Today I went golfing for the first time. In preparation I did go once last weekend to a driving range and then to a puttering course yesterday. But today was my first time actually playing on a golf course and started with a bang at Burnt Pine, a private course designed by Rees Jones. While my game, if you can even call it that yet, leaves much to be desired and much, much to be learned, it was an incredibly fun time laughing, talking and enjoying the gorgeous day. There were six of us and we played three and three. As much fun as whacking balls was driving the golf carts, especially off the path and on the rolling hills.
The caddy was probably entertained by our accidental insinuations, that were truly said in complete innocence, but had me biting my lip not to start laughing out loud. First he grabs two of our golf bags and was waiting to pick up the third. But we weren't sure which bag we wanted to use. So told him go ahead and take those two over to the golf carts then come back. One of the other ladies commented, "I think he was wanting to wait and do a threesome." Not positive he heard that one as he was walking away from us with his back to us. But when he came back we were trying to decide which would be better for me, men's that were taller (for my tall self) but heavier, or ladies that were shorter but much lighter. He was trying to explain the difference in the clubs and told us that the men's clubs had stiffer shafts. Another lady asked, "why would men want stiffer shafts?" That is when I had to bite my lip not to bust out in laughter! I was quite impressed by his ability to maintain his composure (you could tell he was amused though) and finish explaining the reasoning.
This week while getting ready Ron started telling me about his golf experiences. The craziest part of that is that I've known him for 18 years now and never knew he used to golf! But during high school he used to golf, had his own set of clubs and took golf lessons with his dad at the club. He was trying to give me tips. I looked at him and said, "How can you give me tips when you've never played?" And that is when I learned that you can live with someone for years and years and still find out new things about them. Today while telling him about the golf carts he proceeded to tell me about how he was swerving on a path and flipping a golf cart while on the course one time, hurting himself and his brother and nearly totaling the cart. While that wasn't really funny, it has been interesting learning more about my husband and things he used to like and enjoy and things I never knew about him.
But for a funny, funny golf story, my dad wins hands down! Talked to him on the phone tonight and this is the story he told me. Granted he is a master story teller so to get the full effect, you'd have to hear him tell the story. This is my best effort at relaying it how I heard it via writing. Back when he was in the Navy he and a buddy went to a course to play golf. You are just hitting a ball, so how hard can that be, right? Neither of them had ever played or even been on a driving range before. So they check out a set of clubs and head off to tackle the popular sport of golf. My dad is up first. He pulls his club back and swings.....the ball flies into the air, and hits a tree (yes, Dad, I totally know that feeling after today, my first swing also hit a tree). His buddy steps up and its his turn to tee off. The ball is lined up, the guy takes his stance, pulls the club back and swings...the ball rolls 6" forward. BUT the club continues to fly far to the left. So far to the left that it flies in front of the shooting range! Why the military would have guys shooting next to guys golfing is beyond me, but that is beside the point. The guy shooting stops and looks at this club now lying in front of him. My dad's buddy looks at my dad and says, "YOU go get the club." My dad, always the most practical person I've ever known, responded with, "No way, that guy has a gun!" Needless to say his buddy finally retrieved his club. They look at each other both decide they are done and walk back to return the clubs. This is where I thought the story ended, but one last little laugh. It had been a drizzly day so the lady at the clubhouse asked them if they would like a rain check so that they can come back and try again later. Handing over the clubs they emphatically decline the rain check and announce they are done. And that was the ONE and ONLY time my dad has played golf!
What is your most memorable golf experience?
Friday, September 12, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
A Calling?
When I was 9 years old I heard a missionary speak at church and felt God was calling me to the mission field, at that point I was thinking Peru, as he was a missionary to Peru and had a great slide show that just captivated me.
After graduating from college I went on to New Tribes Bible Institute (Waukesha, WI) in pursuit of missions training. During that time frame I spent a summer living in Papua New Guinea hands on learning how to do missions (including language acquisition, cultural studies, etc), and went on a missions trip to Spain and another couple of weeks in Honduras working in an orphanage. While at NTBI my fiance broke up with me, amongst several other things. Felt like I had spent my whole life (yeah, all 20 years..lol..but at that time it felt like forever) trying to serve God but my life was not working out like I wanted it to. So decided it was time to live life however I wanted to do it. And I did just that. Enter about a decade of me living mostly for me (and for my two children who I thank God for as I know they kept me going).
But even through everything I kept getting pulled back toward feeling I was being called to some kind of Christian vocation. I didn't really change a lot of how I was living, but I did start working at a church. Felt like that must be the fulfillment of my childhood "calling." Spent almost 12 years on church staff (two different churches) and in that time frame also did multiple volunteer things, such as lead a Celebrate Recovery group (12-step study and small group facilitator), occasionally taught in my adult Sunday School class, led a few small group Bible studies, went into the prison preaching to women once a month, and volunteered with Project Adam (local men's recovery home). All these were good things, but eventually burnt out. And several things in my personal/family life were falling apart. Ron moved to Florida and a few months later I left my dual position in Publications and as Student/Children's Ministry Assistant at a church to follow him. Started my first full time secular job in over a decade. Once again felt like whatever that "calling" was must have just been a childhood fantasy. I mean what kid doesn't have crazy dreams, how many kids answer doctor, firefighter, astronaut, etc when asked what they want to be? And how many actually become that?
