There is no Place Like Home or a Nest

The adult family home setting is wonderful for residents – especially my residents, who are developmentally disabled. Besides the environment being homey, it is filled with love, caring and joy.

During the rainy days of spring, the Lincoln Park residents enjoyed hearing me act out the “Wizard of Oz” – especially the voice of the munchkins and the Wicked Witch of the West. Was that Toto that barked?

The residents then participated in a “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” sing-a- long: “Oh, somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly…”

With the sun shining and a warm breeze of summer, the Lincoln Park residents listened for birds flying across the blue sky. They looked through the binoculars, searching for birds in the trees at Lincoln Park.

Volunteers from Living Stones Ministries Rock On! cut the remaining yarn from their 500-knitted and loomed hats for the homeless last winter in downtown Seattle for the Lincoln Park residents to spread among areas around the park for the birds to build their nest.

The residents and team members had so much fun spreading the yarn that a family asked if they could join us. Then the family sat down with the residents and visited.

Please contact me if you are interested working in my adult family home. I have a couple of openings for CNAs and HCAs. Share the joy!

Simple yet a Good Reminder

Start your day off right and share the message.

I loved the reminder on my morning drive to work: "Love More" and "Jesus didn't reject people." Two simple yet powerful messages to start the day.

Gratitude for Giving New Life

Charlie's on Broadway had been opened for years. It closed last June and reopened with new owners, who reopened with the same name with a refurbished establishment while keeping some of the original history intact giving it new life.

The old maintained in a Seattle neighborhood establishment with a new staff.

An example of the level of customer service: I do not have cable television, and the staff would 

allow me to eat my dinner at a table in the billiards room so I could watch the Indiana Pacers play. 

I highly recommend Charlie's.

It was "warm" in my apartment with no air conditioning. So I walked to Charlie’s to enjoy a veggie wrap with water for hydration and to cool off as I read my book at the bar.

The unexpected happened: an elderly woman had a medical emergency, requiring CPR, IV, etc. She was taken to the hospital where she hopefully was given new life like this long-time establishment.

I give gratitude for the first responders but mostly for the staff and patrons. One of the first responders asked this woman's elderly friend and neighbor if she would like a chaplain. I said that I was a chaplain, and I sat with her. Charlie's allowed me to make her a cup of tea and provide a listening ear. Patrons came by and hugged this elderly woman.

As I left, a young woman, who sat at the end of the bar shared a story with expletives before this unexpected happening. (I liked her animated personality.) She stopped me and shared how she looked at me and began to pray, and she does not believe in prayer. She grabbed and hugged me.

I exited Charlie’s and almost walked directly into a man on the sidewalk. His t-shirt read, "Pray well with others." I smiled at him.

I had not scheduled my calendar correctly for the weekend. I believed I was suppose to meet my friends at the Greekfest on Saturday night, and it was on Friday evening. I was in the unexpected yet right place due to my blunder.

The below photos were from my previous visits to Charlie’s.

One of the chefs and his fiancée 

A selfie in motion with one of the great servers.

"New and Old Memories Coming Together: ‘Godspeed’: Faith courses through the 100th running of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’"

"New and Old Memories Coming Together: ‘Godspeed’: Faith courses through the 100th running of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’"

I have missed the Indy 500 since moving to Seattle years ago because I usually have been scheduled to work, or I have been in worship services with the race, beginning at 9:00 a.m. PST.

I am home with a cold with a temperature, which has turned out to be a blessing. I heard the Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin from the Indianapolis Archdiocese offered an invocation prayer that was beautiful, heartfelt prayer. Then a rendition of "God Bless America" takes the form of a prayer (intro lyrics "as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer") for God's blessing and peace for the nation ("...stand beside her and guide her through the night..."). I pray that more sporting events offer prayer. Well done!

Darius Rucker with his beautiful voice sang “The National Anthem." I found it refreshing that families with small children had they hands over their hearts.

When Indianapolis singer/songwriter Josh Kaufman and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir performed “Back Home Again in Indiana,” I remembered a resident and my Grandma Shaffer. A resident of mine, named Ann, who was an Indiana native, requested "Back Home Again in Indiana”, be sung at the conclusion of her Celebration of Life service said, "Do not sing the Jim Nabors' version.”

