03.09.10
Posted in Blessings, Inspirational, Joy, Love, Special Needs, Thankfulness at 10:36 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
This past weekend I was blessed with spending my Sunday afternoon at a local Special Needs home. One of my special needs angels, Kelly, from Sunday School moved to this home a few months ago. The smile on her face when Ty, Samantha and I walked in was priceless. She is so happy there and introduced us to all of her friends. Here is this home filled with young adults who, to the rest of the world, cannot participate in normal life due to their disabilities but yet this house was filled with so much happiness and love that it should be a corner stone for all of our homes.
We had so much fun meeting Kelly’s friends and walked away with many new friends of our own … truly special angels. Jennifer stole our hearts. She is in a wheelchair, has slightly slurred speech with her eyes not being able to focus straight ahead but she is so smart! The kindness and love within her well let’s just say that I wish the world was filled with Jennifers! Brandon is incredible. He is, I believe, 17 and has Down Syndrome and loves the Cubs. He kept tapping Ty on the knee saying, “right guy?” smiling and laughing so much it was contagious. Then there was Michelle, Kelly’s roommate, who is down-right hysterical. She also has Down Syndrome so her heart flows of love and happiness but also with a twist of sarcastic humor. She had us in stitches not to mention she kept staring at Ty because “she likes the boys” so they say. Then there is Robert who is probably the biggest Elvis fan I’ve ever met! His room is filled with full size Elvis cut-outs, posters, pillows, blankets, CDs, etc. and a wall full of medals from the Special Olympics. He also has Down Syndrome and I was honored when he was telling me he has a few girlfriends special to him and now I am one of them too. These are the special gifts in life, you know?
Towards the end of our visit Jennifer showed Samantha her room and I stayed out in the main area visiting with Brandon and Kelly. They then came back and Samantha said, “Mommy, do you want to see Jennifer’s room?” I said, “Absolutely!” I followed Jennifer as she rolled herself thru the turns in the hallway as if it was nothing to maneuver that wheelchair. She began showing me some things on her bookshelf. I noticed one of the girls had followed us into her room. I had seen her lying on the couch but staying to herself the whole time that we were there. She then began to slowly come towards me a little at a time until she was standing right in front of me. Jennifer then told me that she was deaf and blind. The girl reached out her hand to me. I took her hand in mine and my heart shouted loudly, “hug her!!!” So I hugged her with a big hug holding her for a minute. When I stepped back, she placed her hand directly on my heart. I saw a peace come over her face and love was felt in the room at a dimension that I cannot describe in words. Tears formed in my eyes when I realized what had just happened … without me saying a single word, she felt who God made me to be thru my heart. It’s what drew her near me and what allowed her to perfectly place her hand directly on my heart without being able to see and without someone having to guide her to where it was. Another simple truth – this my friends is exactly how we need to live. We need to live so that others can feel us thru the heart of who we are without a single word or a single touch.
Sunday forever changed the kids and my lives because that day we were all touched by an angel, actually by many! Our hearts will never be the same and I am so very thankful! May you live so that your heart can be felt because it has “Something to Say”. (If you haven’t ever heard the song “Something to Say” by Matthew West I recommend listening to it or looking up the lyrics. That song just dropped in my heart earlier today and when I just listened to the lyrics I about fell off my chair because it sums up this entire blog :) God is awesome!
With Much Love,
Sandi Rauwolf
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02.24.10
Posted in Blessings, Challenges and Strengths, Faith, Heart Tugs at 10:22 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Chris and I were watching Bruce Almighty over the weekend and there was a part that went right to my heart … Be the Miracle. Click here to watch the clip. It’s only 35 seconds long so please take a few seconds to watch it before reading on.
Our society tends to look for miracles like a parting of the sea (or a parting of the soup like in Bruce Almighty LOL) when the reality is that we are surrounded by miracles every day but are we looking for them? Are we striving to be the miracle by not letting life bring us down – continuing to fight the fight no matter what we face? The world has a way of trying to distract, frustrate, or discourage us so we miss what is right under our noses. It’s like what happened to me last week on a trip home from Philly.
I had a 5:20 pm flight back to Chicago on Thursday. I’ve made the trip back and forth between the two cities enough times that I had the timing down pat, or so I thought! I head out and was smoothly moving along interstate 95 when suddenly I hit traffic. I wait patiently while traffic inches along and “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas plays on the radio. I look at the clock and hope the traffic will soon clear which it did. After about 10 more minutes I hit another patch of heavy traffic, this time I felt a little bit of worry trying to creep up. “No! All will be fine,” I thought. The traffic then cleared, “thank you!” Well about 10 minutes later I hit another patch of heavy traffic. The odd part is there is no reason why the traffic is heavy – no accidents or construction slowing things down. I guess another example of Murphy’s law trying to play out in my life.
