The Entire Picture
- searcylivingads
- 6 days ago
- 11 min read
Augusta In The House
By Dana House
In April of 2010, I had a dream. In this dream, a herd of baby animals were trying to come into my room. I told them I did not have time for them—I was too busy—and drove them out of the house. Each time I moved them outside, they would find a way to come back inside. Again, I would gently herd them outside and shut the door. The last time they came inside, a baby—similar to a raccoon—looked at me and said, “Who are you to think that you can say you are too busy to do something? If a need presents itself to you, maybe you are the one meant to meet the need.” I wrote the dream down as soon as I woke up. I knew it was a message to keep, even though I didn’t know what it meant just yet.
At this time, I was working at a pipeline supply company—that I dearly loved. I loved the people I worked with and the job I was doing. It was the most peaceful, fun atmosphere I had ever experienced at a workplace. Did I mention that I loved my job?
About four years prior, I had been a long-term substitute teacher in the Family & Consumer Sciences classroom at Bald Knob while their teacher was on maternity leave. She and I had graduated from the Harding University FCS Department together. She asked if I could teach her classes during the three months while she was gone. I had not taken a public school job in that field because it was not in “my plans,” but I did take her temporary offer.
When I was 19, I started teaching True Love Waits classes that continued for 17 years and led to my master’s degree in Family Life Education. My desire was to continue leading community ministry programs, conferences, and school assemblies with my degree but not teach full-time in the public schools.
In 2010 I began to feel that I should prepare to go into the school system; I had the dream with the herd of animals during this time, as well. Shortly after this notion, I began updating forms and courses to get ready. When I received a call that my friend was leaving her position in Bald Knob—without a doubt—I could see how all of the pieces had come together. I was supposed to be ready to take that job! I was a shoo-in; I had already worked in her room and built great relationships while there. Plus, she could encourage them to hire me to take her place.
I filled out the application and marched into the intense interview with all of the confidence in the world; I knew it was meant to be! So when I got the call that they had chosen someone else, it knocked the wind out of me. Never in my life had I walked into something with this much confidence. I knew I had the job. It all lined up. I had no doubts. What just happened? Did I miss it? Did I not hear from God like I thought I did? How could I have been so wrong when everything fell into my lap with such precision?
“I just didn’t see the entire picture yet. The pieces were still sliding together behind the scenes.”
But I hadn’t missed a thing. I just didn’t see the entire picture yet. The pieces were still sliding together behind the scenes. Had I not interviewed for the Bald Knob position, I never would’ve known that Augusta was available.
I came to find out, the FCS teacher that Bald Knob hired instead of me, left the position at the Augusta Public School District open—for me. My friend from Bald Knob called to let me know, “Augusta is open now. You should apply!” I did.
A week after my devastating blow, I walked into an interview at Augusta; at least, it was called an interview. The principal had been hired two weeks previously. I sat down, and we began to chat. He was impressed that I had worked with Upward Bound; he had, too. The only question I can remember him asking, “We are failing FCS state exams. What would you do to change that?” I looked at him—as if it were a trick question—and replied with a questioning, unsure tone, “Teach the standards?” That seemed so blatantly obvious, right? He said, “That’s what we need.” He reached into his desk, pulled out a set of keys, and said, “Do you want to go see your room?” I thought, “Was that an interview? He didn’t even say that I got the job or ask if I really wanted it.” And just like that, he and I were walking down the high school hallway in a community that would become my home, for 15 years of our lives.
As we walked the long hallway, he said, “Are you excited?” I’m really not one to hide my honest feelings, so I replied, “Not really. I love my job. I know how hard this job is going to be, but I believe I’m right where I’m supposed to be, so I’m here to do it!”
I was right. I worked non-stop day and night to prepare a classroom that was ready for learning. Because I had six different subjects to teach each day, I created 30 lessons every weekend for the next week; there were no days off for rest or leisurely activities. Sleep was brief. But did we pass every FCS state exam at the end of that year and every year thereafter? Oh, yes we did! But better yet, we built relationships in that classroom with roots that went heart-deep. Students came to life as they talked, cried, created, matured, and laughed . . . a lot! Near the end of that year, we gained Fabien to our home and family. He was the senior the students dubbed as my Golden-Child; that still hasn’t changed.
