Update #43

Psalm 15

Birthday in East Bay

Have you read Psalm 15 lately? I read it on Wednesday and have been chewing on it ever since. David asks (Dena Translation) – “God, who can come close to you? Who do you want near your throne?” God responds with, “He who...”

Walks uprightly (is respectable, moral, honest, just, principled)
Works righteousness (carries out God’s viewpoint and agenda)
Speaks truth in his heart (doesn’t lie, color the truth, manipulate)
Does not backbite with his tongue (no slander, defensive retaliation)
Does no evil to his friend (loves in all circumstances)
Does not disgrace his neighbor (doesn’t exalt themselves)
Despises a vile person (sees evil for evil and calls it such)
Honors those who fear the Lord (affirm Godly actions in those around them)
Takes an oath and stands by it (integrity)
Does not put out his money at interest for a debt (doesn’t purchase what they can’t pay for)
Does not give money for payment of false decisions against innocents (takes responsibility for their actions)

My immediate response is ‘Wow, I don’t think I will ever hang out in the throne room!’ But, I do want to live out the list, I do want to attain God’s standard; I do want to, because of vs. 5b: “He who does these things shall never be moved.”

Never be moved. Be in God’s presence 100% of the time, living, breathing, listening to his thoughts, his concerns, his heart for situations. I can picture myself reclining on the steps (lushly carpeted of course) leading up to God’s throne and having chit chatty conversations with him… ‘So God, what do you think of…’ ‘What is your opinion on…’ (as I roll over onto my stomach and reach for another snack), ‘What were you thinking when you designed the hyena? I have to say, I think they are the ugliest things…’

What prevents me from attaining this? What keeps me from throne room residential rights? Only one thing - one big, strong-willed, thick-headed thing…me. I have to choose to live God’s way, I have to choose God’s viewpoint, God’s action plan, God’s responses…essentially, I have to die to myself over, and over, and over, and over again. It isn’t fun, but it gets easier and the reward is phenomenal.

Another thing I noticed is that the above array has nothing about “conversion ratio” (which encourages me, I am not a gifted evangelist!)…but, on second thought, if we are living ‘The List’ we are a strong example of Gods character – and are more than likely witnessing without words more than we realize!

Updates:
Living – safely ensconced at my relative’s house
Car – I have one until Eric returns (his dad pain is reduced but still VERY ill)
Samson – i.e. Houdini - manages to race outside when the door is opened for the dog…he wants to ‘play’ with the bunnies. He has been dive-bombed by the birds in retaliation…you think he would learn!
Financing – Thank you for your generosity…I am humbled and emotionally touched every time a gift comes in. I have about $1,500/mo through December…thank you.

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt and Uncle for most of the summer but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need to a cat friendly space close to the office.
Car – I am happy to keep borrowing them if people are generous enough to let me do so…but, eventually, I will need a car long term, one that gets great gas mileage would be awesome!
Work – that I hear God’s voice on how HE wants things done!
Samson – that the beckoning sent of ‘outside’ will not be as beguiling and that ‘Houdini’ will leave the bunnies alone! And the 5:00 am howling will cease!
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise $2,500 - $5,000 a month cover basic expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Donations’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the bottom left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Thanks for investing in me…giving me your most valued resource…time.

Dena

P.S. If you haven’t heard Mark Jones’ OFFICE SPACE-type story ask him…I haven’t laughed that hard in ages…oatmeal!

Update #42

“Roll your works upon Jehovah, and your thoughts shall be established.” Proverbs 16:3

Picture: My (and Rebe's) birthday celebration breakfast...

Each of us has many components…so many glimmering, reflective surfaces… that no one ever sees every facet, each area, of our lives. Take me for example; I am a Christian, daughter, sister, friend, mentor, follower, leader, administrator, organizer, employee, delegator, hostess, participator, spreadsheet lover, nature junkie, flower appreciator, intercessor, consultant, introvert, pseudo networker, Washingtonian/Californian, American, lady.

I had a milestone this week. Not just celebrating another 30-something birthday, but one of my bigger “facets” fell off. For the last 15 years I have been able to entitle myself: Physical Therapist. Well, on Wednesday the 18th, that identification ceased (legally – the info is still in my brain I just can’t use my hands!).

