Papa

Almost 85 years ago, in a Kentucky town, a 10 lb. 13 oz., strapping baby boy was born.  He was the 7th child and 4 more siblings would come after him.  He was mighty big at birth, but as he grew, he stayed on the smaller side in stature, growing to about 5'6".  He was very bright, and a gifted musician.  There wasn't a brass instrument he couldn't play, but he specialized in the trombone.  He was so bright he graduated at the age of 16, and was given a scholarship to one of the top music colleges in America, but he wanted to serve his country in those end of the war days.  They wouldn't take him in the regular military branches because he was too young, so he joined the Merchant Marines.  That tour of duty took him all over the world, and when he was done, he came back to the town of Punta Gorda, Florida, where his dad pastored a Baptist church.

One day, he saw his dream girl crossing the road!  They married when he was 20 and she was 19.  Eleven mos. later, they had a baby girl.  He was in University in Gainesville, Georgia, studying to be a lawyer.  Illness caused him to leave school and move to Miami, where he started a cabinet building company, which became a thriving business.  Some hard things happened and some good things happened and he quit the business and started working full-time at our church as youth pastor and music director, both things at which he excelled.  His epic youth activities even made the headlines on several occasions!
When I was 11, he surrendered his life to become a preacher, and we packed our bags and went to Springfield, MO.  We left a beautiful, fairly large home, and moved into a tiny, tiny house.  Small as it was, I loved that house!  My dad got to buy it because he worked for the builder...again as a cabinet maker! 
When he started College, he was also working 3 jobs.  School started at 7:30 AM, and sometimes he wouldn't be in bed until 3 AM or later.  He was also the youth pastor and eventually became the music director at the church in Springfield.  Again, his youth activities were astounding.  He never ran out of ideas, and we would have a great time, but there was always a message behind what we were doing.
From his various ministries, I can't even begin to count how many have gone into the ministry.  He became a church pastor after I left for college, and pastored 3 churches before he retired.  He didn't like retirement so he "unretired" and took an associate position, where once again...in his late 70's...he was working with teens and the music, amongst other things.  Even at that age, old-fashioned as many saw him, he still had a great ministry.  Many of those kids are now in ministry, too.
All this is "history", because I want you to see the man my papa is!  He may be small in stature, but he's a giant to me.  Even at his age, he still goes like a hurricane.  He suffers from trigemenal neuropathy, which has levelled many, and is even called the suicide syndrome, because some people can't bear the pain...but he is unstoppable! 
Dad...I hope you know just how much we love you!  You are and always will be my precious dad.  You taught me so much and are still teaching me by your example.  You are honorable in all things and you treat Mama, Lynn and me, as well as all the grand-daughters and great grands, like ladies.  You raised the bar for me, when it came to my life mate!  I am so glad you gave a Godly example, so that I would know what a Godly man would be, because that enabled me to fall for a Godly man as well!   Have a blessed and happy Father's day!  I love you #1 Dad!

Never My Love

Forty-three years ago I graduated from high school.  I lived in Houston, TX...and I hated it!  My Junior year of High school I started out in Ft. Worth, TX and then, right after my birthday, in November, we moved to Miramar, FL.  Then right around Easter, we moved back to Texas, but this time to Houston.  I love love love Ft. Worth, and I absolutely hated Houston.  An odd thing happened in all my moving around.  I started High School in Springfield, MO, and then added the other 3 places.  Each city/state had different credit/required subject requirements, which meant by the time I got to Houston, I was way ahead of the game.  If I had taken English in summer school I could have finished and graduated in early January of my Senior year because Houston had mid-year graduations, but my mamma feared I would take off for college and being I just turned 17, she put her foot down and nixed the mid-term graduation idea.
As it was, I ended up going to college in August...still 17, but an older, wiser 17.  Now the Bible College I went to was really big at the time.  There were over 1,000 single guys and likewise, over 1,000 single girls.  Dorm life was a blast...loved it...even though the rules were really, really strict! 
Dating was permitted Friday evenings between 5 and 11PM and Sundays after church until 10:30 PM.  With that many singles, there was a huge choice for everyone.  After the first few weeks of meeting, going to this or that function with varying different guys, I met a handsome young Alabama guy.  He was kind of shy, very quiet and at first, I didn't think I liked him.  After going in groups after church and hanging out, we got to know each other better, and he asked me out for the first time 2 days after my 18th birthday.  I think I knew from pretty much the first date that he was THE one! 
We dated for 2 school years and at the end of my 2nd year, his 3rd, he proposed. I said yes!
The following was our song!

