Throwback Thursday - The Wrong Number....That Wasn't

 I wasn't planning to do a Throwback Thursday, but I found this old draft of a blog post from several years ago where I had transcribed an actual text conversation I had with a complete stranger that morning. I was going to delete it, but then thought, you know what....I remember that day and that conversation VERY well....and even though it was more than 5 years ago...the point I was going to make then is still valid today. Soooo.....here goes.....Throwback Thursday.

*Draft from March of 2013*

Text transcription

Did you leave your house yet? Was going to ask you to bring in a large pitcher if you could. I have an object lesson for group today and I got rid of mine when we moved.

I think you have the wrong number

Oh.......sorry. Was trying to reach Sherri.

This is Sheri. Who's this? Your text didn't make sense to me.

It's Fran. I was hoping to catch you before you left home. I wanted to borrow a pitcher for a lesson I wanted to teach at Bible study today. Sorry to confuse you.

Fran who works at Rivera? I don't work there...plus I'm still home sick today.

LOL......no, Fran from S*.....I guess I do have the wrong number afterall.....sorry. I hope you have a great day.....and I'll pray you feel better. :)

Thanks. Weird, my name is Sherri too...hope you get to borrow your pitcher. I would have brought it if I worked with you...lol.

LOL....that IS weird. Wow.....God REALLY loves you because I guess He wanted you to have a complete stranger pray for you to feel better. :) The number I saved in my phone is my boss' cell number and the pitcher was for a Bible study we have here at work. God works in mysterious ways. :) Well....feel free to keep my number if you ever have a prayer request you want to send over. :)

Thanks...I need a prayer for more hours at work or another job. Only working part time. You are more than welcome to borrow a pitcher. God works in mysterious ways!! Have a great day!!

You got it! I will have my entire team pray for you. Be blessed Sheri! I'm Fran. :)

 So on that day I was trying to text my boss, Sherri, something that I did all the time. Now this was not a normal misdial.....I had my boss Sherri's cell number saved to my contacts and I always texted her by just tapping her speed dial on my phone. That morning I did the EXACT same thing....I tapped on her photo and sent the text......but somehow it went to a completely different number....not even close to the same digits.....to a random woman who was also named Sheri. Coincidence? Nah.....I think everything happens for a reason. That day, I was able to briefly encourage a total stranger by letting her know God loves her and that there were complete strangers praying for her. Kind of a virtual hug from God that she needed at that exact moment. Meanwhile, to my Bible study group of almost all new Christians, that I needed that pitcher for....I was able to show one of the ways God will unexpectedly use random circumstances to get His message across to us.

  A couple of weeks ago I got to be on the receiving end of another random God hug. It was right after we had gotten the diagnosis for Ben and I was still in shell shock and trying to get my spiritual feet under me. So I was quietly sitting at my desk, nose to the grindstone, desperately trying to avoid people in an attempt to hold myself together as I prayed and processed. Suddenly one of my favorite co-workers came over to ask me a question. I thought I was faking it pretty well, but I honestly don't have a good poker face. After a moment, he just looked at me and said, "you look like you need a hug...." and he walked over and hugged me. Of course....I silently lost it....I know in that moment it was my co-worker hugging me...but I also know that even though he had no idea at that time what was going on, it was God who had prompted him to come and do that. To use my co-worker/friend to let me know everything was going to be ok and....well....kind of a God hug via him.

 Sometimes God will send us virtual hugs through actual things like a co-worker, or an impossibly random wrong number, or maybe a billboard, a song, etc......I have so many stories of times in my life that God sent me a "hug" to let me know He was there....and rooting for me, or encouraging me, etc. We just have to make sure to pay attention. People think God only speaks to us through an audible voice....but that's not true....He will speak to us in any way needed to get His message across. So.....antennas up people...God might just be sending you a hug and you didn't even realize it. How can you not hug someone you love so much.... and believe me, He L-O-V-E-S you....sooooo much!

Love,
Fran
~Joy ALL Ways~

1...2...3...4...Breathe...5...6...