An ongoing ankle condition has limited my practice life for the last 3 years. In that time, God eased me from a clinical to a corporate environment, and grew my non-existent business skills in an impressive way.

By the time it came to bid my hard earned license goodbye it was almost a non-issue. I, in my opinion, was a good therapist, but not a great one and, even though I adored my elderly clientele, I wasn’t passionate about what I was doing.

I am passionate about what I am doing now. I like seeing people have their eyes opened to who God really is and how He works in everyday life – work life, home life, and social life – and how God doesn’t have to be compartmentalized to the spiritual slot on Sunday.

God is big. God has a plan. God makes things happen. Are you willing to trust God with your life, your actions, your work – and watch him establish His intentions, His plans, His handiwork in your life?

I did and I may have ‘lost’ a title, a designation, a position of status – but I have gained so much more...abundantly so much more. Dare to join me?

Updates:
Living – safely ensconced at my relative’s house
Car – I have one until Eric returns (his dad pain is reduced but still VERY ill)
Work – So Fun! I am heading to Seattle on Thursday to help with their kickoff training event
Samson – Getting more and more comfortable – he does his speed-racer Indy 5000 routine, with tail kinked over his head, up and down the hall – it is very entertaining!
Financing – Thank you for your generosity…donations are coming in but I am still short of my goal. Every need has been met thus far…God is so cool how he is doing it!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt and Uncle for most of the summer but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need to find my own space close to the office – that is cat friendly!
Car – I am happy to keep borrowing them if people are generous enough to let me do so…but, eventually, I will need a car long term.
Work – that I hear God’s voice on how HE wants things done!
Samson – that he will not run from Buddy. Its fine until Sam freaks out (for known or cat only determined reason) and takes off running. Buddy then does the typical dog thing and chases. It can be mayhem!
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise $2,500 - $5,000 a month cover basic expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Donations’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the bottom left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Thanks for reading this and for your support!

Dena

PS. Cool Provision Story: Karen, one of the interns, was chatting Sunday with Lyn about how she has no ‘proper’ office attire (suits) and how someday she would love to own a few. Monday, one of the girls in the office shows up with a load of clothing that a buyer from Banana Republic had cleaned out of her closet. Well, in the mix was a beautiful, petite, chocolate brown modern cut summer weight suit – in Karen’s size, color, and cut! Not only did God hear her want and provide; he gave her a blouse that matched AND, provided a pair of high heeled shoes (Ann Taylor) as well! God really cares about your wants…not just your needs! Have you shared yours with him today?

Update #41

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…” Matthew 5:3

The car God is letting me borrow...thanks again Eric...

My morning devotional is going through the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. The other day Kay Arthur covered verse 3. She explained spiritual poverty in a way that I never considered before. “Poverty of spirit is not some passing emotional experience or a one-time event; rather, it is a whole way of life, a life of total dependence upon (God). It is continually realizing that in and of yourself you could never please (Him). You could never meet His standards of righteousness.”

“His standard of righteousness” leapt out at me…this made me pause and really think. The definition for righteousness I most often hear is “Do your best, be your best, and God will accept you”. What a crock. God’s righteousness is unattainable and can only be reached through Jesus. On our own, we humans fall so short of the ‘righteousness’ mark – our deeds are good, sometimes even great, but in comparison to God’s…ha…nice try!

What does ‘poverty in spirit’ look like? I think its synonym could be ‘reliance’. When we get to the point in our lives where God is everything and without Him we are nothing, we have attained ‘poverty’ in the spiritual realm.

So, we realize we can’t do life with out God and so give up, surrender, relinquish, we hand over all that we can control (ourselves) and what do we get in exchange? Just the Kingdom of Heaven! Yep, we give up ourselves and we are granted keys to God’s home. Pretty Cool. That’s a trade I’d make!