We got married in August of 1971. We had Lyndee in September 1972. Cristofer came in March, 1974, Shan in April 1976, and Kelsey tagged along in July, 1989. Don is an incredible husband and father, and has been from the start. He is my best friend on earth and almost 41 years of marriage later, we are still in love, we still respect each other and stand faithfully by each other through the good and the bad. I am honored to call him my husband and soul-mate. Our 4 children are blessed to call him their father, and our 11 grand-children couldn't ask for a grander papa than Don! I love you, babe! This one's for you...Happy, Blessed Father's day!



Reflections...

Went to the Paris area to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our friend's church. We started out there 36 1/2 years ago. There were so many people there that we have known through all these years! Some were kids when we came, and now they are grandparents! Being there made for some bittersweet memories. It made me feel kinda sad as well. I watched everybody with their families...and some were 4 generations worth... and I thought about how we are here, so far from our families. We love what we do, don't get me wrong, but sometimes...sometimes it is hard! We don't get to share in our kids and grandkids lives...we don't get to see first teeth, first crawl, first turning over, first day of school,graduation, or the other milestones in our grandkids lives. We aren't there to hug out parents and take them to the doctor when they are sick. We aren't there for the different holidays. Occasionally, when we are in the States we get to see them and share brief moments of their current lives, but those moments are few and far between.
Last summer, we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Our church was so sweet and did a surprise celebration for us. We love our church, we really do! But there was a sadness, too, because those are the moments you want to share with family, too! You want them to be there all around you...you want to savor the precious view of the 4 generations gathered together.

When Christmas rolls around, we imagine what they are all doing. We wonder if they are having a blessed time, but feel, like us, that there is a missing piece in the family picture.
We've seen so many missionaries come and go, and so many that planned to be missionaries, but didn't go, and they are there with their loved ones, enjoying the sweet pleasure of church, family, holidays, vacations...and ya...sometimes it hurts deep down.

Then, it's like God puts His loving arm around us and gives us a hug. He turns our eyes outward, to the people whose lives have been changed because we were here to introduce them to Jesus. We were here to help them through the hard places in their lives.

We have wanted to quit many times...especially after we have put a lot of work into people and they stray from God. It is easy to think, "Why am I wasting my life here when they don't care?" The answer always comes...because GOD cares! We ALL fail Him from time to time, but He is still there, by our side. He put us here and He keeps us here. So we stay, we pray, we labor. It isn't always easy...in fact, it is often hard, but we know it is a task worth doing!
As you pass time with your families, take time to savor the moment. Sometimes those "moments" are what will keep you going!
Have a blessed day!

Happy Birthday Lynn!

Tomorrow is my sister, Lynn's, birthday.  Lynn is 2 1/2 years older than me, and though she is a lot shorter, she is still my big sister! That is her on the left at the age of 4.  Lynn and I didn't always get along when we were kids, as is par for the course for most siblings.  We could fight like cats and dogs between ourselves(verbally) but let anyone else say or do anything to the other and they had to deal with the consequences!  Then we were a team!  

I must say, that as a kid, I gave my big sis a lot of grief at times.  She tended to be bossy, and that would get my goat so I would have to get even!  Often, when we were doing the dishes (nope... dishwashers
were not common household appliances back then!) I would slowly sideways walk my foot over and stomp on hers, because she had pushed my buttons one time too many.  Sometimes I got away with it, but most times not!  I thought it was worth whatever punishment I got, just to get even!

