{where.He.leads}

in 2012, i left my job as high school secretary to take a position at our local hospital.

that position actually fell through before i was offered another position at the hospital ...  you can read about how God's hand was in that story in a blog post from July 2012 HERE!

in january 2014, my employment with the hospital ended when i {at my doctor's recommendation} did not receive my flu shot {yes, for real} but that's a story for another blog post ...

after that, i kept busy helping rick with our clinic/broga yoga studio and this fall, i went back to the school system as a substitute para-pro, primarily at the elementary school.  while i love the people who work there and i love the kids, this was a part-time, on call "gig", not income to be counted on for monthly budgeting.

so ... on a whim, i stopped in when i saw a "help wanted" sign at a local business and filled out an application .

after not hearing anything for a couple of weeks, i assumed that the position was filled and i told the school that i could fill in as long as they needed me in the young 4's program {the assistant teacher had taken another job, and while i could fill the position as a sub, i did not have the degree required to apply for the position}.

well ... as things go, almost as soon as i made that commitment, i got a call!

"would you like to come in for an interview? we are hiring, but not for the position you applied for."

i agreed to the interview and went and spoke with the lady {who was very nice!} ...

after the interview {which went well} and much {much}, did i mention {much} prayer, i accepted the position and let the school know that i could not come back to my subbing position after spring break.

today, i spent my first 2 shifts working in the dining room at 

"the harbors retirement community"!

this retirement community is housed in our old hospital {the one i was born in} that has been totally remodeled {and i must say, it is beautiful}!

i didn't sleep last night {i'm blaming the dogs, maybe it was nerves?!} and was up well before my alarm rang at 5:00 a.m. ... so was poor rick, but i appreciated having him up to send me off with a hug and a kiss and words of support and encouragement!

i am looking forward to this new adventure and to hopefully to being a blessing to these wonderful "elderly" folks in our community!  i have SO MUCH to learn ... like the names of all of the residents as that is how we take their orders and deliver their meals to their tables! i'm sure thankful for those long hours i spent working at ponderosa and the farm house as a teenager, but i'm not sure i can carry a tray full of food and drinks as well now as i did back then!

the position offers me a little more "free" time than being at the school would, and i'm in town, so  i'm available to rick at the clinic as well as to pastor and the rest of the staff at our church/the local homeless shelter. i'll be working the breakfast and lunch shifts on weekdays so i have late afternoons and weekends off as well!

i'm not sure what God has in mind, or where this position will take me, but i felt His leading very strongly in the events of this position opening up, so "where He leads, i will follow"!

{He.is.risen}

He is RISEN!

He is RISEN INDEED!

words of hope, words of life!

Hallelujah He is RISEN!

listen HERE!

{this.day}

quick trip to green bay with kajsa before she works today.

love spending time with my girls ...i am so very blessed!

contemplating what this day, this Easter weekend, means to the world and to me. 

unable to comprehend what He went through for me. 

in awe that He went through that agony to pay for my salvation. 

thankful that His death and resurrection promises eternal life. 

excited that today, tomorrow and Sunday are the reason we grieve the loss of loved ones, but not without hope of the glorious day when we will be reunited!

amazed by grace!

{barefoot}

so, there's this book i've been reading and it is taking me a while to finish. I am typically a fast reader but this book, i have had to read slowly and "digest"! the book is "interrupted" by {jen hatmaker} and frankly, it is interrupting my life!

in "interrupted" jen speaks of an instance where her comfy faith walk was interrupted and she realized the need to be a "barefoot church". i will blog more about that later ... but ... i cannot get that out of my mind ... I want to be a part of a barefoot church, but more than that, i need to be a barefoot Christian!

this means that i need to {willingly, happily} 

*serve {when what i really want is to be served} 

this means that i need to {willingly, happily} 

*love {even when i feel unloved}

this means that i need to {willingly, happily} 

*give {even when i feel empty}

this means that i need to {willingly, happily} 

*share my time {even when i feel like my schedule is full - if it is so full that i can't do what God asks, it's too full}

this means that i need to {willingly, happily} 

*share my talents {even when i think they are minimal and of no use to the kingdom}

this means that i need to {willingly, happily} 

*share my possessions {they really aren't "mine" anyway}

i see the need to be selfless not selfish.  i am being convicted. if I were asked to give my shoes to the needy, would I give them gladly, and offer my coat too? I hope so, but I can't honestly say it would be with a joyful heart ... yet I want to be a "barefoot Christian" ... more in this soon!

i've been wearing this necklace recently, to remind myself of how beautiful "bare feet" can be!