I had about an hour until my flight so felt the nerves really trying to rise up in my stomach. I rented from a different car rental place than normal and made the mistake of assuming the return would be onsite at the airport, bad assumption! I managed to drive around the airport a few times wasting time that I certainly didn’t have to spare. I didn’t see it anywhere! I knew I had to find a place to pull over on this constant moving path of rental car return lanes to grab the paperwork from my laptop in the trunk. I pull over, park on the road, jump out quickly to grab the paperwork and slid back into the front seat. I grab the receipt which is barely legible due to a printer cartridge they had yet to change. I call the number shown and hear a recording saying that the number is no longer being used. “B-E-A…Utiful,” I think! I find the address, punch it into my GPS which manages to take me on some wild jaunt away from the place I need to be. Okay this is really trying to get my goat as the saying goes but I say, “Nope! If I’m suppose to be on this plane then I will be!” I say a quiet prayer in my head, “God if you want me on this flight, please send your angels to help me along because without them I’m pretty much going in circles like a dog chasing his tail. Amen.”
Well, I felt in my heart to dig more into the paperwork and see a note with directions to the drop-off facility which is off-site from the airport .. good to know! I find my way back to interstate 95 so I can use the directions on the printed form. Well, I FINALLY find it, pull into the lot and don’t see anyone around. I turn off the car and go to open the car door and suddenly as if out of nowhere there is a gentleman ready to check my car back in – thank you for angel #1! I then thought, “Oh I hope there is a bus here so I don’t have to wait.” Just as the thought crosses my mind, I look up to see the bus driver literally in a jog heading towards me with a big smile on his face. He says, “Don’t worry honey I will get you there on time.” I got chills because this man had no way of knowing I was close to missing my flight – thank you for angel #2! I load onto the bus and there are about 7 gentlemen sitting staring at me. Based on the looks on their faces it is obvious they should have been well on their way and not waiting for another passenger … me!
I now have about 40 minutes until flight time and I keep telling myself, “If I’m meant to be on this flight then I will be.” We begin approaching different airlines and Southwest is next – yay! Well just as we begin to pull out and head towards Southwest it was like one of those huge magnets you see in junk yards to pick-up cars was placed in front of us because cars from every direction came from no where to box us in. He says “what in the world!” I thought, “Yep, welcome to my life,” as I smiled shaking my head. I again told myself, “If I’m meant to be on this flight then I will be.” About that time he managed to pull off the impossible. I still do not know how he was able to reposition that bus and get out of a situation that was packed tighter than a can of sardines but I was thankful! He helps me get my luggage. I hand him a tip saying, “thank you!” as I run to get my baggage checked in. I walk up and a kiosk had just opened, “Yes!” I thought. As I punched in my confirmation number on the touch screen a bell went off. The lady behind the counter was smiling and says, “Looks like we have a winner.” She then said, “It is less than 30 minutes to flight time so we cannot guarantee your luggage will get on the flight.” I asked what the chances were and she said, “Let’s just hope for the best,” as she smiled. I thought, “That is exactly right!” I said, “thank you” as I turned to run towards the security check-in at which time she said, “Miss, do you have your boarding pass?” I stopped dead in my tracks, “Uhhh, I didn’t pick it up out of the tray!” I looked at her and she pointed to the tray. I hurriedly grabbed it and said, “Thank you so much, you are a life saver!” She just smiled at me with a kind unspoken look that said “I’m happy I could help.” Thank you for angel #3!
Okay it is now 23 minutes until my flight. I have not gone thru security yet and it will take me at least 10 minutes to walk to the gate. Security always takes me awhile because I have two shoulder replacements and a right-hip replacement which sets off every light and alarm drawing attention as if I just hit 777 on a slot machine. I am jogging as best as I can with 3-inch heeled boots (not to mention a hip replacement which clearly is synonymous for NO RUNNING and not just because most people who have them are 80 – I know doc – sorry!). I turn the corner to the security area and there in front of me is a maze of people filling the security lanes. I thought, “There is no way this is happening.” It will take 30 minutes just to get thru the line not to mention the security process. My heart reminded me, “If I am meant to be on this flight then I will be.” I just finish that thought and look up to see a long arm of a tall-friendly African American gentleman pointing me to a specific lane off to my left. I followed it and it was a side lane that took me right up to the security lane. Wow, that was awesome – thank you for angel #4!
I get thru security and quickly glance at my ticket. I saw “A” so started heading (or shall I say running) to gate A. My heart then said, “Look at your ticket again.” So I did and gasped, “Gate E!” which happens to be on the complete opposite side of gate A. I am running back to the area where I came from and really wishing I had wings or something because the gate seemed to be a mile away. About that time I heard my name being announced over the intercom so I started going faster. There was one guy behind me running for the same flight. We were the last two to board the plane. The plane was full but I saw two ladies sitting right behind the emergency exit row with a seat open in the middle. I asked them if I could please sit there. The lady said, “No problem, actually why don’t I just scootch over because her and I are traveling together anyway.” I smiled and said, “Thank you so much!” I got settled into my seat and let out a big sigh of relief – I made it, whew!