As I grew older, my vengeance got "better".  One night, I hid in her closet until everyone was in bed.  When all was quiet, I opened the closet door and came out at her.  Now, Lynn and I are both very nearsighted.  Without her glasses, all she could see was the door movement and someone coming at her.  She sat up and tried to scream, but was so scared just a horrible squeak came out.  Of course my parents, who were just next door to her room heard the commotion and of course, I caught it, but good!  I hadn't really intended to scare her that bad, really, and I did feel bad about it after.  Didn't even mind the punishment, because I knew I deserved it.  In spite of everything, we grew up, and as we grew, we became best friends.  We have lived far from each other for almost 37 years, but in our hearts we remain close. 
She also taught school for over 35 years.  She had to deal with my kids on the occasions when they were in the States.  She was a very dedicated teacher and was constantly helping kids out.  One day, she got stuck dealing with things on the other side of the learning center.  The older kids were all needing her, too.  Our son, Cris, told the kids he would get her over there and proceeded to let out a war whoop and leap out of his chair, on which he had placed a tack (after he was out of it)!  She did come over very quickly, and Cris grinned and said, "See!  I told you I could get her over here!"  With all the sterness she could muster, she sent him to the principal's office!  We had a laugh over it later, and still do when we remember those long ago days!

Lynn is such an incredible person!  Several years ago, she was diagnosed with a very rare illness called Inclusion Body Myositis.  It is an illness that destroys the muscles of the body.  Lynn is so tiny and so frail now, and she has dreadful falls that seriously hurt her, but she remains cheerful in the face of all she goes through.  She can not easily get up and down  from chairs unaided, but that doesn't stop her.  Her husband is the pastor of a small church and she still faithfully does everything pastors' wives need to do.  She still plays the piano for church and works with the children and the choir.  She just doesn't give up! 

Several years ago, she and her hubby came over and helped us build a building for our church!  Two of our grands were living with us at the time and we were in this tiny, 3 room apartment.  We were squished as all get out, but we had such a great time!  My grands loved her dearly!  She is just that way...you HAVE to love her!

As you can see, Lynn is one of my role models!  She is the dearest sister in all the world and I miss her every day!   So...here's to you, Lynn!  Happy happy birthday!  I love you!

