Treat my Street

There's this guy down the street from my house who closed in his carport to start a home-based auto shop. Every morning he walks around the block a few times for exercise. When I leave to take Chloe to school he always waves and flashes a a friendly smile. Today I learned that his name is Frank. I also met the family who lives across the street from him. A very sweet couple with two girls. They just moved onto our street. 

All of this started as I drove down my street each day to take my daughter to school. The spirit of God began to build a desire in me to not only "see" the people on my street as I drive by, but to really know them. To know their names. To know a little bit about who they are and what their life is like. The desire grew stronger and stronger with each passing day until yesterday when an idea came to me...

As I came back down my street after dropping Chloe at school I started to notice all if the Halloween decorations and I suddenly thought to myself "That's it!" Trick or treat night presented the perfect opportunity to get out there, walk the neighborhood, and get to know people! But instead of doing the whole "go to the door dressed up in a hot costume, ask a stranger for candy, and walk away" bit we could instead "Treat our Street"!

The idea is simple but really powerful. You basically spend a little time and effort putting together something special for your neighbors and you go out and hand deliver it to them on a night when everyone else is coming around and asking for something. That's the powerful part- to give at a time when it is customary to receive. And to teach out children to do the same. Awesome!

I chose to bake cookies and put in a little note with our cell number on it encouraging the neighbors to call if they needed anything. I also threw in a magnet that we had made as a gift for guests to Victory that has Sam's BIG 5 on it-you are loved, you have value, you have purpose, you have an undiscovered identity, & change is possible!

We set out just as people were arriving home from work and just walked up our street and stopped to talk with anyone who was out and about. We also went up to a few doors to deliver our goodies. When people came to the door they would immediately start to grab their candy bowl to give our kids candy and we would stop them and say that we were not there to get anything but instead to give them a treat! A few people were genuinely shocked. They were also very appreciative. 

I learned that the manager of the little grocery store that is right around the corner lives on my street. I also learned that about half a dozen of the people on our street have lived their most of their lives! That is pretty cool! 

Chloe and Marshall had a blast! (Well, until Marshall decided he didn't have to ride his bike and that running into the middle of the street was ok.) My favorite moments with Chloe were when people (like our next door neighbor) insisted that she take a bag of candy. She ran to Sam and I in awe and proclaimed "Look what she gave me!" There was not an ounce of entitlement in her. That's what it's all about! 

After spending about an hour on our street handing out Treats and meeting new friends we came home to eat dinner and relax. About 10 minutes later the lady who lives across the street came to our door with a bag of candy for each of the kids-another wonderful surprise! And another great moment to teach my children that it is always rewarding to bless others!

I've MOVED....

I guess I never shared that I moved the blog to Wordpress.

Here is the link:
http://hookerindahood.wordpress.com

Hope to see you there!

Ada

The FOCUS fast...Day 1

Pastor Sam and I have asked the people of Victory Christian Life Center to set one week aside in the month of December to fast from something meaningful to them (a meal, dessert, social media, video games, their favorite shows, etc.) and take the time that they would be doing that thing and dedicate it to the Lord. We are encouraging each person to specifically ask God during this time to reveal His priorities for us. To order our lives. To reset our day to day activities to line up with what it is that He wants each of us to accomplish at this time.

As leaders Pastor Sam and I know that the way that we spend our time directly affects the progress and direction of the church. We desire to be the type of leaders that are purposeful with our time. We want every moment that we have to count towards the Visions that God has placed in our heart for this church and this city. We realize that in order to be successful in these pursuits we must take stock of our day to day habits and routines and ask the Lord to reveal any place where they may be off. Any place where we are giving something our time that we shouldn't be or anything that we are missing that we should be putting time and energy into.

We are so very thankful for Vision! Without it we would be doing nothing and going nowhere. But God is always faithful to reveal the next step and help us to fine tune who we are and what we are doing to fit that FOCUS.

