First Mistake Could Have Been a Doozy!

I have made it through week one of school and, hey, I think I can actually handle this.  The day before I even started school I almost made what could have been a doozy of a mistake if my days weren't so flexible.  For some silly reason, I thought an "R" in the class schedules stood for Friday, and boy did I have my weeks perfectly figured out.  But after receiving an email from one of my teachers saying, "Classes will be starting this Thursday", I realized my error.  I am SO thankful for that email as I would have missed my first class with her and then made the trek out to Harper on Friday for no reason and wondered why on earth the class wasn't in session (or worse, been sitting for who knows how long in the wrong class that WAS being held at that time - that sure sounds like something I could have totally done).  Off to a great start, huh?!  Heavy sigh!

On the day of my first class, the weather was warmish (for January - it was hovering right around the freezing mark) and, thankfully, I left way early so I could be sure to find a good parking spot and find my way to class on time.  I got to school in 30 minutes, so that was great, and I headed to the lot I decided would be the best one to park in only to find MANY people milling around on foot in neon vests (and did I detect a bit of a smirk), there to tell us that, "Hahahaha, you silly fools, this fabulous lot is FULL, and I mean FULL - get to steppin'!"  So, I was directed to the next lot over that is of course, that much further from my class.  I find a spot, open my door to get out and see a swirling puddle of icky, oily slush that looked like it could have eaten me alive if I dared to step out into it (or at least would have for sure ruined by shoes).  I find another spot and get all settled to start the 1/4 mile trek (and I'm not exaggerating) to my class and immediately realize that this is NOT a day for cute shoes or cute hair.  It is winter humid out and windy, so any semblance of a decent hairdo I had going on would certainly be lost by the time I got into class.  As I walked, I realized how nervous I was and Satan was whispering a myriad of lies into my ears - "You're too old for this, you silly fool!  Who do you think you are, thinking you can go back to COLLEGE at this time in your life?  Your brain has become mush with motherhood, turn around while you still have a shred of dignity left - LOSER!!!"  Isn't it amazing how when we just might be onto something good in our lives, these lies seem to literally be shouting in our ears?  NOT GOING TO LISTEN, EVIL ONE - BE GONE!  I do have to admit that when I saw police people scooting around on Segways, the very real thought did come to mind, "Hmmm, wonder how I could become one of them instead.  I always DID want to learn how to ride a Segway".  OY VEY!

So, in my first class, Interior Design Studio, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find that about 60% of the people in the class are middle-aged women just like me.  And, when I say "just like me", I mean it.  No fancy, artsy, design-type dressers (though there is one woman with tres funky glasses - note to self, get some cool glasses!), just a bunch of nice-seeming woman who were dressed nice, but not over the top.  Okay, I can do that.  The rest of the class was comprised of college-aged girls.  No guys in that class.  I found out that in this particular class, we will be drawing up room designs and layout boards.  What???!!!  I can't even draw beyond a stick figure, how on earth . . .???    But, after purchasing my drafting kit, I am realizing that so much is done with templates and, yes, perhaps I can really do this.  The teacher showed us some sample boards from the last semester and announced about the second one, "This one isn't as good" to which I asked what made it "not as good"? and she said it didn't have enough detail.  To my untrained eye, it looked really beautiful.  Wow do I have my work cut out for me!

Then, on Thursday, I started my Fundamentals of Interior Design class.  After my wonderful parking experience on Tuesday, I had looked at a map of the school and I did discover a different lot to park in and felt pretty cocky about it and that I would even get a spot close to the apparent path that leads to the far end of my building.  Ha!  Not only was there no spot close to the path, but no spot in that lot period and yet again, I had to park in an even farther lot from where I wanted to go.  Oh well.  Along the route to my building, there is an outside staircase of two flights of stairs down and instantly, the thought occurred to me, "Dang, I'm going to have to climb back up those steps on the way back to my distant lot".  I will for sure be getting my exercise out of this adventure!  Hopefully, this is all just part of the current weight-loss plan.

In this class, there were, by far, more college-aged kids than we older women, one of them being a young man and one of the girls, I recognized from Cary Grove.  Interesting.  I suddenly felt so much less self-assured than in my other class and after the teacher said we would be giving an oral presentation at the end of the semester, I just about broke out in hives.  Did I mention that I never completed an Associates Degree because I didn't take a speech class as I was MORTIFIED to stand up and give a speech.  Hope that fear has waned greatly!  The teacher asked us all to make hand-written nameplates on paper and mine was so wretched that I was already uber-exasperated.  I really do have quite a creative side, I just need to figure out how to blend it into this world of design.

