Ready for a New Day

Today is a new day

and a different day.

Usually Tuesday's are our changeover days

but this week it changes to Wednesday here at the Ranch.

So today all four Home Parents will be on duty,

with four boys as three of our boys are on Home Visits

and one was released on Saturday.

It seems kind of crazy to have four HP's with only four boys but

hey, that's an extra days pay for both of us so that's good!

I woke up before my alarm so that tells me going to sleep about 10 pm

is a good thing for me.  I always feel so startled when the alarm goes

off, so I am thankful I woke up on my own.

My devotions came from both the New and Old Testament

Hebrews 11:8-16 The chapter on Faith,

Abraham had faith God would give him his promised land,

Sarah had faith God would give her a baby

So many in the Bible shared their faith of what they

believed God would do for them.

And I am reminded of Ruth, how she clung to God and his faith

that He would provide for her.

And HE did.  I look at my own life,

we have been unemployed,

we have had to deal with major illnesses,

we have seen our boys struggle

and YET through it all

God has been faithful.

We have never gone hungry,

we have always had a place to lay our head,

we have always been surrounded by friends & family,

and we truly have never gone without.

And for that I am thankful.

And we continue on in faith.

We have hit a couple of roadblocks of purchasing

a travel trailer, but maybe the time is not right.

When its supposed to happen it will happen.

And I know I need more practice in being 

patient and learning to wait.

and then I read in 

Malachi 4:1-3

which when I saw the scripture in 

I immediately thought of our own little Malachi,

a cousin's grandbaby

who is fighting for his life, an infection

that began to block his breathing tube

and so I prayed for little Malachi,

asking God to bring healing to him, 

wisdom for the doctors

and peace for his parents, grandparents

and all who love him.

Would you join us in prayer 

for complete healing for this precious baby boy?

And then I read 

And I am reminded of many things:

But a gut wrenching emotions

without a change in behavior

is not true repentance.

I remember a time I was angry at the world,

every person and situation in my life

all because of things that had happened in the past.

I lashed out at everyone and anything,

over and over

until

I came to a place of forgiveness,

never would I hear "I am sorry"

from those who hurt me over and over

but I did find peace in the lap of my Abba Daddy.

I began to live my life in love and joy,

not hatred and anger.

I began to see the many blessings my Abba Daddy

shared with me:

a wonderful husband who loves me just the way I am,

though I know he much prefers the joyful wife not the angry wife,

two healthy son's ~ who have forgiven me for past wrongs

and let's me be a part of their and their family's lives,

an opportunity to do things that I could never imagine:

working in a carnival!!

traveling around in our motor home,

working at campgrounds where we got to enjoy HIS beauty

and meet wonderful people and who many have become

friends and even family.

Yes I am blessed beyond measure

and I thank the Lord

for reminding me that 

sometimes life looks bleak and scary,

doesn't feel real comfortable

BUT

if I continue to keep focusing on Him

His love will abound!

And for that I am truly thankful

that I am loved and blessed

and as 3 yr old Christopher said

"that leads to awesomeness!!"

How can I pray for you today?

And may I ask that you pray for little Malachi

for complete healing and peace for his momma and daddy

and

remember

Life Goes On

I know my last post sounded like I was ready to run

and run fast

I stopped, we stopped

and prayed

and talked with good friends

and our bosses

and took a week off

and heard the Lord say

and after staying quiet, resting, praying,

laying low due to cough

and spending time in the Word

we know we are here for such a time as this.

Days may not always be easy but we know 

we are never alone.

Someone saw this

as my profile picture

and said how happy we look

and you know what

We are happy,

we are happy where the Lord has brought us,

we are thankful for our health

(which is good most of the time)

we are thankful for health insurance,

doctors who take that insurance,

we love our children and grandchildren

and can't wait to see them the end of

November and December

we are thankful for our little apartment,

co-workers who love the Lord,

bosses who support us all the time,

even when we feel like handing in the key

and they just keep encouraging us

but most of all

I am thankful

for a husband who loves me 

through the thick and thin,

tears and laughter

and most of all,

all my quirkiness!

Really ???

I believe that we are called for a purpose

and yet right now, right this moment

I am ready to say I don't like this purpose,

this calling

and I think

God 

Made

A 

Great 

Big 

Mistake

or else what I thought was God calling us to this place,

for this season, for such a time as this,

maybe I was wrong,

plain

wrong.