Over the next week we will be fasting ENTERTAINMENT (movies, TV, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) Basically anything that we normally use to "Unplug". Every time that we have a chunk of time that we would have spent doing those things throughout our day we will instead turn our time and attention to the Lord, Love on Him & Ask Him to bring His purposes for this season of our lives into Focus. We believe in the principle of Fasting and are looking forward to all of the good that will come from this sacrifice!

We invite you to join us on this journey and share your own stories through the comment section of this blog as you Fast for Focus throughout the month of December!

Warrior.

I just met someone who changed my life.
I had the opportunity to make dinner for a mother of 3 who's youngest daughter (3 years old) was injured in a parade that Victory took part in over the weekend.
I arrived at her house with Pasta, Salad, Bread & dessert in hand. I had also picked up a bright "Get Well Soon" balloon and a card for the little girl. I was thrilled to be able to bless this family who I had never even met personally.
I was greeted at the door by a very sweet woman. Her three children were running down the stairs as I stepped inside. Laundry was piled on the couch and the house was strewn with the remnants of life with three small children.
I had learned that her husband had been killed in combat so I thought nothing of the look of the house. What I was struck by was how comfortable she was with me being there. She did not seem awkward for one moment, but instead was very welcoming and transparent. As we made smalltalk the youngest boy burst in and began to make conversation with me. I asked his age and he said he was 8. His brother came in and told me he was 13. My heart ached for a moment at the thought of these two boys not getting to experience these pivotal years of their life with their father.
The mother and I talked a little more as we watched the 3 year old, arm in a cast, play with her new balloon. She mentioned that her little girl had always been a daredevil, and had other visits to the ER prior to this most recent one. She talked about how she behaved in the ambulance and at the hospital and in the midst of the story she mentioned that the little girl is Autistic and non-verbal. Wow. My heart once again was moved.
As we said our goodbyes I told her to let us know if she needed anything else. But even as the words left my mouth I was acutely aware that in the big scheme of things I was so small and had so little to offer such a woman. As I got into my car I thought about all that she has to offer to me. A woman like that is inspiring. She is strong in ways I cannot even imagine trying to be. She is joyful in the midst of circumstances that I would struggle to muster a smile in. She is a survivor. A warrior. And it is I who was blessed by taking her dinner tonight.

Mothers & Fathers

My little boy is just over 8 months old and he is getting very curious. He likes to scoot around the floor and check things out and pull up on things. He is constantly falling down and touching things that he shouldn't. But I do not scream at him or tell him what a horrible choice he is making, because I realize that he is just starting to explore the world and learn about things. I just try to lovingly correct him and teach him which things to touch and which things to leave alone. And I'll do it as many times as it takes-because I LOVE him. Unconditionally.

But even as quickly as I realized that last thought I was challenged by the Spirit of God with another thought. He said "You know, I feel that way about every one of my children. I would do whatever it takes to protect them and nurture them and teach them what is best." And then He asked me "Do you love them that way?"

In that moment I realized that the heart of God for His sons and daughters is no different than my heart toward my own children.

Do I have what it takes to Love people the way that God does? What a question! Ummm, probably not. But to tell you the truth, I don't have what it takes to Love my own children the way I should either. So, what's the difference? Well, nothing, and I think that's the point.

When we dove head first into this adventure of parenting Sam and I didn't have any idea what it would take to get through the challenges that lie ahead. But we didn't care. It has definitely been a learning experience!

So, why not do the same with those that God is asking us to Mother & Father outside of our family. It's not about how awesome i am or how much more I know than them. It's simply about how much of myself I am willing to give-how much i am willing to LOVE.

And God will teach us the rest as we go!

Hurry Up, Slow Down.

Lately I have found myself at a very interesting point of contradiction...

On the one hand, I am anxious to regain full strength and mobility since my recent surgery. I have felt so limited by the inability to do even the simplest things. It has taken much discipline and mental fortitude to tell myself  "no" and to slow down. As each week passes I am getting stronger. But I find myself wishing that time would move more quickly so that I would be more physically able to do all the things that I want and need to do!