Come Fly With Me

You know, being missionaries, we have a lot of flight mileage!  I was thinking the other day, if I had a euro for every kilometer I've flown, I could build my dream house, furnish it and live awhile on the rest of the money!  Flights used to be enjoyable...sort of...but nowadays, they are a royal pain!
Today, I'm going to tell you about a few of our more interesting flight moments!  Starting with when the kids were little tykes!
We were scheduled to make the long haul flight to the States and for some reason Cris, who was probably about 8, saw the movie "Airport".  I am NOT a fan of disaster movies, so why or how he saw that, I don't remember, but the fact is, he did.  We were about 2 hours in the air, and they had served us our lunch when the plane just simply dropped.  There is no other way to describe what happened. For a split second trays were suspended in air and then every thing came crashing down on the tray tables, spilling food and drinks everywhere.  The plane started jerking around choppily and, I have to admit, it was pretty scary!  Cris was sitting by me.  He grabbed my hand and was hanging on for dear life.  I just squeezed his hand back and said, "Let's just pray!"  So we did, and shortly, things smoothed back out, the plane started gaining altitude again and we all relaxed.  About that time, Cris looked up at me with huge eyes and whispered, "Whew!  I am NEVER watching a disaster movie, ever again!"  Gotta say...I kinda agreed!
Several years later, when Lyndee had become diabetic, and we were having a dreadful time getting her blood sugar in control, she and I made an emergency trip to the States so she could see a specialist at George Washington University Hospital in DC.  Unfortunately, it was at Christmas time.  Don was in France with the 2 boys and Lyndee and I were in the States.  To top it all of, the specialist decided Lyndee needed more time to get her diabetes under control, so we changed her ticket, but I needed to get back.  So on New Years Eve, my parents, my sister and her family, and Lyndee were sitting with me in Dulles airport.  This was back in the days when people could still go all the way to the departure gate to see you off.  The time came for me to catch the shuttle flight that would take me to NYC where I would catch my overseas flight.  They called for boarding, and I walked straight through, got on the plane, sat down and waved out the window to all the family.  They all had these puzzled, worried looks on their faces.  I looked where they were looking and saw them closing the plane...and I was the ONLY passenger on it;  Now, I was feeling a little freaked out, and was thinking to myself, "Wow!  This is like something on "The Twilight Zone!"  Not a split second after, the stewardess looks at me and says, "Wow!  This is like something on "The Twilight Zone!"  I really, really wanted to get off that plane!  The last glimpse I saw of my family, they looked like I was feeling!  When I got home and called them, they said....you guessed it... "Wow!  That was like something on "The Twilight Zone!"
Years later, when Kelsey was 14, we were on our way to Washington State and when we were eating, Kelsey took off her friendship ring from her besties, and a ring from her boyfriend.  She fell asleep before the flight crew picked up the trays, and her rings got taken along with the trays.  When she woke up, we were already close to Chicago and she started crying because her rings were lost.  Kudos to that stupendous flight crew!  As we were circling Chicago waitng for a landing slot, that crew and myself were digging through all the garbage containers trying to find her rings.  Kelsey...she was standing there watching!  One of the male crew members looked at her and said, "Girl!  Get down here and start digging if you want to find those rings!"  Now Kelsey refuses to even touch the garbage can.  We have had war over this many times!  So she was ewwwwwing and yuuuuukkking throughout the whole ordeal...and barely doing anything!  Finally the head crew member came up and told us she thought she was the one who had taken up Kels' tray and she thought she had emptied it in the 1st class cabin's bin.  We made our way back up to the front of the plane and sure enough!  There they were, practically on top!  We landed a scant 5 minutes after finding them!  I will never forget what a great group that flight crew was.  Things changed, shortly after, and now, service is difficult and attendants tend to be not very attentive!  Oh!  For the good old days!
Happy flying to all!  I bet most of you have stories, too!  Would love to hear them!

Enough is enough!

I read in the news today that the USA passed the bill making it legal to abort a baby based on its gender...you don't want a girl...Bye bye baby....you don't want a boy...so long, son!  My mind just can NOT grasp that my country would allow such a thing.  I have never believed in abortion, but this surpasses anything they have done before!  Who made us God that we should decide such things?  Who made it okay to kill a baby up to one week before it is due to be born and call it legal abortion?  I  get angry when I read about babies that have been aborted late term, but due to a "mistake" the baby is born alive and then is left to die, and nursing staffs are refused the right to give them comfort or help.  If a mother decided her preemie baby's life wasn't going to be good and left it to die, she would go to jail for killing her child.  But people can choose to do this before and it is okay...oh...and the next step will be allowing people to destroy their child if it isn't perfect.  It is already happening in Holland. 


We had a friend who was a severe diabetic and when she was pregnant with her 3rd child, she was told the baby was no good and she should abort.  She refused...her perfectly normal daughter is now the mother of a beautiful baby boy of her own!  My own Kelsey was going to be aborted without them even informing us what they were going to do, but we figured it out.  They said my foetus wasn't developing like it should, it was tubal, and several other things, none of which were the truth.  That "no good foetus" will be 23 in July.  She is beautiful, normal, and is now the mom of a beautiful baby boy as well.

This isn't my usual post, but this is something that is a subject dear to my heart...one that makes me fighting mad to protect all those innocent little lives that didn't ask to be created and then are wiped out like so much garbage.  I believe every life has value...EVERY life.  You who read Elisa's blog (The Crazy Life of a Writing Mom) you know all they went through, fighting to keep their precious baby.  Many people today would scorn them for fighting to keep a child that would have a less than perfect life...but he was precious to them.  Think about it...none of us are perfect in God's sight, but He loves us unconditionally.  I think it is time we start fighting back for the lives of these children.  Enough is enough!

There is a movie out now called "October Baby" about a girl who was an abortion surviver and it s a true story, one everyone should see.  I am enclosing the Youtube trailer of it in this post...  http://youtu.be/I_9l7lEe-AA
Love to all...