SOLD!

Wow! God is so good. After the whirlwind of painting and fixing up the house, it went on the market on Monday, April 16. Our first showing was that evening at 9:45. 5 days later, 5 showings later: Friday evening we received TWO offers on our home! We accepted one of the offers. So our house is SOLD! But we don;t have a place to live…..yet. Today’s goal is to make phone calls to find our temporary home in Virginia. I know that God has the perfect place set aside for us but I admit I am a little bit anxious about finding a place that will accept our many pets and fit the rest of our needs.

It was a bittersweet night on Friday because the reality of our move hit me right in the face. I cried knowing that we will be moving away from our church family! I am excited knowing that God has gone before us. I can’t imagine what the future holds for us but I know that God has led us through every decision and path. It was still very hard knowing that in 32 days we will be leaving Pennsylvania and starting over in Virginia. This is our first move without kids! When Rick and I moved into our very first apartment together Tonia was already 2 years old.  This was in 1983. We have lived in an apartment in Valparaiso, Indiana and a house in Valparaiso, Indiana. Then Sean was born in 1987 and when he was 10 months old we moved to a house in St. Charles, Illinois. We then moved to Nazareth, in Eastern Pennsylvania in 1994. Western Pennsylvania welcomed us home to Moon Township in 2001. Now here it is and we are empty nesters. So 2012 we will be moving to a rental home in Virginia and then in 2013 we will move to Powhatan, Virginia and into our new home. WOW!

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace

So now it is a time to pack up and move! So until I write again: Aloha!

Planting Anew

I was on my way back to Pittsburgh from Virginia when I started writing! We have had a whirlwind week already. Sunday was Easter and it was also Rick’s birthday! We went to church in Chippewa and then drove to Virginia. We had dinner out that evening in Virginia for his birthday. Very weird sense of time and place! Woke up celebrating Easter with our church family and then having dinner in the location of our future home.

Monday, Rick went to work while I ran some errands. That afternoon we met with our builder to go over some of the details for our home. I have 10 pages of homework from him. Decisions on hardwood vs carpet. What kind of doors. Basic stuff for now! Monday afternoon we went to the lawyer’s office and closed on our land! We now own 3 acres of Virginia land with trees and a creek. It is real.

God has sent us into a new land but we still have to write the final page of our Pennsylvania life! We will always have a draw to Pennsylvania and we will be traveling back to the area a few times of the year. When I get back to Pittsburgh I am buying some new plants for the cemetery! Mini purple mums. We are also trying to find a craftsman we saw at the Christmas In The Woods. His name is Dan and he is known as the Rockman. He carves stones with various sayings on them. I found his listing at the show but  it didn’t have any email or website. I want him to carve a memory stone for a special corner on our new land.  A place where I can go and just remember Tonia. I think I have the corner picked out but I have to see once the house area is staked out. I want to put up some wind chimes an a bench. I am also going to plant purple flowers all around; hydrangea, hyacinths and more!

Back in Virginia: On Tuesday I was able to visit with two new friends, Sondra and Mary. I was driven all over the area so I could find shopping and the Post Office! That evening Rick and I went to our new lot and I planted new purple gladioli bulbs by the creek. The next time I go there they might be blooming. This would be a really sweet reminder of the future growth that God has planned for us!

In the meantime our home in Pennsylvania goes on sale this Sunday! We have been busy getting it ready. Boxes of stuff have been packed up to go into storage or to give away. I have thrown away more junk in the last few months then I have in the last few years. We also gave away 10 bags of stuff to Goodwill! Amazing how many things we just didn’t need. There is nothing like moving to clean out your house!

God is replanting us! He is sending us out into a new land that He has chosen for us. It is a bit scary but I know that wherever I go God is with me. He has never left me. He is the same as He was yesterday. He is God today and tomorrow He will continue! So no matter what life holds I know that I have the presence of God in me. It is Good!

Everyday we get to plant our feet in a new day, a new opportunity. My biggest question is how do I choose to respond? More to come…..

Journey Markers

Stops and Starts and Hiccups! It has been a crazy time in our household. We have been scurrying around trying to get the house ready to go on the market but we have also been trying to live our life. One moment we are waltzing along and then God changes the music to a tango!

