by Sharon O | Feb 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
Plans are moving at a very rapid pace, changes are taking place and attachmenets of the heart are being challenged in every direction.
I do not do change well. When I put roots down I want them to be deep and strong.
Our house has sold and we had 14 days to find suitable housing for us.
We purchased a small two bedroom, two bathroom home that is quaint and cozy, with an over size single garage.
The more space you have the more you fill it; so this should be a great little simplified home.
It is in a different town than ours, maybe that is good. I am not sure yet.
This is a senior community but not the one we originally wanted.
We prayed, we searched, we talked, we waited, and we found one.
The first three homes we really liked we were not allowed to purchase for some reason or other.
Mostly we got bumped off with a cash buyer. The real estate market is a very tricky one these days.
This is not a fancy home, built in1973 they have remodeled it and it is a place that is comfortable.
The next ten weeks will be busy, we will be packing and packing and packing.
We have a double size garage that has to be cleaned out enough to fit into a single size.
There will be many changes but we are not leaving our church. We have friends we are not leaving.
Our grandchildren will get used to it, once they know it’s our home.
The couple who bought ours are young, first time buyers.
That is exciting for them. I think it will be a great house for a young potential family.
I don’t know if they have children or not but the yard is perfect for them, fully fenced.
I am not yet ready for my heart to catch up with the news.
When we first moved into this home I didn’t really like it.
As the years have come and gone it holds many memories both good and bad.
All of our grandchildren know this as ‘our home’…grandma and grandpa’s.
I guess we will all adjust.
Even my kitties are pretty disturbed with all the new behavior we are showing as we are coming and going a lot more.
It will settle in time. It will feel like home eventually, I will be ok in time.
For now there are many changes for our lives as we move through this process.
If you pray send one up for us, we need all the help we can get.
During the final move we are hiring a moving company, they are efficient and fast since they are most likely young and able to do the work.
Keep us in your prayers we need it.
by Sharon O | Feb 7, 2019 | Uncategorized
The decision to put our house up for sale was not an easy one for us.
In our hearts we know it’s the right thing to do, but emotionally it is hard.
We have lived here over 23 years and I have roots here, in this house and in this town.
Our grand children have known this home as ours. The place where they come and hang out.
Grandma and grandpa’s place. The yard with the tree one can climb or the landing at the top of the stairs where they sit and share stories.
The stairs are the main reason we need to leave, they are steep and they are a hazard as we grow older, no one needs a broken hip or leg. Falling is not a choice.
The new place wherever it may be; will have a single story layout.
I am looking forward to something new and fresh and yet at the same time I am sentimental and don’t want to leave this home.
We know our neighbors and told them about our plans; of course they don’t want us to leave.
Life is often a series of choices. As we get older it becomes more difficult as we settle into our comfort zones. Our places of peace.
We have looked at other houses and neighborhoods and none have felt ‘like home to us.’
There is one little community we had an offer on a condo and it was denied because our house was not sold yet. We like that 55+ community and the builder; and it is becoming our first choice.
So the decision would have to be prayed over, talked through and decided as a firm plan.
I love our home and I also trust in this process. We cannot be overwhelmed or exhausted.
The journey is one we are not taking lightly nor are we rushing out to purchase something just because we think we need to.
In the right time it will happen we just have to keep trusting, praying and waiting.
by Sharon O | Jan 30, 2019 | Uncategorized
Finding things as I pack and unpack is exciting for I am often amazed at things I have stored and missed.
Years ago in the year 1995 my husband and a team of ‘workers’ went to Mexico with young teenagers.
They went to build a house for a family, which actually was the size of a small storage shed in our way of living.
They drove and it was a much planned trip so there was little free time.
After many months I presented the team with a prayer.
This was actually the beginning of my many writings and the beginning of my ‘finding my gift’.
David the leader of the group who was going with my husband said, “you have a gift and YOU do need to use it.”
I miss him. He was killed a few years ago with his wife in a tragic car/bike accident. I would love to talk to him again.
