Keeping it Real...One Sister's JourneyMy name is Lisa Buske and I enjoy sharing my faith, hope, and laughter with those I meet ~ whether it's here on my blog, my podcast, or in person. Life is a gift and we have the opportunity and blessing to enjoy it. May you find the encouragement, hope, and connection here.
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As I attempt to finalize the rambling of thoughts, emotions, and prayers dancing around in my head the phone rings. It is my mother, “By the way, I forgot to ask if you saw the news link on AOL today?” “No, why?” “Your speaking engagement is the first story listed.” I laugh and return with a “Stop teasing, it’s not nice.” She says something to my father and they laugh, “We’re not kidding, go look.” Guess what? They were not joking. I scrolled down to the local news and the first story listed reads, “Sister of abducted New Haven Teen Speaks Dec. 1 in Mexico” Debra J. Groom’s article in the Syracuse Post Standard is linked to AOL’s homepage today with a story about me. Humbled. Overwhelmed. Blessed. Contemplative. God is amazing. Tomorrow evening is in his hands – may He be glorified. Believers’ Chapel North, Mexico, New York – 6:30 p.m. Link to AOL homepage: http://www.aol.com/?ncid=whl-aolcom To view other coverage for my December 1st Speaking event click on the photo below. 
 Author Jim Farfaglia has recently published Country Boy, a collection of free verse poems and short essays about growing up on a country road outside Fulton and working on his uncle's muck farm. Country Boy was written as a testimony to Farfaglia's family, but the reflections he offers provide a more universal reminiscence for his readers. He notes that when sharing these poems with groups they often rekindle the listeners own rich childhood memories. For many years Jim ran Camp Hollis, a campgrounds located on the shores of Lake Ontario. He is the co-author of the pictorial essay: CampHollis, The Origins Of OswegoCounty's Children's Camp and also writes a weekly poetry column for Fulton's Valley News. Country Boy is available for purchase at The River's End Bookstore, through Amazon.com or by contacting Farfaglia directly at sjimf903@twcny.rr.com  
April 2004 was a difficult month for me. Heidi had been missing for ten years that month. My disbelief she was still missing overwhelmed me and I spiraled further away from God in my pursuit to find Heidi or someone or something to fill the void. Between April and November of 2004 I visited multiple psychics who told me what I “wanted” to hear, not the Truth or what I “needed” to hear but instead they fed my hunger with lies and false hope. My eyes were too veiled to recognize the deception but thankfully God loves me enough to keep placing the Truth in my path and used the one vessel He knew I would hear him, a child. Seven years ago this Sunday represents the day I walked through the doors of the Community Alliance Church in New Haven, New York. A small white church located at 4175 State Route 104, a short drive from home. I crossed their threshold the first time because one of my students told me, “Mrs. Buske, you need Jesus. Will you come to my church?” Before I could brush his request off, his persistence and genuine concern resonated in my heart, of course. I’ll be honest with you; I only walked through the doors out of an obligation to child. I promised to go and so I did. I never anticipated or expected the loving welcome I would receive or the healing that took place in such a short time frame. An hour of Sunday school and a little over an hour of worship and Pastor’s message left me to drive home with tears in my eyes. God loved me. He NEVER left me. God was always with me and loved me! My Gram told me this often yet something in the message or the way the Holy Spirit worked in my heart made it more real. Each Thanksgiving season for the past seven years I remember the look in that student’s eyes as he told me “You need Jesus.” In truth, we all need Jesus. Have you taken time to seek Him? I’m thankful for the boldness and love of a child…he led me to a new life and hope and he will always hold a special and dear spot in my heart. Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Psalm 27:7-8 To learn how God carried me the first ten years after my sister's kidnapping you are welcome to join us at the Believers' Chapel North in Mexico, New York on Route 3 this coming Thursday (12/1) at 6:30 p.m.. For more information and a printable flyer - visit my speaking page. http://lisabuske.weebly.com/speaking.html 
My very best friend from high school called yesterday afternoon to make sure I had seen the Facebook post. One of our friends is home for Thanksgiving and invited everyone to meet her at a bar in Oswego at 8 p.m. “Do you want to go?” I had a choice to make, sit home and work on my presentation or go to the bar and reminisce with high school friends. Hmmm….?? With make-up applied, hair styled, and my boots zipped -- I kissed my hubby on the cheek and went out the door singing, “These boots were made for walking”. My teen daughter laughing at my silliness while she repeated “Mom, I can’t believe you are doing this” multiple times. All I could do was smile. It has been years since I made myself presentable after supper and I was tickled at my daughter’s shock. Why did I venture to the bar on a Friday evening you might ask? No it wasn’t for a last minute Black Friday sale but to share a hug, prayer, and hope. The friend we met