August 16

Interesting surprises….

Everyone likes surprises, right?  Especially good surprises. Usually when you think of surprises you think of some thing.

Today I had two surprises, but they were not tangible things.  First, there was blue sky and very little rain which was a wonderful surprise.  After days on end of hard rain and strong winds, today was a nice surprise.  The weather forecast was for rain and even later it showed a little sun beginning at 7:00 pm tonight, but in fact the sun came out much earlier and there were hints of blue skies all day long.

My other big surprise occurred when I had to go meet with the school district superintendent to discuss how to deal with a problem concerning one of our dual credit courses.  I thought I had a good solution mapped out only to discover some new rulings in the Alaska education code which made my solution impossible and the biggest surprise came when he appeared to agree that a solution I thought quite impossible might be the best solution after all.

I love surprises, but great surprises and especially ones that are totally unexpected are the best.  I really believe that we can probably find surprises almost every day if we truly look for them.  They may not be like today’s surprises and come along unexpected, but obvious when they occur, but they are there nonetheless.  It could be a telephone call, a smile when you expected a frown from someone, feeling better as the day goes along when it started off rather bumpy.

Surprises are a blessing and a gift from our Father.

Father, you are the giver of all good gifts and surprises are one of your joys to us.  Thank you for the blessing of all types of surprises.  Amen.

Isaiah 55:8 and 9

February 6

Surprises!  I love surprises and yesterday and today I have had so many it is hard to take them all in.  Last night at the community variety show for the yearly Iceworm Festival I received my first surprise when I was called on stage to be given the Citizen of the Year award.  The surprise continued when a friend read the winning letter she wrote about me and said that a person I know, but not well, had called and told her to write it.  I was also surprised by all the things people said about me.  I would have expected them to say “cinnamon rolls,” when they first hear my name.  (That brought a laugh from the audience.)

The surprises continued after the program was over and people came up to me and told me how deserving I was and how they wondered why I had not received the award before this.

I was told I was going to be the Grand Marshall of the parade and ride in a car which turned out to be a very nice truck today.  As we rolled down the street and my driver rolled the windows down, I waved to people on both sides of the street.  I was very surprised to hear all the clapping and shouting from people I know.  All in all it was a very special and very surprising event.

My pastor had told people including my own children that the award was imminent and amazingly not one person who knew and there were many leaked the secret.  I am glad, because I would not have wanted to know in advance.

I felt very honored and loved and had a wonderful evening and day today.  I am thankful for such a caring community of friends.

Father, thank you for surprises and for the fun they entail.  Thank you for such a loving, caring community of friends and neighbors.  Amen.

Romans 12:9-13

 

 

Surprises….

I like surprises. I like finding gifts to surprise people.  I like baking food to take to people and surprising them.  You can tell that I like surprises.

Sometimes it is hard to get your plans together to make your gift a real surprise but it is fun to try to get it to work out.  I have to ask questions that I am sure partially ruin the surprise, but it is fun to give it a try.

Recently the man with whom I spent a lot of time on the phone when he was in prison has come back to live in my house.  He experienced a big surprise when he moved in.  He has lived there before, but this time he commented to me that now he can sleep through the night, that my house has a good vibe.  I am not surprised by this myself as I think my house is a relatively calm place to be.  There are times when I am dashing about trying to meet a deadline or get somewhere and it is not as calm as it is normally, but I don’t have the stress he has had in his life lately.

Surprises then come in all sorts of forms as you can see.

I encourage you to find ways to surprise others and help them find joy in this special season that we are celebrating.  I am sure you will be as blessed as they are.

God bless you.

2-10-15

Tonight I took a family picture for a family I know in Cordova.  The little boy was rather rambunctious and I told him I would give him a surprise if he was a good listener.  He did in fact listen and followed directions well.  When we were finished he asked for his surprise.  I have always been able to give a small child a ride on one of my stools that goes around and around in a circle and up and down with a pneumatic lift.  He thought this was great, but it was not the surprise he was expecting.  He kept asking for his surprise.  I darted into the kitchen where I knew there was some candy and got him three small peanutbutter cups. That seemed to satisfy him.

I thought how much times had changed.  The stool was not a surprise of the magnitude that he was interested in.

I am reading a book about a child who has a lot of toys and his nanny is somewhat surprised at the number of toys he has.

People might say I have a lot of toys at my house and it’s true.  I have many of the toys my children had growing up.  The reason we have so many is that they never broke their toys so even if they got a new one for their birthday or Christmas we added it to the others.

When kids come to my house, they love to play with the toys and their parents are always surprised at the age of some of them.

I guess it is at times like today that I think about my age.  I realize that times have changed so much there are many things that are very different.  I was not upset, just surprised.  But surprises can be good because they help us learn and understand.  Today was one of those days.

God bless you as you make discoveries which add to your understanding too.

December 16, 2014

While I was waiting for the plane from Anchorage to Seattle today a woman asked me to watch her bag while she went to the restroom when she came back she started to talk with me.  SHe had been in Kodiak for the birth of a new grandchild and was on her way home to Arizona.  She told me the baby was a surprise to her daughter, but her daughter said it was a surprise bonus baby.  She and I agreed that this was a great way to look at the birth that was unexpected.

I have heard people call babies that come unexpectedly mistakes and I thought her daughter’s comment was a refreshing change.  No baby is a mistake in God’s eyes and what a special gift this child may be to her family.  A true bonus, a surprise.

Surprises are good.  Usually bonuses are good.  I remember reading C. S. Lewis’s book Surprised by Joy in which he recounts his conversion experience.  What a wonderful idea being surprised by joy.  It is a great way to look at the events in life and to let them be a blessing rather than a curse.

