"It's A God Thing" Forward

This is a reprint!  Enjoy, again!

This is the Forward from a book that I am working on entitled, “It’s A God Thing.”  Not sure when it will be in print; but I’ll keep you posted.

Attempt something so

 impossible that unless

God is in it,

you are doomed to failure.

“It’s A God Thing”

By Diane LeJeune

 

Forward

My family is just an ordinary family; much like yours.  We struggle to make ends meet financially, schedule too much in our busy days, fight over whose turn it is in the bathroom and have goals and dreams that we would love to see fulfilled.

I am sure that you would agree that while some challenges may be ordinary, the individuals who make up our families are extraordinary.  The same is true in the LeJeune home.

A few years back, while attending a seminar for my day job, I jotted down notes for a family Mission Statement.  This lead to a Vision Statement, Purpose Statement, Guiding Principles, and Target Areas for the LeJeune family.  I will not go into detail - that’s a book that may be written someday - but to give you the foundation for why we do what we do, it’s summed up in our family mission statement:

We exist to love and serve God, one another and our world.

One Guiding Principle outlines our commitment as a family to pursue excellence in our lives - to be the “best one on our row,” so to speak.  One of the 4 Target Areas is the Arts.  The kids play instruments, sing, write music, enjoy theatre, movies, history museums, and so on.

It is this foundation from which my daughter, Sarah, believes that she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to do.  Success, which I believe is defined as sustained momentum, has not always come easily to her, but yet she continues to persevere, learn, and grow.

And so it is that kind of teenager, along with tons of help from her loyal friends, who with the complete support from her parents and brothers, has attempted the nearly impossible task of writing, directing, casting, acting, co-choreographing,  dancing,  and  singing  in an independent, motion picture musical for her first professional job.  Sarah will be the first to tell you that God was in this endeavor every step of the way and that He brought just the right person at the right time to help us.  She knows that she could not have done it alone.  There is a list on page 38 of the over 100 friends and professionals who have made SWAY happen.

On a personal note, one of the pillars in Sarah’s life is her father, Billy.  He is a school-teacher.  As we review the 22 years that Sarah’s been alive, we can directly correlate the strong young lady she is with the high-quality teachers from whom she has been blessed to learn.  Teachers (public and private school) are incredibly important to the cultivation of gifts and the development of our children.  We are thankful that Sarah has had many very good teachers - and a few great ones!

You know who you are.  These adults are the ones who shape, influence and guide their students through challenges and difficulties that they face.  Kim Leavitt, Louella VanHook, Wesley Fox, and Darren Michael just to name a few, have especially invested in Sarah - in the area of Theatre specifically - where she is most passionate. 

I want to be quick to add here that one teacher more than any other has encouraged Sarah (and me) with this SWAY project.  His name is Mr. Bob King.  Sarah was never a student in his class at Fairview High School, but once he heard about the project, he has been incredibly enthusiastic and encouraging.  He provided practical advice and support and put us in contact with just the right people.  He is amazing!

This book is my attempt to chronicle for you the amazing ways God met us and every challenge with just the right person, needed funds, or perfect solution throughout the filming of SWAY.  I know I must have said over 100 times, “It’s a God Thing!” when just at the last minute, the solution was right there, in front of our faces, to meet each and every obstacle.

 “It’s a God Thing” by Diane LeJeune  © 2009 Feeling Good Entertainment, LLC and Diane C. LeJeune

A Wizard Is Never Late

“A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.”  Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings

I believe the same could be said of my youngest son, Jesse.  According to my definition, Jesse is always late.  He rarely arrives on time.  However, if you ask him, I think he would tell you that he is never late.  He gets ready to go when he wants and arrives precisely when he means to.

On September 5, 1995, I was due to have a baby.  A boy baby to be precise.  I woke that morning hoping that today was the day that I would go into labor and welcome our little Jesse into the world.  I had that hope each day for three more weeks, way past my due date.  It was a very discouraging, trying, and difficult time.  He grew bigger and bigger and the longer he delayed his arrival, I knew that soon he would make delivery nearly unbearable.

My doctor discussed inducing labor, and asked me to drive to a nearby hospital to undergo a few tests.  These tests were scheduled for 7 a.m. on September 26 in Anaheim Hills, California.  When I arrived for the tests, I was the only patient in the large room.  The nurses hooked me up to a few machines and asked that I sit quietly and watch TV or read a book or magazine.  One nurse indicated that the tests would take approximately two hours.  She walked back to her station and sat down near the monitors for the testing equipment.

I was not feeling well.  Within 10 minutes, I knew labor had started.  I’ve been there done that, and this all felt very familiar.  But I sat there quietly, since the nurse asked me to.  I had all the confidence in her, since she was watching my monitors.

At nine o’clock, the nurse came over to where I was seated.  She looked at the monitor next to me.  And with a shocked look on her face, declared to me that I was in labor.  I communicated to her that I knew it.  She asked why I hadn’t said anything to her.  I sorta laughed and said, “You were monitoring the tests this whole time.  I assumed you knew.  I have just been waiting on you.”  She answered back that the monitors in front of her were not hooked up to me.  She indicated that the only monitor I was hooked up to was next to me.

