Dream Come True, Monday's Warm Cocoa 9.29.2025

"Did I tell you about my dream?” – Gail Downey

Dream Come True

“Did I tell you about my dream?” Gail asked from the other side of the car.

Robert, her husband, was sitting behind us and Gail’s question didn’t cause a flicker of surprise. He simply sat and listened to the conversation happening ahead of him, as if it were as common as green on grass. He didn’t even seem eager to hear my reaction.

“No. You didn’t tell me about your dream,” I answered.

“I get them once in a while,” Gail responded. “They’re important. They give me guidance as I make my way forward in life.

She went on to describe the details of her dream. She told me what she saw, the timing of things to come and how she could best walk forward.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this was not a dream containing her entire future nor the perfect, all-encompassing path of her life. Gail’s dream was targeted, as are her other, similar dreams, to one specific question. The question of where and when she and Robert should move. I watched a calm relief flow, based on the law of gravity, from her face to her toes as she continued.

“In this case,” Gail said, “the most important factor in our move is the timing. There are some things in need to finish before we leave. I know what I need to complete before we move here. I don’t understand the reason I’m to finish the project I’m now working to complete where I live now, but that doesn’t matter. I simply know I need to finish it while in Texas.”

We’ve all heard the phrase, “timing is everything.” Today’s living pace seems to be frenetic for most. We see and hear messages exhorting us to move forward quickly. Don’t miss out. There is even a label for this FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). So, it was out of the norm to speak with someone who had obtained a different perspective of timing. Gail’s dream-message was directing her to do things in a specific order and to only move forward when it was the right time for her to take the next step.

When you and I do things with the right personal timing it allows stress to wash away naturally, like the tide pulling waves away from the beach. I’ve tried to fight the tide at times in my past. The result was regrettable!

Gail and Robert will have no regrets as they enter into the coming stage of their life. Because Gail is listening to her inner voice and understands how, when and where they need to make their next move. As a result, their move will be a dream come true!

_______________________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as an Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14AsoipiePjMdj7ds-f80BAGFyGWst-em/view?usp=sharing

"Buiding Men," Monday's Warm Cocoa 9.22.2025

“I remember thinking, someone should help that boy!” – Laine Wagenseller

Building Men

“I had been going to Uganda to volunteer at an orphanage school,” Laine explains. “But, I really didn’t know what I wanted to accomplish there, until I arrived back home in Los Angeles.”

Laine Wagenseller vividly remembers the moment he found his answer.

“A local pastor said, the most important thing we can do to help our young men isn’t to give them housing or clothing. It isn’t even to feed them. The most important thing we can do is build them into men! That resonated with me and I knew I had found my purpose as a volunteer in that small Ugandan school,” Laine shared.

So, when back in the school the first thing he did was gather the boys to make a request, “tell me your story. I wanted them to share their story, because it’s the best way to build kinship. That’s the great difference-maker when you’re building boys into men.”

Of course, the boys were teenagers, so they just sat there quietly. Laine waited. Then, a moment later one of the boys began to story tell.

“My father died when I was four,” he said. “My mother died when I was six. Then my caregiver died. I was living on the street until I was invited into the orphanage.

The boy held his hand over his face as he talked, because tears were streaming down his face. He had no idea his story was almost identical to every student there. The boys bonded in kinship as a result.

Laine’s belief in the power of storytelling and its ability to forge kinship had been proven. And, It continues to work. So-much-so that alumni come back to the school annually to review their progress, renew their bond and add value to current students.

Before he found the kinship key for turning students into great men, Laine was walking down a street in Uganda when he saw a boy walking on all fours. “Someone should help that boy,” Laine thought. Later, after Adolph was accepted into the school, he was asked to tell his story.

“My mother and father died,” he said. “I was living with my aunt when she threw boiling water on my legs. Burning them to the point where they couldn’t heal right. They healed at a ninety-degree angle. So, I’ve been walking on all fours ever since.” Because of Adolph’s story, Laine felt an extraordinary kinship with the boy and when he returned home to LA, a friend introduced him to a burn specialist, a gifted surgeon at the world renown Roseman Burn Clinic.

