Wedding Day

Posted on by

11

“… joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.”    Kihlil Gibran

God bless this couple

My daughter Emily is all set to get married in July. That has been the plan for the last 7 months. We have everything ready. Invitations are sent. Dresses are bought. Final details are lining up.

Caring for my Mom during this past year has been more difficult than we anticipated. Like most things in life, we rarely understand what we are walking into when we courageously raise our hands to step up and serve. Basically, we didn’t have a clue. Caring for a sick parent requires all your skills your children taught you plus a graduate degree in Holy Spirit. Mom’s advanced COPD, severe emphysema and declining health throughout the year led to a diagnoses of Laryngeal Cancer Stage 3. This past Friday, Mom’s respiratory system took a frightening turn for the worse. A joyful evening of Settlers of Catan & BBQ~ found us once again following the ambulance to the hospital. Mom has now been diagnosed with Acute respiratory distress syndrome, ARDS. It’s not good.

Emily with her wonderful fiance Chris are honoring my Mom today. As Mom’s health declines, Emily wanted be sure Grandma would witness her vows. So, why not plan an impromptu wedding before the wedding? Today immediate family will gather in my Mom’s house and Chris and Emily will say their wedding vows. This was all planned in 2 days.

I praise God for Chris and his family who dropped everything to come from Colorado for our quickie wedding. Who knows what will happen. Maybe July will come and Mom will be at that wedding too. Life requires us to take the information we have today and make decisions. There are not cheat sheets. I’m happy to see Erik, Brittany & Chicago who dropped everything to fly from Alaska for our emergency wedding.

As we ran around planning this Saturday afternoon and Sunday, Emily said she was embarrassed because people would believe she was pregnant and that was the reason for the quick marriage. That is all to common. I think what they are doing is much rarer. Beginning their marriage focused on family. Showing God and others the importance family will play in their life together. It is truly beautiful.

Vows will be spoken today. License from the state is being obtained first thing and may require a ‘re-do’ in a couple of days with Pastor Rob Bukowski for state law requirements. We joked about how many anniversary’s they will have and celebrate? 1, 2 or 3?  Emily & Chris share the same birthday. (of course with Lindsey her twin :) So a couple of wedding anniversaries should be fun, plus allow Chris some excuses if he forgets, “I thought we were celebrating [May 21st, May 24th, July 21st] this year” (Fill in the date Chris.)

The marriage knot is truly a representation of their situation. Families linking together; Chris’s family stepping up and honoring my Mother in this huge way with their son. Well done. Jesus is pleased I’m sure.

Church, Network or Social Club?

Posted on by

6

‘If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back and a roof over your head, you’re richer than 75% of the world.’

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” Matthew 21:12-13

Pastor Brad Bacon used to say: “Pick up your feet, I getting ready to step on your toes”

Living in Honduras, we were constantly hit with ‘gringo’ prices on things. Being white or a foreigner just screamed ‘rip me off’ to most people. It was frustrating, but you learned to live with it. Sometimes we had our Honduran friends make the purchase for us, saving us money and frustration.

I work in a radially diverse area. Terry came and had lunch with me a couple of days ago. We lost one of our electronic keys for our KIA, and need it replaced. The dealership gave us a price and agreed it would be cheaper to get somewhere else. After lunch, Terry went to get a price for a new key. Well, the price was the same as the dealership. I commented to him, ‘You got the ‘gringo‘ price.’

What about when it hits closer to home. Someone from church?  ( G A S P )

Since returning home we have been approached for opportunities by someone from the church, twice. To be fair, we never heard the person out, maybe we missed a great opportunity? However, since we had no jobs, and couch surfing at my Mom’s, didn’t really feel we had the dough for an opportunity.

Why do some people feel you have to use only Christian’s at church for business transactions? And why do some Christians treat the church as their personal office to market whatever their selling?

Not everyone does this. Some are generous and use their businesses to give jobs and donate goods. They are very good stewards and see rightly as what they have as from the LORD and share with those in need.

Let’s talk about Pampered Chef and jewelry parties that go around the church. Things we have for fellowship and to buy stuff. Overpriced stuff that makes yummy food, but honestly I’ll probably never prepare outside my obligated purchase at your house.

How about we get together and go serve at a soup kitchen? Remind ourselves of all we do have instead of what we don’t. We can find an under-served neighborhood and clean up a park. Just go in and make a difference. Same fellowship~ different venue.

How about we start acting like the church and not a social club? Just a thought.

Want to read a good book? Jen Hatmaker’s An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess is a dangerous read.

Falling steps

Posted on by

2

Front of our house with offending tree shown

Terry & I own a house in Chicago. Well, we share it with a mortgage company and they allow us to live in it or rent it for a monthly fee. When we left the states in 2003 we decided to keep the house for the kids. At that time Lukas was only 9, and we wanted him to feel ‘home’ was still there. I think it worked well for all of us.

