tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12289175635960138202024-03-12T21:26:39.364-07:00Summaries and Soliloqueys by SusanThoughts on life.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-30832809036560670242019-03-11T08:25:00.000-07:002019-03-11T08:25:51.272-07:00Chocolate or Church?Are you a crier? My tears flow for movies and music, joy and sorrow, the feeling of humility and humanity in the presence and awareness of God. Wednesday February 27th was my most recent occurrence of unstoppable rain from my eyes. That morning I read news in the online New York Times of the international conference of the United Methodist Church reporting the vote to condemn homosexuality. It banned same sex marriage and called for sanctions against clergy who performed such ceremonies. It also banned LGBTQ people from practicing as ministers in the denomination. I was shocked that a Christian organization would so blatantly pass judgement on a group of people, a group of people that includes members of my family and many friends.<br />
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In The Book of Joy, Archbishop Desmond TuTu speaks of making visceral decisions. That morning I was called to make a gut wrenching choice to no longer associate with The United Methodist Church. Sadly, that means my home church which carries the UMC name on the sign. I love these local people of faith who work together in our community to serve and support. During my years of dealing with cancer, they helped me with prayers, cards, calls, visits, food - their encouragement was a special gift! These loving people that offered me comfort and friendship would not have voted this way, but the local congregation is not an autonomous entity. The buildings, land, endowments are all owned by the UMC worldwide organization. I sent messages to my pastors and Bible study leader to explain my absence and sent a message to our business administrator to stop our bank draft tithe. Leaving this part of weekly habits behind feels heartbreaking, but necessary. My core values instruct that words and actions must match. For me to be a practicing Christ follower, I cannot worship in a place that is owned and named UMC, for to me and many others on the “outside” that now represents exclusion and judgement instead of love.<br />
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Some friends from church have encouraged me to wait, to not do anything rash, to follow the new pastor, to work for change from within, to see it as “interesting” how events play out. Since I do not know how much life I have left, I cannot wait on offering love, to everyone. I did not carry out a rash idea of graffiti on all the signs, blotting out UMC with rainbow paint - although I did see reports on Twitter and Facebook of congregations in Dallas and Austin who decorated on that next Sunday March 3rd with rainbow bunting to drape their columns and signs and offered dissenting opinions in their responsive readings. Meeting the new pastor, watching his first sermon online, and reading his personal declaration of opposition to the vote is encouraging. Perhaps he will be able to be a leader in changing from within to a new, fully inclusive church. I hope to live long enough to see this change.<br />
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So where do I worship in the future? Well, I know that God is not limited to the confines of a building or a denomination. So I have lots of options: the lake, the park, The Cathedral of Hope, the Presbyterians, in my home or someone else’s...<br />
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The season of Lent is upon us, the forty day period that spans from Ash Wednesday through Easter. It is supposed to be a time of prayer and contemplation. Some people choose to give up something in order to draw closer to God. In the past I have given up beer, Facebook, sweets, cheese and have done the clean out and donate plan of 40 items in 40 days. This year I had planned to give up chocolate, but instead I am giving up church.<br />
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Dear God, as our hearts are broken please make us more capable of love. Amen.<br />
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Reading The Bible and certain blog posts helped my mind this week. The verses of I Corinthians 13 resonate, here is verse 1.<br />
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“I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.”<br />
1 Corinthians 13:1 GNBDC<br />
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Here is a link to Cindy Ryan’s post. She is my former pastor, now retired.<br />
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<a href="https://drcindyryanblog.com/2019/03/05/this-is-my-brother/amp/?__twitter_impression=true">https://drcindyryanblog.com/2019/03/05/this-is-my-brother/amp/?__twitter_impression=true</a><br />
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This is a quote from a writer who was speaking out against racism. She is the adoptive mom of biracial children.<br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17.41pt;">Where we stand changes what we see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17.41pt;">Changing what we see changes how we think.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17.41pt;">Changing how we think changes what we do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17.41pt;">If I'm proposing anything, it's that we move our bodies toward the pain points throbbing around us. Amid the small things that weave into life as we know it, (for me, packing a suitcase, chopping asparagus, folding laundry, and writing a book endorsement) let’s consider where we're standing, who we're standing with, and what reorienting ourselves might cost us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17.41pt;">Here in the tempest breath of March, staring at the winter sun, may our addictions to comfort, niceness, and fantasy scorch into husks and blow away. May this be the moment we truly begin to </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext-italic"; font-size: 17.41pt; font-style: italic;">see</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17.41pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17.41pt;">From blog post, Shannan Martin Writes, Wednesday March 6, 2019, Resisting Miss Daisy</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-91042683536629709222017-05-24T07:07:00.001-07:002017-05-24T07:07:46.263-07:00Memory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Memorial Day is a holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. Who do you hold in your memory among this group?<br />
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My great uncle, Terry Fisher, was KIA in WWI. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. No living members of my family ever got to meet him but I imagine that my grandfather, who was his younger brother, carried his legacy in his heart. Thankfully, all others from our family and circle of friends returned from their time of military service. They did not all return without scars, especially mental marks.<br />
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During the time of the Vietnam conflict, I was very anti war. Honestly, this attitude has not changed much over time, seeing lives lost without achieving goals. Thankfully the draft has been banished during our lifetime.<br />
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Even though I identify more as a "dove" rather than a "hawk", I still believe in supporting those who choose to serve our country in this method and those who gave of themselves without having the choice. A Vietnam vet who is a member of my church is organizing an event to send care packages to service members. This is a possible way to honor the memory of those who lost their lives for our safety and peace. We contributed Keurig coffee cups. If you would like to contribute to this activity in our community, here is a link to the list of requested items:<br />
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http://www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/10664/event/event_id/479807/Support-Our-Troops-with-Care-Packages<br />
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Thanks for your time to read and reflect on the meaning of this holiday. If you would like to contribute, contact me & I can pick up locally or you can bring to church office by June 4th.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-79102790279544057122016-05-21T15:38:00.002-07:002016-05-21T15:38:59.697-07:00A Word<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Wait!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Hahaha, while I had just started typing this title, a pop up
screen appeared on my computer with the dashed circle churning and the words, “Please
wait” encouraging me to do a Windows update.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do we always notice the “wait” messages in life? Do we cancel the prompt
as I just did with Windows? Isn’t waiting against the American lifestyle?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember Burgess Meredith’s famous line from
Rocky, “What are we waitin’ for?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What ARE we waiting for?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A graduation, a wedding, a birth, a check, a trip, a raise, a healing ,a
Powerball win, a break in the clouds, a sign in the stars…and what do we do
WHILE we wait?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Back in January my pastors had been preaching on spirituals
