Chismville

Starting my own business has been an awesome experience. I feel like it is the right thing to do, and I have been given a lot of positive encouragement from friends and family that they can totally see me doing what I am doing: helping small service businesses grow! Ah…but running a small business is difficult and has lots of burdens to carry. I am trying to help small businesses (like myself) save time, be more organized, and get results! However, I am feeling the pressure of what small business owners go through from time to time as I too have a full plate of events, marketing, follow up calls, scheduled events…oh and family and church activities! On top of all that…I’m in the process of moving!!! Can you talk about being stressed? Wow! I’ve had a hard time breathing the past few weeks and have been quite tired and worn out. I’ve even lost 2 clients who were NOT unhappy with my service but were running out of money. I came home from a 4 day vacation yesterday only to find out that my Acura needs $3600 worth of work done on it this week: it is not drivable! We backed over a rock…and the rock decided to destroy the under area of my car.

So, today, I was feeling overwhelmed. I began thinking about my savings account. I have money in savings. I have a retirement account. I have money from the sale of my San Diego home, but I am trying to be careful on how I spend right now. The savings was mainly for long-term items like a new home, our kids, etc. I feel like it is now slowly being spent on the “here and now.” Well, it was not until I just stopped and prayed. I prayed to the God who provides. I prayed for wisdom and that God would provide. It seems God has been showing me over and over lately to put my trust in Him and not to worry. I think it is also a wake up call to rest in Him for my future and my “daily bread.” Proverbs 3:5-6 reminded me to trust in the Lord with ALL of my heart: to NOT lean on my own understand and ways of doing things but acknowledge HIM in everything I do…and he WILL direct my path.” I was also reminded of the passage in, I believe it is in 1 Timothy, that the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil. I want to earn money to use it for God’s glory, not to “get rich” or hoard up earthly riches that will perish. Money is given to us to be spent: but wisely. So, in faith I went to the auto mechanic and told them to do the repairs. I came home and got an email and a phone call with several interested in my marketing services! One person in particular said he wanted to hire me on a monthly basis, and his fees will pay for my car repairs. Of course I have to work hard and service him, but that unexpected email requesting my services could not have been better timing. I read the email, looked up and said, “Thank you Lord. You will provide.”

The air conditioning was not working this morning during the service at New Hope, but that is not what made me fidget restless in my seat. Jenny has been in labor all day and I got a text message about it just before we went inside. I am still restless, eager to hear that Jenny’s and Daniel’s little daughter made her appearance safely and smoothly into the world!Life keeps buzzing along. In the past few weeks Kirstie turned 16, Eden turned 20, and Emily turned 18 yesterday. On Eden’s birthday I took my final final for Chemistry and by God’s sweet grace completed my degree in Political Science through Hillsdale College. It has taken me a little while to settle into this new reality of not having nagging little deadlines always before me. Precalculus and Chemistry weren’t my most relished subjects, and being one of those people usually inclined to eat my brussel sprouts first, it was strange to end my education on such a note. I do love to learn however. I had more lack of purpose and confused restlessness after completing Precalculus than I have had now that I am really done. Now that I have obtained that little piece of paper I sought so diligently, I’ve been snatching up books with alacrity! One for girlish memories and old-times sake, one for theological insight, one for summer reading enrichment, another for family direction and personal insight, and I believe I’ve only just begun to cover all the bases.I don’t intend to neglect my precious charges. I almost regret that Joel will turn four this week! It has been such fun answering peoples questions about my children’s ages with simple counting 3, 2, and 1. Everyone tells me children grow up all too fast. I know it is true. Even little Aria is having her own occasional squabbles with her bigger siblings, realizing a squawk might earn back a toy. I so enjoyed getting to know Mrs. Wold’s fiance, Chris Peeler, while attending his parenting seminar. Sadly, it was while David was gone in Portland, so I had to take extra good notes. The training was excellent. I realized how important it is to keep our children’s hearts while our children are small and to instill in them desires for those things which are truly important. Children are mirrors into our own lives–sometimes magnifying our own sins and personal hypocrisy. David and I cannot talk our children into really loving the Word and the Lord, without being truly excited about Scripture and our Savior ourselves. Chris said several times that good parenting doesn’t cost much, only our lives! I left the seminar wanting to banish the nagging motherly worries for my children’s safety with an excitement about watching our children grow to do eternally significant things for God’s glory. Soon after David’s return from Portland, we enjoyed an early morning Panera’s date full of rich conversation. I am so proud of my husband. He has been advancing his new A David Creation marketing consultant business and working much more from home. Starting up a new business is never easy, especially in this economy, but I feel so at peace because of God’s blessing and David’s diligence and powerful drive to provide for our family.

