For those who do not believe in God, or his inspired word the Bible, it gives historical facts that Jesus existed.  In the book, Napoleon Bonaparte is reported to have said: “Jesus Christ has influenced and commanded His subjects without His visible bodily presence.”  What a powerful statement!

Before I sign off, I wanted to thank all those responsible at FDLIC for making this sabbatical possible.  I can not count the number of people in the Funeral Homes that I represent, that expressed their wish to work for a company that shows their appreciation in such a way.

Jas 2:26  Indeed, just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.  Through their actions, FDLIC shows how they value their employees.

Thank you so very much!

Debra Self

I cant believe that 3 weeks have already flown by.  The first two weeks of sabbatical were a little busy with weddings and volunteering so it was really nice to have very little planned going into week 3. I started reading “The Shack” this week and am loving it.  This book has been on my list of books to read for sometime now and I am really enjoying finally getting a chance to read it.  I am hoping to finish it by the end of the week.  I’ve also used this time to get back into running seriously. I figured now that the weather is getting cooler, it is about time I start getting serious again and start training for my next half marathon.  The goal is to be ready to run the Cowtown Half Marathon at the end of February!

Along with lots of relaxing this week, I did have a bit of fun last Saturday.  I was asked to come back to McMurry to be a guest speaker for their LEAP leadership conference.  The conference was held for students that are currently at McMurry. 18 alumni in various degree fields came together to talk to the students about their journey since graduating from McMurry as well as provide any advice we wish we had known before entering the “real world”.  I was 1 of 4 alum representing the Computer Science department.  2 of the guys graduated before I came to McMurry so it was great to meet them and hear about what they are doing now.  The other alum and I graduated in 2015 together so it was really great catching up with him! I probably would never have talked to him again otherwise, so that was cool.  I have only been out of college for a little over 2 years, so it was a little strange sitting across from students so eager to hear what we had to say. Wasnt I just in your seat?!  I met a lot of really great students and by the end of the day I really felt like I might have provided some pretty good advice.  I was also given the opportunity to talk up FD which is always fun.  I did not know FDLIC existed until one of my professors gave me the information for the summer apprenticeship. Only 1 or 2 of the 50 something students in that seminar room had ever heard of FDLIC, so I took the opportunity to give them my version of who FDLIC is and the opportunities available to them through us.  I’m no recruiter, but I was able to speak from personal experience about what a wonderful place I have the opportunity to work for. I am hoping to see a little more participation from McMurry when apprenticeship and internship application come around in all departments!

After talking about my job and coding all day Saturday, I really am excited to get back into the swing of things!  I’m looking forward to spending this last week relaxing and finishing up a few small things around the house so that everything will be ready to go come Wednesday. Until next time! 🙂

I was still and He knew. My meditation was exactly what I needed to get my sabbatical underway. I spent my time reflecting on where I am. Not just in my life but with my relationship with God. I needed this time to listen with no distractions. I can now focus on the areas in my life which need strengthening. My relationship with God needs to come first. Sounds easy enough to say but I need to live it. I need to spend less time worrying about trivial everyday ‘issues’ and focus on if what I am doing right now is what God wants me to do.

Day 23 – Thursday, October 5th

Jonas did great on our two flights to Tampa to visit my brother and sister-in-law. Jordan, my brother, was still on a business trip to Finland, so we drove to Daytona Beach to enjoy the Atlantic coast for a few days. 

Day 24 – Friday, October 4th

We planned to go to the beach on Thursday, but a recent storm (just a storm, not Hurricane Irma) created rough waters and washed up lots of debris. Our AirBNB host recommended the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, which is the tallest lighthouse in Florida, and we had a great day adventuring. Visiting the Lighthouse Museum definitely made me appreciate the hard work of past generations.

Day 25 – Saturday, October 7th

Thankfully, the beach was open on Saturday or I would have had an upset little boy and an unhappy husband on my hands. We all had a great time playing in the sand, swimming, and surfing. It was wonderful to enjoy the day together.

Day 26 – Sunday, October 8th

On Sunday, we drove up the coast to St. Augustine and visited the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoo, which has an exhibit that contains every species of crocodilian in the whole world. AND since we’re members of the Abilene Zoo, our admission was half off!

After we enjoyed the zoo, we got some ice cream and drove back across the state to meet Jordan and Kim for dinner. We hadn’t seen them since last Christmas so it was fantastic to spend a few days with them.

Day 27 – Monday, October 9th

Kim had to work, but Jordan was able to take off to hang out with us for a couple of days. We met Kim for lunch and then went to the Florida Aquarium, also half-off with our Abilene Zoo membership. We also took the Wild Dolphin Cruise into Tampa Bay and a young male dolphin swam right up to the boat! My phone went dead, so Jordan let me use his to take pictures, but I only have a few of the files. 

Day 28 – Tuesday, October 9th

On Tuesday, we just hung out at Jordan and Kim’s house. Kim cooked a delicious dinner and then we watched some Netflix after Dave and I packed up to head home. It was nice to just spend time with them and talk.