disciplines. Ewww, no one appreciates the word, dis-ci-pline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I listened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And some ideas stuck with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the topics was meditation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had tried it before, never settling in to
feeling right with the practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always
getting distracted, abandoning my set aside time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pastor John simply described some of his own
& some of his known methods – use a candle, focus on a word or a scripture
or a song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A friend brought me a simple
prayer candle from a church of healing in south Texas,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan, Del
Valle National Shrine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had paid a
visit there with her father to give thanks for her own successful surgery,
taking along a prayer card from me containing requests for my own healing and
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This candle became a useful object in my quest to
meditate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I stared into the changing color
glow of the lit wick I would think through Bible passages that I knew by heart –
the Lord’s Prayer, the 23<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> Psalm, the 2 greatest commandments,
Genesis 1:1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Word by word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mixing in lyrics from hymns like Holy, Holy,
Holy or How Great Thou Art.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pastor Cindy had spoken in her sermon about spiritual
journaling - writing down points of gratitude, questions, experiences, prayer
list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here’s the kicker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked God for a word!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A word of direction, guidance, comfort, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted that too but was terrified to
ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if it didn’t work for me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I wasn’t worthy to receive a message
from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because, you know, Cindy is a
pastor and is paid to receive and dish out these direct messages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I am just a regular person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would God send me a word?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It happened!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every
time I meditate and ask for a word, I am given one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latest word given was one I didn’t want –
Wait! So what is that supposed to mean?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wait a little longer for health to be restored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait for the day to see my grandchildren
again. Wait for the freedom to travel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wait to be able to drink at a celebration. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait, in this season of waiting, for the next
stage of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is that next
stage going to look like? And how do I even know that this is the word God
wants me to know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do I assure that
my puny brain did not just think this up myself?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One of my favorite contemporary writers, Margaret Feinberg,
writes this on a recent blog post:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4
Questions to Ask Yourself When You Think You Hear From God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does what I hear line up with scripture? 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does what I hear line up with wise
council?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does what I hear leave me with a sense of
peace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is what I hear blanketed in love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now all my questions meet more questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wrote a whole book called Sacred
Echoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this she tells that God
repeats himself to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we doubt
with, “no that can’t be”, he tells us again through a different source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So after my confrontation with the word, “Wait”, these are
the repeated messages that came to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
did not seek them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They found me
anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In my devotional reading of Jesus Calling was this Bible verse:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wait</b> for God my Savior; my God
will hear me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Micah 7:7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My email inbox had a daily posting from Max Lucado:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To walk in the Spirit, respond to the
promptings God gives you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t sense
any nudging?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just be patient and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wait</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus told his disciples “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wait</b>
for the gift my Father promised – the Holy Spirit”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acts 1:4-5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A letter received from Linda, my supported orphan in Kenya,
referenced these verses, Psalms 62:5-6, For God alone, O my soul, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wait</b> in silence, for my hope is from
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He only is my rock and my
salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Another subscription blog appears in my inbox, Pearls of
Promise, containing these words:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Waiting</b> for his direction is one of the
most difficult things God asks us to do, but there are blessings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The next Sunday’s sermon was about the day of Pentecost
where all the disciples were gathered together again following Jesus’ command
to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wait</b> for the gift. This gift of
the spirit did come to them as promised, causing them awe and wonder beyond
what they could have imagined.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So in this season of waiting – for health, for energy, for
birth of next grandchild, for travel, for celebrations – I prompt myself to be
aware of moments of grace that will suck my breath away as I whisper, “Wow”!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-89714609499288433422016-04-07T14:37:00.000-07:002016-04-07T14:37:25.860-07:00Arguments and AnswersWho argues with God? Archie Bunker would judge me harshly because after all, "God is God!" I am not proud of my admission but maybe it, at least, shows that we are in frequent communication. That's what He wants, right? Praise is known to be preferred in building this relationship rather than the whining, questioning, ignoring, distracting that too often comes from me. Possibly I have missed out on some remarkable revelations due to my teenage like attitude. FOMO, my loss!<br />
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There were some other well known characters in the history of time who have demoed my same humanity. Remember the guy named Moses? In Exodus Chapters 3-4 we find an account of a conversation between God and Moses. God gives him a detailed description of how He plans to get his people, the oppressed Jewish tribe, out of slavery in Egypt. Moses argues, "What if they don't believe me?" Then God performs miraculous signs using Moses' shepherding staff. Moses' response is, " Pardon me, but I have never been good at speaking in front of people." (I bet a lot of us have used that one!). God reminds him who made the human mouths and promises to help him. But Moses persists (can you believe he is still arguing with the supreme authority?) and asks him to please send someone else. The audacity of this man! As my grandmother would say, "Well I never!" We all know how that story played out. God will get his work done regardless of our human failings. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.<br />
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Remember Abraham's wife, Sarah? How she laughed at God's messengers telling of her upcoming pregnancy at 90 years old? Then God asked why she was laughing and she lied about it! "I wasn't laughing..." Genesis 17-18 oh really!<br />
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Then there was a man named Jonah who was chosen to warn the people of Nineveh to turn from their evil ways. We all know how he tried to run from this calling and ended up in the belly of a whale. But that's not all the story. Afterward Jonah did follow directions and give his speech in the wanton city and the people had a change of heart. Good news, they repented and God decided to show mercy and forgive them, not sending calamity to the city as originally planned. Guess who was then sulking about this plan of doom not being carried out? Jonah was arguing with God about his compassion. The nerve of this guy! Was Jonah disbarred from the kingdom? Well no. God gently guided him back to right thinking through the image of a plant that had grown at Jonah's sulking shelter. Check out this story in the Old Testament book of Jonah.<br />
