Underdog Flies Again!

We had a Super Bowl get-together yesterday in our basement. I’ve got one of the few basements here in Southern California, so it’s kind of an oddity. They sure knew how to build them in 1910! So where was I? Oh yeah, the Super Bowl. All but four of the attendees were rooting for the Saints. And of course we heaped it on plenty at the end of the game.

I think most all of us root for the underdog at some point in our lives. It’s just a natural reaction when the perennial loser finally pulls off an upset. After 9 months without a job, my husband (the underdog) finally landed something. After exactly 56 job applications filled out and not hearing a single word, he finally heard the word he needed to hear most – “We would like to offer you a job”. He will be working with developmentally disabled adults who want their own piece of the American Dream; a job, a place of their own to live in and a chance to be included in everything that we all take for granted. He’s only been there 3 weeks, but he loves it. Not a lot of money, and no benefits for 6 months, but it’s a real JOB!

We are still in the loan modification process, but hope to hear soon from our negotiator. Still don’t know if we get to stay in our house, but we continue to hang on for dear life to the Lord. Ain’t no where else to go!

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What Matters Most

It’s been a while since I had the chance to post a blog – I apologize. Life got in the way. It has a funny way of doing that. My husband and I have been busy ever since the earthquake hit Haiti.

He leads a disaster relief ministry at our church, and has been attending meetings and sending out/answering e-mails on a constant basis. Our little troubles pale in comparison to what has happened there. A few days after the quake, our relief team was able to get a group of 8 men into Haiti via the Dominican Republic. They visited Port-au-Prince and were shocked at the devastation (some of these guys had been to Thailand after the tsunami and the Gulf Coast after Katrina).

It looks like the Lord has led us to a city of 40,000 souls 50 miles southwest of PAP, a town called Jacmel. Hit just as hard, but no one knows it. Our team is looking to set up a base camp so volunteers can stay in a safe place while ministering. We’ve been able to fly in medical supplies, and are attempting to bring in a mobile kitchen. This will end up being a 2-3 year project, so lot’s of folks will be able to help. If you’re interested, check out the web site: www.committedrelief.org

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Somebody Up There Likes Me

First of all, happy new year to all of you! I think we all are looking forward to a better decade than the last one. There is some good news on the home front – we finally have a “negotiator” assigned to our case, and hope to hear something from her soon. The listing expired on our house, and we decided not to relist quite yet (plus we want to see how many expired packages we get!).

Out of the 50-60 applications that Scott has filled out, he finally had a call and will go in for an interview!!!! After nine months of rejection after rejection, he is smiling. “Someone actually wants me,” he told me yesterday. The job is a “Community Advocate”, someone who assists developmentally disabled adults with learning life skills and getting jobs, among other things. The pay isn’t much, but it is good to see him excited again.

We had some friends over the other night for dinner and an exciting game of “Sequence”. As we talked and compared sob stories (they are down to one income and in a loan remodification too), we realized that God has not decided to retire and move to Maui; that He is still on the throne, and still cares enough about us to know the number of hairs on our head (some more than others!). Therefore our worries are something that we choose to hang on to. He asks us not to worry, but we are too worried not to worry!

“And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.” – Luke 12:29

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Here’s Looking At You, Kid

I just got over Christmas and now New Year’s is heading straight at me! As most of you know, 2009 is a year I’d rather forget. Scott was laid off, I switched offices, we are still trying to sell our house and we are in the middle of an attempted loan modification. For the first time ever, I won’t be able to make this month’s house payment. Our once stellar credit rating will no doubt take a huge hit, which will pretty much mess up any future home purchases or even renting or leasing a place.

There are always bright spots along the way, Our health is pretty good. We have reliable transportation. Our kids are not in jail. So I guess we are pretty blessed.

You know those old cartoons that portray the year ending as a white-bearded old man who looks ready to kick the bucket? And then the new year coming is a cute baby in a nice clean diaper with a smile on his or her face?

 Here’s looking at you, kid!

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Another Dog Day

Okay, here’s another “walking the dog revelation”. First of all, you gotta rent this movie called “Door To Door” with William H. Macy. Saw it last night and I guarantee that whatever you are going through, watching this will give you hope.

Okay, back to the story. Got up earlier than usual this morning to walk Annie, so it was still dark when we started. About halfway through the route the sun started to rise. There’s some clouds in the sky (unknown what kind, but not cumulus. Maybe stratus?), and at one point the combination of just the right amount of sun and just the right angle on the clouds and WOW! Thirty seconds of absolutely the most beautiful sight you’ll ever see! Too bad I only had 30 seconds to view this awesome show.

So about 15 minutes later I notice someone walking toward me in the distance, also getting a early-morning workout. This person seems to be limping, and as they draw closer I realize that this person is actually an older woman, probably in her late 70’s or early 80’s, and she apparently had real bad arthritis, hence the limp. I greeted her with a “Good Morning”, and she did the same. I marvelled at her tenacity as she took each painful step on crippled legs. My problems just faded into the growing day, and I smiled.

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There’s Still Life Here!

I was on my morning walk with my yellow lab “Annie”, complaining to myself about how cold it was. It was 42 degrees, and I was bundled up like Randy in “A Christmas Story”. I know that in other parts of the country 42 degrees would be a heat wave, but here in Southern California, that’s cold!