{dr.cucumber} ♥

i'm sorry, we don't have any appointments available today.

i'm sorry, doctor is not in the office today, we can get you in tomorrow.

i'm sorry, we aren't taking new patients at this time.

i was a young {nervous} mama with a sick little girl and I needed to bring her to a doctor.  in desperation i pulled out the phone book and looked in the yellow pages {you know that pre-google book with names & phone numbers!} i knew that taya had an ear infection so when i found "northern lights ear, nose and throat" i figured i'd try to call them.

a sweet receptionist answered the phone and told me that yes, they usually required a referral from our primary care physician and that even if they could accept us without a referral, doctor was out of town at a conference. she did however, take some information from me and we hung up.

i remember crying right along with taya after i hung up, she in pain and me feeling helpless not knowing what to do to help her.

imagine my surprise when a few hours later my phone rang and voice on the other end was the receptionist from northern lights ent. she went on to say that doctor hnatuk had returned a little early from his conference, he had some free time that afternoon, would i like to bring taya in to be seen? my first thought was disbelief, if he had been at a conference and had just returned, he must have so many other things that needed his attention, why would he be willing to fit us into his busy schedule? the second thought i had was that this man had to be quite an amazing person if he was willing to see us on short notice, after he had returned from a conference and without a referral.

needless to say, i packed up the three girls and we headed into town to meet this doctor hnatuk. without going into all the details, i'll just say that doctor hnatuk proved to be a wonderful doctor, person, and as we soon came to find out, God fearing, Christian man!  

one day he came into the exam room wearing a "larry the cucumber" tie {from veggie tales fame} and from that point on, he was affectionately referred to by our family as "dr. cucumber"! 

we shared many conversations about faith, family and God over the years as dr. cucumber placed ear tubes {more than once} in taya and kajsa's ears, as he removed first kajsa's tonsils and then mine, and later as i worked in the e.r. at our hospital and he would be passing through. he was a fine man, a caring compassionate doctor with a soft spoken "bedside manner" that easily put patient and mom at ease. he had a calm confidence and he genuinely cared about his patients.

i feel blessed to have had that "chance" encounter all those years ago when he was willing to fit us into his schedule, busy as he was.  

this week, we received the news that dr. hnatuk had "lost" his battle with cancer and had passed away. however, his "loss" was also his gain and his reward as he is now pain free, and joyous in the presence of his Savior, the Great Physician!

after he passed away, one of my friends shared this video of dr. speaking to the youth at his church {click HERE to watch}, and i think it is more than worth sharing! a few things to note ... at the very beginning, he greets those watching with "hi, and i miss you". lorrence knew that his cancer was terminal, he knew that unless God provided a miracle here on earth, that he would be gone from this earth in a short time and though he fought valiantly to the end, he accepted that. he knew that to live is Christ, but to die is GAIN {philippians 1:21}! he also tells of the moment when he was asked by pastor dave, "what answer will you give when you go to Heaven and are met at the gate and they ask why you should be let in?" and i ask you that same question ... you won't get in because you were a good person, or did good things, or put money in the offering, or attended church every sunday. the ONLY way dr. cucumber or you or i will be allowed into Heaven is by placing our trust in the one who died to save us from the penalty of our sins!  i pray that you are as blessed by this short video as i was! to God be the glory! 

dr. cucumber, you will always be remembered and loved and we are thankful to have had the privilege of knowing you!

{w.a.i.t.i.n.g.}

this is my view today ...

we are at bellin hospital in green bay waiting for dad to go in and have "his batteries changed" {his i.c.d. (pacemaker/defibrillator) is being replaced}.  this is the third one he has been through since he had his heart-attack and 5-bypasses done in 2005.

the staff here is just amazing, all so kind and calm and pleasant! the procedure is scheduled for 1:30 ... it's now 1:16 and he is still in the room with us ... that's the drawback of later in the day appointments ... sometimes the schedule gets a bit behind! they have been crazy busy here this morning ... controlled chaos rick called it!

so, we wait ...

"but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

isaiah 40:31  

{i.wanted.to.be.grumpy}

i wanted to be a little grumpy.

o.k. i wanted to be a LOT grumpy!

it was only 5:35 a.m.

on a saturday morning.

i hadn't gotten the coffee ready the night before.

the bed was warm and cozy.

it was saturday.

i wanted to be lazy and sleep in.

but, he got up so i got up.

he said "you don't have to get up just because i do"

"i know that" 

{but you're up and the dogs are up and now i probably won't go back to sleep anyway!}

so, i got up too.

i went to the kitchen where we {a little "grumpily"} worked together to make coffee.

i curled up in the living room and did my devotions.

and drank my coffee.