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Fast forward to 2015-16. There is this retired school teacher, a happy grandma who lives in Grapevine TX. Part of her regular life is prayer, Bible study, devotional reading to kick start the days, along with good strong coffee. Sometimes she doesn't particularly like what she reads, so it is put out of mind and replaced with distracting activity - household chores, TV, books, hanging out with people, etc., etc. But the still, small voice does not leave her alone.<br />
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What I was trying to ignore was Jesus' message in Luke 14. He was having dinner in the house of a prominent person (a Pharisee) and in watching the way guests chose their places at the banquet table he made it a teachable moment. The parable of the wedding feast urges people to go against the common custom of choosing the best seat possible, nearest to the hosts. Jesus says in this context, "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." A message repeated many times throughout his ministry. <br />
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Jesus also goes on to challenge his host to reconsider who he invites when he plans a luncheon or dinner. He tells him to skip inviting his friends, family and rich neighbors in favor of new guests - the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Even though those people could not pay, he would be blessed. Wow. How do I do that? <br />
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We have a particular event at church that I like called The Well. It is a catered dinner for women that includes an inspirational speaker. I have enjoyed bringing friends to attend with me. When I was working I used to pay for a whole table and invite people - some paid for themselves and other let me bestow a gift. Since I retired, my budget changed and during that same time the fee for these women's banquets went up, so before inviting people I started limiting who I called according to who I thought could afford to pay. I know it says to bring in the poor but the only poor people I knew in my vicinity were ones who did not speak English well enough to relate to the speakers. I argued with God that I did not know the right "poor" women to invite. "IF you really mean this parable message THEN show me !"<br />
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More wow. The next week I went to my regular Thursday Bible study group settling in at my regular spot at the table. Looking down to place my purse on the floor by my chair, then looking up to see two women who had filled the empty seats on either side of me. I knew them both. I knew the events of their lives that had worn in their wrinkles and colored their heads gray. I had visited at their separate apartments, witnessed their separate lives. By standards of many who live in north Tarrant county, they are poor. They don't regularly come to the Thursday morning Bible study but happenings in their lives made them show up that day. I almost lost my breath! Like Sarah, I almost laughed out loud at hearing/seeing God's message loud and clear! And they speak English!<br />
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We have not yet attended The Well together. My treatments fall on the same day, limiting my participation in the women's dinner, one of them has dialysis on Thursdays and the other works the night shift. It's going on tonight and I'm home resting, reflecting and writing instead of sharing the meal, socializing and listening to the speaker. The two of them have their own health issues that rule their calendars, and housing issues that trouble their minds, and family issues that twist their hearts - so it's not the literal banquet that is now my conviction. Friendship relationships have developed with these two special women. They have been prioritized in prayer, they have been moved to a "place of honor" in my list of people to call and regularly check in on their lives and their needs. I am showered with hugs when I see them in person. They call me out when they spot me at church and in places in the community. They remind me constantly that they are praying for ME! I am humbled to know them even better now and claim them as true friends. In our country of affluence they are poor, but they are rich in matters of faith and they are sharing that with me. I am blessed.<br />
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Did God get angry with my arguments? No. He was good and gentle and kind and patient with me. He answered my demands with an "Alright, there it is!" in a way that I recognized the message. God is so personal. If you haven't' already, I challenge you to ask him a challenging question. Go ahead and argue if you feel the urge. Can't wait to hear YOUR stories!<br />
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Btw, this is not my only argument with God. Part 2 to come later...<br />
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2 Corinthians 10:4-5 They destroy arguments and every defense that is raised up to oppose the knowledge of God.<br />
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James 4:1-2<br />
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.” (NIV)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-62058595970776427672015-08-11T16:27:00.000-07:002015-08-11T16:27:56.337-07:00A New Book, An Old Story<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
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Critics voices have swarmed and buzzed over the most anticipated book, Go Set a Watchman. Some were disappointed that the story line did not match perfectly with its prize winning companion, To Kill a Mockingbird; its hero, Atticus, showed unexpected flaws. Some people, supposedly close to Ms. Nelle Harper Lee, thought that it should never have even been published, claiming that the loss of her sister, her protector, had opened her up to manipulation by a new lawyer and a new editor. Having heard stories and witnessed some personal events related to influencing elders, helps me understand both sides of these concerns. Sometimes well meaning relatives or friends who try to be gatekeepers for the aging ones seem to actually stifle their choices of activities they love, foods they like and times when they simply want to rest; sometimes these same trusted people misuse or misdirect the aging ones' money to fund their own desires. In the case of Ms. Lee, I hope that did not happen. For my own personal edification, I am so glad the book was published. Her unedited voice from long ago spoke to me. It seemed a gutsy, off the cuff tale of her life as it was and had been; an outcry on the role of women and the place of African Americans in her time. Her time overlapped strangely with my time.</div>
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Go Set a Watchman was written around the time of my birth and first years, mid fifties, and was not published until 2015, the year I turned 60. It's the story of Scout as a grown up, it's the story of Susan Kohn Green as a child. Monroeville AL I have never seen, but Ms. Lee's description and my own imagination tells me it was very much like Royse City TX in that era - just a small East Texas town of cotton farmers vaguely connected to the big city of Dallas before I-30 was constructed. I was a child of privilege - not by wealth but by being known through family ties and by being white.</div>
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"Isn't that Beau and Sue Ann's little girl? Bally's grand daughter? Pack's grand daughter? Hooker's niece? Smiley's niece? (the men carried lifelong nicknames that would confuse ancestry.com researchers) Usuallly traveling in the company of relatives to stores on Main St., to church on Sunday (mostly Baptist but sometimes Methodist with the Fisher side of the tree), to visit friends of the adults - I received doting attention. People praised me for being smart or cute or sweet or for being created as the spittin' image of my mom (she was very popular). They served me treats like fresh picked peaches, watermelon, blackberries or rice with butter and sugar, cold biscuits or that kind of homemade sherbet ice cream made in aluminum ice trays. I was allowed to play with their little porcelain nick nacks arranged on tatted doilies - figures of Victorian people, animals and shoes. I could touch the pianos and press on electric organs. </div>
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The town and times were safe. It was a normal occurrence to walk across the street to my friend's house or catty corner to play in another neighbor's yard (we loved Mr. Carr's smokehouse, wagon parked under the weeping willow and corn field). I could go around the corner on my own to play at a favorite location, "The Big Tree", or go a little further down this street to my grandparents' house to help mix up cornbread or have a treat of coke float or Juicy Fruit gum. When you are a child, you think as a child and you think that everyone else lives just like you.</div>
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One day when I was in the company of my childhood best friend (words were spelled out in those days, BFF had not been invented), we decided to take a walk and explore the destination of a dirt road that ran next to Mr. Carr's field. We walked past black folk picking cotton in a field, past an old abandoned shack ready to fall down at the next windstorm and came out on pavement that was a street we recognized. No problem. We knew the way home. When views of our houses appeared, we knew there WAS a problem. Our moms were in the front yards looking upset. They greeted us with frantic hugs but boy were we in trouble! I may have even received a swift swat on the bottom, don't exactly remember. There were stern discussions of our boundaries and "asking permission". Even though we were allowed to roam, we had to learn the "understood" rules that accompanied freedom.</div>
