Sanders' World Changing

     Our house on Sugar Maple Leaf Farm sat nearly a half mile off the road. I would trek to the school bus at quarter past six each morning. Down the small hill, around the corner and then straight past the garden, gas pumps, owner's house and alpaca field. One particularly cold winter morning, as I headed out the door, my father reminded me to check the pen on my way through as one of the babies were due any time.        A quick glance in the direction of the animals confirmed that one of the babies was indeed born, perhaps only minutes prior. As I moved in for a closer look, I could see steam rising from the snow. A cria (newborn alpaca) laid alone, abandoned by its mother. I quickly alerted my father and we scooped the baby from the freezing snow bed and hustled inside the nearby house. Unlike the mama alpaca, our instincts kicked in. Dad and I knew if the alpaca was to live he needed to be warmed. He would need to eat at some point, but his ...

When I was maybe 7 or 8, old enough to read but still small enough to fit into the little kid rocking chair in my grandmothers front room, I chose to read the Bible. After a spell, she entered the room and asked what I was reading. I told her I had read Pee-Salms and was now looking at Pro-verbs, which is fitting because I now fully realize my grandmother was the epitome of a Proverbs 31 woman. As she looked over my shoulder, I told her I had no idea how someone could read the whole thing. The print in her Bible was so tiny, there were so many pages and there were NO pictures! I figured this made her chuckle because she was a librarian and I anticipated she would say what most people would say, “start at the beginning’, but she didn’t. Grammie said, “start at Matthew”. Start at Matthew, I did, but it would be years before I fully understood what that truly meant. Grammie didn't sit down and explain the gospel to me. She simply pointed me in the right direction, and the Truth met ...

One summer, when I was probably only about 10 or so, I went to Pennsylvania to visit some family. They were all registered for a race that weekend (my aunt a marathon, the girls a 2 miler) and they wanted me to enter, too. I said I had never run before, but I would. It was a straight out and back run almost all uphill for the first half. As I rounded the cone at the turn, I could see how far I had come, but I could also see that there was no one behind me. I was in last place and I had half the run remaining. I still had so far to go, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other until the end. When it was time for the awards to be given out I listened to the voice over the loud speaker said, “in third place in the under 11 age division, Carrie Grey”. What? Yes, I got 3rd in my age group even though I came in dead last. When I returned to Dover, I told Grammie about it and she asked to see my trophy. I told her it was silly because "I didn’t deserve it". Not everyone des...

One-day Grammie said I could have milk and cookies. As I walked to the kitchen she said “be careful pouring the milk” …. Well, you know what happened next, I spilled the milk. I spilled the milk all over her kitchen carpet. CARPET in the kitchen, I am so glad that trend is over, but anyway… I thought for sure she would be so upset with me that I frantically tried to clean the milk myself. On my hands and knees in the kitchen, a dozen paper towels laid out I froze when I saw her feet just a few paces away. I looked up and prepared for the “I told you to be careful” speech but Grammie didn’t say a word, she simply crouched down next to me and helped me clean it up. She taught me that when you see a need you don’t ask if they need help, you just figure out a way and help.

     My grandparents built their home in the 1950s. A Sears catalog kit home, originally about 1500 square feet, that cost about $5,000. It was a one-story, three-bedroom home that sat on the corner, at the bottom of Nellie Hill. I lived there a few times when I was very young in between moves or at a time when my mother just needed a little help from her parents. When I didn't reside there, you could still find me there every morning before school and each day after school while my mother worked.  I moved eight or ten times before I graduated high school, but my grandparents’ house was always home. The building itself was nothing special, but the memories that made this house a home, made it remarkable.           My grandfather passed away over 5 years ago and my Grammie joined him in heaven last week. (The two of them were legacy leavers and their stories are for another series of posts.) The past seve...

Super heroes in comics, movies and on tv do amazing things for the good of society. They have cool powers like strength to stop a racing freight train, the ability to fly like a plane or even to shoot spider webs out of their wrists. Well, as you know the only thing that would fly out of my Grammie’s wrist were Kleenex. She always had one if you needed it. But if you ask anyone who ever darkened the doorway to one of my grandmother’s classrooms or libraries you would know she did have a super power. She could actually emit an atomic energy of epic proportions through her pointer finger. It began with what we might call a finger snap, but she was really conjuring up a subatomic life whip and when it hit you, you felt it in your heart. You straightened up. She never had to snap twice. Some of you are shuttering about it right now. When looking back at all the lessons she taught me however, Grammie didn’t need to use her subatomic snap lasso of truth, she simply directed you in the way...

A story based on real events: Molly's first ever heart break. She and our friends' son Chris developed crushes on one another this spring. We were NOT ready for Molly to have this interest, but we knew that we had to navigate this prayerfully because how we responded in those moments would set us up for all future conversations on the topic of boys, love, etc. So--I met with the boy's mom and we agreed to let them talk on a one on one boy-to-girl level. Nothing private, controlled, overseen, but still, we allowed it to move forward. The boy is incredible. He is a God lover, intelligent kid with true passion and commitment. He sets the bar high. For the past 7 or 8 months we have fostered their friendship and led them as best we could. His mom and I have become truly amazing friends. It is like God gave me her when He gave Molly this first boyfriend. --- well, then they moved away and we visited, but distance stinks and long distance relationships are always hard...especi...

Got a great night of sleep last night. Woke to a beautiful sunny day. My sweet baby girl was happy to see me and asked me to watch silly animal videos with her. It was like a perfect beginning to my day. And then she whined about having to do work, didn't want anything I offered for lunch and broke down like she was 3 again. The next few hours were a blur.  I thought about putting myself in mom's time out but we had to come up with a new plan to get through the afternoon. Parenting is hard. Homeschooling is hard. Some days just suck. But each day is a blessing. And I wouldn't change my life for anything. Not one thing. Update: Sucky homeschool days are fewer now, but they still come. And that is ok. We are all flawed humans. I still need a mom's time out every now and then. And that is ok, too. 

This morning people all across America are posting about being "literally heartbroken" about the death of a fictional character on TV. The show aired last night. Yesterday also happened to be Red X day where people wear a red x to support the End It Movement to raise awareness and support to end sex slavery around the world. More people are sad about a fake character than little girls being sold in sex slavery. I just can't today. God is breaking my heart for this cause. I have two daughters.  How can I not join the fight. Real things in the real world should get our tears. Update: I was able to be a small part of The Safe House Project Half Marathon and 5K planning and implementation team. We raised thousands of dollars to help build a Safe House to keep kids safe from Sex Trafficking. SAFE FROM SEX TRAFFICKING! How is that real? But it is.  When God puts a purpose in front of you, pause, pray, pace. It may not be a sprint. It may need time to come to fruit...

Often times, when I meet someone new, they ask what I do. Most people would answer with their job title or description. Others with their political or religious affiliation. At one time I could have said "I am a Dragon", referring to my high school mascot. Or perhaps, "I am the farmer's daughter" would have been sufficient. My fellow Christians would say "I am a child of God" or something like that, which is true and most important, but I struggle because there are so many other hats I wear. Little badges that people identify me with often depend on the relationship in which we met. At church, at work, the grocery store, etc. They make an assessment and give me a label. Labels are used to identify people. They can be good and simple. "My name is Carrie". "I am a volunteer". But what other labels have I put on myself or have others put on me? What do I think about them? Mom. Yes, I am a mother. I love my daughters so much and I...

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, I intend to return to blogging... I have so much to say. It doesn't really matter if no one is here to listen.  My words need to get out. I will be back. Update: I never said how often I would update this. So give me grace. I am a work in progress, too.