A gentleman was trying to force his suitcase in the compartment above our heads. No matter what he did, he can’t seem to get it to fit. He then takes the two coats of the ladies in my row out and said, “Do you mind holding these because they will not fit with the luggage?” She took them hesitantly. I turned to her and said, “I’m so sorry, here you did something nice for me and now they are putting more stuff back in your lap.” About that time the flight attendant smiled and took the coats to find a place in another bin so she wouldn’t be troubled for her kindness. The gentleman continued to try and get the suitcase to fit. My heart said, “Look up NOW!” I look up to see this big skateboard with big wheels fly out of the compartment above my head. I didn’t have time to react so just held my breath waiting for the thump. Suddenly there was this hand that came out of nowhere that caught it literally out of mid-air saving it from cracking me right in the head! I am on blood thinners so a crack to the head from a skateboard like that could have been really bad. Everyone around me was saying, “Nice catch!”, “How in the world did you just catch that?”, “No way that just happened, that’s impossible”. It was that same feeling you experience when watching Superman and he flies in just in the knick of time to save the day. “Wow!” I thought, thank you for angel #5!
They finally got the compartment closed, skateboard and all and the rest of our flight was uneventful. Once we landed in Chicago while I was standing in the aisle I felt my heart tug me to turn around to see the gentleman who caught the skateboard. I turned around and there stood a familiar gentleman standing there just smiling at me. I smiled back as my heart cried out saying, “thank you!” but the words wouldn’t come out (that is a first for me! LOL) but I knew my heart spoke right to this kind gentleman’s heart somehow. Well, I kept smiling and squinted my eyes just a little thinking, I know him from somewhere. He continued to smile a very proud smile like he was so glad he could help. I turned around as the line began moving forward while we exited the plane and I recalled where I had seen him before, my jaw dropped. He was in one of my dreams a few weeks back, a dream where I had a team of angels helping me. He was one of the angels and was sitting in the row behind me just like he was on the plane today. I have chills as I type this! See there are miracles around us everywhere but are we looking for them? Are we asking God for guidance and believing He will send it? Or are we getting frustrated in situations missing all that is right in front of us? If I would have focused on all the challenges that day I would have completely missed all the guidance and help that was sent. I am thankful I saw past what the world was sending me and stayed focused on what God was sending me – it made all the difference.
May you see the miracles around you and may you live your life to BE THE MIRACLE, it’s up to you – Life’s waiting so what’s it gonna be? Blessings!
Much love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
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12.25.09
Posted in Blessings, Christmas, Encouragement, Inspirational, Joy, Love, Uncategorized at 2:57 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
This entire Christmas season it has been on my heart, if we all had the Spirit of the Season within us every day of the year we would truly live in a different world and what a wonderful world it would be! It’s not about the commercialism, the gifts, not event the traditions … it’s about the Spirit of our hearts, that heart tug. Chris just said to me, “I can’t believe Christmas is already over.” He then said exactly what has been on my heart this month. He said, “You know, as soon as Thanksgiving is over everyone’s attitude seems to change. They began to be a little nicer, think a little differently, they give unselfishly to others, they are happy and kind.” He then paused and said, “Once Christmas is over, things change and go back to the way they were.” Then I said, “Yes, wouldn’t it be great if every day people could have the heart they do at Christmas.” He said, “Yeah, like the end of that movie Scrooged. Once you have that feeling, you want it every day.” I smiled and said, “My thought exactly!!!”
Here’s the clip he’s talking about (Warning: clip is from You Tube so I did not create it thus could not edit – it includes adult language at the end of the clip, view at your own discretion):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Rq50NFgCc
My heart then talked to me a little louder and the realization settled in … it really is up to us. We can choose to do something about it. And “the something about it” isn’t about religion, it isn’t about skin color, and it certainly isn’t about social status. It’s about the condition of our hearts. See if we each decide to have our hearts changed and learn to live true unconditional love in all we do, we would live in a different world one that I have imagined living in since the time I was little. When we act in love thinking of others before ourselves, when we ensure our actions are kind, sincere, caring and considerate, when we give of our time to help others even in the little things we do … like going out of the way to open a door or help someone pick up something they dropped – we are making a difference. It brings a peace and joy that all the money in the world couldn’t buy. Give from your heart whether it is sharing a smile or being able to buy a meal for someone who can’t afford one – when we do those things from our heart, we are one person in this huge world making a difference.
I encourage you to keep the Spirit of Love going, every day. Go and do a random act of love for someone else after the holiday. Commit to doing something once a week or if that is too much start out once a month. Every day before my kids walk out the door, I give them a hug and kiss, tell them I love them and (both of them will tell you) I always say, “Do something kind for someone else.” I promise you the gift you receive for giving love from your heart to others is priceless. If you want some ideas of sharing kindness (or if you want to download a free note card – example, let’s say you decide to make a meal for someone unexpectedly, you can download the card, write a note and not only does it touch someone’s heart but the print on the back encourages them to keep the love going by doing something nice for another), go to www.inthespiritoflove.org. Please know that making a difference starts with “one”, will you join us?
Have a very blessed holiday season to you and your family!