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Like all southern towns of the 50's, Royse City was segregated, the black folk (called N#%$ by most towns people) lived in their own neighborhood across the railroad tracks. They had their own houses, their own church, their own school. As a child I thought like a child and I thought everybody lived as they did by choice. The only black person I knew by name was Gussie, the woman who came to help us out when my baby sister was born. She was nice, I liked her.</div>
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During these pre-school days of my childhood (I didn't actually go to pre-school, these were simply developmental years before moving to the Dallas suburb of Carrollton where I started school in first grade), there were many occasions where adults gathered and children ran underfoot. White noise (pun intended) is expected to pass over the heads of kids, but not always, not mine. People would be sitting balanced in metal lawn chairs in a back yard passing bowls of homemade ice ream and chatting into the dark. Sometimes the idle gossip would gain intensity as someone would audaciously accuse The Catholics or the NAACP of some shenanigans. Too young to know fully, but the tone and some words caught in my innocence and twisted my heart. God had set a watchman in me. A conscience was being born to guide me through life. I was too young to know, but there was a spirit telling me that something was off kilter in my perfect world.</div>
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Thankfully, my soul was spared some of the wrenching anguish of Jean Louise (Scout) in her adult sized eye opening moments. My little ears never heard the voices of my heroes, my mama and daddy, in the questionable utterances; they have remained my models of greatness throughout my whole life, even though I know they must carry their own human flaws. The white noise remains unnamed but I know it had to come from neighbors and relatives, people we loved. People who must be forgiven. Maybe I should actually be thankful for them, for stirring my childhood awakening to grow the seed of justice.</div>
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On a few recent visits back to this once hometown to attend funerals, I noted changes to the once Negro community that clustered near the cemetery. Newer houses appeared and the "Colored School" had been remodeled and revamped into a special district alternative learning center named after a man who had been my parents' teacher and principal. The black dirt cotton fields are being covered by new affordable housing developments touting the pleasures of country living. Hopefully prejudices have dissipated and mutual respect prevails in the growing little city of the new millennium. </div>
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Many people and events have continued to teach me about how to live my life on this earth, relating to others in our world. Jesus' words and actions are the ultimate model. The Golden Rule. The Beatitudes. The Sermon on the Mount. The Lord's Prayer. The Great Commission. </div>
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My Watchman is set.</div>
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Isaiah 21:6</div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Thank you, Dear God, for giving Harper Lee to our world, whose iconic, influential words shaped her readers. Thank you for my friends and family who love to read and discuss favorite books. Thank you for teachers who taught us how to read and question and explore. Thank you for Pastor John who delivered a Sunday sermon on Go Set a Watchman giving light to eternal insights. Thank you for your eternal grace toward us. Amen.</span><br />
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Go to Audio Podcast<br />
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<a href="http://firstmethodistgrapevine.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sermon by John Mollet</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-45844500478339087952015-06-30T16:52:00.000-07:002015-07-02T18:37:19.592-07:00Poetry<div class="tab-content active" id="poem-top">
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<h1 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 10px 0px 3px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17px;">She Walks in Beauty</span></h1>
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<span class="author" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); display: inline-block;">BY <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/lord-byron" style="text-decoration: none;">LORD BYRON (GEORGE GORDON)</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She walks in beauty, like the night</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Of cloudless climes and starry skies;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And all that’s best of dark and bright</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Meet in her aspect and her eyes;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Thus mellowed to that tender light</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Which heaven to gaudy day denies.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">One shade the more, one ray the less,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Had half impaired the nameless grace</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Which waves in every raven tress,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Or softly lightens o’er her face;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Where thoughts serenely sweet express,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The smiles that win, the tints that glow,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> But tell of days in goodness spent,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A mind at peace with all below,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> A heart whose love is innocent!</span><br />
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Simply just being - together. Slight winds wafted through pool side wisteria, while we sat waiting, watching, listening. Watching the dynamic tension of circling hawk suppressing neighborhood birdsong, listening for the punchlines of silly priest jokes, waiting for the just right moment to fill our plates of shared friends' foods bounty. These are the moments to remember, being in the presence of people with good humor, good hearts.<br />
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In her coughing, slightly tipsy voice she confessed an uncanny obsession. Lord Byron's poem kept coming to her consciousness in some connection to me. "She walks in beauty..." From depths of memory I could complete the next line. Darrell and I sang this together in high school choir, an acapella performance, led by a man we loved and revered, blended with other voices still innocent of adulthood. She blamed her Irish roots of mysterious intuition and I accepted the mystery, a gift.<br />
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There must have been a hasty, college kid review written for Lord Byron's poetry in my earlier years, English Lit, UNT, circa 1970's. Here is my current reflection:</div>
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She walks in beauty....beautiful words, beautiful imagery....on the surface it describes a<br />
woman who possesses both outer and inner beauty...a worthy, far reaching, timeless theme, something you and I and others aspire to be. </div>
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On a personal level, I notice the particular contrasts between light and dark. I'm borrowing phrases from a book I'm reading by Sue Monk Kidd (Traveling with Pomegranates) to describe my reaction, "The irony is that I had to go on an elaborate journey to figure this out. So much of my growing older seems to be about paradoxes. The reconciliation of opposites. The bringing to balance." </div>
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So I view my darkness as disease and the light as goodness, blessings that surround me. In the darkness, "the cloudless climes" obstructions/distractions from daily life fall away and I am given clarity to see all the goodness, "the starry skies". So I have been "mellowed" to see "tender light" that might ordinarily have gone unnoticed in "gaudy day", or normal activity. So I notice all the good that people carry in them and care to share - bringing flowers, replanting dead pots, baking blueberry muffins, book shopping, destination driving, sending cards, encouraging messages, simply just being - together. Besides the goodness in people, there is also evident innate purity in nature for those who observe - flourishing plants, effects of powerful floods, circling hawks, birdsong restored, light effects at certain times of day and night, chameleon geckoes, mama ducks and their babies, squirlish antics, and more.</div>
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Ironic that being in a shade greater of darkness and a ray less of light, keeps a balance that reveals nameless grace. The goodness is there in the smiles and kindnesses of friends, family and even strangers. So in my inner dwelling place there is a fullness of good thoughts, comfort, love, peace in my heart. Would I know this so deeply without "the night"? I love this poem and I'm glad she brought it out of my distant past into my present. Remembering the scripture that was read by Ashley at her father, Don Bigbie's funeral, the one shared in letters between Don and a friend Mark. It has stayed with me as a God sent message, coming at me repeatedly from various places. The poem carries the same message.</div>
