Four and a Half Years Later. . .

For our 30th wedding anniversary, our kids gave us some money to do something special. They'd not been able to do anything for our 25th anniversary, so thought they'd make up for it a bit for the 30th. That was a looong time ago and we never did anything because we didn't know what we wanted to do or when or how or anything. We put the money in the bank and left it there for that time when all would be plain as to how we wanted to "cash in" on our celebration!

This winter we finally decided--fly to San Diego, home base with Dale and Beth and see the sights of the area! We were able to get tickets for $99 each way, leaving us enough money to rent a car, and do a few things besides. So here we are five days into our trip, having already done more and seen more, according to Dale, than any other of their house guests so far!

We took a 2 hr. cruise of San Diego bay one day, then did a driving tour taking in Cabrillo National Park, Point Loma, coastal views of surfers, etc. etc. The next day we did the San Diego Zoo which is one of the best in the country, enjoying animal and bird shows, the hummingbird aviary, the koalas, etc. etc.

Friday we went to the US Marine Corps graduation with all the band music, marching, and pageantry involved with graduating about 240 marine cadets. How grateful I am for these men who are willing to be trained to defend our country!

Saturday, Dale and Beth joined us for a fascinating tour of the USS Midway, the largest navy ship/aircraft carrier in the world for a time, active in the Gulf War and retired in 1992 and presently a museum. On the way back to the Sandfords we grabbed California famous In N Out Burgers for dinner and I had a chance to share the joys of SU card making with Beth's friends for the evening.

Today we went to church with Dale, Beth and boys and were challenged in what it means to "Rejoice in the Lord." I made the mistake of leaving my church notebook at the house so I had to grab the church bulletin to record some of the profound quotes from the pastor.

The overall topic for the sermon was "Rejoice in the Lord always." and Four new ways of living that come from rejoicing in the Lord always:

1. A new way of thinking
2. A new way of singing
3. A new way of praying and here's my favorite quote!--"Constantly casting." Isn't that just too cool? The Bible tells us ..."casting all your cares (or anxiety) upon Him for He careth for you, but in order to really Rejoice in the Lord always, we have to "constantly be casting" all those cares on Him that so ably try to keep us from rejoicing. Profound, no?
4. A new way of feeling because in Christ we have a new identity. "I have called you by name and you are mine." I am a treasured child of the Most High God." That's reason enough to rejoice every day!! Amen? AMEN!

34 Years and Majorly Blessed!

Today is our 34th anniversary! Wow! I am above many women most blessed! Being married to my very best friend in the world and unconditionally loved 24/7 has made me a rich woman! I can readily admit that Neil is not perfect. He is human and has faults and failings and weaknesses as do I, but daily his love for me, which is constant, undemanding, unselfish and strong is an extension of God's love for me and I thrive because of it. He is forgiving, faithful, industrious, big-hearted, steady, able to apologize and truly humble. I think his humility is one of the things I love most about him. I am ready to jump to his defense when I see him slighted by parishioners or criticized or put down, but when I've asked him point blank for his personal reaction, he's replied with, "Great peace have they that love Thy law and nothing shall offend them. I am not offended." Wow! My reply is to say that if he is not offended, I guess I won't be either!

From our marriage in NH, to a 10 year stint of pastoral work in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, to ordination as a minister at age 28, to headmaster of Fairwood Bible Institute at age 33, to the present time. . .God has been faithful and led us each step of the way. He has protected us and provided for us and our 5 children, given us great joy and wondrous opportunities, taken us through many trials and sorrows and blessed us with a marriage that is stronger, better, deeper and more meaningful than I could have ever hoped for! To Him be the glory! and I love Neil!

Contentment

I've been thinking a lot about "contentment" and its meaning. An "operational definition" for me is "Knowing that God has already provided everything I need for my present happiness."

There are one or two things that I have wanted for quite awhile. One of them is not a need, just something that I'd really like. The other really seemed like a need to me and I began to look around and shop for it and research it, etc. etc. But I never felt like I could or should spend the money to get it. Inside I felt discontent and kind of grumpy about the whole subject. But over the course of a few weeks and through God's work inside my heart, I got a revelation! If I don't have that item, it's because God sees that I really don't need it after all! Whew! That has brought such release to my spirit and comfort all around.

Instead of wishing for what I don't have, I've been freshly grateful for what I already have and a new joy in the art of hilarious giving! Yipeeeee!

Stoves Again. . .etc.