Since the middle of February we have been involved in the Family Fitness Retreat weekend, I spoke at two sessions for a local MOPS group, we went to the Pittsburgh Home show to look for ideas, 4 rooms have been painted, 2 PODS have been filled up and I started a new full-time job! No wonder life has felt so crazy!

It is time to create some markers and memories along the way!

The Family Fitness retreat in February was held at The Gathering Place bed and breakfast in Darlington, PA.  Ed and Annie Knotts were our hosts for the weekend. Three couples attended the weekend. We had not met two of the couples prior to the weekend and I was a bit nervous about the interactions. It was a wonderful weekend. The couples were able to take a deep breath and focus on God and on each other. There were tears and hugs. Lots of great conversations happened at all hours of the morning and night! By Sunday morning it was so evident that God had worked His magic and lives were touched. We have new friends to pray for and to remember. What a sweet time. Ed & Annie spoiled us all with their warmth and with the great food!

Then the very next day I was scheduled to speak to a MOPS group at Mount Olive Lutheran church in Chippewa. One of the ladies who attends the group asked me to talk about Boundaries. This is a tough talk for me. Everyone is different in their needs and every group reflects this diversity. I never know exactly what I am going to say until I get there and start meeting the ladies. This is one topic that I do not have a script written. I have some notes and stories jotted down but my talk is geared to responses I get from the women there. I spoke to the morning group and again to their evening group of moms. The atmosphere was totally different between these two groups. They were all mothers of preschoolers and they were all struggling with the same issues but there focus was so different. The morning group was laid back and this was a time for them to socialize and enjoy the company of other moms. The evening group was still looking for the fellowship but they were much more focused in their use of time. They worked during the day and they had a time agenda and wanted to get home. What a wonderful group of women. They are all looking to be the best mothers they can be and their questions reflected this.

In this time we also had a quick visit from Sean! He came home to get his driver’s license renewed and we were able to have a great weekend hearing about his plans. His packet to become a Navy Chaplain goes to Washington DC on May 11! He has had to jump through hoops to get everything accomplished. He has changed recruiters three times and he had to get recommendations resubmitted when they were “lost”. Paperwork has disappeared and one recruiter never returned his phone calls or emails. It has been a journey for him but through it all he has persisted. I asked him if he thought that God was putting up obstacles to stop him from joining the navy or if these obstacles were there to test him! His response was that until God closed the door completely he had to continue to move forward and just when he would get discouraged something would encourage him in this journey! This last recruiter has been great. He has helped him essentially put together his entire packet in the last 2 months that had taken over a year to put together before! So in May Sean should get his answer! Please keep him in your prayers. He has also been dating a young lady and he is bringing her home to meet us over Mother’s Day weekend! WOW!

I have also started a new, full-time job! I was supposed to be quitting on March 15 but due to some significant changes in the Cancer Center at The Medical Center I was needed! My boss asked me to stay on until April 5th and to switch to full-time in the Radiation Oncology center. It has been stressful, learning a new job, especially because I was the only nurse for a week! It has also been fabulous. The team there is wonderful. They have been a joy to work with and to get to know better. I have absolutely loved being able to spend time with my patients and their families. I have been able to hug so many new friends. I have been able to pray for and with the families! But the best part is just to be able to hear the struggles, the victories and to be able to listen and love on everyone. It has been a joy and I am going to miss them all when I do leave in April!

Life continues to move on…. we close on our new land on April 9! Our home goes on the market on April 9! We met with the builder to choose materials on April 10th! New markers and memories are right around the corner. I have no idea what the future is going to hold but judging from the last month it is going to be a whirl wind. I am so glad that God has this journey in His control because I can’t see how all of this connects but I know it does!

My job is to continue to be faithful in where he has me right now and to trust him in the future! I love the memories we are creating and I love being able to journal about these markers in our life!

Have a joy filled day of HUGS!