Day 29 – Wednesday, October 10th

We flew safely back to Abilene and my parents picked us up and took us to dinner. It was nice to sleep in my own bed after a lovely vacation. 

Day 30– Thursday, October 11th

My sister was very kind to house-sit for us while we were away and I am very thankful that our toilet didn’t break on her. It waited until the night we got back! It’s an old model from the 50s and a metal piece rusted through. I am so so blessed to have my dad in town! He fixed the toilet for us while I had a relaxing last day on the couch. This sabbatical was such an rewarding experience! Thank you, Kris, and FD for being such a blessing!

Hola Amigos,

Over the last couple weeks I have made my way back to Texas, attended ACL Fest, and enjoyed some quality time with my parents & my grandparents in San Antonio & Laredo respectively.

The drive back to Texas from Los Angeles was beautiful. I was excited about the road trip before I left, but I couldn’t have foreseen the beauty I would experience along the way. From the peaks in CO to the canyons in AZ, I was stunned by the colors the Earth revealed to me. I have never been so mesmerized like I was while driving through the California desert. The mountains & the desert seemed to stretch on forever to me. Although my two shortest days of driving (8 & 9 hrs.) were through the desert, those days seemed to be the most exhausting to me when compared to the my 13 hr. trip on Sat, Sep. 30 through West TX -> CO. Anyway, the interstate trip was a grand success & quite enjoyable. By the Grace of God, I made it round trip with zero car trouble or severe traffic incidents.

I spent the weekend of Oct. 13-15 in ATX at Austin City Limits Music Festival. This was my fourth year in a row to attend (survive) the affair. This year was especially cool because one of my friend’s birthdays was on the 14th which was the day we were able to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers (his favorite band).  I too enjoyed their set not only because I love their music, but also because their bassist (Flea) provided a positive message of compassion & kindness towards one another. I felt as if this was appropriate considering the losses suffered in Las Vegas which revolved around live music. Upon concluding their set, the lead singer (Anthony Kiedis) exclaimed, “Thanks for keeping the company!” Those simple words rang so true to me at the time & still do. This entire sabbatical I have been focusing on spending quality time with family that I am not always so fortunate to see. I have been able to share & enjoy the company of those I love throughout my trip so for me, “Thanks for keeping the company” is almost like the motto for my sabbatical road trip. I am immeasurably thankful for this time as it has certainly been spent with good company.

Last week I spent my time in Laredo catching up with my grandparents & learning my grandmother’s top secret borracho bean recipe. My grandfather has become more & more frail the past two years so the time spent with him & my grandmother was really important to me. Additionally, I was able to stop in SA to bum & mooch off my parents! They were pleased to see that I was still in one piece after my weeks on the road.  I finally arrived back in Abilene on Saturday, Oct. 21 in time to celebrate ACU homecoming & visit with some beloved friends. As I write this, I am decompressing from my first community service day at Love & Care Ministries! The folks there are so kind. Not to mention, they have their meal services down to a science. Everything is so clean! I was quite impressed. I am looking forward to the remainder of my week there.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, I’ll keep y’all posted!

Peace,

Al

It has been a crazy busy start to my sabbatical so far so I apologize for the late first post. First to recap the first part of my sabbatical.

Week 1

The first week was spent preparing for my wedding. I feel like being off work during that time allowed me a crash course in marriage. As Chelsea took advantage of my free time to run an endless amount of errands and prep work. Now I don’t want to take much credit and seem like a did a lot because, in reality, it was Chelsea that made it run smoothly. My “errands” were more of go pick this up or be at X spot at X time. However, during this time we were able to grow a lot closer together and ensure everything went as smoothly as possible.

Additionally, we got to see a lot of family members and friends that we haven’t seen or talked to in a while. So that was nice to catch up with everyone from high school friends to some of mine and Chelsea’s distant relatives some of which I have never personally met.

Week 2

The second week was a lot more relaxing and stressfree. With the biggest event planned for my sabbatical done and out of the way, we were able to finally relax some. This week we were able to enjoy our honeymoon. We took a cruise out of Galveston and visited both Cozumel and Progresso. It was a lot of fun spending all the time alone together and learning a lot about each other. We each forced the other to try and do thing out of the normal. For example, Chelsea is a picky eater so I forced her to try some different foods while we were on the ship. While she forced me to just relax and sit since when I’m on vacation I like to be doing something the entire time, like going to a show or swimming but always something. However a few times she forced me to just sit with her and we would lay out on the deck of the ship.

Schedule

For the next few days, I’ll be home relaxing and beginning to read the books I have chosen. I will also be going home to visit my family for my mother’s birthday and to see my sisters and nephew. The only other thing I have planned for this week is I will be up in Dallas to volunteer at the MS Muckfest. I will be sure to write about everything that goes on as they happen.

I have spent a lot of time planning for this sabbatical.  I have planned it to coincide perfectly with my 25^th wedding anniversary which is October 10.  I plan on leaving immediately following my conclave.  I am in fact, scheduled to meet Amy at the airport.  We are going to take a 7 night cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and go to 5 islands to where we have never been.  We are going to spend a couple extra nights in San Juan, then I will return and line-up some folks to help me, as I work in the Grant County Rescue Mission’s resale shop.  The area where they accept donations is in a mess, and they need to get it organized.