With much Love,
Sandi Rauwolf
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12.05.09
Posted in Blessings, Christmas, Inspirational, Joy, Love, Thankfulness at 8:47 am by Sandi Rauwolf
While getting our Christmas stuff out and ready to put up this week, mixed amongst all of the stacks of things on the counter Samantha had placed a box of mini candy canes. As soon as I saw it, within my heart triggered a beautiful memory of being about her age so excitedly standing in line waiting to see Santa. I could not wait to get up there and tell him all the things I had seen in the JC Penney and Sears catalogues that year hoping he would put some under our tree. I remember my sister, brother and I would sit there for hours paging thru those huge catalogues making our wish lists. It was fun for us and gave mom some quiet time. Anyway, I took one of the mini candy canes and just as when I was little, I couldn’t open the wrapper – some things never change. :) I was determined to do this without any help and I struggled with that little bugger for a good couple minutes after which I finally conceded and got the scissors out of the drawer. Ahhh, success!
As soon as the candy cane touched my lips, another wonderful memory overflowed my heart of those special moments I have been blessed with through the holidays. Growing up we didn’t have much compared to others but we had two parents who loved us unconditionally and who instilled within each of us – hearts overflowing with thankfulness for what we DID have. We were reminded to be thankful for even those yucky green beans in front of us (well we thought they were yucky at the time). My Dad would always remind us that there are many people in the world who don’t have a single morsel of food to eat or even a pair of shoes or a clean pair of socks to wear. We were always told that NO MATTER WHAT, we were loved and we were often reminded of that after we had made a mistake. So although the consequences were harsh, we were taught to learn from those mistakes and to know that we were still loved – unconditionally. It was important we understood that it was our decision/behavior that was bad and not who we were that was bad. (See if we associate that behavior with ourselves then our self esteem is down, we feel unworthy of anything because we can’t get rid of ourselves but we can get rid of the bad behavior.) So although the candy cane taste triggered wonderful memories, it isn’t the tangible things I remember but the love and joy I felt through those times – true unconditional love. What incredible treasures they are deep within my heart.
This year if you are facing a holiday where you don’t have funds to purchase gifts or to financially help others, please remember that love and joy are FREE and everything you do in life is building a memory for someone else – give freely of your heart, of your time … share love and joy with others, it’s the best gift you could ever give to someone.
With much love, peace and joy from my heart to each of yours – go out and make a difference in someone’s life today by being the beautiful person God made you to be and making a wonderful new memory within their heart and yours. What’s your “candy cane” memory? I want to encourage you to share one thru the “comments” link at the bottom of my blog. Your “candy cane” memory may inspire another … it’s the little things we do that make all the difference.
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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01.16.09
Posted in Blessings, Thankfulness at 9:14 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
As 2009 begins, I encourage each of us to dig deep inside our hearts to understand what exactly we are made of. What is at the very core of our being?
This economy today is one of the biggest blessings we could hope for – yes, you read that correctly, a BLESSING! :) Let’s step back and think about what gifts these times are bringing us. Let’s take a look at who we really are, what we really are about – do some deep soul searching. Let’s take a long overdue look in the mirror –
What is it we see?
Is the reflection anything we remember it to be or have we lost ourselves in “life” along the way?
As the economy deflates and we stand watching the material things in our lives get stripped away – when the rock begins to crumble beneath our feet, what exactly do we find ourselves clinging to …
Do we reach for the job that we pour ourselves into over 60 hours a week?
Do we reach for the coaches that are so important that we won’t let our kid miss a single game or practice – not even for a family gathering?
Do we reach for keys to the house we “had” to have?
Do we reach for that favorite book we keep our noses buried in as our kids pull at us crying for attention?
Do we reach for the cell phone that we can’t live without?
Do we reach for the great clothes and shoes that fill our closets?
Do we reach for the keys to the car that we love?
Do we reach for the TV that we spend more time with than our family?
Do we reach for the one person that we know will always be there – he would not turn his back on us, would he?
Let’s take a minute and think about whether any of those questions cut right to the center of our being with a pain we hadn’t realized was there. Ouch, huh?
So where does that leave us? Well it leaves us with families who are cutting out extra activities and actually spending quality time together. It leaves us with a humbled spirit working at jobs we would have never considered before but now are thankful to have a job – ANY job! It brings clarity to the clouded line of reality between true “wants” and “needs” in life.
So I ask, what can we really cling to in life that will never fail us not even when the world is crumbling beneath our feet?
There truly is only one thing and that is … our loving God.
I pray that He has touched your heart today thru the words He has given me and opened your mind to the blessings of what surrounds us this new year of 2009. May He bless each of you reminding you that when you feel lost and like there is no hope, there He stands with open arms waiting for you. Blessings!
