Rebooting Life: ReDaisy

You know how they say, don’t quit your day job? Well, I quit my day job.

It wasn’t that quick and easy, though. Sort of happened over time, a gradual flaking away of the old Daisy and new skin growing. Scar tissue sometimes. Sometimes beautiful new skin. A reboot, a restart.

It started like this – surely you’ve had the thought – there must be more to life. My life needed a reboot. A restart. Redo. Renew. ReDaisy. But I knew I couldn’t just quit and then go find out. What if there really isn’t more? I mean, for me. Could be all my snarkiness, insecurity, over confidence, inferiority, creativity, wear that old robe all weekend depression – all my issues – would just sabotage the freedom I dream of. After all, my issues are part of me and they may just show up no matter what I’m doing or where I go and so I’ll still have all that crud and none of the structure and comraderie and income that somehow keeps it all manageable. So I needed to experiment a little with the free time I already had.

Everyone has some free time, right? I don’t have to wait until I retire to write, paint and enjoy art. So I did some art and you know, it felt pretty good to get some paintings done and make some creative craft kinds of things. And I can still find time to write a little. Mostly in my mind. Crawling in traffic every morning and evening, I could name the characters in my novel-to-be and spy into their lives and somehow figure out how to weave their stories together into an awesome plot that would miraculously make the New York Times Best Seller List in warp time. Okay, I had a few fender benders, but my drive, alternating between talking with God and talking out my characters, was so much better.

I decided when I have my coffee alone each morning before everyone else gets up, and I have to go rushing around to get ready to go to the office, I could replace that worry over the to-do list in the day planner time with…what. A morning devotional time. I heard of that. Start my day out with my Creator. That guy who made me and knows what the heck He designed me for. Awesome. Yeah, it was awesome, just like I’d hoped. I still do that. I just show up and say good morning, God. I love you. Thank you for being awesome. Let’s talk. Unfortunately, I do most of the talking. But God is a good listener and doesn’t give out BS advice. Crazy seeming advice sometimes, but no wrong direction stuff. And you know what? He found ways to give the time back to me. The call journal beside my phone had fewer and fewer pages of “concern” calls, and my staff became really great at being kind to people and helping them deactivate little time bombs before they could blow up and fire missiles into my office. I’ve thanked God so many times for that alone. I didn’t deserve it, but He blesses every little baby step toward Him. So I don’t think there’s not enough time to pray anymore. Life on this planet gets wild and wooly and telling my Father about it is the only way the boogers are gonna go lay down awhile.

Devotional time every morning made me want to do other stuff, though. I started watching some of the TV evangelists and saw their mission outreach to children and whole villages in other parts of the world. And my heart just went out to those folks. I wanted to be a missionary when I was a little girl. Then the never again land of high school came and the salute to liberalism of college and the exciting but confusing first marriage, and then the teaching job I became so enamored with and the addiction to work at work, and family, and work on work at home, and trying to make my family and home the best, and you know the drill. Then before I knew it, my darling son left for the university, and I wanted to leave too. I said, Lord I work hard, but it seems so trivial now. I want to help but where are these people? And He started showing me homeless people, and refugees who didn’t have furniture or know what a stove was; and my students told me about incest in their friends’ families, and child abuse, and drug abuse, and gang trains, and some told me how they got out. I'm not sure I was ready for this, but there it all was in the raw, and I could no longer deny the existence of evil in the world. My world.

I said Lord, there's so much work to do - outside my career job - which one of these things do You want me to help with? And He said, Pick one. I’ll bless whatever you pick. Let them know I’m here and just put your arms around them so they’ll know in the way that humans know. Speak kind words to them so they’ll know My voice. Well, with my job and family, I didn’t have a lot of extra time, and sometimes these people I loved most in the world didn't even get the kind words. I had already practically cut out all the TV time and I cut back on some of the gardening and decorating frenzy I used to do to “relax.” 

There were these homeless people I would see ducking behind dumpsters and into the woods close to the fast food places when I drove home from work around sundown. These were the real homeless, not just panhandling entrepreneurs, so I started chasing them down. If my husband knew this back then he would, well I’m not sure. I made gallon bags filled with things like toothpaste, deodorant, band aids, a stamped envelope or post card with a pen so they could write home, telephone numbers for services, soap and shampoo samples collected from hotel stays, a little phone money, peanut butter crackers, maybe a can of tuna with a pop top, and a bottle of water. And I would say, Can you use these? And they would say, Bless you mam – yes! Then one lady asked if I had a sleeping bag, and another said You got any socks, Mam? Another said, You got any more - I got some people camped out over yonder I could share with. It was more fun than gardening and decorating and getting my nails done and giving advice to my sisters. I started shopping sock sales (homeless don’t know where the sales are). I started going to church again. A whole ‘nother story for another time. All this went on for several years.

