Turkeys!

This morning I went over to the elementary school across the street... a few of you had scared me sufficiently into thinking that I was "very late" in registering Drew for kindergarten in the fall, even though I had never seen anything advertised. Thankfully I was told that the city-wide "Kindergarten Round-Up" is not until early May. Whew!! The office lady told me to tell my family and friends to stop scaring me. So you have now officially been ordered to "Stop it!"

We drove across the street back home and I stopped to get out and get the mail. As I did I noticed a band of eight turkeys (yes, TURKEYS!) meandering down the street together toward downtown. They were very nonchalant as though they were just out for a morning stroll. I have no idea where they came from or where they were going. Perhaps they're on an exercise regime to help guarantee that they will be too skinny to end up on anyone's Thanksgiving table later this year.

Nazarene Naps

When we were growing up, my parents took a nap every Sunday afternoon... Nazarene Naps, we called them. As kids we just didn't get why an adult would want to sleep away a perfectly good afternoon. As adults, we get it!!

Today was one of those days where I just hit the wall. Yes, I stayed up too late last night even though I knew it was the day we all lost an hour of sleep. But it was more than that. Every once in a while being a single mom catches up with me and the feeling of sleepiness just slams me. Today was one of those days. I couldn't even complete a sentence that made sense. I was that tired.

So after church, and after the boys played at Jordan's for a couple of hours, Michael had me bring them to his house. We then transported them to Craig & Vickie's where they had so graciously agreed to watch the boys for 2 hours while I napped and he worked. He even picked up the boys for me and played with them outside at the pond for an extra half hour just to be sure I got all the sleep I needed. I woke up feeling so refreshed and ready to enjoy what's become our almost weekly Sunday ritual of dinner & a movie at Michael's for the four of us.

Yesterday morning Michael & I (along with his parents & their best friends) were treated to an AWESOME breakfast by the elderly lady in our church whose kitchen Michael recently remodeled. She wanted to show off his work! She was hilarious the whole time we were there. She even revealed that she has a cataloged, alphabetized box filled with obits of people she knows. We were dying laughing. She lost her husband out of the blue last year, but lives her life in such joy and laughter. I want to be just like that when I'm her age!

P.S.
This morning I got to write a tithe check for the first time in a long time. It felt so good!!

Strange Phone Calls

It's kind of cool to start getting business calls. I'm needing to remember to answer my cell with, "No Ordinary Affair, this is Becky", instead of just, "Hi, this is Becky." Although perhaps I would get fewer strange calls by forgetting to add my business name....

Here are but a few of my favorites:

... today a lady called wanting to know if I would go sing "Happy Birthday" to her daughter at work up near Portland.

... two days ago, one half of a lesbian couple (who I remember distinctly from the Mac Bridal Fair) called to ask me if I knew anyone who performed Domestic Partnership ceremonies. She said she knew they couldn't do it in a church because "they're weird about that".

... a couple of months ago a lady called to have me settle a dispute between her and her ex-fiance over who got to keep the engagement ring now that the engagement was broken. She didn't like the "etiquette" answer, but was happy with the legal answer (the two answers happened to contradict one other in her situation). She felt the need to go into great detail about why they had broken up, as well as the day they bought the ring.

Oh, well. Gives a little spice to my day, I guess.

Life as a Wedding Planner

Isn't this a great picture of Michael & me? What??..... you don't think it looks just like us?.....

Well, I am on Day 2 as an officially paid Wedding Planner and I am having the time of my life. (I know all you girls out there are jealous, so don't pretend otherwise!) This is an absolute blast. Now I just need more clients.

You know what's funny? I spent a considerable amount of time going out to meet vendors in the past 8 months. For a while I concentrated primarily on wedding/reception sites, not only because it was the logical place to start, but also because there were some wedding vendors who didn't see a need to meet me since I didn't yet have business to throw their way.

Not so now! Now the vendors I'm calling are asking to meet me in person. So far next week I am meeting a Custom Cake lady for coffee (she told me to come hungry because she's making me all kinds of samples of her cake to taste), and I'm meeting a DJ in Salem for either coffee or lunch. Both are stay-at-home parents (as well as being very highly recommended in their field), so I am more than happy to throw business their way. The Cake-maker used to work closely with a Wedding Planner who moved, so she is now interested in developing an exclusive relationship with me. It would be awesome if the DJ is thinking along the same lines.

Out of the blue, Matt asked to pick the boys up after lunch and keep them overnight, so that has given me this afternoon and most of tomorrow to work uninterrupted.

I am thinking of starting a wedding blog for my business site. Long story, but for now I feel like God is calling me to put the devotional site on hold. Maybe He just wants me to concentrate wholeheartedly on my business.

The sun is shining and it's a beautiful day..... Soon I get to leave to go by Staples (for business supplies!) and then to Michael's where he's making us a steak dinner and we're watching American Idol together.

Am I blessed or what?

My First Client!!!!!

Just look at what I am holding in my hand.... my very first check from a client!!!

I got a call yesterday from this couple who recently got engaged and is getting married June 7th. They saw my ad in the Bridal Guide and, realizing what they are up against trying to plan a summer wedding on such short notice, they decided they needed a wedding planner.

I met with them this morning at my house, we negotiated a price based on their needs, they wrote me a check for 2/3's and we're off and running.

Speaking of running, I have a heck of a lot to do to coordinate vendors for them ASAP. Better get to work!

