Just another chapter...

Nearly New

2010-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

So...I've been working on losing myself...poundage, that is! The good thing is that recently, my jeans have become increasing baggy, but SAGGY is just not in this season! However, I just can't really justify buying a new pair right now given the current state of my finances.

I was back in VA for a quick visit last weekend and while there was bemoaning the fact that I now need to put my jeans in the dryer in a sad attempt to shrink them each time I put them on (yes, it is a good problem, but still...). When I mentionned the size that I'm nearly fitting into, my friend and former roomate announced that she has several pairs of jeans that she had planned to take to the church's clothing ministry. I laughed at the thought of fitting into her jeans, but figured, why not try???

As it turned out, they all actually fit...just WAY TOO LONG! ha ha! So, I came home with 4 pairs of practically new jeans!! And, I'd just like to add they are much nicer than I would ever have bought for myself!!!!

That's what I call "above and beyond what you could ask or imagine".

Worthy of all my praise...once again!

2010-04-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you SO much to all of you who prayed with me about the tax situation - it really means a lot!

Going into my appointment, I was praying first and foremost that I would just trust God with the outcome...no matter what. I really didn't know what to expect...I knew that He could work things out so that I got a (surprise) refund or He could also allow me to owe money that I don't have and then somehow provide what I need.

I don't doubt for a minute that the guy who helped me was hand-picked! As we started finalizing things, I only ended up owing $19 for Federal (which was a very pleasant surprise!) and I did get some money back from my conference job. Then came good ole Virginia state taxes...the form showed that I owed $774.

I must admit, despite trying to prepare myself for this possibility, it was still a major blow. As I sat there, already trying to figure out how in the world I would ever pay this much, Jim, my tax preparer extraordinaire was still trying to figure out any possible deductions which could possibly help me...I really appreciated his willingness to continue looking for wasy to save me money eventhough it obviously didn't make any difference to him personally! I was just sitting there watching him, praying that he might find something that would make a difference, even a small one.

Just as it seemed like we needed to wrap things up, he asked me when I moved to Indiana. When he entered the time frame and checked the amount owed, it had dropped down to only $173!!! I just sat there and stared at the screen...unbelievable...one little detail saved me over $600! I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I was still blown away by such an incredible provision!!!
So, in the end, once I get the refund from my one job, I'll have only ended up paying about $20!?!

I will give, you all my worship

I will give, you all my praise

You alone, I long to worship

You alone, are worthy of my praise

A sweet reminder

2010-02-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

I love it when the Lord speaks to my heart through music! I hadn't heard this song in a while, but came across it the other day and been listening to it constantly since then! I posted a link at the bottom so you can enjoy it, too.

Oh You Bring - by Hillsong United

Oh You bring hope to the hopeless
And light to those in the darkness
And death to life, now I'm alive
Oh You give peace to the restless
And joy to homes that are broken
I see You now, in You I'm found

And You open the door for me
And You laid down Your life to set me free
All that I am will serve you, Lord

Oh You fill those who are empty
And rescue those in the valley
And through it all, You calm my soul
Now You find me in my weakness
And heal the wounds of my heartache
And I worship You, in spirit and truth

And You open the door for me
And You laid down Your life to set me free
All that I am will serve You, Lord

And You open my eyes to see
All the wonder and awe of Christ in me
Jesus, You're everything I need

All honor, all glory, all praise to You

And You open the door for me
And You laid down Your life to set me free
All that I am will serve You, Lord

And You open my eyes to see
All the wonder and awe of Christ in me
Jesus, You're everything I need
http://popup.lala.com/popup/504684660959880184

More than tacos

2010-02-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

I've tried to train myself to look little "God moments" in my day, but in light the events of yesterday's blog, I've kicked it up a notch. Over the weekend, as I worked through the effects of my new financial situation, I started wondering if I might need to look for an additional job of some kind to supplement my emaciated income. God immediately brought Larry to my mind (he and his wife are the ones I met 2 weeks ago, they attended BBC, she was in our dorm, etc). So, I decided to shoot him an e-mail and just see if he either had any suggestions or leads. His response included an invitation to join he, Denise, and their daughter for lunch - their treat. :)

Once again, I marveled at God's involvement and direction of the tiniest details in our lives! By the time we sat down to lunch, Larry had already forwarded my e-mail to our pastor and had a list of people he promised to contact on my behalf! It really felt like a "for such a time as this" moment. I don't know if any of these leads will result in a job, but it was so encouraging to sit across from people whom I only just met and see that God had placed it on their hearts to help me during this time. Let's just say I drove home with more than delicious leftovers!