So Monday was pretty non climactic, not a bad thing really...lol. ALthough, maybe I shouldn't say that. It ended on a highly positive note. For about 2 months now I've been praying about something. I believe God has been showing me some things, confirming some things and sending LOTS of encouragement. I'm not prepared to share about it yet, but in time I will. So anyway, I have been keeping it to myself all this time and meditating and praying about it, put out a Gideon's fleece or two. No that does not mean a person is weak spiritually...yes we are to trust God and the very essence of faith is to believe in things not seen....however, sometimes in our sinful human nature a seed of doubt or fear gets in there and we need God to just meet us where we're at. In almost 30 years of being a Christian I haven't had a whole lot of those moments, I usually tend to jump in with both feet and trust for God to catch me, but this is one of those fleece things for me. Not that I don't believe He can do what I'm praying about, but I guess on this one I want to play it safe and make sure I KNOW, that I KNOW, that I KNOW..it's God.
So anyway, last night as I was reading the days scripture for the Bible in a year one of the verses leapt off the page at me and it spoke to the EXACT thing I've been praying about. I felt like it was time I finally shared with Ben what has been on my heart. I was a little apprehensive,......ok....a lot apprehensive. Not that he wouldn't support me, but sometimes the things that are important to the female mind and heart aren't on the same radar screen as the things that are important to the male mind and heart. So I prayed and happened to be IM-ing somebody and had them pray too for the best way to broach the topic and that it would be well received.  

Well, God met me where I was at and not only was Ben TOTALLY supportive (Lord I love that man!!) and completely encouraging, but he threw me a curve ball I NEVER really expected by saying, "Fran...what makes you think I haven't already been interceding about that for you?" I think this was the exact moment I experienced my first deer in headlights look for the night. "HUH?!?!!?" He gave me a look like, DUH!!! It took a moment for that to sink in.....hmmm...I don't know....he has so many other things on his plate in providing for our home and other things that no, I honestly DIDN'T think he would be interceding for me on this. HUH....cool God, didn't see that one coming!!!! So because he was soooooooo supportive and encouraging it actually gave me the room I needed to REALLY open up about my concerns, fears and other feelings regarding this prayer request. Ben sat there and listened and reminded me of scripture I needed to be reminded of and offered up ideas and solutions to make this thing work,(I guess he really HAS been praying about this...WOWWW!!!). So by the end of our conversation I had a whole new level of peace about this that I have never had before. Unbelievable...God never ceases to amaze me.
SOoooooo...today I woke up and yep, that peace was still there....sigh....Gideon fleece number 1, wow.....cool. 

SO I went bopping along to work, feeling pretty dang amazing.....and as I stood there chatting with the girls and helped welcome the sprouts in for the day, it happened. One of them had wiggled up behind me on the floor just as the doorbell rang, I went to get it and WHOOP, BANG! My feet did some sort of ankle height triple lutz as I spun around, knocked the child down onto his bottom, and crashed down onto one knee directly on the wood covered concrete floor somehow catching myself on the cabinet behind me with both hands and miraculously never spilling a drop of the almost full iced coffee which I was holding! AND FOR MY NEXT TRICK!!!!!  So I turn around to make sure he's ok, he is, but he's now crying because he has no idea what he just witnessed or caused, but Miss Fran suddenly looks like a cross between a cherry red tomato as she bites her lip and a fish out of water as she writhes on the floor in pain. Thankfully the girls jumped right in. Amber ran to get the door, I think Jess grabbed Dylan and got him out of the way and Allie got out of MY way...lol. I got up painfully and slowly and limped across the room to focus on keeping my mouth shut....OHHHHHHHHH that was a wise choice because I really don't think ANYBODY wanted to hear the colorful things running through my mind at that moment. Let's just say I was feeling significantly less than Christian at that moment and the phrase, "Jesus is AWESOME" was NOT what wanted to come out of my mouth. So I waited for the incoming parents to disperse, Allie asked if I was ok and I still couldn't open my mouth so I just waived my hand and nodded.

She knows me well enough she just said ok and backed away, wise girl. I stood up as straight as I could and limped to the kitchen to get an ice pack. Oh wait, wonder jaws bit into our last ice pack last week so no ice pack in the freezer...AHHH but we had a bag of frozen corn. THAT works! I gingerly applied it and felt my ability to speak slowly return. Meanwhile Amber came to get an icepack for Dylan's leg, oh yeah..wonder jaws....ok so he ended up having a tube of frozen Pillsbury sugar cookie dough applied to his leg instead of ice. Yeah...WE'RE professional! LOL. 