I went to Africa. When I returned, things just weren’t the same for me. That’s when I went to my boss and said, I’ve loved this job, but it just doesn’t leave me enough time for the things I need to do now while I’m young and healthy. Things I must do. She asked me to wait awhile, frankly for months longer than I planned. So I did. But I knew I needed a whole organization, a team, and lots of funds to help those cute little kids and their hard working parents in Africa to fight the stuff that was attacking their blessing. I went ahead and did all the legal work to found a nonprofit. I had to let it lay fallow awhile, but I felt compelled to be in the field of that work God described like this and was repeated by Jesus,

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in ___, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

Beauty for their ashes. Joy instead of mourning over their little children dying of things we hardly ever hear of. If even just one of our kids died of malaria from a mosquito bite it would be on KENS 5 Nightly News. Anyway, every time after that, when someone at the school came to my office and complained about whatever they complained about, it just started to feel like I was living in an alternate universe where trivial things were mammoth, and mammoth things were ... not mammoth.

So I gave notice to my boss and my boss’s boss that I would leave at the end of the next month. We got everything in order, and I left about 2 months later. And hey – I actually got paid for all the sick days I hadn’t used, which was a lot because I was a workaholic up until the last couple of years. Seed money for the nonprofit. Turned out, I had actually been there long enough to get a decent monthly annuity for the rest of my life, so that helps.

So today my husband tells me I shouldn’t try to go back to Africa. He said, You’ve already been to Africa twice. And now you want to go to China and Tibet. We don’t have enough money for all the traveling you want to do. You need to get a job if you want to travel and do all that stuff for other people. Wha…?! How will I see the school and orphanage and clinic go up. This is not tourist travel I'm doing. God planted the seed for service to the international community in my heart at age 9. I'm finally gonna do it and now I'm never gonna do it? Why do I feel held captive? I have a comfy life in a comfy home and drive a nice car and eat wonderful food. Why do I want to opt for cool showers, squatty potties, and riding in a car filled with folks who also had a cold bath, shoulder to shoulder over dirt roads with potholes bigger than jeeps, and sleep without a/c or heat and eat mashed maize. And why the heck do I feel so much joy there? 

Stay tuned. I’m not sure how all this is going to play out. But the fight is on. The spiritual warfare in my head, in my home, in my world will be won one battle at a time. God is in the Renew business.  I didn’t quit a paying job that I was good at to leave this new phase of my life defeated before my restart launches. I'm remembering the magnet I kept beside my laptop at the office the last several years, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."  Yeah, because “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” 

Whatever gives Him joy, that’s what I’m trying to focus on.  A mockingbird prattle-singing, little African kids playing and doing homework under a mosquito net, and a homeless person with new socks. Joy gives strength - better than a protein Boost! This redo, reboot, this reDaisy, will bear fruit. Fruit for the Kingdom.

Blessings,

Daisy Rebooted

Dr. Mimi Yu and Tomoe Visit 9-14-2013

Spring Storms

Spring storms can be the scariest.

They come suddenly when you least expect it. Everything is sunny and bright and then you see it. A cold dark cloud that stretches endlessly across the horizon. You know it's cold because a frigid mist cuts through the air and sends chills across sun-warmed shoulders.

A breeze, then dark gigantic cumulus clouds. The wind picks up and lends a chill that has you hugging yourself to keep warm. Drops of rain plop down, and before you know it, you're in a deluge. It's cold, wet, and dark right in the midst of what began as a sunny day.

The teasing morphs into threats.

And you prepare. As quickly as you know how.

You run for shelter as fast as the hard wind that now is picking up your hair and lifting your clothes.

Night sky in midday is lit up by electric currents in their best jagged bolts. Winds come from all directions, rush off, circle back again with suomo raindrops, just before the hail starts pounding, beating down tender sprouts and cutting ball moss off tree branches. Ice rocks pelt the earth, a rain of marbles that rickoshay off the hard ground in a war dance. Things that don't normally fly are fluttering and flapping in the strong wind.
Please God. No tornado.

It stops almost as suddenly as it arose. The sun separates the clouds with long and lighted fingers, arranging them into forms and colors that distract momentarily from the task at hand, that of surveying the damage. The sky is blue again and the horizon reflects the sheen of the sun, golden. Gray limbs spread over chartreuse and emerald.

Pruning makes way for new growth.

Springs bubble up, cutting pathways that carry away debris. The sun's rays are fingers that lift drooping flower heads, standing them upright.

Peace. A smile. A fresh start.

Out of the storm now, everything is clear.

Chickens at ASL School

Nepal Ladies in TX Bluebonnets

Non Profit Helps Re-build San Antonio Neighborhoods

Non Profit Helps Re-build San Antonio Neighborhoods: Local group fights city's housing problems.