Love,
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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01.02.09
Posted in Believe, Blessings, Heart Tugs, Thankfulness at 4:26 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
I hope your holidays were filled with blessings! This Christmas God sent me another very special gift (and I didn’t think it could get any better than Christmas of 1998!). It started with Him opening up the door for me to appear on FamilyNet’s Mornings with Lorri & Larry on December 23rd. My son, Ty, asked if he could come along with me to the In Touch Ministries Studio in Atlanta (that really touched my heart knowing he wanted to share in this moment with his mom). Our flights were booked for Monday night. I had worked all day and barely finished up the things I needed to get done before the holiday. The stress of work combined with the hustle and bustle we all get into around the holidays didn’t allow a single second of relaxation. We rushed off to the airport to make our 5:30 pm flight. We left the gate a little late and arrived in Atlanta around 9 pm. The Atlanta airport is huge! I couldn’t believe how big it was. Ty asked if we could walk to the baggage area (5,000 ft away – ughh!) I was wearing 3 inch heeled boots (something I am use to since I am married to a 6 ft. 3 in husband!) so I said why not – God has blessed me with the ability to walk so let’s do it! Well I had no idea just how FAR that would be but we did it. It was an hour and a half before we got our baggage, rental car and arrived at the hotel.
As we walked into the hotel, Ty looks up at the huge beautiful lobby surrounded by marble and water fountains. He turns to me with a smile and said, “You really made it, Mom.” Tears filled my eyes and my heart – well, it was overflowing. God is amazing!! I had hoped to help one person and look what He was doing. He is just TOO GOOD!
We were starving so we dropped off our luggage in the room and headed straight down to the hotel restaurant. It was open for about 20 more minutes – thank goodness! We were greeted by an incredibly, kind man. His nametag read “Work”. I said “Work?” He explained he had that done as a conversation starter. Brilliant, I thought! He said, “So you are here visiting family for the holidays?” I said, “Actually we are here because I am an author and scheduled to be on the Mornings with Lorri & Larry show tomorrow morning.” A big smile formed across his lips and he said, “Yeah that is a very popular show down here – so you are a believer?” I smiled back and said, “Yes, I sure am!” We started talking about the book and some of the things God has done in our lives. He was a kind spirit with a huge heart for God. It was obvious he touched every life God sent into his path just by who he was. He was so positive and excited about life. He understands that each minute is a gift and to cherish it!
I then felt God tugging on my heart to give a book to him. I had packed some to bring to the studio so asked Ty if he would get one out of the room for me. He did and I signed it handing it to Work. He was so thankful! The excitement of others to my story surprises me each time :) I mean after all, it’s just me! I’m no one special, just a normal person who God guided to write a book. He tucked the book under his arm and carried it around. He seemed to cherish this special gift. I saw him talking with another gentleman. He then showed him my book and pointed over to our table. The two of them then walked over. Work wanted to introduce me to William. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, William” I said as I reached out my hand to shake his. William and Work have worked together for some time. William asked me what my book was about so I started sharing some things God has done in my life. He then began to share some pretty big crosses he had to bear himself including losing his marriage and almost losing his life! Challenges that brought him to his knees but He then quickly shared how thankful he was for those times because they led them to God. “Amen!!!” I said as I smiled. We began to share how thankful we were for the adversities and challenges we have had. Can you imagine? There we stood, both of hearts overflowing with gratefulness for all of the DIFFICULT times that we had faced in our lives. Why? Well because now we understand how critical those times are to strengthening our faith and maturing us in our walk with God. It was just another testimony to how adversities make us realize that in weakness is when we are strong because we have no strength left of our own so GOD IS OUR STRENGTH. “… For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 14:10
William said good-bye as he went back to finish his shift. Work then brought our check and shared with me that in all of the time he has worked with William, he had no idea he was a believer. I smiled thinking how amazing God is! There are no coincidences in life – not with God! I sat there thankful for how God connects people. How he connects the dots in life. How something as simple as a kind gesture of a stranger has now connected two believers, believers who can now help each other along their walk with Him. And, once again how important it is we listen to that tug He puts on our hearts because we never know how it may change the life of the person crossing our path. We headed back to the room to get some sleep – it was late! As I drifted off to sleep, I said a prayer to God thanking him for the gift of being able to witness His hand in connecting two of His children!!
I’m sorry, I know this is getting lengthy but I feel God wants me to share all of this with you :) …
The next morning, we headed out around 7 am. The studio was BEAUTIFUL! Security let us in and I was again overwhelmed with thankfulness. He led us to the make-up room and showed us where we could help ourselves to beverages and snacks. I sat in the chair while the make-up artist touched me up for the show. Is this really happening? I mean, am I really sitting here in Dr. Stanley’s studio? Amazing! We then headed into be part of the studio audience to watch the show until it was time for me to go on. (Lorri & Larry have such a wonderful show bringing inspiration and touching lives around the world. I was thankful for the opportunity of meeting them. I encourage you to tune in or be part of their studio audience if you are ever in the Atlanta, GA area)!
We were going live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 … There I stood on LIVE TV sharing the wonderful things God has done in my life with millions of people (they simulcast on both TV and satellite radio)! Lorri & Larry are WONDERFUL!! They were so kind and genuinely excited about my book. I had to fight back the tears … to think that just 10 years ago I was in a hospital bed fighting for my life, praying for a miracle and the realization overcoming me of just how far He has brought me – blessings that are truly “too good”!! There is NOTHING that He cannot do!
