"What a hassle!" ... BUT God is Faithful !!!

To borrow a line from a friend (that will always cause both of us to remember the exact situation) - "What a hassle!"

A Simple Delivery ...
It seemed like a simple thing. I was to have a new refrigerator and a new stove delivered today. The new dishwasher and hood for the stove will have to be delivered separately, since they require "installation" into the house. Okay. I can handle that.

The mix-up ...
They were scheduled "between noon and 5pm." You know the drill. So, I called around 11 to see if they could tell me where I fell on the delivery schedule. I was told I was last of five deliveries, so I could expect it to be between 4 & 5pm. Okay. Great. I could run another errand I needed to do while I was off.

I won't go into the saga of what should have taken about an hour total, from the time I left home until I returned, turning into over 2 hours at the service center and the expected $40 bill being $140. I'll just leave that one for another day.

At any rate, it's still just after 1:30 and as I leave I decided to check my home recorder for messages. At 12:20 there's a message from the delivery guy that they are just leaving the store and heading to my house. What happened to being scheduled last? To expect them between 4 & 5pm? At about 12:50 there is another message that they were at my house and no one was there, so I needed to call the store and reschedule.

You betcha, I'm calling the store!!

Person at store: "Oh, sorry, who told you that? They should not had done that."

Okay, "Thanks!" Next time remind me not to believe what I am told by your employees...

She made a quick phone call to the delivery guys & back to me. They would come back by after the one they were working, and they were almost finished there. "So, are they calling me again before they come?" "No, they're almost done. They will be back to your house shortly."

I quickly pull all the food out of the refrigerator. (The freezer food had already been moved to my upright freezer in the garage.) Some could go in ice chests, but not all of it.

An hour later, they call to say they are on their way and will be there in about 20 minutes.

Discovery 1
The first "discovery" was when they pulled the old stove out. It was not plugged into an outlet - it was hardwired into a 6' cable coming out of the wall!

Of course, the "delivery" guys couldn't remove the wires from the old stove and put them in the new one. A call back to the store - and the wait on the subsequent return call to find out the answer - revealed that the "installers" who were coming out later in the week couldn't do that either. I would need to call an electrician to install my stove!

While I was waiting on the call back from the store to determine what could be done with the stove, they started unloading the refrigerator.

Enter Hero # 1
Just as the "lovely" discovery was made, the friend who was coming to take my old refrigerator and stove away to be used by others arrived. "Hold on a minute." He started investigating the situation and determined that it simply needed the "strands" disconnected and then connected correctly to the new stove, and started working to disassemble it. In the process, we decided it really would be better if the stove had the normal electrical cable attached to an outlet rather than running into this same problem the next time. So, he left for Ace Hardware to get a circuit box.

Back to the refrigerator ...
The delivery guys have realized that they can't wheel the refrigerator through the door from the garage into the hall without moving a shelf unit that blocked the approach by about an inch. There was disagreement between them about which would be easier - take the doors off the refrigerator or unload and move the shelves and take the entry door off it's hinges. The second opinion was held by the guy who seemed to be "in charge" - though not the one I would have assigned to be! Hence it won out. They started rearranging my garage and removing my door.

Once the refrigerator was in the kitchen, it soon became apparent that it was not going to simply "slip" into place. The bottom edge of the shelf unit I had measured so carefully, wasn't exactly straight. In the middle, it failed to clear by about 1/8". Seriously! Of course, I had measured the outer edges - on both sides! Then it turned out there was also an opening for access to the ice maker on the top. (I've never seen one of those before - even when looking at and measuring this model in the store.) It also extended up about 1/8-1/4". So, the refrigerator is not going to slide under the built in cabinet.

Enter Hero #2
I have a friend who is an incredibly gifted handy-man that I knew had recently encountered a similar problem when installing a new microwave in his kitchen. I called him to see if he could help me out. Not only was he willing, he had time to come this evening and take care of it - and show me some of his new fancy (actually, very cool!) tools.

Back to the stove ...
Jess was back from the hardware store, had the wiring installed in the stove (hmmm, you would have thought the guys who delivered the cable with the stove would have done that!), the receptacle attached to the 6' wire that was coming out of the wall, and we were ready for power. First good sign: no casualties when I flipped the breaker back on. :) And there was power to the stove. It took a little bit to get all 12' of wiring bundled up small enough that the stove would slide back and the drawer on the bottom close. Having a "long & lanky" son helped - AJ had to crawl behind and bundle up the wiring cables and then be lifted out over the stove!

Yea!! The new stove is functional.