Fig trees and olive crops

2010-02-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a few weeks since the incredible "confirmation Sunday" (ha ha!) and I'm still riding the excitement and wonder of it all. I was finally back at church this morning and it was such a blessing to see familiar faces and already feel it becoming home.

As most or all of you know, for the past 2+ years, I've been working as a conference manager for a small company catering to medical conferences. I have loved it and greatly enjoy the flexibility it has allowed me. Unfortunately, the conference/events business has not been immune to these difficult financial times. That being said, I had a conversation with my boss the other day which resulted in a pretty painful decrease in my hourly rate. I know that too many people can understand the burden of financial stress... Over the past 2 years, it has felt like I've pitched my tent here - God has always provided for my needs, but I have lived in this very uncomfortable state of tightness, so to speak. So, this new development was a discouraging blow, to say the least.

I really don't know what God is doing nor why He has allowed this season to linger and deepen, but I do know that every morning since that conversation, He has met me with reminders of His presence.

"Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up."

(Gal. 6:9-10)

This morning's message at church? Faith. We've been going through a series on trials and today's message was taken from Habbakuk. Interestingly, before pastor even started, I was already encouraged because there are 2 passages from this book that have become so dear to me and I just hoped that we would be covering them! In summary, he defined faith as:

1) Believing God's plan

2) Believing God's character

3) Believing God's timing

4) Believing God's faithfulness

5) Believing God's superiority (sovereign control)

I'm guessing I don't need to outline what I took away from that! There were so many verses that ministered to me this morning, but here are my favorites, those I was hoping to hear:

If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,

for it will surely take place.

It will not be delayed.
(Habbakuk 2:3)

Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crops fail and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

YET I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.

(Habbakuk 3:17-19)

So, I really don't know what is going to happen, how I'm going to make ends meet...but I am choosing to believe that not only did God see this coming, He still has a firm and secure grip on me and will walk me through it. I keep telling Him that it's going to be exciting to see what happens and how He works all this out...kind-of reminicent of Creation...making something out of nothing! :) Ha ha! Thanks for praying!!

#11-14

2010-01-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

Back again...who would believe there would be more to tell!?

#11 I went to the "Party with the Pastor" event tonight and actually spent the first 10 minutes talking with the head pastor! (it was at his house) Very down-to-earth guy. It is important to note that I was forced to wear a name tag...that was the only negative. (ew...I just remembered that they took all our pictures...individually...gross...where's that going to end up!?) #12 A few minutes later, I was talking with a young couple when a woman came over and said she just "had to meet me". Not what I was expecting to hear in a room full of strangers. :) I should also mention that all afternoon, I kept thinking about the woman, Francoise, that I sat next to...she seemed so familiar to me, but I had no idea why. Well, this woman (Sue) came up to me and introduced herself and Francoise's step-daughter...apparently, Francoise told her that we met and spoke French this morning. :) As we were talking, pieces started falling into place and I suddenly realized why Francoise seemed so familiar...I KNOW HER!!!! In fact, my whole family on my Dad's side know her...she and her first husband were at Emmanual Baptist Church in Toledo, OH for years! (we knew her as Francoise Rich) I've spoken with her on many occasions when we visited there!! After her husband passed away, she remarried and has apparently been in IN for a while.

#13 As Sue and I were talking, the elder who had been on the video this morning (who attended BBC) came over me and said "I'm hoping you are who I think you...are you Tim and Barb Vermilyea's daughter?". As it turns out, his wife, Denise, was in our dorm!! (Mom/Dad - Larry and Denise Wood - they're going to look you up on Facebook) They also were "screened" by Dad when they tried out for the Gospel Team! Too much! So, I walked into this house knowing no one and spent the rest of the night talking to all these people. So many connections! As it turns out, the music pastor's wife is Francoise's granddaughter and we talked for quite a while, too.

