Dreams Do Come True!

I just returned from vacation and find myself pondering all that took place during those eight days of adventures and resting. I feel like a different person after the fact. That may seem like a strong statement, but I just think that's the power of rest and having life giving words spoken over you. It's been a long season of transition and refreshment is precisely what I needed. Thankfully, that's exactly what happened. There are many stories I could share with you, but the one I'm choosing to write about today is what's pressing on my heart most.

I flew stand by to California (another story in of itself) to visit three friends who are near and dear to my heart - Honey, Beena, and Sarah (as pictured above). We met last year while at ministry school in Redding, CA and like to call ourselves the Fantastic Four! We have many dreams between the four of us that involve us partnering together in various adventures. The dream we chose to go after this past week was to take flight in a hot air balloon over Napa Valley. We made our reservation in spite of the hefty price tag that came with it and the loss of sleep from rising long before daybreak...somehow we knew the value of this experience would far outweigh the cost.

There's nothing more exhilarating than knowing that your dreams are coming true! Although we were lacking sleep, we could not miss the excitement in the air during those early morning twilight hours as our car neared our destination. It was spitting rain a bit which caused us a little concern so we simply prayed and asked God to remove anything that would hinder our dreams from coming true.

We arrived at our destination and walked to the check in desk linked arm in arm with each other and with an expectation of good things ahead. We're all about documenting our adventures, so we quickly started snapping photos while we enjoyed some complementary coffee, fruit, and pastries. Honey had thought ahead and bought four packages of skittles for us to eat on the hot air balloon ride. It was symbolic of tasting the rainbow - the promises of God. While we waited, Honey fashioned a hot air ballon out of the skittles and her rainbow bracelet. It was so apropos!

After waiting quite a while and hearing someone from the hot air balloon company apologize for the delay twice, one of the pilots arrived on the scene. He started explaining that because they care for the well being of everyone going up in the hot air balloon, they take great caution when monitoring the weather and determining if it's safe or not. Unfortunately, that morning, their were reports of rain in our travel path as well as high winds that could propose higher risk than they were comfortable with. So in light of that, they had decided to cancel the flight. I could tell he was really sad to have to cancel in the delivery of his speech but I also knew that a wise decision had been made. To help ease our disappointment, he did mention that there was a golf ball drop from one of their hot air balloons at a nearby golf course and that we were welcome to go see the preparation for that balloon to go up and get pictures with it.

We let this news sink in for about a minute realizing this was our only chance for a hot air balloon ride that week because it was our last day in Napa Valley. We put our heads together and quickly decided that God must have something better in mind - in fact we declared He did right there and then not knowing what that would look like. So we decided to go to the golf course and see what would happen. Perhaps the fulfillment of our dreams coming true wasn't over just yet...

We followed the pilot's in their van to the golf course and saw the crew setting up the hot air balloon upon our arrival. We quickly greeted the crew and shared that our flight had been canceled and we were there to see the golf ball drop. Apparently the golf ball drop was a charity event for the rotary club. They had several bags of golf balls that they were going to drop over the balloon at 50 feet in the air and attempt to drop them in one of the holes on the green. The golf balls were numbered and whatever golf balls dropped in the hole were the winners.

The crew was really kind to us and encouraged us to take photos while they set up. We also asked if it would be possible to go up in the tethered balloon. One of the guys on the crew said he would ask for us and to stay close to the basket so that we'd be ready if it was possible.

While we waited, we took in the beauty of this massive balloon being filled with fire and wind with the mountains as the back drop and the green bed of grass laying underneath it. We lived fully in this moment capturing as many photos as possible of the balloon, of each other, of all of us together. At one point they let us go inside the balloon and took our photo for us - something that, from my understanding, typically has a $15 fee attached to it. But they didn't charge us anything. What a blessing!

