Let Me Do It Myself

Excerpt from Chapter 26 - Stand At The Cross Roads: Intense pain prevented me from rolling over to get up, so I tried to just sit up, but froze in agony, with my head and legs off the ground and my knees flexed. I could neither sit up, nor lie back down.

            Scott ran over to me, and upon realizing how bad it was, held my head on his knees. Yessica supported my legs while someone called Jennifer at the house.

            She sped down the drive, threw on the brakes, and jumped out.

            "Are you okay?"

             "No. Call an ambulance."

            The color drained from her face. She knew that if I said I needed help, it must be bad. She ran to the phone in the shed knowing full well that it rarely worked. The line was dead.

            Later, she told me, "I slammed that phone down and prayed, ‘God, I need this phone to work and I know you can do it.’" Absolutely confident it would work now… she picked it up and without listening for a dial tone, dialed 911...


My father-in-law is settling in and the beginning of a routine is developing. There are still quite a few bugs to work out, but things are looking up!  Thank you all for your continuing prayers.  

One Foot in Front of the Other

I HOPE you noticed that there was no post yesterday. LOL!  Last Wednesday morning my 91 year old father-in-law was transported from Missouri to our house via Medical RV. For the last few days Pat, his son Kevin and I have been consumed with obtaining all of the medical equipment, health care, etc... necessary to get him settled. Pat and I are blessed to be able to share our home with him.  My postings may be a bit shorter than usual for a few days and I would greatly appreciate your prayers for an easy transition for all of us.  Blessings and THANK YOU! 

ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER

Excerpt from Chapter 25 - Stand At The Cross Roads: In the movie What About Bob? Bill Murray as Bob Wiley has been told by his therapist that he can do anything he wants if he takes it in baby steps. That is absolutely my favorite movie.

       Throughout the film, Bob is murmuring, "…baby steps… baby steps… baby step to the elevator... baby step into the elevator..."

       At Cross Roads, we found ourselves so many days just putting one foot in front of the other, moving resolutely toward whichever current goal we’d set for ourselves. Occasionally, I found myself muttering, just like Bob. "Baby steps, baby steps. Baby-steps to improve our houses… baby-step to enclose the pavilion…."

       As I looked back at the previous year, I couldn’t help wondering if God was using the perpetual setbacks that kept shutting me down to teach me not to move so fast. Maybe He was saying to me, "Slow down, pay attention, what about Me?"

The Millenium Year

Excerpt from Chapter 24 - Stand At The Cross Roads: Scott, with the help of Jim Smith, one of our biggest champions, organized a work detail to take apart the nursing home. For three weekends in a row during that hot summer, we salvaged lighting fixtures, wall switches, towel dispensers, tables, chairs, a stove and stainless steel table from the kitchen, wall hangings, and shelves. Nailed down or not, if it was salvageable, we grabbed it.

        If I learned anything that summer, it was that Melissa Dunn is a bull dog. When she gets hold of something, she won’t let it go.  God knew that Melissa was exactly the person we needed to kick us back into action and make us change gears. 

            Work detail at the nursing home

The Company of Others

Excerpt from Chapter 23 - Stand At The Cross Roads: ...when the leader arrived, who had not been among the scouts, she was appalled.

            "Where are the Masters going to sleep? Where will they eat?"

             Apparently, it wouldn’t do to have these holy men mixing so intimately with their local Buddhist community. In the end, they were given a separate cabin for sleeping, and small tables were placed out in the woods so they could eat privately. Women wearing white pajama-like tops and pants bowed and scraped as they carried food to them.

            Anyone who knows me knows that I found these practices difficult to watch. Concealing my discomfort and showering them with Christ’s love was a challenge. I failed.  It was the only time Carol suggested that I just go home and let her handle things. I think perhaps God was opening my eyes once more to the fact that Cross Roads was His camp, not mine and He’d bring whoever He wanted out here. Our job was simply to love them on His behalf. Yes, He dropped lots of surprises on us.

Nope, no photo for this one... Unfortunately, I wasn't there long enough!   LOL ;)

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I'm living proof that you can - if the tricks aren't to hard!  However, this BLOG "thing" IS hard. Fans on the Fan Page dropped back to 199 this morning. Any thoughts on why?  I'd appreciate any input you might have to help me improve this site.