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<blockquote type="cite">
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<h1 class="passage-display" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 500; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: 17px;"><span class="passage-display-bcv" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-right: 10px;">2 Corinthians 12:9</span><span class="passage-display-version" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline;">New International Version (NIV)</span></span></h1>
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<span class="text 2Cor-12-9" id="en-NIV-29032" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">9 </span>But he said to me, <span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">“My grace<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29032A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> is sufficient for you, for my power<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29032B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> is made perfect in weakness.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29032C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>”<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29032D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span>Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.</span></div>
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Deep thoughts by Susan Green. On Gilda Radner's birthday.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-25249988588561252412015-02-08T06:33:00.001-08:002015-02-08T06:33:25.495-08:00Caring<span style="color: #a00031;"><span style="text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Pray for one another</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a00031;"><span style="text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Is </span></span><a href="x-apple-data-detectors://0/" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:13-16 KJV)</a><br />
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Unexpected phone calls and emails from people in our church's Kenya village make my heart sing and my face smile. If you happen to make a connection with this village, there is no going back to who you were before, no forgetting! Adopting an orphan, feeding children from the street, supporting medical services or evangelists who travel to remote areas, meeting with African church representatives who visit our community or joining a mission trip which travels to Meru - however you are lead to put action into your attitude of caring, you will be blessed. Over and over. Again.<br />
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Lawrence Mathieu is a lovely man of faith who works in a school in Kenya. He has a passion for loving Christ and serving others. He has visited us in Grapevine and hosted us in Africa. Last fall he happened to send an email of greetings and questions. His questions of "how are you?" were answered with concerns for my mother. A general health check up had revealed a problem, irregular heart beat. Several procedures were tried to get it back in rhythm but so far nothing had worked. She had been feeling "really tired". He promised that he and his family would pray for my mother. Follow up emails occurred with more greetings and questions, "how is your mother?", "we are lifting her up in prayer". Although with aging, human bodies show effects of stress, my mother's new doctor was able to find a medication and dosage to reset her heart at a good pace. My heart was amazed and encouraged that wonderful people on the other side of our globe were caring and praying for someone so dear to me.</div>
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Travel to Kenya is not required to make a caring connection. Hundreds of people in our own congregation will reach out and care for you. Prayers overlap, Bibles are open, acts of service welcome volunteers, classes challenge and inform, joint worship inspires - Kum ba yah, My friend; kum ba yah, my Lord!</div>
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Dear Lord,</div>
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We recognize you as The Father of all. We thank you for connecting us as one big family and we thank you for being All-knowing and All-caring. Help us to follow your commandments and model the life of your son. Thank you for the joy that is found in caring for one another. Let us honor you in every day, Amen.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-85980924484679596432015-01-20T16:14:00.003-08:002015-01-20T16:15:18.202-08:00JOY!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lessons from
a Two Year Old<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Matthew
18:10 See that you do not look down on one of these little ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For I tell you that their angels in heaven
always see the face of my father in heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lay down,
you need to get some rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keller was
not agreeing with my talk about nap time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chattering away about the planned excursion on the Polar Express
Grapevine Christmas train, he tossed and turned, flipped and scrunched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come on now, let’s be quiet and sleep a
little while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“No, Ma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not tired and I have options!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My giggles would not suppress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, what are your options?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Well, I can get down this way or I can get
down that way!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ends of the daybed
were open where the middle was blocked by his safety rail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The option exercised was the one closest to
the door where we escaped to play until time for the train ride.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whether you
are a toddler or a senior citizen, you DO have options!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lately I
have been plagued with hyper sensitivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why does the world have to be so cruel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why do people I know have to be so mean, so rude?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>D wisely advises to not let things bother me,
but I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My brain is wired to rethink,
rehash, relive – wondering, questioning, analyzing incidents. To. Death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what are
my options?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I were
Taylor Swift, I would vent by writing a song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mean:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You, with your words like knives<br />
And swords and weapons that you use against me<br />
You have knocked me off my feet again<br />
Got me feeling like I'm nothing<br />
You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard<br />
Calling me out when I'm wounded<br />
You picking on the weaker man<br />
<br />
You can take me down with just one single blow<br />
But you don't know, what you don't know...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You, with your switching sides<br />
And your wildfire lies and your humiliation<br />
You have pointed out my flaws again<br />
As if I don't already see them<br />
I walk with my head down<br />
Trying to block you out 'cause I'll never impress you<br />
I just wanna feel okay again<br />
<br />
I bet you got pushed around<br />
Somebody made you cold<br />
But the cycle ends right now<br />
'Cause you can't lead me down that road<br />
And you don't know, what you don't know...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I were Edvard Munch, I would create an
expressive painting of The Scream.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since I am me, I have to turn to the inspired
words of books and speakers to guide me. The theme that has been coming to me
from words of wisdom is JOY!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From my current
read, the Lessons of Saint Francis, I find that a common occurrence in our
modern era with people who lived in the 1200s is darkness and bad news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Francis warned his students that dejection
could “generate an abiding rust in the heart”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember the tin man; I don’t want my heart to be ruined by rust!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Francis went on to caution the friars that
Satan sought to exaggerate even the slightest wrongs into full- fledged
crises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The devil exults when he can
extinguish or even impede the devotion and joy brought about by pure prayer or
other good works in the heart of God’s servant…it would be very easy for the
devil to take the slightest thing and turn it into an ever heavier burden.”
(when I first was writing this post and came to this quote about the devil, my
computer mysteriously shut down and I lost everything I had written- damn the
devil!- it completely creeped me out but I took a break and came back – there!)
