Flowers from the Kitchen

My husband and I went out to dinner the other night.  During the lovely uninterrupted adult conversation (can you tell we went without the kids?) I mentioned that in Italy men are typically very brazen in their admiration of a female who catches their eye.  Not like in the United States, or should I narrow that down and say, not like my husband whom I had to call to invite on our first date.  (How very brazen of me.)  I had read that it is not uncommon to receive a heart shaped pizza if you've caught the eye of the server in a ristorante.

Fast forward to the end of our delicious and large meal.  I asked our server for a box for the leftovers and this is what I got:

Two roses complete with leaves!

Now, I'm not saying he had eyes for me but I thought it was a wonderful coincidence that my husband and I had to chuckle over.  And really, isn't it a lovely piece of art.

simple woman's daybook

FOR TODAY March 5, 2012

Outside my window... the sun is awake and shining brightly making the frost on the trees sparkle.  It's beautiful.

I am thinking... that I am fearfully and wonderfully made to handle a lot of stress.

I am thankful... for the beauty of nature.

In the kitchen... a weekend of rest and relaxation is rearing it's ugly head today with life's clutter on the counter.  I see a screwdriver, daily planner, crayons, cd's, paintbrushes, an ipod, math book, story books and legos.

I am wearing... a very colorful ensemble.  Candy striped pajama pants with a red fleece pullover on top of a pink t-shirt.  I match, but in a clown sort of way.

I am creating... a space for books in my bedroom.  My husband and I repainted an old bookcase this weekend that will be a nice addition to our bedroom. 

I am going... to smile at a stranger today and have many tradesmen treking through the house.

I am wondering... how to eat organic without increasing the amount of money I spend on food.

I finished reading... A Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers.  It is a lovely fiction book and just what I needed to read after the collection of non-fiction that I've been reading.

I am hoping... to be able to solve some scheduling conflicts we have this week.

I am looking forward to... tomorrow's weather.  It's supposed to be 30 degrees warmer than today's high.

I am s-l-o-w-l-y learning... how to be self-less.  This is very challenging for me in many areas.

Around the house... pillows and blankets that are remnants of the fort the kids made yesterday.

I am pondering... giving up a few dreams.

A favorite quote for today... "I just love you".  ~Megan

One of my favorite things... letterboxing.

A few plans for the rest of the week: doctor appointment, bowling, Awana, meeting with our city's common council, training class for Milo and co-op.

A peek through the lens...

If you would like to read other daybook entries or join in with one of your own, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's daybook.  Thanks for visiting today. ~Kim

schooling at home

Logan's Civil Rights Movement timeline and Ethan's 1950's salt dough bomb shelter (left is an above ground view of shelter and right is what it might look like inside).

Our study of 1950's Abstract Expressionism top two pictures by Logan and then Ethan and Megan's study of China includes a painted cherry blossom tree and a dragon.  (E on the left and M on the right.)

Ethan and Megan's titanic diorama's from the beginning of the school year.

Ethan's titanic complete with icebergs.

Megan's titanic with iceberg.

You've Got Mail!

Isn't that so true.  I know I enjoy getting letters in the mail.  I'm going to sit down and write a note to someone and let them know I'm thinking of them.  I'm going to place that note in an envelope with postage and mail it snail mail.  Will you join me in putting a smile on someone's face?

what difference do it make?

This post has taken over two years to hit the printable page.  It is one that is near and dear to my heart and I could never find the right words, introduction or passion to convey my zeal for this subject.  Until today.

What happened?  Well, this question came up for discussion in our small group.  'What is your concern for the poor and those who are treated unjustly?'  We discussed who we thought the poor were.  We discussed our attitudes, our actions and our inaction.  As the discussion was going on around me I was surprised at the rate my heart was pumping and by the emotion that overcame me.  I couldn't speak for a time and felt nervous to say anything in case I couldn't articulate my thoughts.  You see, I have been poor.  Not homeless poor, but very close.

My husband lost his job and was unemployed for almost a year and that year was a bad year.  During that year we used up all our savings and retirement funds, we almost lost our house, we had medical bills with no money to pay them.  We couldn't buy clothes for our family and barely had enough money for food.  That year changed me.

It changed me for the good.  It showed me that those who are moved to action make a difference.  For example, we received a gift certificate for groceries from an anonymous friend.  That one kind and simple act not only allowed us to put food on the table but it has influenced my actions to this very day.  It opened my eyes to see the need around me and to act on it.  Our need was mild compared to others, but it was a need nonetheless.  And this kind soul made a difference in our lives forever.

