Proverbs 22:9

The Lord blesses everyone who freely gives food to the poor.

Simple Addition

Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, Self Control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others and Love. If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful. 2 Peter 1:5-8

I'm absolutely amazed at the transformation God has done in my over the past year and a half. I don't know about you, and it really doesn't matter, but every time I saw a homeless person I would be so quick to write them off as lazy or worthless... I mean after all they haven't contributed to the GNP today, so why should they get any handouts from me? Like I said, that was what I used to think. My attitude started to change when God brought Steve and Brenda into our lives shortly before Thanksgiving '05.

It was a Thursday Night and Kasey and I were at the church when I went out into the hallway and saw two very down-trodden individuals. I was scared. I had no idea what to do, so I asked if I could help them. They asked if there was a pastor available to speak with-- I went and got Kasey. We sat down to talk with them... mind you, the whole time I'm thinking that they've hit up every church in the area and are just looking for a freebie.

Their story, as I later found out, was 100% true. Steve and Brenda had never been well off, but they had always managed to get by until Brenda started having seizures and headaches. These events took them to the emergency room, but without insurance the ER could only treat the immediate needs and wouldn't go beyond that. From that point on Brenda had to have constant supervision because seizures and stroke were a constant threat to her life. Steve did what he could, but was eventually fired from his job due to extended time off. They had been able to get by working odd jobs that she could go with him on, until the night they showed up at our church.

Their truck had broken down right outside the entrance to our church. Without a phone and being over an hour away from home they came inside to ask to use a phone. He called his brother (who lived an hour away) to come a pick him up. It was during this hour that my husband and I prayed with them and heard about their life story. There were several times during their story that Steve broke down in tears feeling responsible, and hating the fact that he was unable to provide for his wife-- he could only afford Tylenol when she really needed far more expensive medications for seizures. She was constantly reassuring him that she was fine and "love was enough". It was definitely a moving story, but the full blow didn't hit me until they showed up at our church for our annual Thanksgiving banquet.

Our (former) church always a had a very traditional Thanksgiving banquet every year. People would bring their whole families, everyone was dressed to the nines, and we would offer some entertainment after the banquet. The air was palpable when Steve and Brenda showed up unannounced and under dressed. Kasey and I immediately greeted them and invited them to sit with us and get a plate of food. Afterwards we made sure that they "won" one of our free hams. ***This point of the story is a little sketchy because I can't remember why, but we ended up giving them a ride home***

After several turns and an hour later we pulled up to the most humble dwelling I've ever seen. They were so proud of their little home that Kasey and I didn't say anything until we had said goodbye and were safely out of earshot. What was home to them was nothing more that a shack. There was no door or windows (it was only November and temperatures were seldom above freezing) They had some pitiful sheets over what used to be windows, and their electricity had been shut off for about a month (which means no heat). Kasey and I were about one block away before tears just started streaming down our faces. I couldn't believe that two happy people could live like that.

It was wrong or me to judge so quickly and God has been faithful to completely transform the perceptions and notions that I had just a short year ago. And it all started with two people, Steve and Brenda.

Home Improvements

My husband and I bought our first home three years ago and have learned some VERY helpful information:

1. First, and foremost, everyone needs to kind a "Keith" or "Jason"
*This is defined as two good friends that can help with home repairs (even in the wee hours of the morning)

2. Never, ever, ever- under any circumstances- take all the doors, hinges, and hardware off at the same time and forget to label what goes with which.

3. Never start a project after 6 pm on Saturday. This rule is strictly adhered to at our house. What started out as tightening a leaky pipe turned into a bathroom remodel the week of Easter (it should be noted here that my husband is a pastor and as you know-- Easter is the biggest day of the year for churches, and my husband was without a bathroom that whole week)

4. Retaining walls are not as easy as they look (especially when one of you insists on being perfectly level)

5. Save the time, RENT/BUY a heavy duty wet saw.

6. Cover the vents before you sand your hardwood floors for refinishing.

7. Buy enough paint.

***SOAP BOX*** I found a color that I absolutely loved at Sutherland's. It was a DUTCHBOY color and their paint comes in an odd size (instead of a gallon only, it a gallon+ quart). This color required a tinted base (no big deal, right?). They were currently out of stock in the quart size, so instead of buying two of their huge (expensive) cans when I only needed a little bit more than what was there I was told to come back in a few weeks and they would have the smaller can available- Great! Well, a week after this happened Sutherland's decides not to carry the smaller size (seriously all I needed was to do the second coat of trim on the top of one wall-- maybe 1'x8' section) Hoping against all odds that they would change their minds I kept checking for about a year. Finally, Sutherlands told me to go to a Sherwin Williams store and they could mix it for me because they still carried this base (this is about a year later, btw). I guess Sherwin Williams owns Dutchboy...

HERE IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD- Sherwin Williams (who owns Dutchboy) won't mix the paint for me. They said it is a protected formula that only a certain tier gets for that companies usage. Granted that makes sense from a marketing standpoint-- but what about customer service? They went on to say that there is no way they can mix it for me (even if I brought them the formula for Sutherlands)....

...and for all the real smarty pants... there's something funky about the paint base that makes it impossible to get a true match from a computer scan (believe me, I tried)

Lesson learned-- BUY ENOUGH PAINT!

SO, if you work at Sutherlands, Dutchboy, or Sherwin Williams I will remove this blog once I receive a quart amount of Lonely Pines. I will even write a blog in praise of customer satisfaction, but not until my room is painted.


Anyway... next week we'll be discussing pet ownership...j/k... but seriously don't give your dog Benadryl.

Fall

I LOVE this time of year... The nights get cooler and the air smells sweeter. Fall is on the way and that means family, friends, family get-togethers... I'm already on the lookout for the first fall tree to break through with the bright, vivid colors of fall. The first apple pie has been made at our house.

Life has been interesting this past year to say the least. I finished my vocational certificate and decided to pursue my four-year degree at KU. This is exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time. I'm looking forward to finishing and being able to start a "real" career, but three more years seems so far away... Kasey, my husband, resigned his position at the church in an odd turn-of-events. We were so set on our next position being in another church that when God opened another door we almost missed it. A commercial construction company pursued Kasey and asked him to come aboard to develop a marketing team/strategy for their company. Kasey was reluctant at first. (It should be noted that a few weeks prior to this I had asked him if he would ever work a secular job. His response was a definite NO, saying he was called to ministry and didn't know why God would have him work a secular job--- Lesson learned: NEVER say NEVER) Anyway after a few weeks of them pursuing him, Kasey decided we should pray and fast over this decision. So we did, and lo and behold God was really moving us... So in a matter of days, Kasey had changed careers and embarked on a career path that neither of us could have seen coming.

I was reading Ecclesiastes 7:14 today and it says, "When times are good, you should be cheerful; when times are bad, think what it means. God makes them both to keep us from knowing what will happen next." Interesting, neither of us could have predicted this. We still can't wait to get back into ministry and are currently serving as volunteers at Westside Family Church-- and love it!

If nothing else comes of this time in our lives, it has taught me that God has a definite plan for our lives and who are we to try and figure it out on our own. Just because we thought our lives were going to travel a certain path doesn't mean that we will never have "God Detours". The best way to get to where you're going may not be a straight line. There may be bumps, curves, loops, detours... but you'll always end up at your destination.