January 2009

Georgia On My Mind…

Wow…when I left Texas on 12/19, headed to Georgia, I never thought 17 days would fly like they did. It was a wonderful trip, and I had so much fun getting to catch up with everybody, and spend time with all of you outside these newsletters!!! :D

I will be totally transparent here and say that I am having an extremely hard time with going back – as I write this, I am still in Georgia. I know it is God’s will that I go back to Texas, and because of that, I will get on the plane tomorrow with a grateful heart because of His covering – but it won’t be without a touch of sadness knowing that it will be quite some time before I see all of you again. I can’t even begin to put into words just how much you all mean to me – I carry you in my heart always, and knowing that you all are out there praying for me, makes it easier to continue on the path that God has for me in this season.

Texas-bound…

Monday, 1/5

I was set to head back to Texas, with a flight leaving Atlanta at 11:35 EST, landing in Dallas at 1:05 CST. I arrived at Hartsfield with a heavy heart and a heavy load (my suitcase weighed in at 66.7lbs – the rest of the luggage story will come shortly) promptly at 10a to start my day in the airports! Woohoo! :P

I stepped up to the check-in counter, and the gentleman checked me in and went to throw my suitcase up on the belt, nearly throwing out his shoulder in the process – in all fairness to me, I had warned him that it was quite heavy, but obviously he thought that he was a muscle-man and could easily handle it :)…he quickly dropped it back on the ground – not that he got it up very far to begin with and told me that it had to be weighed. He guessed that it weighed 80lbs – when I picked it up that morning I said it was probably 100lbs! lol :) But when he put it on the scale, it was only 66.7lbs! So…he asked me if I could take 16lbs of my luggage out of my suitcase (if I could get it to 50lbs, it would only be $15, instead of the $50 it would be for over 50lbs). I kindly informed him that if I could have taken 16lbs out of my suitcase, it wouldn’t be in there to begin with – and what he doesn’t know, is that this is the very least of my luggage! I left Texas on 12/19 with one medium sized suitcase and 1 very small duffle bag/toiletry bag thing. When Sharon, David and the kids drove back, I gave them the medium suitcase, the duffle bag thing and a large tote – all filled tight as a tick! Then Marcia – my aunt – graciously allowed me to have her extra large suitcase to pack what was left at the house. Unfortunately, there was still too much stuff, and because I had one very large item I wanted to send back, I decided to ship it to myself. So…we went to WalMart and got the largest packing box we could find – it was not marked as a mailer, but as a moving box – and stuffed it to overflowing (we used 2 rolls of packing tape to cover the box because it was bulging all over the place). It weighed in at 35lbs (I think that’s right) and should arrive later this week.

Before I explain all that I had with me when I arrived at the airport, I first have to make sure you know that until yesterday, I have always been a model flyer! :) I always empty my purse – I always make sure it is a small purse - so that only my wallet, flight info and one book (for passing time) is in it. I never wear a coat, because it just adds bulk and you have to continuously take it on and off. I never carry on a second bag – suitcase or otherwise – because I have seen way too many people fighting with their luggage, and holding up everybody else on the plane! I always put a Ziploc bag in my pocket and put my jewelry in it before going through security, so it will all stay together, and I can just drop it neatly in my bin. I always wear shoes (usually my Birkenstock-esque shoes) with socks so I can easily slip off my shoes for security, but don’t have to walk on the nasty floor with my bare feet. And I make certain that my shoes and purse are small enough that they can both fit in the same bin so I only have to use one!

Unfortunately, this was not the case yesterday.

Due to the absolute stuffed nature of my suitcase, I was forced to wear my winter coat and my most bulky shoes – so I had on my very heavy, black wool coat and my tennis shoes. Then, due to the absolute stuffed nature of my suitcase I had to carry additional items in my purse and my laptop bag (yes, because I worked from home while I was in Georgia, I had to take all my stuff with me, and therefore had a second carry on bag for the first time EVER!). I had to carry my new oversized purse with me, packed to the gills – just for fun yesterday afternoon I weighed it, and it was a little over 10lbs!! And had to use every extra millimeter of space in my laptop to put stuff.

So I arrive at the check in counter, wearing my heavy coat, with my overstuffed laptop bag on one shoulder, my overstuffed purse on the other, and dragging my overstuffed suitcase (praise God for rolling suitcases) behind me. So why the man even asked if I could throw out 16lbs is beyond me! :P Did he not think that if I could have gotten rid of some of the stuff I had that I already would have?!?!? :) After I told him that everything had to go, he offered me a box to put 16lbs in so it would be a second “suitcase” instead of just an oversized one – if the first suitcase is under 50lbs, you pay $15, and then the second suitcase is $25, which would have brought me to $40. I opted to pay the $10 difference, and not have to unpack my suitcase at the ticket counter! :) If I had repacked, I would have been there all day, trying to figure out the best way to repack everything so things wouldn’t shift a lot, break, leak, etc.