Isn't God good??! Perhaps I'm starting to emerge from the Waiting Room?.....

Woo Hoo!!! This is a blast.

God's Waiting Room

Some of you are wondering, "So, did she get the job??"....

I had a wonderful second interview Friday morning and was confident that I had the job in the bag. So confident, in fact, that I had my childcare all arranged for tomorrow and my mom & I were working on a plan for a one-week Victimology class I was going to be required to attend later this month in Salem. However, the Executive Director called me Friday afternoon to let me know that they had offered the job to the other final candidate. She was extremely apologetic and wanted to let me know that my interviews were wonderful and there was nothing I could have said or done differently. She said it was the hardest decision they'd ever had to make and that they actually spent some time trying to see if they could possibly come up with a job-share scenario, or even create a new position for me. But they're non-profit, so who's kidding, right? In the end it came down to the other person having a little more experience than me.

When I hung up the phone, my first reaction was to laugh. It's been 12 long months of job-hunting and interviewing for me. Twelve months of seeing jobs that don't pay enough to cover my childcare expenses, and twelve months of being rejected in every interview I've been in. Twelve months of making it to a final interview and still being overlooked. Twelve months of bidding on at-home jobs that go to another bidder. And eight months of trying to get clients for my business.

For some reason God is closing every single door in my face. I'm at a loss to explain why. I'm confused and fighting to not allow the feeling of desperation to gain a foothold. God is silent while I live every day being only a day away from losing everything and having not one penny to my name to take care of my family's basic needs.

After Friday's phone call, I figured it was good that I was on my way to a Christian comedy concert with my friend Chonda Pierce. I knew the timing wasn't coincidence.

Chonda and I became friends in '94 or '95 and had fun for many years. We emailed each other, stayed at each other's homes on occasion, and met up at numerous concert locations where I would help her. We have many fun memories of laughing, talking and playing together.

About 6 or 7 years ago we lost touch. On her end, her career took off and keeping up with email became a luxury. On my end, I was also newly married and busy with life. So I looked forward to having this opportunity to reconnect with her.

I didn't have high expectations on reconnecting. I knew I'd only have a very few moments during intermission when about 15 fans were also vying for her time and attention. However, she came right over to me and gave me a great big hug. We had a little "reunion", as she called it, for about 5 minutes before she turned her attention to the rest of the room. It was sweet sharing a moment with my friend. I asked about Doris; she asked about Debbie. She scolded me for not having pics of my boys to show her. I promised to email them to her.

But God used my friend in yet another way that night. He used something Chonda said from the stage. She talked about the times in our lives when we are in God's Waiting Room.... those times when He is totally silent and it appears as though He's not working, or not listening. We want God to work NOW.... but He's God and He's not going to work until He's good and ready. During those times we tend to put on a good front and try to make it look like He's working when He's not.... as though we have to protect God's reputation or something. But like Chonda said, look around.... His reputation is just fine. He doesn't need us pretending in order to make Him "look better". He wants us to be honest and real with each other. No pretending. And He also wants us to trust Him.

So this is me.... stuck in God's waiting room. I don't know how long I'll be here, or how in the world I will get through financially. All I can do is to continue to seek work, continue to market my business, and continue to pray for direction. The rest is God's responsibility. And He'll do something about it when He's good and ready.

Until then, I will need your encouragement. A lot. And often.

And while I sit in this waiting room of His, I know that I also need to be looking for the reasons He has me here. What am I supposed to be doing? What am I supposed to be learning?

One of those answers may just be found in this book. My mom loaned it to me. She got it because she heard it was good. Turns out that many churches are using this book in their small groups.... and many bookstores are banning this book because it challenges so many of our preconceptions about God.

It's that good.

I'm only halfway through it and already I am amazed at how my thinking and perception of God has changed. Tami (Michael's sister) and Judy (his mom's best friend) and I had a great discussion about this book on the long ride home from Friday night's concert. Judy's read the book, and Tami is about as far into it as I am.

It's pretty incredible. And although I'm not yet finished with it, with endorsements from people like Michael W. Smith, Eugene Peterson and Wynonna Judd, I feel safe in telling you this: Run out today and beg, borrow and steal to get your hands on a copy!!!

Spring Preview

It was another GORGEOUS day. As you can see, the flowers around here are starting to bloom. Spring is coming!!

It was so nice that we ate lunch outside and then played out in the backyard for a couple of hours. I even got to sit in the sun (in a tank top, no less!) with a great book and enjoy reading while my boys dug up dirt and hit baseballs. Reading in the sun has to be my all-time favorite way to relax.





Yesterday Michael & I dressed up and attended the Grand Opening of the winery Ballroom. It was as beautiful as I had anticipated! Michael agreed that they had gone high-class all the way in the building of the facility. The appetizers were high-class as well (although we "supplemented" with dinner at a Chinese restaurant afterward).

I was able to spend a few minutes talking with the owner. She remembered me from the fall and was glad I had come. While she's not going to align herself with just one Wedding Planner, she is keeping a "short list" of preferred vendors. She let me know that because I had come to the Opening, my name would be on the list with a "Wonderful! Great!" after it. Let's just hope that it leads to some clients.

My "fairy/Coast Guard" bride-to-be decided that she can't afford a Wedding Planner after all, so that lead fell through. But I know that God must have more leads on the horizon. I remain optimistic and continue to work hard to market my business!

Tomorrow much may change in my life..... Hmmm, what God can do with just 24 hours....