At the same time I am watching my children grow bigger by the day! Little Marshall is just over 3 months old and already he is out of the "baby stage" and beginning to look like a little boy. It is amazing how fast they grow!

My little girl is playing the piano and the violin, and singing, and taking ballet, and starting preschool! And it was just yesterday that she was in my arms, and I could not take my eyes off of her.

So, with each day that passes I am caught in the middle of a battle. A battle for time. Time that I want to speed up. And time that I want to slow down.

And the sad fact is...I can't do either.

So, I am choosing to just live every moment to the fullest. Because I know one thing for sure, TODAY IS A DAY THAT I WILL NEVER HAVE AGAIN.

What Next???????????

It all started in April of this year when I was around 8 months pregnant and Chloe got lice in her hair for the first time. I almost could not believe my eyes when I saw all of those tiny little eggs at the base of her hair (that just happened to perfectly match her hair color)! It is one of those things that you try and make yourself believe only happens to “other kids”  not  “my child”. Well, after shampooing her twice with RID and sitting on the back porch leaning over her for 5 hours (NO KIDDING) picking each of those little suckers out, I was totally exhausted. I sat there, huge and pregnant, and just had to think that there was some sort of lesson to be learned here…

Two weeks later the lice were back! Apparently, I (or someone else within our community of friends) had left one of those little eggs behind, and it had multiplied into a million new ones! “Ok God, the first time may have been a lesson, but this is just not funny!”

In the next month we had to deal with a flea infestation in our back yard (apparently brought on by possums under the house) and a severely sprained ankle (brought on by my husband’s love of basketball). At this point I was just days from my estimated due date and it all became very laughable. I mean what else can you do. God and I were still on speaking terms, but I was pretty sure He was using all of this to teach me something pretty profound.

My due date came and went and I was sure that Sam still not being able to walk fully (because of the sprained ankle) was the cause of all of this. I tried my hardest not to complain, even though I was thoroughly annoyed that at 40+ weeks pregnant I was waiting on Sam instead of the other way around. And one day God spoke very softly into my spirit “Ummm, maybe there’s a lot you’re not going to be able to control in this life-how are you going to deal with that?” Well, that really made me think. And I decided to rise to the challenge. I decided that whatever came my way I was going to face it with the belief that God still loves me and is still looking out for me and has my best in mind.

Marshall Wyatt Hooker was born 5 days past his due date on a beautiful (rainy) afternoon in June. He is a huge blessing and a very easy baby!

Now two months into recovery and beginning to get back into my routine a new challenge has arisen. Having just returned to some kind of workout routine, I began to notice that the area around and inside my belly button was very sore. During both of my pregnancies my belly button stuck out very far and elicited much taunting from those I hold dearest J. “Elephant Tusk” and “Cupcake with a cherry on top” were some of the pet names that they bestowed upon me. (Thanks guys!) Well, this apparently was no laughing matter. When I went to see my dr. about it he was pretty sure that it was a hernia and referred me to a surgeon to get a better diagnosis.

I got the word today that I do in fact have a para umbilical hernia and I will be in surgery in the morning at 9:30 a.m.  (Never had surgery before. Never been under anesthesia. A lot of firsts here!) Needless to say I am a little undone by all of this. With a 2 month old who has been exclusively breastfeed up to this point I have been pumping like a mad woman, hoping to not have to supplement with formula. I also have no idea what effect the drugs will have on me during and after the time they are administered. I have no idea what I will and will not be able to do during recovery. I am pretty much out of control completely. Makes me think of something I heard once-“Ummm, maybe there’s a lot you’re not going to be able to control in this life-how are you going to deal with that?”

I guess the only thing to do is trust. Let go completely and trust. Trust that Father knows best, and that He is not only going to preserve me in this trial but He is going to even make me better because of it! Wow.