SIGH...........when I was finally able to function again I emerged from the kitchen and sat at the kids lunch table holding my corn to my knee. Amber shifted to nurse mode and thankfully after about an hour the massive swelling and bruising on my knee had gone down signifcantly and I was able to walk with little pain or stiffness. THANK YOU LORD.
I love my life...lol. Honestly....there is never a dull moment....and even though I got hurt....it could have been worse. I could have hurt Dylan, I could have hit my HEAD..I could have broken something....worse yet, I could have spilled my iced coffee......but I didn't. I also could have vocalized the expletives that were in my mind, but thank God I didn't. Yeah I have a sore knee, but thank God we had corn and sugar cookies in the freezer! LOL. Overall...that peace and joy I started out with in the morning....still in tact! God Rocks!
Ok, that's enough for one night. I'll catch you guys later and if you haven't checked out the list of blogs on the left that I follow, please do. There are some really great bloggers over there that would love to have you come visit them.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

So I know I said I wasn't going to blog on the weekends, but I had to share this because it made me smile and made me think deeper too. Saturdays are one of the busiest days of the week for us because we go out with a team of others and  feed the homeless and low income in our city. Well, that may sound simple, but it takes a lot of prep work starting very early in the morning. Since Ben has been feeling ill he actually opted to stay home today, THANK YOU LORD! He usually pushes himself, but today he realized it wouldn't be wise to go out in the cold.

Well, usually we bag up bread that has been donated to pass out, but because we won't be going out ( I have a migraine that keeps subsiding and then returning...ugh) we went to the home base to drop everything off so they can bag it for us. While we were there I saw one of my girlfriends that I don't see very often, mainly because we just live so far away from each other. Well as we caught up on things her daughter was running around talking and playing. (Here's an old picture I took of her almost 2 years ago...Lord has it been that LONG???) Meanwhile Ben had gone out to the car to wait for me and since I didn't realize how long I had kept him waiting, (you know how it is when you get talking to someone you haven't seen in a while) he came back in to see where I was. Well, little Heather came running in to tell me he had come back in and I told her something to the effect of thank you, I'll have to hurry. Well she toddled off and a minute or so later after Ben had gone back out to the car she came back in and with a big grin and wrinkled nose, told me, "Your prince went outside again".
Now, you know by now that one of my nicknames for Ben is my Prince Charming so I was thinking she must have heard me call him that, plus her mother calls her dad that nickname too. Well, after my heart finished it's "awwwwwwww.........so sweet!!" moment, Sarah proceeds to tell me that Heather calls ALL husbands princes. I've got to tell you, I LOVE that!!! What a great mental picture for her to have of a dad and a husband! The full gravity of that didn't hit me though until after we had left. How many crotchety and biting women do I know that practically demand that their men treat them like queens and then make the men feel like sleazebags if they don't meet their expectations. I can name quite a few unfortunately, but on the flip side how many of those women start off treating the men like their own personal prince charming? Men WANT to be their woman's hero, true, a lot of men have a hard time showing it because they were never shown by their fathers how to express those things, but most women are so busy trying to prove they are self sufficient that they never give their man a chance to be their prince charming. Then they wonder why things go sour in the relationship. How sad.....
Now for those women reading this who are going to be mad at me because you think I'm coming from some naive point of view that has never seen bad relationships etc, you're wrong. I've seen more bad relationships than good healthy ones unfortunately so get your panties out of a bind, but I know that truly happy relationships are possible and a lot of times our own actions or lack thereof dictate the course of things.
So cheers to all you women who willingly and JOYFULLY see and treat your men as the hero he wants to be and to all the men who are their prince charmings! Also, for those of you women out there who treat him that way and haven't seen him turn his heart yet, don't get discouraged....you keep doing what you are supposed to do and eventually your unfailing love and respect for him, even when you feel he doesn't deserve it, WILL turn things....I've seen it happen too many times to think it isn't true. Same goes for you men that have a witchy woman. 

 

 

1 Corinthians 7:16 (New Living Translation)

¹⁶ Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?

Rapunzel, Rumplestiltskin and Romeo

Sigh.....sorry folks, it's been a couple of days I know since you heard from me. I think I must be catching what the bear has or some energy sucking germ, because I have been absolutely EXHAUSTED the past couple of days...today as well actually. Without further ado, let me catch you up on the latest.

Wednesday I worked the early shift which is always a blessing since it means I get out of work at 2:15. Still a full days work, but doesn't feel like it. So after work I went to visit Rachel, aka Rapunzel for the next few weeks. She and Allan have become so close to us that they have also been relegated to that status of family. Only a few more weeks till their little sprout is welcomed into the world and I can't wait. Their close proximity to us will enable me to lavish on the little one all the extra hugs and kisses I have stored up for Beth and Sean's new little sprout since they are so far away, can't let them got to waist. LOL  I am absolutely ecstatic about being asked to be in charge of her baby shower too so Wednesday was our first planning session. We got a lot accomplished, I was concerned she would feel like we hadn't done enough, but to my surprise she said it was more than she had expected, so that was good.  Afterwards I was so tired when I got home that writing a blog entry that night was simply out of the question.