We moved to the beach, the beach is always where we left the "real" world behind and partied and had fun. Now it was our new way of life. No one knew me, knew our family. No expectations to have to live up to as a church staff member, small group leader, recovery/prison volunteer. That lack of accountability wasn't too good for me.
Long story short, spent one year down here just living the beach life, and all that comes with whatever that means. And then the whole past year has been a journey. A much longer one than I had anticipated, but forward motion none the less. During this year God has brought a wonderful group of ladies into my life, our "condo mates" group. The six of us went to a retreat together last February (2014) and we all were roommates in the same condo. Only one I knew pretty well, and two I had never met. This has been a great experience and much work of ironing sharpening iron as we have grown closer and shared struggles and victories and lots of just plain ole good, clean fun. Expanded from just fun times to team challenges like a 5K Mud Run to meeting weekly studying The Holy Spirit (by John Bevere).
And now I keep hearing "calling" over and over, inwardly and from external sources. Was talking to someone and told them I felt like Jonah who ran from his calling, spent time in the darkness of the belly of the whale, then was thrown up onto the shore. Feeling like a "washed up/has been." But as I was relaying that to her, it dawned on me... Despite the muck covering Jonah, despite him running in the complete opposite direction God told him to go, despite spending time in the utter darkness and in the deep abyss of the sea, God never took away his calling. Here he was on the shore, all stinky and just emerging back into the light. Yet God never said, "forget it Jonah, I have more capable people, you ruined your shot, you aren't good for anything else but to be put on the shelf as an example of what not to do." Nope, his calling was still there and he still had a mission from God to do.
On our way to the Florida Keys the first week of August I felt God telling me, you have a new career, and its a good career. It was given to you for a purpose, but don't forget, its just a career, it is not your calling. Since then I've gotten more and more comments or just things happening to confirm a shift or change coming. Things that I feel God telling me that needs to be changed in my life so that He can reveal what's next. I have no idea what the next it, and quite frankly it scares me. Today we had a guest speaker and he was saying that at his church and from their view point the age 40 is the change, the change from living for yourself to taking the knowledge you've learned and using your life for others. I'll be 40 in five months. Then he was talking about calling on our lives too (not the main part of his sermon, just a blip, but one that definitely caught my attention).
There is no nice neat wrapped up ending to this post. I don't know what is next, I'm not even really sure of what direction God is trying to point me or His time frame. But I do know I strongly feel I'm coming up to a transition period. I don't know how that will tie in and work with my new job position, as I LOVE my new job as a community association manager and maybe that new position is a part of the plan. Mainly I wanted to note this time in my life, so that one day I can look back and see where this part of my journey started and be able to look back and see how far God has brought me.
After graduating from college I went on to New Tribes Bible Institute (Waukesha, WI) in pursuit of missions training. During that time frame I spent a summer living in Papua New Guinea hands on learning how to do missions (including language acquisition, cultural studies, etc), and went on a missions trip to Spain and another couple of weeks in Honduras working in an orphanage. While at NTBI my fiance broke up with me, amongst several other things. Felt like I had spent my whole life (yeah, all 20 years..lol..but at that time it felt like forever) trying to serve God but my life was not working out like I wanted it to. So decided it was time to live life however I wanted to do it. And I did just that. Enter about a decade of me living mostly for me (and for my two children who I thank God for as I know they kept me going).
But even through everything I kept getting pulled back toward feeling I was being called to some kind of Christian vocation. I didn't really change a lot of how I was living, but I did start working at a church. Felt like that must be the fulfillment of my childhood "calling." Spent almost 12 years on church staff (two different churches) and in that time frame also did multiple volunteer things, such as lead a Celebrate Recovery group (12-step study and small group facilitator), occasionally taught in my adult Sunday School class, led a few small group Bible studies, went into the prison preaching to women once a month, and volunteered with Project Adam (local men's recovery home). All these were good things, but eventually burnt out. And several things in my personal/family life were falling apart. Ron moved to Florida and a few months later I left my dual position in Publications and as Student/Children's Ministry Assistant at a church to follow him. Started my first full time secular job in over a decade. Once again felt like whatever that "calling" was must have just been a childhood fantasy. I mean what kid doesn't have crazy dreams, how many kids answer doctor, firefighter, astronaut, etc when asked what they want to be? And how many actually become that?
We moved to the beach, the beach is always where we left the "real" world behind and partied and had fun. Now it was our new way of life. No one knew me, knew our family. No expectations to have to live up to as a church staff member, small group leader, recovery/prison volunteer. That lack of accountability wasn't too good for me.