out is battling one of the biggest battles she will fight – breast cancer. In between treatments and visiting her family she set aside time to reacquaint herself with her friends of past, in person. Although we keep in touch via Facebook and email, my heart warmed at the idea of giving her a real hug instead of a virtual one. I will be the first to admit I enjoy Facebook and keeping in touch with my friends and family of afar, and even in the next town BUT nothing can replace the joy, love, and hope experienced when you are face to face. There was much laughter and memories shared along with some quiet time of conversation. My prayer as I drove into Oswego, “Dear Lord, let me be a light for You, expressing your love to my dear friend. Don’t let the tears flow but instead let laughter lead our time together. Use me as you will. Amen.” It was during the quiet of conversation that God blessed me abundantly. As I listened to my friend share her struggles, accomplishments, and thoughts as my heart was uplifted and encouraged. I anticipated and looked forward to seeing my friends from high school. I was grateful for the opportunity to share a hug with a friend fighting to survive yet as I drove home – I was overcome with thankfulness and love. Her words were and still are today…a blessing to me. I pray she knows how much of an encouragement she was to me. Thank you! The king rejoices in your strength, LORD. How great is his joy in the victories you give! You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. Psalm 21: 1 - 3 
 Do you remember where you were last November when news of Jenni-Lyn's disappearance came across the airways? While most people prepared for their upcoming Thanksgiving dinners, incoming relatives, and Black Friday adventures the following week -- this young lady's family was searching for their lost loved one. Each time her story, poster, or family's plea aired on the television or radio a familiar ache and void in my stomach returned. A familiar feeling from the fateful April 3, 1994 Easter Sunday morning when my one and only sister, Heidi M. Allen was kidnapped from her place of employment. Heidi had a future with plans to graduate the following May. Jenni-Lyn's dancing (among other things) left her hopeful for her future. Both these young women had their lives taken from them before they reached those goals. Their families remain with hope and sadness in their hearts. Thankfully it is possible to experience joy and happiness again in our lives. Jenni-Lyn was found and her family was blessed with that answer while Heidi remains missing today. Regardless of how you lost someone, or if they have returned -- loss hurts and the holidays only heightened the anxiety and mixed emotions. It is possible to overcome the loss, grief, and despair. Jesus is the Great Healer and awaits with open arms to help you and I on the road to healing, peace, and true joy. I will go into more detail about this next Thursday, December 1st, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Believers' Chapel North in Mexico, New York. See you there, I look forward to meeting you. For more information, the flyer is listed below. (315) 963-4100 My apologies to Jenni-Lyn's family - I hadn't intended your loved one's remembrance to be an advertisement yet this is how God led as I closed today's blog. I pray you will be able to join us - no one needs to know you are there but I pray you can make it and find some healing in her remembrance. She is not forgotten and you are lifted in prayer when the Lord places you all on my heart. :) Lisa   Were you able to hear the sound of the trumpets playing? I am ever so thankful for the opportunity to recognize the music of life orchestrated by God. As I jumped out of bed (still rambling my thoughts) I grabbed my note pads, pencils, Bible, and a headband. With my hair out of my face, sticking up like a rooster and the small light in the living room on – I listened, read, prayed, cried, and smiled in thanksgiving. I cleared the coffee table of play scripts, homework, remote controls, notebooks, and whatever else was on it and spread my office out. On my side is a list with hundreds of different Scripture verse addresses to look up and on the other my new notebook designated “Notes” with my study Bible in the center. Two mechanical pencils, one black pen, an eraser, and a glass of water to the top and the adventure began. I checked the clock one last time, not even 1:30 a.m. – great. This means I have four hours before I need to start getting ready for work. It was an amazing few hours – with times of tears on my knees to smiles of reflection from the first time a verse had made sense or touched my heart. Absorbed in the preparation and prayer a sound startles me out of “the zone.” At first it is faint but it gets louder until someone touches my shoulder, “Lisa, have you been working all this time? Did you get any sleep?” Oh my gosh, it is past 5 a.m. and Ed is up. I must have shut my alarms off and I didn’t hear his go off? The only response I had, “Yes I’ve been up and no I haven’t slept yet I feel great! I’ve missed spending this much time with God and working on a writing project and the thought of speaking to share this with others is…” My husband smiles with a slight chuckle, “I love you but you’re going to be exhausted today at school.” Once the house is quiet (code word – hubby left for work) and it is me, God and my Bible again I thank Him for all he brought to me during the