So Thursday was a nice quiet day for the most part. Ben stayed home sick that day, which for him, means he's REALLY sick, which he was, he has been fighting it all week actually. Poor thing was just feeling horrible, to the point that I considered staying home to take care of him, but opted to go in and just let him sleep all day. It was Devon's last day at work. She is going to pursue college and eventually wants to go into a career with helping children. I think she'll be perfect for it. I was able to get out of work a little early and as I drove home I was suddenly overcome with exhaustion, so I had the plan to get home, check on Ben then lay down for a nap till it was time to make dinner. Well, those plans got altered a bit because after I got home I needed to go pick up a prescription for the bear and get a new humidifier since our old one decided to finally give up the ghost. I'll be honest, I was exhausted...I really didn't want to go back out. I quickly reminded myself though of how much Ben does for me when I'm sick and never complains. Well, I ran those errands and grabbed a Chinese soup for myself then came home. After I knew Ben had everything he needed to rest comfortably and the fuzzboy was fed and watered, I ate my soup started to write my blog entry for the night. I still felt a little tired though and it was still early, only 7 or so, so I decided to lay down for a little while and take a quick cat nap. Well, when I was finally woken up from my nap, it was over 4 hours later...it was after 11! I couldn't believe I had slept that long...and I couldn't believe Ben hadn't woken me up. He said he knew I was tired though and needed it so he let me sleep. I considered sitting up and writing my blog entry then, but I was still feeling pretty zonked, so I decided to just go to bed for the night. Sorry all you daily readers.....sleep trumped typing.

Which brings us to Friday, not just any Friday mind you, no I'm happily bringing back MHR Fridays!
(for those of you still unfamiliar with the MHR circle of bloggers please click the title of today's blog entry to be taken to Katy Lin's blog explaining it and feel free to join in the fun.) So this morning Ben woke me up with a kiss on the cheek and whispered in my ear that he had breakfast ready for me. My first response was, "Why are you up? Why aren't you in bed?" Apparently that one prescription and the humidifier were what he needed to get him back on his feet. Thank you God!! I was very thankful to hear that because honestly I worry about him when he's sick. Anyway, a little while later when I finally emerged from the bedroom to come into the kitchen where I heard him rattling around he proudly walked over to me and hugged me. "Look, I made you breakfast! I wanted to take care of you since you took care of me so much this week." (Insert warm fuzzy encrusted AWWWWWWW here) Suddenly I flashed back to yesterday when I was internally grumping about having to go back out because I was so tired and thinking how glad I was that I had kept my mouth shut. He does so much for me all the time in big and small ways, from the basics of working hard to make sure we always have a roof over our heads and food on our table, to doing things like making me a thank you breakfast, it's really a small thing to be able to give back to him when he needs it. So my husband rocks because he never fails to make me feel cherished.
I love you bear, XOXOXOXO
Night all,

A Bear, A Boy and A Possum?

It's hard to believe our week of vacation is almost over. We've been thoroughly enjoying an immense amount of rest which we have sooooooooo needed, but because today was such a beautiful day we decided to go for a road trip. We generally don't plan them...we just hop in the car and drive wherever the mood takes us.

Our recipe for a good time out on the road?

One cute bear acting like a goofball

One vente cup of  Starbucks each

 

and one cute fuzzboy laughing at our antics from the backseat.

We revisited some places we haven't been to since we were dating and some other places we have visited over the years, many I had taken pictures of before so I didn't duplicate them today. It was really sweet and romantic to just share memories of things we've done together and places we've gone. I love seeing things and remembering what we were doing when we were there last, or how things have changed since our last visit.  We saw some new things though, like this train at a machinery museum we passed. I love trains so I had to stop and take some pics.

And meanwhile as I took pics the fuzzboy was back at the car with Ben, hanging out of the back seat window, whining and crying because I had the audacity to get out of the car and not take him with me.

How DARE I ?!?!? LOL

Not that he has separation anxiety issues or anything...lol.

Once I was back in the car he was fine, but heaven forbid mommy leave to go somewhere without him. He was also a bit out of sorts because when we go for a ride in my car he has to ride in the backseat, unlike when we ride in Ben's car and he can ride in my lap in the front seat. So he was already feeling a bit rejected...oy vey. He got over it...lol.

