Dreams, Sarah, and a Memory.....

One of the items on my "bucket list" is to meet Sarah Palin.... I didn't go to bed thinking about it last night, but I dreamed about it. I found myself at some kind of meeting and Sarah was there. Of course, in my dream only, (haha) I ran up to her and hugged her and asked if I could have my picture taken with her. So after about 10 pictures that I had a friend take, I proceeded for the next hour or so to just talk with her. I was asking her all kinds of questions and then telling her how much I admired her and the things she stands for.

When it was time to go, I said goodbye and she said "let's keep in touch" my heart was full. I had met her! A dreamed fulfilled and she was just as wonderful as I imagined. But, as I was walking out of the room, I saw her plop down on a chair, next to one of her crew that travels with her, and say something like "that girl talked my ear off and plumb wore me out!"..... Needless to say, in my dream, I slunk out of the meeting, feeling very humbled and embarrassed.....

When I woke up this morning, I was musing the events of my dream. I still want to meet Sarah, but I hope I tone it down when I do, so there will be no slumping down in the chair on her part. I do admire her for what she stands for and the convictions she lives by. I think if we would of been in high school together, we would of been very good friends. Maybe BFF's.

So, onto the "memory"... In processing the dream this morning, a painful memory came back to me from about 20 years ago. Isn't that interesting..... I never think about it, but this dream spurred the incident in my mind and in my heart.

I was sitting around with about 25 to 30 ladies and we were drawing "secret sister" names in our ladies group. A secret sister, is someone that you pray for and encourage throughout the year and send little gifts to, and like the name says, it is done in "secret".

As we were drawing names out of the basket, I just happened to glance across the room. I remember this one lady, that when she drew the paper, with the name on it, she rolled her eyes and gave a disgusting grimace. After the meeting was over, I went up to her and said " I could tell you weren't too thrilled about the name you drew." I can't even remember the answer she gave, and I didn't pick up on any clues.....until........

I realized some months later, that she had drawn my name.

Many years have passed and the little sting of pain remained in my heart this morning at the freshness of that memory.

I realize that not everyone will like you, and whatever the reasons were, the one who chose my name, was not "thrilled". I have to let that go, and this morning I gave it to the Lord to cover. I am thankful that when the Lord sees my name, I am accepted and loved! It is a good teaching lesson for me. I am me, in process. The Lord is working in my life, and I want to be more like Him. Sometimes in our processes, we aren't very pretty in the inside and it is portrayed in many ways on the outside. My desire is to leave a fragrance of the Lord on the people I touch.

So, I am ready for a fresh new day. Maybe I will meet Sarah.

Instant Maturity.....

"We often want to be called of God, then ushered painlessly into a position of service and honor, miraculously possessing the character our callings require. God doesn't work that way. Our appointments are not about glamor. They're about glory. God's glory". Beth Moore.."David, Seeking a Heart Like His"

In this "instant" world, we are not accustom to having to wait...We get perturbed if we are in the drive thru for more than a few minutes. We are living in an age, where entitlement and expectations are high. Why should we wait? I want it now and now is when I need it!

While we may get what we want in this world, in an instant, that is not the way our Heavenly Father has planned for our lives to receive from Him.

Yes, we receive forgiveness the instant we ask for it. We receive salvation, the moment we ask.... but when it comes to forming us into His image and molding us and working in us, to fulfill the calling He has placed upon our lives, that is not instant. It is a process. In all honesty, sometimes the process sucks....:}

Wouldn't it be wonderful to wake up fully mature and His character built within us? I am sure David, was wondering what in the world was going on in his life as Saul kept on pursuing him. He was suppose to be the next king and he found himself hiding in caves, always being pursued by the enemy.

Most of us will never find ourselves physically hiding out in a dark and wet and gloomy cave, but emotionally we will probably find ourselves there at times. Feeling as if we are all alone, and wondering what in the world is happening in our lives? I thought the Lord had called me, we say?

Little did David know that the Lord was molding him and preparing him for the calling He had placed upon his life. Just as the Lord is molding and preparing us to be fruitful and to bring Him glory and not ourselves.

It is not "instantly" but it is His faithfulness that works in us, as we remain obedient to hear His voice and walk in that.

The Oldies Were Once Young....

Last night I am driving home from work and I found an "oldies" radio station. Who would of ever thought that the songs I listened to in high school would become oldies. How can that be? Listening to those songs brought me back to so many memories, such as...

riding the bus and listening to them on 8 tracks (Mr. Knodel, you were the best bus driver ever!

thinking of all my classmates and how close we were (38 in our class)

Mr. Schroer, my favorite teacher

driving around in Doug's new VW getting ads for the yearbook

driving around in Eunice's VW (forgetting to put oil in it!)

laying awake at night and listening to the KFQD radio

buying some of those songs on cassette tape at Homer Rexall Drug Store

sitting at the Parfait Shop with Nan

wondering if he "liked" me? and crying if he didn't....

remembering the innocence of childhood and youth

FATCATS

Looking forward to our 40th class reunion in Sept 2012 in Homer, Alaska~

The Flickering Light Bulb.....