We finally got everything squared away (he put two “HEAVY! BEND WITH YOUR KNEES! ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE MAY BE REQUIRED!” stickers on my suitcase! Lol), and off I went to security.

I arrived at security, and proceeded to stand in line, taking my jewelry off and putting it in my Ziploc, balancing on one leg while untying and taking off my shoes and switching my carry on bags back and forth, so I could go ahead and take my coat off, and got my laptop out of the laptop bag, so I’d be right ready to dump everything in the bins!

I finally reached the bin, my purse went in the first one. My laptop went in the second. The laptop bag went in the third. My shoes, Ziploc bag of jewelry, and my winter coat went in the fourth. I have never in my life! So I finally got through security, quickly grabbing all my stuff out of the bins and moving out of the way so I could load this pack mule back up! :P

When I finally made it to my gate at 15 minutes to 11 – the flight was to board at 11:05 – I happily fell into the first open seat, and called Mama to check in. While I was talking to her, they came over the intercom and informed us that there was “weather” in Dallas, and that our flight was being delayed until 12p. I continued talking to Mama, and got off the phone a little after 11. I saw that I had a voicemail, so I dialed in to check it, and a recording informed me that my flight from Dallas to Waco had been cancelled, and to call an 800 number to reschedule my flight – normally this would not be a big deal, but I needed to be back at the house last night by 5, so I could be here with the kids while Sharon and David went to class. I quickly called the number, only to have the lady inform me that the two other flights going from Dallas to Waco that day were both completely full, and I would have to wait until today to get out of Dallas. I kindly told her I would find another way, and got off the phone. I first called Mama, because I needed to vent, and then called Sharon so we could strategize. By the time I got in touch with her, we had boarded the plane and were almost ready to push back from the gate. She offered to call the shuttle company that David had used one time when he was out here before we moved. So I gave her all of my flight information, and she said she’d have an email waiting for me when I landed in Dallas.

We got off the ground around 12:15EST and the flight was pretty good until we got about 30minutes from Dallas. Then we began dropping and popping back up, and tilting side to side – it was NOT much fun (and I usually enjoy losing my stomach on rides and planes – but not when it is over, and over and over and over again). We landed around 1:25 (CST) and sat on the tarmac until right at 2 – the “weather” in Dallas was freezing rain, and the plane at our gate had frozen wings that were having to be attended to before they could leave and we could pull in. They finally gave up on that gate and sent us to another.

I knew that the first item on my agenda was to figure out how to get my suitcase – since I wouldn’t be flying on to Waco, I would like to have my suitcase with me when I left Dallas. I went up to the counter, explained my situation, and the lady informed me that all the flights from Dallas to Waco for yesterday had been cancelled and that there was no way to get my luggage – they would simply send everyone’s luggage on flights to Waco as they could fit on the plane as soon as they were able to send planes. That didn’t sit well with me, because everything I own in way of getting ready was on that suitcase, and there was no set time that I would be getting it back.

I left her and called Mama to vent a bit. I got off the phone with Mama and decided that I would try one more time. By this time, I was down in the baggage claim area, and saw a desk that said “Baggage Services.” I figured that was what I needed, and I headed over. He instructed me to follow these 5 guys that were walking through baggage claim toward the ticket counter, cause he said they were after their luggage too.

I followed them, and when I got over there, found that they were all together, and on a business trip from Atlanta coming to Waco. The leader of their pack reminded me a whole lot of my father, and was demanding that miracles happen, cause he wasn’t leaving without his luggage, and he was leaving before 5p – they got a rental van and were going to drive to Waco. He took me on as one of his own, and did not relent until the crew chief of luggage for the American Eagle flight line was contacted and he promised that he himself would find our luggage and send it up to us. The lady had to send our information over to him – describing our bags and such – and then had to cancel the flights we had automatically been moved to for getting to Waco today. There were 6 of us, I was the last one to go, and it took about an hour to get all of that done. I arrived over to the new baggage claim area around 3:25, and was getting quite antsy. The shuttle would only be available to me until 4, and so that suitcase needed to shoot on out of that thing and onto the little carousel quickly! :)

I walked in and found a nice wall to hold up right in front of carousel B20 – where we were told they were sending our luggage. As I was standing there, I got the feeling that I was supposed to walk around the carousel, going against the flow, 7 times. I had already been praying my little heart out, so I took this as a sign, and began walking against the flow, around the carousel and prayed with all my being. I kept telling Him that I knew He knew right where my suitcase is, that I knew He didn’t need any crew chief to find it and that He could pick it up and drop it right on the ground in front of me if he wanted to! J I also made sure He remembered that I had to have my suitcase and be on that shuttle by 4, or I was going to be spending the night in Dallas. On my 5th lap around, I noticed a bag in a bin on carousel 21. I walked over and inspected it and realized it belonged to one of the guys I had been with. I took it over to him, and then went back to walking. On my 6th time around, the belt on B21 started moving and just as I finished my 7th lap, my suitcase shot out of that little hole and onto the belt it came! I jumped up and said “Thank you Jesus!” I looked down at my phone, and it was 3:39! :) He’s good! I went outside and called the shuttle guy to let him know where I was.