night. The alarm goes off and snaps me out of “the zone” again – it’s time to wake my daughter for school. I pack everything into my bag so I can work during my lunch and start the daily routine. So many ideas, Scriptures, thoughts, and blessings going through my head as I make the drive to school I wish I could turn the car around and spend the entire day writing and preparing to speak BUT this isn’t my reality, at least not today. Thanksgiving is only two days away so I decide to be “thankful” instead of whiny – thankful for a full time job I love, thankful my van is running, thankful God woke me up with the direction I had prayed for, and thankful for the opportunity to speak Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I pray you have a blessed time with family today, make memories, and listen when God is speaking to you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:14-16 NIV  I awoke Friday morning at 12:45 a.m. rambling Scriptures and the formulation of my presentation for next week’s event, A Time for Everything: Heidi Allen’s Sister Speaks hosted by the Believers’ Chapel North on Route 3 in Mexico, New York. My husband patiently listened and commented for about thirty minutes before ever so sweetly requesting “Either go to sleep, stop talking or get up.” With too many ideas to organize developing I “sprung from my bed (not) to see what was the matter” but to WRITE!
Ever since my first meeting with Chrissy and Beth, event organizers, I have prayed for God to provide the words, Scripture, and strength necessary to the touch hearts. I want to speak and share Heidi, my story, and my heart with the ladies in attendance while having Jesus being the focal point, not myself. I pray daily for my preparation and presentation. I pray daily for the women who will be in attendance to hear God’s message and Word, not mine. I’m thankful for this opportunity and to start this new addition to an already fabulous journey with Jesus. It is time for true confessions – I am nervous. I have spoke at events for the National Center for Missing Children many times at various Ride for Missing Children. I have presented to educators on professional development days on an array of topics. I’m happy to say I have even been a guest lecturer at the college for a freshman English class a couple times. I have read my writing at the local bookstore and writing conferences a few times. I took public speaking in college and enjoy being on stage to perform BUT this is different. Each of the above events allowed me to share myself and talents with the selected audience yet with a different purpose than my upcoming event on December 1st. A week from Thanksgiving I will share my heart, testimony, and inner most thoughts with other women. This isn’t an event to inspire riders or teach a new skill but instead to share Jesus and my testimony, story, and sister verbally with those in attendance. This is the thought and answer to prayer that woke me up in the wee hours of the morning yesterday. To learn how God answered my prayer and worked while most of you were sleeping you will have to read tomorrow’s blog. Until tomorrow – let us all pray for God’s glory and love to be evident to everyone. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 (NIV) Photo description: Chiz Rider ministered at our church this past October. He plays for the Glory of God. For more information about Chiz Rider: http://www.chizrider.org/  A warm November morning with leaves blowing about the front yard with light dew scattered atop everything. Once the dogs are back inside, the tea has finished steeping, and I decide to check my mail and post today’s blog. I receive blog updates from a few different blogs – an agent, authors, writers, and those dealing with missing children cases. One of these blogs is written by Karen Beaudin. Her sister, Kathy Lynn Gloddy was kidnapped, raped and brutally murdered forty years ago today. As I read today’s post my heart ached for her and the family. Some might say, “Time heals all wounds” yet the loss of your sibling is heartbreaking and I anticipate I will miss Heidi as much in forty years as Karen misses Kathy today. Karen has written a book, A Child is Missing from the sister’s perspective about her sister’s murder. She shares the heartbreak and loss experienced by herself and her family. Karen writes and speaks to advocate for the voices muffled by kidnapping and murder. I encourage you to read Karen’s blog posting in remembrance of her sister Kathy today. Karen strives for positive change in our crime investigation while also lifting up the spirits of the families affected by kidnapping and murder through her inspirational speaking. Will you join me in prayer for Karen Beaudin and her family today? "Today marks forty years since Kathy was murdered and the case remains unsolved. I miss her and just want her back. While my sister’s remains lay in the ground for forty years the murderer continues to walk free. He’s had birthdays, enjoyed life, family, friends, and luxuries. Kathy never had the opportunity to take pleasure in any of these things and we were denied the joy of seeing her do so..." To read more of Karen's blog posting from today - you can click on the photo below or copy and past the following link: http://kbeaudin.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/forty-years-i-just-want-her-back/   To view the movie trailer for Karen Beaudin's book -- A Child is Missing click on the photo to the left.