I typed this up about two weeks ago and never finished it….

Today I happened to glance outside and saw two teeny fawns skipping and racing around our back yard. A few moments later they were gone. It boggles my mind to think of all the natural beauty that no human ever lays eyes on. I can’t believe all the fulfilled longings I have experienced recently. I took my kids, Kirstie and Seth blueberry picking last week. Blueberries are one of the finest foods ever invented! I feel at last, I am enjoying God’s good gifts rather than fearing that the things I enjoy might be rudely snatched from me. There’s such a delicate distinction between fearing God, loving and serving Him, in a rightful sense and being wretchedly overcome with worries and fears of what God might do. God loves to give good gifts to His children. My soul thrills with that reality. Oh how I love my children! Life with a three, two and one-year-old is full. It has been something of a juggling act in recent days to keep everyone fed, clean and clothed, disciplined and dare I say happy, along with a tidy house, up-to-date homework, and on time for the many fun activities that summer days bring. J Some days I think, “It should not be this hard!” However my recent run-in with another driver made me yet again think how much I LOVE my husband and my precious children. If a reckless driver hit me head-on today and I went to Glory, my sweet little ones would not even remember me a few years from now, but they Need me. It is a joy to be needed. The type of service required as a mother of little ones is eternally rewarding. I am so thankful to God for all His good blessings on my life. I love this home we are living in. It is a present from God, complete with all the trimmings my heart could desire. I love seeing the wildlife that happen into the vast sea of greenness to frolic or munch on our mown lawn. I love discovering wild black raspberries around the entire perimeter of our yard.  I love meeting my friend’s and sister’s new babies and marveling at God’s gift of new life.

This weekend’s events of Jenny’s baby shower and Mrs. Wold’s bridal shower sent me into more sentimental reveries. I got to meet Mrs. Rodgers, my soon-to-be neighbor.  I can scarcely believe that my little flock will soon be playing in the same back yard that I spent so many happy hours playing with the Wolds. Mrs. Rodgers had just learned of Mrs. Wold’s engagement and was so happy that special home would still be filled with children after the Wold children move. It is so sweet to me that God would have us fill in that piece of the puzzle as Mrs. Wold begins married life anew and her home holds many special memories for scores of friends and family.

A week and a half has gone by since the a helicopter crashed onto the 70 freeway, near Frederick, Maryland. I was driving home with my family not far from the crash site but did not find out till the next day. It was one of the worst thunderstorm/rain storms I had ever driven in, so I was shocked when I heard that a pilot flew in such weather. I really did not find out if it had stopped raining when the crash took place, but I do know that 15 minutes before the crash, it was awful weather.

A new networking friend of mine called me the following day, Friday, to discuss a marketing project we were working on for Hallco. He then said, “Did you hear about the helicopter crash?” I said that I had not. My friend then said, “Well, do you remember Niall?” I knew at that moment that it must not be good news. Niall Booth, was another man I had recently met at a business networking meeting and was one of the passengers on board the helicopter when it went down. The last time I saw Niall, I had sat next to him and had a wonderful conversation about why he moved to Maryland, where he had been, his new contract with the helicopter company, and much more. We had a lot in common when it came to sales and marketing too, so after he left that day, I realized he was one person I had to stay in touch with in the months/years to come. To hear such tragic news of his death made me so sick inside. I do hope to attend his memorial service coming up and see how his family is doing.

