12.20.2006

WHERE Has That Girl Been?


Well, the OCD monsters seem to have crept in and taken over these past few weeks . . .
I said I was going to engage in Advent and blog about it every day . . .
and then I missed a day.
and then another one.

and then the voice inside that says,
"If you can't do it just right, then don't do it at all!
What's the point?
Oh, and by the way, because you are a Christian, by nature,
you believe that NOTHING can be done just right."

And then you KNOW nothing happened after that!

SO, I was MIA for awhile.

here are a few little thoughts and tidbits . . . .

I have now tired three times, and failed, to make Christmas candy!
I had a group of ladies over last week to make candy with me . . .
three types of candy were on the roster . . . .
I was in charge of one of them.
It ended up in the trash.

So, we enjoyed the other two kinds of candy for a few days.

And then I decided that a toffee recipe should not be able to stump me . . . .

So I tried again.

This time, I wised up and didn't triple the recipe.
This was helpful in making it more manageable when stirring . . . .
and also when throwing it away -
again!!!
At least I didn't have THREE pounds of almonds and THREE pounds of butter to throw away this time!
That was a $20 Christmas candy mistake!

So, I decided to make something more simple today.
Peppermint Bark.
Easy.
Couldn't be easier.
Melt white chocolate.
Crush up some candy canes.
Stir together.

Well, I somehow managed to burn the chocolate.
On top of that, it didn't melt.
It just didn't melt.
Is chocolate that picky? Can it choose when to melt and when to clump????

But if there is one thing I am, it is determined.
Mix that with a mild (maybe make-believe) case of OCD . . .
and well, I am not finished!
I still have fudge and macaroons to make!

We'll see.

This year I made my own Christmas cards!
That makes the list of "things learned the hard way"!
We made 100 cards . . .

and next year . . .
a 20 pack from this great place.

But . . .
they did turn out great!


Today . . .
it is snowing.
Really snowing.
So bad that Herb didn't even take the Mini out today.
It is all public transportation all that time for that boy today!

I think I heard him yelling at Mother Nature as he left the house today.
Sort of a "bring it on" thing!

He was as a giddy as a school girl as he left to "go on an ADVENTURE!!!" (his words!)

I am doing laundry . . . . and things like blogging and making yet another unnecessary Christmas stocking stuffer for my mom . . .
putting off the things I don't want to do . . . like paying bills and filling out my billing sheet for work. Keep in mind, I don't have that many clients. This is not rocket science! But, I have a little bit of self-sabotage mixed in with that OCD!

I have an art project that I am working on . . .
being paid to do!
she is buying the supplies . . .
and instead of paying me for my time, I asked her to display the piece in her shop with my name and number displayed.
She is a small business owner with a LOT of creative souls (and soles) tromping in and out of her doors all day!
I can't believe i am being paid to do this!
I have been praying for something creative to do for work . . .
Counseling is something I am good at, but don't always have space in my head or heart for it.


How about these AMAZING earrings I received in the mail this week from Herb's folks!?!??!


And . . .
Our "first" Christmas decorations:





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12.07.2006

MY DEAR FRIEND SARAH SENT THIS TODAY. IT IS A LETTER WRITTEN BY A MAN IN HER CIRCLE OF FRIENDS IN KANSAS CITY ABOUT A FAMILY IN ONE OF HIS RENTAL UNITS THAT HAS GREAT NEED. I LOVE THIS MAN'S DESIRE TO PAIR A VERBAL SHARING OF CHRIST'S LOVE WITH AN INTENTIONAL EFFORT TO MEET HER TANGIBLE PHYSICAL AND FINANCIAL NEEDS.

I DO NOT PERSONALLY KNOW JEREMY, BUT I HAVE KNOWN SARAH FOR 11 YEARS AND I TRUST HER. IF YOU WANTED TO TALK TO HER SO YOU ARE NOT JUST SENDING RESOURCES BLINDLY, I AM SURE I COULD GET YOU IN TOUCH WITH HER.

I WONDER, IF YOU LIVE IN KC, IF THERE MIGHT EVEN BE A CHANCE FOR SOME FOLKS TO GET TOGETHER TO CREATE A NETWORK OF PEOPLE AROUND THIS WOMAN WHO COULD ASSIST HER IN LEARNING LIFE SKILLS (IF APPLICABLE), FIND A BETTER PAYING JOB, RESOURCES IN HER COMMUNITY (LIKE FOOD PANTRIES, CLOTHING FOR JOB INTERVIEWS, ETC), ADVOCATE FOR HER AND HER CHILDREN, AND HELP WITH HER KIDS, ETC.

