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I made all kinds of progress today . Everything from laundry to dishes etc. I have a house again !!!! I did a little work on the outside as well , i pressure washed my siding . Now its all pretty again. Also sprayed off the front porch as well looks nice.
I also had a Appt. Today for physical therapy , sadly it doeant seem to be helping like i had hoped but it get better i know it will . On a side note i am missing my kiddos they went to their dad’s , feels weird with them not here boring !!
Not to much going on today to tell . I will be posting some pictures soon . Everyone have a blessed and wonderful day .

I spent my third week volunteering at Global Samaritan Resources. What a wonderful organization! They not only meet needs all over the world, but also serve people in the Abilene area. Last year I read an article in the newspaper written by the executive director at that time, Danny Sims. As soon as I read it, I knew I wanted to volunteer with them. The article was written right after the terrorist attack in Nice, France. It starts out addressing the helpless feeling we have when something like that happens – what can we possibly do? The article states there is something simple, yet significant: sending food and kindness to people displaced by war. While it won’t fix the conflict, showing love to refugee families can bring light into their dark world and change their future.

The first two days I sorted through donated bags full of stuffed animals. Coming from someone who still has her first teddy bear, I really loved this job. Some of the stuffed animals will stay in the Abilene area to be distributed by first responders when they encounter young children during a crisis. Others will be shipped to Iraq to be distributed to refugee children. All of the donated stuffed animals are examined for rips and holes, then sent to A-Town Cleaners where they are cleaned for no charge. Any toys that are too large, too small, contain words or logos, or are too scary are pulled out. Any toys that Global Samaritan cannot use are taken to the Christian Service Center. I packed two large boxes of stuffed animals to send to Iraq, and delivered 5 bags of toys to the Christian Service Center.  When I entered the CSC, I heard my name – it was Sarah Bailey, who was doing her volunteer work there. How nice to see FDLIC employees volunteering all over town.

On day three, a semi arrived from San Angelo full of donations collected by a church in San Angelo. Global Samaritan’s job was to organize the pallets and prepare them for shipping to Amman, Jordan. Jason Gazaille was also volunteering that week and we both helped Esther and Sal prepare the pallets. Each pallet must be a certain size before it can be wrapped and weighed, and the boxes are all verified against the spreadsheet provided by the church. Esther told us that having two extra people helped them finish the shipment a week sooner than they expected. It made me feel so good that we were able to make a difference while we were there.

The following is the excerpt from Danny Sims’ article that really spoke to me. He said, “No one knows the number of lives and future decisions sending food will affect. But this is the answer to the question ‘What does sending food have to do with Nice, France and terror?’ Maybe not much today, but maybe everything tomorrow. We cannot, as Christians, do nothing. We should not, as Americans do nothing…So what can we do? One Army sergeant told us, ‘Keep sending food. Sending more compassion and kindness than we send bombs is our only hope.’ I asked him how many others in the US were sending food (to Northern Iraq)? He paused for a moment then said, ‘You guys in Abilene, Texas are the only ones.’ Abilene and Global Samaritan are sending kindness and hope. It is something we can actually do in response to terror.”  The entire article is posted on the Global Samaritan website: https://globalsamaritan.org/terror-again-what-can-we-do/

If you ever think one person can’t make a difference, go volunteer somewhere and you’ll see that you can make a difference.

In week three of my sabbatical I focused on my bible studies and a home building project.  To relax and remove stress I enjoy physical activity.  One of my favorite things to do is to build something.  I enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I built something from start to finish without assistance.  I learn from these experiences, reduce mental fatigue and get to enjoy the outdoors in summer.  During my sabbatical 7 years ago, I built a workshop with an entertainment room and steam room.

This year my objective was to add a balcony to my previous project.  Blow are a few pictures of the “almost” finished project.

Cousins

My daughter, Ilaria, spoke almost exclusively Italian 2 years ago when we moved to the States. She understood English, but had always spoken in Italian. Now it is the exact opposite. She understands Italian, but won’t speak it. The other day, after she got over her initial disorientation, she asked me, “Mami, does everyone at the beach speak Italian?” She has begun to speak a little and wanting to play and communicate with the other kids at the beach has pushed her to remember her Italian. Today, she was playing with her cousins (who don’t speak English), and she was trying to get them involved in one of her playacting stories, but she kept talking in English. I had to remind her that they didn’t understand. They kept looking at me for a translation. She is doing really well and I hope that we are able to help her continue speaking in Italian when we return. Even though we speak in Italian at home, all she hears everywhere else is English.

Any excuse is a good excuse…

I have always said that – for the people of Naples – any excuse is a good excuse for a party and fireworks. Now, I could live without the fireworks – especially since most of the time they start shooting them off at midnight when I tend to like to be snuggled in bed sleeping peacefully. The parties on the other hand…now those are fun. I am not a huge party person, but the Neopolitans are so spontaneous and alive when they decide to get together. Last night we went to a birthday party. One of Massimiliano’s friends since forever came in to his own family’s beach house to celebrate with his family and a few friends. Food, drinks, laughter and music for hours. The guys pulled out their guitars and sang songs that they wrote together in that very house 25 years ago. They turned water bottles and coke cans into marroccos and had a great time. Every time we turned around, this friend’s mom and sister were bringing platters of fresh seafood out of the kitchen. They told stories on one another and griped about the competing music down the street. (Everything takes place outside in the evenings. Nobody has air conditioning, windows are thrown open and people wander from house to house socializing.) My personality tends toward the perfectly organized party with a specific number of people invited, where I know who is coming and everything is perfectly in order. Yet, I am strangely attracted to the Neopolitan sponteneity – where anyone and everyone is welcome, they can always throw some more pasta on and nothing is ever perfectly in order. (And 9 times out of 10, there will be drama.) 

Relax in the Keeping Power of God

Coming back to Italy after 2 years has been a satisfaction, but we have also had to deal with situations and emotions from which we had been mostly liberated and removed. There is no getting around them while here, however, and for the first few nights, I suffered panic attacks and had trouble sleeping.

The encouragement for August 9 in the Bible Study I am following is entitled Relax in the Keeping Power of God. “Trust in Him. The Bible says that God never sleeps nor slumbers. When you go to sleep at night, He stays up and watches over you. Relax and trust Him to strengthen you and keep you all the days of your life.”

As we also strive to repair relationships and as we search for ways to encourage and help my mother-in-law in her depression and difficulty, today’s lesson spoke to me. Enjoy God’s Grace While You Wait. “Trusting God to do what only He can do always leads to joy, because ‘what is impossible with men is possible with God’ (Luke 18:27).”

This week has been amazing and of coarse eventful. I worked with meals on wheels mon., tue., thur. . I am very to happy to see places that are so pationate about helping others in need .I have met so many kind people that are just sooo sweet . I even had my daughter come with me one of my days and she had so much fun being my little navigator .
I have also been going to physical therapy for my hip it seems to temperarily relieve some pressure , but isnt really solving the problem 🙁 . I am very hopeful that we can figure out the cause and fix me . Its is down trotting to be in pain all the time but im going to maintain possitivity. I will definately keep praying about it .
My cna classes have been so jam packed with information. There are so many components to taking care of people which i already knew that . I learned how to take a blood pressure and gor it right on my first try i was so excited . This up coming weekend i will be starting my clinicals nervous yet excited .
On the family front , things are going well my brother and his wife appear to be doing a little better.i definately have been enjoying some much needed family time . My husband and i have gotten to spend alot of time together ive felt like this was much needed .
Rest ! So much rest . I love it and Ive Been feeling so energized . Its been amazing , i dont remember the last time i had this much rest. I love reading my devotionals in the morning and enjoying some relaxing book time .
Here cones a brand new week . Lets do it !!!

Whoa what week full of adventure and fun. I started last week off with celebrating my youngest son Benson. He turned 3 on the 8th of August. I had a small party at the park with my family and closest friends. Small parties are great you actually get to talk to everyone and your kid only gets a few presents. I know some might think it’s mean to not let your kids have lots of present but being a mom of 3 boys i can assure you we have plenty of toys at my house.

Next I took Weston (my middle son) to six flags. He absolutely loved it and rode all the rides he could. He is fearless like his mother. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad thing. Haha! weespend the whole day at Six Flag and it was great.

I have truly enjoyed my time with my kids.   Being a single mom of 3 boys can be  challenging and exhausting but it’s and whirlwind of fun and adventure I wouldn’t trade for anything.

I titled this a few milestones because Benson turned 3, I took Weston to Six flags(that is something I told myself I would never do since he is only 4) and Benson is now potty trained. I can’t tell you what a relief that last milestone is.

Gotta go for now. I have some cleaning I mean resting to do.

The first week of my sabbatical I wanted to tackle the main mission I had which was to work on bringing my parents back into the church. In addition, I worked on anything they needed around their house.  You are probably thinking that seems simple? Well not exactly. Little history on this to set the stage.

Both of my parents are in their early eighties and they are able to still move around but like anyone else who is elderly, they need help. As for the church part, I grew up going to church when I was very little and I can barely remember going since I was really young. For whatever reason we stopped going to church and I never bothered to ask why. I guess since I was going to private school my spiritual needs were being met but I did not bother to think about my parents spiritual needs.

So it begins…I loaded my truck with 2 of my 3 kids and my bike for exercise with me and we drove to my brother who lives in Boyd, TX and I dropped both Brooke and Hunter off to stay with them a few nights. After visiting awhile I then left for my parents house which is in Hurst, TX.

As I began working around my parents house last week time can run away from you. I had to manage my self so I can stay on track with the guidelines of the sabbatical because I am one of those who starts a project and keep working on it until it is finished. I had to leave myself enough time for my bike ride in the evenings and read my book which is “The Book of Mysteries” by Jonathan Cahn in the morning. Also, I am doing my bible study over the Gospel of Matthew by Jeff Cavins & Sarah Christmyer.