We had my send off at conclave.  Kris prayed that I would get the sabbatical I needed, and not the sabbatical I wanted.  Well, there go my plans.  I couple of little things like Irma and Maria have severely messed things up.  The cruise line refused to cancel our cruise, which means the insurance will not kick in.  Our flight to Puerto Rico is still going.  Our hotels for the night before and a couple of nights after have closed and cancelled our reservations.  We cannot book an earlier flight home, as they are all filled with the folks who are trying to flee the island.  I won’t bore you with all the details, let’s just say we used the opportunity to “make lemonade when life hands you lemons” and spent more time on the cruise ship than we originally intended.

While we were on the cruise, we had the opportunity to meet a nice older couple.  One minute, I am looking at the steam coming out of the volcano on Montserrat, and the next, Phil (my new friend) is telling me he has Parkinson’s Disease.  He also tells me he knows exactly what this means for him.  As I am standing there talking with him, a young couple with a baby take my seat.  As I am supposed to be doing “deep thinking” on this sabbatical, I cannot help but stand there and be amazed.  In the presence of all this beauty, there is destruction lurking just under the surface.  There is an active volcano about 25 miles from me.  It made half of its island uninhabitable and forced 2/3 of its population to flee since 1995.  I also marvel at the speed of life.  It takes so little time to get from that young guy, holding his baby, to Phil, trying to make every moment count, while he is still able.

In all the other blogs I have read, lots of people say they can’t get used to the concept of not working.  Well then, take my advice….strand yourself in the middle of the ocean with no cell phone and very limited internet connection for an extended period of time.  It becomes pretty easy!  No desire to go to work here, and no ability to do so if I wanted!!!!

So, the extended cruise goes well, we have a great anniversary, and got in and out of Puerto Rico without “too much” trouble.  I do not, however, recommend vacationing in a disaster area.

Week one started at a campground in southwestern Ohio called Stonelick State Park.

Stonelick is a campground that Whitney and I have been going to for over a year. A couple things that we love about this campground is that it is small for a state park, and it is very quiet and relaxing. There are acres of Hiking trains and public hunting open to Squirrel and Whitetail deer. There is also a lake that is open to fishing and kayaking.

Because of my love for this park I thought it would be a great opportunity to give back, so I decided to perform my volunteer work at the park while I stayed. State parks really struggle this time of year because their summer help returns to school and leaves them shorthanded. There is a lot on the to-do list before the winter months. I started out working with a gentleman named James. Some of our duties consisted of preparing the bathhouses and shower houses for the winter months as well as cleaning them.  We also picked up garbage on the hiking trails and around the campground, and ground down tree stumps with a stump grinder.

The next couple of days I worked with a gentleman named Mike. Mike was not a state employee but a Camper Host. Mike is a retired Machinist from Goshen, Ohio. His job is to complete task around the campground for a total of at least 20 hrs. a week. In return his camping is free for the entire season. This will be my retirement job one-day 😊. Mike and I spent most of our time cleaning up all the grindings from the stumps James and I had ground out the other days. It is amazing how many loads of wood chips come from one stump. Through our efforts there are still over 100 stumps left to grind thanks to emerald ash borer.

My time at stone lick was not all work. In the evenings I was able to spend time with Whitney, after she returned from work. I was also able to enjoy one of my hobbies, cooking over a fire.

This was a wonderful experience and I am very thankful to have been able to start my sabbatical at one of my favorite state parks.

This last picture was of our first trip to Stonelick in 2016.

The end of my sabbatical blessing is near, and as I write this and reflect on the past several weeks, I realize now more than ever, that I am truly blessed!  Blessed by the family and friends that I have been able to visit, blessed by the places I have been able to go and the things I have been able to do, blessed by the great health and abilities to do all of those things, and last but definitely not least, blessed by this sabbatical time given to me.  Thank You Kris & FD!

Last week I visited my parent’s again, to work on Dad’s hot-tub house, and to take my two nephews deer hunting – one of them one weekend and the other the next weekend.   Actually, since my two nephews are grown and have their own families now, it was more like Them Taking Me hunting.  It was some great one-on-one time with them, just to get to visit and chat about almost everything from hunting and fishing, to house repair, to favorite foods, to the how and why I was off work for so long (that story was the most fun to tell!).  Didn’t see one this hunting trip, but did get some good pics from the trail-cameras, so we know they are there!

Dad and I finished the hot-tub house!  Well, at least the inside.  They still haven’t decided on the colors for painting the outside, so maybe we can finished that on Thanksgiving weekend if the weather is nice.  We dropped in a couple of windows, electrical wiring, got the insulation installed, drywall installed and painted, flooring installed, and windows and doors trimmed and base-boards done!  Might sound like a lot, but its a small room, and things moved pretty quick.  Then we got the hot-tub moved into place.  Had to turn it on it’s side to go thru the doorway, and we had about one inch to spare on all sides!  Glad my measurements were accurate (for a change)!