Am I admitting defeat

no, not yet,

but is it clearly on my mind

yep,

you betcha.

Am I a quitter,

not usually,

usually 

I am the 

biggest fighter

but I don't 

think

I can continue in this fight.

Maybe tomorrow will dawn 

a new day and new thoughts

But right now

I can honestly say

that 

the 

time 

to

move

on 

may 

be

closer 

than

I realized.

We 

are 

having 

some

major

philosophical

differences

and I think they are going to win!

Change and a Purpose

I woke this morning crying out to Jesus ~

last night was hard, 

hard because I felt like I was fighting a losing battle.

How do you teach respect?

By showing respect even in the midst of hard stuff.

And the first thing I read was

God never changes

He is and Always will be the Same!!

No matter what is happening in the world

Jesus is here and always will be.

I was on Facebook for a bit yesterday afternoon

and I could not believe the the nastiness, the rudeness,

the name calling, the belittling that was going on

and supposedly between friends.

All over the outcome of the election.

What happened to people using kind words?

Being an encouragement to others?

I was dumbfounded.

Facebook has been a place for me to reconnect 

and connect with family and friends.  

Enjoying pictures of babies and seeing kids grow up,

sharing about our day ~ yet yesterday was like

someone said "let's be mean and nasty as we can be."

No thank you...I want and need positive in my life.

And so this morning as I got out of bed

because I couldn't sleep and I cried out to God

he showed me and reminded

He never changes, it is us who change.

And so I said to God 

"Please show me my purpose.  I truly believe You opened 

the door for us to come to MCH, to share your love with others.

Help me to be the light that shines in these boys life

EVEN on those difficult days when they don't want to listen,

when they lash out in anger, are disrespectful to us as the house~parents,

to the Unit Manager and each other.

Lord help me to just love on these boys ~

that is what I do best.

And I turned to Mark 1:16 ~ 18

16-18 Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed.

And immediately felt like God was 

encouraging me,

letting me know that He is the one who has called us here,

to love on these boys

just as He loves on me/us.

And again, I am reminded 

and

And so I say

THANK YOU

JESUS

for loving on me,

loving on these boys

and 

giving us each 

a chance to start over

and to make 

today a better day

than yesterday.

Thoughts Abounding

My mind is flowing with thoughts.

It's election day ~ yes we voted, thankful for mail in ballots.

Now it is wait and see with lots of prayers.

Wondering if it is a 

as it sure feels like it with these boys.

Two are sick with the flu ~

and don't understand why they have to wear masks,

can't go to the dining hall and it doesn't help that they

don't feel "sick" but have all the symptoms.

We have an extra boy in the unit for a few days ~

so that changes the dynamics.

We got a new boy last week, Wednesday, and so he is feeling 

his way around the unit.  He is new to our unit but not to the ranch ~

so he is struggling with what is okay in this unit,

getting to know the other boys in a totally different situation.

Thinking how the change of houseparents is similar to parents 

sharing custody of kids...each has their own rules even though

they follow the same guidelines yet we are different people and so handle things

differently ~ neither way is right or wrong, it just is.

Tuesday's tend to be our hardest day

and every week we have a short house meeting once we come on duty,

to remind the boys we start new today and move forward.

The boys know we like to have fun yet they know we 

expect them to meet our expectations

and MCH Rules/Life Skills.

Sort of like MCH 10 Commandments

1. Use Good Words to Communicate

(no swearing is a biggy)

2. Be Gentle and Kind

(use good words and keep your hands to yourself)

3. Show Respect

(of people and property)

4. Listen and Learn

(listen when spoken to,

learn how to manage your feelings)

5. Understand Who is in Charge

(houseparents, unit manager, MCH staff)

6. Accept Decisions of Authority

(even when you don't like it,

remember wherever you go in life you will have a boss of some kind)

7. Make Good Choices

(in life, school and relationships)

8.  Focus and Finish Your Work

(school work, chores, projects)

9. Negotiate and Compromise

(when appropriate, remember #6)

10.  Build Trusting Relationships

(don't manipulate, be honest and true to self and others)

Seems easy enough right,

but not always for any one of us.

Sometimes we all need reminders.  

My reminder came to me through my devotion this morning:

And so throughout the day,

as things were shared,

and then things changed,

misunderstandings,

laughter and tears

through it all

and 

May God bless each of you who reads my blog

and as I always say:

please feel free to leave a message,

share a prayer request,

ask a question

but most of all 

Remember

Jesus Loves You!!!