It came time for the balloon to go up and the crew started asking people on the ground who were a part of the rotary club if they wanted to go up. No one wanted to arise to the occasion. Good thing the Fantastic Four was standing close by! They motioned us to come aboard and we did so gladly! We got to take flight after all! Not only that, but we were given the opportunity to partner with their community by participating in this charity.

We lifted off the ground together and rose to 50 feet above the golf course in the tethered hot air balloon...and then we dropped the golf balls over the side of the basket. In our hearts and prayers, the dropping of those golf balls was really a releasing of God's love over the land.

By the end, they were thanking us for helping them. And we just shook our heads and said "no, thank YOU!" Talk about a win, win situation! As Sarah said, "What's better than a hot air balloon ride? A FREE hot air balloon ride!"

So what's the moral of this story? Well, there's probably more than what I'm going to hi-light. But this is my personal take away. God is faithful to bring about the deepest desires and dreams in our hearts. When the circumstances of life don't look favorable for those dreams to come true, keep believing that God has something better in mind and is working to bring it about. Sometimes the fulfillment of our dreams looks different than we could have ever imagined (actually most of the time that's the case!) but it's always better and exactly how Papa God has masterfully and intricately woven the tapestry of our lives together to meet us where we're at, to rain down His love on all of His children, and to glorify Himself. I've been learning how to have expectancy for my dreams to come true - not expectations. It involves a good measure of faith and confidence that God's promises are true and will happen, and yet grace to hold those promises and dreams loosely for God to mold them accordingly to His good plan. Keep the faith my brothers and sisters - dreams do come true!

2012 A Year to be Remembered!

Another year has gone by and I find myself reflecting on one of the most amazing years I've experienced thus far in my life. The beginning of 2012 found me in beautiful Northern California starting the second semester of school at Bethel. I gleaned much wisdom, teaching, insight from the mothers and fathers of that beautiful house of faith. Bethel is one church I can say walks their talk. I'm so thankful to be a part of a church that lives and breaths true love.

During the last five months of wrapping up my schooling at Bethel, I had the joy of travelling and experiencing so much! The first and biggest trip was to the Philippines. It was the most amazing, most memorable, and most life changing missions trip I've ever been a part of as evidenced by my previous blog postings about my experiences there. I actually haven't finished blogging about all that I experienced during that trip...but to tell you the truth, no amount of writing could capture everything I encountered there.

My dear friends Rachael Masten and LeeAnn Reynolds visited me in the spring and while we were together, we enjoyed the magnificence of Burney Falls located only about an hour away from where I was living in California.

My best friend since I was six year old, Claire, and her husband, John Roth came to visit me as well. During their visit we were able to take trip to the west coast to enjoy views of the Pacific Ocean and the grand Redwood Forest. We enjoyed a seven mile walk in the forest and stood in awe of God's creation.

Before my year in Cali was over, I made sure to visit some of the "must see" local tourist spots including San Francisco, Yosemite, and Napa Valley with one of my best friends I met at Bethel, Honey Storlie.

In fact, Honey and two other amazing young women, Beena Benny, and Sarah Wind, are solidified in my heart as life long friends and ministry partners. These women are a huge gift from God from this past year. I would not have known them had I not taken my exciting adventure out west. We stay connected to this day supporting each other in prayer and with wisdom for any given situation that arises. I like to call us the Fantastic Four!

My nine months in Cali wrapped up with my graduation and knighting at Bethel. What special moments those last days held. I have journals full of notes from the school year in which I'm sure to glean from in years to come. I have friends around the globe and experiences that can never be traded or taken away from me. In fact, I gained a rich inheritance from many mothers and fathers of the faith at Bethel. It was truly a John 10:10 year - living the abundant life!

The last week I was in Redding, I had a farewell dinner with a few of my friends while watching the sun set at a local vineyard. The food was delicious, the company was delightful, and the setting was beyond beautiful! The lovely lady in the photo with me is Sharon - she's the owner of the house I lived in last year.