— Added a couple of windows

—  Then the not-so-fun job of insulation

— A bit of paint and trim, and a ceiling fan !   Done!

Missing my FD peeps!  and (almost) ready to go back to the office…..

hmmm……now what did I do with FD’s address….oh well….GoogleMaps !!!

I made a new friend last week.  Her name is Carolyn.  I had the pleasure of meeting Carolyn through my mother’s co-worker, Hillary.  Carolyn is Hillary’s mother in law.

Carolyn is married with three children, 14 grandchildren, seven GREAT grandchildren, and a dachshund name Lilly.  She resides in Orange, TX and has lived in her home, that was built in 1898, for 17 years.  She is a kind, loving, providing and strong woman who has been through three hurricanes.

Two months ago, Carolyn began preparing for Hurricane Harvey, and what was predicted to be one of the most powerful hurricanes to make landfall.  We have all seen the pictures of bumper to bumper traffic of residents trying to flee the path of hurricanes, or grocery stores stripped of all water, canned goods, generators, etc. How do you prepare for something so unpredictable?

Carolyn had attempted to flee the city when Hurricane Rita hit.  She took her daughter, who at that time was undergoing chemo treatments, and headed towards Tyler, TX. After inching along the highway, she realized they would soon run out of gas.  They exited in hopes of finding a gas station with gas, but had no such luck.  Carolyn and her daughter ended up sleeping in the car, in a shopping mall parking lot. The next morning, residents of a nearby church were distributing gas to those stranded in the parking lot.  Carolyn is forever thankful for their generosity.

This time Carolyn chose to prepare with prayer.  She took precautionary measure by gathering water, food, flashlights, candles, and checked in on her family to make sure that they were prepared as well. And then they waited (Carolyn, her husband, and Lilly).

Harvey hit and it hit hard.  News coverage and social media was flooded (no pun intended) of the devastation in Houston, Beaumont and surrounding areas. Roads were rivers, rivers were lakes, and lakes became residents front yards. You couldn’t escape the rain.

Carolyn’s home took in a foot and a half of water, and she was without electricity for four days.  The water was inconvenient, but no electricity, in humid Houston…I couldn’t do it. But Carolyn did, and she did it with a smile.

Carolyn’s husband runs a small air conditioning business, and his ‘office’ is his backyard.  Three of his work vans became ‘victims’ of Harvey and his materials were scattered like confetti.  As soon as he was able he decided to get back to work. A decision that was easily made; his services would be in demand and he is the breadwinner of the home. Unfortunately, going back to work took him away from tending to his own home. This is where I knew I could make a difference.

I wasn’t exactly sure how or what I would be doing, but the opportunity to help Carolyn and her family filled my heart with joy.

While driving to Carolyn’s house, posts that I had seen on social media came to life.  Homes destroyed, roadside trash EVERYWHERE, FEMA drop offs, empty school buildings, vacated cars. It was truly heartbreaking.

I spent the next few days cleaning and organizing Carolyn’s home.  In between sifting through tools, trash, AC parts and other miscellaneous items, I could sneak in some cuddles and kisses from Stormy.  Stormy showed up at Hillary’s home during Harvey, and by ‘showed up’ I mean she was swimming in Hillary’s front yard.

This blog is already much longer than I had planned for it to be, so I will get to the point.  Amidst all the devastation that Harvey caused, it also brought about a peace.   Peace that prayer and human fortitude can weather storms; peace that volunteering can truly make someone’s day; peace that it’s unlikely I will ever have to endure what all these folks did; and peace that good can come from something bad.

Good?  From something bad?  Yes, I saw it in Carolyn’s eyes and words.  She is strong and loves God and family.  Carolyn’s home is simple by most standards but her worth is not in material things but in relationships.

My sabbatical renewed friendships.  But the friendship I made with this stranger who is now a friend brought me peace and a remembrance of what in life is truly important.

(again – I can’t figure out how to rotate these pictures.  Sorry!)

I can’t believe I’ve already been back to work for a week!

I apologize for my lack of blogs, but I’m living in the dark ages and don’t have internet at home. It felt like my sabbatical zoomed by and was only 10 days instead of 30! Once I got back to work, I could tell I’d been gone for 30 days though- ha! Thankful for my coworkers pitching in, or I wouldn’t have made it through this first week back.

To recap, I spent my first week helping where needed at the Alzheimer Association. There were an array of tasks I helped with in preparation for “The Walk to End Alzheimer’s” fundraiser. My favorites were chalking sidewalks, baking cupcakes, and counting money! I’ve since heard that the bake sale alone raised $540 for the fight against Alzheimer’s with the total so far raised for “The Walk to End Alzheimer’s” in Abilene being $103,035.50! The next 2 weeks of my sabbatical were spent traveling the Seattle area with my parents. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with my parents for 2 weeks straight, but we had an incredibly blessed trip. The weather was gorgeous, public transportation was easily navigated, sights were seen, memories made, and attitudes stayed positive! My last week of sabbatical was spend recovering from vacation and taking care of little things around the house. It was good to get back to the gym and even though I’d walked all day every day for 2 weeks with a half marathon thrown in there, my legs could tell I’d missed a few weeks of Body Pump!

