Kindness

Recently I have been reading and thinking about kindness quite a bit. I want to be intentional about growth in character and being more Christlike. I've read several books and have 2-3 more on my coffee table at Cedarly...all about kindness. I had no idea there was so much written about kindness and what that looks like, how that works. Today I had an opportunity to experience kindness...from a stranger and from God himself.

Andy attended the NO REGRETS men's conference at Elmbrook today. He and a friend did a seminar for pastors on Sabbath/Sabbatical. I planned to spend the morning running errands, having a bite to eat, and going to a movie in the early afternoon before meeting Andy at 5:00 for church. Little did I know...

The shopping went well. Only a couple of quick stops needed after a kid's meal at McDonald's...then off to the 1:05 movie at the Majestic. Not! I made the mistake of breaking routine and hung my purse over the back of the chair with my coat on top. I finished eating, gathered up the trash and went to get another cup of Coke. I walked out the door and headed to my next stop...only to discover my purse had been left behind. I turned around and headed back as quickly as possible, but the purse was gone. I asked around among those eating, asked at the check out, and then found the shift manager, Donna. No purse in the lost and found, in the closet, or under the counter...or in any of the trash bins in the bathroom, on the floor or outside the doors. I left my phone number with Donna and headed home to make some phone calls.

All the way home I was praying, asking the Lord to send a kind person to find my purse in a bush, a parking lot, or a trash can.

It's not real easy to get a hold of bankers on the weekend. I did manage to cancel the business card from PRN and our personal card. I was just going to work on the debit card when I had a call from Andy's sister, Carol. She wanted to know if I was okay. She had a phone call from a Milwaukee police officer...he had my purse. Why he chose to call Carol, I do not know. I guess he just picked a number off of my cell phone. Did anyone else get a call? Unfortunately he did not tell Carol which station and there are 7 police stations in Milwaukee. I looked them up on the internet and started calling. Between calls, I got a call from the 3rd District...about 25 miles from home. "Come as soon as you can . It will be at the front desk ~ if you don't make it by 4, it goes in the property room and you can't get it until Monday. It looks like everything is in tact." Some unknown citizen turned it in. It had been found somewhere just outside the McDonald's where I had left it. The officer at the desk had no idea why the unknown citizen turned it in miles away at a Milwaukee station. I'll never know who that kind citizen was.

So, I get back in my car and head toward downtown, turning north at Miller Park. As it turns out, 3rd District isn't a great neighborhood. But, they had my purse, minus gift cards from Applebees and Marcus Theaters, my debit card. and about $25.00 in cash. My grandkid's pictures, my cell phone, my tax exempt cards from stores all over town, my medical ID cards, my grocery cards...all that stuff was there. My recently renewed military ID, my driver's license, my JoAnn's gift card, as well as the MasterCard, Visa, Boston Card, Kohl's card...all there. They took the cash, but left the change AND my house key in the change pocket. Thank you, Lord.

Now the race was on to cancel my debit card...with no charge left in my phone and no phone in the station that will let me call an 800 number. I'm off to Elmbrook Church to find Andy and a phone to use. A couple of greeters offered a phone and found Andy. Using his debit card, I finally reached the office to cancel that card. It's time to go to the Brookfield Police Station to file a report on the theft...just in case any of the card numbers are used any time in the future.

The folks there were helpful and efficient. I made it back to Elmbrook in time for the service at 5. It was an eventful afternoon. But God was kind and got my purse back to me through a kind unknown citizen. I'm grateful and will continue to take more time to be kind toward others.

For now, I'm headed for bed...exhausted.

Happy New Year

As you can see, we had a wonderful time in Virginia over Christmas ~

opening gifts on Christmas morning, baking cookies and making a gingerbread house, tubing on snow and miniature golfing on the same day, enjoying the water park, playing games and making puzzles.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland Once Again

The other day I walked from Cedarly to our Condo just after a pretty snowfall.

It was quiet, the sun was shining and the skies were blue.

What a beautiful gift from God.

