"I Once Was Lost..." A Christmas Miracle

   “’Do you believe in miracles?’ How many of you remember Al Michaels’ statement in 1980, when Team USA defeated Team Russia? I am a huge hockey fan now, but I was only a year and a half when this happened. So, I don’t remember it, but I have seen the replays and heard the stories. My one misconception is that the win was for the gold medal, but that was actually the game that qualified them to play in the gold medal game. So much attention surrounded it. It was so miraculous that it could’ve been for the gold medal.

   As we see in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, miracles certainly did exist in biblical times. But do miracles still exist today? Of course they do…Right now, in this time in human history, I think we need to be reminded that miracles do exist. God is constantly at work, behind the scenes. He is with us in the valleys, and He carries us to the mountain tops.”

   This is a snippet from the introduction to a sermon I did about a year and a half ago on miracles…Christmas is the season of miracles. The birth of our Lord and Savior is the main case in point. I love watching movies like “It’s A Wonderful Life” during this time of year, too…We see how one person’s life impacts so many other lives…Being able to live, this gift of life, is a miracle, too.

   Speaking of lives impacting other lives…I truly believe it is a small world, we are all connected…We are all God’s children. It’s always amazed me how God brings people into our lives. Take the following story…

   Friday, December 10^th…Tristan, a hard-working hair stylist (who does REALLY awesome work!) who opens her home to foster dogs, posts on Facebook that the new foster dog named Chubs, who just came to their home a couple of days sooner, had escaped! He just had surgery the day before…And the next day, the blizzard hit…

   How could a dog survive in weather like that? On Saturday, December 11^th, Tristan asked if I could post info about Chubs on my page, asking for prayers…A whole bunch of people were praying for the safe return of Chubs. The power of prayer is ever to be underestimated…

   On Sunday, December 12^th, Tristan said, “Please say a little prayer for Chubs, the lost foster dog, that he's somewhere warm and safe. It seems too much to hope that we ever see him again… & if we DO see him again, we'll be @ Caroline's church, WITH the dog, re-named ‘Lucky’, on Xmas eve.” My response? “I will continue to pray...And I will save a spot for you in church...I'll be at the 10:30pm service, reading the lessons...Hope to see you, Bill, and ‘Lucky’ (a.k.a. Chubs) there! :)” I kept telling Tristan I would be saving her a seat in church…

   I truly believed he would be found…”I once was lost, but now am found”…Those lyrics from “Amazing Grace” come to my mind. Was Chubs really lost? The thing that comes to my mind is that God knew the entire time where he was. WE just didn’t know where he was. No matter where we are in life, no matter what we have done, God is always with us. Are you feeling lost today? Hopeless? Lonely? Had a dream crushed? PLEASE remember that you are not alone in this world…God is with you every step of the way. And out there, there may be someone who has felt or is feeling the same way you do…

   On Monday, December 13^th, Tristan said, “I am not giving up yet. Kinda like an annoying little terrier. Wonder where that comes from?” One need not give up…Hope is what sustains us, gets us through…A couple of quotes on hope I would like to share: “Hope never abandons you; you abandon it,” George Weinberg, and “Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself, 'How did I get through all of that?'” ~ Unknown

   The following morning, Chubs was sighted in North Saint Paul, on McKnight by a Holiday gas station. Tristan’s husband, Bill, went searching for him…It turns out that a family has been feeding Chubs, but no one can catch him. So, even with the snow and 10-degree temperatures, Chubs was still alive, being fed by strangers…

   Tristan called me that night to tell me that the woman’s name who had been feeding Chubs was also Caroline. Was that a sign? ;)

   The next day, Tristan messaged me, telling me that Bill got the name wrong. Her name was actually Christina. That’s okay…Christina is a cool name, too. :) And, she is a wonderful, caring person…Tristan went on to tell me, “BUT, the good news is we are one step closer to having to inquire about your pet policies at church! Check my page for news... (and love and thanx and warm fuzzies to all!!!)” The spread of warm fuzzies will not be stopped…

   Wednesday, December 15^th…The plan of action was set to catch Chubs. A live trap…Would he be caught? People stopped putting out food, in an effort to lure Chubs to the bait…