The prayer: David read to the Mexico team
Day 6 March 23, 1995
Lord, our hearts are heavy today.
Just a short time ago we had this trip as a vision
A dream
An idea
And now we pack to leave we must say good bye – to go home.
You have brought us to this place for a reason – maybe many.
We have grown –
We have learned about the people around us – about each other and even about ourselves.
We have been challenged
Physically at times, spiritually – YES!!
And even emotionally.
Help us, Lord
To not forget the lessons we have learned.
The memory of this place.
Impress it upon our hearts
Help us to go home and let this not become just a story to share –
But let it be a story from our heart
It was from You –
Through You –
By You –
The reason we are here.
Yes, we worked hard.
We dreamed, we prayed – we sought out the resources, but it is only because You blessed it
That we are here.
We are torn, Lord –
We want to stay, to minister, to play, to reach out to those around us.
And we want to return – to families, showers and our own beds.
Lord, impress upon us as we leave that we have done all this, not through ourselves, but through you.
You have been here.
You have struggled with us.
We have learned so much.
Give us the desire now to leave with gladness of heart – knowing that someone’s life has been changed because we were here.
That is did matter – to one –
Guide us safely home.
May we find rest and peace.
Thank you Lord, for all that you have done this week – this trip – this moment.
In the blessed, Protective, Name of Jesus.
Amen
[It was the beginning of my writing.
Raw and received well.]
by Sharon O | Jan 28, 2019 | Uncategorized
In the middle of a potential move; I am both challenged and excited.
When you are packing and organizing and getting things cleaned out, you find out how messy you really are.
For example, dusting is not high on my list. I will vacuum and dust around things but to actually remove things and really dust, it doesn’t happen often.
So as we stir the dust around while moving things I see how very much I need a house keeper or in the very least a good schedule for cleaning.
We have our hearts set on one home but it is an estate and if our house does not sell, we will miss the opportunity to get it.
That will be so disappointing, so we are feeling hopeful and trusting in this process as much as possible.
Boxes are arranged to look good even in the middle of ‘storage’ and containment setting.
I have rearranged bits of each room to look better than it did.
We get used to the ‘casual lived in look’ and only until something like this takes place, where we really clean then we realize how little effort we make to keep it nice.
Our home is not dirty. It is not overly cluttered. I have collections and items that need to be maybe moved out.
We try to do the ‘like it or love it’ decision or is it sentimental and we must keep it.
After 45 years of marriage we have stored and carried many things.
Each move was one of ‘let’s take it and store it till that someday’ when we will finally go through it.
For example my grandparents gave me a hope chest for my high school graduation.
It is pretty and I like it, but I have not opened it for probably 30 years. I have no idea what is in it.
I have a roll top desk that is the same way, it gets cleaned out about every 4 or 5 years. I can’t tell you what is in it.
Moving is a way to start over, start new and fresh and if we get the home we like it is going to be very nice and needing nothing.
I am trusting in this process and change, pray with us for this to happen.
by Sharon O | Jan 24, 2019 | Uncategorized
Sorry for the long delay, we have been busy.
Our house is on the market and we have been scrambling to get the rooms ready for showing.
I packed almost 30 boxes over the weekend of various assorted office things and miscellaneous clothes.
It is exhausting. We have not moved for 23 years and wow… it’s been a journey.
We had the house officially go online yesterday and by afternoon had two showings.
That means we put the cats in the little bathroom and then we leave for a while.
It was easy since it was my husbands 65th birthday. We had dinner at Spaghetti factory and then came home.
I have more packing to do, we do have a home we are hoping to get into but it’s an estate and well… we have to wait for the family to open it.
Our house doesn’t have an offer yet so it is a wait and see, pray and wait kind of thing.
I am trusting in this process. Our house is a two story and we really need to get a single level.
It will be good to have a new place with no stairs.
I have a few ideas for new writing coming soon, just need to make the time to do it.
In the middle of all this packing.
