We are all moved in.  Most boxes are emptied, but my garage is FULL of stuff I’m not going to use.  The kids are loving the pool and I’m thrilled with the house.  We’re taking a little trip to celebrate the 4th, but I’ll be back to regular posting next week.

Have a great holiday!

As I scan my blog reader for new updates, my heart skips a beat when I see a new post by Boothe Farley.  Today her words are about her hope - but they speak to my hope - and I’ll bet you will feel it too.  Click here to read her beautiful insight:  no eye has seen.   I encourage you to read her blog from the beginning.  Keeping Awake - link to the main page.

If you’re a Jodi Picoult fan, her book The Tenth Circle has been made into a movie and it premiers on Lifetime this Saturday night, June 28.    We won’t have TV, but I’ve asked Kaci to record it for me.  Check your local listings for the time!

Came across this and thought it was relevant.   This doesn’t apply to all teachers or all CEO’s, but those entrusted with a child’s education DO make a difference.

What do Teachers Make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?”

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”

To stress his point he said to another guest; “You’re a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest What do you make?”

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, “You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began…)

“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 without an iPod, Game Cube or movie rental.

“You want to know what I make?” (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

“Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant…. “You want to know what I make?”

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?”

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

We left for Illinois on Wednesday to tie up the last loose ends of our move on that end.   It was interesting to pack the truck with patio furniture, bicycles, Keith’s motorcycle, the lawnmower and anything else that wouldn’t fit in a box.  Thursday morning Lexi and I had coffee with Vivien (Justine and Aiden) and Kyla, then ran errands while Keith wrestled our belongings into the truck.  Thursday evening we had dinner with our friends Jeff & Lisa and Gary & Laddie.   Friday morning we hugged Maria goodbye - she and Jack loved our cats and cared for our home while we were away.  It saddens me that we did too little, too late with our friendships.

We closed on our house and started the trek home.  Max and Sophie (the cats) quieted quickly and slept most of the way.  I stopped at Kaci’s to leave the cats and Lexi for a couple of days.   We close on our home in Oklahoma on Wednesday.   Moving in is one of my favorite things - I love to organize and make it “ours”.  Knowing this is my absolute last move, I plan to have nothing in storage other than holiday decorations.  If I can’t use it, I am getting rid of it.

Being without internet for the last couple of days sort of broke my “habit” - so today I went through and unsubbed from a lot of mail sites and blogs I read.  I am going to limit my online time and put more focus on my real life.  I’m debating whether to continue blogging.

I also have a new author - Katrina Kittle.  I read her book “Kindness of Strangers” during our trip and have to say WOW.  The subject was troubling but I was riveted.  If I could have read while driving I would have.  I am seeking out her other books.

This is one of my favorite photos.  My son-in-law and grandson.  It is a joy to be a part of my grandkids growing up.

My kids are getting used to going to bed with their shoes on.  Ughhh!!

We picked blueberries this week and brought home a gallon of the pretty berries to freeze.

Kaci and Brad’s Sunday school class is studying Ten Commandments from the Backside - and this week they discussed “Thou Shalt Not Steal”. We’ve all been victims of theft and we’re all guilty of taking things that don’t belong to us. Robbery, kidnapping or embezzlement are vivid examples, but what about taking advantage, long term “borrowing”, or overlooking mistakes? Long ago, taking someone’s cow might have grave consequences to a family. Today, noticing you weren’t charged for the water in the bottom of your shopping cart doesn’t really “harm”…or does it?

All week long this topic has weighed on me - and this story is in my thoughts. In my former life with BIG BUSINESS, I accepted a promotion to run a facility where the exiting Sr. Manager was being recognized and rewarded by top leadership and groomed as “the Golden Boy”, he was honored as Sr. Manager of the Year and was moving up in the company. Typically my jobs were comprised of hiring, firing, training and general clean up of messes made by incompetent management, so stepping into a spotlight job was an exciting change for me.