Updates:
Living – safely ensconced at my relative’s house, the commute is relatively painless, and Samson loves ‘chatting’, through the window, with the backyard bunnies at 5:30 am
Car – Eric is in Malaysia with his family and graciously loaned me his car until he returns (please continue to pray for his Dad, Pat)
Work – Going well – I feel challenged, like what I am doing and who I am working with.
Samson – Comes out of the room at night and when my Uncle gets up in the morning - it is entertaining to listen to them have a conversation…Tom asks him a question and Samson meows in response!
Financing – Thank you for your generosity…donations are coming in but I am still short of my goal. God has been very kind and I want for nothing.

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt and Uncle for most of the summer but, when the new rēp headquarters are in place, I need to find my own space close to the office – that is cat friendly!Condo - Jamie found a house an is moving out of my condo the end of July...thus, I need to find a renter...let me know if you can recommend anyone!
Car – I am happy to keep borrowing them if people are generous enough to let me do so…but, eventually, I will need a car long term.
Work – that I hear God’s voice on how HE wants things done!
Samson – that he will not be afraid to come out of the room during the day or when my Aunt is around
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise $2,500 - $5,000 a month cover basic expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Donations’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the bottom left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Abundant blessings to you!

Dena

PS. Congrats to Katie and David on celebrating their weddings over the last weekend – what a reality check for me – I used to baby-sit you!

Update #40

“My grace is sufficient for you…” 2 Cor. 12:9a

Picture: My office desk space at REP

I have been making mental comparisons between Northern California and Seattle. Here are some that I came up with:

• HOT vs. mildly warm
• Flip flops vs. Tevas
• Light sweater vs. fleece coat
• Sunscreen vs. Self tanning lotion
• Rolling hills vs. Mountains
• Oleanders vs. Rhododendrons
• Traffic vs. TRAFFIC (OMG…Seattle wins this category HANDS DOWN!)
• Brown vs. green grass
• Pine vs. Evergreen trees
• Air conditioning vs. open windows
• Wild bunnies vs. squirrels
• Peet’s vs. Starbucks, Tully’s, SBC
• 8:30 vs. 9:45 sunset (this was hard to acclimate to)
• People staying in the shade vs. people swarming to the sun, half naked in 68 degree weather
• How hot is it gonna get? vs. Is it supposed to rain today?

On a more serious side, I was given the verse above by one of the prayer ladies in Johannesburg…I looked it up and boiled it down. Basically, it means: “My kindness is enough for you”…wow. Not his love, not his power, not his might, but his kindness – something he CHOOSES to bestow.

My aunt has a magnet on her fridge that reads “Thoughtfulness is someone who thinks up nice things to do and then does them.” I think kindness is similar in definition; when a need is known/noticed it is then met. I believe God likes to be kind. He knows our needs and enjoys meeting them…well actually, he likes to exceed them!

I wonder how different our lives would be if we actually got out of the way, stopped trying to ‘help’ God (picture the little boy ‘helping’ dad mow the lawn at age 4) with our dazzling intellect, wisdom, skills, talents, and giftings (hmm, that’s ironic since he gave them to us in the first place!) and let him be ‘kind’ to us. What amazing things are we missing out on because we are either 1.) in God’s way trying to meet the need ourselves, or, worse yet, 2.) we are too proud to let our needs be known.

Well, here’s me stepping out of God’s way, humbling myself, and waiting on God’s kindness…

Updates:
Moving – My possessions arrived today! The movers called Saturday and asked me to be ready for a Monday delivery Monday. Ok, pray for things to be intact…
Car – The guy letting me borrow his car is returning from Poland early due to a family emergency…his Dad has been diagnosed with malignant proliferate stage 4 lung cancer. Eric is flying home to Malaysia to support his family during this time…please pray for him, his family and especially his Dad, Pat.
Work – I started! Stacie, our ultimate workplace planner, redesigned the office space and got me a desk on Friday – I stopped by Sunday to pick up my computer and it was covered with ‘to do’ stuff! Well, I know I won’t be bored!
Samson – is out from under the bed! He is ‘working’ at the office today, mostly hiding in his carrier under my desk…adventuring out only when absolutely necessary!
Financing – Thank you for your generosity…donations are coming in. I have raised about 1/2 of my lowest monthly salary for the next 6 months!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt and Uncle for most of the summer but, when the new rēp headquarters are in place, I need to find my own space close to the office – that is cat friendly!
Car – due to insurance issues, the best case scenario would be to borrow a car until August 1st and then obtain one
Work – that I hear God’s voice on how HE wants things done!
Samson – that he will ‘make friends’ with my Aunt’s dog Buddy…
Storage – All my stuff will fit into a 10x10 unit – it may be taped in place, but it fit!
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise $2,500 - $5,000 a month cover basic expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Donations’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the bottom left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Thanks for walking this with me!

