The Stuff of Life

I’m not a morning person. Getting myself up and ready for work along with my daughter ready for school on time is a major accomplishment for me. So a few days ago, I was feeling quite proud of myself as I ticked tasks off my morning “To Do” list and realized that I was actually AHEAD of schedule! Oh joy! Oh rapture! What a great morning.



In my exuberance, I decided to warm up the car a bit before leaving to take Mo to school. Hey… While I’m at it, why not save a few steps and load up the care with our bags and things. Feeling pretty smart, I put it all in, turned on the engine and locked and closed the door. Wait! Was that my purse on the front seat? My purse with the spare key in it? Maybe if I grab the door handle quickly it won’t be completely locked, I thought. Surely there’s a three second rule on locked car doors. Nope. It wasn’t mostly lock. Not sort of locked or even kind of locked. It was completely and totally locked. Ugh. And, with the motor running. Double ugh.



So much for my great morning. So much for being ahead of schedule. Now Mo was going to be late for school. I was going to be late for work. What an awful time to have a full tank of gas. It could run for hours. My great morning quickly turned awful. Ruined. I was irritated at my husband who was working out of town that morning and unable to come in a rescue me like a damsel in distress. Irritated that I had to spend money I didn’t have on a locksmith. But mostly I was irritated and angry at myself for doing something so stupid. Ever heard of pockets, Einstein? Duh!



The locksmith came in under 30 minutes. “Hello,” he said, “How’s your morning going?”

“I’ve had better,” I sarcastically replied.

“Well,” he calmly continued, “You don’t know what sort of accident you missed out on by being here in your garage a few extra minutes.”

Wow! This locksmith really had the key. “Good way to look at it,” I sheepishly replied.



What little daily annoyances have really blessings in disguise? How many times have I failed to see God at work because I’ve been so caught up in the stuff of life? I think Francesca Battistelli’s song “This is the Stuff” really puts it all into perspective.



I lost my keys in the great unknown.

And call me please ‘cause I can’t find my phone.



This is the stuff that drives me crazy.

This is the stuff that’s getting to me lately.

In the middle of my little mess I forget how big I’m blessed.

This is the stuff that gets under my skin,

But I gotta trust you know exactly what You’re doing.

It might not be what I would choose,

But this is the stuff You use.



45 in a 35

Sirens and fines while I’m running behind



This is the stuff that drives me crazy.

This is the stuff that’s getting to me lately.

In the middle of my little mess I forget how big I’m blessed.

This is the stuff that gets under my skin,

But I gotta trust you know exactly what You’re doing.

It might not be what I would choose,

But this is the stuff You use.



So break me of my impatience.

Conquer my frustrations.

I’ve got a new appreciation.

It’s not the end of the world.



This is the stuff that drives me crazy.

This is the stuff – someone save me!

In the middle of my little mess I forget how big I’m blessed.

This is the stuff that gets under my skin,

But I gotta trust you know exactly what You’re doing.

It might not be what I would choose,

But this is the stuff You use.





I don’t think I’ll ever be a morning person, but thank goodness for locked cars and wise locksmiths. While it may inconvenience me and drive me crazy, Lord, help me look at every situation as a part of Your master plan. This is, after all, the stuff You use.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqqdA8LHN7I

Puppy Love and Building Faith

At the end of January, we were offered a puppy from a litter that had been born on January 7. Since we had been in the market for a new puppy, we jumped at the chance when we found out the price was zero dollars. Hooray!

Now fast forward to a little after Valentine's Day. Mo started asking for a puppy. Never being short on imagination, she was very specific with her request. She wanted a little, tiny, brown, cutie puppy (an exact quote). She didn't know about our "free puppy" and so we decided to keep it a secret, telling her that she needed to pray and ask God for a puppy.

With the diligence and honesty of only a child she began praying for her "little, tiny, brown, cutie puppy" with every prayer she made. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime -- always, "God, please send me a little brown puppy". She didn't forget, not once, to make her petition known. Neither did she get impatient or set deadlines for God. She just kept going before the Lord asking in innocence and expectation. Wow! How often do I pray like that. Sad to say, not often enough.