Later, The Children’s Burn Foundation flew the scarred youth to LA where he would receive several surgeries at Roseman over six-months. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, a news reporter asked Adolph, “what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you can walk again?”

Adolph quickly, saying, “I’m going to thank God!”

_______________________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TjKNEZ1QUTxoBXRqghc9Oiwz4-adE6ke/view?usp=sharing

Squeak! Monday's Warm Cocoa 9.15.2025

“There was a squeaking sound!” – Amy Ladd

Squeak!

“As we were driving along we heard a squeaking sound,” Amy said, before filling their flowery adventure story with nectar.

Amy and Jeff Ladd were on a road trip. It was their much-anticipated summer vacation. The plan for the first day was to meander along until they reached the half way point, toward their chosen destination. They had feelings of peace and comfort. Worries of daily life were set aside. Vacation mode eased their way. Until they heard that squeaking!

It was an unrecognizable sound coming from an undefinable place. So, they each listened carefully, touching this part of the car and that in an attempt to quell the sound. It was all to no avail! The puzzle stumped them and after a while they decided to take a break from driving and the squeaking.

The stop they made allowed them to get some food, as well as inspect the exterior of their car. They couldn’t see anything unusual, so they got back in the car and resumed their drive. That movement caused the squeaking to start again and the cadence of the squeaking changed.

“The pace of the squeaking was different,” Amy explained. “We had the feeling that something was urgently wrong, so we stopped the car and listened. When we found nothing on the inside, we followed our ears to the outside. Our ears lead us right! We found a baby hummingbird huddled in the wiper slot!”

One of them cradled the weakened creature in their hand, while the other called a veterinarian friend seeking help.

“He told us it would not survive! We should let it go,” Jeff sadly said. “But, we were determined for it to live. So, we stopped and got a dropper, sugar water and frozen blood worms so we could feed it. And, it perked up!”

Then, they used their phones to identify a hummingbird rescuer, who was thrilled to help save the small bird’s life. She and a friend left immediately to drive almost two hours and met us at a designated place.

The experts brought a rescue habitat and food so the bird could eat, every fifteen minutes, as it needed. Once the Humming Bird Rescuer reached her home, she placed the nourished bird into its new habitat, saying it would be old enough to migrate to Mexico in a few months and that it would likely return to her home the next year.

“We know we can’t same everything,” Amy said toward the end of her vacation adventure story. “But, we just knew we could save this elegant creature, no matter what the veterinarian said,” Jeff continued.

Then Jeff said, “No. We can’t save every humming bird, but we helped save that one!”

Saving the one and defying the odds has given Jeff and Amy an internal peace and knowledge that whenever they hear squeaking in the future, they’ll be hearing hope and opportunity for success, no matter what some experts may say.

_________________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TjKNEZ1QUTxoBXRqghc9Oiwz4-adE6ke/view?usp=sharing

Friendship Delivered, Monday's Warm Cocoa, 9.8.2025

“My friend came to my house and brought me a whole week of food.” – Laura Rogers

Friendship Delivered

“My friend came to my house and brought me a whole week of food,” Laura Rogers said as we talked about how her husband “Roge” was progressing. He was in and had been a local hospital for more than a week and his progress was up and down.

“There hasn’t been a change in Roge’s condition over the past couple of days,” Laura continued.

Yet, she was about to tell me about many exceptions to that statement as she continued. There was a moment, she described as hopeful, when her husband of more than three decades had opened his eyes, focused on her face and clearly said, “home.” And, listening to heartwarming story after story from Laura’s lips, I can understand why he is anxious to return home. The Rogers have witnessed an outpouring of love and concern as a result of the crisis they’re currently facing.

It is as if Roge and Laura have received goodness from everyone in their neighborhood and beyond. I say beyond because I have received emails from friends-in-common expressing their support and offering assistance from a distance. And, distance defies the most common definition of neighborhood as well. I am now convinced that a neighborhood can be defined beyond the confines of a specific grouping of houses in a particular subdivision because the Rogers inhabit a neighborhood of friends independent of subdivision and city.

At the same time, their neighborhood defines the principle of loving your neighbor. I am quite sure that Laura has been a dinner guest every night her husband has been in the hospital. Some friends have delivered food to the Rogers’ home and some friends have stood on watch in Roge’s hospital room while another has taken Laura to a restaurant for a restorative meal. Even strangers have participated in restoration in another way.