(Just double click on the collage if you want to see the pictures up close)

Merry Christmas

Gary, Aimee, Faith, and Avery at home in Virginia
Merry Christmas from our house to yours! Snow is already falling here in Wisconsin, so we think we will have a white Christmas. This year we will join Gary, Aimee, Faith and Avery in Virginia for a week, spending a few days at the Masanutten Resort tubing, snowboarding, sledding, and enjoying the water park.

This fall at Elmbrook Church we had a sermon series/small group study on Philippians called THE CHOICE. It proved to be timely, encouraging, and challenging. The topics included I Choose Confidence, I Choose Joy, I Choose Unity, I Choose Service, I Choose Christ, I Choose Peace, and I Choose Contentment. In these days of political and economic turmoil, who couldn't use a bit of joy, unity, peace, and contentment? We believe that is possible if we only choose Christ. (Last time I checked the sermons were still available to view at http://www.cometothebrook.org/.)

Our year was filled with meaningful ministry at Cedarly, wonderful family gatherings, and opportunities to enjoy God's creation in several states. A big highlight was the addition of Anders Eric to the Jacobson family in August. He's a real sweetheart. We were honored to be a part of his dedication to the Lord in October.


Enjoy some of our pictures and commentary in the 2008 blogs here on our site. We're also including family photos in this blog. And, as always, our home and our hearts are open ~ come see us when you're in the Milwaukee area!

Joel, Sarah, and Anders at home in Colorado

Andy and Nancy welcoming Anders to the family on the day he was born!

Welcome Back to VA

Welcome back to VA. In October Aimee reminded me that I have never gone from 4th of July to Christmas without seeing the girls...so in November I went out for a long weekend. What fun. One day I spent some time with Faith at her school ~ it took about 40 minutes for her to show me everything in her wonderful kindergarten room. I learned all about the kids at her table and saw all of her artwork on display. I found out how the clip system works and the fact that Faith has never had to move her clip. I saw her cubbie and the birthday board. It was great fun to see she enthusiasm and love for learning.

The weather was not great some of the time we were there, so we played LOTS of cards ~ Go Fish and Crazy Eights were the favorites. We even taught Avery how to play (with some help from Mom). We made tents in the garage, flew a kite at the park, rode bikes, and wrapped Christmas gifts. Faith loves working in the kitchen ~ so we made some fancy ice cream ornaments and some fun apple/peanut butter/marshmallow lips.

With Faith in school a good part of the day, it is fun to have some time alone with Avery. She is easy going and full of fun, tho not at all interested in potty training at this point. We had fun creating some cards to send to Anders, Emma and Ellie (all of her cousins). Avery loves hats ~ including helmets...and she looks cute in them to boot. She keeps up with her sister and they love each other dearly. Avery has a wide vocabulary and surprises you at times with what she comes up with.

One night Aimee and Gary went on a date. We watched Mary Poppins, dancing and singing our way thru the movie. We took one break to eat supper and another to eat our special ice cream ornaments. It was full evening of entertainment!

Anders Dedication

We just got back from a week in Colorado ~ time with Sarah, Joel and Anders as well as time at the annual CareGivers Forum. It was a beautiful week with great weather. The highlight of the week was the opportunity to participate in the home dedication ceremony for little 8 week old Anders.

CareGivers Forum at Glen Eyrie

CareGivers Forum was at beautiful Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs again this year. What a wonderful spot to gather, renew friendships, worship, and enjoy God's incredible creation.

We are serving on the steering committee for the forum and have lead a small group during the conference for several years. Andy served as emcee this year, too. This is an amazing group of people who serve the kingdom of God by serving pastors in a wide variety of ministries. Check it out ~ there is a directory of these ministries and one of them might be just what your pastor needs.

We enjoyed hiking from Glen Eyrie down into the Garden of the Gods one afternoon.

A hike on Saturday took me to the top of the Incline in Manitou Springs ~ it is a challenging climb and unbelieveable views of the Springs. I personally hiked up the hiking trail and partway down the Incline ~ then my thighs starting thumping and I went back to the hiking trail. My legs ached for about 5 days after.