Here are a few pictures of the work I did around my parent’s house:

Removing trim around shed that has rotted out and critters have been moving in.

Me removing the old rotted out trim

Me cutting the new trim for replacement

Me trimming trees in the back yard. I also trimmed trees in their front yard

One of the evenings I moved their computer and everything else from the bottom of the computer desk and the electrical cords to the top. My mom said it was too hard to crawl on the ground to mess with any of these items and I agreed!

Initial confusion of wires everywhere but operational check is good when I finished!

In the evenings I started slowly bringing up about going to church and not much action was taken on the subject. As time went by, I realized I really have to make an impact before I left to go back to Abilene. So finally late Friday night I had a meaningful conversation with my mom about why they stopped going to church and I had a break through! Come to find out, my mom said that my dad had mentioned to her that he would like to go to church.

I thought this was great, even though my mom did not say anything to my dad when he said he wanted to go to church again. To me this gave me affirmation that God was working through me when I decided to do this for my sabbatical. Before I left to go back home, I told my parents that I loved them and that God loves them too and that you are not off the hook yet until you can agree with what church you are going to attend. I will continue to follow up with them and will keep you posted on what happens.

Last week was a wonderful week in Jamaica with the love of my life!  We had a wonderful time.  I’d like to say it was uneventful and 100% relaxing, but it did not start out that way….  We arrived at our resort in Runaway Bay Sunday afternoon and quickly agreed that we had landed in paradise! This place was indeed another one of Gods masterpieces!  When we arrived it had been raining most of the day, and was still misting off and on, but we were determined that a little bit of rain was not going to stop us!  About an hour later we finally found a buffet that was opened to get some food. After a little bit of frustration at the restaurant we ate and left with a complimentary bottle of “apology” champagne.   As we were walking back to our section of the resort with, the unopened bottle of champagne, we came out of the covered hallways into the open aired walkways connecting two sections of the building.  We heard  music playing and Gary suggested that we go upstairs for a night cap and to listen to the music for a while. As he turned towards the sound of the music the concrete walkway had a step down that we did not see and it was wet from the rain.  Before we knew what was happening Gary was picking himself up from the ground holding on to his right hand as tight as he could.  As you can guess he was the one carrying the bottle of champagne and when he fell that bottle busted and glass shards went everywhere!! One of the butlers heard the bottle bust and came running to see what was going on.  She instantly started calling for help.  It was 6:55 at this time.  We stood there for a couple minutes while she tried to get help.  She finally ran off to find a towel for Gary to wrap his hand in and came back still dialing the phone looking for help.  She finally was able to get someone on the phone that told he that she needed to walk with us back to our room (I’m not sure why they wanted us to leave the ‘scene of the accident’, but off we went!) We got to our room and while the butler was continuing to do her best to get someone to come help Gary and I went into the bathroom to run some water over his hand and try to get a look at what we were dealing with. We knew instantly that there were two pretty big cuts. One was more on his wrist and was clearly of concern.  We wrapped the towel back around his hand and waited.  Finally at 8:05 someone finally showed up!  The security guard took our report and decided we needed to see the onsite nurse. The nurse told us what we had already decided ourselves, that the cut on his wrist was in need of stitches!   Naturally, she was not able to do such procedures in her office so we were going to have to go to the local Jamaican hospital.  This is when the real fear set in… A driver was called for us, we were put into the car and sent off to the hospital with a sweet gesture of “Good Luck”!  Umm.. Help? Really? We have to go on our own?  Yup!

We made the 40ish minute drive to the hospital.  As we were driving through the security gates into the hospital and peering through the metal security gated doors into the ER we soon realized we were in for an experience that we were not prepared for!  We passed through the security area they took our cellphones, and sent us in to check with nurses.  We were then sent to the registration area. We gave her some information, $60 US dollars and were sent back into the ER.  Although at this point no one had looked at the wound to know what we were there for, we felt as if we were being looked at as if we were wasting the staffs time. They seemed very unconcerned with our needs and told us that we needed to find a seat and wait. I will take the time now to acknowledge that, clearly, it was not a life threatening accident and although it was on his wrist it did not cut a major artery so thanks be to God we weren’t one of the highest priorities in the hospital.  However, a little more concern seemed appreciate?  We waited… and waited… for Gary’s name to be called.  As we were sitting in that little spot in the hallway that was considered the waiting room it his us both how incredible spoiled we, as Americans, are! Looking around it was bad as you may be envisioning that it would be. However, the other people there waiting for help were content and just waiting their turn.  We humbled ourselves quickly!! After a long wait we were called to the nurses station and told that they did not have the supplies needed to do the stitches…. Umm, pardon me?  I’m not sure I heard this correctly? We are in the hospital, correct?  How could it be possible that a functioning hospital not have the supplies needed to do a simple procedure such as putting stitches in his hand?  Again, we were humbled to the reality that this is how the Jamaican’s live. We are the spoiled ones! The ones that never question such things as going to the ER to have our hand stitched up in a extremely sterile environment, handed a $500+ bill, patted on the back and told to check in with our family doctor the following week!

I started my mini sabbatical a week ago by volunteering at Camp Able. At first it didn’t look like it was going to work out. I emailed the food bank, and quickly had a response that someone would get back with me shortly. That didn’t happen. I never thought volunteering for places that really can use volunteers would be so challenging. None the less, Ray mentioned to Nadene who is chairman of the board for Camp Able that I was having issues. As only she can do, she took the proverbial bull by the horns and I was a volunteer.
As I arrived I was still quite unsure as to what was expected. I learned quickly that Nadene had bragged on me and that left me just a little scared! Renee Hicks, owner of Camp Able is a super sweet lady that has a tremendous love of horses, mainly ones that have been abused or neglected. Not only does she love horses but she is loves children with disablilities. She uses her horses to help children and adults.
There is much going on and the day to day life on a ranch is busy. There was another volunteer already there. A girl name Chloe who has been volunteering for a while. She is 15 and knows her way around the horses. My initial job wasn’t much, but it was something that I love. The farrier was there to trim hooves and replace shoes. I was to brush the horses. I am not tall by any means, but I seriously could only see over 1 horse’s back and that is only because her breed is short. One horse name Buddy literally has hooves as long as my foot with my tennis shoe on! His back was way over my head. So dirt and horse hair was blowing right in my face. Now to some that might seem a bit well, nasty, but to me it was great. I love animals of all kinds, but horses are such majestic creatures, each with their own personalities and nature. My day lasted only until 130 but that was ok. I was pretty dirty by then.
Tuesday, Renee had appointments and wasn’t going to be around so I did not go out, however, Wednesday, when I arrived, Cary and Lota, nephew and wife were working on the new tack rooms. It is going to great and so much easier for everyone to work with. Very organized. Renee had another appointment, but ask if I would use the weed eater and get rid of a very annoying weed that was growing primarily in the fence rows. This particular weed has a dried “pod” that gets in the horses mane and leaves a tangled mess. I said sure! I love a good challenge. The weed eater only beat them, but would not cut them. I however was very determined to get rid of them. So I proceeded to pull them up by the roots and pile them up. During the process I encounter some very angry and potent fire ants and a bumble bee that decided my temple was a good place to plants his stinger. I did persevere and spent hours pulling weeds, but I was quite pleased with my progress. I did decide that part would have to wait until Thursday and I would bring my battery operated hedge trimmers. The weeds would not win this battle and neither would the ants and bees. She had also ask me to catch Tara, a beautiful paint that I had met and brushed the day before. She had gotten her face in those hideous weeds and her forelock was a mess. So after pulling weeds I got the halter and lead and went for Tara. At first I thought she was going to be a pill and just run, but after flying past me she stopped and I was able to put the halter on her and brush her mane. I gave her extra brushing as a treat to myself. I also caught one of the miniature horses and gave her a good brushing.
Lota said if I had time would I mind checking out the concession stand and see how dirty it was. It was filthy. Someone had kick the door in, breaking the door jamb. Now this was something I could definitely fix. I went to town for a new lock and to get our nail gun and some caulk and paint. I clean as much dirt as I could possible get out of there, replace the door lock, painted and paint the door and the jamb. My day ended around 345. I felt I had done a good job and was proud of what I had accomplished.
As promised I went Thursday with my hedge trimmers and cut down and pulled up weeds. I also rode with Renee to another place to get 3 other horses.

My sister, Kim said she had google sabbatical and it said the number one thing you should do and the most fulfilling thing to do is to clean your sister’s house.  I laugh so hard I thought I might have a dislocated a rib!

Camp Able does tremendous work, but in order for Renee to do what she loves best, she needs a team of volunteers and money. Horses are not cheap to take care of and anyone who has every owned land or even a house, the care and upkeep is never ending. She is surrounded by great people who work hard to help her out. I for one plan on going back and I hope you will as well.
Thank you Ray for telling Nadene and thank you Nadene for calling Renee. Thank you Kris for a mini sabbatical.
Now for my vacation week I am doing something else that I love to do. I am painting the inside of my house and I am already off to great start.

Clothes

Who would have thought that helping someone pick out used clothes would be so humbling? I mentioned that I would talk more about my service at the CSC. While I was there, I did several jobs, but mostly I worked with the clothes: sorting, hanging, sizing and replacing. On my first day, at the very end of the day, I was called to accompany a gentleman through the clothing section to pick out some items. I had a list of the items available to hi  and how many of each he could choose. I knew nothing of the man’s story – only that he had a need. I began walking him through the clothing “floor” and we started with jeans and pants. He took a couple of pairs of jeans, but when he started looking at slacks, he suddenly got an insecure look on his face. I didn’t want to pry, but after a minute he leaned close and whispered, “Can a person wear jeans to church?” a myriad of thoughts and words spead through my mind in a brief second, but my answer was firm, “Absolutely!” based on my answer he decided he didn’t need the slacks, but as we moved on I remained moved by that simple question. I have no idea what prompted it, what his experiences are or what he might be wanted to atone for, but I know that my answer was not only right, but what he needed to hear. It was an affirmation that gave hima moment of confidence. As we continued on to the shirts, he asked how many he could have. I told him 10 and he suddenly got a funny look on his face. My first thought was that he was scoffing at the number because it was too low. I quickly learned that he scoffed at the number because he was overwhelmed by our generosity and had no idea how he was going to choose 10 shirts. He didn’t. He took only what he felt he really needed. I did find out that he had “been locked up for a long time,” but I never learned anything else. What I do know about that man was that his gratitude for some hand-me-downs humbled me and his uncertainty about how to dress for church tells me that we too often miss what people really need – unconditional love.