It was around this time that I read What difference do it make? Stories of Hope and Healing by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent.  This book is their second book together. You can read the introduction below.  It's about true tales of how people's lives have been changed because of Ron and Denver's story and how they were inspired to make a difference in their own worlds.  These stories are lovely and truly inspiring.  They made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes.  To see God's love through every one of these people gives me goosebumps.  I enjoyed seeing the different ways people acted and were changed.  From young children being inspired to raise money and a family's story of  adoption to change through illness and the development of a community garden.

I didn't say as much as I wanted during our small group discussion.  Hindsight is always 20/20.  If I could revisit that day I would encourage everyone in that room to read What difference do it make? so we could all be inspired to grab the world by the tail and spin it until we're all dizzy with the excitement and anticipation of making a difference.  If you've felt the tug to do more, read this book and be inspired.  What difference can you make?  A lot!

Introduction 

Hello again. 

If you’re reading this book, it might be because you already have read Same Kind of Different as Me, a true story about my wife, Deborah, and the man who changed our lives, Denver Moore. If you haven’t, don’t worry—we’ve included enough of the story to catch you up. (The “catch up” sections from Same Kind of Different as Me are in italics.) 

Since June 2006, when Same Kind of Different as Me snuck first onto bookstore shelves, then onto the New York Times bestsellers list, Denver and I have traveled thousands of miles back and forth across America. We’ve spoken at hundreds of venues, from local book clubs filled with sweet little old ladies to the Bethesda, Maryland, symphony hall. (We were in Bethesda as guests of Doro Bush Kock and her mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, who quite possibly is Denver’s biggest fan.) Throughout that time, we have seen thousands of lives changed—homeless shelters started and millions of dollars raised for the homeless, yes, but also astonishing changes in the lives of everyday Americans that we never could’ve imagined or predicted. 

That’s why we wrote this book, to tell you just a few of the stories of hope and redemption that God continues to write in the lives of so many—and in our own. 

One day in the spring of 2009, as we were writing, I was in the kitchen at the Murchison estate, where Denver and I live, on a conference call with executives at Thomas Nelson, our publisher. During the call, Denver walked in.

“Hey, Denver,” I said, putting the call on speaker. “We’re talking about titles for the new book. Got any ideas?” 

“Title for the new book?” he said, screwing his eyelids down into his famous hard squint. “What difference do it make?” 

“What Difference Do It Make?” I said. “That’s it!”

Denver shrugged and walked off, shaking his head. 

It was the perfect title. Since Same Kind came out, over and over, like the needle stuck in the groove of an old vinyl record, we’ve repeated a single message: one person can make a difference. My wife, Deborah Hall, is proof of that. 

As many of you know, God took Deborah in 2001. Cancer. But if she were here today, she would tell you she was nobody special. If you had come to our house, she would have made you fresh coffee or tea and invited you to sit down at the kitchen table and tell her about yourself. And you would have felt loved. Because that was Deborah’s gift. She loved God and, because of her intimate walk with Him, loved people. Her whole life was about forgiveness and unconditional love, two qualities that most of us find difficult to master on a regular basis. 

It really was that simple. Deborah’s life showed that kind of love is attainable for anyone willing to put in the time on their knees, then overcome their fear and go out and get their hands a little dirty. And I have talked to literally hundreds of people who told me that Deborah’s story inspired them to do just that. Through the difference her life made, others are now making a difference, and that’s in part what this book is about. It’s packed full with stories folks have shared with us about how Deborah’s example inspired them to do more, both in their own homes and in their communities.

A lady named Ann, for example, wrote to us from Vivian, a small Louisiana town just north of Shreveport—not too far from Red River Parish, where Denver worked the plantations. Ann wrote of how she loaned Same Kind of Different as Me to about twenty different friends. Every friend who brings it back has a very different story about how the story affected him or her. 

“One person notices the friendship Denver and Ron share,” Ann wrote. “Another feels shame over the way her grandparents treated the ‘Denvers’ in their lives.”

One woman surprised Ann by telling her that the portion of the book that dealt with Deborah’s cancer battle stirred her to go and have a colonoscopy she’d been putting off! 