I also read a couple of books which I’ll get to in another blog post. I’m not good at summarizing what I learned, so I’ll work on that this weekend. Hopefully, I can give y’all the highlights and not retype the entire book 😉

This is a test.

Last week, I had the privilege to work at Camp Able for my service project.  For those of you who don’t know, Camp Able is located in Buffalo Gap and is a equine therapy and horse rescue non-profit organization. There are over 30 horses on the property, many of which were abused or unwanted by their previous owner. Kiddos come from all over to ride these therapy horses. I will be honest, before starting my service project last week, I may have been slightly afraid of horses…  By slightly afraid, I mean pretty much petrified if I had to stand near one.  Now im sure you are thinking “Wow Alyssa, why did you pick to work at Camp Able if you are afraid of horses?”  That is definitely what both Nic and my Mom said when I told them where I would be. Last weekend also happened to be one of Camp Able’s biggest events of the year. The Night Under The Stars event was set to be a night full of great music, good food from some awesome local food trucks, and a really good time. I figured there would be plenty of stuff to do to help with the event and maybe I would only have to hang out with the horses in passing.  Let me just tell you, God had some other plans.  I went out to Camp Able bright and early Thursday morning ready to get dirty.  We were going to be doing some outside work to get the grounds ready for the event that weekend. By outside work, I helped take down an old tree that had fallen over and moved the wood to be used as firewood, took down a fence and even mucked out a horse stall! I worked along some awesome people and time went by so quickly! Before I knew it, it was 3:30 and a small van of kiddos pulls up into the driveway.  Out come these kids that are just SO EXCITED to be there! We took them up to one of the trails and helped them plant some plants in one of the troughs on the sensory trail so that other kids could see the plants as they rode by on their horse.  I had such a great time with these kids.  When we got back to the Tack Room, each one went right over to the board and figured out what horse they would be riding today.  Then, they started grabbing their saddles and with the help of the adults got ready to ride.  Now, here I am at 24, standing off to the side while these 7 and 8 year old kids are brushing and saddling these huge animals without a fear in the world.  I figured, I can at least try to not be such a chicken.  One of the ladies that volunteers at Camp Able brought me the biggest horse on the grounds (Buddy) and showed me how to brush and really just love on him.  While the kids went up the trail with the other volunteers, I stayed behind and got acquainted to Buddy. All of my fear was pretty much gone by the time the kids came back down from the trails.  I helped them put all of their equipment away and said goodbye.  That is when Carol, the volunteer that helped me brush Buddy,asked if I wanted to ride.  Again, the apprehension kicked back in.  Why am I afraid of horses to begin with?  Well, when I was about 9 or 10, I went to an overnight camp where I was put on this massive horse.  The volunteers working at the camp did not set me up quite right.  After alittle while on the trail, my horse took off running and no amount of pulling on the reins would stop him.  Someone ended up having to ride next to me and stop the horse, with me clinging to its back for dear life. That was it for my horse riding days, until last week when I decided to conquer that fear. I learned how to saddle a horse and with the help of Cary, rode Ms Annabelle up the trail and back. This really opened the door for me the rest of the week. I was so eager to be helpful and now I could actually work with the kids instead of sit back and watch. My fear was no longer going to keep me from getting to be hands on!

Friday morning, Camp Able gets buses of kids from different schools. Last Friday, we had 3 different groups ranging from 3 to 8 kids at a time.  All of these kids just beam happiness as they jump off the bus and literally run to Ms. Renee.  Although all of these kids are special needs,  you really would never know. They were just so happy and excited to be there that morning.  We got the horses saddled up and each kid on their respective horse and rode on up the trail.  I helped walk along side one of the horses for the first 2 sessions.  When the 3rd session started, we had way more kiddos than the last 2 groups and I was asked to lead one of the kids horses.  I helped lead a little boy named Aidan up the trail and down, laughing and talking with him most of the way.  At one point, he reached over and grabbed a big leaf from one of the planters I mentioned earlier. He was so proud of that leaf he showed EVERYONE on the trail and even took it back to school with him after.  At the end of the ride, we got Aiden off his horse and with a huge smile he gave me a high five.  It was so rewarding to see how happy and confident these kids were on these horses. Seeing that made helping so worth it, and if I had let my fear stop me from trying I would never have been able to witness what Camp Able truly is first hand.

Finally, Saturday was here and except for alittle wind, the weather was PERFECT!  We could not have asked for a better day.  We got everything set up and when 5 o’Clock rolled around cars started coming and the music started playing.  If you didnt have a chance to come out this year, I highly recommend planning to come next year. A few of our friends came out to the event and after helping park and other misc. tasks, we were able to sit back and enjoy the food, music and time spent with friends. This weekend was fantastic and I am so glad I was able to spend my time working with Camp Able.  I am planning on going out to help with the kids the next 2 Friday’s of my sabbatical. Hopefully, I will be able to make helping at camp able a regular occurrence. I literally went from being terrified of horses, to learning how to saddle and ride, to leading kids up and down the trail. There is no way any of that could have happened without alittle pushing from the big man upstairs.

