Journey to Cali: Part One

I’ve been caught up in whirlwind of transition these past few months and it’s hard to believe I’m finally in Redding. The day I loaded up on my earthly belongings in Fort Wayne was bittersweet. I was surrounded by friends and family I loved which made it sweet. The bitter part sunk in right before I left town. I had been praying that the Lord would help me to grieve well ever since I knew I would be leaving people and places I dearly love. He was so faithful to help me do that over the few months I was preparing to go. But I had one final ugly cry (seriously!) right before leaving Fort Wayne. I must have needed it because there certainly was no stopping it!

The week that followed encompassed time finalizing a few details but mostly resting before my long journey out west. I was so thankful to have about six days in Bloomington to become acquainted with my future home (God willing) and relax. While I was there the Lord really spoke to me as I was reading Ezra one day. I sensed the Lord saying it was important for me to have my trip out West covered in prayer. I was aware of this but it seemed like God was hi-lighting the importance even more when I was reading about Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem and how he called together those who were going on the journey with him to pray and fast. They spent a concentrated time in prayer about their journey before they left and we see in verses 23 and 31 of chapter 8 that the gracious hand of God protected them and saved them from enemies and bandits along the way.

I found it quite interesting that Ezra felt he would be abandoning God if he asked for the King’s soldiers to accompany them on their journey because they had told the king, “Our God protects all those who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” So he earnestly prayed to the Lord, and He heard Ezra’s prayer. This was similar to my own journey to California in that I’ve had several people mention that I should have someone accompany me on the trip. But all along I’ve had a deep sense that my only traveling partner for this journey should be Jesus. I felt it important to only rely on Him. But before I embarked on the journey, I also knew it would be important to have a time or earnest prayer and request the same from my family and friends who are journeying with me on this new adventure via satellite through their prayers, encouragement and support. I did so – and let me tell you – I believe it made all the difference. I can say that God did the same for me as He did for Ezra and his people – “the gracious hand of God protected us (me) and saved us (me) from enemies and bandits along the way.”  And really He did so much more than that! Praise God for answered prayer – and for friends and family who are willing to cover me in prayer on this exciting new journey! I’m excited to tell you about it! I’m so grateful for this testimony of God’s protection and lavishing of beautiful gifts along the journey.

After spending some time in Bloomington, I spent a few more days resting at my parent’s home. We ate like we were celebrating a holiday every day! Perhaps we were trying to squeeze in every holiday we could since I’ll not be back home for most of the year. It was a wonderful time, and just what I needed before my 38 hour trip out west. I particularly enjoyed the flowers in my parent’s gardens. So when it was time to leave, I was rested and had one loaded car! My next stop was Kansas City, MO to spend time with my friend Ericka Smiley and soak at the International House of Prayer. But I’ll leave that story for my next post!

An Ode to the Sisterhood

Upon my arrival in the big city of Fort Wayne

I had a deep ache to find community and quickly!

You see I had no family or friends nearby

And as you can imagine, I was very lonely.

I was delighted to find girls of similar plight

at my new church home, FMC.

We decided to gather on neutral ground

In a meeting room at our new church

on a cold wintery Sunday morning.

I remember that day quite vividly.

Although this exact meeting date

remains elusive to us all.

We went around the room answering

Those oh familiar “getting to know you” questions.

Where did you grow up?

Where did you go to school?

What are you doing now?

How did you come to know Jesus?

Why do you want to be a part of a small group?

We must have liked what we heard

And found similar interests because

It wasn’t before long that we met again

And began the journey toward building

our own little community.

Our days together are ones

I’ll always hold dear to my heart.

Who can forget our tendencies to have

The uncontrollable giggles at the most

Inopportune times?

Like the late night we got busted by the

Angola State Park ranger?

You’d think we were a bunch of jr. high girls

All stuffed in a tent during a weekend camping trip.

And how about the time our laughter

Rippled through the air during

The very serious wedding toast

 to Steve and Michelle Ziegler?

It’s too bad the only time we thought

To pull out the camera and capture the moment

Was during our weekend retreats when

We threw out the showering component.

But one thing we excelled at

Was always having scrumptious food at hand.

Homemade pizza, lasagna, quesadillas,

Fresh greens, and forever DESSERT!

We’ve had our fair share of ice cream nights

Bridal showers, weddings, baby showers,

Overnighters, garage saling, walks in the park,

Serving together during Go Days,

sharing stories of child rearing,

Making 12 week Bible studies last 12 months,

And extending making decisions for as long as possible.

While we shared joys we also

experienced sorrows together including

Break ups, deaths, family issues,

Job loss, health problems, and financial concerns.