Long story short, spent one year down here just living the beach life, and all that comes with whatever that means. And then the whole past year has been a journey. A much longer one than I had anticipated, but forward motion none the less. During this year God has brought a wonderful group of ladies into my life, our "condo mates" group. The six of us went to a retreat together last February (2014) and we all were roommates in the same condo. Only one I knew pretty well, and two I had never met. This has been a great experience and much work of ironing sharpening iron as we have grown closer and shared struggles and victories and lots of just plain ole good, clean fun. Expanded from just fun times to team challenges like a 5K Mud Run to meeting weekly studying The Holy Spirit (by John Bevere).
And now I keep hearing "calling" over and over, inwardly and from external sources. Was talking to someone and told them I felt like Jonah who ran from his calling, spent time in the darkness of the belly of the whale, then was thrown up onto the shore. Feeling like a "washed up/has been." But as I was relaying that to her, it dawned on me... Despite the muck covering Jonah, despite him running in the complete opposite direction God told him to go, despite spending time in the utter darkness and in the deep abyss of the sea, God never took away his calling. Here he was on the shore, all stinky and just emerging back into the light. Yet God never said, "forget it Jonah, I have more capable people, you ruined your shot, you aren't good for anything else but to be put on the shelf as an example of what not to do." Nope, his calling was still there and he still had a mission from God to do.
On our way to the Florida Keys the first week of August I felt God telling me, you have a new career, and its a good career. It was given to you for a purpose, but don't forget, its just a career, it is not your calling. Since then I've gotten more and more comments or just things happening to confirm a shift or change coming. Things that I feel God telling me that needs to be changed in my life so that He can reveal what's next. I have no idea what the next it, and quite frankly it scares me. Today we had a guest speaker and he was saying that at his church and from their view point the age 40 is the change, the change from living for yourself to taking the knowledge you've learned and using your life for others. I'll be 40 in five months. Then he was talking about calling on our lives too (not the main part of his sermon, just a blip, but one that definitely caught my attention).
There is no nice neat wrapped up ending to this post. I don't know what is next, I'm not even really sure of what direction God is trying to point me or His time frame. But I do know I strongly feel I'm coming up to a transition period. I don't know how that will tie in and work with my new job position, as I LOVE my new job as a community association manager and maybe that new position is a part of the plan. Mainly I wanted to note this time in my life, so that one day I can look back and see where this part of my journey started and be able to look back and see how far God has brought me.
The End of My 90-Days Probation Period
September
6, 2014, work probation period finished. 90 days, on my own officially in my new
job position. Just a few steps away from my old desk, yet worlds away
inside my new office.
Cheers!! Here's to tons of meetings, contract negotiations, never ending email, climbing high condo roofs, seeing incredible views, digging/dirt under nails with irrigation issues, water leaks, great owners, unrealistic vacationers, feeding the koi in the pond, walking the beach, testing pool chemical levels, stretching my finance knowledge with creating budgets, investment strategies, laddered CD's, $ signs followed by numbers in the millions, dealing with employees of my own, confidence building while pitching my ideas/public speaking, taking management classes, peace in chaos, calm in stress, discovering the multitudes of insurance policies available and required, state certifications of pools/elevators/balconies, mold remediation, working with great board members, management reports, meeting so many new/exciting people, stretching my wings, learning to fly, long days, some long nights, even a trip to the ER from work with heart issues, but satisfaction with the knowledge (and acknowledgement) of a job well done and that I thoroughly enjoy!
Thank you God for your blessings! Two years ago when I started working for this company I prayed for the Lord to expand my territory and bless the work of my hands and He has. My prayer now is to honor Him in the midst of it all.
Above my office door I have the words "Forgiven" and "Grace." Priceless gifts from my Heavenly Father.
Cheers!! Here's to tons of meetings, contract negotiations, never ending email, climbing high condo roofs, seeing incredible views, digging/dirt under nails with irrigation issues, water leaks, great owners, unrealistic vacationers, feeding the koi in the pond, walking the beach, testing pool chemical levels, stretching my finance knowledge with creating budgets, investment strategies, laddered CD's, $ signs followed by numbers in the millions, dealing with employees of my own, confidence building while pitching my ideas/public speaking, taking management classes, peace in chaos, calm in stress, discovering the multitudes of insurance policies available and required, state certifications of pools/elevators/balconies, mold remediation, working with great board members, management reports, meeting so many new/exciting people, stretching my wings, learning to fly, long days, some long nights, even a trip to the ER from work with heart issues, but satisfaction with the knowledge (and acknowledgement) of a job well done and that I thoroughly enjoy!
Thank you God for your blessings! Two years ago when I started working for this company I prayed for the Lord to expand my territory and bless the work of my hands and He has. My prayer now is to honor Him in the midst of it all.
Above my office door I have the words "Forgiven" and "Grace." Priceless gifts from my Heavenly Father.
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