“They say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style.”

Carrie Bradshaw

When you look up the meaning of friend you find many definitions, one of which classifies friend as a verb which means to add (someone) to a list of contacts associated with a social networking site.  But if you dig a little deeper (into other sites), you will find definitions such as:

• Someone for whom you’re willing to change your opinions. Someone you look forward to seeing and who looks forward to seeing you. A friend is someone you like so much, you start to like the things they like.
• A fictional character from Mars.
• A person who would never intentionally hurt you, lie to you, deceive you, manipulate you, abuse you and who takes great care to be kind to you, honest with you, dependable and loyal. A friend trusts without question because they have never given you any reason not to trust them.
• Someone you enjoy being around and look forward to seeing. Someone who would sacrifice themselves for you.

Each one of these definitions holds a point (or two) of truth.  Except for the fictional character from Mars. I just found that comical; asking some of my friends to sacrifice themselves may be a little much.

How many friends do you have?  According to Facebook I have over a thousand friends; many of which are reading this blog (and please do not take this the wrong way).

During my sabbatical, I’ve had several opportunities to spend time with friends (both old, new, near and far).  And I realized –

1. I have some amazing friends.
2. In order to have friends (and keep them), it takes work. In other words, to have a friend, you must be a friend.
3. I’ve taken some of my friends for granted.

That third point is hard to admit, but all too true.

While visiting with friends, I found myself saying (too often), “Did I tell you about that one time…?” or “Remember when ‘such and such’ happened?”  Only to be reminded that I hadn’t shared such special moments with some of the most important people in my life.  How, why, when, did my life become so busy, that I didn’t take time for my friends?!

I’ll tell you how – I spend so much time focusing on things that I think are important (work, social activities, what’s for dinner, what show is on tonight), instead of things that are REALLY important (friends, family, faith).

How many times do you find yourself thinking that you know what’s going on in someone’s life only because you saw his/her Facebook status that day?  BUT, at the same time you see said person in public only to pass each other as if you haven’t the slightest clue as to who they are?!  Facebook classifies these people (and myself to others) as friends…I don’t think so.

This doesn’t mean that I’m going to ‘purge’ my social media of all the people that I don’t keep up with or speak to weekly.  It means that I have taken a step back, realized the importance of true friendship, what it means to be a real friend, and that I’m fortunate to have such wonderful friends in my life.

I may not have another consecutive 30 days off this year, next year, or in the next five years, but I do have vacation time, weekends, evenings, and holidays.  I want to use the time I do have to be more intentional when it comes to spending time with friends and family.

I think I know a lot, but this sabbatical has shown me there’s a lot more to learn, and I’m anxious, excited and ready for what’s next!

Side Note: I have realized how much I appreciate the convenience and expertise of our IT department. After multiple attempts, I gave up.  Sorry for the side-way pictures.

Sunday morning Mona and I went to Coastal Virginia Church or Cova Church where she attends.  The worship service was uplifting and there was a guest speaker that spoke about the missionary efforts to build schools around the world for the Pentecostal church.  He mentioned how God had to set certain things in place before each of the schools could be built.  For example, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the death or over throwing of several dictators in Africa and the Middle East all had to happen first.  He spoke about how they had to endure the hardship of those conditionals until God brought about the change that allowed their work to prosper and their dreams be fulfilled  He said not matter how daunting the obstacle, like the wall was, he and his group kept each other encouraged that God would make a way and that they needed to be prepared when the time came.  This went along with what Dr. Denman said about needing to encourage each other when things are not the way we feel they should be.

That evening we went to Bayside Church of Christ and Bro. Ross spoke from Acts 1:12-25.  It was the time before Pentecost but after the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ.  According to scriptures Judas must be replaced as one of the 12 Apostles.  The new Apostle had to be one who had been with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry and was an eye witnesses present at all His miraculous deeds.  Two men, Justus and Matthias fit the qualification and were prepared to step into the role.  They were not mentioned before this nor are they mentioned after this, but Matthias was sent out as one of the 12 to spread the gospel.  They didn’t know they would be called but they were prepared.

All three messages went hand in hand to confirm the message we were being given.

You might have heard the saying, “It’s the little things that make the biggest difference. “.

That phrase applied to me this past week as I helped Habitat For Humanity, working on the construction of a Habitat Home for a few days, and building cabinets in the cabinet-shop for a day, and also working a bit at the Habitat ReStore.

The little bit of knowledge I gained from them greatly increased my understanding of why and how Habitat works. From fund raising, acquiring properties, construction of the home, and basic cabinetry, to the purpose of the ReStore: to provide funding for the administrative side of Habitat, and to raise additional funds for a Habitat Home, if necessary, and to try to actually fund an entire home each year.