 Having a child with disabilities isn't something that anybody plans on, yet each year thousands of people are faced with just that. They are thrown into something that they are unprepared for, and it can leave families feeling secluded and worried about the uncertainty of their future. Fifteen years ago I found myself among these people. Raising a child with special needs can be both challenging and rewarding. I felt alone for so many years after my daughter was born with multiple medical defects, and felt that I needed to do something to connect with families who were in similar situations. I wanted to not only raise awareness on what is truly takes to raise such a child, but to create a sense of community among the families who are faced with adversity. So I turned to writing. After months of crafting stories and talking with other families, my new book Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child was born. A diverse community of parents, family members, and teachers have united for one common goal: To celebrate the lives of our unique children. In this book you read stories of both triumphs and loss, achievements and hope. By the time the book has been finished, you will walk away with a better understanding of what life is really like for these truly amazing kids. To purchase a copy of this book, you may visit one of the following sites: https://www.createspace.com/3703816 http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-Wind-Blows-Sideways-Quonce/dp/1466419180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321668603&sr=8-1 To get an autographed copy of the book, you can visit me on Saturday December 3rd at St. Joseph's Church in Oswego, NY at their holiday craft show from 10-4pm, or visit Lisa Buske's table at the Presbyterian Church in Mexico from 9-3 on the 3rd as well. To follow Amy's blog, visit WindingRoadBook.Weebly.Com. I hope that this book will not only bring comfort to your hearts, but will also expand it to make room for more acceptance on those facing challenges in life. Guest Blogger, Amy Quonce "Behind every special needs child is a parent who has had a hundred tears, a thousand laughs, and a million smiles." ~Amy Quonce  
Last month I read a synopsis of my book, "Where's Heidi? The Search Begins" but last night I tried something new. I read an introduction to a fictional story I started in 2008.
The verdict..."It has your voice and I couldn't wait to find out what happened but you stopped.", "Your writing is clean and clear, I love your voice." "It still has your style and voice with the storyline leaving me to want more." "I'm glad you shared it with us." It was a great night. I enjoy listening to other writer's share their works. My daughter joined me and served as camera girl. I hope to have a video clip for you soon - having some technical difficulties at the moment. I'll repost once the video is up and running! Thank you River's End Bookstore for the invitation and all you do for local authors and writers. A special thanks to Julie for organzing the public readings and her recent publication of "The Canary".  The River’s End Bookstore has invited me to share my writing as part of their poetry and prose public reading by regional writers at 7 p.m. this evening. Although it is the final reading of 2011, it will be my first time sharing a fictional piece. I hope you will be able to attend. I will be there before it starts and there are refreshments once the reading is finished…yummy.
What can be better than local writers gathered to share their work and refreshments on a Friday evening? See you there! For more information: http://www.riversendbookstore.com/ 19 West Bridge Street Oswego, NY 13126 315-342-0077 info@riversendbookstore.com  Have you ever played the game of LIFE? This is a favorite board game to play at our house. There is always much laughter because I end up with twins and at least one or two other children, one game I had more children than would fit in my little car token. Ugh…as much as I love children, not sure I could parent eight of them yet I love to teach classrooms full of them. At home though, one is enough. My daughter snapped today’s photographs and said, “I know you there is a blog in these photos. What do you think?” with the biggest smile on her face and I instantly knew it was a reminder to play the keys to life and make the music God has for me. I took piano lessons for a year and due to the patience and diligence of my teacher I learned how to not just “hit” the keys but to “play” them in designated orders and sequences to make music. Life is the same as playing the piano. We can sit around plunking the keys with no particular order and hap-hazard banging or we can take the time to learn and focus on how to use the things in our life God has given us to play the best musical piece possible. I spent years plunking out a bad 3 blind mice but thankfully today I am able to play “Just as I am” ~ definitely a God thing. Are you carelessly plunking keys or making music? For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. Psalm 27:5-7  
Upon returning home Saturday afternoon I was greeted by a gigantic gift with a beautiful handmade card. I asked, “Where did this come from?” and my husband smiled, read the card and find out. Within the beautiful rose wrapping was my very first writer’s cottage. It is beautiful!
