Heather Crawford

Two nights ago my daughter's high school volleyball team traveled about 45 miles to play in a playoff game. We had beat this team last year in the playoffs, but just barely. This year they were "gunning" for us. Their coach told them at the beginning of the year that their only goals was to beat us this time and send us home losers.

Our team was more mature than last year, and it showed. The girls played smart and didn't get rattled. The result was that our girls were victorious, sweeping the other team 3 straight games. As parents and friends poured out on floor to congratulate our kids, I couldn't help but notice the reaction coming from the other team. Girls with tears streaming down their cheeks - parents with tears streaming down their cheeks - a home crowd slowly stumbling out of their own gym, not wanting to believe that the season was over. In all athletic events there will always be winners, and of course there will always be losers.

Wouldn't it be nice to go into a game knowing that the outcome was already known, and that you were on the winning team? It may seem farfetched, but it has happened before, and will happen again! When you are on "God's Squad", the outcome is already decided. We are "victors in Christ", and the result of winning is that we get to go to Heaven when we die. It does not mean we won't get banged up during the game, or get penalized or tackled for a loss. That's part of the game. It does mean that when the final whistle blows, we are going to the greatest victory celebration of all.

Live To Give.

Hi again - This is Scott. Heather is busy doing her "real estate thing" while I hide out in the computer room at her office. We attended an awesome office seminar this morning on "Best Year Yet - Planning For 2010". The office manager here is very good at motivating the crew, and he is constantly coming up with great tools to offer to us.

God offers great "tools" also. Like prayer,faith, hope, fellowship and of course His Word. Yet these are tools that I often forget to use. When my world seems to be coming apart, I either panic or just feel like running away. Then God invaribly lets me know that I am already the victor in the battle, and I just need to be confident in that. And then I remember everything I am thankful for, and the list seems to grow and grow with every one I add.

Thanks for nothing? No, thanks for learning that nothing happens to me unless it's already passed through God's "filter". He protects me from 99% of the junk the world throws at me, but the 1% is meant to be used to test me, strengthen me, and enable to help others "going through it".

Live To Give

Hi, this is Scott. Heather and I decided that we need at least one dedicated day off a week, so this past Monday was it. So to truly try and "get away from it all", we decided that Disneyland was the place to go. We arrived at about 10:30 a.m., and were met by a long, long line of cars waiting to pay their $14 to park. I looked at Heather and asked, "Why aren't all of these people at work today? And look, there are school-age kids here too! Their parents should be arrested for keeping them from school!" I think we had expected to be the only visitors there today, and have the legendary Disneyland customer service lavished on only us!

Well, once we got in there was definitely more elbow room than was first expected. We wandered Main Street and decided to see if "our bench" was open. It was, but it was in the sun that time of day, so we pushed on. "I haven't been to the Tiki Room for a long time" I told Heather, so there we found ourselves in that faux tropical hut listening to the birds (and flowers and tiki statues) sing the same song over and over and over. After leaving the show and trying not to hum that unforgettable tune, we decided to go to another ride where another unforgettable tune is blasted at us all the time. No, not "It's A Small World", but the one where generations of kids have learned to talk like bucaneers. Yo Ho!

We stayed there for about 7 hours (a record without kids) and had a great time. I had almost forgotten how awesome it is to go on a date with my wife, just the 2 of us (and thousands more), laughing and enjoying each others company. I thank the Lord for every minute I get to spend with Heather, whether "on duty" of "off duty"!

Live To Give.

Well, here we go again. Just got out of a great office meeting. It focused on getting our business plans prepared for 2010. Imagine, already a decade has passed since Y2K! I remember that as New Year's 2000 approached, myself and my husband Scott, and my two stepsons Nick & Kyle were standing together on the roof of the Pasadena Police Department headquarters. Scott was working there at the time, and when New Year's comes around, everyone at PPD works.

So we prepared to welcome in the new millenium together (my kid's were with their dad). The news sources at the time were predicting that all computers would crash, the bank vault doors would not open, computers in cars would cease to function, and the end of the world was going to occur! So as we held hands and counted down, we were prepared to be surprised and panicked. What did happen? There was a great display of fireworks over Old Pasadena, a lot of shouting and hugging and....................nothing. Not one prediction from the "experts" came to pass.

It's been a great decade in real estate with a lot of ups and downs. How will I prepare for the next decade? I will continue to put my faith in God and prepare to be surprised.

Heather just got another REO (Bank Repo) the other day, so we went out to inform the residents of what was happening. We informed them about CFK (Cash For Keys), and they kind of nodded their heads as it was explained to them. Telling someone that they need to get out of their (old) house in less than 30 days is not fun, and when the mother explained that she had 8 kids and one of them was confined to a wheelchair, it made us feel about 2 inches tall. She is worried that no one will rent to someone with so many kids, not to mention needing a wheelchair ramp, etc.

Heather sent off a letter to the Asset Manager explaining the situation, and that next day (this NEVER happens) a reply came back extending their move out time to 45 days AND gave them more money to move out. We were excited for them, but it was a hollow victory. They are hoping to be able to "buy back" their house when it comes on back on the market. Heather & I are praying that perhaps God will work it out for them.

As we left the meeting with them, an email popped up on Heather's Blackberry. She had just been assigned another REO, right around the corner from this last one. Here we go again.........

Live To Give