So anyway, the prize photo of the day...the piece de resistance...was this tasty tidbit we saw at dusk on the way home......in one of the richest towns in the state......and uhhhhhhhh...yes we are still in New England....

That's right.....in case you are having trouble reading that it says, Possum Queen Contest and Auction... LOL....okie dokie then........I have to say, I never saw anything like that when I lived down south.

So it was a fun and interesting day. We finished it off with another stop at Starbucks and some Chinese soup and an eggroll for me.......definitely a good day.

A Crazy Bride to Be and MHR Friday

(If you aren't yet familiar with the MHR Fridays group of bloggers please click the title of this blog entry to be taken to Katy Lin's main MHR Friday page and feel free to join in!)
So today Rachel, Celeste and I went shopping for Rachel and Allan's wedding next April. The biggest thing we purchased of course was her gown. OH MY GOSH, can you say PRINCESS BRIDE??? The dress is absolutely FABULOUS!!!! She looks like she stepped off the page of a fairytale bedtime story. So after we left David's Bridal we went to grab some lunch. We expected of course a relaxed and enjoyable lunch among friends......instead what Celeste and I endured was a miriad of squeaks, squeals, bouncing up and down and being bopped on the head and banged into by bride to be Rachel who was FARRRRRRR too wired from the excitement of just purchasing her dress. LOL Several times we assured our waitress that she was in fact completely sober and not in any way legally medicated or illegally high.......I'm not sure she believed us though. LOL
Anyway, so after we left the restaurant we decided to do some shopping since we were at the mall anyway. Imagine three of us crammed into a handicap sized dressing room critiquing all of the sweaters wacko Rachel was trying on. LOL....seriously, how hard is it to take off a sweater??? Who knew that undressing for her would be like trying to get a finger out of a Chinese finger puzzle!!! ROFL
NEXT...we went to another store and Rachel found the earrings to wear with her wedding dress and a few other things. Then we ran to The Christmas Tree Shop (if you are lucky enough to have one of these near you, OHHHHH what a glorious store!!!) where we were VERY blessed b/c somebody had accidentally placed a ton of white candles in with the Christmas clearance items and the manager decided to honor the 50% off price. So we got all the candles we needed WOO-HOO!!
Our next pit stop was A.C.Moore......ohhhhhhhhhhh the mother-load of what we needed. Her colors are ivory, blue and silver....and guess what? We found exactly what we needed in those exact colors in the Christmas clearance section and they aren't even remotely Christmas looking. So the centerpieces and the table decor for the reception are basically done...only a couple other items needed to complete the look of the room. Plus we decided what to do for favors and the cost? $11.00 !!! Yep, that's right.....that's all it will cost to make the favors!! So when we went to the front to pay for all the things we got (which was a LOT), it came to just over $60.00...and the amount we saved? A WHOPPING $126.00 !!!! Yep, you read that right, we SAVED that much money!!! It was AWESOME!!!
So for an 8 hour day, I think we did pretty darn well. The only bad thing was that poor Celeste had to head back to her home in Brooklyn, NY on the late train. So as I write this she probably still has just about a half hour to twenty minutes left of travel time. It was fun though, what a great day and a PRODUCTIVE day too!!!
Soooooooooooooooo after all of that, where on earth is the MHR Friday?
Well, as I was reminded of how Rachel and Allan blend so well together and how involved and attentive he is to not only her, but to this whole process.....I couldn't help but think of my own knight in shining armor. When Ben and I got married 7+ years ago he was also totally involved. He wasn't one of these grooms that just showed up, he was involved in every detail and it was truly OUR wedding...not just my wedding. He has remained like that for all these years too. He is always attentive and involved and still treats me like a queen. Something that I never dreamed possible.
A few weeks ago I was running low on panty liners and even though I knew I needed them I hadn't gotten a chance to go get more. I didn't think to mention to Ben that I needed to go to the store...things were just too hectic and I knew I still had a few days worth left. So that Monday I planned to pick them up on my way home. Well, completely unbeknown to me he had noticed I was running low. I guess the box lid was slightly open or something and he saw them. Well he took it upon himself to go into the bathroom with a sheet of paper and a pen and wrote down the exact brand, style, size and quantity that I prefer. Then after he dropped me off at Sprout Central and before he had to be to work he stopped at the store and bought them for me and only told me about it that evening when he picked me up from work.
Now you MUST understand something about me, I am REALLY funny about honoring a man's masculinity so along with promising him I would never make him sleep in a frilly foo-foo girly bedroom, I also promised him I would NEVER ask him to pick up any feminine hygiene products for me...and in10 years of being together I have faithfully kept that promise. So the fact that he did this for me, without my asking or even mentioning it was HUGE...not just because it was thoughtful, but because of the statement it made to me of how much he cares. So why does my husband rock??? Because of all the little thoughtful things he does for me.....he is my knight in shining armor...and always will be....and the good news??? Rachel and I are not the only ones to find one, there are lots of them out there...just waiting for the woman who will love and appreciate them for who they are!

