The Hairs on My Head

Leo my dog.

The other day as I was cutting a friend’s hair my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number so I let it go to voice mail and figured I’d call them back when I was done. Then my friend’s cell phone rang and it was her daughter, so she took the call. I figured since we were taking a break anyway, I‘d listen to my voice mail to make sure it wasn’t an emergency. Well, it was. The call was from a girl down at the end of my street who had wanted to let me know that my dog had escaped and she had him in her protective custody. She told me that she would be waiting out in front of the house that was having Christmas lights put up. I told my friend I’d be right back and left her, wet hair and all. I got to the end of the street, found the girl on the roof, but no doggie in sight. He had escaped out of his collar and had continued his run, getting further from home. She could not catch him, but, at least seeing which way he went, she could send me in the right direction. As I was getting back in my car I saw two other women who were out for their morning walk. They had seen my doggie run across the park and watched a woman grab him up and put him in the back of her dog-washing RV. I pulled up behind this woman as she sat waiting for the gate to open for her so she could go into a different neighborhood. Fortunately the gate was not working very quickly which allowed me to catch up with her. One minute later and I would not have gotten my doggie back. He had no identification on him since he had wiggled out of his collar. The timing on everything worked out perfectly! I got my dog back and I got the phone number of a good dog-washer. God had kept my dog safe as he crossed each street. God had been watching over my dog and He guided me right to him.

Every bird that falls out of his nest

Scripture tells us that God notices and cares about every bird that falls out of its nest. So why do I stress out and worry about things so much? Just like my dog and the birds, God is watching over me.

Every hair on my head (and that’s a lot!)

He tells me I am worth much more than a sparrow. There is no detail of my life that is hidden from Him. He is my protector and my guide. If He knows me so well, then He knows what is best for me. As I rest in this truth and trust Him with everything, I am overwhelmed with His peace and confidence.

Matthew 10:29-31

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. ³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

International Adventure

           My international adventure began a year and a half ago. My husband and I had been asked to consider hosting a Chinese high school student for the school year. We discussed it and thought about it for a little while and then decided to decline the offer.  A month or two went by and my husband asked me if the school had ever found a family to host this young man. I found out that they had not. My husband had a few questions about the program and the student. I told him to call the director of the program and get the answers for himself, without me as the middle man. At this time I was taking the kids to visit my mom and step-dad. During our trip I finished a book I had been reading called, “Same Kind of Different as Me”. I highly recommend this truly beautiful and inspiring book! But, I want caution you, this book will challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and do something new for/with God. As you may have guessed, I did read it, so you know I was challenged to do something for/with God. Out trip came to a close and the kids and I got in the car and headed home. On our drive back home I prayed that God would show me what He wanted me to do; where He wanted me to step out of my comfort zone and join Him on an adventure. I prayed that if it was God’s will for us to have an international student that God would speak directly to my husband.  When I got home I got my answer. My husband had called the director while I was away and had set up an appointment to meet with her the next day. He was feeling led in the direction of hosting. We had our meeting; we agreed to host and thus began our adventure.

       It was a year of ups and downs.  God was teaching me to lean on Him for all my needs. Adventures challenge us, surprise us, make us stronger, bless us, grow us and leave a lasting impact on our lives. My adventure did all of the above. We now have a relationship with a young man we never would have known had we not listened to God’s voice and followed Him into the great unknown. Even though he lives with another family this year I still see this young man at the school when I volunteer in the library. We sit together at water polo games and chat about how school is going and his plans for his future. We have been blessed to watch him grow over the past year and a half. He was even crowned Homecoming King this year.

       Our adventure continues even though we are not hosting full time. Our family is signed up as a respite family, giving the full time families a break when they need it. This last weekend we had the blessing of hosting two boys for the weekend. One from China, the other from Brazil. They came on Friday night and stayed till Sunday night. Over their time with us the boys and our sons went to the park and played basketball together, they ate pizza, they played video games, they laughed and sang and even danced a little. The Brazilian boy loves to sing! We also had another Chinese boy join us for dinner one of the nights. I told my younger son he was going to have his own international pizza party! We laughed.

       I look forward to many more international adventures as God brings students into our home. I am on the mission field in my own home!!

2 Corinthians 5:20, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors.”

Evening of Blessings

            Last Saturday I was treated to an evening of continual blessings. It all began three years ago when I told my wonderful Dad and lovely Step-mom that my favorite song is “Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie”, by Don McClean. Since then they have been keeping their eye out for him to come out in concert. Well, about a month ago my Dad called and asked what my husband and I were doing on October 29^th. I told him we didn’t have any plans and that we were open that evening. He told me that Don McClean was in concert in Santa Barbara that night and that he had just bought tickets for the four of us to go.  Yippeee! Now Don McClean came out with song when I was about two years old, but it still has special meaning to me. It takes me back to simpler times. I cry every time I hear it. I make my kids listen to it in the car.

          So Saturday, October 29^th arrived and at about 4:00 PM we all hopped in the car and drove up to Santa Barbara for a special night. We walked around town a little bit and then headed to the restaurant for dinner; Carlitos Café and Cantina. Mexican, my favorite! We had a lovely time, wonderful family time, great conversation, yummy food and amazing weather. Even though it is the end of October, it was warm enough to be with out a sweater.

         After dinner we headed down the street to the Granada Theater. It was an older theater that had been remodeled beautifully. We took our seats, orchestra section, center stage. I was literally, directly in front of his microphone stand.  Don Mc Clean took the stage at exactly 8:00 PM. I kept waiting for the seats in the row ahead of us to be filled. They never were. We had a perfect view the entire night. Amazing!

        We were treated to many beautiful songs that evening. One song he had us sing along with him. It was “Keys to the Kingdom”. It went something like this- I got the keys to the Kingdom, the world won’t get me down. He sang about Peter, Paul, Silas and John the Baptist, during times of trouble, calling heaven asking for Jesus on the phone. It was a fun, lively song that everyone joined in on. Then the big moment came; “American Pie”. Of course tears came to my eyes as I got to hear my favorite song, live. After Don finished the song we all got up to give a standing ovation. As we stood there clapping he started some of the verses over again, this time with all of us singing along.  What a blessed evening.

      It all happened because two special people took the time to notice what I like, had been on the lookout for three years to get me tickets, and treated us to my favorite food.

That is what thoughtful looks like.

Philippians 2:4, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Lord, help me to be this thoughtful and mindful of others; making them feel special and loved. Amen

Butting Heads

Yes, you read that correctly. You see, when you have two stubborn buttheads you are bound to butt heads. So often we think we have something so important to say. We feel we must be heard.  As we are trying to get our point across someone else butts in with an entirely different point of view. We can either listen open-mindedly or continue on with our point of view, not listening or wanting to give in at all. Many times we completely misinterpret each other. We assign wrong motives to what the other one is saying. Making assumptions is a way of asking for a disagreement or fight.  If only we would stop and listen, try to understand the other person’s point of view and the reasoning behind it; then we would have peaceful relationships, and often gain some wisdom.

James 1:19, “ My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”

I can’t seem to master this one. I’ll let you know if I do. For now I will just keep trying.