So, week one is over.  I already have plenty of homework and reading to do, but I'm loving it all and am so far, still very excited!!!  In my second class, we were asked to say what our dream job is.  It felt REALLY good to say, "I hope to own my own Kitchen and Bath Design Showroom and Studio when I'm done with my schooling".  I hadn't actually verbalized that specific dream for this, but there it is, it's out there and I sure hope it's part of God's plan for me/us!

Thanks for sticking with me and reading this REALLY long post.  I promise from here on out, they won't be anywhere near this long.

I'm Going Back to College - Come on the Journey with Me

Hi Friends - I am so sorry that it has been so long since I've posted.  I spent two months doing a temp job for a friend who had a baby and the absolute next day after that was done, my dad went into the hospital.  After 3 1/2 days there, he was released with some much needed tweaks to his health and a week later, it was Christmas, then New Year's and, well, here we are, it's January 16th and I'm finally writing a new post.

One thing that came out of the time I spent doing the temp job was the chance to step out of our own office and to step back to analyze the next phase of my life as the mom of 2 college girls who will be spreading their own wings and getting on with the next steps of their lives.  So, with that job of raising them nearing it's end it's time to enhance my future with Randy and the work that we do, so I decided to head back to college myself to get certified as a Kitchen and Bath Designer.  During my first phone call to Harper College to sign up for this, the head of their Interior Design program said, upon finding out that I am a Certified Remodeler, "Well, let me take a look at your work, and we can clep you out of some of the beginning classes" to which I chuckled and said, "Oh, no, you don't understand, I know absolutely NOTHING about design, I need those beginning design classes".  My giftedness in being a Certified Remodeler is in running the company/office in general.  I am not at all in charge of any of our design work.  That would either be Randy or we utilize the talents of designers are our cabinet suppliers.  But, I do have a creative side to me and a HUGE passion for people getting the absolute most out of the use of their kitchens, so to be able to use that creativity and passion in doing our own designs is exciting beyond words to me!

So, I'd love to take you along on this journey with me.  I am anticipating some humorous stories to come out of this along with some realizations of who I am and who I hope to become.  Already, it has, well, I'm going to be honest here, annoyed me greatly that the majority of the people I have dealt with getting registered, getting my financial aid in line (have I mentioned that because of Chelsea being at Judson and Kylie now going to college, I qualified for a Pell Grant and, tada! get to embark on at least the first semester of this adventure for free - weeeeee!), getting my books, etc., have been people more than half my age who I have to say, are sorely lacking in the customer service department.  Come on younger generation, act like you are grateful to have a job; that you do, indeed, have a brain in those pretty little heads of your's and that you are happy to even be alive.  Seriously, if this is what our future generations think is acceptable at their jobs, we're all in HUGE trouble!!!  I have also come to the conclusion that the thermostats at colleges are not at all set for the comfort of premenopausal women.  I was so hot the other day that I seriously wanted to run outside and throw myself, face down into the snow.  I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot!!!  Note to self, dress lightly or in layers (though, I have yet to find layers that I can wear that as I peel away, don't show off my unfortunately overweight body - but I am working on that, a story for another time).

So, come along on this new journey of mine, would you?  And, let's experience this middle-aged college adventure together.  It starts on Tuesday, so here we go . . .

Fun Ideas for Christmas

How on earth is it already November???!!!  Well, it is.  Halloween is over, so it's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas.  With how fast it has flown to get to this point, I thought it wouldn't be too soon to share these Christmas tips with you so you could plan ahead to take part in some of these ideas.  I hope you do and would love to hear which ones you are excited to try or ones you do try and how they touched your heart and the hearts of your friends and family.

I'm going to break these tips down into three sections (just click on the titles under the pictures):  One with tips for your family, one with tips for yourself and the other about simple gestures you can do to brighten the lives of others. 

Fall/Winter Holiday Traditions for the Family

Holiday Fun Ideas for Yourself

Simple Gestures for the Holiday Season

Throughout the season, most of all, let's remember the reason for the season and do everything we can to be an example of Christ's character to everyone around us.

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Happy 35th Anniversary, Willow Creek Community Church!