If you are enjoying these excerpts from Stand At The Cross Roads, maybe some of your friends would, too.  If so, go to the Fan Page and under the photo is a link titled - Suggest To Friends - click on it - Your friends will pop up - you can invite them by clicking on their photos. It is my prayer that Christ will work through this book to touch and change many lives. Thank you for your continued prayers. 

The Perfect Porch

 Excerpt from Chapter 22 - Stand At The Cross Road: While all of us were dancing and celebrating the bride and groom, my brother, John, a structural engineer, took me aside and mentioned that he’d noticed my house still needed finishing.

            "You need a porch," he said, as we attacked the dessert tray together.

            Concern shown in his eyes, as he reflected on the state of my house. No landing, no railing, just a shaky three-step ladder up to the front door.

            "I have a brand new chimney," I pointed out. After barely scraping together the resources for the fireplace, buying the materials to replace the porch was not in the budget.

            "We need to build you a porch," John said.

            Was he serious about taking on such a huge project? God had shown me, time and time again, that His way of taking care of me was through the people He sent my way.  Was He sending my brother, now?

My house didn't look quite this bad when John saw it.  The movers had put the two halves back together,  the roof had been patched with left over shingles, non of which were the same color,  and the fireplace had been rebuilt. 

We reached the goal of 200 FANS today,

Praise God!

Thank each of you for your help. I hope you are enjoying the excerpts and will continue to follow the the story and recommend it to friends. 

Soaring On Eagle's Wings

Excerpt from Chapter 21 – Stand At The Cross Road: Another high point of that year came by way of my best friend, Mary. I was in the habit of dropping by the office where she worked and having lunch with her in their coffee bar several times a week. Those were bright spots in my day and special, I think, for both of us. We solved all the problems of the world over countless burgers, or salads, depending on whether one of us was dieting. One April morning Mary called me.

            "Hey girl, you coming by for lunch today?"

            "Maybe. I have an appointment that could take a while."

            "Take your time, I’ll wait. I have an idea I want to discuss with you."

            No sooner had I sat down than Mary said, "You all need more help with Cross Roads."

            "No, you really think so?" My sarcasm only made her smile.

Her blue eyes glowed with excitement...

 Mary Stevens (singing)

ONE Fan Short of 200!   HELP!!!!

Pat clued me in last night that some of you may not know HOW to ask your friends to become Fans.  Just go to the Stand At The Cross Roads Fan Page.  Under the photo is a link titled - Suggest To Friends - click on it - Your friends will pop up - you invite them by clicking on their photos. If all 199 of you will just do that IT WOULD BE PHENOMENAL! Thank each of you for your tremendous support. Please don't stop now! It is my prayer that Christ will work through this book to touch and change many lives. Please continue praying as this book blossoms into the full potential that God has in store for it! 

The Year of Grace

Excerpt Chapter 19 – Stand At The Cross Road: March, April, and May are crucial months for a retreat camp. They promise the best weather for outdoor activities, and the natural surroundings abound with the wonderment of new life.

            Our spring at Cross Roads was packed with so much commotion that it passed in a hectic blur. No kitchen at the camp, meant that every weekend both our homes were invaded by three or four people busily cooking three meals a day plus snacks, which we would then load into my suburban and haul down to hungry campers.

            And it was fun. When I was younger, I didn’t want people dropping in on me because my house might not be perfect. I was too insecure to be a particularly social person, so I didn’t have much company. Cross Roads changed all that. Cooking meals together was a joyfully communal endeavor, with Carol in charge bossing us around. I loved it.

                                          Carol Moreland    Melissa Dunn     Debbie Batts

ALL GLORY TO GOD! This is His story, please help me get it published  We are SO close just 3 Fans away...Re-posting this on your Facebook page AND asking your friends to become fans will help reach the goal of 200 Fans.  Remember, publishers look for a minimum of 200 fans to indicate a potential market for a book.  ... This is a story of how He still works today in and through individual lives. It is ultimately a story of the healing, hope and purpose available to everyone.