This travail began in the parking lot of a mobile phone company when Roge suffered a brain aneurysm. With all of the chaos around getting an ambulance to transport him to the closest hospital no one present noticed that Roge’s wallet had slipped from his pocket. Luckily, someone happened upon it sitting on the asphalt not long after the ambulance left.

The wallet’s benefactor worked for a week to get it back into its familiar pocket, but had difficulty because she didn’t speak any English. Finally, after trying to figure out how to contact the wallet’s owner, she took the wallet to a local community bank, because she recognized the logo printed on one of the credit cards displayed on a building nearby. That bank branch employed a bilingual employee who listened to the story, looked up phone numbers for the Rogers and made calls to make a connection for the wallet’s return.

“What a miracle to have the wallet returned without one item missing,” Laura said with tears streaming down her face.

It is another example of how friendship has been delivered to Roge and Laura Rogers during their time of need. It’s shows how being a good neighbor transcends geography, language and personal familiarity.

Friendship can be delivered in many ways, even by those we don’t already know. It always provides welcome, beautiful change under difficult circumstances.

____________________________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TjKNEZ1QUTxoBXRqghc9Oiwz4-adE6ke/view?usp=sharing

Saving a Hero Monday's Warm Cocoa 9.1.2025

“I knew internally that I was sick and something was coming, had been coming for quite a while.” – Benjamin Walters

Saving a Hero

“Good morning, this is Benjamin Walters. I’m reaching out because I’m exhausting all potential resources,” the message on my screen stated. “I was diagnosed with brain cancer, having had the tumor removed on 25 July 2025.”

The past year started to make sense to me now. I was now beginning to understand why Benjamin had made such dramatic changes in his life. It had been a thought-provoking mystery over the ten proceeding months. I read on.

“I sold my home and land,” Benjamin continued, “feeling that it was the best time to do so this past November, due to knowing internally that I was sick and something was coming, had been coming for quite a while.”

I thought of Benjamin and his two dogs in their mountain home. The dogs had room to run and they swam in the pond toward the bottom of their property. All three of them, Benjamin and his two dogs, would cross the wide, grass filled meadow and then savor the shade of the forest on the back side of their land. They loved the wildlife resident there. They loved being part of bustling life there.

In fact, Benjamin had installed trail cameras in the forest so he could watch the deer and other wildlife from the comfort of his home. He’d sit in front of his Amish warming stove, during the cold of winter, so he could be protected from the harsh elements and still enjoy the local biota remotely. But that was all behind them now.

“I need a place to go in order to get the treatment necessary and I’m fully covered through the VA, I’m financially stable, but again looking for somewhere to go that will provide good treatment and that I enjoy being the area I’ll be living in,” Benjamin’s note to me continued. 

“It may be a stretch but can you help me? I am not asking for anything for free, I have the ability to pay as needed. Thank you for your consideration,” Benjamin concluded.

“Can you help me? Of course, I can and will help you Benjamin,” I said aloud, right before I repositioned my phone to begin making calls to people I know across the United States. Even though Benjamin is not receiving his treatments near me, or the people I know, we’re able to assist him. We’ve already found him shelter in a comfortable apartment, to live in with his dogs, near the VA Hospital providing him treatment.

The amazing life that Benjamin and his mates, who have served and are now serving, have freely given to you and me is an immeasurable gift. Now, It is an honor to freely give to Benjamin in a small way.

Yet, being part of an effort to save a hero is never a small thing!

____________________________________

I’m Lynn Butterfield, Real Estate & Lifestyle Expert and Television Host for American Dream TV in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve helped hundreds of Buyers and Sellers, as a real estate agent and Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, to discover where and how they want to live and work; to achieve what I call Realesation™. That’s why I bring you American Dream TV, Both Sides of the Fence, About the Dish, Monday’s Warm Cocoa and Home by Design Magazine to stir your heart and mind. Contact me so I can join you along your own unique path of discovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TjKNEZ1QUTxoBXRqghc9Oiwz4-adE6ke/view?usp=sharing