I hope that my little bit of help at Habitat will make just as big a difference in their lives, as they did in mine.  I learned so much about Habitat and the people there that they made a very big difference in the way I see them and what they do.  I plan on getting more involved with Habitat in the near future, so I can continue this learning and helping process!

What a great experience! And I am ready for more!

I titled my 1st blog “In The Beginning…”.  So sticking with the biblical theme, I’m calling this one “Revelations”.  Now before I get judged too harshly, I do know that the title of the last book of the New Testament is “Revelation” not “Revelations” (no “s”).  I just took a little creative license.  This is primarily about my experiences during my Sabbatical.

A really smart guy I know named Kris says, “It takes 30 days to form a habit”.  Truer words have never been spoken.  Man, a guy could get used to this. 🙂 Overall, I’ve had a very positive experience.  I suspected going into this that my favorite part would be delivering Meals on Wheels.  I was right.  Jennifer and I always enjoy doing volunteer work, and Meals on Wheels is an organization that is near and dear to our hearts.  I also really enjoyed reading “The Fred Factor”.  It’s my favorite of the reading I’ve done for the office.

I also really enjoyed going to San Antonio for my mom’s 85th birthday and hanging out with the family.  My mom was supposed to come home tomorrow after 6 months at my sister’s and having numerous doctors’ appointments.  Unfortunately, she took a really nasty fall Friday morning and spent the day at the hospital.  Fortunately, nothing’s broken, but she’s really banged up.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

As a kid growing up in the ’70s, I was a fan of rock music.  Now I’m a fan of classic rock music.  It’s the same music just 40 years older.  One of my favorite bands is Styx, and my favorite song of theirs is “Too Much Time On My Hands”.  I”m starting to get the concept.  I started my Sabbatical with a pretty healthy list of things I wanted to get accomplished.  It was awesome having the time off to take care of everything.  But after a couple of weeks, the list was pretty much done, and I found myself not feeling useful.

I started the 1st grade in 1969.  That’s right.  You heard me.  I started my 1st job June 1, 1979 less than a month after my 16th birthday.  I’ve been working or in school ever since.  That’s been the hardest part for me.  Work is what I know how to do, and I HATE feeling like someone else is having to cover for me.  I don’t even like it when it’s crunch time and you have to lean on your co-workers to get over the hump.  I’m looking forward to staring at a spreadsheet tomorrow.  Deal with it Mark Owen.

When you ask an FDLIC employee about the company atmosphere, more often than not one of the 1st words that will come up is “family”.  I miss my family, and it’s time for a big ole FDLIC family reunion.  If you’ve read any of my previous blogs you may have noticed that I ended some of them with “ciao for now” a habit I got into when I wrote friends after I moved to Abilene from San Antonio in 1979.  But since this is my last blog, I’ll just say:

See you tomorrow.

When I began this sabbatical journey, I was concerned about the amount of rest I needed to get, and how in the world am I going to sleep for eight hours! Ok, I figured it out!! I actually stressed about it a little.

Here is what I am learning: Jesus WANTS to give me rest. And He says that the way I receive rest is to be yoked with Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

When I am yoked with Him and I flow with Him, I find there is nothing heavy-hearted, ill-fitting or burdensome. Things will fall into place. I won’t be weighed down, anxious or stressed. I find that a life yoked with Him is anxiety and worry-free. Oh, and sleep comes much easier without the stress.

So, as I am flowing with Him and following His lead, I meet Karen Watts, through my friend, Cherry Bivone. Karen owns and operates a lovely clothing boutique called “Gifted Garments”. Gifted Garments ‘helps to beautifully clothe local women in need’ at no cost to them. Clothes, shoes, purses and other accessories are donated and given away! Its a lovely place!

After I interviewed her briefly, she informed me that does not take any monetary donations, just clothing. Her biggest need is getting extra large and plus size clothing.

If you have items that are at least extra large, in excellent condition, and you want to be a blessing, Karen is more than willing to accept them.

Mona and I got up bright and early to attend the Woman’s Ministry Workshop lead by Dr. Elaine Denman of TN.  There was a good crowd and we secured seats close to the front so we would not miss anything.  As the hostess welcomed us all to the event, announced the day’s agenda, speaker and topic I realized that I had the right speaker, but the wrong event. This was a one day ladies seminar not a two day workshop.  However, we were there and it sounded good so we stayed.  Dr. Denman’s topic was How Real Are You? Relationships, Encouragement, Authenticity, Love in a Fake Society.  It was amazing!  The scriptures were taken from Philippians 1:9-11, Colossians 3:1, Ephesians 1:3-14 and Hebrews 10 – 11:1-15.  She talked about how our 1st and primary goal in life is not to be successful, make lots of money, drive fancy cars, have a million Facebook friends or Tweet followers but to Serve and Glorify God by having a true and personal relationship with Him that is actively cultivated every minute of every day.