On another day, I was “culling” the clothes racks. (Even donation centers sometimes get more than they need of certains types and sizes of clothing, so they go to other centers or third world countries.) There was a mother there choosing clothes for her and her oldest daughter. She had been there the day before to get clothes for her youngest three. I wasn’t responsible for helping her, but I happened to be nearby and noticed that she was having a difficult time choosing her clothes because of the constant interruptions of her 4-year old (who has been diagnosed with severe ADHD among other things), her daughter (who was supposed to be watching the 4-year old, but has issues of her own) and the 9-month old (who was doing a great job of doing what babies do best). The elderly woman attending the family was trying to get the 4-year old and the daughter situated, but the little one was hungry and had no one to hold his bottle. Here was this mother of four, embarrassed and distracted byt the behavior of her children, trying to hold and feed the littlest AND pick out clothes. She obviously needed help. I struck up and conversation with her. I told her that I didn’t know if I was allowed to hold the baby, but how could I help her? I got her a small clothing cart and we rigged a bed for the baby in it so he could be comfortable and have his bottle propped up. I watched hi  and pushed the cart along beside her as she “shopped.” At one point, I sat with the 4-year old while his sister changed the baby’s diaper. In all of this, I continued to make conversation with the woman. She ran away from an abusive situation in Florida when she was still pregnant with the littlest. I asked her how she ended up in Abilene. She told me the story of her research and hunt for a safe place that would help her get back on her feet and how she eventually found the Noah Project. Two of her children have diagnosed disabilities (perhaps results of the abuse they endured) and she is a single mother raising four children. I tried to encourage her that she did not need to rush or feel self-conscious as she was choosing her clothes. We were there to help her and I did my best to relieve some of the pressure of watching her kids. She laughed and said that it was hard not to be self-conscious. I don’t know if I touched her life in anyway, but I was left with a profound respect for her courage and strength. I pray that her and her children’s future is much different from their past.

Italy

We arrived. Safely.

It is by the grace of God we arrived to our final destination in one piece. Neither my husband nor I sleep well in planes, but we expected to get a little. Nope. Nothing. Nada. Then we had to drive 2 hours from Rome to the beach house near Naples. I had to keep myself awake so I could keep my husband awake. So there I was making annoying, “lalala” sounds because I was too tired to make intelligent conversation. We did stop at a gas station, and my husband went in and I stayed in the car with a blissfully sleeping Ilaria.  Yes I was jealous. First of all, we barely found parking because we had forgotten that it was the first Sunday in August when the first real mass vacation exodus takes place in Italy. The North moves South for a month. I asked Massimiliano to pick me up a Coke to help me stay awake. I fell asleep while he went in and when he came back after a really long time, it was without my Coke. Evidently there was a line to wait in line and so he gave up.

We did finally make it safely and had a joyous reunion with Massi’s mom and the dog that we had to leave here. While we are all still struggling some with jet lag, for the most part we are getting settled in and are enjoying some beach time and some reunions with some dear friends. Oh, and food. Can’t forget the food.

Expectations

Over the years, I have learned to be careful and realistic in my expectations. How many arguments, misunderstandings and frustrations could be avoided by having realistic expectations. We so often set ourselves and others up for disappointment because we have unrealistic (sometimes widly unrealistic) expectations.

Somehow, in planning this trip to Italy, I was not as careful to guard myself against unrealistic expectations. Perhaps I just forgot how some things are. For example, when we went to get our rental car in the airport, I expected a well-organized, speedy line. What I got instead (after 15 hours of travel and no sleep) was a blob that took us an hour and a half to wade through. Not a huge deal, I guess, but it caused me more stress than necessary because I was expecting something different. Then – and you’ll laugh at me for this – there’s the food. I have been dreaming about my mother-in-law’s linguine with fresh tomatoes for weeks. I make it at home, but it is not the same as when you have tomotoes grown in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. The other day she made linguine con pomodori freschi…and I looked at it and was confused. I asked what tomatoes she used, and she said regular tomatoes. Now, in the ten years I’ve known her, she has never used “regular” tomatoes, so I have no idea why she did this time. She has always used cherry tomatoes. It was still good, but I was disappointed because I was expecting something different. Since being here, I have had to adjust my expectations. Nothing earth-shattering, but an adjustment here and there all the same.

My husband has also struggled with his expectations. He has experienced disappointment due to his expectations of people more than events, though. In the end you tell yourself that you knew it would be that way, but you really had hoped that something would be different this time.

My husband lost a cousin to cancer a year and a half ago, and we knew that his aunt has had a particularly difficult time since – as is only normal when losing a daughter, of course. What we did not expect, however, were the rancor and disgust on her face when we greeted her. She was like a statue except for her facial expressions. My mother-in-law says that she is that way with everyone now, but we found out that she and her husband (and vicariously, one of their daughters) have been holding against us a specific event involving the daughter that died. The details don’t matter to anyone but us, and who is right and who is wrong matters little as well. We had left relations strained for other family matters 2 years ago, but we certainly did not expect this level of hostility. We had hoped to repair those relationships to some extent, but another brick has been laid in the wall. Anything is possible, especially through prayer, and we still have two weeks to make more attempts. My husband spoke for a while with his uncle yesterday and who knows what seeds where planted.

Drama

I would (lovingly) say that drama is the national passtime of the Italians…especially in Naples. Neopolitans are like the volcano they live near: they are constantly letting off steam, but they’re not happy if they don’t have a spectacular explosion every now and again. Then everything returns to normal – as if nothing ever happened. Have you ever watched a soap opera? That’s like everyday life for a Neopolitan. Italian soap operas and movies are ridiculously cheesy because they already have so much real-life drama that they have to crank it up on the screen.

My husband’s family is no different. Thankfully, since it is just us and my mother-in-law right now, we are able to keep things to a minimum, but there is always that “something” that is there, waiting to cause an explosion. We made a choice, however. We are here to spend time with my husband’s mother, to rest and to visit friends. We have no time or place for drama.

Beach
It’s time for our afternoon outing to the beach. I’ll close for now and try to include some pictures next time.

Last week I mentioned it has been hard for me to really disconnect from work. This week has been a little bit easier. I’ve been able to focus on rest and spending quality time with each of my kids. I’ve also tried to focus more on my reading commitment. I love the Book of Mysteries we received at the summer sales meeting.  However, the book I chose specifically for Sabbatical does not seem to speak to me and I was having trouble relating. But as I continued with the book, I realized it related to my closest girlfriend who has been going through a really tough time in her marriage and in life general. Perhaps God has placed me in this position as a conduit to help her through these struggles. To be continued on that…

Also, this week, I began my service project. Originally I signed up to participate with Interfaith Ministries.   As I sat through the orientation, I realized this was not the project for me. My heart was not in it. The volunteer work did not align with my Christian views, nor my political views. So I started my own project to feed people in need. The kids and I assembled brown bag lunches, along with care packages of toiletries items, and loaded up my truck to distribute them to anyone in need of a meal whose path we crossed. Most of the folks we met were homeless. And most of them on street corners making it hard to have conversations or even talk due to safety and traffic. Being in a large city like Houston, you have to be very cautious and I was a little nervous having my kids come into contact with the unknown. I prayed for God to watch over us and knew He would lead us in the right direction. A good amount of the homeless folks in Houston are either drug addicts or suffer from a mental illness. My youngest didn’t understand why one gentleman was shooting a sling shot at cars passing by and yelling at what appeared to be an imaginary person next to him. This opened up a conversation about mental illness. One lady told us she didn’t want to take our food. And one family of five was so grateful, we fed them lunch and dinner. But the one that really got me was the veteran. We had minimal time to visit because we were at the busiest intersection in the city, preventing me from even getting out of the car. He was on crutches with one leg amputated from an injury serving our country. He was young, kind and happy to receive anything we could provide to him. He was on a waitlist for a prosthetic leg with the VA. This man gave up so much to serve our country and for our freedom.  And here he is standing on the street in traffic asking for help of any kind.  No veteran should live this way.  And if you think there was a dry eye in the car as we drove away you are mistaken. My kids were speechless. When I prayed that God would teach us something of value on this journey, He delivered big. And my kids are better people because of it. Also, a lot of folks had full bellies.

I’m off to the beach, this time Galveston Island. Did I mention I love the beach? That friend I mentioned at the beginning of my blog is coming with her family. It just ‘happened’ that both of our families are able to vacation together 😉

I’m thankful for all of you who make this time with my family and friends possible.

Stef

At the beginning of my Sabbatical, I have struggled with figuring out how to balance my time.  There is so much I want to accomplish.  I have a road map: a time to rest, time for redemption, time for reflection, time for reward and repair, time for relationships, time for refocus.  All of my expectations have a common denominator, time.  I am acutely aware that the “Clock of Life” is only wound once.  As a result, I strive to accomplish as much as possible with my allotted time.  Time cannot be saved for another day.  Therefore, I naturally resist the idea of slowing down.  Since God has given me the gift of time, I prayed to God for some guidance.  God wasted no time.  I woke up the next morning to discover two dead fish floating in the pond, a bass with a bluegill stuck in it’s mouth.  The bass, like myself, attempted to accomplish a lot.  However, the bass bit off more than it could chew, or even swallow.  The bass died along with it’s goal, the bluegill.  I will probably never lower my expectations of what I want to accomplish.  However, I need to maintain a healthy pace at which I accomplish my goals.  I haven’t slowed down completely yet, but I have shifted into a lower gear.  I am also trying to take smaller bites and eat slower!!