It seemed like things became urgent pretty quickly.  She said that they would be immediately moving me downstairs to the labor and delivery floor.  It took a minute for that to sink in.  I replied in what I am sure she thought was a confusing way, “I am not having my baby at this hospital.  I’ve already sent out notices and maps to all my family and friends.  I’m having my baby at West Anaheim General Hospital.”  She couldn’t believe it.  She communicated how important it was for me to get medical attention immediately.  But I was really stubborn and I wouldn’t back down.

So, I drove myself during rush hour traffic on the 91 freeway West to the hospital that I had planned to deliver.  I called my husband and told him to leave work and meet me there.  I called my mom and asked her to go pick up my two oldest kids from Acacia Elementary School and meet at the hospital.

I arrived about 9:40 a.m. to my hospital of choice, and waddled into the emergency room.  The nurse from the other hospital had called to say I was on my way.  They immediately put me on a gurney.  The ER doctor did a preliminary exam and declared that I was fully dilated and 100% effaced.  They rushed to wheel me down the hallway as quickly as possible to the labor and delivery wing.  Doctors were urgently giving me instruction.  Clerks were getting my signature on the paperwork for admittance.  The nurses were panicked that I make it in time into a room and not deliver in the hallway.  It was so crazy and chaotic.  I’ll never forget the smile on the doctor’s face as she said, “You’re gonna have this baby in the next 10 minutes!”

My husband arrived at 10 a.m.  My mom arrived with Beau and Sarah at 10:15 a.m.  We were all there and ready to go!

Then nothing.  My labor ceased.  The contractions stopped.  I felt little discomfort.  And I just laid there.  Jesse had decided that he wasn’t ready or it wasn’t time or something.  But for whatever reason, Jesse was not making his earthly entrance that morning.

So we waited.  Around noon, my mom took Beau and Sarah to get some lunch.  She assured me she would be back before Jesse arrived.  Then Billy went down to the cafeteria and got lunch.  I just laid still . . . waiting.

My mom returned around 2 p.m. with the kids.  They looked bored and impatient.  We had built up Jesse’s delivery and now nothing.  So we watched TV and waited.

At 6 p.m. my mom said she would take the 2 older kids to get some dinner.  Still Jesse had not arrived.  There was no sign that he was showing up anytime soon.  And again, Billy went to the café to get some dinner.

By 8 p.m. my mom was back with the kids, Billy had returned to my room, a few sisters had arrived and Jesse was awake again and showing signs of life.  My contractions were back in full force.  The doctor came in and said that it could be at any time.

Jesse Luke LeJeune arrived at 9:02 p.m. on September 26^th in Anaheim, California.  I had been waiting in a hospital room for 12 hours for him to arrive.  And he finally did - at the particular moment that he had chosen to show up.  He was born precisely when he meant to!


"Tribal Tales"  by Diane LeJeune  (c) 2010 Feeling Good Entertainment, LLC & Diane C. LeJeune

Play Ball: Chapter 16

“Play Ball”

Chapter Sixteen (first draft)

During the middle of the spring semester in 2004, on an unseasonably cool March weekend, the Greenville High School baseball coach signed up the varsity baseball team up to play in the First Annual West Tennessee Industrial Baseball Tournament.  The Greenville high team traveled a couple of hours west of Greenville to play ball in the tournament.

The Greenville Tigers won their first game on Friday night, their next game early on Saturday morning, and the following game on Saturday afternoon as well.  They were on a roll!  My grandson, Danny had not taken the mound yet for the Tigers, but he had been hitting great with 7 hits in 9 at bats, with 7 RBIs so far in the tournament.

Once the Tigers had won the game Saturday afternoon that put them in the championship game scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night.  Danny’s dad, brother and sister had been to all of the games so far, but Saturday night they somewhere that they had to be.  So it was just Danny and his mom, Emily.  There were a couple of hours to wait before the championship game, so they drove into the quaint downtown area of this rural town and got dinner at a charming meat and three.

At 7:00 p.m. Danny and his team met back up on the fields and began stretching, playing catch, and warming up for the game.  It was really exciting for the team to have won all three games in a row to get to the championship game.  The energy and excitement level were high to say the least.  Coach Stevenson called Danny over and told him that he would get the start to pitch for this game.  Danny was ready. It was finally his turn to take the mound and he felt strongly that he would have a great pitching outing that night.

Saturday had warmed up a bit and the weather was absolutely perfect for the baseball game; it was cool with a very slight breeze.  The smell of fresh cut grass and burgers on the grill filled the air.  The stands were full of cheering fans.