He picked me up at 4 on the nose, and then there were 2 other ladies we had to get. It was an 11 seater van, and we had 11 people! We were all so cramped in with luggage, bags, purses, and people – and we had 2.5 hours to ride. He stopped at a really nice gas station/everything you could ever need store at the 1.5 hour mark and let us out for a 15 minute break. We got back in and arrived at the Waco airport – where most of our cars were – right at 7p. I jumped out, drug my suitcase over to the car, through it in the trunk, through my carry on junk into the passenger seat and took off to the church to pick up the kids – they were entertaining themselves in another room until I could get there to pick them up!

Praise God, I finally made it home! :)

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Unfortunately…

Since you all just saw me for almost three weeks, there isn’t a whole lot I can tell you that you don’t already know…

Oh! Oh! Oh!

I do have one thing! :) After this story, I promise to stop typing and allow you to go back to whatever it was you were doing before I interrupted your day by sending you my 3 page rambler! :)

“It’s ok to be sad…”

Sunday was my last day to see anybody, as we would be leaving the house early Monday morning to head to the airport. Mama was sick, and could not go to church because she was coughing her head off and thought she would disrupt the entire service if she were to go. I arrived at church, and, per my request, they started “You Are Amazing” – it truly is the best song I’ve ever heard, and one day I am gonna luck up and find it somewhere so I can listen to it EVERY DAY!!! Unfortunately, the minute the music started for the song, my eyes began to leak, and my heart felt like it was going to break. I knew I was at the end of the road, and would be heading back, and at this time have no set plans on our next trip to Georgia. I was sad. Completely and utterly sad. And then I began to feel bad about feeling sad, because I know Texas is where God wants me right now, and I know I am supposed to be here for the kids, and for me! So I was just in a bad way! And the worst part of all, was that I wasn’t even able to sing along with my most favorite song in the entire world! :(

As I was standing there, heart breaking and eyes leaking, a calmness passed over me, and it felt as though someone was standing behind me with their arms firmly wrapped around me and holding me close. And in my heart’s ear, I heard, “It’s ok to be sad.” And as we began to have this conversation in the depths of my heart, I began to understand why it is ok for me to be sad.
You see, it is ok for me to be sad about having to leave behind those of you I love so dearly, because what He allowed me to realize is just how blessed I am that He has given me two “homes” – meaning not just the house, but the family and friends that make up “home” for me – that I can go to and feel so completely welcomed! Where I am loved more than I can possibly understand! Where I am completely accepted by those that love me! And where I can pick up right where I left off! :)

The realization was not a magic tear-stopper, but it made me totally ok with being sad. So sad I was. I cried more on Sunday than I have in years…but you know what? I feel totally cleansed! :) And even though, as I said a hundred times, it would have been so much easier to just stay here and not gone back to Georgia…I wouldn’t have changed it for anything! I so enjoyed my time with you! :)

Thank you!

Thank you for loving me…
Thank you for praying for me…
Thank you for encouraging me…
Thank you for allowing me to just be me…
Thank you for not judging me…
Thank you for accepting me just as I am…
Thank you for rearranging your schedule to spend time with me…
Thank you for listening…
Thank you for talking…
Thank you for saying nothing...
Thank you for the hugs…
Thank you for holding me while I cried…
Thank you for singing for me…
Thank you for walking in the cold with me…
Thank you for the cards…
Thank you for your time…
Thank you for being you!

I could never hope to possibly explain just how much each of you mean to me! You have all had some hand in why I am where I am, and the way God has allowed me to experience, and feast on Him since I’ve been here. Please know that you each have a part in that, and I love you so much for everything you’ve done, and continue to do! :)

You are amazing! :D

Juarez…

It hit me a few days ago, that it is only two months until our trip! And I am sooooo excited for what is to come! :) But there’s a lot I have to get done before then, so please being praying that everything will come together!

World Mandate 2009…

Sharon, David, Samantha, Davis and I will be attending World Mandate 2009 January 23-25! You can read about it at www.worldmandate.com and be able to catch the excitement for what we’ll be experiencing!

Sharon and David are expectantly waiting for God to speak to them as to what the next step in their journey is, and I think we’re all hoping that before that weekend is over, that we’ll have some vision for what is to come – for all of us! So please join us in that prayer!

The End…finally! ;)

Thank you very much for sticking with me this far! I hope you’re having a blessed day, and will continue to follow after God with everything you have!

Catch the vision! ;)