As for that refrigerator...
Tim and his wife, Theresa, who is almost always beside him in his many "charity" efforts like tonight's, came by after work. Even with her making a run back to their house to pick up one tool they failed to get loaded, he had the lip and sides of the flange on that cabinet trimmed and my refrigerator sitting in it's rightful place in less than an hour and a half - cleanup included. Wow! Tim, you're the man!!

So, a mere 5.5 hours after I was told the delivery men "would be there shortly," I had stove and refrigerator installed and operational. (At least I got the food back in the refrigerator after only about 3.5 - 4 hrs).

BUT God is Faithful!!

In spite of all the hassles, God has Jess arrive just as the stove is sitting there, with the delivery guys waiting for me to tell them to leave it or take it back. And Tim answered his phone rather than it rolling to voicemail as is often the case, and was not only willing to help but could do so this evening. God really does know what we have need of, even before we ask.

But, for the record, I am asking ahead of time for a quick, simple, no surprise delivery and installation of the dishwasher and stove hood on Friday afternoon. Prayers of agreement welcomed!!

made it 25 years!

April 1 came and went. I made it through that milestone. :) Due to other issues, it was a very quiet and subdued day at the office.

After work, some friends joined me for dinner to celebrate it.

Obviously, we should have taken the pics inside ... since the wind was gusting about 25-30 mph! So much for the hair. All Kansans understand!!

25 years ago today ....

Twenty-five years ago tonight I had been into Boeing, had my picture made for my badge, shown my birth certificate to prove who I was and that I was an American citizen, been fingerprinted for a security clearance (due to military work back then), and was getting myself ready for the first day on my new career - which began April 1, 1985.

So ...

Tomorrow (Thursday) is my 25th anniversary of working for Boeing and Spirit combined.

I guess the biggest thing to celebrate, particulary tomorrow, is the fact that I am still employed there.

Sadly, tomorrow is also the last day of working with a number of my long-time colleagues and (in many cases) friends. Many of our IT jobs have been outsourced. The transiton of those responsibilities is this Friday, making tomorrow the last day that quite a number of people will be working for Spirit. Some were fortunate and secured positions with the outsourcing suppliers or a different position in Spirit. Others did not.

Now you understand why I say that do "celebrate, particularly tomorrow, ... the fact that I am still employed there."

It is becoming a rare experience for someone to be with a company 25+ years - unless they own it. Just think of how many mornings I have driven to the same (well, roughly the same!) location. [For non-Wichitans, the original Boeing site, which now is comprised of Spirit and what is left of Boeing-Wichita, spans what would be several city blocks - roughly 1 mile by 2 miles.]

So, I do celebrate this personal milestone.

However, my celebration will be away from the office, not at it, due to the very unfortunate circumstances of the day at the office tomorrow.

Remembering ...

Can it really be three years since the early morning that Mom slipped peacefully from this earthly realm into the eternal one staring wide-eyed at something, likely someone, I still wish I could have seen?

Yet, on the other hand, it seems so long ago that my days were filled with waking her for her morning meds before I left for work, coming home at noon to try to entice her to eat something for lunch and make sure she had taken her mid-day meds, and making sure to get away from work before too late so that I could get home and get her dinner before she was too tired to eat anything. I would then do whatever else she needed before heading "downstairs" to "my quarters" to start going through mail and email and whatever else needed to be done. In a bit, she would call down from the stairwell and I would go back upstairs to go through our evening ritual of teasing and loving on each other and get her tucked in for the night.

Of course, that ritual was somewhat interupted for the last few months of her life. I will always be grateful to God for the fact that she recovered from the bleed and was able to "come back home" for the last month or so. And those last 2.5 days with just the two of us there, though difficult, will always be precious to me.

Tonight I went to Red Lobster, a place we frequented, to relax and reflect and think about her. In retrospect, I'm sure not whether or not it was a good idea. I'm sure the waitress wondered why I was teary. Fortunately, she never asked. If she had, I would have probably lost it completely! :)

Sometime within the last few months before the bleed, we had one of those deep, heart-to-heart talks. As I suspected, she was concerned about what would happen to me when she was "gone" and I was "left all alone." I assured her that I would "be okay," but added that I sure would miss her. Little did I realize just how much!

When she would mention it again after that initial conversation, she would always add that she knew God would take care of me. And, yes, He always does!

I feel privileged that she did move here with me so that I could care for her in those last years.

I am grateful that I could be home with her the last month (though I thought it was just for rehab) and, particularly, there with her those last few days, hours, and minutes.

She had been with my brother when he, likewise, passed away in the early morning hours more than 18 years before she did.

Unfortunately, no one was with Pappy (my Dad) when he also slipped away in the early morning hours. It still saddens me that there was no family or loved one there with him. He died as he had lived much of his life - alone.