It was such a great night - meeting people and feeling more and more at home in a place I just walked into 7 days ago...seriously, pinch me. #14 I had to laugh at the way the evening ended...literally everyone else had left and I was standing in the kitchen talking with the pastor, his wife, and the 2 elders and their wives!? In true pastor's daugther form, I had to be among the last to leave! Ha ha!

What a day...have I said that yet? I'm just so blown away and can't wait to see what God has next...!!!!!

Wow...

2010-01-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

I need to get better at writing about things as they happen instead of waiting...that being said, this has the potential of being a LONG post! :)

I'm not even sure where to begin since my head is still spinning from everything that happened this morning! Have you ever been faced with a decision of sorts...you know that either way you turn could be good, but you want to be sure that you're heading where GOD wants you, not just swayed by your own desires? I feel like I run into situations like this fairly frequently, so my new prayer has become that God would make it clear..."I'll go which ever way You want, but please make the choice obvious".

Most of you know that I moved here to be closer to my brother Ben and his family. I've been attending their church and have really enjoyed it and everyone I met there - very friendly, welcoming people. It's also been really cool to see Ben "in action", leading worship...especially knowing the journey God lead he and Stacey through to get to this place!

Anyway, around Christmas time, I started feeling like I needed to be more proactive about meeting people my age here - single people, that is. I've always loved having married friends, but I know it's equally important for me to have people in my same "stage of life". However, since I'm new to the area, I really didn't know where to look for other church options. Then, a little over a week ago, I overheard one of my co-workers at Starbucks talking about a girl in her small group. HELLO...call me crazy, but most people outside of the church don't generally use that term! :) When I asked her about it, she said that she goes to a church in Avon (just 10 mins down the road from my apartment) and invited me to visit. So, that's just what I did last Sunday and I really enjoyed it! But, as I thought about it throughout the week, I still had misgivings...maybe God wanted to me to stay at Ben's church and see what doors He would open, maybe this wasn't just about me meeting other singles (can't believe I just wrote that...not a big fan of that term - ha ha!).

I just wanted to be sure that I was where GOD wanted me, so as I was driving back for a second visit this morning, I prayed that God would show me clearly if this new church was to be home or not. Are you sitting down?? (you may think I'm weird, but I just decided to number each thing that happened because it's pretty crazy...any one of these would have been great, but all of them together, well that's what I call a very literal answer to prayer!!)

#1 First of all, I decided to just be brave and go to the 10:45 service eventhough my co-worker wouldn't be there...before you get too impressed, let's be honest and admit it was mainly because I didn't want to get up so early! I got there a few minutes after worship had started, so my sole objective was to hurry up and find a seat. #2 Thankfully, I saw a seat open next to a woman close to the door and nearly jumped in her lap in my haste to sit down. #3 The first thing they did after the worship time was show a video of a couple who had recently been voted as elders of the church - they shared their testimony, etc. This is not earth-shattering, but would you believe they both attended and met at BBC??? Funny. #4 During announcements, I learned that today was the last day to sign up for small groups, which I had already considered doing if I was going to stay there permanently, so I filled out the form. #5 Then, they reminded everyone that tonight was "Party with the Pastors" (gotta love that name!)...a get-together for anyone who is new to the church, a way to get to know people and learn more about the ministry. I decided I might as well channel the rest of my new-found bravery and go to that, too, right? #6 About half-way through the message, I saw a man get up and lead a young girl out of the auditorium - as I watched them, I immediately thought of Jill because this girl obviously had special needs. My mind started racing and I wondered if maybe there would be a potential opportunity there? The crazy thing is that I realized that I recognized the girl's dad!?! You can't be surprised to hear that NEVER happens to me...mostly because I barely know anyone here yet!! :) I realized he came to my Starbucks last week with another guy and I overheard enough of their conversation to figure out that he (the dad) was a believer. #7 Anyway, at the end of the service, the woman I was sitting next to turned and introduced herself as "Francoise Walker"...now, even if you've never been to Paris or even tasted a baguette, I'm pretty sure you can tell that's a French name! After telling her my name, I asked her (in French) if she spoke French (which, yes, does sound like a no-brainer, but oh well). #8 That begun a 20 minute conversation in French during which I learned she leads a small group on Sunday nights...which is the only night I'm fairly confident I could attend regularly due to my schedule at Starbucks! She took me to the Welcome Table so I could turn in my small group form and also helped me find the address for the "Pastor Party" tonight. #9 Any guesses as to who was standing next to that table? The girl I had noticed during the service and her mom! I asked Francoise if she knew them, which she did and introduced us! It was so crazy to stand there and tell them that I'd just moved here, this was my 2nd time visiting, that I'd seen her husband (Mike) at Starbucks AND that I used to take care of Jill and felt compelled to somehow meet them and see if they needed any help! I was so happy to hear that the church family is already doing a great job of supporting them and there is a rotation of girls who help out with their daughter, but I was also excited to give her my e-mail address to be added to the list! #10 I told the mom (Robin) that I was thinking of going to the party thing tonight and she said she wanted to introduce me to her friend who was also going. Her name is Sam and would you believe it was her boyfriend that Mike was talking to about the Lord at my Starbucks!? I know very little about her, but Robin mentionned that she's going through some really hard times right now. So now, we're going to be at the gathering together tonight - and who knows!?!?!?