Just manually saved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Precaution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Francis was not denying the reality of bad
news, he was instead encouraging his people to avoid dwelling on sadness and
cynicism that could block out the light of God and the light of love.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> <a href="http://www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/10664/blogentry/entry_id/430037/The-Birth-of-Joy">http://www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/10664/blogentry/entry_id/430037/The-Birth-of-Joy</a></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During my break from the devil, I listened to
an advent sermon podcast by Cindy Ryan, speaking about the pink advent candle
of Joy. I had heard it back in December but it seemed like good timing to hear
it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She talked about Joy as being
out of place in our world of craziness and pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joy is a supernatural gift from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can be found in sunny days in January,
cloud formations, sunsets, butterflies, hugs, smiles, toasts, wildlife spottings,
FB posts, innocent words of little children, books, songs, art – it’s all
around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just look.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the recent sports world wrapped up in
football mania, one commentator spoke about his time under the coaching
leadership of Bill Parcells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preparing
his team for playoffs, film would be viewed of various players while mistakes
were pointed out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coach would say, “Don’t
be that guy!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been too aware of
those who criticize, exclude, shun, ignore, hate, lie – it’s not pretty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the option I choose is – don’t be that
guy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A quote from Mr. Rogers comes to mind, “When
I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to
me, “Look for the helpers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will
always find people who are helping.”” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For me (and maybe for you), choices are in
how to respond to people/events that bring you down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can carry hurt, I can avoid situations, I
can grow thicker skin, I can retaliate – or I can look for the good in the
midst of all the messiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I look
for the good, I see it is so many times stronger than the bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is the joy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Philippians 4:8<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –
think about such things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-8334754664319774622015-01-13T10:51:00.000-08:002015-01-13T10:54:55.895-08:00Supernatural<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Luke 1:37
For with God nothing shall be impossible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is the
story of a $1000 donation to Weekend Food from Berkeys.</span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTv1Bpf_obfspjDTk2yuxUsSFdaqjZqMqBXejaxef31QRXA235WPL5Q-aJggSOyO6YGJLzL1s-5QMTbpZoseDGYeXf-95qrMgTOSusgbSzYFXIZKZaMR4F_uq0eWl912dIvPF6RSS9zw/s1600/logo_berkeys-lg.png" /></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My heart is
heavy with the needs of children – not constantly in my fore thoughts, but
constantly in my subconsiousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visions
of my visits with hungry children in Africa remind me to support them with my
prayers, my words and my finances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowledge
of hungry children in my own hometown should bring the same response.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNaMfmFSvPehH1HOKsv3JPRATmjITM0GSe41SzegZtjpA0hHdzUNbJRxs8YboNlVLDWV-xn373krVU58QRu8-D4bFkJOQtoeV5gkcZI9hj66YAY9ZrARnHSqMoJnwbfa6MPLvD_y2v18/s1600/ky127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNaMfmFSvPehH1HOKsv3JPRATmjITM0GSe41SzegZtjpA0hHdzUNbJRxs8YboNlVLDWV-xn373krVU58QRu8-D4bFkJOQtoeV5gkcZI9hj66YAY9ZrARnHSqMoJnwbfa6MPLvD_y2v18/s1600/ky127.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsl_MpiKn3wSe31wfu4VGusp2iQ7oJIKxGzUNxpFjKc8qc-MNf9z5suE4RfpGytmLMTIKdhB0RA7WCbkvqZ-0x8OdZzcNfQNqtxA-7b_moqvcspScHUZBdAnu5i_xXBEfXVnvbA1qPCc/s1600/ky737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsl_MpiKn3wSe31wfu4VGusp2iQ7oJIKxGzUNxpFjKc8qc-MNf9z5suE4RfpGytmLMTIKdhB0RA7WCbkvqZ-0x8OdZzcNfQNqtxA-7b_moqvcspScHUZBdAnu5i_xXBEfXVnvbA1qPCc/s1600/ky737.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tsjrM7jG1iyIXNsti4w_2yt-3OfNY6X9l1aXPm2krLdeejld3C1VpgkxXbgSZ621mV6QCHEOl3zVo-KNl5wwaVkUjCJat5aRiE5G0d76FBlJtt6R_CjEhJswwQxqG_ckeTG26DFe7sQ/s1600/street12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tsjrM7jG1iyIXNsti4w_2yt-3OfNY6X9l1aXPm2krLdeejld3C1VpgkxXbgSZ621mV6QCHEOl3zVo-KNl5wwaVkUjCJat5aRiE5G0d76FBlJtt6R_CjEhJswwQxqG_ckeTG26DFe7sQ/s1600/street12.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Debbie Price
and I connected at some time in the fall to discuss possible grant writing to
seek funding for the growing numbers in the Weekend Food Program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/Content.aspx?site_id=10664&content_id=254828">http://www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/Content.aspx?site_id=10664&content_id=254828</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I had successfully submitted many educational
grants during my time as a public school teacher so I knew that experience
could help me work on grants for this community need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First research what grant opportunities are
out there – many, many can be found but requirements for a non-profit Tax ID
code would not match our administrative plans through church missions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most opportunities available count us out,
except for those listed through Wal Mart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Local
communication came to mind, so I drafted a letter to share with businesses and
community groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many were sent out by
email to car dealerships and insurance agencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Results were zero response. Maybe those
requests just filtered to junk mail? Dear God, am I wrong to think that you
want this?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What I really
believe is this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is so
personal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knows our thoughts – both cognitive
and subconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knows our desires –
and smiles on those aligned with his good purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wants his children to be fed – both physically
and spiritually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the supernatural,
ultimate, intimate power – and delights when we recognize this at work in the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people call it amazing
coincidence – I call it God’s hands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On one
random day during the holidays, a business advertisement randomly appeared on
my Facebook news feed showing a local company called Berkeys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time I did not need air conditioning
or heating service but something else about their ad caught my attention. They
needed to make a holiday contribution to a worthy favorite charitable
program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The notice asked for an essay
of 100 words or less to explain the mission and needs of such a group who could
use a donation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart beat quicker as
I recognized hearts that God had prepared for giving!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shared their post to put it on my home page
with plans to come back to it later and apply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As you can tell from this story, my writing tends to be wordy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My saved letter was edited down to meet their
maximum word requirement and submitted through Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christmas plans took over my daily life and I
forgot about the Berkeys post …until I received a notice in the final days of
advent that this business had selected Weekend Food for their planned
donation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is the divine
connector!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am awed and amazed but I
know it is not just a coincidence.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdUu67j-N04D_XOZU9k4WyYWYcSwowoAD8X5faadtuuXVq5gAOSudw9ImxtkrQthLtNg5_glIaqTRthyphenhyphenpKt47VXacQeljJ1dpYIpkdzIa98JQocD0J-RiDRjV7UH70HmZ2q_cWB3pRl0/s1600/hero_fall2014-furnace-bam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdUu67j-N04D_XOZU9k4WyYWYcSwowoAD8X5faadtuuXVq5gAOSudw9ImxtkrQthLtNg5_glIaqTRthyphenhyphenpKt47VXacQeljJ1dpYIpkdzIa98JQocD0J-RiDRjV7UH70HmZ2q_cWB3pRl0/s1600/hero_fall2014-furnace-bam.jpg" height="119" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the following
days even more good news for Weekend Food, Walmart awarded a grant through
Debbie’s application from last year, church members made donations and a former