[For those who do not know, Dad suffered a stroke three weeks before he died that had left him in a coma. He had been moved just three days before from the hospital in Tallahassee to a nursing home that was about 50 miles away. They called Mom in the middle of the night, but she could no longer see to drive at night, there was no one she felt she could call to ask to take her, and it was too far to be able to get a cab. She was waiting for daybreak to go, but he did not make it that long.

As for being alone much of his life - much of his career in road construction he traveled with the job and only came home on the weekends that he didn't work on Saturday. Given the expense of long-distance calling back then, he would usually only call home once a week - on Saturday night. Since he would have to go to a pay phone to call, we would always make sure to be there at the time we knew he would call.]

So, as I said, I am not sure if going, sitting alone, and reflecting on Mom and the rest of my family was a good thing to do or not. But, I don't ever want to forget them, so I will choose to believe that it is something I should do "upon occasion" - and today was such an occasion.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For those of you who have loved ones around you - or maybe not so close by - be sure to hug them, kiss them, and tell them you love them every chance you get. Be grateful every time they are "there for you" - and try your best to be there for them.

The things I regret are not having given up something to do something for Mom, but rather all the times that I thought what I wanted or needed to do (including working late!) was more important than being there with and for her.

For those, like me, who do not have anyone (and I know that some of you are in that category), open your heart to whomever God puts in your path, even if they cannot or simply do not ever return it. I don't believe it is possible to ever regret loving someone, even if they scorn our love or handle it abusively. After all, if we "love" someone only because they "love us back" then we really do not understand love.

Because ...

- Love is patient
- Love is kind
- Love does not envy
- Love does not boast
- Love is not proud
- Love is not rude
- Love is not self-seeking
- Love is not easily angered
- Love keeps no record of wrongs
- Love does not delight in evil
- Love rejoices in the truth
- Love always protects
- Love always trusts
- Love always hopes
- Love always perseveres

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

The first nice Saturday of the year ...

Today was the first nice Saturday of 2010 here in Wichita.

Now, let me quickly explain something, especially for my Florida friends. A "nice day" in the middle of winter in Kansas means that it was in the 40s, sunny, and the wind was less than 10mph. I know the true Floridians will shiver, but it was actually quite pleasant out if dressed appropriately - at least while it was in the upper 40s.

The nice day allowed me to _finally_ get out pick up all the limbs that broke out of the trees behind my house during the blizzard on Christmas Eve. For over two months, I've seen them dangling in the trees and covering the ground everytime I looked out my living room or bedroom windows. Most of them were really in the commons area behind my home, but still in my direct view. Every weekend, there's either been snow on the ground or it was too wet and cold to get out there and deal with them. So, today they were finally picked up.

In trying to pick them up, I realized that there were many smaller branches and large twigs that could not be easily picked up. I went after the rake. But, when I start raking them, I was also getting the leaves that fell after the last "clean up" mowing (and, actually, after the first snow of the year). So, the limb pick-up job expanded to also raking the back yard and part of the commons area.

Three and a half hours, one full trash can (that was empty when I started), four totally packed trash bags, and a bundle of larger limbs cut to size for pick later, my back yard looks great!

There's a reason that the bags were packed so tightly. I realized when the trash can was nearly full that I would have to use bags. When I went to get them, I only had three left. Hence, the reason for packing them as tightly as possible. When I filled the third one, I had to "borrow" one from something in the garage that was covered with it. Whew ... that got me finished without having to make a trip to the store.

It's a New Season

This weekend has been one of the best I have had in a very long time.

Last night, I met three friends for dinner and then a Christmas concert at the Orpheum. The dinner was good, the concert was great (Bowfire – a troupe of violinists who put on quite a show!), and three us then went to check out the Christian coffee house (Mead’s Corner) in Old Town. It was quite an enjoyable evening, in and of itself. But, there was more to it for me.

On Time

We were to meet for dinner at 6:00 at a restaurant in Old Town, close to the Orpheum. The first “new thing” for the evening was that we were actually all there before 6:00. The last of our party joined us at our table at 5:59. Now, you may be saying, “so, you were to meet at 6:00, right?” Yes. But, all four us sometimes have issues with being on time. So, with all four of us present and accounted for by 6:00, the evening was already “different.”

New Patterns & New Places

As we began to chat about things, I began to pick up on a pattern of new things happening. One friend, a self-employed professional, mentioned a new project she was just starting that was a shift in the way she had been contracting things since she left the security of being employed by another firm and launched out on her own about three years ago. This project is one that is starting to move her more to what she would prefer to be doing.

Another friend, also a business owner, mentioned a couple of new ventures she is considering. In addition, we discussed how she had recently moved the office for her current businesses to the downtown area – into a particular building to which she had been drawn for several years, even before she was a business owner. Then, when the lease elsewhere was expiring, God opened the door to get space on the 10th floor of this particular downtown building.