SARAH DID NOT FORWARD THE LIST JEREMY COMPILED OF NEEDS THIS WOMAN HAS, BUT I BET HE COULD GET THAT TO YOU IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING OUT, CALL JEREMY'S PROPERTY MANAGER, ALLEN NAY AT 816.838.8596

THANKS.
CARA

Hello guys -

It has come to my attention that one of my tenants
in my rental properties
is in one of the worst situations for a single mom
that I have ever come
across in all my dealings with poor single moms.

She is a single mom with 7 kids and is currently
living in one of my units.

I have found out about her situation by accident
because she backed her car
through the garage door of my duplex and destroyed a
lot of the front wall
of my duplex as well. Anyway.........she did $5,000
worth of damage and I
was very angry with her when I found out that she
had no renters insurance
or even car insurance (which would have covered the
damage).

Through this whole process I have found out that she
has 7 kids who are
living in some of the worst conditons that I have
ever seen for America,
other than being homeless.

My property manager has gone inside the unit and
found out that there is
NOTHING inside. No furniture, no beds, no fixtures,
nothing on walls, no
plates, no dishes - nothing. It is as if you were
moving into a completely
empty unit. The kids are sleeping on the carpet
with blankets and sleeping
bags. They have no toys, books, none of the little
items that we all take
for granted. This type of situation is almost
impossible for me to
comprehend.

She is not on section 8, but is surviving barely by
a monthly social
security check. I have wondered why she gets this
check, but people have
told me that it is probably because her spouse died,
or she is handicapped
in some way. She seems normal, other than a
completely overwhelmed poor
single mom doing her best with 7 kids.

I have forgiven all debt she owes me and have told
her that Jesus loves her
and cares about her and her situation, and her kids.
She does not know
Jesus, but I want her to see him in a very practical
way. I asked her to
compile a list of the very basic needs that would
bless her through this
holliday season and she has done so. I am attaching
this list to this
e-mail. She is not asking for the new playstation,
toys, or anything other
than basic items like beds, mattresses, and basic
living items that you or I

would not even think a moment about living without.

I am asking anyone who would like to assist in ANY
way to please donate used

items, furniture, beds, fixtures, toys, books,
grocery certificates
(anything but cash).

If you would like to do so please call my property
manager Allen Nay at
816.838.8596 cell - or home number 816.765.2125. If
you would like to make
a financial donation towards new beds, mattresses,
blankets, washer/dryer,
or anyting else, you can paypal me money to
swensonjeremy@hotmail.com and I
will apply it whatever you want to purchase.

This woman's name is Tonita, and I am attaching a
list of the names, ages,
and gender of her kids if you would like to pray for
them or buy them
specific gifts based on gender and ages. Every one
of these kids have
NOTHING and very little hope of anything for
christmas.

I have been working 75-100 hours per week for the
last three months
preparing for snow, but I am going to take the time
in the next week or so
to make sure this lady one way or another gets her
basic needs met that she
is asking for (she is not asking for much as you
will see from the list). I

would personally like to see her absolutely
overwhelmed by responses of
people who love Jesus and are willing to help out
with whatever they have
extra this Christmas season.

If you know of anyone else who may want to help,
please forward this e-mail
along to them.

Thanks,

Jeremy & Debbie Swenson

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12.01.2006

None of Us Our Free


Today's Song: None of Us Are Free
The Voice: Solomon Burke

The Thoughts:


as we enter into Advent, we try to put on our old school jewish hats . . . we try to imagine what life was like as they anticipated the messiahs first arrival.

again, we look back and see a people who spent generations in exile . . .
then in slavery . . .
then wandering . . .

they lived a life without a foundation. without safety.

there is a long history of unfortunate things that happened TO the jewish people . . .
but there is also a long, painful story to be told of the constant push and pull between god and his people.
from the beginning, we see this.
and all through the old testament.

i remember sitting in my old testament class during my second semester of seminary . . . i had just graduated from college, where, despite (or perhaps because of) my high involvement in a campus ministry, i left feeling completely disillusioned in my faith. it was rattled. i had arrived at a place where i had too much evidence to deny god's existence . . . i even saw that he was good . . . and that he loved people . . . but i had too much evidence to the contrary to believe that he loved ME.
still, i left college and went to seminary to study the bible and counseling.


i sat in that class, and for the first several months, i was overwhelmed by god's harshness.
the way he punished.
the way he doomed.
the way he cursed.
and even destroyed.

line after line. chapter after chapter.
i was disgusted.
with him.
but the more the people messed up, the more he gave them a second chance. consistently . . .

what an interesting sensibility our god has.
he really took the spiritual, internal reality of his beloved people . . . spiritually enslaved.
and he caused them to have a very external, tangible experience with it.
wow.

we are spititual slaves to anything that is not of god.
on top of their unfaithfulness to god . . . their adulterous hearts . . .
they would eventually become actual, physical, human slaves to an empire that did not, and would not confess god's name.

that is like the ultimate object lesson.

they were enslaved
and they longed to be free

it makes me wonder . . .
what am i enslaved to?

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