We have been very blessed by 2 men who stepped up and took care of the house for us. Len Berg and Ray Toczek made it possible for us rent the house, serve cross culturally and maintain a house here. They did everything. Their dedication and service to us went unnoticed by all except us and God.

Over the years, we noticed the front porch begin to crack. I thought it was earth shifting, ground settling thing. The crack was growing creating a problem with the brick and spacing in the steps making it difficult to walk up the stairs to the front door.

I had a solution. Cement Raising. They drill a hole and pump in cement to raise the porch. Cost: $950+tuck pointing

Terry had a solution. Tear it out. Find the problem. Complete re-do. Cost: $3000 + tuck pointing

Here’s the difference. I really believed the problem was settling of the earth. I couldn’t fathom that there was actually a structural problem.  Below you see what we found.  A tree root from a tree 30 feet away came right for our porch.  When it was opened up, we also found ants, lots and lots of ants.

Root from the tree

Things can look great on the outside. We all know how to do this. Ever been in the middle of ‘intense fellowship’ and answer the phone in a totally different nice voice? There are different ways to describe this: my friend, Michelle Crotts, did a seminar on Women & our mask’s. Some of us never really show whats going on beneath the surface to others, we keep our mask placed perfectly.

Jeff Evans, our pastor in Honduras, talked about the difference in a pond on a sunny day versus a stormy day. On the sunny day the pond would look beautiful, clear and serene. However, when the storm comes and turns up whats on the bottom, it’s a big mud puddle. Some of us do well on sunny days.

No matter whats going on in your life or inside your head and heart, you need to prepare for storms. Job was doing well and the test came. Thankfully, because of God’s grace, he passed and said:

In Job 42: “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

But God does bring roots, trials and test into our lives to grow us up, strengthen us and get us to turn to Him.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

So, be careful out there.

"If I die today"

Posted on by

0

Reblogged from Mallasch Meditations:

Al Keily, who wrote the poem below, is a warrior. His writings are excellent; raw and inspirational, even as we uselessly attack our ”to do” lists with all-out passion each day. He has been close to our hearts as his daughter Hannah just recently passed away.

Spend a minute considering the truths before us today. To begin with: None of us knows how much time we have.

Read more… 283 more words

If I die today

Angry?

Posted on by

1

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

James 3:6

Image

Well hell. Mom was doing poorly. She was short of breath and complaining that her nebulizer did not seem to be working. I went to Walgreen’s to buy another. The pharmacist told me I needed a prescription, so we did all the name/doctor name/ number thing and I said I’d be back the next day.

I returned the next day to find no nebulizer or prescription. Apparently the doctor’s office had sent in an order for the medicine instead of the machine.

Third day, now they’re out of the machines.

The whole time Mom is doing poorly. I’m working and trying to manage her care. Now 3 doctors. Tests. Fear.

Well, the pharmacist took my wrath of hell that third day. Everything that is not holy, not pure, not good came out. It’s interesting that in James chapter 3, God tells us that our tongues speak words ‘set on fire by hell.’ Ever been there? Angry? Saying something you shouldn’t and just can’t stop yourself?

I left, leaving her emotionally on the floor; went to a medical supply store and got the nebulizer.

Victory!

Until the middle of the night:

Conviction came slowly. The Holy Spirit was delayed by my anger, then pounced, ruthless as I had been.

I went back to Walgreen’s. I didn’t want to go. But I had no choice.

I asked for the Pharmacist.

When she came up I begged her for forgiveness. I told her I treated her horribly and there was no excuse.

Her whole face changed.

She forgave me.

It was wonderful.

Anger: no fun to talk about. What do you do with it?

An audience of One

Posted on by

7

Writing is something I learned to do to keep our supporters updated while we lived in Honduras. WGO required its missionaries to write ‘x’ amount of letters to their supporters. Other mission organizations do also, some even write them for their missionaries, state-side from another country. The missionaries just email pictures and their address list.

Moving to Arrow, I got in b i g trouble once for a blog I wrote. We were particularly raw and I was true to self transparent. I pulled it quickly, not quickly enough. I apologized, gained no mercy, and went to bed for a few days in depression after that.

Moving home, I don’t know what the heck to do with this blog. I look back over the posts and its a beautiful journal of memories that I don’t want to delete. Truth is, I’ve learned over the last 9 year to process life through writing. I know, no one cares what I write. I have so many friends who write blogs that are better than books I read. Really!

http://hobwas.wordpress.com/

http://www.gigimuses.com/

http://marilynbrautigam.blogspot.com/

Terry & I finally picked up our few boxes from Denny and Donna that we shipped to the states. So few things we were able to move them ourselves in about 15 minutes. So, that’s it. We’re home. I kissed him and thanked him for bringing me home. We gave notice to our tenants and will move across the street June 1st and manage Mom from there.