Yet through it all, we’ve loved each other

Unto the better.

I’ve discovered life happens no matter what.

Trials come. Joys come. Mundane comes.

And life is better together.

Michelle Hoffman, Michelle Ziegler,

Christin Easterhaus, Amy Johnson,

Amy Shriner, and Kari Braun,

You’ve all given me a priceless gift.

The gift of your love, your loyalty,

Your listening ears, your encouragement,

Your friendship, your hugs,

Your shoulders to cry on, your prayers,

Your wisdom, your joy, and your happiness.

I’ll forever hold you each closely to my heart

And in my prayers.

While miles may come between us,

There’s nothing that could stop the

Love and trust we’ve built these past

Several years.

I vote for Small Group Retreat 2012

to be held in Redding, California.

All in favor, say, “Aye! “

A Walk Down Fort Wayne Memory Lane

I’ve been a part of a small group of girls who meet weekly for the majority of the time I’ve lived in Fort Wayne. We always joke about how long we’ve been together because we never write it down even though we discuss it once a year and re-calculate every time. I guess that’s part of the fun of reminiscing our time together. These amazing ladies gave me a precious farewell gift. They told me to block out a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago and plan on spending the day with them. They would take care of the details, I was just to show up and enjoy the ride.

I met them all at church that Sunday morning and was overwhelmed with the gift of sitting with them during the service that day. It’s rare that we get to do that during a Sunday morning service. Shortly after the service we all gathered near the main entrance of the church when I was presented with the plan for the day. Christin handed me a bag that contained several cards. The first card said this:

“We, your small group girls, have something special cooked up for you. Here are the rules…Not necessarily a game, but a walk down memory lane! We want to celebrate with you and reminisce some places you’ve walked and shared fond memories. We want to celebrate your time in the Fort and support and pray with you today. We love you dearly and have one clue for each place so we can express our love and support in many ways and places. Can you guess?? Read one clue at a time!! No peeking ahead! Love, Your Small Group Sisters.”

I was blown away by this gift! Honestly, I had had very little time to even think about things I was going to miss or to reflect on the time I’ve had here in Fort Wayne. So I welcomed the opportunity to do so – especially with these wonderful gals! We began the five hour journey of visiting each place listed on the cards they had given me. I loved that each card had scripture verses on them that were very meaningful to me too.

Let’s get started with the tour!

Clue #1: A place where God speaks. We’ve attended beyond weeks. To us it is our home; where inside, we are not alone.

Answer: Fellowship Missionary Church

Fellowship has been my home church since the fall of 2004. It’s been an amazing church to be a part of and grow in. I have lots of fond memories at FMC including:

·         Participating in an in depth Bible Studio, Called To Obedience.

·         Attending Financial Peace University and learning money smarts from Dave Ramsey

·         Gaining wisdom, insight, and encouragement  from Pastor Dave’s Biblically based and always right on target sermons.

·         Chipping in with whatever I could help do on “Go Days” often times with my small group sisters. Whether it was raking leaves, painting houses, or moving someone, serving those in need with these ladies has been such a huge blessing.

·         Contributing to the card care ministry. Writing snail mail is a bit of a lost art these days – so I love to drop a note in the mail whenever I can.

·         Serving as an usher on the first responder’s team.

I’ve met wonderful people all along the way and have been impacted by each one of them. It’s been a rich season for me at FMC.

We had just enjoyed the service and were already at the church so I proceeded to open the next clue.

Clue #2 Every ending had its beginning…

Answer: The room upstairs at FMC where small group started.

We trekked up the stairs to the place where the first of many memories were born. While we met initially on neutral ground at the church, our group then moved to meeting in each of our houses/apartments on a rotating basis. Once we arrived in the room, that lovely Sunday afternoon the girls prayed for me asking God to give me a wonderful community of friends soon after I arrive in Redding. I don’t think they’d said two sentences of their prayer before the tears started springing up. I let them come. What a special time we had in that room. From this point forward, we tried to take photos at each stop.

Clue #3 Housemate practice round…meow!

Answer: Angie’s House

I lived with Angie and her two cats, Jinga and Isabella, prior to living with Chrisin. It was the first time I had ever lived with pets – a learning curve I enjoyed for that season but probably won’t be embracing again since I have too many family and friends who are allergic to cats and/or dogs. Angie and I didn’t know each other before we lived together as a mutual friend connected us. But we quickly became friends and she was the one who introduced the in depth Bible Study, CTO, to me. That Bible study was the start of God doing some transforming work in my life. Amazing. Angie and I had plenty of fun together too – lots of laughter.

