An Eight Pound Lemon From Heaven

What do you do when God gives you an eight pound lemon?  Do you cry?  Do you try to ignore it and pretend it's not there?  Or do you figure out a way to make lemonade?  I know people all over the world who are searching for answers.  This is my eight pound lemonade story...

At the beginning of last month, my daughter sent me a distressful text from the airport.  The ticket agent at the counter scolded her for exceeding the weight limit by eight pounds.  Her debit card only had enough money to pay the sixty dollar fee for two suitcases.  The airline hit her with a one hundred dollar penalty and she was overdrawn.  Since this was her first time traveling alone and she was going on limited sleep, she didn't know what to do.  The agent rushed her through check in and did not offer any alternatives, such as moving the eight pounds of excess weight into the second suitcase, or just removing eight pounds of stuff and discarding it.  Instead, he put her into crisis mode.

The following day I reached out to the airlines.  They didn't budge and told me I was stuck with the penalty charge for the eight pound lemon.  My daughter's bank was more understanding.  Unfortunately, their closest branch to make a deposit was one hundred miles away from our new Iowa home.  The next morning I drove to Moline, Illinois and deposited enough money to cover the shortage.  On the way back, I stopped by to inquire about a marketing position at the newest employer moving in to Coralville in the the Iowa City area.  I met Alicia, an enthusiastic employee who shared how excited she was to be part of opening a new store.  She encouraged me to apply immediately.

The next morning, I got a phone call.  Suddenly, the eight pound lemon was becoming the best lemonade  I've ever tasted.  I'm part of the launch team now, thanks to meeting Alicia on my way home from my two hundred mile round trip to my daughter's bank to resolve the lemon in my life.  In the last thirty days, I've met the mayor of Coralville, the fire chief, and a few hundred business owners and employees who are excited about my new employer.  This lemonade is the best lemonade I've ever tasted.  I will be drinking this lemonade for the rest of my life, thanking God everyday for the eight pound lemon he gave me less than thirty days ago.  That's my lemonade story.  What's yours?  Please share your story below.

Blog Vacation Delayed to Today

Editor's note:  I'm on a blog vacation for one week, beginning today.  My internet connection will be spotty.  I will respond to all comments and emails once I return to cyber-space.  Thanks for your patience.  I will be back on Monday, March 12, at an undisclosed location somewhere in the heartland of America.

Young Apprentice Needs Your Vote to Make Lemonade

The other night, a family invited into their home to break bread.  While eating, the mother shared a lemonade story with me.  She found out there was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her seven-year-old daughter to win a scholarship to a special school equipped to handle visionaries.

A traditional public school would probably diagnose the young apprentice as autistic.  Her mother chooses to embrace these signs as gifts and chooses to help her daughter fully embrace her God-given gifts.

The home-school teacher now working with the young apprentice was recently fired from public school.  She helped the young apprentice with her home-made video.  With your help and your daily vote (you can vote once every 24 hours), this young apprentice will make lemonade for the world.  Please click on the link and help this writer who is already working on her first manuscript to make her dreams come true.

Click here for to vote

Member of Men's USA International Tennis Team Rallies to Help Earthquake Victims in Christchurch, New Zealand

Leland Rolling with wife, Tracy.

Today's guest post is from Leland Rolling, a member of the USA men's team and winner of the "Mr. San Diego" tennis award, who played in an international tennis tournament in Christchurch, New Zealand.  Leland is ranked in the top ten in the nation in the men's 45 division and was selected to join the elite team of Americans competing on a world-wide stage.  During the competition, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck.  This is his story, one year later...

“GET THE KIDS!!!!” The scream came from the other side of the hotel room. The noise around us was deafening… like standing next to a speeding freight train as it passes a foot away. But I heard the scream. For a flash I looked at the roof and the walls… they were moving. Wood 2x4’s were starting to poke through and glass was shattering. Cracks were moving up one side of the room. Pieces of the ceiling were falling. I reached for both my boys, grabbed them, and tried to guide them under a small computer table, having much difficulty because I really could not stand or keep my balance. I knew Tracy was nearby and somehow we found ourselves all huddled together… riding out the shaking.. for what seemed like an eternity.

Members of the USA international tennis team enter center court.

It was February 22^nd 2011, 12:51PM (Feb 21^st here, 3:51PM). My wife Tracy and my two sons were in ChristChurch, New Zealand for an International tennis competition. By virtue of my tennis achievements the previous year, I had been selected to be part of the United States Team representing our country in the World Tennis Championships. I decided to make the extra expense and fly us all to New Zealand and stay for 10 days.  A wonderful family vacation, I thought.

The Rollings apartment near the epicenter.

It was a magnitude 6.3 Quake. By California standards, not big. I had felt the 7.0 quake in San Diego the previous Easter. I’ve been through dozens of quakes, having lived in California my entire life. But this one was so different. Loud. Violent. Intense. We would find out later the epicenter of this quake was only a couple miles from our hotel and only 5KM deep. Most quakes are 30-50KM deep or more. Our 4^th floor room was a mess. The microwave had flown out of the wall and landed in the middle of the room (full of food we were warming). Tables were knocked over. Glass everywhere. Everything had ended up on the floor.

Hotel staff came immediately and told us to get out of the room and out of the hotel. No time to think, just go. We were not fully dressed… I had just come back from practice. No time to grab anything. Could be a gas leak. Building could be on fire. So Tracy rushed the boys out and down a flight of concrete stairs (thank God the stairs were in tact…could have been a terrible situation). I grabbed only a few things and followed. Another 5.7 aftershock hit. Violent. Looked as if the street lights would flip over and the 100 year old trees in the park across the street would uproot.

A street view of Christchurch moments after the quake.

