Helpful Hints, Humor and Hope

After accomplishing everything on my list leading up to the weekend, including Owen’s birthday party, I was packed and ready to go by 6:15 Friday morning. I drove Kris’ car so that those left behind would have plenty of room for transporting young boys about. I wasn’t thrilled with that arrangement because frankly I’m not a big fan of sports cars. I enjoy the power, the maneuverability, the look and the looks from others, but I don’t like being low to the ground and having to climb in and out, or the low visibility, or feeling like a target for cops with radar guns, or having to use a clutch when there is a traffic pile up on I-65. That being said, I didn’t have any trouble and the only pile up was overcome in a reasonable amount of time. It rained Friday. All day and all the way there. That’s not totally accurate. There were a few moments of just cloudy and gray but most of the day it rained. I really don’t like driving in the rain, but am so thankful that I did not get tense and stressed by it. Every thing went very smoothly and the only time I felt any danger was first starting out when the rain on the road and the construction going on made it difficult to discern the direction of the lines in the road and I found myself crowding another driver because I didn’t realize I was being led astray. Oops. I did get tired in the rain so I stopped pretty early on for breakfast and a cup of coffee.

I took some pictures of my trip up just for fun. I kept seeing more and more color but the camera through the tinted windows didn’t translate so well.

This is what things looked like most of the day.

All that rain made me extra sleepy so I got one of these.

I did see some beautiful sky, though dark and mostly cloud covered the deep blues were too pretty to overlook.

This is a farm I’ve admired since my early days of making this trip. I love these old stone and block barns and the large brick home on the hill. It probably just looks like an old farm to some, but I find it fascinating and my dream is to buy it some day. I haven’t yet seen a for sale sign so I’m hoping I can just walk up to the house and offer them something outrageous that they can’t refuse. I might need to sell a few more bunnies to get that done.

I saw this Indian statue headed down the highway, I thought you might like to see it too.

It was cold and getting dark by the time I got to Cheryl’s apartment but her directions had led me there without incident and I was glad to be out of the car for a little while. She had chocolates waiting for me and had selected one of my favorite things thanks to a tip from Tisra. You sneaky girls. I was able to rest a little while Cheryl made homemade chicken pot-pie. We ate and then headed out into the cold and dark to get set up for Saturday.

The tables and chairs were being put in place and we needed to get all the decor and technical things looked over to ensure a smooth day on Saturday. I was there, so I helped. The ladies had some wonderful details all ready to go. The tables were embellished, the colors were coordinated, the centerpieces were lovely and everything was put in place. It was a well planned effort and I am sure that the ladies felt welcome and special upon arriving and finding such a display to greet them.

We started out early on Saturday. Cheryl and I got there dark and early and got our coffee as soon as possible. Everything was well done. The food was catered by Miss Lorene who also spoke in the afternoon and was able to show us several tips and tricks for the kitchen. She was a lot of fun. Miss Amy set a standard for us in cleaning our homes and how to do it without being stressed out.

My part was a 30 minute slot right at the beginning which I filled with stories about me and my family, some fun with the HOPE acronym and a lesson on what it means to truly hope in God. Not just hoping, but directing our hope in the proper place. I talked about the futility of giving our burdens to God in prayer and then going to the computer or the telephone or anywhere else to look for an answer. We have the Word of God to guide us, to direct us and to offer us incredible comfort and wisdom. I also talked about the relation between hope and faith and that without hope we cannot have faith because it is a foundation for it. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and therefore we need to begin with hope. When we live constantly misdirecting our hope we lose our ability to hope because it perishes in the constant disappointments. I closed that session with the reminder that the God who keeps the universe functioning has our most intimate secrets on His mind and will not disappoint when we give Him our dreams, desires and hopes.

My next segment was 15 minutes after lunch. In this time slot I put on my “Maple Leaf” garb and performed several limericks for the crowd. I was simply in character the entire time and sang and spoke in the most ridiculous of ways. It was a lot of fun and they seemed to “get it.”

