~
There's JOY in the Kitchen ~
~When we realize that ~
Exhilaration of life can be found only with an
upward look. This is an exciting world. Great
moments wait around every corner.
Richard M. Devos * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
Sarah's Tent A ministry devoted to gathering
together God's silent warriors, the wives of
pastor's and ministers of all denominations and
cultural backgrounds, as well as their families,
for fellowship, support, laughter and prayer. Isa
51:1-2 / Isa 54:2-3 / Heb 10:24-25
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VIN NUMBERS & VISION
The Journey to Obtain the Promise
By JoyfulArt
It all started with a word. The word was,
"The church has just been given a pop-up
camper tent trailer in an estate donation."
Then came the vision. A wondrous vision filled
with cool breezes and sunshine under the blowing
aspen trees in the great Rocky Mountains.
Children playing and fishing on the banks of a
nearby lake . . .
"We'll buy it!" we said. "What
a blessing this will be!" we exclaimed.
The deal was done, we handed over the money
and pulled our camper home, carefully parking it
in the driveway. There was one catch however, all
we had to do was to get the heirs of the State to
find the title and sign it over.
One year passed. The heirs had not found the
title and had moved to another State promising to
continue looking and do what they could as
quickly as possible. Two years passed. The title
seemed to be missing they answered us in a long
distance phone call, we need the papers from the
State to do a title search. Okay we said and
promptly drove to the State to get the papers.
Carefully we filled out each blank, folded the
papers and sent them to the out of State heirs.
Three years passed. Now sitting next to the
garage, the camper had been moved to make room on
the driveway. Several times during the year we
had pulled it out onto the grass and set it up in
order to air it out. The kids, hubby and I would
pile in and pretend that we were in the great
outdoors, and would explore and re-explore every
nook and cranny that awaited out camping
supplies. The vision would grow with each session
of "open airing." Three and a half
years later it was quite clear to us that we
would have to gain the title and license from a
different route. So back to the County we went
with our precious bill of sale. "I'm sorry,
but you will have to do a title search at the
State."
"Can't you just look up the VIN number
from the license plate on the camper?"
"Yes, but that wouldn't count because that
plate could have come from anywhere" was the
reply. So with the kids piled into the car, we
headed to the State building across town. Two
hours later our number was called, and handing
our papers to the teller we were told that we
would have to come back the next day or wait for
ten days for them to mail us our results.
"Oh no," we said, "We'll be back
tomorrow! We are looking forward to
camping!"
Tomorrow came and we drove down to the State
to pick up our lost title. "I'm sorry"
the lady in the window said, "Evidently with
the numbers you have given me, the title and all
papers to it must have been purged, there is no
record." "Great!" I thought,
"This is going to be easier than I expected.
All we have to do is get another VIN number and
we are all set! We could be camping by the Monday
of next week!"
Back at the County office I handed my papers
and the results of the title search to the thin
clerk sitting behind the counter. Flipping
through the papers one by one, she said,
"All you have to do now, is to take this
form and get the VIN number verified by an
officer of the law. If the number can't be
verified, then you will have to get one
certified, and that will cost you $20."
"No, problem!" I said. "After
that, you will have to go to the sand and gravel
place over on 98th and Riverdale. There are
scales there, and you need to get the camper
weighed. Have this official weight form
completed." She casually replied as she
flipped another form on top of my existing
papers. "Once you have the camper weighed,
you will need to take the camper to a licensed
dealer and have them appraise it and write a
letter saying how much the trailer is
worth." I sighed. "Okay" I
thought, I can do this, I just won't be able to
get this done by today is all. She handed me her
pile of papers and forms, and gave me a list of
law officers who would be "happy" to do
a VIN verification for me. "Oh!" she
said, "And after you get all of these forms
filled out, you have to fill out these two other
forms explaining to the State why you are doing
all of this!" "And you will need a
permit to pull it while you get all of these
things done."
"Yea, right" I fumed as I got up to
leave, thinking of all the bad comedy skits I had
seen on T.V. of bureaucratic red tape. "How
long does the permit give me?" I asked
hoping that maybe we could squeeze in an
overnight trip. "Three days." She
barked and handed the stack of papers over.
"Come on kids" I called, "Let's
go get Daddy. He's going to have to get in on
this because I don't know how to pull the trailer
yet."
Bright and early the next day we all piled
into the van with our dream camper hitched behind
us. First we went to the RV sales and flagged
down the Sales Mgr. to give us an estimate. With
the appraisal letter in hand, we began to head
for the gravel yard. With visions of the
mountains so near our reach, Daddy decided to
take a drive into the mountains to see how our
new van which we had just purchased for this
purpose, would pull with the camper attached. We
hadn't even fully completed climbing the first
hill before the van began to overheat and we had
to turn back around before we got stranded. As
soon as we began our descent the engine rapidly
cooled while our frustrations rose. Suddenly a
cloud of gloom seem to pass overhead threatening
to rain on our parade. The fun of it all was
quickly flying out the window that we had lowered
to save the engine by turning off the air
conditioning.