I never realized that once we got the new stoves here at Fairwood, it would take a hassle and a half to get the right racks for all of them, then the right guides for the racks in the convection oven, then the right clips for the guides for the racks, and on and on and on. Fortunately the girl we ordered the stoves from in the first place has been most accommodating and helpful in assisting us in making all these corrections and adjustments since it was her responsibility to make sure everything was right in the first place...

Hopefully we are almost home free now that we have all the correct racks, the correct guides have been ordered plus new clips "just in case" we need them.

And Bridget #2 has been returned and Bridget #3 installed. #2 was hesitating and stalling and making weird sounds while mashing potatoes and mixing bread during the Feast. Not a good thing after the amount of $ we paid for her. I took her back on Wednesday and came home with a replacement--a newer model and one that the guys claim looks like a male instead of a "Bridget!" May this be the end of all hassles with these appliances.

New Palace at Fairwood and Final Resting Place

Fairwood has a new palace and its name is. . .drum roll. . ."The Men's Dorm!" Yep! The men's dorm has undergone a transformation such as has not taken place since the days when the black, wrought-iron bunk bed cots arrived to take up residence there!

Clyde is attending Lancaster Bible College this year and when we were there helping him settle in, I cast my eyes with what might be called "strong interest" upon the classy looking, uniform, quality furniture in his dorm room! And once again I embarked upon the train of thought, "If only we might have something like that in the men's dorm. . ." When I got home I began researching on-line, only to find that just one such bed appeared to cost in the neighborhood of $200+ Okay, thought I, I know they didn't pay that much for all their furniture at LBC. Where did they get it anyway and what was their quantity discount?

I decided to go right to the "top" so I called the college and asked where they purchased their furniture and what it might take to get a quantity discount. The lady said she'd have to ck with her boss and get back to me. Two days later she did and her answer was our answer to prayer. First of all, the furniture came from This End Up (which I already had figured was probably the case), but she then asked if we had any objection to used furniture. If so, we could have all we wanted. . .free!

To make a long story a little shorter, Neil went down to PA with 4 young fellows, rented a 24' truck, loaded it to the gills and returned with the "free" booty. The cost of the trip down and back in our van, food for 5 guys for a day and a half, the truck rental and gas for the trip home, then became the cost for a pile of furniture like you wouldn't believe. Bed frames, mattresses, desks, large 6 drawer dressers, small 3 drawer dressers and nightstands all poured out of that truck as a crew of men unloaded the booty. Sharon and I did traffic control in the men's dorm as we directed, "a desk still needed in this room, one night stand in that, a big dresser here, a small one there," etc. etc. until all the holes we wanted filled were filled. (The day or so before we'd determined what to dump and Tim had carried it all out to make a heap at the end of the men's dorm so there would be room for the "new" stuff when it came.)

Both upstairs and downstairs were recipients of the furniture bounty and now, now. . .the men's dorm actually looks nice for the first time in a very long time. There are still a couple of rooms upstairs which do not reflect the "new" look, but each to his own. . .

And now, The Rest of the Story as I let you know the Final Resting Place of the discarded furniture!!!

First of all, we opened the heap up for grabs to all Fairwood residents, including the Reed family. A few items disappeared but not that many!

This past week, the pile still sat and the Feast was fast approaching. What to do?? Some among our staff were ready to transport the "lot" to the famous "burn pile" on the other side of the ball field, smash it and await the world's largest bonfire sometime after snowfall. Others on our staff thought that it was a shame to destroy "good" furniture that might have value to someone in desperate straits. I could go either way, but I knew that the problem of finding the people in the "desperate straits" and then getting the furniture to them quickly so as to clear the area of the discarded junk might be too difficult, so my vote would have been to "trash it!"

But. . .my dh took time to place a phone call--to a local woman's shelter which was absolutely delighted and desperate to get bureaus and furniture. They took 7 bureaus, a large office desk, two stands and a footstool. (Sorry, guys, that gold naugahyde footstool is now at the woman's shelter in __ if you want to go reclaim it.) There was still furniture left so my dh high tailed it down to Salvation Army to see if cousin Shawn wanted it there. Poor condition or no, Shawn said that people who are desperate would be happy to have that furniture and he took the rest of it! Praise the Lord! The furniture reached its final resting place (as far as we're concerned!) and the junk pile is gone. Check it out when you come!!

Stove Saga Final Chapter!