3 cups.

then i let the little one {gretchen} out.

and i paused for a few minutes.

i noticed there were birds singing.

i noticed how much snow had melted this week.

i noticed that the grass is already a little green.

i noticed that the sun is shining and the sky is as blue as blue can be.

i noticed that my backyard is as beautiful as many parks.

and i woke up grumbling?

thank you Lord, for the reminder of the beauty in the every day ...

... even at 5:30 a.m. on a saturday!

thank You for birds, and green grass, and sunshine and blue skies!

thank You for another day to live and love and praise You!

thank you for my family and my home and early morning coffee and devotions!

thank You for reminding me that life is beautiful ...

even at 5:30 a.m. on a saturday!

... and now, i'm off ...

broga class starts in 40 minutes!

i'm excited about my at home business {es}!

 i love my KEEP jewelry - and tomorrow is NATIONAL JEWELRY DAY

i can help YOU celebrate!

www.keep-collective.com/with/sheilareed

... and just this morning, i joined my sweet friend beth on my "Younique Journey"

www.youniqueproducts.com/sheilareed139

in addition, we have an amazing clinic/studio and an amazing nutritional support product

www.myrainlife.com/sheilareed

that is changing people's lives every day ...

i have SO MUCH to be thankful for ... and i woke up grumpy?

i'm very excited about the companies i represent and would love to share any/all of them with you if you are interested! :)  shop any of my "stores" by clicking on the links above or fill out the "let's be friends" section to the right and i'll be in touch with you to see how i can help you!

and for now - go out and make it a GREAT SATURDAY! 

{has.my.God's.arm.shortened?}

when i doubt God's amazing power, rick will often quote numbers 11:23 to me

"the LORD answered moses, "is the LORD's arm too short?""

"i don't want to answer this" i said as my cell phone rang yesterday.

i knew the number on the caller i.d.

it was the number of the place i'd dropped our car off at earlier.

the place that was going to "diagnose" why our engine light was on.

we'd been told by another place that it would cost $200 ...

just to run diagnostics.

that didn't take into consideration any repairs that may be needed.

ouch.

double ouch 

considering we just had to replace a really important part on our furnace.

oh, you know, like the "little" part that makes it run.

i know, i'm so very technical when it comes to those things.

you're welcome!

the "little" part that costs $650 and that doesn't count labor.

which is doubled on a sunday.

which is then again doubled when 2 guys have to come to do the repairs.

 "is the LORD's arm too short"?" rick asked when that happened

and again when the bill came and it was MUCH less than we anticipated because

our amazing "furnace guy"

{i'm sure he has a more distinguished title than that} 

was able to reduce some of the costs for us!

anyway ... back to the car.

and the ringing phone.

and the fear in the pit of my stomach.

even though i'd prayed about the car.

even though that meant it should have been left in God's hands.

even though i know that He, not me is in control.

yes, He is in control, even of car repairs.

we couldn't just leave the car at the shop forever, so i had to answer the phone.

"hi, this is sheila" i sad, trying to sound pleasant, happy, cordial.

even as i steeled myself for the bad news.

"this is brian, your car is done", he said happily.

{of course he was happy, now he was going to tell me how much money he made!}

"do you need a shuttle, we will come and pick you up" he continued.

"what do we owe for the repairs?" i asked

{thinking, i won't need the shuttle if i can't pay you!}

"oh", he replied

"let's see ... the blah, blah blah {remember, i'm really good with technical terms

even more-so with cars than furnaces!} was broken, that's what made your

engine light come on, but it was under warranty, so there's no charge"

what, no charge, did i hear that correctly?

"has my God's arm shortened?"

"and then", he continued 

{o.k. here it comes, he started with the good news - they always do that}

"there was a crack in the something or other cap, but ...

there was a recall on that, so we took care of the recall."

really?

"has my God's arm shortened?"

"oh, yes, and the {blah, blah, blah} was leaking"

o.k. NOW he's going to deliver the bad news...

"but that was covered under the warranty too

so ... there's no charge"!

"what about running the diagnostics?" i asked 

{remember the other place wanted $200 just to run diagnostics}

"there's NO CHARGE ... everything was under warranty/recall,

did you need a shuttle to come and pick you up?"

"um, no", i mumbled, "i can make it over, see you soon" i said as i hung up.

as i set the phone down, i buried my head in my hands and sobbed ...

"has my God's arm shortened"

i heard from across the room as rick smiled a knowing smile at me ...

"has my God's arm shortened" indeed!

He reminded me AGAIN yesterday that He IS in control

of

all

things!

even car repairs!

"has my God's arm shortened"?

no, it hasn't, and again, He has taught me to trust.

fully trust.

because His arm is never too short to reach and rescue and bless!