By the next year, my husband joined me in Augusta as the football coach and math teacher. It was incredible to have him with me all of the time. On a Friday night during a basketball game, Matt said, “I believe God wants us to buy a house here and open it up for ministry. We will know when we have found the right house because it will have a big room where we will have church.“ By Sunday, we had found the house with the big room.
One of our students said his neighbor’s house was available, but it wasn’t on the market yet. When we walked into the house, there was a very large room that became known as the “Jesus Room.” It was the room where the students in Augusta came to meet Jesus. Not only did we find the perfect house, once people heard what we were doing, everyone began donating furniture and instruments that fully furnished our home and ministry!
After our first semester of holding teen services in the house, we began having an influx of elementary students, too. After Christmas break, we opened the garage for a children’s church service. Matt held youth services inside the house with 50-60 teens, and I had 30 elementary students in the cold/hot garage. For Thanksgiving meals, we had a little over 100 each year, and somehow we all managed to fit inside the house together.
On the first day of school in August of 2016, five young kids climbed onto Matt’s bus. After school that day, he told me that the five sweetest kids had moved to Augusta and rode his bus. He said, “I would bring them home with me today!” But of course, the time was not right at that moment.
In December our son was born with undiagnosed heart defects that we found three weeks after birth. We lived in the hospital for six months while he had multiple heart and bowel surgeries. We made a decision that I would not return to the classroom full-time. While staying home with Bauer, I continued speaking in classes at Augusta and leading the community ministries. However, this decision cut our income in half.
In 2020, through a series of events, the five teens were given an opportunity to choose to live with us. They had been in our home for ministry since their arrival four years prior and spent a lot of time in our home during different circumstances throughout those years. It was the easiest transition for them that could have existed.
I was at speech therapy with Bauer when I called my husband to get a simple answer to a question. He answered his phone to let me know that he was with DHS and had taken permanent guardianship of all five teens. He said, “The lady with DHS asked if I should call my wife, but I let her know that you would be fine with it, too.” I, laughingly, say that some husbands bring flowers, chocolates, or puppies home to their wives for surprises. My husband brings home teenagers.
We were in the middle of the COVID-shutdown and food and finances were scarce. Frankly, it felt like we were still recovering from our hospital lives and all of the changes, too. On my drive home that evening, I prayed, “God, we are going to need money and food,” There was no financial help or assistance available for people like us. We depended on friends, family, the Augusta School District, and Imagine and Believe to thrive. The next morning, we had bags of groceries from the Augusta school food pantry on our porch. Soon after, Farm to Table boxes came, and Christine called to say, “Someone told me about your situation. Please, come to Imagine & Believe and get whatever you need.” Through God’s grace and the generosity of the people around us, we never went without.
“Through God’s grace and the generosity of the people around us, we never went without.”
During COVID, by God’s design, Matt and I spent the time off from work remodeling an RV. Honestly, it felt selfish. Multiple times, I asked Matt if we should be doing something to help others during the pandemic instead of spending all of that time working on an RV; he insisted that we were doing what we were supposed to be doing, so we continued.
During the quarantines of 2020, we spent a lot of time in our RV on the farm. If we hadn’t gotten it ready right before we got the teens, we would not have fit anywhere at the farm. We were ready, just in time. In that RV, I saw the girls start to laugh and talk more. It was a wonderful, unique bonding time for us. One night as we were falling asleep in the darkness, Julia—who had just turned 14 shortly before moving in with us—said, “All of our lives, it’s been chaos. And in one moment, everything became peaceful. It’s just like a movie!” While the challenges were there with COVID craziness and instantly having a house full of teens with a 3 year-old, the Lord met every need that we had, including peace.
“One night as we were falling asleep in the darkness, Julia—who had just turned 14 shortly before moving in with us—said, ‘All of our lives, it’s been chaos. And in one moment, everything became peaceful. It’s just like a movie!’”