   The next day, Thursday, December 16^th, while I was at work, Tristan set me a text message, but I didn’t get it until I was done with work after 5pm…Her status update at 3:01pm said it all: “WE GOT THE DOG!!!!!!” Bill was able to catch him with the help of a fishing net. He got bit twice, among other things…On my page, Tristan posted, “Bill caught the dog!!! Praise God! We'll be at church Christmas eve. And I love EVERYONE!” What a wonderful ending to this Christmas miracle! I told her, “And, we love you, Tristan! :) I am VERY happy to hear this news...Thanks be to God! :) And everyone who helped and their prayers...This is truly a Christmas miracle...We will need to think of a new name for Chubs...And I will see you Christmas Eve at the 10:30pm service! :)” I posted a word of thanks to my friends who kept Chubs and Tristan in their prayers: “Thank you, friends, for keeping my friend Tristan Beckman Arnold’s foster dog Chubs in your prayers...He was lost in the blizzard...Tonight, he is found, back with Tristan and her husband, safe and sound...Christmas truly is the season for miracles! :)” Tristan replied, “’Like’, heck! I LOVE this post! Thank you every one for your prayers, and thank God for getting this pup back to us… I am STILL amazed and so grateful we got that silly dog back. I've been all misty ever since. It's hard on the mascara.” I know all too well about that, Tristan…

   On Saturday, December 18^th, Tristan got to meet Christina and Bob…It is a great story of how everyone met…As Tristan said, “Best Christmas Ever!!”

   Chubs, a.k.a. Al Snow (for Alpha Male in the Snow, although he is tough like the WWE wrestler Al Snow), a.k.a. Alphonso, a.k.a. Alfredo, will be adopted by the people who helped find him: Christina and her husband, Bob. What wonderful people to help…The connectedess…It all works out somehow, doesn’t it? :) As Tristan said on Monday, December 20^th, “The Christmas miracle keeps snowballing.” Was the pun intended, Tristan? ;)

   On Wednesday, December 22nd, Tristan said, “No pressure... but Bob & Christina, the runaway dog savers, are gonna come with us to church on Christmas eve. Dazzle us, Caroline! Warm fuzzies!” Warm fuzzies are contagious…I believe it is part of my mission to spread them…When people use the phrase, it warms my heart. :)

   Is life always going to be warm fuzzy-ish? Of course not…We take the good and the bad…I also believe in hoping for the best, being positive, because life is gosh-too-darn short to be miserable. God has us all in the palm of His hand…I put my trust in Him…Everything is going to e a-ok, according to His plan, not necessarily my plan. :)

   I responded to Tristan, “That is wonderful! It will be great to meet them! :) Dazzle...Should I wear something that sparkles? ;) It will be a beautiful service...YAY for seeing you on Fri. night! WARM FUZZIES! :)”

   Everyone came to church on Christmas Eve, except for Chubs, or Alfredo, whom I half-expected to see…I never asked Pastor John what the policy was on allowing dogs into the church. ;) After all, they are God’s creatures, too…It was a beautiful night, beautiful service…It was great to meet Christina, whom I count as a new friend. :) And, if I understand this correctly, Tristan is going to help my pastor find a dog? Who would’ve thought…There’s that connectedess thing again…It’s a small, small world…

   I asked Tristan for permission to write a blog about this Christmas miracle, and she told me to “Blog away”…I told her, “It was great seeing you and meeting Christina and her family...I would love to write a blog about this Christmas miracle...It's amazing how God brings people into our lives...never ceases to amaze me. :) And, I'll have to post our pic from church, too...Hope you guys come back sometime! :) P.S. I have "You Light Up My Life" now stuck in my head...D'oh! :)” Tristan had told me as we held the candles at church that I was the light of her life…Awww…She responded, “Thank you, Caroline! Holy Cross Lutheran and its Pastor & flock could not have been more welcoming. Best Christmas Ever!”

   Best Christmas ever…My friend, you are truly a blessing, and I hope that you know that I am always here for you…A lot of people are here for you. Most importantly, God is always with you. Even amongst the bad in the world, it is good to know that there is still good, that the kindness of strangers is out there…In the battle of good versus evil, good wins the war. :)

   And, with that I say, WARM FUZZIES!!!!!!! :)

"It Won’t Be the Same This Year"

Snow…You have forced me to change my plans for the day…I came home from running an errand, put my pajamas back on, and drank a cup (or cups) of Reindeer Blend from Caribou Coffee…Ahhh…That makes the snow a LITTLE more bearable…Now, I just hope the streets are plowed when I have to go to work at 4am tomorrow. ;)

On the way home from running my errand, I heard Switchfoot (I <3 Switchfoot…Haven’t heard them in a LONG time!) singing, “Dare You to Move”…Is someone trying to tell me something? ;) Hawaii, Florida…I could open a coffee hut on the beaches of Hawaii, a beach ministry…A woman can dream, right? ;)