So this week-end, we arranged for a scavenger hunt and put out clues and gifts/hints all over the house. She read each note with anticipation building on anticipation. She started running faster and faster from clue to clue. It was so fun to watch her move from clue to clue and finally reach the carrier. She wasn't sure what was inside, but it started wiggling as she read the final clue. She was entrusted to give this new little being a loving and caring home and was praised for her prayers and faith.

Then, she unzipped the flap and out wiggled the "little, tiny, brown, cutie puppy" she had known God would give her. He was christened "Chocolate Kiss" but that has sort of morphed to "Dumpling". He is sweet, fun and tiny -- pomeranian/chihuahua mix. Mo has a little buddy that is going to grow up with her. It really is a match made in heaven.

So, in trying to teach my little girl about faith and the power of prayer, I was reminded of a few lessons myself:

- Be specific when you pray.

- Pray with expectation.

- Don't limit God or try to set boundaries.

- Stand back and expect to be amazed.

All that from a "little, tiny, brown, cutie puppy".

Too Simple of a Solution?

My heart has been breaking as I've watched the scenes coming out of Haiti. What keeps coming back to me over and over again is just how poor this small country was and now this. Even on our very worst day, we live so much better than any of them ever did on their very best day.

We've see benefits and people making donations from all around the world, but there seems to be one area that no one is seriously looking at--All the new orphans. It's been with tear-filled eyes that I've watched news report after news report of people being united with their children, but these are children that were already in process. What about those that haven't found their forever families yet? What about all the "new" orphans that have come because of this tragedy?
The Hague agreement aside, why can't there be expedited EMERGENCY adoptions? There are so many people who are ready, willing and able to take on one, two, three new family members.

No, we're not talking about wealthy people. Not people with huge houses, six-figure incomes and pony rides. Just good, hard-working people who are willing to love and care for someone that needs love and caring RIGHT NOW. I've heard so many people say, "We'd be willing to take in a child or two if the cost and government red-tape wasn't blocking the way." It would be a win/win. The children would have families and the families would be getting them out of the devastation.

Is it illogical for me to make it so simple? If you have previously adopted (domestic or international) you automatically qualify for adopting from Haiti. All that would need to be run is a background check to make sure you've been behaving yourself. :) For anyone that has adopted before, you know the hoops you've had to jump through, the mounds of paperwork involved. You're life is an opened book. Why duplicate all that when it's already been done? Just pay a small fee to defray the cost of transporting the child(ren) from Haiti to a central location in the U.S., and badda-bing, badda-boom... Adoption complete.

For those who have never adopted before, what's more important -- getting those children out of that suffering or doing 3-4 home studies and spending years, just to make sure you have outlet covers in place? Seems a little shallow. Let's get those kids out of there and into forever family homes. Come on, Uncle Sam. We're asking for an exception--and a miracle.

Christmas 2009

Well, it's that time of year when all the family newsletters go out and this is our version this year. Figured if we did an electronic version those that wanted to read it would put in the effort to find our blog and in the process we might save a tree or two. Don't worry... I'm not becoming a tree-hugger by any stretch of the imagination, but if we all do our part, we can make our world a better place.

This year, as with most, has been interesting. I started the year newly unemployed and wondering what I was going to do next. So I took the time to enjoy my baby girl's summer and get caught up with things around the house. Honestly, I don't know where I had the time to get family, household, friends and church responsibilities done AND work 50 hours a week! I thought I was going to get bored being at home but there's always some thing to do or some place to go. I did finally take on a part-time job in mid-August. I work Tuesday through Thursday from 9-3:00 at Crossroads Ministries. Yeah, baby--every week-end is a four day week-end! I get to drop Monica off at school and pick her up every afternoon.

