Community and my dog

Good morning!  It is Saturday!  I bet you didn't know that birds start singing at 4:30 in the morning these days!  Even with earplugs in, they sneak their little songs into my brain.  They say, "Wake up!  Wake up!  The morning has come and you are missing it!"  I fought it for a while, but...really who can fight that beautiful invitation? 

I have so much to say this morning that I have a feeling it will all come out jumbled.  I was walking to the laundry room and I stopped and looked out the window at my dog.  He was sitting there so regally watching the morning break.  It made me think of all the mornings he sat and watched come and how many of them were with an empty stomach and a lonely heart.  If you haven't read prior posts, he was a rescue.  He was in an outdoor, uncovered kennel for 10 months.  His people moved off the property and asked the farmer down the road to feed him.  I brought him to the vet the other day for some tests.  It really hit home how little he was fed when they had a hard time finding a muscle to put the needle in.  He is such a love bug.  It is hard enough to think of him alone for months on end, but then to realize that he wasn't fed on a regular basis...that is just too much to think about.  I took a picture of him sitting out there.  It isn't the best picture, but it...it shows to me that he is really home.  He doesn't just have food here.  He doesn't just have a couch to sleep on at night (ok, if Belle lets him).  He has a family who loves him.  He has a yard to patrol.  He has toys to play with.  He has a sister to romp with in the wee hours of the morning.  He has a HOME. 

I wanted to let you know that I gave my Mom entry to both my Mom and to my friend who "must be 90".  They were both very touched and so gracious about my writing.  I am so blessed to have older, wiser and loving women in my life. 

Community - Community!  As I have written many times and I think I included in my intro on myself, I started this blog looking for community.  I was lonely.  I felt like I didn't have time for community.  I felt like I didn't have anything to give in exchange for building community.  I HAVE COMMUNITY!!  My husband and I stepped up and started teaching Financial Peace University at our church.  I have been amazed at the number of people who God has brought into our lives through that!  We are enjoying the camaraderie and we are enjoying the chance to teach together as a couple.  We are enjoying seeing people's lives change because of what we are doing.  It is neat too to be so connected with people on a larger scale.  And I am finding that the more we commit to that and to making the changes in our own life that we need to make finances a priority, other parts of our lives are affected.  My work life is empowered.  My ability to reach out to people in need is empowered.  My self-confidence has seen a huge shift too!  Gotta love that! 

We made 5-gallon buckets into worm bins with the cubscouts!  That was fun!  It was my idea too.  I have so many worms right now that it is crazy!  I have three worm bins and I already gave one away.  It is a lot to take care of and make sure that they are fed on a regular basis with us being as busy as we are.  So I thought about how to share that with our scouts.  It was so fun to talk about recycling food and how important it is.  We also talked about using the "poop" as fertilizer.  The boys got a good giggle out of that.  The parents were a bit squeamish at first, but then they actually started asking questions.  I figure that even if those worms die, it was worth it to be able to share the message.

I have been thinking a lot about bringing a bucket into my work place.  We waste so much food there it is crazy.  Maybe that is where my bucket will go.  I could hide it under my desk.  Tea bags, banana peels, orange peels to some extent, apple cores, etc.  It is a lot smaller than the bigger bins that I have too, so it is easier to harvest the fertilizer.  Hmmm...I wonder if I have talked about worms in this blog?  I will have to check it out and do a more in-depth entry about them.  They are such a cool part of our efforts to recycle as much as possible. 

I just went out to let the chickens out for a romp in the yard.  I feel very contented and happy.  I hope you have a beautiful day. 

I see you

Hello.  I see you.  I am not going to write your name here because I don't think you would want your name written.  But you know who you are.  

Today is your birthday.  We are birthday buddies.  My birthday was just a few days ago.  It is fun to share my birthday with you.  I hope it is fun for you too!  

I just want you to know that I see you.  You are a very talented person.  You love God dearly, as you do those closest to you.  It has been fun working with you over these many years.  Watching you learn to trust me.  I remember when I first met you, you told me that you didn't have any friends.  This was your choice.  You said that people were not trustworthy.  But I saw a crack starting.  You let me in enough to tell me that.  

I know that we have had our share of disagreements.  It has been a challenge for both of us sometimes.  But I feel like those times built our trust a little more each time they happened.  I am different than most people who you have dealt with in the past.  I don't like to let things fester.  I have learned from my experiences in the past that this doesn't work for me.  Thank you for having the patience to work through those things.  

It has been so good to watch you on your financial journey.  I am often envious of your ability to catch onto a thought and then move quickly in that direction, when it takes me a little longer to do that.  But you are an inspiration.  I know I will get there some day!!  

And you take such good care of your body.  It is fun to walk with you on that journey.  Again, your commitment is awesome.  You find something and move forward.  And thank God for Dr. Oz!  :-)  

Happy birthday you.  I see you.  I admire you.  I have watched and I will continue watching your adventure.  Thank you for sharing yourself with me.  And for trusting me...even when you thought you wouldn't.