My Husband Rocks Friday - The Cheerleader

So today is also MHR Friday.....and quite frankly after the emotion drain I had from writing that last entry....I NEED to focus on the happy. (If you aren't yet familiar with MHR Fridays please click the title of this blog entry to be taken to Katy Lin's main MHR Friday page and feel free to join in!)
So why does my husband rock today? He rocks because of his unwaivering support of me.
Like I said in a previous post this week, I am going to be making a career change in a few days. when I told him I got he job he was so happy for me that he excitedly grinned and hugged me, and joyfully celebrated with me. Now since then he has remained fully supportive, but the realization that we won't be working side by side any longer is starting to sink in for both of us. He can't talk about me leaving for my new job without tearing up, and yet, he smiles and says how happy he is for me. **sigh** He asked me for more pictures of myself and us together to keep on his desk so even if he can't see me in person all day he can at least look at my picture.
I don't know how many couples get to work together, and I don't know how many of them are close enough friends that to do so is healthy, but I can say that for 9 years I have been so blessed by my husband's support, encouragement, love and affection for me both at home and in the workplace that I can honestly say I am a stronger and better person because of him.
So THAT is just one more reason why my husband rocks.

It's "My Husband Rocks" Friday!

So this is my first official “My Husband Rocks- Friday” blog entry (thanks sooooo much Katy Lin at the blog The Great Adventure for creating this weekly tribute! If you click the title of this entry you can be taken to Katy Lin's blog page to learn more.) …..YEAH!!! I started to post one last week, but time got away from me.

So, I was trying to decide what to put in my first MHR post and decided to go with something he did last Saturday. Ben and I usually spend our Saturdays preparing for and then going to feed the homeless and low-income people in our town as part of a ministry called Isaiah 58 Outreach. Last weekend I had a bit of an emotional meltdown (you can read my post “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To” if you want the full details.) and decided I needed to stay home, so I gave him a bag of women’s clothes somebody had donated to us and he went without me. While he was out there, he and some of the other volunteers met a young woman who was obviously down on her luck. She lost her place to live and was afraid to sleep on the streets in our city (completely understandable if you knew our city), she hadn’t eaten anything in a few days, had no car and only the clothes on her back, her children had been taken away, and she was trying to find a rehab. Attempting to find a shelter that will admit people on a Saturday is not an easy task where we live. Most of them only take new people on weekdays between certain hours. So anyway, after he and our friends made sure she had eaten a good meal Ben let her look at the bag of clothes I had sent with him. Miraculously, they were her size, so she now had fresh clothes to wear too. Finally, he and a friend decided that since she needed rehab also, they would take her to a shelter that they knew of two towns away. So without a thought, and with total shock from the woman that somebody would actually offer to help her, they took her to this place.

Now, there’s one thing you must know about Ben, if you don’t already. That is that he is the type of guy that defines the phrase, “Knight in Shining Armor”…he always looks for a person in need and rarely turns away. I’m thoroughly convinced he should have a cape and tights….well….maybe not the tights…lol. Once as he was returning from picking up an elderly man to bring to church they saw a car on fire on the freeway. Ben pulled his car over, grabbed his fire extinguisher from the trunk, ran across three lanes of traffic, jumped a jersey barrier, ran across three more lanes of traffic, and proceeded to put the fire out….all while looking dapper dressed in his suit. Then when the fire was out and he knew everything would be ok, he said goodbye to the driver, raced back across the three lanes, the jersey barrier, the other three lanes, popped the extinguisher back into the trunk, hopped into the car and still made it to church on time. LOL. Another time he met a woman and her family who had just moved out of a homeless shelter into an apartment and literally had NOTHING….so he decided that this was not suitable. So he began calling connections and little by little we were able to furnish their entire apartment from top to bottom. Then in his spare time (lol…those of you that know us know the humor in using that term), he mentors male prisoners as a pen-pal to encourage them, help turn their lives around, teach them the value of accountability and give them hope for a better life when they get out. He’s just amazing like that…..he’s my hero….and THAT’S why my husband rocks!!