Uncertainty reigns. Satan wants me to believe all is lost. We will move in a house with no furniture. My children are all over the globe. A short sale on our credit history tells us we are trapped. He also teases us with the fact that we gave it all up for 8 years of foolishness thinking we could actually make a difference in a country that couldn’t care less about us.

But I have Jesus. He rode on a borrowed donkey to a certain death.

The crowd cheered, days later they would jeer. I can’t listen to people. They change.

He died, but 3 days later the tomb was empty. He reigns. FOREVER.

He has the answers. He’s my God.

Majesty

Posted on by

1

I’ve always looked up to the sky and seen beauty in the clouds. Its like God is drawing a picture for me each day.

Eight years in Honduras my focus was drawn down to the beauty of mountains and tropical flowers.

Returning to Chicago, once again my eyes have naturally floated skyward to see God’s beauty in the clouds.

In Romans chapter 1, God tells us that he created the world to show us he exists. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

I admit I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with the move back. As I sat in my window chair doing my hair my eyes cast upward and I saw the clouds, and I remembered…

Peace flowed over me as I once again remembered I have a sovereign LORD who controls everything in my life and He will guide us through this difficult time as well.

Quietly Undone

Posted on by

2

When I was young, I  believed in a women’s right to have an abortion. I would never have one, but I didn’t feel it was for me to say if another woman should have one. Besides, what if a woman was raped? How could she give birth to the perpetrator’s baby?

It’s no accident I believed this. I was brain washed. The Liar who lied to Eve long ago saying “Did God really say you must not eat from this tree?” set me up again, and again I bit in.

How did he get me? Easy.

“It’s my body.” “It’s my choice.” “I have rights.” “Freedom to choose.” “It’s all about me.”

But as we all know, it’s rarely about us. There is usually another story, and  it involves money, power, and someone else getting them at another’s expense.

Blood Money The Business of Abortion

In Honduras, I visited a home of (very) young girls who were raped, and who had their babies with them. I went expecting to find sad, broken girls and evil little babies. This event forever changed me. The girls were happy and healthy and loved their children completely. The babies were beautiful and giggly and very busy.

Now wait a minute, didn’t these girls REQUIRE an abortion immediately following their rape to help them forget their awful experience? Or had God done what He does best: take ashes and made them beautiful. Could I quite possibly have been wrong?

Current U.S. abortion statistics: http://studentsforlife.org/prolifefacts/abortion-facts/

Isn’t it interesting that abortion is the only medical procedure where no health risk information is given to the patient? Doesn’t anyone find this incredulous?

I’m pro-life now. I became pro-life after my abortion.

What does state side ministry look like?

Posted on by

0

I remember back when we arrived in Honduras and everyone wanted to know what a “typical day” looked like in Honduras. Since returning to the States, our goal was to stay in ministry, which we’ve been able to do. Our life is very different than before we left for Honduras. I thought I’d tell you about a “typical day” in our ministries here in Chicago.

First off, we no longer work together. Even before leaving for Honduras, Terry and I ran our home business successfully together. So, this is different. Actually this has been refreshing. We have a natural break in our work day where things can stop. Of course phones still ring and computers still tempt…

Terry’s ministry’s focus is on Africa, Asia and Indonesia; mine is on the Chicagoland area. Terry’s is on church building, and widow and orphan care; mine is on supporting at-risk families by using area churches, volunteers and child care professionals to prevent children from going into government services when possible. His focus is international, mine is local. Both are based in the Chicago area. Both involve travel, his to far away places, mine to the suburbs. :-)

A typical day now has Terry leaving early in the morning and returning home about 6:30 pm, M-F. His travel to foreign countries will begin in December. My work hours are 20 hours a week. Mondays and Tuesdays are busy in the office; the rest of the week goes with my appointments. Fridays tend to be slow, which is nice for quiet office work or catching up on housework. I also have a laptop for work at home, which is nice, with some of my assignments because the office can be social for me and I get talking and probably get more work done at home!

September Update~ Changes

Posted on by

0

“We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.”
Psalm 33:20-22

We are happy to report Casa de Ester is open and serving girls well. Last week the government center Casita Kennedy closed to teen girls and we were prepared to receive all 30, however, only 10 came. We praise God for this ministry in Honduras which is serving these girls and making this option available to them. Please continue to pray for this ministry.

Carol has begun working in Chicago part-time for Safe Families. This ministry allows an at-risk family to volunteer to give their children to a ‘safe family’ for a period of time while they do what they need to do to help themselves.  Safe families are encouraged to build relationships with the biological families.

Terry continues interviewing with various non-profits in Chicago and is completing a deck on our home. Please pray for the perfect job for him.

One car in Honduras has sold, one has not. The Ford Ranger is still for sale. We ask for your continued prayers as we continue to adjust to life in the States and the new direction God is leading us in. We will keep you updated.