My plan for my Sabbatical was a really good plan. I thought it was THE plan for my Sabbatical. So, God knew better and tomorrow morning, Friday, August 11, 2017, I embark on His journey.

I look forward to sharing my journey with you as God’s plans, and His works through me, are revealed.

As always i was a little hesitant to take so much time away from work. My mom was always a stickler for instilling a strong work ethic into me. But I was confident in my coworkers that they would be able to rock the claims department while I was on this 30 day adventure.

Being at home drove me a little crazy at first. It took me a few days to realize I didn’t have to cram all the things I wanted or needed to do into the first week. So I took a lot of naps and it was awesome. I also spent a lot of time with my mom. Since we both work two jobs and I have roller derby practice I miss a lot quality time with her. It was really nice.

As the trip to Ireland drew closer I grew more and more nervous. I didn’t know a lot of people that were going and I was essentially going across the world with a lot of strangers. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I really didn’t have anything to worry about. Everyone on the trip was so welcoming I felt I was among a temporary family. Many of them had been on the trip before and didn’t hesitate on filling me in.

Arriving in Ireland was a mix of things I expected and was blown away by. It is just as green as everyone says. They build their architecture into nature. There are also acres of emerald pastures between towns. They have quite a few local dairy and strawberry farms so if you have butter or strawberry jam at the table you can bet it’s local and fresh. Th Irish people also love tourists. They welcome people into their towns with welcoming arms. The food is amazing the really enjoy eating so they take time to make the food and enjoy it. We got explore a few Ireland staples. Hookhead Lighthouse was my favorite. Its right next to the ocean so we were able to take a lot of wonderful shots depicting the countryside and the Irish Sea.

While the touring had been amazing, I was absolutely looking forward to the kids camp we were leading. This was also a little nerve racking. I had been in charge of kids at a camp before but this situation felt a little different. Once again I was worried for nothing. The kids were fantastic. My team was made up of 11-12 year old girls. and not to be biased but our team was the best. The camp was western themed and our team name was Sacajawea. I got a lot of questions about the differences I noticed about Ireland vs America. Most of them were about food; chips and candy ect. Turns out they don’t have Jolly Ranchers over there and I was made to promise to bring some if I return next year. Which I will defiantly think about. The kids really enjoyed the lessons taught throughout the different stations. One of my favorites was the lesson about watching what you say because your words have the power to hurt others. The kids favorite station was silly games. It was hard at first to get them to open up but by the end of the week they were having a ball and making new friends. They also help me realize it’s okay to be a little silly even though I’m technically a ‘grown-up’. I also learned a lot about patience. Wrangling 20 girls to any one place is hard work but they were great kids.

First off I want to apologize about my delayed posts, I ran into a little technical difficulties but we are up and running now!

Okay, so week one of my sabbatical went very smooth. I’m not sure what all these other folks are talking about on finding it difficult to transition from work mode to sabbatical mode, I had no problem whatsoever transitioning into sabbatical mode, maybe too easy! I’m guessing getting out of sabbatical mode might not be as easy…

I started my sabbatical Wednesday August 2nd and spent the first few days relaxing, meditating and reading. My first book is titled Powerful Thoughts by Joyce Meyer. So far it’s a very interesting read, she explains how when we think negatively we receive negative results and how to train our minds to think positively and get positive results.

My brother and father drove up to my place for the weekend and we had a blast. It’s been a while since the three of us were able to be together. For those of you who aren’t aware, I love to cook food for me and others. The weather was beautiful that weekend and we literally smoked/grilled food all weekend. Friday night I prepared stuffed cream cheese jalapeno hamburgers on my charcoal Weber (no gas grills around my house) with a grilled bacon cheddar onion blossom as a side. Saturday morning we cold smoked 5 different types of cheese. I can already anticipate your jokes about Wisconsinites and their cheese…..Then in the afternoon I taught them how to properly smoke ribs low and slow. I know you Texans would rather I had smoked a brisket instead but I’m saving that for another day.

The beginning of the week I devoted time to a local volunteer group in La Crosse called The Hunger Task Force. They are a food bank that accepts food donations from individuals and local grocery stores and distributes the donations to local organizations in need. Organizations such as the Red Cross, churches, rehab groups etc. They also have an enormous garden where they grow and harvest fresh produce for those in need. Everyone that I met there was very nice and had a positive attitude. I got to help sort all the fresh produce that gets donated from local grocery stores and how they keep everything organized. After that we sort and organize all the dry/canned goods which was also interesting but my favorite part was loading up the food truck and distributing the donations to all the needy organizations in town. Everyone we met was so kind and grateful for our efforts, it was obvious that we were making their lives better and truly making a difference in the community.

The next step in my journey is taking me back to my home town of Durand, IL to visit with family and friends then spend the weekend in Bloomington, IL (my second home town) visiting with more family and friends that I haven’t seen in months/years. I’m excited for the weekend and will keep you posted on my Journey.

Stat tuned till next time!

We arrived early in the morning. It was nice to be greeted by a friend from San Angelo.  She and my daughters shared time in the ministry together in San Angelo. It was nice for them to be able to get together again now at her home in the country in Germany. She and her husband have been very hospitable to us. I know her parents very well in San Angelo, but very nice to be with Jasmine and Dennis.  She has missed seeing friends from the States.

Preparation for travel to Europe. Spent some time visiting sites in Philadelphia prior to Flight. Rocky sites, Independence Hall, Liberty Bell and Burial site of Benjamin Franklin were all part of the tour.  The pennies that have accumulated on the grave site of Benjamin Franklin were noteworthy. A reminder of Ben’s saying ‘A Penny saved is a Penny earned.’

Last week, I spent some time with Esther and Sal (and Lori O.) at Global Samaritan.  I had a bit of understanding before serving of what they do, but didn’t know to what extent.

Global Samaritan is an organization that fills many different roles, not only internationally, but also here locally in the Big Country.  I’m sure you’ve all heard of the deliveries to Syria, Africa, etc., and maybe you’ve also heard of the SaveStraws they ship to countries that have unsafe drinking water.  What I DIDN’T know, is that Global Samaritan helps out local organizations as well.

Global Samaritan is located on N.1st in the old Coca Cola plant, which was originally, ACU.  They have thousands and thousands of square footage dedicated to warehousing space that is used to store donated items and food that will eventually make its way to a destination.  When I arrived, Esther told me that we needed to pull a large number of items that a new, local clinic was in need of.  This clinic will provide a great service to Abilene and the surrounding areas, but didn’t have the means to outfit the office with new furniture or medical equipment.  This is where Global Samaritan steps in.

Staff of this new clinic came to Global Samaritan and tagged each item they could use.  These items would be GIVEN by Global Samaritan to the clinic.  For FREE.  The picture below shows some of the items Sal and I pulled from the warehouse.  These items are now ready for the clinic to come pick up.

This next picture is the desk/chair room. All of these have been donated by local organizations to Global Samaritan.

On my first morning, Hendrick Medical Center called and said they had bedside tables, bed trays, and chairs for donation.  We took the big box truck and loaded it up.

I hope the video file below works.  If you’ve ever worked in a warehouse type situation, you will understand the importance of shrink wrap.  Pallets that are above a certain height, have a tendency to FALL if they aren’t shrink wrapped, and tightly, for that matter.  For years, Global Samaritan had to hand shrink-wrap pallets.  12 foot pallets…..  Imagine having to use four ladders around a single pallet.  Esther was telling me in the past, it would take about an hour per pallet, and that on a good day, they could wrap about  4 pallets (they were worn out after 4).  Automatic Pallet Wrappers… Ever heard of them?  They are LEGIT!  They had a shiny, new, automatic pallet wrapper on display for all to see.  You may not know, but THE Funeral Directors Life, donated half of the funds to Global Samaritan to purchase this machine.  As you could imagine, these things are EXPENSIVE…  Esther and Sal thanked FDLIC so many times while we were there that I almost got tired of hearing it (joke).

We received a SEMI full of pallets from a church in San Angelo, with items that were to go to Jordan!  There were bed sheets, coats, clothes, rice, beans, sanitation kits, etc., and the semi trailer was packed FULL of 24 pallets.  Good news right?  WRONG.  The container going to Jordan could only fit 21 pallets.  Esther, with her years of experience, said we needed to take these 3 pallets and “spread the wealth” amongst the other 21.  This meant we would need to rebuild ALL 21 pallets.  This is something that, before they acquired the new automatic shrink-wrap machine, would have been impossible and would have taken WEEKS.  These pallets were ready to go in 2 days.  See the video below:

Global Samaritan Shrink Wrap Video

What an awesome time I had last week in Costa Rica. God showed up and worked in so many lives. Especially mine. I had been preparing for this trip a whole year but didn’t really start preparing until about a month before we left. I began to realize I was not seeking him in my preparation. Once that started, amazing things started happening in my life. A month before I was to leave I began a book study called the “Armor of God”.  This book changed my life in so many ways. You see, satan did not want me on this trip. He tried everything to get me down. This book taught me how to fight against that and allow God to work.