For my last time slot I had an entire hour to speak. I never thought I would take up that whole hour but I did. I read some of their HOPE acronyms to begin with and then started in with the statement that our hope is directly related to our integrity to the Word of God. Not our knowledge of the Word, but integrity to it. Do we do what it says to do? Do we acknowledge it in our thinking and in our actions? Do we live it’s promises and fulfill it’s life within us? I quoted Psalm 1, one of my all time favorite scriptures and spoke about the fact that God has given us an outline for successful living in these words. I won’t go into my entire “sermon” but I will say I said a few hard things. Things I don’t even like remembering me saying, but I have to say, I think they needed to be said. I prefaced all of it with the understanding that my challenges to them were not to be considered convictions from God. They were suggestions, and not commands. I believe with my whole heart that there are too many Christians who are living beneath their potential as people, not just Christians but people, because they are not setting their standards high enough. We aren’t different from the world, we aren’t more loving, more giving, more knowledgeable or more joyful and it begins with where we set our priorities, our passions and our hope.

I walked away exhausted. I felt a little beat up even. Mostly from myself. I felt concerned that I didn’t offer them enough comfort but instead offered too many rules. I did get some good feedback. Interestingly I heard from several of the older women (70s, 80s and older) that really appreciated what I shared. The chair of the Ladies board told me that her mother said it was better than some pastors shes heard. I was concerned going in that I wouldn’t have anything for these older women to relate to but apparently I don’t know anything. One younger lady told me that it’s refreshing to see a young woman with convictions. Cheryl assured me that it was good and I didn’t embarrass her or anything, but I have a harder time after I perform or speak than I do before. I’m hard on myself. I prayed before hand that the Holy Spirit would have his way with this event and I think He did. I just wasn’t convinced of it. The more I thought about it though, the more I am content and satisfied with the way it all went. It was never about me or my ability to say what anyone wanted to hear. It was about saying what I was led to say and that’s what I found peace in. Even this morning I went for an early morning walk and rehashed a scripture that I had read just before going out. “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” Psalm 73:24 I am not here on earth to draw attention to myself or receive accolades for my great testimony and incredible insights. I am here for a short time and if my tombstone read nothing more than “she was guided by God’s counsel and received to glory,” I think there could be no greater affirmation.

We were done with clean up and back at Cheryl’s place at a decent hour. Some of the ladies invited us to join them for dinner and a movie out and about but we were both pretty tired and headed back with bags full of the left-over food and yummies. I put two quarts of soup in Cheryl’s freezer overnight and toted them home with me the next day. They were still frozen when I got them home and I was able to heat one of them up for dinner that night. There were also bags and bags of assorted cookies and cakes. Cheryl and I each took a salad with us that we ate for dinner after the event. Great stuff. I could say a lot about the food but I won’t. Lorene did an excellent job and these ladies were treated very well I assure you.

I was up early, early on Sunday and was on the road by 7:00 to get to Indianapolis for church. I had called another cousin, Nathan Troyer, to see what time their church started on Sunday morning and whether it would be a good time to meet up with them. I wanted to go to church and figured if I got up early enough and made it down there I would be much further along in driving by the time church was out than if I had stayed for church in Fort Wayne. My plan worked beautifully and I was only a few minutes late for service. It was a good service and Nate and Joi and little Levi (almost 5) treated me to lunch afterward. Joi directed me back to I-65 and I was on my way.

Here are a few pictures of my trip home.

This is the early morning sunrise in Northern Indiana.

This is some of the color I was treated to on my way back.

This is my very poor picture of the new football stadium in Indianapolis.

It was a good trip. A thought provoking and interesting trip. I did learn a few things and I certainly gained a lot out of it. One of those things is an earnest appreciation for Kris. Not just that he took care of the boys, though he did that beautifully, but that he encouraged me to do it, fitted me with his advice and counsel, and trusted me to follow God’s leading in it. The fact that he was willing to make the sacrifices that he did without complaint said a lot to me about his faith in what I was doing and that was a confidence that lifted my countenance throughout the weekend. Thanks Baby!