It was fast approaching noon by the time we
made it to the weight scales. Large gravel trucks
roared in and out of the yard, stopping on the
scales long enough to get weighed before entering
traffic. We parked and hubby went to the window
to see when we could take our turn on the scales.
Returning to the car he mumbled something about
needing five bucks for the weigh and the fact
that we didn't have $5 cash on us. Nearing the
closest ATM, fresh disappointment set in as the
thought came that the van couldn't even pull the
trailer up a hill, so why even weigh the silly
thing?
"I'm hungry!" one of the kids
moaned, "Me too! The other chimed in."
Up until then they had really been pretty patient
riding in the hot car all over "Kingdom
Come." There had only been six fights, one
outburst of crying, and one wing ding of an
argument by our little lawyer sitting in the back
seat.
Lunch finished, we all piled back into the car
to find a law officer. Once we were on our way, I
took out the long list of names. One after
another I began to call the different numbers on
our cell phone, hoping to complete the inspection
before the day ended. One call after another I
was answered by answering machines or
receptionists informing me that the person we
called no longer worked in that office. Our
camping trip was fleeing into the distant future
faster and faster.
The phone began to ring back with officers
returning my messages and each one had the same
information. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but we only
do VIN inspections on Thursdays." (Today was
Friday) and "We only do VIN inspections on
Mondays during the hours of 9:00 - 1:00, and you
will have to set an appointment." At last
one of the officers said, "I could squeeze
you in at 1:30 on next Monday afternoon?"
"Sure," I replied as our beloved
camping trip moved back yet another week.
Once again the camper sat parked next to the
garage. The weekend came and went. Finally 1:00
approached and, once again, we all piled into the
hot car to take the trailer to the police
officer. Standing in the sun on the blacktop, the
officer checked everywhere he could and could not
make out any VIN number. So back inside, he
filled out a form saying that there wasn't a VIN
number on the trailer. Because the old license
plate was still on the camper, he insisted on
doing a thorough search by computer. Of course,
he discovered who the trailer had belonged to.
So, being the careful, detailed officer that he
was, he wrote down on our form that he could find
no VIN number on the trailer, and what the
original VIN number was.
Thinking we were at the end of our paper
trail, we trotted back to the County and waited
patiently for yet another woman to familiarize
herself with our papers. You guessed it. . . .
more snags. They assigned us a new VIN number,
and once again, we would still have to return to
the State and do ANOTHER title search on the
original VIN number because of what the officer
had written. AND because the dealer who had
appraised our trailer had not put his dealers
license number or the VIN number on the document
he filled out, we had to return to him as well to
have that done. Which meant we also had to buy
another temporary tag to drag the trailer around
again.
The next day proved a surprise as I entered
the State building. Hardly anyone was there, and
I got in and out in less than an hour with the
paper work I needed. Feeling spunky, I decided to
go to the dealer without the trailer and see if
he could just add the VIN number I now had, and
his dealer number. (After all, it was on the way
home, which was a good distance away.) The dealer
also was a breeze, not a hitch! We didn't need
the temporary tag after all. "Heh - heh -
heh," I thought, "Finally, I'm on a
roll!"
Once in the County office, I took a number and
waited to be called. Count down. My name was
called and I was face to face with the first lady
who had begun working with us. Within just a few
more moments, I would have the license plate in
my hand and could show it triumphantly to the
family! THE vision once again played itself in my
mind. . . children laughing, campfires, stories,
rest, fresh air. . . . . POOF! It all went up in
smoke as the lady said, "I hate to tell you
this, but there is a problem." I moaned.
"The VIN number that is on the appraisal
doesn't match the VIN number we gave you."
"You will have to return to the dealer and
get him to appraise the trailer again."
I looked at the clock, it was now 45 minutes
to closing and I wanted so badly to be done with
this mess. Fuming, and mumbling things under my
breath (complaints, gripes and grumblings, don't
you know), I got up once again to drive to the
other end of town in rush hour traffic and have
the dealer correct the mistake. God was good to
me, because I made record time to the dealership,
got the paper revised and made it back to the
County in time to finally receive our plates.
- - - - - - - - -
The reason I went into so much detail to tell
this frustrating story, (and believe it or not,
this is a SHORTENED version,) was because as I
left the dealership I was acutely aware that this
had not been a pleasant experience, and if it
hadn't been for the kids, I wouldn't be doing
this. We would just have parked the silly trailer
in the front yard of the original heirs and said,
"Good luck! It's yours now." and left.