One of the strange things about the crash too was that the guy who told me about the accident was supposed to be on the flight. He was invited to get on the aircraft and backed out because he did not like flying. I then told him that there must be a reason God still has you on this earth. I really meant what I said. It isn’t that God was judging those who died that night. I meant that God was just not finished with this man. He responded with a sarcastic remark of maybe needing to be religious or something “funny” to him. I am not sure what was or is going through his mind, but I do hope he will think more about eternity in the future. God has placed eternity in the hearts of men, and I know this man too must think about it at times: why did God spare him that day? Wow! That would cause chills to go up and down my spin for months! My heart weeps to know that there are those who don’t know Christ, even after a tragic event. They continue to go about their lives thinking that they can live in this World with out His grace and mercy. Lord willing, this will stir in my heart a boldness to speak about the love of Christ to this man an many others.

I wanted to give you a brief rundown of what the Chism family is up to in July.

• 2nd Men’s Prayer in the Park at our church (had about 14 men show up!)
• Birthday celebration for Michael Howard, Joli’s Dad.
• Enjoyed a wonderful Joli Fourth weekend: went to a family friend’s farm house about 30 minutes north of our place. It was a 40 acre spread! Beautiful! We ate, played v-ball and frisbee golf…came back and watched a late-night movie.
• Joli and Eden (Joli’s sister) were driving to Frederick Community College on Monday, July 6th and got in a car accident. Some young kid darted his car in front of theirs while making a left turn. My car was quite damaged and may not be repairable but Joli and Eden were untouched! God was so good to us all!
• Joli has 21/2 more weeks or so before she is 100% done with her college degree. She has worked so incredibly hard to finish, and I just hope Hillsdale College will still let her graduate from their school. That is the main reason she is finishing the degree. I am so proud of how hard she has worked. I do not have the same diligent drive my wife has for studying! However…I am SO glad we’ll be done with this chapter in life. It has not been easy for both of us.
• I am now officially into my first full-month of starting my new marketing management company: “A David Creation.” My new website is still being designed but the progress can be Viewed Here. I am very excited about diving into this business. I have about 6 clients and have a number of good quality leads I’m following up on right now. I am trusting that God will take care of our daily needs and that I can be a blessing to small business owners.
• I am headed to Portland, OR in about a week for a painting conference. I serve as a board member for the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America’s Residential Forum. We have our annual conference for 3 days in July. The exciting part is that I’ll get to see my Mom and Dad, who are attending. I’ll be doing a presentation on websites and the need for a quality site. I hope to pick up a few clients from my time there too.
• Joli continues to take the kids to a beautiful lake about 30 minutes from our house. I have yet to be able to go with her but hope that will change soon. Everywhere we go out here seems to be 20-30 minutes minimum! So if you want to live in the country, which we do, you have to drive…a lot. I have not gotten use to driving for painting estimates either. My average drive still is 45 mins to 1 hour one way!
• I am also working part time for Hallco Enterprises, a professional paint company near Frederick MD. I hope the owner with his marketing plan and work on his residential repainting estimates for him. It is good to get out of the office and in front of a computer and get to meet people! I love it.
• We will then end the month attending about 3 more Howard birthdays!
• In early August, we’ll plan an overnight trip to a nearby campground to celebrate Joel’s 4th birthday. We found some great cabins about 45 minutes away and hope to gather a few family members to join us for a couple of days!

That is the Chism brief update. Oh ya…and Joli and I still try to tip-toe away to enjoy a date night every 2 weeks or so.

I don’t want to make this post sound like a joke or sound judgemental either! I guess it is just a little humor in my little mind! I am “in charge” of setting up a men’s prayer meeting at my church. The prayer time is a small committment of 45 minutes, once a month. So I made an announcement at church and then sent out an invitation using Facebook. When I went to look at the list of who will “attend” so far I have 2 confirmed (myself as one) and 4 “maybes.” The rest have not replied yet. I just thought it was funny that folks would click “maybe” instead of “cannot attend.” It made me laugh when I thought guys don’t want to say, “I don’t want to attend a prayer meeting” or “I can’t attend a prayer meeting.” I don’t think God will be offended if one cannot make a prayer meeting, and I hope the guys that truly cannot come won’t feel guilty if they have to click “no.”  

