January 2014 found me looking for "what next" in my life—and meeting with various community agencies to learn about local needs. I knew... No matter where I eventually "plugged in," I'd better be preparing for a broken heart. May 2014 found me jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Downsizing our life — to upsize our faith Training to be a Court-Appointed Special Advocate for Children (CASA) Beginning a conversation about starting Safe Families for Children in my county To say 2014 was a long year is an understatement. We're still downsizing... and our old house is still on the market. I had all but finished training to be a CASA when that door closed. Slammed shut. I ... Keep Reading...
By
An UNWANTED GIFT on Christmas Day
Yesterday I received a Christmas update from our ministry partner Philip Smith, founder and CEO of Hope Unlimited for Children. Isn't this a wonderful picture of his family? Unfortunately, Christmas Day with the boys at Hope Mountain wasn't all smiles. Hear the story—in Philip's words... A patrol car pulls up in the middle of our Christmas celebration with the Hope children. Out comes a shirtless, angry 15-year-old, with a yellow mohawk and a cantering swagger. Walking across our campus, he immediately picked quarrels with our boys, boasting about the people he has killed. He says within earshot of the house mothers that he plans to settle a score with (kill) one kid before he left. The ... Keep Reading...
By
Giving away hard-earned cash at Christmas
Hello all! It's four days after Christmas, and I hope you're still experiencing the afterglow of a wonderful celebration. I hope your celebration WAS wonderful... As I reflect on Christmas 2014, I must say that I am quite content with the details. Oh, I'd love to have seen more of our family, but overall, my heart was blessed by the season—and I feel a little more ready to take on a new year. We did exactly the amount of decorating we wanted to do—and not a bit more. We took time to drive around and look at Christmas lights—more than once! I got my Hallmark Christmas movies "fix" while playing in the vintage ornaments. We spent time catching up with friends. We shopped for the grandsons ... Keep Reading...