35th Anniversary Service Program

This weekend, at church, we celebrated the 35th anniversary of it's beginnings.  Started in 1975, by a rag tag bunch of very young people, Willow Creek started holding it's original services in the Willow Creek movie theatre in Palatine, Illinois (one of the movies listed on the marquee was Woody Allen's "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask" - too funny and ironic).  God indeed showed up in that unlikely location along with 125 original attendees.  Now, 35 years later, Willow is in a beautiful location and building of its own in South Barrington. This celebration really touched my heart more than any of the other anniversary celebrations because of what our membership at Willow Creek has meant for our family and our lives.

"Picnik Show"

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I was not raised in a religious home.  By the time I came along, any attempts at church attendance had faded and the only time religion was ever introduced into my life was when I was invited to the church events of friends.  For some reason, I definitely felt like something was missing, but just couldn't get it figured out.

When Randy & I got married and got started on a life of our own, we were an absolute mess!  We had no idea how to handle our finances and just two months after our wedding, our marriage was in shambles and I felt I had made a mistake and wanted out.  But we stuck it out and continued to make a chaotic mess of things.  I went through life mocking those who followed Christ and tried some funky spiritual offerings that just lead me further down the wrong road.  I still felt something was missing and would talk to God about wishing I knew who he was and how to pray, but it wasn't until we had our first precious baby and nine months later lost her to Pompe's Disease, that I decided it was definitely time to get this God stuff figured out.  My sister, Nancy, told me about a concert at a church in South Barrington called Willow Creek Church and we went to it with a work friend of her's who attended there.  I was absolutely enthralled and completely intrigued with the amazing Christian concert that they put on.  I looked around the Lakeside auditorium and the large size of it and thought, I could come here anonymously and see if I can make any sense of this Christianity stuff.  I would attend services and sit up in a balcony section with my arms firmly crossed over my chest, still thinking these Jesus freaks were freaks indeed!  Randy wouldn't attend with me for a time, but I finally coaxed him into joining me (I think the dug-in heel marks are still out in the parking lot) and we heard very relevant, applicable messages about God that kept us coming back.  The music and dramas were equally incredible, so we made many efforts to return.  I would continually ask Randy, who was brought up in a very religious home to explain the Jesus element to me over and over again and I just couldn't buy it.  But one day (wish I documented the exact day), in my parent's living room, he explained it yet one more time and for some reason, the lightbulb just went off and I actually understood what it meant to accept Christ as my savior.  And, accept him I did.

A beautiful, fall view of the Willow fountain

Over the years, as we had our two healthyand beautiful girls, we brought them to Willow, but for some reason, they just couldn't accliminate to Promiseland as real little ones, so we lost a few years here and there while they were little (and let me tell you, when we'd get notice that they were beyond consolable, the walk from the balcony down to Promiseland was LONG and exhausting).  But, the day came, when we could finally attend on a regular basis and we did.  We learned amazing lessons on how to have a healthy marriage, manage our finances well and raise our children to love Christ and to instill morals in them that never seemed to matter to me before believing.

On the bridge among the willow trees

And, now, fast forwarding to today, I thought of how far I/we have come through our attendance at Willow and how our daughters are now, at the ages of 17 and 20, God loving, serving, wonderful young women and I can't be anything but eternally grateful to Bill Hybels for following the vision he was given so many years ago and to Willow for all of the opportunities we've had for learning, belonging, serving and giving over the years that have built up our spiritual lives to what they are today.  I have also made some of the best friends through Willow that a woman could ask for (and you all know who you are!).  Has our marriage been all wine and roses - far from it.  But because of what we've learned, we've stayed loyal to one another and devoted, even in the worst of times.  Have our daughters been perfect angels throughout the years, staying on the completely straight and narrow path themselves, of course not.  But, again, because of what we've been taught and the support the church offers, we've done our best and as a family, we've gotten through the lumps and bumps and hills and valleys and are a very happy, loving family with a hopeful and bright future.  And, all of the glory and praise goes to God for it all!!!  I truly don't think I'd be saying that today if it weren't for Willow.  I'm pretty certain our marriage would not have survived losing Jessie and God only knows the pain and chaos we may have endured in our lives, far worse from what we already have.

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When I look at where Kylie and Chelsea are these days and I reflect on where I was at their ages, I just marvel at how amazing God is with Chelsea attending a Christian college (and loving every single opportunity and minute of it!) and Kylie being in a worship band and wanting to major in worship arts in college.  I am not at all bragging on them, but I am indeed bragging on God!  I couldn't be more grateful!

A large cake in the lobby with rubber bracelets at the base that we all wore according to the decade we started attending

So, Happy Anniversary, Willow!  I owe my life to God and the fact that I even walk with him to you!