 

Land Search

Wow! I didn’t know it would be so hard to find a lot on which to build. We found one back in December that we were ready to make an offer to purchase when it was sold out from under us! It was very disappointing. Looking back we saw how God used the situation to redirect our search! We started looking in a suburb of Richmond called Glen Allen. This is where Rick’s office is headquartered. We expanded our search to north and west of there. We quickly realized that for the kind of property, the commute time and the costs we needed to look elsewhere. When we began our search we “decided” that we would not go west of Route 288. It just seemed to be too far out in the country! One of the men that Rick works with, Russ. Kept encouraging us to look there. Before I knew it I was searching for property online in Powhatan County. God was definitely chuckling at our “decisions”! We made several visits to the area to look around and to meet with people. Russ introduced us to the builder we will be using. His name is Mike Konvicka from Mikkon builders. Martha who works with him has been a wealth of info! Mike has been so good to us. He has driven to look at properties for us and to give us his opinion about building on them. They have given us the names of people in the county to contact for info.

So this past weekend we drove out to Virginia to look at 10 specific properties. On Thursday afternoon as we started driving around I became a little discouraged because it was obvious that 6 of them were either too far out to make the drive to the airport and work or they were unsuitable for our needs. Of the 4 left properties left two were in a subdivision with stricter requirements than we were wanting but we could learn to live with them. So at the top of our list were two properties. One was not even on the market but I had already talked to the owners and they were willing to sell because they decided they no longer wanted to build. It was a beautiful lot at the end of a cul-de-sac. The house would be on the top of a hill overlooking the neighborhood. The only downside was that it backed up to the county right of way to the power lines. But it was three wooded acres and you could barely see the power lines! It was a beautiful lot.

The 2nd lot on our list was also at the end of the cul-de-sac and it was also 3 wooded acres. But it was my 2nd choice the first time I saw it. The woods were overgrown. It would need at least a 450′ driveway back into the woods and it had some gullies from years of rain erosion that had slowly eaten a path. But it had some positive qualities also. It had a creek on the back border of the lot that was beautiful. It also was much more private. We could see having marriage retreats there.

On Friday we decided to take the morning to walk each of the 4 remaining lots. The 2 in the strict subdivision remained at the bottom of our list. We walked onto the “creek lot” and started discovering some hidden nuggets. The trees were absolutely beautiful. The property was wider and deeper than we first envisioned. It has wild turkeys and deers visiting. While we were there we heard woodpeckers and various other birds. The slope of the land made it wonderful for a walkout basement. I was falling in love!

Then we walked the hilltop lot. Oh my! It had a small creek running at the front of the property! The lot had been maintained so that there was minimal brush to clear. It had sun shining on it practically the entire day. It was gorgeous. The slope was good for a walkout as long as it was positioned correctly.

I dropped Rick off at the office and decided to walk both lots again by myself. The creek lot was tugging at my heart. It reminded me of Indiana Dunes State Park that I used to visit with my grandmother. It reminded me of fires and walks in the creek. The flaws in the lot were starting to become much more manageable. as I was leaving the lot a woman across the street was getting her mail. She waved hello and I waved back. I said what a beautiful day it was and she wandered over to talk. She asked if we were looking at the lot and I said yes. We shared some life stories with each other and discovered that we were both believer’s. 30 minutes later I had given and received my first hug in the neighborhood! How perfect! My heart was soaring.

Then I drove to the hilltop lot. The afternoon sun was shining golden on the leaves of the tree. The creek was bubbling under the drive and the birds were singing. I stopped to take a few photos and headed back to the car. I was so torn. This was going to take some time talking with God! As I reached the car I went to get the car keys out of my pocket and they were gone! I checked every pocket. I looked under the car. I was panicking. I stopped and had a serious conversation with God. Rick was 30 minutes away with the other set of keys but no car. I was here with a car but no keys. I started praying and thinking about where they could be. I tried calling Rick for additional prayer support but he was in a meeting. I began to retrace my steps. There were leaves underfoot everywhere! I texted Rick the situation and he called me back immediately. We talked quickly about the alternatives. Calling a friend to pick me up. Having him get a ride from someone in the office to come and get me. In the meantime I was still praying and trying to retrace my steps. I remembered tripping over a pile of rocks. While we were on the phone and as I was explaining what I had done and where I had walked, I looked down and ……. the keys were there on the ground! Just two steps away from where I tripped! It was such a cool God thing! In three acres of woods my steps were directed to a single key on a ring! How amazing. What a blessing. Well this lot was a special place in my heart.