GCISD teacher led her family to gather food and money to support feeding these
kids in Grapevine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is good, all the
time!</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13Vm80QL1N68jNQo5fbuOrJGo32a-Hisx05yNPeFEA4qy__Cs20OUksI2iLOAYQev72LJHgNn9y56z-MFRGkSdlcM7uic2gEDpa9MDU36J3_31zD5WksbIWXXbNUSIpkrYbI0YwOaaCg/s1600/weekendfood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13Vm80QL1N68jNQo5fbuOrJGo32a-Hisx05yNPeFEA4qy__Cs20OUksI2iLOAYQev72LJHgNn9y56z-MFRGkSdlcM7uic2gEDpa9MDU36J3_31zD5WksbIWXXbNUSIpkrYbI0YwOaaCg/s1600/weekendfood.jpg" height="190" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">John
15:5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am the vine, ye are the
branches:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He that abideth in me, and I
in him, the same beareth much fruit:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for
apart from me ye can do nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Psalm
31:19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh how great is thy goodness,
which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for
them that trust in thee before the sons of men!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-16409107814837777652014-12-16T11:09:00.000-08:002014-12-16T11:09:17.216-08:00Christmas Letter
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVovtGEgJ7byDDTI6fhXF9b2vYTDxkmEhyphenhyphenClnhB_c9hX5YJZFyWf1dlMH_7TCalA8Xyc4wprZ1fLPh3hJFzO4tyJQnYF9Vi7qycADbeJaz1qWidRyKAnAR4zoRDH0dSYlBAFhWnzA5VI/s1600/ss-7478647-cowboyChristmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVovtGEgJ7byDDTI6fhXF9b2vYTDxkmEhyphenhyphenClnhB_c9hX5YJZFyWf1dlMH_7TCalA8Xyc4wprZ1fLPh3hJFzO4tyJQnYF9Vi7qycADbeJaz1qWidRyKAnAR4zoRDH0dSYlBAFhWnzA5VI/s1600/ss-7478647-cowboyChristmas.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">December 2014, Christmas Greetings!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are reading this, we are in
some way connected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for the
part you have played in blessing our lives!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thinking about the season of Advent and the symbols of the candles,
these ideas & events sum up our year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hope</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> – Terrible and silly stories fill up our TV news, computer home pages
and hometown chatter yet in the midst of all the noise, there are pockets of
hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the fun in our enjoyed past
times of fishing, hunting and golf, gardening and games (still love poker,
learning Mah Jong), cooking and crafts. Hope in the anticipation of something good!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peace</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> – Where is your “happy place”? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walking the gullies and animal trails of the
old family home place surrounded by rough landscapes of mesquite trees, prickly
pear, rocky sandstone and wide open sky 180 degrees; Wind, sun and water
welcoming visitors on the lake; Cozied up in a lazy boy recliner, good book in
the lap, comforting view out the back door of the changing seasons; Stirring up
the embers of a campfire; Awareness of smallness surrounded by Rocky
Mountains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peace is all around us, all
the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just need to notice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Joy</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> - The greatest joy we found in family, friends (people and pets) and
acts of service. The grandchildren share lots of smiles, hugs and fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keller is 2.5+, lives in Austin TX with his
parents Jonathan and Erica; he loves cars, trucks, trains and outside! Sadie is
the little mountain girl, 15 months, living in Redstone CO with her parents
Travis and Chelsea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She likes to dance
and ski!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another granddaughter will join
the family in March (Keller becomes a big brother), more joy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Love</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> – So much to love about life!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
had a great celebration of Papaw’s (Benny Kohn, Susan’s father) 80<sup>th</sup>
birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the family met in Buena
Vista CO for a long weekend in July where we shared a rented home for some good
times together - Enjoyed golf, hikes, hot springs and soothing scenery of the
creeks, rivers and mountains. Another milestone of love, we celebrated our 40<sup>th</sup>
Anniversary of marriage – a little party with friends, including some members
of the original wedding party.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Christ</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> – The foundation of life; the source of our blessings; the
reason for celebrating.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Romans 15:13<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xrCTW0zYJlyqdYt_sx941j_4qu-Ava5TTdlff0Exxa-btv9hbPtk0qV8hLrLKcg_7ZswQ_500nEkyeJ8VPBt-AcsbWS5PWcy3xNH8V1aAFDcq5zT_ip6dc_IuB6iReVFV9ZG3HKukpw/s1600/baby+jesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xrCTW0zYJlyqdYt_sx941j_4qu-Ava5TTdlff0Exxa-btv9hbPtk0qV8hLrLKcg_7ZswQ_500nEkyeJ8VPBt-AcsbWS5PWcy3xNH8V1aAFDcq5zT_ip6dc_IuB6iReVFV9ZG3HKukpw/s1600/baby+jesus.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">May all the symbols of Advent put
light in your life and peace in your heart,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Darrell and Susan Green<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-44393056270513028122014-11-07T19:23:00.000-08:002014-11-07T19:23:01.091-08:00Vintage Vow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEWWMoURf8LQe8QoqO70yjqAQuyQ61Ke_95DFK8Dshx9ckH_0zHQySa3omTK0j4zSA0CvGbAwYjpFf80vikg8HZqg6r7h60bTxfWr3dxILK4s6zD6KU8IjD92Q6UGFMzqx64pWMEzPO4/s1600/co+poppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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Private Commitment, Guess it's not private now!<br />
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Matthew 6:25-33 New International Version (NIV)<br />
25 âTherefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and
the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or
reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a
single hour to your life[a]?</span></div>
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28 âAnd why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field
grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all
his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the
grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
will he not much more clothe youâyou of little faith? 31 So do not worry,
saying, âWhat shall we eat?â or âWhat shall we drink?â or âWhat shall
we wear?â 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. <br />
<br />
Looking for confirmation for my inspiration, these are books, interviews,
movies, blogs that captured my inquiring attention.<br />
<br />
Oprah Winfrey's recent book, What I Know for Sure<br />
<br />
Video: Sarah Lazarovic joins TODAY to talk about why she swore off clothes and
shoes for 365 days, and the lessons she learned, which she details in her new
book, âA Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy.â Today show, Oct. 29, 2014<br />
<br />
Jen Hatmaker books, 7 and Interrupted<br />
<br />
Linda Sue Parks book, A Long Walk to Water<br />
</span><br />
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Ron Howard produced movie, The Good Lie</span></div>
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<br />
Ashley Randall, ashleyrandallphotography.com, blog and photos<br />
<br />
Have you made vows in your life? Did you keep them? To me, a vow is more sacred,
more binding than a passing promise. 40 years ago vows were spoken at our
wedding ceremony. Mine were taken from the Bible verses where Ruth commits to
her mother-in-law, Naomi, to go with her wherever, adopting her people and her
God to be her own. These words have proven to be personally important in
resolving conflicts in my marriage relationship brought on by moves and
associations. Confession to thoughts of "why the heck am I here?"</span></div>
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<br />
December 13, 1985 a second personal vow was made as I laid in the snow begging
God to let my lost child to be found. I promised God to do anything he asked of
me. The volunteer firefighters found my child emerging from frozen woods a few
miles down the road and returned him to the safety of home. Do I keep to this?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no, with the excuse of "not knowing for
sure" what choice to make, what path to take. My excuse is pretty much BS
because God gets his work done regardless of whether I choose to jump in and
participate. Father, I crave your blessing!<br />
</span></div>
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Returning home from from Africa in the summer of 2013, my heart was heavy with
awareness and conviction, my body was exhausted from dust, stale air and
confinement of travel. I made a vow to stop shopping for myself. Not to stop
food or toiletries or regular necessities. But no more slave to fashion, no
more stuff! What American woman does not enjoy shopping, designing herself,
designing her home? In my head was dread and anticipation of unhappiness.
