Coincidence? I Don’T Think So.

By Sandra Scott

Isnt it great to get help and support at the times when you desperately need it? What if you think you dont know anyone at all who might help? Even in those dark moments and hours when it seems that everything is completely hopeless, you can be rescued. There is evidence of miracles all around us if we are paying attention. Living in Aspen, Colorado, I went through a very painful divorce, leading me to experience one of my biggest miracles within only one month after the divorce. From that point on, I started considering miracles as a viable option, sometimes my one and only option, and it worked! After that, it was demonstrated to me time and time again, so much that I decided to write a book about it, and its not reserved for just a chosen few.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781496958891

Sandra Scott

SANDRA SCOTT is a licensed professional counselor and specializes in individual and family relationship issues. She is a conference speaker and a certified divorce mediator with expertise in pre-divorce and pre-marital counseling. Sandra also conducts numerous seminars on abuse, primarily directed at educating church leaders and congregations in recognizing abuse and responding appropriately. Passionate about God’s Word, Sandra uses her gifts to teach application of the Bible. She has also authored two previous books, Starting Again . . . A Divorce Recovery Program and Charmers & Con Artists & Their Flip Side. Sandra is a mother and a grandmother and enjoys theater, music, laughter, and good conversation.

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© 2015 Sandra Scott. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  02/09/2015

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5890-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5888-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5889-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015900344

Print information available on the last page.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

About the Author

About the Illustrator

Introduction

1. Mini Miracles (The Cristian Story)

2. Lost and Found (The Ring Story)

3. Top of the List (The Housing Lottery Drawing Story)

4. A Second Chance (The Car Accident Story)

5. One Hundred Percent True (The Hundred-Dollar-Bill Story)

6. Blackbird, Fly (The Blackbird Song Story)

7. Again (The Second Housing Lottery Drawing Story)

8. Miracle in the Parking Lot (The Money Story)

9. I Could Never Forget You (The Kravis Center Story)

10. My Ex-Husband’s Ex-Wife Inspired Me (The Chérie Carter-Scott Story)

11. He Called Me Aspen (The Bill Gove Story)

12. Courage (The Singing and Piano Lessons Story)

13. What Are the Odds? (The Amy Lou Gavinski Story)

14. Angel on Earth (The Maria Barber Story)

15. Human Kindness (The Dede Merck Story)

16. Impossible, They Said (The Phillips Exeter Academy Story)

17. Signs (The Move to Dubai Story)

18. An Oasis in the Desert (The New Apartment Story)

19. Light at the Kiosk (The Inspirational Box of Cards Story)

20. No Doesn’t Always Mean No (The Dubai American Academy Story)

21. Like a Dream (The Jennifer Carter-Scott Story)

22. The Next President of Afghanistan (The Saifullah Khan Story)

23: A Golden Future (The Birthday Story)

24: More Gifts (The Samantha Story)

More Acknowledgements

My Philosophy and Advice to Parents

Website and Contact Information

Maps of Where the Miracles Happened

Special Acknowledgements

Cover Page Photograph

Yasmin Hussain from Manchester and Dubai- White sweater cover picture for book one

Siefeldin Abouelnaga from Cairo, Dubai, and New York City-Sunny picture shot for book two and the back

inside cover page picture

Picture on the ‘Contact information page’

Seifeldin Abouelnage

Picture on the ‘About the Author’ page

Yasmin Hussain

Question Mark Design

Elena Woznick from Dubai and New York City

Map Design

Fatima Muwaffaq from Dubai

Design of the Covers

Ludger Lou Gorospe from Dubai and the Philippines

"Miracles happen

when the seemingly

impossible moves

into possible."

Sandra Scott

Miracles, according to my definition, are extraordinary events that take place and are gifts from God that are unforgettable.

Some people may pass off miracles as mere coincidences, or they may say everything is simply a result of hard work and persistence.

Coincidences, in my opinion, are casual explanations and a common response when reacting to the outcome of something out of the ordinary happening. Generally, they are quickly dismissed and forgotten.

I believe in miracles.

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About the Author

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When Sandra was five years old, she announced to her family that she would become a professional singer. She did. When Sandra’s son was in the first grade, she told her two children that he would be singing with a famous boy choir. It came true. When her daughter was in the second grade, she said she would become the President of the United States… the votes are not in yet!