Later that evening we met the builder and walked both lots. He pointed out some suggestions to where we could place the house and even talked to us about clearing out the creek lot. His eyes lit up over the hillside lot. It would be an easy place to build. The driveway area was already cleared and the pipe for the creek to continue to flow was already in place. He showed us where to place the house so we could have a beautiful view of the creek and so the power lines in the back were not visible.

We then met with an architect to take our ideas that we had sketched out with our friend Mark Stewart of Stewart Homes in Beaver Falls, PA. The architect asked bunches of questions of us and we asked home bunches of questions. We hired him to complete the preliminary drawings! We still hadn’t made any final decisions about the lots. I was still leaning to the creek lot but the afternoon sun on the hillside and the small creek had drawn me in.

On Saturday morning we decided to call the owner of the hilltop lot and find out how serious he was to sell. We did not make him an offer just asked him what price he might want. He asked for time to think about it! We went to stay with our friends, Mark & Sondra for the rest of the weekend. Sondra wanted to see the lots so we headed there again. This would be our 4th visit to these two lots since Thursday evening! As we were driving to see the properties, the owner of the hilltop lot called. His bottom line price was over 50% of the current assessed value! We were so disappointed. With the current market and the new assessments that came out we hoped that he would be much closer to the price we were willing to pay. We had to factor in the improvements already made but it still didn’t come close to what he wanted.

We decided to continue on to both properties any way to show Sondra. It was drizzling and gray outside. Not the sunny day we had on Friday! Sondra walked on to the creek lot and absolutely fell in love with it. She saw the possibilities immediately. It would need a lot of TLC but it would be a beautiful site for a home.

We then drove to the hilltop lot. I was tempering my enthusiasm already. I didn’t want to like it any more than I already did. What a difference. With the clouds above and the drizzle going, the glow had left the lot. It was still beautiful but it also became apparent that it would not give us the retreat setting that we were looking for. But I still had to wrestle with letting it go. Maybe it was still a possibility. Maybe the creek lot was going to take more money to put in the driveway than we thought. The drive was the biggest issue because of the slope and the rain runoff.

On Monday after a weekend of fun with our friends and a weekend of serious talking, we decided to call Mike, our builder, to get this thoughts on costs to prepare the driveway and if he still felt he could build on the lot. We came up with a price in our head. If the cost came under this amount then we would make an offer on the creek lot! His response blew us away. His estimated costs were half of the amount we had decided upon! He knew that it would take more work but he was very encouraging.

I drove home on Monday and that evening we made an offer on the creek lot! Now the waiting began. On Tuesday evening we got the news that the owners had made a counter offer on the lot. We talked it over and on Wednesday afternoon we accepted the counteroffer with typical inspection contingencies! We have found a home site!! I feel like the settlers who headed out to parts unknown as they headed west to find new lands and opportunities. We are headed east to find new lands and opportunities!

Here are some photos from the listing agent! We will close in April after all the inspections are done. More on those later!!

Rick & Kathy’s Big Adventure

Wow, It is January 16, 2012. Our life has been so crazy as God starts us on a new journey. Over the last 6 months we have been praying about where we are in the season of life. What would God have us do and where? We have been feeling that it is time to move out of the Pittsburgh area. The “hooks” that were holding us here have been slowing coming undone. I didn’t mind the idea of moving out of this house, it has been the scene of a lot of tension and frustration over the 10 1/2 years we have lived here. I really had to allow God to move my heart to a place where we could say goodbye to our church family. Yes I know we will be back but it isn’t the same as seeing them when ever the need arises! One of the biggest hooks in this area is the fact that Tonia is buried here. Yes I know that she is not here, she is living in God’s reflection in Heaven! But the memorial to her is here. The place to take flowers and to remember. We are going to do 2 things to help me with being able to move away. First Rick has promised that we will come back once a year around her birthday to tend to her grave and to share the sweet memories. We are also going to set up a corner of our new land as a private  Tonia corner. I am having a stone engraved with her name and a verse. I will have hydranga bushes planted there and I will have a chair so I can sit and read.  It is good!