How do we do this?  By prayerfully asking God to:  (1) Bless me with every Spiritual (not worldly) blessing;  (2) Chose me to be a holy and blameless instrument for His use;  (3) Adopt me as a true daughter (or son) freely immersed in His Grace, Redeemed and Forgiven;  (4) Chose me to Be a Praise of His Glory; and (5) To be included in Christ marked and sealed with the Blood of the Lamb in the Spirit of God.  Those are some TALL PRAYERS!  Dr. Denman illustrated how the Heros of the Old Testament showed these traits even in the midst if all their mistakes and imperfections.  Hero’s like Abraham, Issac, Jacob, David, Soloman and Rehoaboam.  They were able to accomplish all they did not because they were perfect, but due to their unwavering faith.  It also showed that is was generational.  A Mother with a strong devoted life of faith has a daughter who knows God but sees faith as more of an obligation than a choice.  That daughter has a daughter who doesn’t see what all the fuss is about has not use for God.  What happened?  The Mother allowed her daughter to see her faith but didn’t instill in her the reason for her faith.  Because if that, the daughter had nothing to give the granddaughter.

The blessings we receive from God are not for our benefit.  They are to show His glory, grace and mercy in our lives.  This will attract others to have Faith in God and want to serve Him because He is Good and Worthy to be served.

I could go on and on but I think that’s enough to get the meaning.   The seminar lasted from 9 am to 3 pm with lunch provided.  Many women renewed their commitment to Christ and some had questions about living a Christian life.  It was a wonderful experience that left Mona and I strengthened and more committed to be beacons to draw others to Christ.

When first offered the opportunity to take a sabbatical, one would think you would be ecstatic.  A full 30 days, paid and I CANNOT interact with work AT ALL?! Wow…who wouldn’t be?!

Well, I can tell you that I was not.  I didn’t know what to think, or what to do.  I don’t know how to NOT work.  And honestly, the thought of reflecting on myself, my relationships, and many other aspects of my life was quite terrifying.  Work has a way of keeping one busy, so it’s easy to overlook or ignore the outside world or your inner being.  I mean think about it, you spend most of your week at an office, where you’re completing tasks, only to go home after work or on the weekend to tend to other tasks you didn’t get to during the week while at the office.  What are you supposed to do for 30 days without miscellaneous tasks, responsibilities, meetings, etc.?!

But despite my fears, anxiety, and the unknown, I chose to take a sabbatical.

I am now on week 3 of 4, and apologize for just now blogging.  Never fear, Ray – three (if not more) blogs are coming.

I mentioned that I didn’t know what I would do without work…well, it turns out that I have found plenty to do!  I will not bore you with every detail of each day, but instead I will touch on some of the memorable and unexpected moments of my sabbatical (so far).

Week One (& half of two) – traveling

During my first week of sabbatical, I chose to travel.  I figured the best way to disconnect was to disengage myself from Abilene.  If I hadn’t left Abilene, you might have seen me trolling the office parking lot.

So, on Friday, September 22^nd after saying my “goodbye’s” and “see ya in a month”, I took off to Dallas.

I spent the following 12 days visiting with family, friends, and eating WAY too much food (hence a habit I will elaborate on in a later blog).  I have three sets of Aunts and Uncles, several friends, and my little sister who currently live in Dallas.  Seems like plenty of people to keep me busy, right?  Right, but not so right.

I have some very special friends and family that voluntarily took time away from work, to spend time with me – for that I am so thankful and grateful.  My first week was SO GREAT! There was sleeping in (if you count until 8am), great company, delicious food, new adventures, shopping, napping…OH MY GOSH NAPPING, just SO MUCH GOOD!

My second week was very different.  It finally set in that I couldn’t expect my friends and family to hang out or visit with me at 2:00pm on a Tuesday…they were at work.  Just because I was on sabbatical, didn’t mean that everyone else was.  Reality set in, I was alone and couldn’t rely on anyone to tell me what to do next, or keep me busy.

Remember, how I said I don’t know how to NOT work…I also don’t know how to NOT do, or go all time.  Growing up I always lost the quiet game, and heaven forbid you ask me to be still for five minutes.

As I sat in my Aunt’s bedroom (alone), I began to reflect on myself.  I will admit that I tried to avoid this, I scrolled through TV channels, played with my hair, reorganized my suitcase, I even tried to master the ‘smoky eye’ (key word – TRIED), but in the end I still found myself staring out the window watching cars drive by wishing the leaves would change to a brilliant red, all the while analyzing myself.

Without getting too deep, here are a few (okay, several) points I realized about myself (and other things)

• I do not enjoy being alone.
• I cannot do a smoky eye
• I really enjoy cooking. I’m not very good at it, but that’s okay.
• I drive like Danica Patrick in Dallas traffic.
• I love to love.
• I can sleep without a TV on.
• I enjoy visiting with strangers.
• I don’t like pomegranate (at least not in fruit shakes).
• I like deviled eggs.
• French onion soup taste nothing like the dip.
• I am on my own journey. And it’s beautiful
• I love my job.
• I miss my coworkers.
• I enjoy working out (no, that’s not a typo).
• I have separation anxiety (from my dogs).
• I may be too stubborn.

And above all else

• I AM BLESSED.