The game was off to a great start.  Danny’s friend and catcher, JB hit a homerun over the centerfield fence in the first inning, and the shortstop, Jason hit a homerun over the left-center wall in the second inning.  The whole team was hitting extremely well.  The Tigers had runners on base every inning.  In fact, they stranded a total of 7 runners throughout the game.  Danny ended up with 5 RBIs just in the championship game alone. 

But it was on defense that Danny was on fire.  He was really on that game.  His fast ball was fast; his curve ball was nasty, and his slider, deadly.  He struck out the side in the first inning.  He struck out the side in the second inning.  By the sixth inning he had 12 strike outs total.  There were a few hits sprinkled in those 6 innings, but Danny was responsible for many of the outs.

In the final inning, Danny got two more Ks for a total of 14 strikes-outs out of a possible 21 outs.  Danny had pitched all 7 innings and it was one of his best games ever.  The Tigers won the final game of the tournament 12-2.  All the Tiger fans were thrilled.  The Tigers were the Tournament Champs!

My daughter, Emily, told me that after the game, under the bright lights on the field, the tournament directors had a nice trophy presentation ceremony.  She said that they had done a classy job of putting it all together for the final two teams.

First the names of each player for the runner-up team were announced.  Each player came out and received a trophy for second place in the tournament.  Once they accepted their award, the players went and lined up on the third base chalk line.  A larger trophy was given to the coaches for the school that designated them as the second place team in the tournament.  Everyone applauded.

Then, it was the Tiger’s turn.  Again, the tournament directors called out the names of each individual player on Greenville’s team who in turn came out onto the field in order to receive their first place trophies.  Danny was covered head to toe in dirt like all the other players, but he looked so proud as he stood there with his teammates celebrating a hard fought victory.

After each of the Tiger players received their award, they lined up on the first base chalk line and waited.  In time, the tournament director’s announced the coach’s name and gave him a very large trophy for the team to display in the trophy case back at school in Greenville.

Next the tournament director’s did something that, as my daughter Emily described to me, was a bit surprising.  None of the players, parents, or fans knew in advance that the tournament officials were going to do this.

The tournament director said that he was going to announce an “All-Tournament Team.”  There had been 10 school baseball teams in the tournament and they chose one player from each team to represent their schools on this elite team.  They started reading the names of the players selected. 

Emily was incredibly nervous. She was hopeful that Danny had done well enough to make this all-tournament team and it would really mean a lot to him.  Emily was so anxious that she actually had to get up and start pacing behind the stands as she listened to the names being called.

They had called out nine names, when Emily heard, “Jason Cummings, Greenville Tigers.”  Our team erupted in applause.  Jason had pitched a great game on Saturday afternoon and had an awesome homerun in the championship game.  Emily knew that Jason deserved the honor; but she was so incredibly disappointed for Danny.  He had played incredible baseball over the weekend too.

The tournament director gave Jason his plaque as a member of the “All-Tournament Team” and he ran out onto the field to stand with the other all-tournament team members.  All the spectators were applauding.

Emily was devastated for Danny.  She started to walk away to her car, tears were filling her eyes. She was overwhelmed with disappointment and she did not want Danny to see her reaction.

One of the dads, on the Tiger’s team, reached over and patted Emily on the back and said in a conciliatory way that he was sorry that they had not called Danny’s name.  Emily tried to smile through her tears.  The boys’ dad said, “Danny played some of the best baseball I have ever seen” and Emily knew that they over looked him for this special award.  She thanked the dad for his kind words and made her way towards the parking lot.

Just as Emily stepped onto the parking lot, she heard over the loud speaker, the tournament director say that he had one final award to present.  Emily, feeling totally disillusioned, with her head hung low, paused.

The tournament director then read from a card and said that there had one player had stood out as the top player for the All-Tournament Team.  This player had 14 strike outs as pitcher, 10 hits at bat with 12 RBIs, and even had 2 doubles throughout the duration of the tournament.  The tournament director announced that the MVP/Most Valuable Player of the “All-Tournament Team” for the West Tennessee Invitation Tournament was Danny Young of the Greenville Tigers.

Emily was completely shocked! She said that there were no words to describe how elated she was!  She immediately turned around and started running back as fast as she could to the bleachers.  The tiger’s stands erupted in applause.  The other player’s parents were looking back to see if Emily had returned. On the field, the Tiger players were going crazy as they dog-piled on Danny.

After the chaos died down, Danny walked up to the podium that was set up on home plate to receive his plaque.   Then, he walked over to Jason and stood next to him with the rest of the All-Tournament Team.  Jason reached out and shook Danny’s hand.  Danny was thrilled; you could read it all over his face.  Jason was truly happy for Danny too!  It was really a proud moment for Danny.

Later, Emily said that she had felt so bad for having been disappointed initially.  She wished that she could have just been more excited for Jason and not worried about how Danny would be affected at not being selected. 

What an exciting weekend event it had been for the Tigers - both of the pitchers for the Greenville High Tigers made the All-Tournament team and as a team they had taken first place overall.

First Draft “Play Ball”  © 2012 Feeling Good Entertainment, LLC and Diane LeJeune