birth story at new blog

Go and read my birth story at the new blog.

www.debrapaker.wordpress.com

Don't forget to update bloglines and links.

See ya there.

Debra has left the building

Come and see my new home here.

Be sure to update your links, bloglines or google reader.

btw, i did not choose a name...so I just went with debraparker.

I already said I married up in the clever department.

Ernest has left the building.

The hubs has moved it on up to his own blog. It is called in all ernestness. I married up in the clever department. (in all departments...)

Now for the real question at hand. Should I change the name of my blog? Should I change the header? Question after question...that's me.

Life. {late night thinking}

To set the scene:

A family of four stands outside Minute Maid Park awaiting the Houston Astros to come out for autographs. It is late, well past the bedtime of the two youngest members of this crazy family. The boy's face lights up when each player drives past in their car.

sign my baseball, please, Mr.???

Most do not stop. I am certain they want to be home to relax and see their family. The boy is thankful for those that do stop to make this a worthwhile experience.

The Mom.

She does not really care about autographs or if she gets to see the player...so she is just taking in the sights. This is what she is left to ponder.

life.

Everyone that works for the Astros or Minute Maid Park come out of the same garage. Some are the nice people that work the food booth, or the ushers that help patrons to their seat, and then some are the famed players. There were many that came out wearing their team t-shirt. They sported red t-shirts to identify others of their specific job, whatever it was. Another team wore white shirts. Most of these players (if you will) walked out of the garage, carrying their clear purses/bags, and headed across the street to sit and wait on the bus. Not one of us asked for their autograph. Seriously, not even a mere hello was given. Of course, it did not phase them a bit.

Every 15 minutes or so the crowd would get the honor to see a player drive through. He would wave and the crowd would show their adoration. As stated earlier, they seemed relieved for time to escape to the safe haven of home. I would be too. Most of them had regular nice cars. Some of them were lavish. From a spectator point of view their life could seem pretty perfect.

My thought is

what makes life so different, you know for different poeple...

To me, all these people, were in fact, just people. They all work at the same place. They all come out of the same garage. Yet, they come out to completely different worlds.

Why is it that the people who do the dirty work get paid the least? Why is it that athletes get paid millions to play a sport that most of them love?

I am still left a little struck. The why is getting to me. So there you have it, something to think on today...why.

This does not change our love for the Astros or for the Workers of the Astros. It was just a little late night thinking about life.

this is what you can do...

Are you in need of a good magazine?

You can get one here.

Jamie is raising money to bring Dowensky home. She and her hubs, Aaron, are in the fundraising mode of their adoption process. If you can help, please do. If you are not into magazines then save your money and purchase a T-shirt. The design will be up in a couple of weeks.

Singing the Blues

I can't live if living is without you. I can't live, I can't live anymore...

(Do you remember that song?)

I am singing the blues tonight. I am deep blue about my lack of DVR. I have missed so many shows that I am used to watching when boredom hits. I found out that I missed Oprah's interview with Lisa Beamer and Mary Winkler. I love interviews. I am a stalker at heart. I caught just a moment of the view today only to find out they have two new co-hosts. Just when did that happen?

I am also singing the blues at the lack of rewind skills with a DVR. I am truly spoiled and evidently am pretty addicted to television. My brain is going through a stage of detox from the world that lives in the small box. I guess that could be a good thing.

One side note: While I was blogging Ernest was reading (what a man!). While reading he came upon a picture stuck in the book of Chibwede. Chibwede is our Compassion child. So here I was talking about my lack of DVR and how sad I am when Chibwede graces my heart. I am truly in want of nothing. It is true, I am a little spoiled.

Thank you, Chibwede, for bringing my mind into focus.


God, you are so good, with or without a DVR.

worth the drive? YES.

Why is merging so hard for me?

I drove by myself to biblestudy tonight. You might be thinking big whoop-di-doo. Well it is a big deal here in these parts. Oh, let's just be honest, it is a big deal to me. I grew up in the outskirts of Houston and have driven through the city once or twice. I have always been a little on the scared side.

I was not about to let fear stop me. No sir.

I made it there and back alive. I may have made some people just a little mad on the way? No one honked at me. I think that is a good sign. Every time I had to merge I cringed with fear. Where did this come from? I don't know but I am ready for it to go away. We are going to drive it away.

The study was great. When it comes out we will have to chat all about it. I love the book of Esther so I am excited about studying it to the core.

I sat by two other ladies who were there alone. Their names were Stacy and Betty. I think they thought I was a little weird. I kept trying to talk to them because those poor things looked scared to death. It was both of their first time to Bible study. To say that they were taken was an understatement. I think they will be back. Who could resist? I mean really.

The lady on the other side must have just got a pedicure. I couldn't help but notice her bright red toes so nicely painted. Not to mention her red sandals. She was a sweet older lady who is not scared to hold the hand of a complete stranger. Have I ever stated how that is a fear of mine? Kidding. Well, sort of.