On this trip there were returning missionaries and  translators along with first time missionaries and translators. I was a first timer!!  We served with 6 pastors and their churches. Our purpose was the evangelize and share the gospel. Seeds were planted, souls saved and small group Bible studies were formed.  Here are some of the statistics:

556 heard the Gospel/plan of salvation

298 professions of Faith

159 locals attending Bible Studies

What an amazing week we had. We were able to see several people lead their very first person to Christ. I was one of those people. Words cannot express the feeling I had when that occurred.  His name was Roger. As I shared the gospel with him I could see a change in his face.  The most exciting thing though was the smile on his face after we said the prayer of salvation. I walked away jumping with joy!!!  It was amazing.  The rest of my week went just like that, jumping for joy.  I have so many stories to share but the one that is closest to my heart is about a young man named Jose. Before I left for my trip I bought a bracelet with “Armor of God” on it. I had just finished my book study and I thought God specifically led me to this bracelet in the store. I would wear it the whole week for protection. On Monday we began our evangelism. Jose was a member of one of the churches we were helping this day. He walked up to me and said, your bracelet is beautiful. I said thank you and told him about my book study and we read the scriptures. As the evening went on I thought about giving it to him.  I was struggling though because it was special to me. I thought God gave it to me for a reason. I prayed about it and God spoke to me. Give it to him. So, the next day I did. Before I could give it to him he told me this.  He said when I walked into the church he was drawn to me and this bracelet. So he asked me about it. When we read the scriptures it was just what he was needing to hear. So, I looked at him. Took off my bracelet and placed it on his arm. He was so excited. We then began to read the scriptures again and I explained what each piece of armor stood for. It was such a special moment. You see, what I thought God meant for my protection was really meant for Jose. As I left him that evening he asked me out of all the scriptures in the Bible, which one would I give him to keep with him. I did not hesitate, 2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one”.  This verse has been my lifeline for about two months now. I know now why it has.

I could go on and on about my week. I met and served along some wonderful and amazing people. I was blessed to go on this trip with one of my closest friends and experience with her what God did for both of our lives.  Something I will never forget. The most important thing I have learned from all of this was, when you put God first in your life, live your life according to his will, he will bless you in so many ways.  God is good all the time, all the time God is good!!!

Wow!! I can’t believe my 1st week is already over. Words can’t even begin to express what the mission trip to Costa Rica meant to me. I am very thankful God made a way for this to happen. I enjoyed every minute of it. Lives were changed and we lead 298 people to the Lord! My heart is filled with more love and is overflowing with joy!! When you allow God to work in your life miracles happen. I was blessed to work with an amazing team of people. Memories I will cherish forever!! #godisgoodallthetime #andallthetimegodisgood ♥️♥️

Confession #1-I’ve been nervous about taking a sabbatical since I first heard about it.  Fear, straight up, is a more honest way to describe what I’ve been feeling. I couldn’t imagine not going to work and doing what I love for 30 days. Just so you know, in the last few weeks, I have come to terms with stepping away, and I’m ready!

Confession #2- When I first started as a Select Producer in March 2015, it took me awhile to get going. My first 8 months were not the easiest, and I actually turned in my resignation in month 6. I was going to sell life insurance- ha!!

Well, I’m not sure what happened, but I decided to ask if I could stay at my job, and FD graciously said yes! In December, I went to my first annual meeting, and I fell in love with the culture, the vision, and the people at FD. I met the famous Adam Kraut who dominated the top of the leaderboard and vowed to chase him to the top of that board. I didnt make it, but I had fun trying!

Here’s the biggest confession and why I need this sabbatical: I like competition. I like to win. I like to set crazy goals and do all I can to achieve them. I am obsessed with the numbers, and I put ridiculous pressure on myself to succeed. I go into a depression if I don’t sell a certain amount in a month. I’ve spent most of this year depressed because my numbers aren’t good….not like last year’s. Never mind that I serve lots of families. I have been focusing on trips and leaderboards and commission checks. I am tired. Tired of pushing, tired of competing….really with nobody but myself.

So, this sabbatical is for rest and finding balance at work and home. It’s the mental break I need most. It’s the connection with family and friends that I crave. So, Saturday I went to Amarillo to celebrate my best friend’s birthday. That night, my daughter’s family drove in from Ft Worth. Sunday night, we had a family cookout and saw our 2 month old grandson.  Today is Monday, and my grands are still here……and I’m not at work!! I’m not afraid to take a break and to bow out of the race for awhile. I’m not worried about commissions and leaderboards and trips today. This is my time, and I’m so grateful to work for a company that believes in caring for its employees. Thank you FDLIC! It’s gonna be a great 30 days.

The first week of my sabbatical was both relaxing and productive. I was able to enjoy some much needed quality time with my son as well as get some projects started/finished that I have been putting off for some time. The big project I was able to finish this week was putting up a small shed in my back yard for my lawn equipment. I was able to start my service project this Saturday as well, volunteering at Habit for Humanity along with a few coworkers. This week the goal was to set up the roof trusses for the house which is a difficult process as you need to organize them in the right order then get them on top of the house while balancing on the frame. It was interesting seeing a group of people who don’t really know each other at the beginning able to come together to help build a home for a family.

The biggest adjustment for me as my sabbatical has started is that while I get a break, my wife still has to work and keep her normal routine, making it almost feel like everyone is moving around me while I get the chance to take a breather. My wife has joined me in my daily devotional (Proverbs), which has made it much easier to keep up with and has brought us closer together with God.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” ~Proverbs 3:5

Hi All,

 
I left work on Friday (July 28,) to embark on my sabbatical. This first week I have rested a lot and thoroughly enjoyed my time. It’s hard to believe it has been a week and let me tell you it has flown by but as I write this I don’t think things could have gone any better. I have started my days with Jesus Calling and I am about to start The Confident Woman.

 
I did want to make sure I spent time with my mom this week and we have had some nice talks as well as started the process of getting her some much needed in home care. My mom (Bessie) is 88 years old. She has heart disease and has had for years but, in the last few years Parkinson’s disease has been her biggest obstacle. It is truly heartbreaking but, her spirit is not broken and she is trying to stay as independent as she possibly can (almost to a fault). She seems to coming around to the fact that she needs help with basic daily things.  Please keep her in your prayers she is truly a blessing, a bit feisty at times (wonder where I get it from ha!) and a very special lady.

 
This week I also spent several days with my grandsons (Jacob & Jason) I am sure they thought it was Saturday every day for about 3 days ha! We went to the park and Wal-Mart, where they have soooo many hot wheels according to them:).  Needless to say they can never have too many cars.  We also visited the library in which, they were a little too loud but we made it out of there with our books and no judgement! Lol

 
Tuesday I head out to Fayetteville Arkansas where my daughter and granddaughter (Aubree) live. My son and his family arrived there on Saturday. We have some fun things planned and I truly anticipate the grandkids will all have a blast. It means so much to me for us to have this time and to all be together.

 
When I return I will be working with Love and Care Ministries and I am looking forward to that. I also have another book on my list.

 
One week in and this again is truly a blessing and I could not be more thankful. This experience in 2010 was such a huge blessing and an incredible experience and 2017 has already proven to be the same except, I have a few additional people in my life that I can share this awesome sabbatical experience with.

 
Peace and Blessings:)

Hello all,

It’s nice to come back home after a vacation. Not because I didn’t enjoy my time away, but after 7 nights of being 2,000+ miles away, you start to long for your own shower and bed. During my volunteer work at camp, I got to know the awesome staff there and they took me around Seattle. Went to a couple coffee shops, checked the out Pike Place market, and walked around downtown. Key takeaway from this experience is that Seattle is definitely different from west Texas! One aspect that I enjoyed was their attitude about the world we live in. From all the fresh organic produce, the 4 different trash bins to separate your trash into, the amount of people who ride bikes, and the strong affiliation with the mountain/outdoor culture, its hard not to acknowledge their desire to protect and be good stewards of the world around us. Seattle would definitely be considered a more “progressive” culture in many ways, but I think this is something that everyone, especially us Texans, could do a little better.

After finishing up my time at camp, I rented a car and drove up to Whistler in Canada. I usually dread the thought of being in a car for 5 hours, but driving through mountains with the coast on your left made this drive not only tolerable, but beautiful. Got pretty interesting when I realized in Canada that I didn’t purchase an international data plan before leaving, so had to figure out how to get where I was going without a phone. A couple stops and asking people through the windows at stop lights got me to my destination. Whistler is known for hosting the Olympics winter games back in 2010 so people from all around the world come to ski, but it turns into a big mountain bike park during the summer. I ride mountain bikes a lot around Texas and can ride some pretty technical trails, but this was a whole different experience. When you ride down a mountain, you go FAST. Basically just flying downhill using both brakes at all times, hitting jumps and avoiding trees. I probably rode 50+ miles of trails, but only pedalled about 1% of it. It really was awesome. Bear sightings are very common up there and was kind of hoping to see one (when I was riding up the lift of course) but didn’t run into any (that I know of).

Coming back down to my flight out of Seattle, I had to cross back over the border. I got there about 7:30 in the morning and was expecting a line of cars but drove right up to the patrol booth. Told him I rented a car and drove up to bike and he wanted to know where all my bike stuff was. Told him I rented it all and he just was having a really hard time with my story that I had been volunteering in Seattle and drove up for two nights to Canada and all I had was one bag and I was doing this all alone. It is a little out of the ordinary when I think about it now! So I got the pleasure of a nice search and interrogation at the secondary stop before they let me back in the USA. Fun stuff!

So this is my last weekend before coming back to work. Crazy how fast a month flies by but looking back on it Ive really really enjoyed the time off and it really had been energizing both spiritually and physically. Outside of the trips, I built a bed for us. Working in finance, you don’t have the ability to design/build physical things (bond ladders don’t count) so this was a lot of fun for me. I didn’t follow a plan, just looked at some pictures and went from there. We are made in the image of God who is a creator, thus instilled with the desire to create, so we find fulfillment and take pleasure in creating. I think that is why we are also drawn to art, music, and culture in general, because of these attributes given to us by God. It truly was fulfilling to plan out an image, buy a ton of wood, measure, measure, cut, stain, and see that image come to life.

Thanks for reading and I will see everyone next week!

Trevor

This week has been amazing. My wonderful family has come together not even missing a beat ,as forever friends that come together. Truely is great! They are truely happy and supportive of my life.
Although i dont ever remember having this much homework in all my life my cna class is very enjoyable , learning new skills is awesome. I will start my clinicals here in a couple weeks i am so excited and nervous all at the same time .
I will start my meals on wheels tomorrow , I am excited its going to be fun ! Ha just gotta make sure i pay attention so im not driving in circles haha. Helping people regardless of what its with. This is such an amazing and makes me feel so blessed to be able to do so .