Dena

PS. Congrats to Scott and Julie Ronnie! I heard the wedding was awesome…happy honeymooning!
P.P.S. Bette’s Oceanside Diner ROCKS – it is in Berkeley – thanks for the intro Suz and Dale!

Update #39

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.” 2 Cor 12:9

Picture: Drive thru tree in the Redwood Forest

I made it! Sunday night Jamie and I pulled into my Aunt’s driveway after a full two days on the road! We took the long way after Redding, CA by cutting across from I5 to Hwy 101 (we wanted to see the Redwood forest). The road we were on was barely wide enough in places, but WOW…was it pretty!

We spent Monday toodling around Los Altos (finding my PO Box, bank, etc.), Mountain View (finding my storage unit), and Palo Alto (finding my Aunt’s store, touring Stanford – wow Craig that is a big campus). Then we had tea with my new co-workers and boss (the cheesecake was incredible), toured/shopped Half Moon Bay (have Jamie show you her purchases), and then went to dinner with some of my teammates from Cape Town! What a day!

Jamie headed back to Washington a bit after seven this morning and I was off to pick up a car – yep, God came through again! One of my friends is off to Poland for two weeks and is letting me borrow his car (THANK YOU ERIC!).

I feel like God is up in heaven giggling. I ask for something, like a map of the area, and BAM!, an AM/PM store is around the next corner. I tell him I need a car to get around and TADA! I get to borrow an M3 BMW for two weeks. I tell him I need a safe place to stay, and BING! my aunt and uncle offer me a room and have made it very clear that I am welcome as long as needed.

I always thought ‘weakness’, in 2 Cor. 12:9, referred to a deficit or lack of growth in my strength, personality, or innate talents. After the last 11 months of my life, I view ‘weakness’ differently. I see it as any ‘need’ we may have. God likes to come through, he likes to be relied upon and asked for help. In a way, he likes to show up and say, “See, I can do that. Yep, I can help, I love to help. Thanks for asking me.” I view God as a gentleman; he won’t come to the party (answer a need) unless he is invited.

Well, if that is the case, let me ‘glory in my weakness’ so he can show up!

Updates:
Housing – I am living 15 miles South the office and the commute is mostly highway! And, compared to Seattle, the traffic is NOTHING!
Moving – My possessions are on their way down and will be here sometime before the 15th…I am hoping for this week sometime! Please pray that stuff stays intact, that the movers treat my stuff with respect, and that the drive down for them is uneventful.
Car – I have one for the next two weeks, then who knows what God will do!
Samson – slept most of the drive! Whoo Hoo! He did great on his harness and got a ton of compliments, stares, and pointing fingers…he was quite the attraction!
Trip Down – went great, awesome weather, traffic was mostly light, and we had no car issues
Storage – Rented and moving into soon!
Financing – Thank you for your generosity…donations are coming in. I have raised about 1/2 of my lowest monthly salary for the next 6 months!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt and Uncle for most of the summer but, when the new REP office is in place, I need to find my own space close to the office
Car – due to insurance issues, the best case scenario would be to borrow a car until August 1st and then obtain one
Work – my first day is Thursday, July 5th
Samson – he is currently hiding under my Aunt’s bed and won’t come out…
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise $2,500 - $5,000 a month cover basic expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Donations’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the bottom left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Blessings to you!

Dena

P.S. I have gotten a lot of questions about exactly who I am working for - ‘equip’ and ‘rep’ have both been used. There was a name change…see http://www.repurposing.biz/ for the entire story…D.