It was a great night for sure.

Beth, just in case you ever read this (or your daughter decides to tell you about this wacko driver who went to biblestudy), you hit it out of the park tonight. God in you is some greatness. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Going alone was a bit of difference for me. I am use to being in the mix with lots of sweet faces to share with. Tonight God was my companion. He was with me on all the crazy roads and he was there when my heart opened tenderly before him. What a prince he is. My life may be full of change right now but he is ever constant. I praise you, my sweet Jesus.

love.

under contract

Our house is officially under contract! We were called today with, catch this, two offers. Can you feel me smiling?

The speaking went great. I was the youngest one in the ladies meeting by far. FAR. I think they got a kick out of me, as I did of them.

I have a date with Esther and Beth tomorrow night. I can't wait. This is a definite plus to being in Houston.

my photo blog

Check this out.

Ripped Jean Monday

It is ripped jeans Monday.

I hope I see my momma today she will be so un-proud. You just gotta love that.

My mother-in-law doesn't like the days when I wear heels or dresses/skirts without pantyhose. Do I ever wear pantyhose? I must admit sometimes I do. You wouldn't know it. I wear them cut-off sometimes to tighten that need to do sit-ups stomach.

To be fair, she doesn't care if I do it, but she would never be caught dead without hose.

And to be fair, I only know this because I was teasing her about it. One day she tried wearing dress shoes without her hose and got blisters. I felt pretty bad.

Just out of curiosity, how tall are you? Yes, very random, that's me. I am curious to find out how short I really am, you know, in comparison to all of you. Would I be the shortest in the class?

In case you are now wondering...I am 5'1.

edited to say...ummm....I mean 5'2...

iChat, uChat

Do you like coffee? What about chatting with friends?

Well grab some coffee (or something) and let's chat. I am needing some conversation. Do you ever feel that way?

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Here is some great news. It is past due but great none the less. Last weekend we went back to Abilene to pack up our personal belongings. It was a good quick trip. Our house is being sub leased to a couple whose roof caved in. They are staying in our home for a few months or until it sells. They are even renting our furniture because all of theirs was ruined. It seems to work out for the both of us. The perfect part of this sits here...The money they are paying for the house came in perfect time for the next months mortgage. We hadn't been worried about the payment until this month. God provided. We have been without an official paycheck for a month and a half yet God has provided all our needs and more.

On other house news...

Our realtor called last week and told us to be expecting an offer on our home. That is super exciting!

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This past friday we were blessed to spend the day at Tranquility Park. If you have not viewed the slideshow just look below at the chasing blog. God met us there. He is faithful and in the moment he renewed our strength. He took us back to the birth of the dream that resides in our heart. It was to travel and speak to teenagers. It seems simple enough but it is forever scary. Somewhere on the way there we decided that we needed a job to secure financing. The perfect plan is to find one that would fulfill our dream as well as money right???

That was our reasoning.

For the moment it does not seem like God is desiring that. We promised that we would pursue this vision and prompting set before us. No matter how scared we are. We still have resumes out there and if God desires for us to take a position he will show us but for now we are going out on our own. Whew. That is hard to type.

I would love to show you the direct way that He reaffirmed this to us. That post would be way too long.

Shortly after walking in the door we received a call about speaking to a men's/woman's banquet. Coincidence? If you remember tomorrow night say a word of prayer for us as we share our love with new faces.

Just for notes sake...We are nothing special, nor do we think we are...we are just Jesus lovers with a dream and a mind to pursue it. I hate the even faintest idea that you would think of us to be showy. It is not my desire. The showiness that we posses is grace, HIS grace. He has bestowed much. I mean much as in HUGE>>>>HUGER>>>if that was a word.

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Houston anyone? Is anyone going to biblestudy @HFB on Tuesday Night?

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Has anyone seen the Nanny Diaries? Any good?

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Reading any good books lately?


Talk Back...I would love to hear from you.

chasing.

This is Good News

even if it doesn't sound like it or even feel like it...

The position that we have been holding out for is a no go. The funding did not come in as it was thought to. The President of the College spoke to us on Tuesday and let us know. His heart was heavy, I thought that was sweet. He even mentioned that he had wanted to bring us up sooner but now it is good that he didn't. There would have been no way to pay us.

Yes, my heart was hurt, and well, even crushed. I choose to believe God. I know we have been asking him to shut doors that he doesn't want us to go through. He did just that.

Our hearts have been bonded with the students at this school. God will bring the reason to pass. He knows more than we could ever imagine. We trust.

Please pray for us as we continue this journey. Pray that we would stay close to Him, and be free to hear His will and not ours.

We are looking back to remember the first dreams/visions of this ministry. After looking back we see a lot of decisions that we have made out of pure fear of failure. Clarity...that is what we need.

Just thought I would update. (There may be a sell house update soon)