I was going to visit a friend and former coworker, Kathy, at the hospital where she is at, but as I said, the snow changed those plans…I called her and talked to her on the phone. She was happy to hear from me and thankful for the well wishes from other friends…She sees the light amidst the darkness. She just wants to be home in time for Christmas, recuperating in her recliner…The little things we sometimes take for granted. When a staff member came in the room, she told him or her that she was on the phone with her “personal pastor.” What a sweetheart…I love that woman and hope she has a speedy recovery…She has been so encouraging of my journey…We have been through some trenches, and you just “don’t know” unless you have been there…The testimony is being able to come through it and tell the story. Please keep this wonderful woman in your prayers. :)

I found my Vince Gill Christmas CD, “Let There Be Peace On Earth,” and started listening to it…I have had the CD since it was released in 1993. On the CD, he has a song called, “It Won’t Be the Same This Year,” which he wrote after his older brother passed away. Here are the words:

It's time to pack our bags and hit the highway,
And head on out for Christmas holiday,
I'll fall apart when I pull in the driveway,
It's my first time home since brother passed away,
His favorite time of year was always Christmas,
We'll reminisce about the days gone by,
Oh how I wish that he was still here with us,
My memories with him will never die,

(Bridge)
But when the stockings are hung,
And silent night has been sung,
And Christmas is finally here,
It won't be the same this year,

Losing my big brother hurt so badly,
It's help me learn what Christmas really means,
There's nothing more important than your family,
We're all the children of the King of Kings,
(Bridge)

I have heard the song numerous times, but this year it strikes a special chord…For anyone who has lost a loved one in the last year, it’s the first Christmas without that person. For me, it’s my oldest sister, Char…

I remember last Christmas, she wasn’t feeling well…It was only a couple of days later when she went into the hospital. After we finished opening gifts, she asked me to keep her in my prayers, because she was scared (“Tweet, please pray for me…”)…She wasn’t feeling well. Of course I would…And I did. I just didn’t realize just how sick she actually was. It took all the energy she had to come over on Christmas. I thought she would get better. It was such a shock when she didn’t.

This has been a tough year…I gave a sermon in preaching class on rejoicing in trials…I joked that it was a shame I didn’t have any material for it. ;) Only one—maybe two—of my classmates knew about what happened with Char…I talked about it in the sermon, among some of the other things that have transpired this year…Ironically, I finished writing the sermon on what would have been Char’s 54^th birthday, Nov. 30th. I gave the sermon in class two days later…I received great feedback and a good grade, which further cements for me my call to preaching. :)

One of my classmates asked if it was a healing experience for me, and it was…Char’s birthday was a little tough. I told her how I finished writing the sermon on Char’s birthday, and she commented that it was no coincidence…True…As I believe, coincidences are those instances where God chooses to remain anonymous. ;)

Char really wasn’t one for holidays…Or “warm fuzzies.” As my other sister Karlene reminisced yesterday at the cookie exchange, when Char was unresponsive at the hospital, and I said, “Warm fuzzies,” her blood pressure actually went up…I know she would have slapped me if she could. ;)

I still have my “Christmas spirit”…Helping to decorate Caribou Coffee for the holidays helped. School put a bit of a damper on my preparation for Christmas, because due to the homework, I haven’t done ANY shopping yet nor Christmas cards mailed…The weather has also taken time away from those things. But, Christmas isn’t about those things…It is celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ…Hallelujah! :)

I will be celebrating that with my family…And, it will be a different Christmas this year without the boisterousness of Char…That loud laugh of hers…But the memories of her will live on forever in the hearts of those who love her. There is a wonderful poem called, “Christmas In Heaven,” by Wanda Bencke…It’s also known as the “Spending Christmas with Jesus Christ This Year” poem…She wrote it when her 13-year-old daughter who had cerebral palsy had a seizure on Christmas Day 1997…Her daughter was in a coma for five days before she died. This is what the author says about that time:

During those five days God kept showing me scriptures about Heaven. As a result, I wrote the poem Christmas in Heaven. Christmas has always been my favorite season because the whole world is singing about our Savior, Jesus Christ. The fact that God took Lysandra home in the season when everyone was singing His praises seemed strangely fitting and appropriate. The poem speaks so deeply to the hearts of people because it is based on scripture and God speaks to us through His word.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk with them.”
~ Ephesians 2:10

“...in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me,
when as yet there were none of them.”
~ Psalm 139:16

If this is your first holiday without a loved one, my prayer for you is one of peace and comfort…Char is spending Christmas with Jesus this year…She always had to be the first to do something. ;) Love you, Big Sister. :)

P.S. Can you put a word in for alleviating some of this snow? ;)

I see the countless Christmas trees
Around the world below,
With tiny lights like heaven's stars
Reflecting in the snow.