At Crossroads, I'm assistant to the President and am learning such an appreciation for the elderly. Crossroads Ministries trains chaplains and volunteers to visit the forgotten elderly in our local senior care centers (formerly known as nursing homes). It's mind blowing to think that approximately 85% of those living in the care centers don't receive one-on-one visits. None. No one comes. No Christmas presents. No birthday celebrations. Nothing. But, thanks to wonderful volunteers, Crossroads is trying to change that all across the country. Yes, I guess you can say that I am becoming passionate about "the cause."

I've also been working at another part-time-part-time job -- doing home inspections for banks and mortgage companies. That's been interesting as I get a list of addresses that are being foreclosed on, in bankruptcy, etc. and then go to the house do visual inspection (some times inside, too), take some photos and send in my report. Unfortunately with the coming of winter and bad weather, I haven't been doing many inspections, or maybe it's an indicator of our economy and that things are getting better financially so there just aren't as many homeowners in trouble. Let's hope it's the latter.

Ed continues his work at High Country Pest Control and just completed his first year with the company. It continues to be a small company but a great bunch of people. I think his favorite account right now is going out monthly to the puppy mill rescue. He gets to love up on all the dogs and some of the dogs have come to expect him. Needless to say, he's got puppy fever, but I'm trying to put that one off. Ed's been doing lots of Bible study and reading this year--all good stuff.

Of course our real full-time job, no, vocation, is taking care of Miss Monica. She started kindergarten in August and LOVES school. She actually cried every week-end for the first few weeks of school because she couldn't go to class. I hope she feels that way when she's 15! Being in pre-K last year really gave her a jump start on this school year and so she's at the top of her class. She reads to me at night and I love hearing her little voice sound out the words. She like to write stories and illustrate them. It's amazing to see how creative she is--drawing, writing, singing. She's an amazing kid.

I still sit at night watching her sleep; totally amazed at the blessing God gave us. She turned 6 in November and we also celebrated the 5 year anniversary of becoming her forever family. I don't know where the time went because I still vividly remember the day she walked into our lives as if it were yesterday. At 38 inches tall and 31 lbs., she's in a small package but is big in personality and charm. I love hearing her sing in church in Spanish, roll-playing and using her imagination, being bossy and always ready with the last word. Okay, maybe I don't like that last one as much, but she's so verbal, I think sometimes she can't help it. She tests her boundaries and has to be punished occasionally with no computer or TV time, but it's at those times when she's being her naughtiest that I'm reminded of God's grace; of His forgiveness to me when I'm being a knot head. As Monica likes to sing, "I'm unbelievable," and she really is.

Well, guess I should wrap this up. The Schwartz family is doing good. We've had to deal with illness and there never seems to be enough money for everything we want, but we have everything we need. Even at Christmas we're reminded of our need for a Savior and how God sent His son, Jesus, wrapped in swaddling clothes, so that whosoever believes in Him might have eternal life. Have a very Merry Christmas. Spend time with those you love. Tell them you love them often. We hope to hear from you soon. Joy to the world the Lord has come!

Oy!

Just read that Lady Ga Ga "took a bad fall." Well, hello... If she'd take off those dumb veils and masks, she might actually be able to see where she's going and what she's doing. Oy!

Blogging? Us?

I've thought about a blog for a long time. After all, our lives are so glamorous and amazingly adventurous... NOT! But, I do have a lot of opinions and a beautiful daughter that I like to brag about (hey, the hubby ain't too shabby, either). Ha! So, I've taken the plunge into the big cyber abyss known as the blogosphere.

I don't think I'll have something to say every day--maybe not even every week-- but when I do post, I will try to be interesting, humorous and maybe a little thought provoking. I know that there are some amazing blogs out there, so the pressure is on to rise to the occasion. I can tell you now, this blog, Schwartz Shortz, will most likely not be one of those blogs. It will, however, be an update of our family and a way to keep in touch.

So, let me know what you think and please stop back often and check us out. There might just be something new happening at the Schwartz house.