Once the COVID shutdown ended, we were given the opportunity to hold FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) services in the new multipurpose building on the Augusta campus, instead of having services in our home and garage. Our teens became an integral part of our ministry team. They began leading praise & worship dances with our elementary students and became puppeteers. For high school, they became the skit crew, speakers, and game creators, then took star roles in our Christmas plays. They have learned what it means to seek God first, serve others, speak with kindness, study their Bibles, and live like Jesus.
For the three that remained after high school graduation, Shalom worked various jobs before taking a position with His Kids Daycare. Malachi went to Harding University for a year before joining the National Guard. Julia finished high school at CrossPointe Preparatory School before following in Matt’s footsteps to Oral Roberts University where she is a freshman.
In 2004, I wrote a poem. I had been leading several ministries while attending college and working at Colton’s Steakhouse. Michael Redfield, one of the students from the White County Central School District that had visited my youth events, was tragically killed in an accident after school. Our small town was reeling from the loss.
After a long day of college classes and a waitressing shift that night, I was driving home exhausted. My days were filled with college and evenings with ministry or waitressing. Now, I was trying to encourage grieving teens, too. The load was heavy on my heart. On that quiet drive home, I was talking to God. I said, “Why do I keep myself this busy or carry such a heavy emotional load? Why didn’t I just become a college kid like the others?” At that moment, I started hearing every word of this poem, “You could have stayed in the pasture with those that didn’t decide to go, but when you decided to walk with Me, you got to know Me by many different names.” Even though I simply wanted to go to sleep when I got home, I knew if I didn’t start typing the words that I was hearing, they’d be gone by morning.
At midnight, I sat down at my desktop computer and typed until 3 am. I couldn’t wait for morning so I could read it to my parents. I knew I had written something special. It was like I had been handed a treasure to keep forever.
For years, I talked to publishers because I felt like it should be a book but never found someone that I trusted or could afford, and there was no “Googling” for options and reviews back then. So, I bought decorative printer paper and framed copies for gifts—some of you probably still have one of those framed poems.
Last summer, I talked with two publishers that I didn’t choose. By late June, I decided that if I couldn’t publish my book yet, the next step would be using my poem as a short skit or reader’s theater dialogue. One night while everyone was sleeping—when moms can work—I created a slideshow of the pictures for each scene that had always been in my mind. Then, I took my poem and divided it into speaking parts. Quickly, it was finished and ready for a performance. Little did I know, I had just created all of the illustrations for the publishing company I would meet in two short months.
In August, while dropping Julia off at ORU, Matt and I talked with one of his best friends from college. Ryan Bush, the ORU guy’s soccer coach, had a few minutes to see us that day. In our passing conversation, he introduced me to Spirit Media. Within two weeks, I was in the publishing process. When they asked if I had any illustrations in mind, I said, “Actually, two months ago, I created a slideshow of them all. I can share it with you.” With the use of AI, they were able to take the images I had in my mind over the last 21 years and create the most beautiful illustrations. Once again, I was ready just in time!
Jesus Had a Little Lamb is the story for all of us that choose to leave the pasture and walk with the Good Shepherd. There are valleys, deserts, lonely nights, battles, and waves. But you will also experience the peaceful shores, strength when you are weak, lilies in the valley, and the undeniable assurance that you have never been left alone. With every “Yes, I’ll go.” or “Yes, I’ll do it,” you will find another name for Jesus. If you never leave the comfortable pasture, you will never know what it’s like for the Shepherd to meet every need that you know you couldn’t have met by yourself. Now, I know my Shepherd in many new ways. I have called Him something new every single day. He has been my Jehovah Shalom—peace in the storm. He has been my Jehovah Rapha—healer after the storm. He has been my Jehovah Jireh—from filling a house with furniture and students to filling our refrigerator and cabinets with food.
Given the chance once more, I’d leave the familiar pasture all over again. The journey is long. The desert times are dry, but He will come to your rescue every time He hears your cry. To know Him as your peace, provider, strength, and shield, is worth the journey—every single step of the way. Be ready. Be willing. "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me (Jesus) will find it." Matthew 16:25
“You could have stayed in the pasture with those that didn’t decide to go, but when you decided to walk with Me, you got to know Me by many different names.”
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