Travelers, Foreigners, Immigrants, and Aliens

One of my greatest pleasures is visiting with people from other cultures and other countries. People everywhere are so kind and friendly. I love swapping stories and learning about traditions, beliefs, art, architecture, clothing, foods, and ways to earn a living. The diversity on this Earth is fascinating. I want to travel more, but I also enjoy traveling vicariously, through others. Seeing the emotions in their eyes and body language says volumes that reading or videos can't provide. Short visits as tourists just don't allow for enough of an exchange of ideas and wonderful, colorful stories with people of other cultures.


With the exception of the Garden of Eden itself, I'm guessing every country was originally settled by travelers and aliens. How exciting! Indeed, my beloved country, the USA, was settled by people of many diverse countries and cultures, foreigners and aliens. Discussion about the plight of aliens is in the news alot these days. When I'm not sure what is right, I try to remember to go to God's Holy Word, the Bible, to see how He stands on any given subject. Amazingly, I found more verses than I would have expected on the subject of foreigners and aliens. I'm posting the ones I read and recorded in my Bible Quotes Journal, for us to read and pray for Godly discernment.

God Loves Aliens, Foreigners, Immigrants

Abraham was an alien in the land of Abimelech.  Read Genesis, chapters 20-21.

It was here that Abraham and Sarah had a son, miraculously, in their old age, that Abraham could become “the father of many nations,” as God had promised.

Leviticus 19:33 “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native born.  Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt.  I am the Lord your God.”

Acts 10:33 “… God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.”

Numbers 15:15 “[The Lord said to Moses] You and the alien shall be the same before the Lord; the same laws and regulations will apply to you and the alien living among you.”

Moses left his native Egypt and led a huge throng of people to a land God promised them. His story and remarkable journey, which God directed him through, spans the Bible books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; and he is spoken of in a number of other books, including Psalms, Mark, Luke, and even Revelations.

Aliens are included in the 10 Commandments.

Exodus 20:10 “…but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your man servant or maidservant, nor animals, nor the alien within your gates.”

In fact, the Bible holds many accounts of people moving about from place to place and inhabiting lands new to them.

Isaiah 56:3 “Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, The Lord will surely exclude me from His people.”

Isaiah 56:6-7 is very powerful for aliens.

“And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship Him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my Covenant, these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Exodus 22:21 “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him…”

Deuteronomy 10:18 “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.”

Isaiah 51:5-6 “Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards; and you will be called priests of the Lord…you will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.”

Isaiah 58:7 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loosen the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”

And then, of course, in the New Testament is The Great Commission that Jesus called us to:

Mark 16:15 “…Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

Matthew 28:18-20 "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. and surely I am with you always..." ~ Jesus

Some people are very fearful of recession or a depression in today’s economic situation. We must share. Do not fear. There is plenty for everyone in God's economy:

Deuteronomy 29:9-15 “Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God – your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, together with your children and your wives, and the aliens who live in your camps and chop your wood and carry your water.  You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, to confirm you this day as His people, that he may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (14-15) I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.”

That’s us. The ones who were not there that day, but are included. Later, Jesus brought us all into a new covenant when he died on the cross as the ultimate, pure sacrifice for our sins.

Aliens are included in the Covenant, right along with the leaders, elders, chief officials, and wives. We were not standing there that day, but we are included in the covenant, even as the alien was covered on that day. 

 We need not fear if we live as God's people. People make a lot of mistakes out of fear. A favorite quip I hear lately is that FEAR can be an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. Only God's kind of love can overcome that kind of fear. Fear of God is a reverencial fear, admiration, and obedience that only He deserves.

Abraham checked in with the ruler and authorities of the land of Abimelech soon after he arrived, but he had an incredible fear that overcame his godly wisdom when he first arrived.  There's a radical story that goes along with the beginning of that relationship. Abraham's humanness really showed up about this time, as he was a bit fearful for his life in the foreign land he came to inhabit. God lovingly made sure he got it all straightened out with King Abimelech, who was exceedingly more fair than Abraham had perceived. It was in this land that Abraham and Sarah had their son Isaac in their old age, in the fulfillment of God's promise that He would make Abraham the father of many nations. But for the "alien reveal," I am including only a few of the verses that show Abraham was for certain an alien there:

Genesis 20:1 "Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,..."

Genesis 21:22-23 "At that time Abimelech [king of Gerar] and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, 'God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you.'  Abraham said, 'I swear it.'"

While we may not know or agree as to the "check-in procedures" in the lands where we travel or want to live, it is clear that God loves the alien and the foreigner as much as the born resident of a land and provides direction for us all to live peacefully and joyfully together. Praise God our Father, who is merciful, wise, slow to anger, and abounding in love. May we remember Him and serve Him wherever we are.