I know this was a ridiculously long post, but I had to share it! I'm still in disbelief that God answered my prayer in not just one, but 10 different ways!! I'm really excited to see where all this leads and what He has in store, but what a day! What a faithful God!

Starbucks stress

2010-01-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

Before too much time goes by, I really want to give a recap of all the recent drama with Starbucks...mostly because the way God intervened and provided was SO amazing and I haven't been able to share the details with all of you.

I started the transfer process well over a month before leaving VA. I just chose the store closest to my new apartment since I obviously knew nothing about the area. From the beginning, it was like pulling teeth...we didn't hear back from the Indiana manager for nearly 3 weeks and then, only because I called the store. Long story short, the current manager left in a hurry (don't know why) and a new guy was finishing his manager training to fill the position. I don't remember the last time I had so much trouble getting in touch with someone...I only had the store number and he was only there on Monday mornings...? Anyway, the main pressure for me came from the policy requiring me to have logged 240 hours by the end of the quarter (Dec. 27) in order to keep my health benefits. As the weeks dragged on (or rather flew by), the deadline was getting closer and closer and I was not working!! It was one of those situations where you know God is going to provide somehow, but it's so hard not to get increasingly stressed and worried because time is running out! All along I had prayed that if this particular store wasn't where God wanted me, that He would make that clear.

Well, with less than 2 weeks before the deadline, I stopped waiting for this manager because he clearly didn't care enough about my situation (which he basically caused) to respond to my calls. One afternoon, I drove to 2 other Starbucks in our area to leave my name/number if anyone needed any shifts covered before the end of the quarter. The first store I went to was in Brownsburg, about a 15-min drive from home. I ended talking with the supervisor on duty and explaining my dilemma. As we talked she told me that the store I had been pursuing was basically a mess and I really shouldn't try to get in there!! I was so surprised, but then so thankful that God hadn't allowed the door to open!

The next morning, the manager at Brownsburg called me - that was also a surprise because I had intended to stop by again the next day to meet her while she was working! In a 20-minute conversation, she scheduled me for the 47 hours I needed!!! (yes, in just over a week!?) I was in shock and near tears - this woman I had yet to meet was so sensitive to my angst and so willing to help me!? Wow, God.

So, in the end, I worked 57 hours in one week!! Yes, at the time I felt like it nearly killed me, but not only did God provide what I needed, He gave me even more! And, the best part is...the Brownsburg store had an opening and the manager told her boss she wanted me to transfer there instead!!

I now have a new Starbucks home and love it! And once again, God has proven Himself to be my faithful Provider...

First things first

2010-01-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

So, I guess I should begin by explaining my choice of title, no? As many of you can attest, my life seems to be marked by ridiculous, craziness...and no, I don't chase after it!!! Several years ago, my mom started saying that I should write a book...and every time some new dramatic weirdness occurred, she would say "well, it's just another chapter for the book!". I guess it just stuck. :)

I'm new to this whole world of blogging, but if nothing else, I think it'll be a fun way to keep in touch with friends and family without sending so many bulk e-mails! Ha ha! So, we'll see how it goes.

Oh, and one final disclaimer - yes, I sent you an invitation to view this, but you are in no way obligated to do so. Even if you never read a single word, I will still love you and promise not to write you out of my will! LOL

Thanks in advance for reading!