The stoves are here!! And they are set up! And they are operational! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

But I had a few tense moments Wednesday afternoon after they arrived. A number of us were shoveling out the big dining room which was in a disastrous state after the windows were out much of the summer while they were glazed, scraped and re-painted. The scrapings were all over the floor, tracked hither and yon by all the people and mice and chipmunks and squirrels which frequent the building! And there were paint cloths galore and, and, and. You get the idea. It was a daunting mess to tackle it but tackle it we did. In the midst of all that, the stoves arrived. Much shouting and cheering resounded though we kept on working while waiting for them to be unloaded and unveiled.

When I finally got my first look, there sitting in all its "new" glory was a "Garland" range instead of the contracted for "Vulcan." Horror of horrors!! They delivered the wrong stove!! Now what? After alerting Brandon to the sad state of affairs and hounding him a bit, he agreed to call the owner of the company. To make a long story short, the Garland was the one we had contracted for with the same specs as were listed on our paper, but the name was wrong. It was a Garland all the time, while the paper had listed, "Vulcan." Soooo, I agreed as how that would be fine since the Garlands are also good stoves and this one is not a low end model but a higher end one.

When you come to Fairwood, saunter on into the kitchen and have a look. We still have to get all the right racks for the ovens, but hopefully we will be good to go by the time it's time to cook the first big meal next Tuesday.

And that's all for now. At some point I may describe for you the glory of the "new look" in the men's dorm! But for now, Shabbat Shalom!

Stoves and Stuff

Okay, it's time to do a little update here in the fallish regions of NH! Actually we're having summer and fall--a lovely combination if you ask me!

Fairwood is getting different stoves! I say "different" and not "new" because they aren't new but they may as well be given the comparison between our present relics and what is soon to be. I began researching for these back in July and found a guy who has been in the restaurant business for 15 years and assured me that he would go "find" us a stove, recondition it, deliver it and give us a 6 month warranty on it. Furthermore, he gave us a deal on not one, but two stoves plus a new 20 qt. Hobart mixer, better known in the Fairwood kitchen as "Bridget.! To make a long story short, this guy and his confidant deal and offers fizzled by the wayside. First he said he'd picked up our stove and would bring it out next week. Then he said we needed to get the conversion kit to convert it to propane. Then he said he'd do it. Then after about 3 weeks of waiting he said he had been waiting for a week for UPS to bring the conversion kit.

Along about here or before, I began to smell a rat! And rat it was. Finally, no returned messages, no man, no stoves. Ugh. In the meantime, at the first prospect of having the new stoves arrive the next week, our eager beaver staff men, pulled out the old one in the kitchen, moved it to the summer kitchen to replace that one and left the old summer kitchen stove in the middle of that kitchen floor awaiting a long ride to its final resting place somewhere in MA. And there it has stayed for the past 6 weeks or so!

Bible School students arrived. Still no stove. Thankfully, those eager beaver staff men left one stove in operation!! By this time I'm beginning to feel a little nervous. Back to the drawing board I went to research and call and see what we might come up with in a week before the Feast. It appears that God has answered our many prayers because at this point we've found 2 other stoves and a replacement for Bridget and they are supposed to be delivered the middle of next week. Praise God! If you think of it, pray that nothing will hinder these stoves from coming and that they will be delivered quickly with no further trouble.

Both stoves are Vulcans. One is a 60" commercial range with 6 burners, a thermostat controlled grill and 2 ovens, one of which is convection! The other is a 36" with 6 burners and one oven. Come see them if you get a chance!

Let's Hear it For Stupidity--Latest Blooper

Oh me oh my, what will I do next?? Kayla and I are out in Indianapolis, attending the ATI home education conference. We flew out and rented a car, a little blue Kia with Nevada plates! (I've always dreamed of being from Vegas! ha!) Tonight we were near the door at the close of the session so I made a bee-line for the parking lot and our car so we could beat the rush of traffic getting out of the parking lot.

But we got to our little blue car and no matter how hard I tried the keyless entry button, the door would not open--not no way! I thought I'd ask one of the men making their way to their cars, but instead decided to call Kendra to see if she'd ever encountered that dilemma in any of her car rental experiences! Just as I began to talk to her, I glanced at the license plate and it said, "Indiana!" Oops! Wrong car, wrong license plate, but it was the right color and size and the stuff in it even looked like ours!!! Needless to say I was most embarrassed, and just glad that the owner didn't happen along as I was frantically trying to open his car with my key! Whatever will I do next?? It's not always fun to be stupid but if you can laugh at yourself, it helps!