My daily devotionals and the book Driven Purpose have truely been enjoyable and relaxing to read it puts me into a Zen state it feels so great I have never been so relaxed. 😁😁😁😁😏

Letting Go

Letting go is always the hardest part.

Our lives are filled with so many people, activities and responsibilities. When it is time to take a break, it is hard to let go of it all. Realistically, we can’t; it is not possible. I can’t stop feeding my four year-old simply because I am on vacation. However, I can let go of some things. I thought letting go of work was going to be a problem. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Well…not too hard. It did take me a couple of days and I did forget to turn my work alarm off on Monday.

What I have struggled with has been letting go of months (maybe more) of physical, emotional and spiritual stress. I’m not there yet, but I am working on it. Maybe I’ll be perfectly relaxed and ready to enjoy my sabbatical about the time I return to FD. (insert picture of me smiling ironically here)

Serving

This past week I spent several hours volunteering at the Christian Service Center. I remember as a little kid taking our “give-away” clothes to a one-portable Christian Service Center. Now, this amazing organization is housed in the same building that once housed the congregation I grew up in. Woodlawn church of Christ donated its building to CSC a few years ago and just a few months ago, the CSC reopened its new facility. Having grown up at Woodlawn, I felt led to volunteer at the CSC during my sabbatical. It was a fascinating experience and I will definitely try to volunteer there again in the future. They are open one Saturday a month, so even with a “day job,” I will have the opportunity to work with them again. (I will tell more about my experiences in my next blog, but it is late, I still have other things to share and I have a plane to catch tomorrow morning…but I digress.)

Serving can take on so many faces and be perceived in so many ways. Not just this past week, but over the last month or so, I have been blessed to serve a friend in a way that working at FD has uniquely prepared me for. A dear friend lost her brother recently to suicide. He was terminally ill, and the family knew that their time with him was limited, but I don’t think anything can prepare you for the shock of suicide. My friend has not had an easy life. I cannot imagine going through the trials she has gracefully overcome through the years. We have known each other since college and, though we have drastically different personalities, we get on great. My husband and I have been ministering to her and serving her these past weeks by simply inviting her into our home, feeding her sometimes and listening. Sometimes we talk about her brother. Sometimes we talk about the future. Sometimes we talk about the past. And this week, I made her watch Moana. Because really, not having seen a Disney movie since The Lion King is just wrong. That and since we have a wrestling past (please don’t ask), I felt like she just had to hear Dwayne Johnson (aka: The Rock) sing. Anyway…the point is that though I am neither a grief counselor nor can I take her pain away, I can be there for her. Every time she needs me. And I am blessed by loving her.

Flying

So, my daughter (who should not even still be up) just asked me, “Mami, will I share your ice cream with you?” She said it with the sweetest look on her face. She is the same child that told my mother one morning at breakfast that her yogurt was “repulsive” because it had fruit pieces in it. Yep. She’s 4. She’s never met a stranger. And we’re flying across the ocean tomorrow. She’s either going to be a hit with our neighbors on the plane or she is going to drive them insane.

Many of you know that my husband is Italian. We moved here two years ago (yes, I know…everyone asks the same question: WHY?) and this is our first opportunity to go “home.” That we are excited is an understatement. I consider it no small miracle that we are even getting to go. All the necessary elements came together, however, and the day as finally arrived. We are packed up, checked in and – after checking about 14 times to make sure we really do have our passports – I can go to bed peacefully, safe in the knowledge that 5:30 am is going to come entirely too soon.

So, I salute you all for now. Next time I write, it will be from a tablet with no separate keyboard – in Italy.

Buonanotte, amici.

test.

-Jamin Phillips

6 days on Sabbatical- The struggle is real

I have been on Sabbatical for six days now.  And I struggled to get the message. My first day off was a Saturday so it was fairly normal.  Somehow I woke up thinking it would feel different.  You know the kind of feeling when you’re a kid and you turn 10? You wake up on the morning of your milestone birthday and expect to ‘feel’ a year older. Well, it was a big buildup and turned out to be just a normal Saturday.  I had this strange urge to check my work emails, look at my sales numbers, or send one last message to my key accounts to make sure they were okay before I left the country.  And then I just ran out of time because we headed out for family vacation! We left for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and had a great time.  Strangely, my phone is the only one in the family that would not work on my international service. At first I was annoyed.  What if an extreme situation occurred and someone could not get a hold of me? Turns out, life went on and if something went wrong, either I didn’t need to know or there was someone else better suited to resolve it.  Since there was nothing else to do except enjoy Mexico with my family, that is what I did!  We always travel in a big herd, complete with all the in-laws and extended family.  This was a special vacation of our family.  My Father in law was just diagnosed with prostate cancer and has been battling complications from diabetes.  All of his medical challenges are manageable.  Even so, life is precious and making memories is what it is all about.  Also, in a few weeks my first born leaves for college.  I’m still in denial.  But I am thankful for this time with family and taking adventures to make memories.

Did I mention how much I love the beach?  The sand is tan and the the water is blue/green.  I think that everyone has a special place they love to be in.  For some it is the mountains.  For me it has always been the ocean.  I feel very close to God when I am near the ocean.  I’ve always lived near the ocean.  As I sat beachside every morning appreciating God’s creation, I could not help but thank Him for the blessings in my life.  The world is a beautiful place when you choose to focus on the good in it.  After a long walk on the beach, I turned around to view my progress and immediately thought of one of my favorite poems (pic below).  He carries us even when we don’t think we need it.

There is also a pic of my kids.  They have not yet learned to appreciate the outdoors as much as I do.  They were taking selfies in the hotel room.

• This is day 3 of my sabbatical and i don’t believe that i have ever been more rested . I am feeling so wonderfully blessed to be getting to participate in everything going on around me .
  I have been enjoying some quality family time with my wonderful children , also have had a great time with my mom and dad , and cant forget about my brother . This week has just been “AWESOME”.
  I did see our wonderful nurse practiioner jennifer flores about my hip for some answers on my severe pain ive been having There isnt any new information on the issue , but i will be be getting some more testing. I am very optimistic i know i am in gods hands and i will be taken care of . 😁
  I last week have started my cna classes . It has been awesome so much new information to learn . The wonderful people that i am taking the class with are so awesome . The teachers are very genuine and nice and want to do everything they can to make sure we are sucessful .
  While on the aubject of my studies my bible and devotional studies have been so relaxing and elightening . This section is what has opened my mind up and made me realize that words as well as actions are imprtant ,” Watch your words diligwntly. Words have such great power to bless or to wound. When you speak carelessly or negatively , you damage others as well as yourself . ” Such wise words i wouldn’t have said it better myself.
  Here are some happy moments i wanted to share .

Excitement and Anxiety all set in at once. I find myself, with excitement, looking forward to 30 days to focus on everything but work. The other side of me has anxiety of having 30 days away from work.

I started the day off with 2 of my bible studies at Tom Green County Jail. Their joy in learning even the basics of the Bible, the number of books, bible writers, time period written, and the theme of the Bible that Jesus taught has helped them to appreciate the value of daily Bible reading and meditation. So exciting to see someone wanting to learn more.

Next steps for the day were preparing to visit friends in Germany and Romania. Just so I can see everything is not perfect, I had to get a tire repaired and, oh no, replaced. Prep for a 3 week journey continued.

This was just your basic travel day to New York with multiple delays and re-routing due to bad weather on the east coast. There were opportunities to read and meditate while traveling. The app on my phone and Kindle make it so easy to read and do research while traveling.

Hello from my living room in Abilene, Texas! I was hoping to write my last post from Connecticut, but our four days there were filled with wedding festivities. The bride and groom were gracious hosts, patiently chauffeuring guests who came from far off places like the Cayman islands and California! It was a sweet reunion for my husband and his college buddies, and of course they all enjoyed meeting Mrs. Scooter 🙂 Our travels back to Texas were perfect compared to our last flying experience, and we arrived back in Abilene with some time to recuperate before heading back to work.

Such a beautiful wedding for Victor and Danielle Moya!

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was going to write about how the artist in me has rested. I really thought I would be sketching more, trying some things new things, but I really didn’t do as much. I was a little surprised at myself, but what I didn’t realize is that part of me needed to rest just as much as my body did. Instead of setting goals, I pulled out my sketched book whenever I felt the urge to do so. I did draw outside, sketch something different, try a new medium, but I didn’t overdo it.

A house in the forest of Virginia

You can’t see it, but there’s a lake at the bottom of the hill. I just had to try and capture it!

I found more renewal in finding inspiration again. The biggest driving force for an artist is inspiration. I can’t just pull ideas out of thin air. They almost always come from somewhere, something, or someone. I’m often inspired by other artists as well. The great Pablo Picasso once said, “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” While we don’t mean to plagiarize, we artists often rely on each other in some capacity to keep the flame burning.

The two main things that absolutely enamored me during our travels were the architecture in the north east and the work of great artists like Degas, Monet, and Picasso at the Albright-Knox museum. There is so much history in places like Buffalo and Connecticut, and the way houses were built reflects some of that. I took as many picture as I could and I plan on doing a series of ink sketches to frame in our home. And of course, how can you not be amazed standing in front of an original masterpiece that’s larger than life?! Jackson Pollock is one of my favorite abstract expressionists, and it was incredible to see one of his pieces with my own eyes. I walked away from this museum remembering why I love art so much.

Convergence, one of Pollock’s most famous paintings, is almost 8 feet tall and nearly 13 feet wide!

Old house in Niagara Falls, NY

And so ends my Sabbatical. I’m well rested, stress free, and ready to be back at work! I’m extremely thankful that FD gave me this unique opportunity. Everyone I talked to about why I had so much time off was completely amazed that an employer would do such a thing. A big thank you to Kris, the executives, and my fellow graphic designers and department for covering my butt while I was gone!