As I look at my framed writer’s cottage I can’t help but think: · She saw this puzzle and thought of me · She spent countless hours “putting the pieces together” praying and thinking of me · She took time to glue and secure the puzzle to make it one unit instead of 1, 000 pieces · She found a frame to house my cottage so it could be displayed with beauty · She loves me enough to listen Thank you dear friend – my first writer’s cottage is beautiful and will hang over my desk as inspiration and a reminder of God’s provision in my life. Your time, prayers, and friendship are a blessing…love you my wonderful sister-in-Christ. "Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD is witness between you and me..." 1 Samuel 20:42 
You and the women of your church are invited to hear me, Lisa M. Buske, on Thursday, December 1, 6:30pm at Believers Chapel North in Mexico. "...an opportunity for the women of the area to come together to be encouraged by the testimony of a sister in the Lord. Over 17 years ago, Heidi Allen was abducted from an area convenience store. In the years that have passed, her only sister, Lisa M. Buske has worked through depression, loneliness and blame." "Through God’s work in her life, Lisa now has a word of hope and encouragement for the women of our area."  "Don’t ask me...when you can't think of anything else but writing, then you are a writer." Do you ever find yourself second guessing yourself or the gifts and talents the Lord has blessed you with? I know I shouldn’t but there are days I break down with “Is this what God has called me be doing? Am I being and doing all I truly can for God?” Of course we shouldn’t doubt God’s plan yet I want to know 110% I am in His will and not my own. One day as I shared this with a dear friend she listened, encouraged, and then reminded me a movie segment from Sister Act 2. Before she could finish her sentence I knew the scene she was talking about. It is one I have shared with teachers when I’ve presented on “teaching writing” and also with my daughter and some of her peers. Whoopi Goldberg’s character, Sister Mary Clarence encourages one of the teens in her choir to sing. She quotes “…when you can’t think of anything else but writing, then you are a writer…” from one of her favorite books. In my case, I am always thinking about writing in some form. What is it God has called you to do? Does this gift occupy your mind and heart? I want to encourage you to be all you can be for God – bring Him glory as you write, sing, speak, or whatever unique and special talent He has blessed you with. Keep this in mind though – no one and nothing should ever replace God as the head. Keep your eyes on the Master of your gifting, not the gift itself. But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 Today's photo is of me at a young age sitting across from my Gram and Aunt Nancy's house.  Once again this miraculous rose appears on the blog, God’s beauty smiling at me. To me the rose symbolized “Heidi is with you. I am with you. Don’t give up.” It is so true – God is ALWAYS by my side and in my heart. With God…anything is possible. I won’t give up. I have started to put my thoughts, ideas, and story to paper to share with the women of Oswego County on Thursday, December 1st, 2011. At 6:30 p.m. So ladies if you have ever lost someone close to you whether it is to death or because you choose to follow Jesus – I encourage you to join me at Believer’s Chapel North in just a few weeks. As I pray, organize, and play – I am praying for you. I look forward to meeting you. Until then…DON’T GIVE UP!  My father always told me, “If the offer sounds too good to be true then most likely it is.” I believe the phrase “Rent-Free” falls in to this category. Today’s photograph caught my attention a few weeks ago on quite a few of my friend’s pages. As I read the comments in response to the post, I was overwhelmed by the number of people who didn’t see the pain, loss, and cost involved when we hold a grudge. While some supported the message the majority seemed to believe it is okay to hold a grudge if the person deserves it. Hmmm….I don’t think so! After my sister’s disappearance I not only held a grudge but held many – with the first, foremost, and biggest one towards God. At the time I blamed him for taking my one and only sister. Ephesians 4:26 - 27 tells us “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” A Scripture verse I didn’t know then so not only did I go to bed one night angry, I spent over ten years holding this grudge. In addition to my grudge against God I carried grudges against innocent store owners for not having security camera, bells on the door, and for Heidi working alone. I carried a grudge against an innocent pastor because she prayed for my family and Heidi’s boyfriend by name but omitted me. I carried an irresponsible grudge against the Sheriff’s department because they didn’t find Heidi instead of focusing on their sacrifices -- countless hours of searching and investigating, sleepless nights away from their families, fielding hundreds and thousands of calls, and still finding time to touch base personally with my parents. My grudges were irrational yet at the time they seemed purely logical. Over ten years later God used one of my students to let me know “Mrs. Buske, You need Jesus.” He was