They announced they were opening the phones for viewers to call in to receive a free copy of my book, Blessings Too Good. My stomach dropped for a moment, “what if no one calls in?” I said a silent prayer in my head. I then looked down to see the phone lines lighting up! I cannot even express how good my heart felt knowing God was reaching this many people. The last call that came in was a woman who had been fighting an illness for 3 ½ years. She said she was in tears watching the show and was so thankful for the special gift God sent her that day in hearing my message. That single moment, I felt as of the world stopped and my soul was basking in a feeling of euphoria. Nothing fills every space of your heart like those kinds of moments from God!
God reminded me yet again that we cannot even comprehend all that He has planned for us. It’s more than I could have ever imagined!! And here I thought there could not be a gift more special than the gift He sent me 10 years ago at Christmas. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
May you seek Him in ALL things this New Year 2009 with a faithful heart knowing that He has a plan for YOU just BELIEVE!!
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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12.02.08
Posted in Blessings, Personal Perspective, Thankfulness at 9:47 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
This time of year always encourages us to look within ourselves, to dig a little deeper, to sift thru all of the clutter in our lives in order to discover the buried treasures of thankfulness. No matter what we may be facing in our lives, there ARE treasures of thankfulness. We just need to take the time to unclutter our lives and look for them instead of shoving them into a drawer with all of the other junk. Let me explain what I mean.
Most of us have the infamous “junk drawer” in our homes. You know the drawer – the drawer that starts out with a few things and before we know it, everything that we don’t have time to deal with ends up in there. Well, if we aren’t careful, our lives can end up looking like that junk drawer. It is our natural tendency to run busily thru life shoving things to the side with the intention of dealing with them “some day”. But the reality is that despite our best intentions, we don’t! And the busier we become, the MORE stuff we shove aside. There is real danger in this for a few reasons:
1. MISPLACED – It becomes a habit so without even thinking about it, we start shoving things into the drawer that should NOT end up in a “junk” drawer!
2. ISOLATED – It goes undisturbed, so we forget about all of the things in that drawer and that includes the good things!
3. LOST – We don’t start digging thru the junk until we have a really good reason to do so and most often it is because we’re trying to find something.
Where does that leave us? In a flustered state, that’s where! But there is a special gift in that frenzy because when we face something in life causing us to feel a little frantic or desperate that is when we begin searching for something bigger. We pray “Please God help me. I PROMISE I will clean out this junk and do better next time!” Wow, if God only had a penny for every promise each of us has made to him – there would be an end to world hunger!
That frenzy state pushes us to do some soul searching, to step back from the busyness and evaluate what is really important in our lives. I mean where exactly are our priorities? Do we cherish the treasures that God has given us? Do we sprint thru life shoving everything to the side not truly appreciating what we do have? Do we have a hard time seeing past all of the junk in our lives preventing us from seeing all of the good?
Today I understand what a gift that state of frenzy is to each of us and exactly how much those tough times taught me.
It taught me that the most important gift you could give someone is not anything you can buy.
It taught me to appreciate the things in my life no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to others.
It taught me to be thankful for everything – even the challenges.
It taught me that good health is a gift.
It taught me not to take anything for granted especially LIFE.
It taught me how to love with my whole heart, even when it hurts.
It taught me to cherish the time with those I care about the most.
It taught me that there is more in this world than just me and my family and I need to be doing more. Watch this Advent Conspiracy and you’ll know what I mean. It really makes you think!
It taught me that when the world falls apart, there is only one thing I can cling to and that is our awesome God. He is THE answer to all of life’s problems.
Life truly is a precious gift so we need to embrace every second and be thankful for all that we DO have in our lives and quit focusing on what we do NOT have. It is NOT easy especially when we are surrounded with adversity or pain. When we seek God and trust His plan He will not forsake us. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
Tears fill my eyes and my heart overflows with thankfulness for all of the treasures He has given me. Treasures I never again want to shove into a drawer or easily lose track of because of the busyness in life. How about you – is it time for you to clean out your junk drawer?
God bless you!!!
Love,
Sandi
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11.21.08
Posted in Blessings, Challenges and Strengths, Faith, Why at 11:26 am by Sandi Rauwolf
We have all heard the saying “everything happens for a reason”. What exactly does that mean? How do you answer the question “How could there be a reason for a baby to die or a good person to suffer from a horrible cancer?”
First, we have to understand that God can turn all to His greater good no matter how horrible a situation seems. In Jeremiah 29:11 we know God has plans for each of us. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” So when I hear someone say “everything happens for a reason” – well to me that translates into, “I trust God completely in all and that includes trusting Him with my life in the good times AND the bad!”
We never know how many lives are impacted by a specific situation or what lesson we are being taught thru the adversity we may face whether it is to us personally or a loved one.
Do you realize that the world’s most highly effective causes were founded as a result of suffering and loss? A mother’s loss of a child to a drunk driver (MADD), a 34 year old young lady facing breast cancer (National Breast Cancer Foundation), a diagnosis of a horrible disease (Franklin Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio and started the March of Dimes, to research and help polio victims. Twenty years later a vaccine was developed and the program then partnered into helping the cause of birth defects). The list goes on and on. In each of these examples God took one person’s suffering and worked thru it to save/help the lives of millions. We never know what God will do but we can trust there is a bigger plan for our lives than we realize. God is good!