We all need to be surprised by joy and I expect that if we look around each day we can find may things to surprise us and bring us joy.  I know I can.

Nehemiah 8:10

December 7, 2014

Tonight was the church’s Christmas program.  It was unusual in that it was a puppet play musical.  Many of the singers were adults, some were teens.  All of the puppeteers were adults with one exception, the pig was a kid.  Some of the puppeteers had to be recruited at the last minute as in just one practice before the program since the ferry did not run today.  But the wonderful thing is that it went really really well and everyone like it and those who were in it and those who were singers and could see all the puppeteers thought it was well done.

What a blessing that was!  I knew it would be good.  God never lets us down.  And I remember one of our music directors from long telling me you never want a good last rehearsal, your performance won’t be as good as you want it to be.  Now I am sure that is superstition and I don’t believe in superstition, but I always remember her telling me that before every performance for everything we ever did.  I guess it is stuck in my mind.  I am so thankful everything was well done.  The music stopped twice but the singers kept singing and when the music started up they were right in sync with it.  The puppeteer (a cow) standing next to me whispered, “Wow”  I told her it was a God thing. She agreed.

A young couple played Mary and Joseph and she managed to come in looking pregnant and then turn and pretend the baby was being born and bring out a baby wrapped in cloths.  It was pretty amazing and well done.  “Joseph” told me thanks for letting them be in the program.  It meant a lot to him.  I thought that was quite awesome.

One little girl whispered to her grandma when I was speaking, “I know who Tiny is.  That’s Miss Susan.”  I was a sheep.  And I am sure my voice is very recognizable

One little girl who is in foster care brought her Mom and Dad and her mom brought three hot dishes for the fellowship time after the program.  The rest were cookies, but she had a special pasta dish with ham, cheesy bread and another dish with a red sauce.  It was quite good.  I was so glad to see her starting to be a part of things at church.  She comes every week and never came before her little girl was in foster care.  I certainly hope she continues once the little girl goes back to her.  What a blessing that is to see her there every Sunday.

The Lord brings blessings in many ways and often in ways we don’t expect, but isn’t that part of his wonder and majesty.

Philippians 4:19; James 1:17; Luke 6:38

November 3, 2014

We have been having such low attendance at one of our afterschool kids’ programs I have been on the verge of cancelling it. Then today our numbers doubled from last week.  We are still not up to the numbers we had last year, but I am definitely encouraged.

Never say never and never give up.  I had been ready to do both when the new kids and some old kids from last year showed up.  I should have known better.  It has happened before.  I just needed someone to encourage me not to give up.  The ministry team said just keep doing it for the small number and one person did think when the time changed more kids would come because it would be dark.  I have no idea if that is the reason for the increase today.  I just know that I am thankful and I hope it continues.

The younger kids continue to have high numbers.  The friend who comes until I can get there from school thought they were really wound up today and I have to agree.  They were wild.  Running hither and you and not listening very well to directions.  But you have to laugh when you see them as they are so silly.

I know laughter and prayer are the keys to these situations.

I am very thankful for the outcome today and for new opportunities for next week.

Psalm 31:24; Romans 12:12

October 16, 2014

I received the nicest surprise today.

I was busy working at the computer when I heard a voice call my name.  I looked up and there was a woman from the bank carrying a birthday cake and a dozen red roses along with a birthday card filled with special wishes from each one at the bank.  I felt so special and was so surprised.  What a special gift on my birthday.

I also received special cards and phone calls from my family.  It was a special day indeed.

I love surprises and especially ones that come like this one out of the blue.  They are encouraging and make me smile.

I love those sites on the Internet that talk about paying it forward and giving random acts of kindness.  They are all aimed at cheering people  up and encouraging them.

I didn’t feel in the need of being cheered up, but I love encouragement and this was really special.

If you lack for ideas just look up some of those sites.  You’ll be glad  you did and whoever you decide to surprise will be extra glad you did too.  God bless you as you surprise and encourage others.

Thessalonians 5:11; Psalm 27:1, Psalm 55:22

March 20, 2014

I love surprises and today I had three of them.

When I went to knit with my friend at the hospital, I noticed that she had a few pussy willows in a little jar. This is a true sign of Spring. I also noticed that she had another little jar with some baby branches sporting buds. I am not totally certain what kind they were but they too were a nice sing of Spring. And all of this on the first day of Spring this year.

Then when I went to get out her knitting (she holds the needles and pushes the needle through and I throw the yarn around the needle–she is partially paralyzed), she told me to take out the bag in the knitting bag. Lo and behold it was a pair of beautiful moccasin type slippers from LL Bean. “It’s your Christmas present,” she said. I reminded her that she had already given me a wonderful gift–otter fur trimmed gloves (which can only be given by an Alaska Native person to a white person). She assured me that this was my gift as well.

It was a wonderful surprise and certainly one I was not expecting. We agreed that I would keep them in her room while the weather outside still requires me to wear grippers on my shoes and then I wouldn’t have to bring extra indoor shoes with me. The slippers were deep pink, one of my favorite colors, had a sole and were fur-lined and very comfy. It was such an unexpected and special surprise and she was quite pleased that I liked them and they fit.

Surprises are wonderful. They are usually unexpected and they are always special and that’s what makes them so great. Best of all they make me feel loved and cherished and I really want to go surprise someone else. What a wonderful way to celebrate the first day of Spring.

C. S. Lewis wrote a book Surprised by Joy when he became a believer. A certain website says there are hundreds of surprises in the Bible. God is in the business of surprises it seems and he likes to surprise us with answered prayer, with love and kindness and with joy to name just a few. I’m just waiting to see how he surprises me next.

Ezra 5 and 6