Tonight I am looking out my office window and I can see the coast range and a deep orange red sunset.
I will miss this view but I can also get used to a new ‘view’ and setting.
Life is full of changes and a move can be really hard on emotions and on patience.
I am trying desperately hard to stay calm and trust…the process.
I am also recovering from a dental surgery that has been two weeks of recovery with four more to go.
Many stressors, and life changes. I will need to go back to the oral surgeon and have a back molar removed.
Yeah that doesn’t sound like fun, but I know it will just be a nap and then I will be going home.
So that is what has been going on. Hope your life is going well, and no big issues going on.
Take care and I will write soon. (our second home we lived in, the first was an apartment in a daylight basement.
Both of our babies were born here, it was a sweet ‘tiny home’ with a wonderful porcelain claw foot tub.
by Sharon O | Jan 6, 2019 | Uncategorized
A new year and a new challenge for ourselves is here; as we begin a new season of life for us.
This is a month of change for us, my husband will turn sixty five and begin his journey into Medicare.
It is a great savings for us from paying out of pocket premiums and now it is 80% reduced for him.
I am not there yet so I still have to pay a premium out of pocket but it is still less than last year.
It is a year of perhaps new changes as we consider a move from our current home.
We moved into this one in 1986 I think and it was fun while it was a bigger home and something different.
The years have pursued us and we don’t want stairs anymore. It is time for us to find a single level easy living situation for seniors with easy access and nice rooms.
I cannot even imagine the amount of work it will take to get packed and ready to move but, I think it can be done and in the end will be very good.
I am looking forward to something fresh and new, although I do not want our neighbors to find out we are thinking about it. They have stated over and over we are good neighbors and they enjoy our friendship.
Reality is, we need a flat space and a single level and something we can live in for the rest of our ‘life’ together. I am going to be very picky about where, and what kind of place.
I have my criteria for choosing something else, it must have no stairs, a fresh clean look, privacy and good neighbors.
We have found that already. So now the decision will be when to move and how to move.
It is a challenge and a hope. It will be emotionally hard, yet freeing. It will be good, no matter where we go and when we go it will be the right decision and we will have peace in the choice made.
A new year is beginning and we have many things to look forward to and many things will take place.
Let’s make it a good one. 
by Sharon O | Jan 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
It is a new year for us and a time of new beginning. We have moved from 2018 to now 2019.
Time has flown by for us, I guess that is what happens when you grow older and age each month.
The grand children are growing like little flowers who have been given the rain water.
They are taller and just so grown up. Of course this grandma would say that.
It is really true. Time is moving quickly and right before us we see needs met.
My husband turns 65 in a few weeks, official Medi-care age. Never have we wanted to see that red, white and blue card, than now. It will save dollars on insurance premium and we also save on other things.
He gets a pool pass because he is now an official senior. I will be there the end of this year.
There is an advantage of being older but I also see us age and I think NO we are not going to waste these years or experiences together. Life is short.
Too short to live with regrets or sorrow. Each day is a new one, brush off your mistakes from yesterday and start again. New and refreshed.
Trust in the process. Trust in the system even though it has failed many it is all we have to work with.
I want to write more and on a deeper level. Once again sharing my heart and my thoughts and my ‘journey.’
This is a going to be a new good year. I am thankful and full of praise for what God has done for us and what He continues to do. We are considering a move from this home of 25 years.
It will be hard, and maybe emotional but we are ready for something new.
Pray with us for an answer and may we find contentment in our decisions and peace in the final choice.
It is a new year, a time of new beginnings and choices.
It is a good thing.
by Sharon O | Dec 20, 2018 | Uncategorized
What we have remembered in the last few weeks; it took great amount of planning and orchestration to complete the Christmas story.
Like the many characters making up a play, each had a specific role and circumstance that brought them in at their appointed time.
God directed and placed each and every one of them so that the story could be fulfilled.
John 3:16
[16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.]
God sent a Savior. HE sent Hope into a dark world.
He sent life giving hope to a world seeking something that could save them.