Like Ann, we’ve been struck by the amazing variety of stories people tell us about how Debbie’s story affected them. Here we thought we were writing a book about one woman’s determination to make a difference for the homeless, and we started getting letters about marriages restored, friendships renewed, ministries begun, even babies adopted!

In Fort Worth, a high school teacher named Carin told us that, “unbelievably,” she’d been able to get the school administration to approve our book to be read by her entire mental-health class. “The students have learned how so many issues affect our mental health,” Carin wrote. “I have also used the book to help relay to them the importance of community involvement, passion, and what it means to be a servant to others.” 

Shortly after Deborah died, her best friend, Mary Ellen, told me that God had whispered to her during prayer that Deborah was like the kernel of wheat Jesus refers to in the gospel of John: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” 

Mary Ellen told me she thought that maybe Deborah’s death would be like that—fruitful. I cannot even express how much I absolutely did not want to hear that at the time. But it appears that Mary Ellen was right, more right than even she knew. 

She told me about the wheat kernel just a couple of days before the dedication of the Deborah L. Hall Memorial Chapel, the new worship facility built at the Union Gospel Mission in my wife’s honor and funded by donations that poured in after local folks heard Denver’s story at her memorial service. At the time, we thought the chapel, along with the new care facilities for the homeless, were the fruit God would bring from my wife’s death. I had no idea that the Union Gospel Mission was just the first fruit in what would become a cornucopia of blessing. 

Take Detra, for example. Detra, who lives in Austin, Texas, wrote to tell us that after reading Deborah’s story, she decided to start carrying food and socks and blankets in her car so that she can bless the homeless. Also, her church had a picnic in an Austin park and had so much food that they began feeding hungry people who were in the park that day.

One little girl asked Detra, “When are you coming back?” 

After that, the church made the picnic a monthly event where church members sit down and break bread with the homeless. 

Would I take back blessings like that one and those you are about to read about in this book? If I could rewind time like a video and create a cancer story with a happy ending, would I? 

I’m sorry to say there’s a big part of me that says, “Yes! I want my wife back!”

But I can tell you without reservation that Deborah would say, “No, Ron. I’ll see you soon.” 

And so the story goes on—men and women all over the country inspired by the story of Denver and Deborah to make a difference in other people’s lives. Over the past three years, I thought I was making a difference too—traveling and speaking all over the country, “carrying Miss Debbie’s torch,” as Denver calls it. And I suppose I was.

But in 2009, I learned that sometimes the most difficult difference to make is the one that’s closest to home. 

– Ron Hall

Dallas, Texas

July 2009

Overheard

As dad was looking back while reversing out of a parking spot with his sunglasses on, from the backseat Megan said, "Dad, you look cool!"

simple woman's daybook

FOR TODAY February 27, 2012

Outside my window... shades of brown and gray.  The grass is brown, the sky is gray, the wind is blowing and there is not one bird in sight on this cold 28 degree morning.

I am thinking... about my dad. 

I am thankful... for documentary films that provoke me to action.

In the kitchen... mini masterpieces drying on the countertops.  The kids painted yesterday.

I am wearing... shades of purple.  Purple tank top, purple fleece pullover and purple plaid pajama pants. 

I am creating... lesson plans for the next few weeks.

I am going... over the pros and cons of a big decision I must make.

I am wondering... if my husband was chilly playing basketball this morning.  I see his warm-up pants were left on the kitchen table.

I am reading... Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas.  It is very interesting and I'm hoping I can make time to finish reading it before I have to return it to the library.

I am hoping... to find a way to increase my food budget to include more organic and grassfed food items.  Wishing it were summer so I could harvest money from the money tree I planted.

I am looking forward to...my shower today.  So thankful for hot water that comes right to my house and out of a faucet.

I am learning... that just when I think I've got my children figured out, they throw me another curveball.  Good thing I didn't put away my catcher's mitt.

Around the house... many art projects, clean and folded laundry waiting to be put away and a quiet puppy.  I better go check on the quiet puppy!

I am pondering... life's greatest mystery.  When two socks go into the washer/dryer and only one comes out, where does the other one go?

A favorite quote for today..."God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises...leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

One of my favorite things... when the kids sleep in.

A few plans for the rest of the week: bowling, a meeting with a contractor, Awana, appointments with the eye doctor, work meeting and small group gathering.

A peek through the lens...

If you would like to read other daybook entries or join in with one of your own, please visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook.  Thanks for visiting! ~Kim