Bill Hybels newest book and a book about the 35 years of Willow

And, as a side note, everyone who attended the anniversary services this weekend received a free copy of these two books.  I was so thrilled as I've been trying to get my hands on a copy of "The Power of a Whisper" and now, when I need it as such, I have it in my hands - as a gift.  Again, thank you!

Where Seldom Was Heard a Discouraging Word . . .

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing"(Proverbs 12:18, NIV)

Whether you are religious or not, reflect on this verse and burn it onto your heart and then act!

This is a rough world we live in, am I right? I have had a week where one certain word just keeps playing through my days - encourage. Imagine how much easier this world could be if we all could program our brains to dole out tons of encouragement throughout our days - good, honest, sincere encouragement.

On Tuesday, I had a coffee date scheduled with a school friend at a coffee place that I've been wanting to visit and she called right beforehand sounding distressed, needing to cancel.  Instead of heading to my desk to switch gears and work there, I decided to still head to the cafe with some work in hand.  I had a meeting nearby there later in the morning, so this would be perfect.  I slowed down my getting ready, and am so thankful that I did as I got a text from another friend who also had a coffee date cancel, wondering if I could grab a cup of coffee with her (just a few minutes later and I would have been headed in the opposite direction and would have said, "no").  I mulled the idea over and decided yes, I've been wanting to run something past her lately anyway, needing some encouragement on my walk in life, so I took her up on the offer.  I received encouragement from her far beyond what I hoped for and expected, and it just set the tone for a really great day to come!

I left that date and headed to my meeting, instead deciding to visit the new cafe afterwards (am I losing you?  I do tend to babble).  My meeting was great, very upbeat and encouraging and I was flying so high by the time I got to the cafe.  I settled in there, and was enjoying a REALLY good cup of iced coffee and was getting a lot of work done when about 2 hours later, who walks in to grab herself a quick cup of joe on the run, but my early morning coffee date.  While she was waiting for her order, I called out her name and she spun around and was so shocked to see me sitting there.  She had time to sit down and we talked for almost 2 hours, going over a VERY rough year she has had and I am so hopeful that I doled out a hefty dose of encouragement on her.  I have been SO encouraged by her strength and perseverance!  She is an AMAZING woman!

Yesterday evening, I had yet another coffee date with a somewhat new friend who I have not sat down with over coffee yet, so I was REALLY looking forward to our time together.  After 4 hours together, I walked away from that meeting so totally encouraged by her stories about how she has felt so led by God in so many ways in her life.  I am encouraged to be still and know . . . I need to purposefully quiet and slow myself down to hear what it is that God wants from me in my life.  One story that she shared with me was about a homeless man who is frequently spotted walking up and down a local highway.  I knew exactly who she was talking about, as we too have seen him many times.  My friend was so prompted to stop one time to talk to him and while she shared that she has absolutely no idea yet what it is she can do for him, I am sure that her kind and gentle words to this man were so very encouraging to his hard life.  She told him that she would pray for him, not knowing how he would take that, but I imagine he felt very encouraged by knowing that.  She has since stopped again to talk with him with her husband and he too spoke some very encouraging words to him.  Both times they were able to give him some money and along with their words, most likely gave him the courage to go on for yet one more day.  She is sure their involvement in this man's life isn't over and I am excited to hear the future stories about their encounters.

So, who in your life can you slow down to encourage?  Or are you, yourself, so in need of encouragement that you can't even imagine doling it out for others?  Do what I did this week - surround yourself with some really amazing people, share your story, listen wholeheartedly to theirs and soak up the encouragement that will flow.

Through my blogging, I have come across a really cool blog called (In)courage (click on the name to check them out).  It is a blog about encouraging stories and ideas for spreading encouragement.  They had a giveaway this week where the first 400 people to respond would be sent a package of cards to use to send out an encouraging word to whoever is laid on their hearts.  I was one of the first to sign up and I can't wait to get my set of cards.  The deal is, though, that we have to report back on September 12th with a story of how we used our cards.  I can't wait to see who God lays on my heart to send them to and how the dose of encouragement was received.

Please join me in becoming an encouragement warrior and let it become a way of life for you.  And, as always, be sure to share your stories of encouragement with me, I would love to hear them!

It's Emmy's Night!