But if God is so good, why is there evil? God did not create the world evil, remember after God created everything in HIS own image the Bible tells us “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31. Then Satan came in and used a little bit of truth to deceive Eve into convincing Adam to eat from the forbidden tree. Once Adam did, it was the fall of man and introduced pain, suffering, etc. into the good world God created. Thus forever more sin became part of man and why He sent us His son to free us of that sin. Sin is what brought pain and suffering into the world. Sin is caused from evil, not good.
Okay, so you get now that sin is what caused the evil in the world but then the question comes up AGAIN, “Why would a loving God allow this to happen to His people?” In addition to trusting there is a big plan and God can turn all to His greater good, we also need to appreciate the gift of adversity and what it brings. As Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 12:10 “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Think about how powerful that statement is! :) Do we not get thirsty only after we have gone without water? When we face all that we do in life, those things make us THIRST for something bigger, something better out there – that is when we often begin to find our way to God. We face difficult times and face adversity to mature spiritually thus becoming complete. What a blessing – what a JOY! “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I know the things I have faced from that hospital bed over the years made me thirst for more. What about you – are you thirsty?
God bless!
Love,
Sandi
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11.08.08
Posted in Blessings, Challenges and Strengths, Joy, Personal Perspective, Self Reflection at 7:11 am by Sandi Rauwolf
First I wanted to start out by saying thank you so much for all of the emails and prayers about Samantha’s surgery. We are incredibly blessed with such caring people in our life! I’m sorry I haven’t been able to find time to sit down and write my blog sooner. Samantha’s surgery went well. She is bouncing around like a normal 6 year old. The doctor should be testing her hearing soon to determine how effective the surgery was for her. But I will tell you we have seen a significant improvement in her hearing and in her!
The thing that touched our hearts the most is what we have seen in our little girl. Over the last week she has been the happiest we have ever seen her. She is constantly smiling, singing – just so joyful! It’s amazing and as if a whole new world has opened up for her. As I stand watching her almost float around the house without a single worry in the world, I couldn’t help but smile and bask in the happy, joyfulness of our little angel. I found my heart overflowing in her delight because I love her so much. As I was enjoying that special moment I felt as if God gently whispered to me, “that is how I feel when my children are filled with joyfulness”. And I sat there thinking about what a loving God we have and how much He does want us to experience joy in all. I felt as if at that very moment God was standing there with me smiling at this precious little angel filling the room with peace and love. What a tremendous gift to me on such a stressful day that seemed to suck the life right out of me!
It’s amazing how our attitudes affect the world isn’t it? How many times do we have something going on in our lives that let’s just say causes us to fall short of filling a room with peace and love? Life in this world can be so demanding, so exhausting, and so stressful! It can dangerously cause our hearts to be calloused (emotionally hardened).
Matthew 13:15 “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them”.
When our hearts harden, we are no longer open to what God is trying to do in our lives or others. Suddenly we can hardly hear God’s voice although He is speaking to us loud and clear (just like I described in my last blog when Samantha’s ears were filled with fluid). When life robs us of that peace and joy, how effective are we when God sends someone into our path?
What do I mean by that? Well, there are no coincidences with God – things don’t “just” happen. It’s not a matter of luck or being in the right place at the right time. If someone crosses our path we need to be open to what God may be doing – whose life He may be trying to touch. A concept I failed to understand for so long is that each of us has a role, a very specific purpose here. Long before we even realize that purpose, we have unknowingly touched many lives that have crossed our paths. I was in a particular season in my life many years ago where I didn’t grasp this concept. I didn’t think I made a difference in a single life but God taught me otherwise. We have touched another life with something as simple as a smile or letting someone step ahead of us in line at the grocery store. That smile, that simple act of kindness God may have used to completely change the path that person was on that day – just like God did for me watching Samantha fill the room with peace and love. I know personally when I let life rob me of God’s peace and joy I certainly am in no mood to help anyone nor do I want to be helped – this is the true danger of a hardened heart!
But God understands this – that is why He has given us a way to peace, joy and eternal life. When we seek worldly things to fill us with peace and joy we may experience joy for a moment or two but it is short-lived. We are left feeling empty again, feeling lost. But thru those failures, thru that emptiness we find that those adversities cause us to seek something bigger … to discover the true meaning of life! To discover Him! Once we welcome Him into our hearts and begin our walk with Him – nothing, not even the grave can rob us of that joy because He is now with us (Psalm 16:9-11) He begins to change us and as we mature in our spiritual walk it is amazing the things we can see, hear and how He changes our hearts. We truly can find joy in ALL. We can be kind and loving, effective and productive (2 Peter 1:1-11) even in our weakness. As Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 12:10 in our weakness, we find strength.
We never know who may be coming into our paths … whose life God may be trying to reach thru us. Often thru those interactions God brings us a very special gift like the story of the old Fisherman (I share below – thank you Faye :).
