Skip to main content

Witness Protection Program

I just thought I'd share this lighthearted story from years past. My husband had taken a job in Springfield MO 5 years ago and we bought a little fixer upper in not the best of neighborhoods, but not the worst either. Directly across the street from us was another young family that we instantly connected with. We are still good friends today even after moving back here to AR. We would play cards at their house, we went to church together, grilled out together. It was just great. Our other neighbors however....not so much. The neighbors in the houses on both sides of us and on one side of our friends. were not in the routine of going to work yet had visitors, dozens of them, stopping for 5 minutes at a time all hours of the day. So while the neighbors themselves were nice enough, you just don't want your kids to be in that kind of atmosphere. So one by one I did my civic duty and left tips on the police hot-line. The 1st bust was quiet and we ended up with some young, alternative college guys that kept to themselves. The 2nd bust was so exciting! I woke up with flashes in our bedroom and thought someone was in the yard. I was right, their were about 10 policeman sneaking up on our neighbors house, I jump out of bed and run to the other room where I can see better. The paddy wagon pulled up and cars were everywhere. They eventually were taking pictures of everyone and handcuffing them and off they went. Our neighbors house was empty for about 6 months then went up for sell. 2 down and 1 to go. The last neighbor across the street that had traffic was not as sever. Plus it was a single mom and her teenage son, so I thought maybe it was a possibility that these were just friends of his stopping by. However, one afternoon a storm came up and Allen was out of town working. Here I am with 3 babies. The tornado was on a direct path to hit our neighborhood within the next 10 minutes. I run over to their house because they have a basement and they won't let us join them. They acted really strange and said they didn't let anyone in their basement. I was so frighten at this point I wanted to scream at her, "I don't care if you have body in your basement!" So I run back home and throw all of us in the tub cover with blankets, grabbed some shoes for everyone and a bottle and pulled the mattress over the top. We sat and waited. The direct path missed us by about 10 blocks. But it was still frightening. We had shingles off, a tree down, and all sorts of wonderful and strange debris in the yard. So needless to say I called in my tip to the police the next day. That night. My dear sweet friend across the street comes over crying and laughing. "Did you call the police on us?" What? No. The police got confused on which house number and searched my friends house. She said the police actually told her that the neighbor across the street had called in a tip! So much for anonymous hot-lines. Eventually they did bust the 3rd and final house on our street. However, if my family and I completely drop off the face of the earth, you'll know it's because I have been forced to enter the witness protection program!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Highway Horror

We were on our way back to college after a fun weekend trip to a friends home. The windows were down to allow at least the breeze in since it was scorching hot outside and this car had no air-conditioning, in fact, we were lucky it ran at all. And with the windows down, we actually had a nice cross breeze with the holes in the floor board.We were singing to whatever song we could find on the stations in the middle of Kansas on some little mostly unknown highway. It was the quickest route between Manhattan and Wichita. There are many things in life to fear and many things to fear in the flat lands . I had been in Wichita on two separate occasions when there were tornadoes , but this threat was even worse. On a long stretch of quiet highway we enjoyed the beautiful sights of the pastures and sky. There were several tractors working in the fields and mowing in the ditches. Up ahead of us, there was something covering the entire road for as far as we could see. As we neared, it lo

Devotion for Baby Shower

I am so sad to miss out on this opportunity to get to celebrate LeAnne and the gift of this baby boy. I was asked to share a devotional and while honored, I also know my wisdom and experience pales in comparison to many ladies that are in LeAnne's life. Especially the example of her mom Judy. I am so thankful for their close relationship and friendship and the instruction that her parents and Josh's parents give to them to seek after the Lord. The is no greater accomplishment. My own parenting has been a constant learning process and with each new child I realize how little I only thought I knew. I pray for less of me and my weaknesses so that HE can fill and lead our family. Devotional: Live Fully in the moment. While it is easy to love a sleeping, snuggling, cooing baby. Kisses on warm fuzzy heads & velvet skin. Chubby little fingers, toes and thighs. That breathtaking love so deep that our hearts hurt as they sigh and find utter fulfillment resting on our chests.

Pray without Ceasing

How can we pray without ceasing? "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, KJV). The Greek word "without ceasing" means continuous action. Just as soldiers have radio transmissions built into their helmets to hear their commanding officer at all times, prayer is our way of hearing our leading Savior. It’s a heart attitude, expressed throughout the day in silent prayers of communication with the Lord. It’s being willing to be inline with Him so that when He prompts us we respond. It’s before our feet hit the floor, at meal times, the last words of the day, while driving, changing diapers, washing dishes and piles of laundry, weeding, picking up toys. It doesn’t replace our alone time, but adds to it. I have justified to myself that I have been too busy to be consistent with my quiet time.  But yet, it really is my own lack of self discipline a