A couple of weeks in my new big office, imagine my surprise when I reviewed an invoice for gas - the charge ticket was signed by Mr. Golden Boy’s girlfriend for her personal vehicle. Curious, I pulled some files and found he had paid her “contract labor” as well as listed her as an employee (so she had health insurance), put a new motor in her vehicle, rented an SUV while her car was in the shop AND paid her travel mileage. On my office supply bill, there were lunch boxes, back packs and a dorm refrigerator. I uncovered expenses that totaled $40,000 in just a few months. At that point I stopped looking because I didn’t want to know.

As I reviewed reports, I noted hours some employees worked were completed “off the clock”, meaning they weren’t getting paid. It was one thing after the other. Suddenly, this location that WAS the shining star, was now running over budget. I was paying the employees for their hours, catching up back bills that had been hidden away, and taking the time to do things right. More hours, more expenses and a productivity tank. My boss was on my case.

I did what I thought was right and went to Mr. Golden Boy with the remainder of the unpaid bills. He laughed and said that “discretionary spending” was a fringe benefit of upper management. He suggested I go buy some furniture and just shut up.

Now what? I love to shop and that is usually my distraction of choice, but…um….no.  Silly me, I had been using my own checkbook. (insert scarasm here)  Besides that wouldn’t really help me cheat payroll, now would it?  Or live with myself.

I continued to look like an incompetent manager while quietly fixing the problems and the heat from above became intense. My director drilled me on a conference call with my peers. From his vantage point, the problems started with my leadership. Here I was doing my best to balance leadership with integrity and loyalty - and I was being cast as THE problem.

That was 14 years ago, but it’s still as vivid in my mind as if it were yesterday. What would you do? I’ll post later what ultimately happened, but I’m curious to see what others think. I’ve had great bosses and crappy ones - those at the director level of BIG BUSINESS can be wonderful leaders or smart-ass snakes. In my decade of Sr. Management, I did not ever experience anything in the middle.

Shoot me a note with what you think would have been an appropriate choice - and remember at that time I was not in a position to throw my career out the window.

In all the excitement of Keith’s new job, our house selling, and buying another home in Oklahoma - we felt a huge rush of happiness and relief. There was no doubt in our minds that God was blessing our family with this opportunity. We heard comments like “Wow, what luck!” or “Super timing”, which we were quick to joyfully credit back to God’s graciousness.

Then, something went wrong. Another something went wrong. Some things presented in a certain way were really a screwed up mess. There has been impatience, disrespect, and what *I* will label dishonesty. Riding the crest of God’s good-will was suddenly dunked into a hole of doubt and worry. I actually said to myself “God, I thought You were preparing our way???” My mind has been running wild with the concern that we acted impulsively, that the lesson wasn’t opportunity and perhaps we jumped the gun.

A message crossed my path this morning - the story of Abram, told in Genesis. Abram had faith and he was obedient - but that didn’t mean his journey to fulfill God’s promise was free of obstacles. An interesting observation to me is that our faith was not strengthened by the joy, but becomes our rock during the hard times. Some days I feel weary (and my troubles are minuscule compared to many), I struggle to balance my trust in God to lead me, with the efforts of being a responsible human being.

My prayers are simple but intentional, “God, help me to trust in You and be confident that you are in control”.

Sometimes I lift my feet off the ground and say “SEE GOD?? My very being rests in YOUR hands.” But He knows my worries, my skepticism and self-doubt. When I truly give my burdens over, my heart feels a shift of relief. It’s hard to describe, but try it for yourself. But you can’t be half-assed serious. He is not fooled.

My friend Sandy posted this yesterday - and it made me laugh out loud.

Butt Prints in the Sand

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there were seen.
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger’s prints appeared
And I asked the Lord, “Where have we been?
Those prints are large and round and neat
But Lord, they are too big for feet.”

“My child”, He said in somber tones,
“For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made Me wait.

You disobeyed, and you would not grow.
The walk of faith you would not know
And there I dropped you on your butt
Because in life there comes a time
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.”