Today marks the last day of my 30 day sabbatical, and it is certainly a bittersweet day. The time I had to see family was special, for me and for them, and being able to unplug for a while and relax was much needed. I am reminded now, however, of all my to-do lists and important things to take care of and I’ll be honest and say it’s almost an overwhelming feeling. But I know that it will all be sorted out, that the pressure will ease, and that God is in control of all things.

I return to work glad for a routine again, happy to be of service and thankful that the Lord provided the rest I needed to be able to keep moving forward.

The second week of my sabbatical was amazing and eventful.  I took two trips, planned a birthday party for Robynn, Delivered TJ to Patriots Academy in Austin, began building a second story balcony to my man cave, celebrated my 24th wedding anniversary, Planned the family vacation the last week of the sabbatical, and began my archeology study of the first five books of the Bible.

Robynn’s 45th birthday:  This July my beautiful wife turned 45 and everyone that knows us realizes that we love birthday parties.  This year we had a wonderful day with family to celebrate.  The kids helped me pick out a sewing mannequin for Robynn.

Ancestry Trip with TJ:  Family is the world to me and I am extremely proud and grateful for my Holladay name and heritage.  My hobby is genealogy and I became interested in this through research my son began three years ago.  On almost every line my family was living here long before the United States was formed.  The Holladay’s came to James Town around 1635 and their grandchildren were Patriots in the revolutionary war.  Before that my direct line contained the Lord Mayor of London, Treasurer for the East India Trading Company, Founding members of Holy Trinity Church, and ultimately a fairly rough group in the crusades.  In 2015, we took a family trip to the Cotswold in England to find etchings, drawings and graves of our English ancestries.  This year I took a 2.5 day trip to Alabama with my son to hunt for the grave of James D Holladay (my 2nd GG) which has not been cataloged on find any grave and our Rev War hero Daniel Williams Holladay.  We visited 5 cemeteries (3 Holladay cemeteries) and some of these required very specific GPS coordinates and miles of walking through very thick woods.  While I was aware of some of the graves, I was doubtful on finding the one of James mentioned above.  TJ and I were successful and had a great family bonding trip.  We also stopped on the drive there to celebrate a three generation birthday with my great Aunt, her daughter and her granddaughter.   On the way home I was able to introduce TJ to my favorite restaurant in Dallas, Javiers.

Drove TJ to Patriots Academy in Austin:  Theron Jr., was accepted into the National Patriots Academy held this year in Austin at the Capital.  It is run by conservative state senators and reps.  This year 115 delegates including TJ are able to introduce bills, debate and basically run a mock senate in the chambers.  The top bills they introduce are voted on by them and can make to  actually be considered by the government.  We were very excited about this opportunity and Robynn and I drove TJ to the event and even were able to enjoy a pre-anniversary dinner at the best restaurant in Austin, Eddie V’s.

24th Anniversary Trip:  After taking TJ to Austin, Robynn and I drove to Shreveport/Bossier City for a 24th anniversary get-away.  I am so blessed to have spent the last 27 years married to or dating the girl of my dreams.  This year, we went to the boardwalk in Bossier City and stayed at the Margaretville hotel.  We had a beautiful suite with a balcony overlooking the river.  We had a wonderful time together and enjoyed many great meals, shopping and even were able to visit some wonderful family in the area.

Building Project:  For my sabbatical 7 years ago I built a shop and “man cave”  To relax I enjoy physical work and had always wanted to build something on a large scale with no assistance from anyone.  This Sabbatical, I plan to add a 250 square foot balcony to my man cave.  While I have not had much time to work on it, I did order all of my parts and have started my building project.  I will add pictures in my update for week 3.

Biblical Studies:  Outside of Ancestry, my hobby is biblical studies.  I guess my learning style is somewhat different than most people.  I do not enjoy listening to commentators discuss “what the president has said” or “what just happened in a football game.”  I prefer to just watch the game or listen to the speech.  When it comes to biblical learning I am the same way and prefer the source itself, the bible.  I also prefer more comprehensive bible studies and do not enjoy books that others write to explain the Bible.  I have a new set of books on biblical archeology and my plan is to read again the first five books of the bible while reading and referencing the applicable information in my archeology books.  I am very excited about this!

Met Chantell in Santee. She was the absolute best manager ever!

I cannot believe my Sabbatical is coming to a close. What a whirlwind and wonderful journey it has been. Interestingly, I wasn’t certain, if I should take my Sabbatical in July. I wrestled with whether to change the date to later in the year. I’d only started as a Select Producer in April, and I felt I was just gaining some traction. I am so grateful, however, I stayed the course. This Sabbatical was so necessary and timely.

I didn’t realize how much heaviness I carried out of 2016 into this new year. From my daughter Biancha’s illness and surgery; my daughter’s high risk pregnancy and subsequent early delivery of precious Ezra, and other family matters. I carried quite a bit into 2017. I was drained and running on fumes.

What a Blessings to slow down. Clear the chatter in my mind, catch my breath, and laugh at myself. It took seven days to get into the flow of sabbatical life. I was working too hard trying to figure out what to do and how to do it, which brings me to. I learned a lot about myself over these few weeks. Some of these things I knew. Other areas became more glaring as the days and weeks progressed.

Below are a 21 things I learned while on Sabbatical. They are in no necessary order. When I wrote some of them, I laughed. Others, I studied with hopes of creating some change. There were still others, which seemed ‘negative’ and yet sometimes being selfish is necessary.

The water is my friend. Unless it’s over my head!

What I Learned About Me On Sabbatical:

• I am absolutely a metropolitan girl who appreciates the water. I love being near and close to the city. I love amenities when I travel.
• I will never go camping, and I am OK with that.
• If there are beware of alligators and snake signs I am on the wrong trip and probably wrong people. But I survived, haha.

As beautiful as the sunrise was…There were alligators below. Serene didn’t go there!

• I am an ambivert. With strong learning toward introvert. I really appreciate my alone and down time.
• I am an absolute control freak! I’d rather drive, tell you how to drive, or fly the plane myself.
• I seldom change my mind. If I tell you, ‘I am not jumping out the plane or zip lining, there’s no need to ask me more than once.’ If we were meant to fly GOD would have given us wings. We are human beings not angels. But I am really OK, if you want too try it.
• I don’t like sharing my food. Unless I offer it to you. Not certain I’ll get over this one. Order your own, and pray for me!
• I feel comfortable and at home in most churches. I’ve yet to feel like a stranger when entering a new church. I’ve really enjoyed the churches I’ve visited on Sabbatical.
• Social injustice makes me compassionate and angry.
• I do not understand for the life of me why we need Confederate symbols adorning our cities. It is hurtful to Black Americans.
• I do not understand why this country has never apologize for slavery?
• As a rule, I don’t really engage ‘strangers’. It’s a city thing. I can now live without. I am going to make it a practice to speak to, engage, and acknowledge others.
• I don’t make friends quickly.
• I don’t trust easily.

Streets of Charleston. Even the NE Patriots fan was cool. Sigh lol!

• I am grumpy when I don’t get enough sleep.
• I can be very selfish.
• I am capable of living with and making peace with things and people I do not necessarily like.
• Life without Martini’s is like a subprime loan.
• I actually like MLB. Who knew?
• I need more vacations and get-a-ways in my life. Even small weekend trips will be necessary.
• Life without Martini’s is like a subprime loan. Oh…I said that already!

Low country hospitality and beautiful people!

My first MLB game. Cubs and the Braves!

All in all…I am grateful for GOD’s grace and mercy over my life and this journey. My GOD who knows all about these things on my list and then some. I have had some wonderful conversations. Learned a lot about myself. Met some beautiful people who accepted me for me while on Sabbatical. I feel a little lighter, hopeful, and creative. Thank you for the opportunity to disconnect Kris and FDLIC.

We made it to Branson about 7:30pm on Saturday, the 22nd. The next day, we slept in and shopped for groceries and went to the outlet mall. We found a few good deals on shoes and clothes.

The first show we went to was the Dixie Stampede on the 24th. We got there early to see the opening show. They had a bluegrass band play while the audience enjoyed some snacks and drinks. Everyone then went to the arena for the main show. They had the process of getting a large group of people fed and out the door down to a science. The show was also very good. Most of the show had people riding horses and doing various tricks and dances. They also had audience participation.

On the 25th, we went to the Sight and Sound theatre. We went on the behind the scenes tour. We saw the animals that they use in the show and got to go on stage and see all the sets. That night we went to their performance of Moses. It was very well done. They had some neat special effects for the burning bush and parting the red sea.

On the 26th, we went to the celebrity car museum. They had a lot of neat cars from movies and TV shows. For an extra $10, you could have your picture taken inside the car. I got to sit inside the DeLorean from Back to the Future. It was very cool. That night, we went to the murder mystery dinner theatre. Several of the parts were played by audience members. I got to play the guy who gets poisoned and dies. I tried to do a dramatic death by falling to the floor. It was a lot of fun. After that, we went and played miniature golf.

On the 27th, we went on the Scenic Railroad. It was kind of a relaxing ride and had some neat views of the river and mountains. It was a little bit of a rough ride though. After lunch, we did the Ride the Ducks tour. It was neat to hear the history of Branson as we rode through town. They also took us to a military vehicle area with a tribute to the veterans. Then, we went into the water and got to see the Showboat Branson Belle, and the kids got to drive. In the evening, we had dinner and a show on the Showboat Branson Belle. The host was a comedian and magician. They also had a dance group and singing group.

On the 28th, we left to head to Joyce’s grandma’s house near Gilmer, TX. We spent the night and the next morning with her. We also went by where Joyce’s grandpa is buried. We then headed back to Abilene that afternoon on the 29th. We’ve spent the last couple days of the sabbatical resting and getting groceries.