So we knew that we were being prepared to move but where and what would we be doing there? Where seemed to be the easier decision, Rick accepted a new job in September 2010. The company headquarters are in Glen Allen, VIrginia which is outside of Richmond. They were not requiring him to be there but they were encouraging him to seriously think about it. Well we did and we also thought about other places that we always said we could retire to. We are praying that this move would be the last one for a VERY long time. We want to build a ranch house that we can stay in, even late into our retirement years! So we thought about Tennessee and Arizona. We thought about lifestyle choices in each place. We thought about the weather. We thought about where Sean might eventually settle. We had to take where Sean may live out of the equation because he will probably be moving around as a pastor and as a Navy chaplain.

The more we talked and prayed about our future the more apparent it became that we were to head to Virginia! So in December we began to shop around for land to build on. Now the next question is what does God have in mind for us in Virginia. I know that we can’t answer that question completely but we think we can see the tip of the iceberg. We want to be able to run the marriage retreat weekends that we have facilitated here. We have had to rely on the generosity of others to open their homes for the weekend retreats. We want to be able to host them in our own home so… We will be building a home that can hold 3-4 extra couples in their own rooms. So the design is going to be a modified one. The main living space will be a ranch home that is accessible to someone in a wheelchair or walker. No steps to get into the house from outside or from the garage. There will be our master suite on the main floor with a guest suite with a handicapped accessible bathroom attached. We will also have a family room with a fireplace and the eating area of the house. The kitchen will have a pass through into the great room where we can watch movies with a group of friends.

The 2nd floor will have 2 guest bedrooms with a bathroom and we will also have a walkout basement with 2 more guest bedrooms and a bathroom. Rick’s workshop will also be in the basement. The basement will be accessible by a long ramp from the driveway for entertaining purposes also.

But ……… we have to find the perfect piece of land where we can build our home. We are looking west of Richmond in Powhatan and Midlothian Virginia. We know that God will show us the perfect place. In the meantime we are preparing our home to put it on the market. We have been putting “lipstick on the pig” as Rick says! We are painting the entire house inside off white. We have had new Pergo floors installed in the kitchen, dining room and foyer. New carpeting will be coming next month. Our target goal date to have the house on the market is March 20! Lots to do! My last day of work is March 15. We decided that with 2 dogs and 2 cats I needed to be here when the house is being shown. We are packing up all of the stuff that we have accumulated over the years. It is going into storage starting this week.

Photos of current home:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am excited over the new season that we are starting and I am overwhelmed by the ideas of moving and starting over. My verse for this time is: The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. (Genesis 12:1 NIV).  God is sending, we are going, He is in control!

In the meantime I am cherishing the time I have here with my church family. Every conversation is precious. Every hug is given and received with a little more tenderness! I am blessed!

Well I will keep you up to date on our big Adventure!

Isaiah 58

So much has been going on in the Brundage household. We have been very busy and God has been very much at work in our lives. In the next few days I will try to catch up.

Right now I want to invite you to join Rick and I on December 17 at 2:30 in the afternoon at Chippewa E. Free Church. Our Adult Sunday school class has been reading the book Radical by David Platt! We have been very convicted and together we have decided to pray over and try to figure out what it looks like to live out Isaiah 58. Compassion International has just released a film called Live 58. It is about the needs around the world and how people have figured out a way to fulfill the needs in very unique ways.

We have a copy of the film and we will be showing it on December 17! People in our class and in the church have stepped up and they have chosen to represent various ministries for the afternoon. We will have information available for Aliquippa Impact, a local soup kitchen, Samaritan’s Purse, Gospel for Asia and a few others.

We are very excited about where this film may lead us all! It has sparked discussions and some soul-searching among our class and within our marriage. If you want to be involved please join us or drop me an email with questions!

God Bless and Have a Grateful Thanksgiving!