The sight is so spectacular

 please wipe away that tear
for I am spending CHRISTMAS

 WITH JESUS CHRIST this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs

 that people hold so dear
but the sound of music can't compare

with the CHRISTMAS CHOIR up here.

I have no words to tell you

of the JOY their voices bring
for it is beyond description

 to HEAR THE ANGELS SING.

I know how much you miss me,

I see the pain inside your heart
for I am spending CHRISTMAS

WITH JESUS CHRIST this year.

I can't tell you of the SPLENDOR

or the PEACE here in this place
Can you just imagine CHRISTMAS

 WITH OUR SAVIOR face to face

I'll ask him to lift your spirit

as I tell him of your love
so then PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

 as you lift your eyes above.

Please let your hearts be joyful

 and let your spirit sing
for I am spending CHRISTMAS IN HEAVEN

and I’m walking WITH THE KING.

You Reap What You Sow...Hard Work Does Pay Off! :)

As I write this, I am still trying to recover from the effects of little sleep from Sun. night’s marathon-writing, paper-finishing session…I was at the ‘Bou, bright and early to open Wed. morning, and it’s always a great experience…being surrounded by coffee and people…I am truly in my niche! :)

I was working on the espresso bar, and a regular customer came in and ordered his large, moosed (For those of you not familiar with Caribou terminology, that means an extra espresso shot) almond mocha…I asked him how his day was, and he said good and asked me how mine was…I responded, smiling, “So far, so good”…He said, “That’s good, until you get a grumpy customer?” I said, “I will still choose to have a good day.” He smiled and said, “Hey, I like that!” Maybe that will help him if he is dealing with people giving him a hard time?

We can’t allow people or circumstances to dictate our joy. It’s easy to get wrapped up in that…When it feels like the last thing we want to do, we need to take a queue from Nike ad “Just Do It.” :)

It’s easy to rejoice when time are good…but what about when times are not-so good? I believe we learn more in the not-so good times than in the good times…The not-so good times help to build our character, and we can allow God to shape us.

After work, I went and got my much-needed massage…With the shoveling, typing, and stress from the last week, this was a treat. :) Massages are a great stress-reliever for me…Stress…The last 10 weeks or so have been the hardest ones in my academic life…I weighed myself the other day…How does one lose 10 pounds without even trying? When you’re typing and missing meals, it’s easy to do…I do not endorse that type of weight loss method. Thankfully, since I submitted my paper, my appetite has come back. :)

I remember the first night of the quarter…With the amount of work coming due (and the fact that I had been at work at 4:30am that morning, plus it was 9pm that night), I had a glazed-over look in my eyes…How in the world am I going to make it? I thought…Then, I remembered: I’m not alone…The only way out is through…This, too, shall pass…And, to quote one of my favorite WWE superstars, John Cena, “Never give up!” :)

I have been tested so many times this quarter…Some things have happened that I don’t understand…Moments of tears from the work load…Warm fuzzies and cold pricklies…And, to my friends out there that I haven’t talked to in a while: Please know that I love you! I am so blessed and thankful for you all…I hope we can get together soon…Your support means a lot to me…Your prayers helped sustain me. :)

I already talked about my 30-page paper, the computer glitches in writing it, and my trying to get it delivered on time…I lost track of how many hours went into writing it…When I got home in the afternoon, I had an e-mail…It was already graded! I was a little afraid to see what I got, because I didn’t do very well on the last assignment we had… But, NO FEAR…I ripped the band-aid to see the message…

…I made it. :) I did better than I thought I would…I received compliments I wasn’t expecting and that were certainly humbling…Thanks be to God. :)

My encouragement for you today is to keep on keepin’ on…Never give up…When you feel like you can’t go any further, take one more step. :) You truly reap what you sow…If you put in the time and effort, it will be worth it in the end…Thanks to Kurt for those constant reminders. :) And thanks to my niece Jennie for the use of her laptop computer! :)

Be happy in the good times, be happy in the not-so good times…Going through those not-so good times helps one to appreciate the good times that much more. :)

To survive 4 quarters of Greek…Phew! I’m speechless…And that’s not easy to do! LOL Time to celebrate…I seriously feel like dancing…Opa! :)

There may have to be some singing, that’s for sure… ;)

Time for work…Make it a great day, everyone! God bless! :)

P.S. Does that mean I’m out of the Greek woods, or is this where the “real” work begins? ;)