Overall, my sabbatical has been a great experience. We got to see family and friends we don’t get to see very often. Joyce and I got to spend some needed quality time together. We got some rest and had some good devotional time with the Lord.

Clue 4: The answer relates to something he is carrying with him.

Day one…
My original plan was to sleep in. Unfortunately my body had a different idea because at 6 am my eyes looked like this 😳 and then my face promptly looked like this 😩. The good news about this is that I felt fully rested. Two days before my sabbatical started we bought a new bed. I’ve not had a new bed in over 20 years and my husband and I have both been waking up in pain for awhile so it was time. The new bed is amazing and I’m so thankful I got it before my sabbatical. It will definitely help in the “rest” category.

I spent the day shopping with my mom and middle daughter, Hailey. We had lunch and survived the ridiculous humidity and heat of the day. I finished off my day with a workout at the DIG wellness center. For those that don’t know, my Husband and I have lost a combined weight of 90lbs since March 1st of this year. We still have a ways to go but we have been utilizing the gym at work about 5 times a week and it has really been a blessing in our progress. Being able to go up there 24/7 is really incredible and I’m super thankful for that privilege.

Overall,  day one felt like a Saturday. I’m ok with that! 😄

During Week 2, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Dallas with my parents. My mother had a doctor’s appointment scheduled and they were planning to spend a few days at my sister’s house in Kaufman. They invited me to go with them, and I decided that I shouldn’t pass up the opportunity. My parents live in Abilene, but I typically only get to see my sisters 5 or 6 times a year, even though it’s only 3 ½ hours away. It was so nice to spend a few days with both sisters, nephews and brother-in-law.

The appointment was not far from SMU, so we decided to go to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum while we were in the area. It’s definitely worth spending a few hours there reliving the memories of September 11^th, Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq. The exhibits contain documents, videos, artifacts and pictures from the major events of his presidency. There is a full-size replica of the Oval Office, two mangled beams from Ground Zero and President Bush’s autographed baseball collection. And who could resist recreating the famous pose of Bill Clinton peeking between the bronze statutes of both Bush Presidents – we couldn’t!

It was another great Sabbatical week.

30 days have come and gone but the memories will last forever. I am beyond thankful for the sabbatical opportunity.

Well… It’s been a wild and crazy week…

My first official day of sabbatical was Thursday, July 20th.  I said my goodbyes to my team on Wednesday and walked out the door with mucho anxiety…  Anxiety that stems from the “what-ifs” of my job and the unknowns of  what the next 30 days would bring while I was away.  Thursday and  Friday, I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I ran a few errands with my wife and caught myself pacing the floor as she checked out, my brain going 1,000 miles per hour, wondering if I left enough instructions for Terry, Jessie, and Jake, second guessing myself if I had sent an email that I needed to send, etc…  The good news?  I woke up on Saturday morning to an epiphany!  This is MY sabbatical and I’ve got all the confidence in the world in the people who are handling my responsibilities while I’m gone.

So what have I been up to?

Friday and Saturday, July 21 – 22, My cousin’s wedding:

I was able to help my family setup my cousin’s wedding at T&P on Friday.  We setup the wedding and the reception, attended the rehearsal dinner as my oldest son, Griffin, was the ring-bearer.  Saturday morning came around and we arrived promptly at 9am for the 10am wedding.  After the awesome ceremony the reception was a huge bacon… I mean… breakfast buffet with anything you could imagine… including mimosas.  Sam Corbett (who you will all soon meet) is the father of the bride!

July 22 – 28, trip to the beach:

My family of five, my parents, my grandmother, and my sister’s family all trekked down to Galveston shortly after the wedding ended.  We rented a big beach house and just RELAXED for five days.  Nothing to do, nowhere to go, just  bum out on the beach, fish, and SLEEP (and eat).  We  had a great time, but also had a scare on Wednesday.  All the ladies decided they didn’t want to watch the men fish all day, so they went shopping.  My grandmother, who is 80, ended up falling on a sidewalk in downtown Galveston and hit her head and elbow. We later found out that her elbow was broken and her wrist fractured.  Thankfully, her head was fine.  God provided a lot of good people  that day to help her out.  There was a registered nurse who witnessed  the fall and immediately took action.  My wife called 911 and an ambulance came right away.  The ER doctors at UTMB were first class all the way and made her a priority.  They communicated with her doctor here in Abilene.  She does require surgery on her elbow, but will be able to do that here at home.  Please  keep her in your prayers.

Jeff and Rob:  As you look through the pictures below, you will notice I haven’t shaved in quite some time.  Please don’t hold this against me.  (HA!)

Saturday, July 29, My Cousin’s proposal:

You remember my cousin from that got married up there ^^^?  Well, her brother proposed to his girlfriend, Becca, TODAY.  He had this planned for a while now, and the entire family got to witness it from the press box at the McMurry baseball field (a good amount  of my family graduated from McM, me included).  It was an awesome sight, and reminded me of my proposal to Andrea.  The memory of the nerves I had that day all came back.  The journey that they are starting is the same  journey that has given me a beautiful, hard-working wife and three amazing boys, and I look forward to witnessing those events in their lives.

So what’s on tap for this next week?  I begin my service project at Global Samaritan in the warehouse.  Football is back with a vengeance and practice starts on Tuesday for my two older boys.  This will be Griffin’s (age 8) fourth year and Kipptyn’s (age 6) third year in football, and my 3rd year  of coaching their football teams.

Gazaille… Over and out.

For my helper of people portion of my sabbatical I felt a strong calling to be there in any way possible for a friend.  We grew up together and were best friends in high school; however, with as busy of a life as I lead, we have spend almost no time together in the last several years.  Within the last year, his wife was diagnosed with ALS.  Currently she is unable to move the majority of her larger mussels and for the last six months she has refused to allow anyone in the house.  This has made it very difficult for my friend as he is the sole caregiver, runs a business, works 60+ hours, and tends to every need of his three young boys and the home.  I am completely amazed that he has managed so well for this long, especially knowing that 4 hours is a dream amount of time for him to sleep.  In a private conversation, he let me know that he has no time to clean the house, mow, or take care of anything.  There are also things he needs to do for the house in order to care for his wife.  I told him that I would be honored to clean the home and help him with modifications.  Unfortunately, he told me that there was no way that his wife would allow anyone in the home for these jobs except for him.  I told him that I wanted to be there for him and asked if there was anything I could do.  He finally let me know that what he would really like to do is clear land in order to maneuver his lift van closer to the home and to build a entertainment room for the kids that is not connected to the house.  The children have not been able to have any friends over and this would give them a way to achieve this.  In addition, it would give the children (ages 8, 11, and 15) a place to be when their mom needs rest.  He feared he would not ever have the time to do this.  I told him that I would love to do this for him.  At first he persisted that it would require being in the heat for days and that I would have no ability to cool down in his home.  To this I said, “perfect”.  I told him about our sabbatical process and that for my sabbatical I was already committed to spending the entire time 30 days mostly outside and with no use of computers or technology.  Ideally, I wanted to avoid any air-conditioning as well.   The lack of computers and communication devices is to detox from a rough year.  The only exception I am making to this objective is this blog.  My friend already knew that I love the heat and that my way of relaxing is physical work.

Following the start of my sabbatical we began to work.  We mowed and cleared land, repaired and stained the wheel chair ramp at the front of his home and then began work on an entertainment room.  For this project, we planned to turn a large storage building into this room to brighten the daily life of the kids.  First we had to clear the buildings.  These required three large trailer trips to various charities and three large trailers of trash delivered to the landfill.  Following this, we cleared ever thing else out of the building and onto the land we recently cleared.  We then made several runs to Lowes.  We insulated the blank studs, put up walls, installed a celling, textured and painted the walls and celling, installed an air-condition window unit, put up trim, and added lights and electricity.  This required five 16 hour days, but we were able to complete the project.  I believe this was actually a surprise to both of us.  Additionally, it allowed me to completely take my mind off work for the first time that I can remember.  I realize this might sound odd to some, but it was the most relaxing thing I could possible do for my first week and I have a great tan to show for it.  It was also wonderful to see the excitement in the faces of his children.

The work is explained in the first two paragraphs, but the real blessing is very difficult to describe.  At the end of the last main day of work, my friend had prepared his wife for a visit by hospice.  She ended up canceling the meeting, but her mom came out and brought food.  For the first time she allowed me into the home.  I called my wife so that Robynn could say hi to her as they were college roommates.  To my surprise and especially to the surprise of my friend, she invited Robynn over as well.  I believe she almost felt guilty as I had been there and outside for the last five days.  This turned into a very emotional time of sharing and loving.  Robynn, my wife, lost her mom to ALS when she was only 9.  Robynn was able to communicate openly with her when she explained why she would not allow anyone in.  She said that she did not want anyone to remember her this way.  Robynn was able to explain how she went through all of this with her mom and how she now remembers the good times.  We explained that we wanted to be there for them and that we loved them.  The next day my friend called me with excitement in his voice.  He explained that his wife had had a wonderful time and was able to relax.  He shared with me how she had recently been voicing things like, “I am just ready for it all to be over (life).”  He said that she was now more open to seeing people and had invited my friends mom over for the first time in a long time.  We are hopefully planning another visit next week.  During our time working together, we shared many wonderful moments and emotions that are more than I could describe.  I am so grateful to work and the Lord for allowing this opportunity.

Following my time of helping my friend, I then switched my focus to my mom.  I repaired the wheel chair ramp in the front of the house and finished a storage shed she was working on in she back yard.  This was necessary to remove her items from the garage as space is needed for her van that is now equipped with a wheel chair lift.  My uncle requires a wheel chair and is Bing cared for by my mom (his sister).  The building was approximately 70% complete when the people she had working on it skipped town for good.

These projects differed from my original desire to help in some way my missionary friends in Mexico; however, I am still planning to help with some fundraising during my sabbatical.