so right. Once I opened up my heart to Jesus and started to break down the 3, 650 nights of the sun going down while still angry. I not only gave the Devil a foothold, I built him a dancing floor. Yet in a matter of moments after confessing my sins, acknowledging Jesus died on a cross for my sins and rose again three days later – the healing began. God is stronger and bigger than the devil. He broke down the barriers around my heart and helped me to rip every tile of the devil’s dance floor until I was the one dancing. I’m so thankful for the boldness of a child and the love, compassion, grace, and mercy of God. I pray you let go of the grudge, or grudges you may carry. A grudge is not free! It is crimpling and deadly to the one carrying it. Let go of your grudge and give it to Jesus – He already paid the price and is simply waiting for you to call out to him. Above Photo from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/files.posterous.com/the-ume/rrkpEcxztHsjfiabdbrldgIapwiodFqkocaFBlarHFxJjkzhhtCBlqEqptje/media_ httpimgffffound_sJjqJ.jpgAWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJFZAE65UYRT34AOQ&Expires =1317376785&Signature=VaiUgaMdQzdqMI6mVvl9qufHQk8%3D 
A current review of my website developed into a “to-do-list” of things in need of an update. While sitting in church and listening to pastor preach about being “Inside Out” an answer to prayer hit me. I grabbed my “off task” journal from my bag, scribbled the idea down and directed my attention back to pastor. On the way home from church we talked about ways to update my website and incorporate the idea I was blessed with during the service.
I’m thankful for a daughter with an eye for photography and film, for a friend willing to let us crash her little piece of heaven, and for God’s creativity. Half an hour of fun and photography produced new photos for the website and a video for my homepage. Special thanks to my daughter and Pat. Your graciousness blessed my website with a facelift. Be sure to visit the home page at: http://lisabuske.weebly.com/index.html Let me know what you think of the new write up and the video introduction! You’ll have to click on the “Blog” link to return to this page. I look forward to hearing your feedback. Thanks for your prayers and following the blog!  Have you ever found yourself asking, "How did God know I needed that?" or more precisely, "What have I done to deserve such love and care from God?" The answer of course is...I have done nothing to deserve this. God is simply a gracious God. Thank goodness.
I logged into Facebook yesterday afternoon while my husband caught up on the day's sporting highlights and my daughter unwound from another day in the middleschool. Once on I see I have a message from one of my sister's best friends. An instant smile spreads from ear to ear as I move the mouse up to click and open her precious message. "...something in me just so strongly wanted to hear your voice tonight. I wanted to follow God's prompts...would love to give you a hug...love ya," Still smiling I add her number to my cell phone with anticipation of the conversation to be had in the near future. Once in my jammies and dinner started I give her a call. Her beloved husband answers and I ask if I could talk to "One Good Egg". And this she is. Nearly two hours later with much laughter, tears, sharing, and more laughter I hit the end button unable to remove the smile from my face. In addition to memories we shared our testimonies, talked about current struggles and planned our next meeting. With joy-filled tears I realized something. I shouldn't refer to her as "one of Heidi's best friends" but instead -- MY FRIEND and SISTER-in-Christ! God is amazing! I love you my dear friend, you truly are a good egg. One smile, one phone call, and one more reminder of how blessed I am. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Ephesians 2:15-16  With strength, hope, and mental endurance renewed after time in prayer and God's Word this morning I made the short drive to work. Once in the driveway I scan the playground and wood's border in hopes of spying the deer that sometime frolic about this time of year. While I didn't see multiple deer, there was one. As it enjoyed a snack I decided to attempt to capture it with my camera. The cars pulling in were not a disturbance and I actually made it on the grass as I snapped a few photos. Breathtaking... Thank you Jesus for a visual reminder of the blessing of my morning devotion! It is a pleasure, joy, and honor to praise you for all you've created. Although this beautiful creature leaped and bounded its way back into the woods - it brought an even bigger smile on my face as I crossed the threshold of the school. "It is going to be a great day!" And it was. So much to be thankful for...Have you slowed down lately to enjoy the beauty of God's creation today? 
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 2 Samuel 22:33 - 35 
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1 - 2a |
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Where's Heidi? One Sister's Journey * When the Waves Subside: There is Hope * Encourage Others: One Day at a Time No More Pain: I Can Fly * YOU are a Rainbow * Goal Setting for a Renewed You *Also available on Kindle* |
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