Complaining to the Lord about our lot in this
"blessing" the thought came to me that
there just HAD to be a sermon in this trial. No
sooner had those words left my lips than the Lord
spoke to my heart. "There IS a reason."
"You would not have carried this mission
out, if you had not had a VISION.
Many times in our journey as pastors, we get
so discouraged at how things are working out.
"If it were God," we complain
"Would it be so hard to see this vision come
to pass?" That is why it is important to
write the vision and make it plain so that they
(when you) see it, they can run with it. It is a
race that we run for the Kingdom of God. To set
men free. That is the vision. Our mission is to
do whatever is necessary to see that come to
pass. Fight the good fight of faith. . . . you
WILL obtain a prize if you don't faint.
That's not the end of the story either. We
planned to go to the mountains and the weather
report came back that it would be a weekend of
rain and storms. A bad report. A threatening word
that after all we had been through, we would
still not see our dream come to pass.
This is where all of you come in. Bolstered by
yours prayers, we took a step of faith and
pressed in anyway. The weekend was lovely, the
kids still have smiles on their faces and I'm
filled with memories of our first weekend camping
as a family as I put our laundry in the wash with
fragrance of campfires and S'mores stains
embedded in the fibers. It WAS worth it all after
all. Now I know I could do it again - but next
time I would be smarter!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gal 6:9 And let us not grow weary while
doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we
do not lose heart. (NKJ)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(Submitted by Sanorma)
I was regretting the past and fearing the
future. Suddenly the Lord was speaking:
"MY NAME IS I AM"
He paused. I waited.
He continued,
"When you live in the past
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I was.
When you live in the future,
with it's problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I will be.
When you live in this moment
it is not hard. I am here.
MY NAME IS I AM "
by Helen Mallicoate
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Whether you think you can or you can't,
you are right.
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Public PW Chat Begins In August
We will begin our public chat for Pastor's
Wives this coming August during the time slot now
occupied by our Tuesday morning chat. The purpose
of this chat is to make more Pastor's and
Ministers wives aware of Sarah's Tent, and to
provide us with free advertising! The chat will
not be in the private room, but will be held in
the Women's Connection chat room with
Christianity Online. Another private chat will be
opened on Thursday mornings in the same time slot
as the current Tuesday chat.
The studies and subject matter will be the
same as what we have been enjoying in our private
chats. However, because we will be open to the
public eye, we encourage you to come prayed up
and save the more "intimate" details of
our lives for the private chats. Whether we
realize it or not, this will become another area
of mentoring as we embrace new ladies and
ministers from every denomination. Therefore,
once again, we ask that you be extra sensitive to
laying down our denominational differences in
order to lift up Jesus and Him crucified.
Continue to pray as this ministry continues to
grow, for wisdom, integrity, harmony and
administration, as well as the right people to
come along side as a team.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The atmosphere of expectancy is the
breeding ground for miracles. Rodney L.
Parsley
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POT LUCK!
HOMEMADE BAGEL CHIPS Printed with permission
from "Lifestyle for Health" by Cheryl
Townsley Visit her web site @ LifeStyle For
Health
These chips are easy to make and a great
addition to soups and salads.
2 med. whole grain bagels
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano, dried-leaf
1/2 tsp. sage, ground
DIRECTIONS: Slice bagels thinly lengthwise.
Sprinkle each slice with garlic, oregano and
sage. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375
degrees until crisp.
NOTES: Ingredient Option: For the garlic,
oregano and sage, substitute any other
combination of herbs. Serves 4
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LENGTHEN YOUR CORDS!
We now have a MASTER BUDDY LIST available for
your convenience. This will give you
denominations, interests, ministry specialties,
Pastor's, Wives, and even a list for Preacher's
Kids so they can be pen pals with each other!
(Just drop JoyfulArt a line and request your copy
of the MBL.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
~ PRAYER ~
Please send prayer request to C.O.P.E.
Ministries (Christians Online Praying by Email)
in care of Mama Brrr@AOL.com
DON'T FORGET TO LET THEM KNOW YOUR PRAISE
REPORTS!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
For your Exploring Pleasure,
click on these hyper links and find
something new to investigate!
NEW!
A
Joke A Day Ministries!! Laughter does good
like a medicine!
Guide
to Christian Retreats Why not start looking
here?
Last Weeks Sites HOMESCHOOL
1.
A Christian Spotlight on the Movies
(If you have discovered a web site that you
think others would be interested in, please let
me know, and I will put it in our newsletter.
Just click & drag the sight from your
Favorite Places and drop it into your letter.)
__________________________________________________________________
Joy In The Kitchen is an extension of Sarah's
Tent An online ministry devoted to gathering
together God's silent warriors, the wives of
pastors and ministers of all denominations and
cultural backgrounds, as well as their families,
for fellowship, support, laughter and prayer. Isa
51:1-2 / Isa 54:2-3 / Heb 10:24-25
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