Clue #4 Red light, green light…step on the gas…find your way to Meda Pass.

Answer: Michelle’s house. We all gathered at Michelle’s to pick her up as she had gone there straight after church to feed her baby.

Clue #5 Hungry yet? I bet! Italian on the brain and J.P.’s the name. This familiar spot is a treat and is a lunch that can’t be beat.

Answer: Biaggi’s for lunch.

Biaggi’s is one of my favorite restaurants in the Fort Wayne. It’s more of a special occasion restaurant for me though. So, what a treat it was to dine in here one last time!

Clue #6 Roses are red. Violets are blue. With no men to wed. We turn to you…yum! J

Answer: Debrands Chocolate

Ok – if you’ve never had DeBrands Chocolate, you must visit Fort Wayne just for that. DeBrands is a  local establishment that makes a wide variety of scrumptious chocolates. My favorite is the dark chocolate butter cream filling. I’m drooling just thinking about it. Enough said.

Clue #7 One sisterhood, one bathroom, one stall, one pair of travelling pants.

Answer: Jefferson Point’s Barnes & Noble Bathroom Stall.

Yeah, this one needs some explaining. So, one of our fun small group outings included watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Two at the Rave (a local movie theatre). After the movie was over and we were walking to our cars via the middle of the Jefferson Pointe Outdoor Mall, one of us (I can’t remember who) had the brilliant idea of finding a restroom and having us try on each other’s pants – just to see if we could fit into each pair of pants similar to the jeans the girls had in the movie. Mind you some of us were more excited about this activity than others – but everyone was a good sport. The nearest bathroom was Barnes & Noble. Thankfully it was late at night and the store wasn’t busy which left us with an empty bathroom. In the end we found one pair of jeans (Michelle Z’s) that fit us all! The girls decided we should re-live this experience. This time it was a Sunday afternoon though – so as you can imagine the bathroom practically had a revolving door it was so busy. None-the-less we persevered and embraced the idea that any women who entered the bathroom was probably thinking, “who are those crazy women in the handy-cap stall?” Just us…a group of silly girls willing to do crazy things to relive some memories.

Clue #8 Fort Fun beginnings…Eat fresh!

Answer: Apartment #1

Ok – this clue threw me off big time! I couldn’t think of this for the life of me. ..but the first apartment I had in Fort Wayne was right next to a Subway. Maybe I blocked that out of my mind on purpose…I don’t know. I like eating Subway – I just don’t like smelling it. Thankfully the smell didn’t waft over my way very often.

Clue #9 Not the root beer…just a few books and some peers

Answer: IBC (International Business College)

IBC was where I attended college. My decision to attend IBC was in large part why I ended up moving to Fort Wayne. I actually commuted the entire time I went to IBC. And then I moved to Fort Wayne right after I graduated. Funny how things work.

Clue #10: A familiar place for all of our faces. Toads and geese and Steve Shine traces. Boy drama, flowers, groceries, ice, but in the end our time there was nice.

Answer: Pointe Inverness Apartment

Oh my – yes, my years with Christin and Point Inverness had quite memorable experiences. I won’t go into them now, but if you want a slight taste of what we experienced there, read the Ode to Christin I posted on July 20.

Clue #11 Baby Pit- Stop

Answer: Michelle’s House

This gave Michelle an opportunity to check in with her newborn and it also gave us a chance to change clothes for our next stop.

Clue #12 Stress Buster Combo: 1) Long walks 2) Beautiful flowers

Answer: Foster Park

This is my favorite park in Fort Wayne and it was in walking distance from WBCL. So I’ve spent a few lunches there and have stopped there on my way home from work on countless occasions. I bequeathed the park to Bekah when I was training her to take my position at WBCL. I’ve never seen a public flower garden as beautiful as Foster Park. I’m going to miss it dearly. I’ve also had plenty of long walks with friends there. Good times.

Clue #13
An ode was penned
of which one could contend,
summed up this girl,
hard working as a pearl;
This place she now leaves,
most assuredly grieves;
 But only for a minute
As God’s hand was in it.

Answer: WBCL

And indeed, I did write an ode about WBCL! If you missed it, check out my July 24 posting. I had a little over seven wonderful years there!

Clue #14
Summer fun, hot sun
Tuesday nights,
this place in our sights
it’s a trip – walking
to get our double dips!

Answer: Zesto’s!

Tuesday nights are our small group nights and whenever we had our meeting close to Zesto’s in the summer, we enjoyed walking there from time to time to enjoy a little ice cream treat.

It was a great way to end our little trip down Fort Wayne memory lane. I loved every minute of that day and am so grateful for this beautiful gift.