I believe nothing was by accident.
God knew Mary would need Joseph. He also knew Joseph would need Mary.
He also knew Mary would need the encouragement from Elizabeth.
He knew Jesus would need John to pave the way for him.
He knew the Shepherds would not be believed as credible witnesses, unless they SAW with their eyes and shared what they seen with great conviction and truth.
He knew the wise men had to bring specific gifts so scripture could be fulfilled.
He knew Simeon would need a sign that the one he had been waiting for was born.
He knew Anna would need Simeon to agree that this child was the one.
God knew a Savior was the only way.
He had Gabriel show up and make a ‘point’ through the words, “Do not be afraid, I am here to say something to you.” Even Gabriel was a carefully planned out character.
Isn’t it like a God who cares, to create the need for relationship?
Without relationship we cannot know God’s love for us.
We cannot know love for others either.
He used relationship as an example for us to live more fully and He gave His Son so we could SEE Him.
Isn’t it so simple and so lovely?
The brutality of birth and later the brutality of death was all a part of the Christmas story.
Isn’t it like God to use life and death as an example of love and hope?
And I often even wonder about the donkey Mary rode on; while going to the stable.
Jesus also had a donkey later on as he entered the road towards his death.
There are years between the birth of a baby and the death of a man.
We are not told about what he did, or what Joseph did.
We do know there was relationship.
There is so much to think about in this ‘whole’ Christmas story.
I pray I have challenged you to do your own searching and study.
It is the greatest story ever told. The story of love.
by Sharon O | Dec 18, 2018 | Uncategorized
The wise men’s story continues in Matthew 2 the first book of the New Testament.
[Matthew 2 King James Version (KJV)
2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt]
So they eventually headed to Nazareth where they stayed for many years.
The birth of Jesus is full of intensity, miracles, and communication between angels and men.
It is a wonderful outpouring of God’s great love for us.
A baby was born so we could see; that God would go to great length’s for us to be saved and have salvation through a Savior.
As we read the Christmas story I pray we can see and feel; this wonderful orchestration of love through what God has done for us. I also pray we find hope and renewing of spirit and soul.
{Till he appeared and the soul found it’s worth}
by Sharon O | Dec 16, 2018 | Uncategorized
What we learn about the next ones we are introduced to within the story; the wise men.
In our modern day nativities we often have them standing next to Joseph and Mary and the Shepherd and angel; maybe a camel or two.
That is actually not very accurate to what really took place.
Modern scholars say it was almost a year before they showed up to see baby Jesus.
They had to travel far and follow the star, and although we were never told names modern theologians believe they were Gaspar, Melchor and Bathasar.
I am not sure how any one knew that, but some say these men were the magi or wise men.
They brought the baby Jesus special gifts that were not normally given to a new mom and child.
Gold was considered to be a symbol of divinity, frankincense was a symbol of righteousness, myrhh was a spice used for embalming; symbolizes bitterness, suffering an affliction.
Now if Mary or Joseph knew any of this information it would be quite unsettling for them; to receive these gifts for their baby.
As young parents you are not really expecting more visitors who traveled 800-900 miles by foot or by camel just to see you.
There were no Uber drivers or fast ways of travel back then; it was all by foot.
They were sent by Herod to check out this little baby born; and his motive was unknown to them as they traveled to see where he was located.
They were doing a duty for him and later on we will find out it back fired on Herod.
Some of the nativity story as we know it has been created to make a wonderful Christmas story.
The reality of long tiresome journeys were a part of it. The roads were not easy and the tremendous difficulty was real for everyone.
The next cast of characters were the wise men fulfilling the scriptures and playing a role that God had created for them.
They followed the star and trusted the process.
They teach us to listen to the stillness of God; as they followed what they knew to be true.
They humbled themselves and they recognized the worth of their gifts, for they knew it was a special appointment for them.
The story continues as we learn and read more. The story of Christmas was all orchestrated by God.
It also was about obedience, and trust and the power of love within the story.