May God bless each of you and fill your life with peace, joy and a true understanding of life … the life He wants for each of us and that is eternal life with Him thru His son Jesus Christ (John 3:16). God bless!
Love,
Sandi :)
THE OLD FISHERMAN
Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the Clinic.
One summer evening as I was preparing supper, there was a knock at the door I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. ‘Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,’ I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body.
But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, ‘Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus ’till morning.’
He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success; no one seemed to have a room. ‘I guess it’s my face. I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…’
For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: ‘I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.’ I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. ‘No thank you. I have plenty’ And he held up a brown paper bag.
When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.
He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was prefaced with thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded, and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, ‘Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.’ He paused a moment and then added, ‘Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.’ I told him he was welcome to come again.
And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4 a.m., and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.
When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. ‘Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!’
Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illness would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.
- Author Unknown
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10.26.08
Posted in Blessings, Challenges and Strengths, Personal Perspective, Self Reflection, Thankfulness at 3:00 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Last week was an eye opening experience. Within the last couple of months we have noticed Samantha becoming obstinate. She was ignoring people. She was looking at them with a stare instead of responding and then going about her business as if they did not even exist. It appeared to all around her that she wasn’t listening, following directions or being very respectful. It had been weighing heavily on my mind. What was going on with my baby?
Well, I knew she had not been feeling well due to experiencing bad allergy symptoms despite testing negative for all of them so I made an appointment for the allergist who referred her to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist). As we sat in the ENT doctor’s office he was asking her questions and she just stared at him. I said, “Samantha, please answer the doctor honey don’t be rude by not responding.” She just sat there with “the” stare again accompanied with a look of being ashamed but still looking away not responding. I couldn’t understand what was going on with our little girl.
I told the doctor about her recent behavior so he examined her and noticed her ears were filled with fluid. He wanted to test her hearing so instructed us to walk down the hall to the hearing test room. I am not sure if you have ever seen one of these rooms but it is a soundproof booth equipped with a few different headsets and a chair facing a window where the technician performing the test can be seen by the patient. In walks my little baby into this small soundproof booth. I wasn’t sure if she would be brave because she would be alone in this little room with only a stranger staring back at her thru a small window. But she WAS brave and went right in! The technician put the headset on her and explained he was going to be speaking to her through the microphone. He told her that she would hear him thru the headset. He explained he would be saying words to her and would like her to repeat them back to ensure she was hearing Him clearly. He walked out of the small soundproof booth and shut the door behind him. She was enclosed with soundproof walls and completely shut off from the rest of the world. There were chairs right outside of the booth so I sat and watched the test being performed. The technician said a word into the microphone … “pancake” but instead of my little girl repeating pancake she said something like “panck”. He then said, “baseball”. She responded with something like “bab”. I don’t remember the exact way she repeated back the words but it was not even close to what he had said. It was a very distorted version of the word spoken to her. I sat there with tears rolling down my face. She clearly could not hear despite him speaking loudly and clearly into the microphone. What she was hearing was a muffled version of the technician’s voice.
Here our perception of her being obstinate and disrespectful was completely wrong. She wasn’t disrespecting. She could NOT hear! The fluid in her ears was preventing her from hearing properly so much in fact that they scheduled surgery for Wednesday (please say a prayer for our angel?) Sitting in that doctor’s office, my heart was heavy and I felt terrible for the way we had been treating her based on our false perception. I just kept hugging her and telling her how sorry I was.
Later that night while I was praying for the surgery next week to restore her hearing, I realized how much I needed to ask for forgiveness and pray for myself as well. I asked God to help me see the world AGAIN through His eyes, with His heart and NOT with a displaced perspective. We thought we were doing the right thing having consequences for those disrespectful moments. The problem was we didn’t have all of the facts but yet we reacted as if we did. Her blank stare when someone would talk to her was because she couldn’t hear what was being said but was too ashamed to say anything. My heart was broken!
God really opened my eyes to a couple of things:
1. We need to be mindful of our perceptions of every situation and ensure we do NOT assume anything no matter how obvious something appears. We can save ourselves and others a lot of pain if we see a situation for what it is based on facts instead of past emotional hurts or assumptions that may skew our perspective.
I’m quickly learning that if I really want God to send me to help others then I need to learn to listen with His ears and see with His eyes so none of my baggage causes wrong perceptions.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.” Isaiah 6:8-9
2. How often are we the ones sitting inside the soundbooth with God speaking to us but there is something keeping us from hearing him clearly? How many things get in the way of us hearing His voice? Too many, I’m afraid. It can be the busyness of our lives. It can be the wrong influences whether alcohol, gambling or some type of addiction – it can be our peers. Are we surrounding ourselves with people that have our best interests in mind – loving us and helping us to become the people God made us to be?
We need to learn to listen to His voice and hold fast to our God so that blessings will come into our lives.
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20
God is amazing! Once we open our hearts and minds to Him, He surrounds us with what appears to be “every day” moments like Samantha’s hearing test but within those “every day” moments there lies a very powerful message from Him. The thought I would like to leave you with today is how many messages is He sending you? Can you hear Him?
Blessings!
Sandi :)
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