After driving across the U.S. back home to Indiana, I was welcomed by beautiful friends and family and a place to live during my job search (thank you, Brad and Gail for opening up your lovely home!). The move back to Indiana and to Bloomington specifically, was a dream come true in of itself. Claire and I have dreamed of living in the same city as adults ever since we were little girls. Aside from that, I'm now only two hours away from my parents - I haven't been that close to them since I left home to go to college! While I certainly miss my friends in Fort Wayne as well as California, I'm so happy to be living the dream here.

When I took the risk to leave my job in Fort Wayne in 2011, I felt strongly that God had promised He had a specific place for me to work in Bloomington after my adventure in California. However, I had no idea I would have five months of waiting before that promise would be fulfilled. I find it funny that the number five is associated with grace and it was exactly five months that God gave me grace to wait for my new job. During those five months I played (as indicated in the photo above - floating in Lake Monroe with the Pontius and Roth families), I reflected, I rested, I exercised my faith muscle, I reconnected with friends and family (as indicated by the photo booth picture taken at my cousins wedding below), I learned to receive from others at a whole new level, I continued to cultivate my creativity through writing and painting, and I looked for a job, of course.

I was finally offered a job with Cook Medical and even on the first day of work, I knew I was right where I was supposed to be. That day was marked with a handful of blessings and confirmations - things that were out of the ordinary for me and a sign that God fulfills His promises and is faithful!

While the learning curve is very large, the job is a great fit for me, and my co-workers are amazing! They've been so patient and helpful during my season of learning the ropes. There's room to grow at Cook, many opportunities to continue to learn as well as opportunities to contribute to not only the community here in Bloomington but to people worldwide! I'm so thankful. Cook's mission statement is also one I support whole-heartedly:

"Cook is dedicated to bold leadership in pioneering medical solutions to enhance patient care worldwide."

I'm also honored to work at a company that instills and lives out these values:

Patients: Maintain a deep concern for patient safety and well-being.

Quality: Provide the highest quality medical products.

Customers: Treat customers with respect and serve them to the best  of our ability.

Knowledge: Solve diverse medical problems while maintaining a willingness to listen, learn, innovate and educate.

Integrity: Respect our company by giving our best effort, loyalty, honesty and accountability.

Employee Involvement: Acknowledge the contribution of our fellow employees.

Corporate Citizenship: Serve as a corporate role model for the betterment of society by being a sensitive employer and contributor to the communities where we reside, and an example of the highest integrity in business dealings.

Environment: Minimize our corporate impact on the environment and act intentionally to preserve and improve our surroundings for future generations.

From what I've observed so far, Cook lives up to these values and vision. I'm beyond thankful to be a part of this outstanding team!

So there it is - a snapshot of 2012 - a year I will always remember and treasure in my heart. Here's to a New Year filled with joy, peace, love, unending hope, fulfilled promises, and fun surprises - welcome, 2013!

Sometimes Beans Are Cruel

It’s common knowledge, laughter is good medicine. Everyone can use a good laugh, right? That’s why I’m sharing this lovely piece of literature – written by yours truly in a writing group a few weeks ago. We were learning how to write well by mirroring excellent authors. The author we were studying for this piece of work happened to be entertaining a very sad topic. I chose to take a Weird Al Yankovic approach instead. Are you ready for this? Here we go!

Sometimes beans are cruel.

This is ultimately the fundamental lesson here; as doctors hail their nutritional value, children and people of all ages suffer the social side effects.

Sometimes it’s lima beans. Sometimes its kidney beans. Sometimes it’s great northern beans. Sometimes it’s black beans. Sometimes it’s refried beans. Sometimes it’s red beans. Sometimes it’s green beans. Sometimes it’s pinto beans. Sometimes it’s cannellini beans. The results are in: beans of every variety generate flatulence. This is the price of being human.

So dig out your air freshener. Blast your music as loud as you can. And delight in all the nutrition your body is receiving, despite all the cruelty of beans.