 

The Art Of Marriage seminar

November 11 & 12: We will be hosting a video based marriage seminar at our church, Chippewa E. Free in Beaver Falls, PA. It is called The Art of Marriage by Family Life.  When: Friday from 7:00 to 9:30 PM, Saturday from 8:00 to 3:30.

Why should you attend? Hmmmm. Maybe a better question would be why wouldn’t you attend? I am so in love with my husband, even after 25 years! We still have so much growing to do. I know that I am not perfect and I know that he is not perfect so together we are really messed up! LOL. Our goal has always been to continue to grow closer to God and closer to each other. We can’t do it alone. We need God to provide the guidance and the strength. We need other Godly couples to provide the examples and to hold us accountable. We need resources to help us navigate the waters of the secular world that invades our home.

That is why we attend seminars and retreats about family and marriages. We want to grow together! United in Christ. One body.

So on November 11 & 12 we want to encourage other couples to come and enjoy some GREAT fellowship with others and gather up some tips and tools to help your marriage thrive. The cost is $45.00 per couple. This includes your books, a continental breakfast on Saturday morning, lunch on Saturday afternoon and child care (must register by November 5 so we can have enough workers).

Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Christian marriage is the union of one man and one women with God as the center. Too many marriages in the church and outside the church are hurting. Couples are becoming separate beings instead of a team. The world is pulling them a part. Communication becomes strained or even becomes yelling and arguing. At some point a decision is made either you need to do something different or the marriage crumbles.

The definition of insanity is to do the she thing over and over but expect different results!

I know that Rick & I have had our share of struggles. When I continue to focus on my needs instead of our needs we fight more and I get more frustrated. I want to win the argument. I want to be told that I am right, even when I’m not! I want… I want…. I want…… Talk about selfish and self focused!

Instead when we together focus on the needs of our family and the needs of each other, it becomes unifying. How can I be a part of the team? How can the gifts and talents that God gave to me be used to enhance us as a couple. Rick is the level-headed one, I am the fly off the handle, impulsive one. He balances my thoughts, but I also give him a different point of view. My passion for a subject gives him a new perspective. His calmness allows me to step back and put it into perspective. We complement each other.

I want to continue to grow and help other couples grow….together. So come and join us on November 11 & 12. I will even give you at least one hug!!

God is the pony in the poop!

There is a story that I heard years ago that I have adapted  as I met with a dear friend yesterday. Here’s the original story.

There was a father who had 2 sons. One son was never happy. His outlook in life was always bleak. The other son was the opposite, everything in life was great. The father wanted to understand his sons better so he decided to test their attitudes. The bleak child was put into a room full of brand new toys. At the end of the hour the father went into the room and found the boy crying. He was surrounded by toys but he was still unhappy. the 2nd son was put into a room full of manure. At the end of the hour the father went into the room and found the boy digging through the manure and laughing joyously. The father was confused so he asked his son what he was doing. The son replied “With all of this poop in the room, there must be a pony in here somewhere and I am going to find it!”

I was talking to me friend and she is going through a situation that is very tough. Her family is in the midst of a pile of poop but I reminded her that there are blessings that are happening. God is always in the midst of our troubles but He promises that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. He is the pony in the middle of our poop! But we have to look for Him.

Rick and I are in the middle of a situation in our life. We have been restless and God has been prodding us in some new directions. Sometimes I haven’t wanted to change course and other times I want to do it now just to get it over with but God keeps telling us to wait on Him. Prepare our hearts and lean on God. It doesn’t FEEL good. Frustration and tears have been coming in waves. So yesterday as I heard myself telling my friend that she needs to allow God to be her pony in the poop I heard God asking me if I am looking for Him in the midst of the struggle! Ouch!

So I need to focus on finding God in the midst of the confusion. I need to see the blessings of waiting. The very first one is that I can take the time to let people know how important they are to me.  I also have time to hear from God and truly know where He is sending us.

So today I will look for God to be my pony in the poop!