The Jim Nabors version is for my Grandma Shaffer. She loved Jim but her family loved her. This is for you, Grandma Shaffer, and my Shaffer cousins will understand.

Jim Nabors - "Back Home Again In Indiana" (1972 Indianapolis 500 Jim's first year at Indy.)

Don't be a Doubting Thomas. Dreams do come true.

Dave Thomas and Colonel Sanders

My cousin Lorraine posted the video on her Facebook page today and it has provided pause. Have I lived my dreams yet?

https://www.facebook.com/Happinessinyourlife/videos/1065176083563115/

Colonel Sanders began KFC when he was 65, and he is an Indiana native. Do you remember the Colonel’s Fort Wayne connection? 


A.  Phil Clauss
B. Dave Thomas
C. Hobby House
D. All of the above. 

Dave was one of the original investors in Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips. My first job out of high school was with Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips in Fort Wayne. Then Dave shortly created the Wendy’s chain after that. I had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with Dave in Fort Wayne.

Here are you choices:

The answer is “D. All of the above.”

Wendy’s Dave Thomas worked for the Clauss Family at the Hobby House in Fort Wayne and KFC’s Colonel Harland Sanders had the Clauss’ offer Kentucky Fried Chicken in the Hobby House. (I loved the Hobby House as a kid. It was a treat.)

As Dave said in an interview, “People may tell you that you won't make it, that you're wasting your time. If you keep your dream in mind, have done your research and are willing to work hard, you can make it come true.” (Please see: http://www.evancarmichael.com/library/dave-thomas/Lesson-5-Believe-In-Your-Dream.html)

With these hometown connections and their inspiration, I have my dream and I will move forward with my dream today.

I am going to treat myself to lunch at a KFC and a Wendy’s this week because dreams do come true!

Walk your path. Make that connection.

Jack has been photo bombed.

As this week begins, walk your path no matter the unknown ahead and have a conversation with someone you do not know. There may be a true connection.

I walked along Seattle's Madison Park Beach on April 26th, and there were only a handful of people along the beach. An 81 ½ year old man stopped me as I walked by. He made a quip about my Purdue jacket. So I sat down on the bench with him. His name is Jack, and he visits Fort Wayne, which is my hometown, once a year to this day and does work with Asher.

I met a young woman, who is passionate about life and her music. Her name is Minnie. She attended a year of school in Fort Wayne at Aboite Elementary. She even played me, “Somewhere over the Rainbow” on her ukulele. (I hope Minnie still has the touchstone I gave her because she rocks.")

https://www.facebook.com/julia.shaffer.37/videos/10206478312939745/

With the Fort Wayne connections I made on my walk, I felt like Dorothy during the scene in “The Wizard of Oz,” where she clicked her heals together and said, “There’s no place like home.”

Walk your path. Make that connection.

Different Apperances. Transferrable Traits.

I had the afternoon off yesterday, so I visited Seward Park in Seattle. The sun’s rays reflected off of Lake Washington, flowers in bloom and Mount Rainier’s beauty shone. There was something more beautiful than the nature surrounding me. It was an observation, action taken, time of reflection and a lesson learned.

I noticed three women not dressed like me, who tried to figure out a piece of playground equipment. I gave them the time and patiently watched from a bench. I would have offered assistance. I gave them time and to my delight succeeded.

The following is an edited version from my Facebook post:

“A friend from my previous church in Renton, Washington, named Jolynn talks about and shares joy. She has imprinted joy within my being. I now find joy filled moments in daily life. These women moved to the United States from another country. They are Muslim and live in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.

They asked me if they were in trouble. I emphatically stated, ‘Do it again!’ And they did. I applauded. ‘How joyful!’"

https://www.facebook.com/julia.shaffer.37/videos/10206455051118214/

I would want these women on my staff because they were team players, displayed compassion for each other, exhibited problem solving skills and thought outside of the box yet would follow guidelines, and no doubt were trainable. Mostly, they expressed a sense of humor in a new culture while maintaining their beliefs.