There were also new things happening on a personal level. For starters, I had “organized” the evening. My middle name may be “Miss Organization,” but not when comes to organizing a social. I usually leave that to the sanguines to do!

Next we learned that the one who, by her own confession, “has eaten at every restaurant in Wichita,” has recently started cooking dinner for herself and had even done some baking that week. Knowing her better than the other two do, I was stunned – not because she is not capable, but because she hasn’t done that for years. Even as recently as a week or so ago, I was talking with her late one evening and she made the statement that the only food she had in the house was popcorn and cheese (her staples). Now she is cooking dinner for herself and baking for herself and others. She is even going to host a come & go party on Christmas Eve - something she had recently commented to me about "not being her thing."

The third friend also has a number of new things happening. She bought her first house this year, has a new puppy, and her family (parents, siblings & their spouses & children) is planning a big family trip over Christmas.

Later, one of them mentioned seeing a good deal on a trip to Cancun and that she was considering it. I immediately “volunteered” to go. (Anyone who knows me knows my love of a good beach. I would have probably already been there or somewhere similar had I had someone with whom to go. Cruise, anyone?) The topic kept coming up throughout the evening. Before the evening was over, another one was expressing interest in going. Again, you ask, “so what?” So – she does not like to travel, or at least "has" not until now! [There are a couple of reasons for that.] Not sure if we will end up going – but it is sure sounding good. We’re thinking about mid-February when it’s cold here and warm there!

Finally, as the three of us sat and talked at Mead’s Corner, we begin to also talk about what God was doing in His Church – and how He has been “shaking everything that can be shaken” in order to shake away all that is not founded on Him. There’s much that could be said about that – but that would be a topic for a posting or series of postings on God's Simple Truths.

A New Season

To wrap it up … I expressed several times during the evening that it really did seem as though we were finally entering “the new season” that we have heard prophesied for so long. Not just because of the things I have shared here (and there were actually more during the evening), but because of the “feel” of the whole evening. Actually, I had started sensing this sometime in the last couple of weeks. Something has shifted. I thought it was just for me personally, but, after last night, I don’t believe so. One of the three commented today about another sign in her own life that she was shifting out of the last season into a new one.

What’s Ahead

Even as I began to type this, I realized there was yet more significance that God was trying to highlight to me. As I put titles on each section, I begin to sense something stirring further in my spirit. Here’s what I believe the Lord is saying – at least for us. You see if it applies to you as well. :) [Comments in brackets are my “editorial remarks” – not part of what I am sensing from the Lord, but rather my response to it.]

We are on time. We are neither running ahead nor lagging behind of what God is wanting to do in and through our lives. Though each of us can look and, in the natural, feel like we were sidetracked and wonder if we have missed out on something that we will never regain, my sense was God was saying, “No, you are arriving right on time at my banquet table for My next course in your life. Come. Sit, eat, and enjoy.” He will serve each of us exactly what He has prepared uniquely for us. [That comes from a portion of the evening not shared here.]

He is going to establish new patterns in our lives and take us to new places. The patterns will deal with everything from our personal lives and habit patterns to new patterns and new revelations of His kingdom principles. The places refer to both new places in the natural [whether or not that includes Cancun!] as well as new places in His spiritual realm.

It is a new season in our lives. It will be a time of many new experiences, new relationships, a new dimension to some old relationships, and a new way of representing Him on the earth. [I have no clue what that last one means. I suspect it means more renewal to these old wineskins!]

Epilogue

On a final, personal note, the last three years have been a long, lonely, at times very bitter, winter season in my life. It began with mom’s subdural hematoma in November 2006. In many ways, the entire season from that point until now has been a blur.

I believe last night was that first glimpse that you get indicating spring is coming as winter begins to come to its end; springs’s not here yet, but the severity of winter is easing and the earth is beginning to prepare to awaken as springtime blooms.

Even as the natural winter season is beginning here in Kansas, I am ready to move out of this extended winter season in my life and move into a new season, with its new growth and new experiences. Thank You, Lord!

Time to Take Action

I went to hear Vickie Tiahrt this morning.

(For those from other areas who may not know, Vickie is the wife of our U.S. Representative, Todd Tiahrt, who is stepping down from his Rep seat to run for U.S. Senate next year.)

What Vickie shared of what Todd & she believe need to be done is SO in line with my views. We have GOT to keep him in Washington to keep standing for the right ideals, even when in such an uphill battle, until we can turn the tide of the battle and win our country (and our liberty!) back.

Please continue to pray for our nation.

But also put some "works" with your "faith" (so that your faith is not dead!) and get involved with the candidate(s) or campaign(s) of your choice to help put men and women with Godly, liberty-minded values in office.