Ah.... I love my new job with Alaska/Horizon Airlines....Let me list a few reasons why.

1. No more tears riding the employee bus home from a work shift.

2. The people I work with are so supportive and encouraging to help me learn.

3. I LOVE the passengers and meeting them and trying to help them.

4. Of course the free flight perk!

5. Wearing uniforms is fun. Plus you don't have to worry about what to wear.

6. I do like giving announcements over the PA system.

7. Gaining new friendships with fellow employees.

Seven is my favorite number, so I will stop there for now. The flickering light bulb in my brain is starting to have some pauses and moments of burning brightly as I catch on to the details of the job. It is not always flickering, which is good, sometimes it shines brightly, which means, I have caught on and done a procedure correctly. YEAH....

It has been 3 months now, since I put on the uniform and I am so glad I have stuck it out to get this far and not given up. Looking forward to gaining more confidence and learning the procedures, especially before the holidays arrive. We will be swamped then, and I want to be able to do my part in helping the passengers with all their needs.

It has been the most intense job I have ever had. We are on a time frame to get those planes out on time. So it is a challenge, and I like challenges!

I don't regret for a moment coming to this new job. It was always a desire for me to work for Alaska Airlines. It was a dream for me, that has been fulfilled and I am grateful to the Lord for giving me this opportunity.

Two Busy "B's" for Me This Week......

Bible Study- Tuesday, I get to go to Ladies Bible Study. I haven't been able to attend for 6 years, but now with my new job, I have Tuesdays off. I am so excited to be a part and spend time with these ladies in my life! Ready to dig into the Word and have the Lord speak to me. My heart is yearning for His voice.

Beth Moore- Will be studying David's life in Beth's new study called "David, Seeking A Heart Like His". I got my workbook and I am ready to go, and so excited to do this study. I facilitated this study 13 years ago in Homer, with a group of ladies that are so dear to my heart and remain so, and now I get to attend this study again with an updated version, and with ladies that have also become dear to my heart.

Blessed

Because I Have Always Done It.....

The other day, I am washing my hair at the kitchen sink. I always take a bath towel and fold it and lay it on the front of the sink, before I lean over the sink and begin. So, I found myself doing it again the other day and then asked myself, "why do I do that"? I have done it for as long as I can remember from my youth growing up on the homestead. My mom did it, my 4 sisters did it.

WALA... I had a light bulb moment....

On the homestead, we did not have running water. Well, except for the pairs of legs running to the creek and back with the buckets we carried up and down the hill. Our kitchen sink was metal and just inlaid in a wooden counter. It wasn't fancy, but did the job. There was no pretty tile or baseboards to surround it, and so when we would bend over, our shirt would get dirty from the counter edges.

I smiled as those memories flooded my heart again. I don't need to fold the towel and put it at the sink counter anymore to protect my clothes....but I will continue to do so, because now it is a precious memory of the homestead years and reminds me of my mom and how simple life was "way back when".

The Burning Bushes In Our Lives....

"When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, "Moses! Moses!" Exodus 3:4

It was an ordinary day, just like all the others, for the last 40 years, as Moses went out to tend the sheep on the hillsides that day. Except.... this was the day that the Lord took the ordinary and made it extraordinary!

Ordinary days...... we all have them. Going about, being faithful, to what has been put before us, and then.... in a moment, we encounter our own "burning bush" and our lives are never the same.

We encounter them, because we take the time to turn aside and look. God does His part, but He waits for us to do ours. He waits to see if we are willing to "turn aside" before He will reveal Himself and call our names.

Notice that Moses wasn't at a crusade, a retreat, a men's group, or even sitting in church. He was out doing the same thing he did every day, the ordinary, when the Lord showed up.

I am not saying that any of the above are not good. If you know me well, I love going to our annual Women's Retreat and look forward to it so much! The Lord does great work in one's lives at those events....but we don't have to "go" to those events to hear from Him. He shows up, exactly where we are at. Whether it be a hillside, driving in the car, at work, grocery shopping.... whatever we find ourselves doing.

I love "burning bushes". Mine may not be as "nation changing" as Moses was, but never the less, they are just as ordained and important. I long to continue to be faithful to where the Lord has placed me, doing the ordinary...and when I encounter a "burning bush", may my heart always turn aside and hear His voice and be obedient each time.