 

The Grace Card

Rick & I recently purchased and watched the new movie “The Grace Card”. It is a wonderful movie about life’s struggles and learning to forgive yourself and others. The key to the movie is a simple note that an 11-year-old boy wrote. “I promise to pray for you every day, ask your forgiveness, grant you the same and be your friend always.” Now this might seem simple but I got to thinking about it in the context of this weekend with the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and in the context of Tonia’s death. I can promise to pray for those people whom I love. I can even promise to pray for the people on the other side of the world affected by earthquakes or tsunami’s. But can I and do I prayer for those people in my life who are irritating? Those people who I look at and say, URGH!!  Can I pray for the terrorists who have bombed our nation? Can I pray for the co-worker who drives me crazy when we work together?

Rick and I used to call these people, EGR’s, which stands for Extra Grace Required!  That is exactly what they need and exactly what I need to give, Extra Grace! I was given this gift when Jesus was nailed to a cross and took my sins upon him. I didn’t deserve the grace yet He gave it to me.

So “I promise to pray for you every day, ask your forgiveness, grant you the same and be your friend always.”

Can I live out The Grace Card in my life. I am not sure. I know I cannot do it on my own. But through Christ I can humbly do my best every day. To the family members that drive me crazy, to the co-worker who irritates me, to our son-in-law who killed our daughter…… I promise…. to pray for you every day. I may not be able to do this but I must try!

But there is more to this card. It also says I promise …. to ask your forgiveness.  Wow. I need to ask for the forgiveness of my family members who I know I hurt by my choices in the past? Even though at the time and even know the choices were the right ones? But my delivery of these choices hurt. This is the tough part for me. It means I have to humble myself before the very people who hurt me. The very people who caused me even more pain, especially after Tonia’s death. And yet….I have caused pain in my life to others. I have caused God pain as He watched one of His children fall and make bad choices. Even then…Jesus humbled himself before His enemies and asked His Father to forgive them.  I can’t promise to ask for forgiveness from the people in my life …yet. I need to pray for the strength, the humbleness and the beauty to penetrate my heart.

But there is more…I promise to  ask your forgiveness AND grant you the same. Grant forgiveness. This I know is a never-ending task. Daily task so I understand when it says every day I promise. Some days I forgive easily for the moment…. but I can take it away in a second when anger, doubt and despair clouds my mind. Then forgiveness gets washed away. So once again I have to give it to God and once again I have to forgive. I am very flawed in this aspect of life. I am still being refined.

The Grace Card….I promise to pray for you every day, ask your forgiveness, grant you the same and be your friend always. To be continued…..

Kayaks & God

Last weekend, Rick and I, had the honor to be with friends in the North words of Wisconsin. It was a much-needed getaway. No computers. Cell phone only for an emergency. Fellowship around the family table. Quiet time on a pontoon boat. Our spirits were refreshed!

On our last day there I was asked if I wanted to go out in the kayak. I didn’t want to get wet but Rick convinced me to go. It was my first time in a Kayak. What a blast!! We were skimming across the water and flying across the lake. We headed out to visit the birds in the middle of the lake. They were Loons and their cries sound like dogs barking (kind of)! I had to learn several things. I had to learn how to get into the Kayak while keeping my balance. I had to learn how to hold the paddle evenly so that it was in the middle of my body in the boat. I had to learn to extend my arms and use my upper body to paddle the boat. I also learned how to turn by putting the opposite paddle in the water and allowing the drag to turn the boat. It was so much fun. I want to go kayaking again! I can’t believe that I never knew how much fun it could be.

It reminded me of my life before God came into my heart. I never knew how much fun life could be! In my Christian walk I have had to learn many things. I have learned how to get into the boat by accepting Jesus as my Savior, he then provided the balance for my life. With Him I know that my boat will never capsize and that the waves may be rough but He is in the boat with me! I have tried to learn how to balance my life. How to live in the world without being a part of the world. At times I have gone in circles as the world has had more influence than my spiritual walk. I have had to learn that balance is critical to my walk. I have also learned that at times I have had to allow Jesus to turn my life around when he changes my direction by putting up road blocks that slow me down. But my favorite thing I have learned is that I love to fly across this life with Jesus as my navigator. Life becomes fun! Life is like a kayak flying across a lake with the sun shining and the loons crying out a welcome. Fabulous!

I can’t wait to go out in a kayak again!