Growing up in the United States in a small town in Colorado called Paonia, with one older brother and two older sisters, Sandra’s passion in life was always singing. She trained for thirteen years as a pianist, and attended Friends University in Wichita, Kansas in the US as a Music Major, graduating with a BME. She sang for many years as a professional singer and actress which brought her to Aspen, Colorado. Before starting her career as a full-time music teacher in Florida, Sandra was mentored by and worked for the #1 speaking coach in America, the late Bill Gove. Currently, Sandra can be found at the American International School of Dubai in the UAE where she has worked for going on six years with Principal, Othman Abdalbari, and her title is Head of Leadership. Malih Al Yaman, the founder of the Young Leaders Development Program, works closely with Sandra, matching up his programs with her students. She has continued to play the piano and sing at hotels in Dubai and coach private English classes as well. She has two children, Cristian, who studied at the American University of Paris and Samantha, who studies at the American University of Washington DC.

About the Illustrator

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Nina Rumi Palsetia is a professional painter, specializing in printmaking and graphics. She graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from the internationally renowned M.S. University in Baroda, India after attending Lourdes Convent High School in Surat, India.

In the same year she attended the John Babcock Paper-Making Workshop and thereafter continued using paper as an art medium, even in some of her more recent work, having perfected the skill from the Californian artist and papermaker. Other courses, workshops, and certifications followed in handmade copper enamel jewelry and ceramics, her allied passions, since she also studied costume jewelry design at the distinguished National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, India. Nina has also illustrated her own books of poems by hand.

The years 2012 to 2014 have seen Nina teach art at the American International School in Dubai, UAE. Married with two children, she is presently involved in establishing ARTQUEST, her first professional Art and Painting Studio and Training Institute in Valletta, Malta.

Introduction

In every chapter, you will be reading about stories that happened in my life. In every story, for me, they’re all miracles. They are written in chronological order, and I think you will agree that there is a common thread of extraordinary events that took place. Even as simplistic as some of events may seem to be, at the time they happened, at that moment, they had deep significance.

Often times, these strange and wonderful occurrences are thought of as happenstance, luck, or coincidence; however, I believe there is a lot more to it than that.

We have access to miracles, and there is evidence of miracles all around us if we are paying attention. While living in Aspen, Colorado in the United States, I went through a very painful divorce, but it led me to experience a huge miracle and only one month after the divorce. From that point on, I started considering miracles as a viable option—sometimes they were my one and only option. And it worked! After that, it was demonstrated time and time again, so often that I decided to write a book to tell some of the stories, and it’s not reserved for just a chosen few.

To my children, Cristian and Samantha, for whom I live, and whom

I will love forever, unconditionally.

To my mother, Wilda Bruce, who was the first person to inspire me

and instill a strong belief within me that anything is possible.

In the first chapter, I begin with a series of short stories about my son, Cristian.

This was the beginning of the extraordinary events, the miracles that I witnessed.

Chapter 1: Mini Miracles

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My son, Cristian, was born in August, 1992, a year and a half after I got married to John, his father. I had a deep sense that he was unusual from the very beginning. It’s not just because I was his mother, either. Through the years, he has proven this to be true. When Cristian started to speak, his first word was light.

We were living in Aspen, Colorado, home to the rich and famous and known as one of the best ski resorts in the world. I was working as a part-time pianist and soloist for the Christian Science Society, and I was singing at the Crystal Palace Dinner Theatre in the evenings, roasting politicians and celebrities through song and dance, with a cast of eighteen singers. We entertained a lot of very famous people. It was a magical place to be, and we all felt lucky to be there. This famous little mountain town was always bustling with activity with happy skiers on their way to their destinations.

The three of us—Cristian, my husband, and I—lived down the street from the Episcopal Church and just opposite the famous Aspen institute, upstairs in a big, brown, Swiss chalet-style duplex. It was Christmas, and Cristian had just turned one in August. We had shoveled out the snow on the balcony, where there was a swinging bench that faced Aspen Mountain. You could inhale the invigorating, cold, fresh air, and you could see dozens of spruce trees thick with snow and frozen Aspen trees. It was absolutely breathtaking.

There was a great deal of excitement in the air because this was such a special location in the back neighborhoods of Aspen and only minutes from downtown. We had put up