Walking my usual route, I noticed all of the leaves on the front yards of the houses that I passed. I love that sight, and it really brings home to me the cycles of life in nature and in our own. We start off like Spring, all fresh and new and green and full of life. Then we pass into Summer, where things heat up and life can be a challenge. Fall arrives, and we slow down a little and seem to enjoy life more as we shed excess stuff. Now Winter sneaks in and it grows cold and the beauty of Spring is long forgotten.

And then I saw the tree. I don’t know what kind it was, but it was completely stripped of leaves. Except for one lonely bright pink flower. I couldn’t believe it. It stuck out like a sore thumb and seemed to give the bare tree a special glow. And we too can have that lone flower sticking out of our life, so that others may enjoy the view.

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Life Goes On

What a crazy year it’s been for us! From 2 incomes to 1 (sometimes it seems like 1/2!), from living in our “dream home” to putting up that home for sale, from having an idea of what we were supposed to do to having NO IDEA what God is doing………………I could go on and on and, well, you get the picture. It is often said that “the best-laid plains of mice and men go astray”, or something like that. So, do we plan or do we just “go with the flow”?

I’ve often heard that God has a specific day-by-day plan for our lives, and we need to be part of that plan. But then I’ve also heard that His plan for us is more of a “general plan” rather than a “specific plan” – meaning that God is more interested in “who” we are than “where” we are. It means that God is not specifically interested where we buy a home, He just wants us to be able to afford that home and not go into debt. I like that!

I will be ready for what He has in store for me in 2010, “generally speaking”!

 

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Everyone’s A Winner

Two nights ago my daughter’s high school volleyball team traveled about 45 miles to play in a playoff game. We had beat this team last year in the playoffs, but just barely. This year they were “gunning” for us. Their coach told them at the beginning of the year that their only goal was to beat us this time and send us home losers.

 Our team was more mature than last year, and it showed. The girls played smart and didn’t get rattled. The result was that our girls were victorious, sweeping the other team 3 straight games. As parents and friends poured out on floor to congratulate our kids, I couldn’t help but notice the reaction coming from the other team. Girls with tears streaming down their cheeks – parents with tears streaming down their cheeks – a home crowd slowly stumbling out of their own gym, not wanting to believe that the season was over.

In all athletic events there will always be winners, and of course there will always be losers. Wouldn’t it be nice to go into a game knowing that the outcome was already known, and that you were on the winning team? It may seem farfetched, but it has happened before, and will happen again! When you are on “God’s Squad”, the outcome is already decided. We are “victors in Christ”, and the result of winning is that we get to go to Heaven when we die. It does not mean we won’t get banged up during the game, or get penalized or tackled for a loss. That’s part of the game. It does mean that when the final whistle blows, we are going to the greatest victory celebration of all.

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Thanks For Nothing?

Hi again – This is Scott. Heather is busy doing her “real estate thing” while I hide out in the computer room at her office. We attended an awesome office seminar this morning on “Best Year Yet – Planning For 2010″. The office manager here is very good at motivating the crew, and he is constantly coming up with great tools to offer to us.

God offers great “tools” also. Like prayer,faith, hope, fellowship and of course His Word. Yet these are tools that I often forget to use. When my world seems to be coming apart, I either panic or just feel like running away. Then God invaribly lets me know that I am already the victor in the battle, and I just need to be confident in that. And then I remember everything I am thankful for, and the list seems to grow and grow with every one I add.

Thanks for nothing? No, thanks for learning that nothing happens to me unless it’s already passed through God’s “filter”. He protects me from 99% of the junk the world throws at me, but the 1% is meant to be used to test me, strengthen me, and enable to help others “going through it”.

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The Happiest Place On Earth?

Hi, this is Scott. Heather and I decided that we need at least one dedicated day off a week, so this past Monday was it. So to truly try and “get away from it all”, we decided that Disneyland was the place to go. We arrived at about 10:30 a.m., and were met by a long, long line of cars waiting to pay their $14 to park. I looked at Heather and asked, “Why aren’t all of these people at work today? And look, there are school-age kids here too! Their parents should be arrested for keeping them from school!” I think we had expected to be the only visitors there today, and have the legendary Disneyland customer service lavished on only us!

Well, once we got in there was definitely more elbow room than was first expected. We wandered Main Street and decided to see if “our bench” was open. It was, but it was in the sun that time of day, so we pushed on. “I haven’t been to the Tiki Room for a long time” I told Heather, so there we found ourselves in that faux tropical hut listening to the birds (and flowers and tiki statues) sing the same song over and over and over. After leaving the show and trying not to hum that unforgettable tune, we decided to go to another ride where another unforgettable tune is blasted at us all the time. No, not “It’s A Small World”, but the one where generations of kids have learned to talk like bucaneers. Yo Ho!

 We stayed there for about 7 hours (a record without kids) and had a great time. I had almost forgotten how awesome it is to go on a date with my wife, just the 2 of us (and thousands more), laughing and enjoying each others company. I thank the Lord for every minute I get to spend with Heather, whether “on duty” of “off duty”!

 Live To Give.