It's that time of year again, time for the Emmy's!!!  I love awards shows (though, I have to admit, I usually get bored about 30 minutes into them and start multi-tasking during the show), and I think these days, the Emmy's are my favorite!  When I was younger, it used to be the Grammy's, but let's face it, a middle-aged woman has pretty much no clue who a lot of the recording artists are these days, so Emmys it is.

So, will you be watching and if so, who are your favorites that you are hoping to win?  Mine?  I absolutely loved watching Glee and Modern Family this past year.

What an uplifting show Glee is!!!  I pretty much love all of the characters (Sue Sylvester is the best - such delicious nastiness!) and love singing along to a lot of the numbers.  And, then there's Modern Family.  Oh, what to say about Modern Family in a quick blog post???  That show is an absolute SCREAM!!!  Love the fact that there is no laugh track and I always get a kick out of The Office-style of shooting a show where the characters look at the camera as if they are attempting to connect with us.  And, can I just say, I am TOTALLY Claire!  The episode where she couldn't figure out the remote??? - me all the way!  And, when she woke up early to get in line to buy her hubby an IPad, only to fall asleep on the couch while getting ready to leave??? - me!  And, then while waiting in line to buy the IPad, only to find out the credit card is instead at home with her wallet??? - me!  And, that is what is so endearing about this show.  If you, yourself can't identify with a character, you can for sure connect someone you know to at least one of the characters and wonder, "How on earth did the writers nail so and so???!!!".  If you haven't seen this show (be sure to click on the show names above to watch a promo of the show), you have to give it a gander this fall (yes, I just said "gander").  You have to pay close attention to not miss a thing and just to be safe, Tivo, DVR, etc. (whatever your mode of recording is) the show to do what we do - we end up watching it again and again during the week - to catch every last little hysterical comment/face that was made.

So, get your popcorn ready, put your feet up and enjoy The Emmy's.  And, for the first time in a long time, my award show-watching buddy will not be with me (and you know who you are - the fact that you might be too busy having fun to even watch the show makes it totally forgiveable).  Another little way that life is changing in the Franz household.

Being His Hands and Feet

Today, a group of us had the opportunity to reach out to a new friend, Amy (a new friend to me) and be God's hands and feet to her.  Her father recently passed away and because she was being a dear soul to take good care of him in his dying days, she was unable to give her beloved gardens the attention she usually likes to.  And, as we all know, unless you can stay on top of your gardens regularly, they can become overcome with weeds.  A friend and workmate of Amy's, Meagan, was given the idea to gather a group of women together to help Amy combat this task.  You see, last year, Amy was God's hands and feet to Meagan as she battled stage 3 breast cancer.  One of Meagan's favorite gifts during that time from Amy was a scrapbook to uplift and encourage Meagan through her battle.  So Meagan put out the word, and friends from church and their workplace, Lou Malnatis (big, huge YUM!), showed up with tools in hand to do the best we could to give Amy a good jumpstart on recovering her lovely gardens.  It was a complete surprise to Amy when Meagan knocked on her door with sign and balloons in hand at 8 a.m. Amy quickly composed herself and we helpers started to trickle in.

Meagan and Amy - Surprise!!!

 Amy worked along side us and we got to know one another and enjoyed some really good fellowship time while putting in some good, hard work and helping a friend at the same time.

Betty & Sue

I was also so touched and impressed by a couple of the ladies who went the extra mile to add to the fun and comfort of the day.  One woman, Sue, made the most delicious zucchini bread ever and brought a cooler of water bottles to share and another woman, Wendy, brought everything the rest of us seemed to forget (plenty of kneelers, garden waste bags, donuts - those are totally necessary when gardening, right?) along with a gift for Amy and some pansies to add more colors to the gardens.  Very thoughtful of you, ladies.

Wendy D. - the Oh-So-Dramatic Gardener (but she brings donuts, so we'll forgive her!)

More friends helping in the backyard.

We even had Meagan's wonderful husband join us so that was nice too!

This isn't Meagan's husband, but it is Meagan!

As life goes on and we all have our ups and downs, I know so many wonder, "What's the point?  I mean, why am I even here?"  God needs you, with your special giftedness, at this exact time, to be here on earth being his hands, feet and voice for him.  It just plain and simply comes down to that.  Sure, some of us are gifted writers, writing fabulous, inspiring books and some of us are gifted speakers and others are gifted to be brave, hard-working missionaries, but there isn't a day that goes by that someone in your immediate life doesn't need a hand or a kind word.  Be that person for them.  There's a reason it feels so good (and it ALWAYS does) - it's what we're here to do!

Amy's adorable cottage home.