From the Haugen Heart

The early morning twilight was creating soft illumination to farm buildings and the rolling hills surrounding Azure Farms outside of Dufur, Oregon. It was 5:00 am and Sarah, her mom, and the hair dresser were just arriving at the house where she and the bridesmaids were going to be getting ready for the 11:00 am ceremony. Some of the girls were up and showering while others were tucked away in sleeping bags trying to ignore the hustle and bustle around them. There is a gray sleeping bag under the dresses and it is occupied! Curling irons and cosmetics were wielded with skill and artistry and 2 hours later fresh scrubbed girls were transformed into beautiful princesses. Meanwhile, it took the guys about 20 minutes to don their tuxes and were wondering what could possibly be taking so long. Finally the moment came for Joe to see Sarah for the first time in her wedding dress. Little sun rays peaked out from the clouds creating a dramatic backdrop for a romantic int...

Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 For the last four years, I have been volunteering with Salem Interfaith Hospitality Network. We give homeless families, very much like the one shown here, a safe place to sleep at night in area churches and the support they need to get housing.  What do I do? I sleep (I am really good at that.) :-) More specifically, I am one of the volunteers that spends the night at our church when we are hosting the families in the program. It seems like a small contribution but every little bit helps, right? When we think of the homeless, we think of drug addicts and the mentally ill, right? We don't think of the family that moved here because the dad thought he had a job lined up only to find that it had evaporated.Or the woman with three teenage children that works as a flagger for a road construction company that got behind in her bills, or the construction worker that got injured on the ...

Something was not right.   Allyson had had some struggles with her pregnancy but all indications were that the baby growing inside her was strong and healthy. He was very much alive and kicking. Then one day, just three weeks before her due date, he stopped moving. Allyson and Jay went to labor and delivery for a "fetal well-being" unltrasound. Baby Nolan failed the test. They ran another test and he passed the ultrasound but the heartbeat wasn't spiking as it should. "No need to worry" they were told and were sent home. Allyson knew something was wrong and the next day she was back at labor and delivery. More tests were run and soon she was being prepped for an emergency C-section. Soon after, little Nolan entered the world. Unlike the noisy, squalling, little wrinkled turnips that get plopped on Mommy's tummies in hospitals everywhere, Nolan was silent. He was silent because his tongue was at the roof of his mouth and there was no clear passa...