We were in shock. Frightened. Both the boys cried. They wanted to go home right then. We had only a few things. No shoes. No clothes. No money. For about an hour we were completely uncertain of what might happen next. Tracy started to feel pain in her back. Turns out she broke several ribs trying to get under the computer table in the hotel room. And she banged her head too. Boys thankfully were physically unhurt. Just emotionally done.  

As time passed (we spent a few hours in a Salvation Army Refugee camp that had been set up, then met up with some other tennis players who were playing an hour south of ChristChurch and had a hotel room), a few days later we arranged our travel home and started to realize the impact this was going to have on the people of the city. We were the lucky ones. Bruised, battered, scared, tired, but going to get home eventually For the rest of the people in ChristChurch, the nightmare was just beginning. Their Infrastructure was destroyed – water, sewer, roads, phone, electricity.. all severely damaged. Houses wiped out either completely or partially. 185 people dead, most of them in two buildings that collapsed, one of which was a quarter-block from our hotel.

The tennis courts were destroyed during the earthquake.

It’s a year later and very few buildings have been rebuilt. The main commerce section of the city has been replaced with shipping containers that are being used as store fronts, just to insure the citizens have access to food, water and other essentials. Thousands of people have been displaced. Few businesses are up and running that were in the center of town. This event has had an incredible effect on the people.

But they are determined, many of them, to stay and rebuild. The city has history and its people want that history to continue. ChristChurch was (is) the second largest city in the country, next to Auckland. And the people there want to see it thrive once again. They are kind people. Very generous. Many of them came to the refugee camp and offered up their homes (even if they were damaged) to people that day who had no place to go. And many lost loved ones, family members, children.

We need to remember the people of ChristChurch. I am lucky that my life continued after that day and I was able to come home to a roof, and water, and food. Not everyone there has that luxury, even today.

____________________

 Leland and his wife, Tracy, would like to rally your support to help the good people of Christchurch who are still dealing with numerous aftershocks, loss of power, and lack of funds one year after the quake. You can help these resilient people rebuild by sending your donation to one of the following support groups:

MatchPoint International - http://matchpointinternational.org. 

More direct links organizations in New Zealand providing relief - www.helpchristchurchnow.com. 

Please share this story with a friend and help this community recover.  Thanks for your support. 

Kelly Combs Makes Guacamole

Kelly Combs, Author, Speaker, Mother and Chef.

Lemonade Story by Kelly Combs:

 “Whatcha doing?” my sister asked, her standard phone greeting.

“Just making some guacamole.” I answered.

“What? Why?” Her surprise was natural. 

Growing up with a mentally ill mother, dinner was often McDonalds, when we were lucky.  Other times it was a cold hotdog.  I remember the night my mom made macaroni and cheese.  It was the standard blue box variety, but she had forgotten to cook the noodles.  As she stirred the sauce into the crunchy uncooked noodles, she realized her mistake and said, “I messed up the dinner, you’ll have to make yourself something to eat.” She then went to bed.  I was left staring into a nearly empty refrigerator, and eating yet another cold hotdog for dinner. 

Consequently, I've never been good at "domestic" stuff like cooking, cleaning, decorating, and crafting. Without training, I was challenged in these areas. So I decided to embrace my non-domestic ways. Me? Cook? Ha, never. I am woman, hear me roar! I became part of the feminist movement that says I don't have to do these things. But then something changed.

I joined a cooking co-op. If I would cook dinner just 1 night a week, for myself & three other families, then 3 nights a week I would have dinner delivered to me by another family. To someone who hated (aka can't!) cook this was a dream come true. What happened next was truly a surprise.

I had to meal plan. We set our co-op calendar 3 months at a time, so I had to pull out cookbooks and select meals. Once the calendar was set, grocery shopping was easier. And once I started putting some real effort into my cooking, the compliments (from my own family AND the other three families) started coming in! Soon I was buying fun kitchen gadgets (did I say fun and kitchen in the same sentence?)

I can honestly say now, I am a good cook. I can meal plan. I just had to learn how. I'm still not the best at decorating, but I am learning. This is especially important now that I have two daughters of my own.  

Titus 2:3-5 says we older women are to teach the younger women to be "busy at home." That means cooking, cleaning, meal planning, decorating. I was never taught. But rather than carry on this omission, I am now teaching my children the joys of things like cooking.

Imagine my delight, when my then 4 year old came up to me with her baby doll and stroller in tow, and a backpack full of plastic food. She said, "It's my cooking co-op day." She's 6 now, and enjoys helping in the kitchen. She doesn't enjoy helping unload the dishwasher, but I am training her none-the-less, so she will never be domestically challenged like I was.

When I received a co-op meal that included salad items including onions, tomatoes, cilantro and an avocado, I decided to use the leftovers to make some home-made guacamole.  That’s when my sister called.

“We may not have had the best childhood,” I told her, “But I don’t have to hold onto those years as an excuse not to learn basic domestic skills.  I am no longer stunted by those years.”

“I’m really proud of you,” she said.  I smiled at her encouragement, then held back my laughter as I told her, “When life gives you avocados, make guacamole!”

www.kellycombs.com

Blog:  www.chattykelly.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/chattykelly

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/kellycombs

New Lemonade Interview Coming Soon...

You won't want to miss my interview with CoCo Goodson.  She overcame huge obstacles to be selected as one of the top picks in this year's women's professional soccer draft.  Her lemonade story is amazing.

Atheist Heroin Addict Trys Praying

It looks like 2012 is going to be a busy year for this blog.  Some blog readers have agreed to be interviewed or submit lemonade stories.  Top stories will be published in my third book.  If you have a story, please email me today and let's get it published.

Check out the link below to see a heroin addict who took a chance that maybe there is a God who loves him and cares about him, even though he feels unworthy.

God Answers an Atheist's Prayer