What good is a blog if it’s never updated? I’ve had too much chocolate and not enough sleep, but am nonetheless quite happy. Last week, I wanted to try cooking up a new grain for breakfast and quickly googled it before Heidi arrived for our stability ball workout. The blog that came up with grain-cooking instructions was written by a cool person I wished I could be friends with….if only I knew her. Anyway, I linked to her kid blog which had awesome music attached that Heidi and I totally exercised to. This gal’s online track contained one song after another with a groovy beat and nice lyrics. But all that is beside the point. (I am a succor for good music.) I feel as though a millstone has been flung from my neck and I’m heading off into the sunset of a new existence. Though I have really enjoyed my continued education, I’m thrilled to have finished precalc forever. Plus, I got into a summer chemistry class that was full just yesterday. Hillsdale’s registrar faxed my letter of permission almost as soon as he received my request. My last class is now officially in the works. I don’t know why I let circumstances, roadblocks, little frustrations of life get me down. Why do I let the angry words of a stranger wreck my happiness for days? Why can’t I trust more and attach myself to the promises I say I believe? I do know that the stress I’ve felt finishing precalc and competing with obstacles makes me ever so much more grateful to God when those obstacles come crashing down all in a day. I awakened to birds chirping and my nerdy techy husband turned nature-filmish….capturing a fox chasing three unperturbed wild turkeys in our back yard. I got to eat a free lunch at our local community college cafeteria with my sweet sister, Emily, who seems to me to be the hub of social activity at that place. And I remembered to eat breakfast so that my brain didn’t crash in on me during my three hour exam. There are dire consequences to skipping breakfast, you know. I will save enlightening news for some other day. I look forward to getting my house really clean again and enjoying my children and their happy chatter. I want to take another long walk down Dollyhyde and get really muddy in the creek–follow it to Never Never Land and childhood daydreams.

Have you ever heard of a couple calling their kid “Aria?” I’ve never heard anyone tell me they have heard of Aria, except in an Opera. Well, this morning, my dad emailed me the following photo with Aria’s name in a billboard! View Photo

The website is: Aria-San Diego too!

I’ve been brainstorming and planning on and off about starting a small business for quite sometime. The thought has scared me but it never seems to go away either! I’ve always enjoyed helping small businesses work smarter on their business, not harder. I just love finding ways to make them more successful too. So, I’m in the beginning stages of getting my LLC, writing my business plan and collecting clients! I have my first presentation in two weeks in Chicago, where I’ll be speaking to a group of paint contractors about the importance of having and maintaining a good website. Things are slowly falling into place, and I’m praying for wisdom and guidance on how to best glorify God in the timing and running of this new company.  

Here is a small sampling of some of the amusing things I’ve heard recently:

Joel: What color are your stripes, Mommy?

Me: White and red.

Joel: White and red? Wow! I love white and red! They my favowites!

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to Kirstie:

Joel: Do you want to hold my precious Aria?

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Chalice always says, “Are you cold, Mommy?” when I change her diaper with cold hands. She never complains that my hands are cold for her.

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Joel is an optimist. I tell him he can’t do something and he invariably asks, “Can I do it Later?” “Later” is his magic word. I told him not to play with the fireplace tools. He said, “Can I use them later?” I told him when he’s older, I’d let him use the fireplace tools. A few days later he announced, “Mommy, I’m older now. Can I use these?”

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Our kids love to help us. Whenever David’s working on a challenging project, Joel will place his little hand on David’s shoulder and say kindly, “I’m helping you, Daddy.”

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If I stub my toe or burn myself (which happens often, I guess I’m a clutz) Chalice says with great sympathy, “I so sowwy, it’s okay!” She usually says it two or three times.

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My dad took Joel by his house when most of my siblings were gone. Joel asked, “Where are all your friends?”

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A couple days ago we had some new friends over. We were making preliminary introductions and Joel stood in the doorway hugging Chalice and said, “This is my cute Chalice.”

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Joel loves looking at pictures of people on facebook or various blogs. We clicked on a picture of Emily Howard and me and Joel said, “Look at Aunt Emily’s beautiful eyes!” “Oh Mommy has beautiful eyes too!” The picture had horrible red-eye. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!