Knowing I had a closet bulging with enough clothing to last me the rest of my
life did not comfort the looming loss of "newness". Over a year has
passed and I have not found this new mindset to be difficult, really. Slowly
purging the hangars and drawers, throwing away, giving away, making new dust
rags has been an act of freedom - ongoing, still not finished. Here's the list
of clothing bought for my self in this time: Walmart package of socks - ran out
while traveling before access to laundry (I guess I could have hand washed?), 2
t shirts that were purchased to support charities - high school PALS for Water
is Basic, Pink for Kris for a friend fighting breast cancer, bathing suit
bottom - because mine from last year was lost? Found it at the end of summer
boat season when I pulled out a suitcase and unzipped a pocket that had not
seen the world in a year. That's it! Now using a Dillard's gift card doesn't count, right? Maybe that sounds like a confession to
cheating but to me, improvement!<br />
</span></div>
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Hosting two African guests at our church in the Spring, I was blessed to serve
them several meals, guide them on school/community visits, provide social time
at my house for a tea. Their words soaked into my soul as they spoke at our
women's Thursday Bible study, prayed a blessing on our home and gave sermons in
the Sunday worship services. Observations on the excesses of American culture
that they passed on: 1. We have too much stuff! Our homes, garages, storage
sheds and attics are overflowing and some of us even rent extra storage space
at places away from our houses. Our refrigerators and pantries are super
stocked so that we need to throw away what went unused. 2. We spend a lot of
money on our dogs. Paying top dollar for their grooming and health care was
shocking to a culture that considers household dogs only in the role of
protection. We carelessly waste. I have become aware. I am trying to change.
Something happens almost everyday to return my thoughts to Kenya. A seed of
change was planted there. That seed is growing.<br />
<br />
Checking out Oprah's book, I was hoping to find something concrete to support
my vision of a simplified life. She had some sweet ideas about taking care of
your self and keeping lofty perspectives but what I know for sure from reading
her essays is this: Oprah is ri-i-i-ich! (Said in the disrespectful voice of
the comedian Ron White.) Personal hardships brought her to the wisdom she
shares today, but it all filters through the lifestyle of the rich and famous,
not too much universal truth for all to ponder. Thanks Oprah but it seems I was
looking in the wrong book for deep messages.<br />
<br />
The Today show trailer kept me tuned in for an extra five minutes yesterday
touting a woman who gave up shopping for a year. I thought, oh yeah, we will
have something in common. Lol, so wrong! To curb her weakness for internet
shopping, she started painting things she coveted instead of buying them. Not
me.<br />
<br />
The Jen Hatmaker books have connected me to a somewhat kindred spirit. We both
attended Oklahoma Baptist University - her being maybe twenty years after me.
She is pursuing change through spiritual terms, a shared philosophy. I have
been rereading, note taking and using her work in quotes. One concept is that
work done in service should be "relationally focused". That is where
I feel at home. In peace. Content. Well with my soul.<br />
<br />
The plight of problems facing children in Sudan is the focus of Linda Sue
Parks' book and Ron Howard's film. Both inspire faith in God and humanity. Both
challenge to awareness and service. Please read, please watch!<br />
<br />
Ashley Randall is a darlin' Texas girl transplanted to California with her
husband, both seeking to fulfill their creative dreams. She is a former
student, now all grown up! She used to write a fashion blog with a focus on
vintage clothing. That has run it's course and she now is blogging about
photography, children and dogs. Memories of her creative clothing concoctions
remind that I still don't need new clothes. My old stuff (some vintage) can be
arranged in varying combinations and still look cool. Well, cool enough to
satisfy me.<br />
<br />
So I DO still enjoy shopping - for gifts! And it's becoming that season of
year.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-51331713249917750452014-07-20T10:34:00.001-07:002014-07-20T10:34:27.279-07:00Christmas Any Time of YearMagnet Quotes<br />
<br />
"i am still learning." - Michelangelo<br />
"It's not the
years in your life that count, it's the life in your years." - Abraham
Lincoln<br />
<br />
Trying to simplify surroundings and live uncluttered with less
stuff, we have slowly been cleaning out, throwing away, donating, discovering
forgotten items and reorganizing the remains. The refrigerator still displays
mementos from trips and sporting events, grandchildren pictures that bring a
smile every day, held in places by many mismatched magnets. Two magnet quotes
listed above came home with me from the classroom and still serve to remind me
of important quests. What am I learning, still? What kind of life is filling my
years?<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
A cousin's daughter entertains and encourages with her Facebook
posts. One of her encouragements was to commit random acts of kindness at
Christmastime and send her stories to go in Madison's memory stocking to be read
and shared. Some years ago she gave birth to a baby girl named Madison, a baby
who did not survive. Out of this sad event, she has been motivated to follow a
life of service in a career as a social worker. She recently graduated from
college and was accepted to graduate school to keep moving toward this
professional path. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to
His purpose. That verse does not diminish the pain of tragic events. We can all
acknowledge that bad stuff happens in this world. But, in time, we can see how
God works in connected events to bring us out of problems to a place of
goodness.<br />
<br />
Christmas deadline was not met, but here is my story for
Madison's stocking.<br />
<br />
There is an older lady I met at church. One of my
first duties as a Stephens Minister was to wait up front at the altar at the end
of a Sunday service for those coming forward with questions and prayer requests.
This lady came to me one Sunday and we prayed for her friend's son who was being
deployed to Afghanistan. Her look was a little disheveled and unkempt but she
seemed to have a kind heart. At many events that required volunteers, I saw her
there: packing lunches to feed kids during the summer, packing boxes of treats
for soldiers and college kids, teaching crafts in Vacation Bible School, prayer
services, Bible Studies. During these encounters I found out that she was a
former teacher of Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD where I grew up going to school.
I learned that she lives alone in a small apartment near the church and walks
everywhere instead of driving. I learned that she works the night shift stocking
shelves at Walmart. I wondered what happened in her life to bring her to her
current state of looking like a homeless person? How were our lives so
different?<br />
<br />
Vision of her as a changed person kept creeping into my mind.
For Madison's memory stocking, I wanted to take her to a beauty shop and get her
hair styled. On the other hand, I didn't want to offend her by suggesting that
she might need to improve her appearance. Nearing Christmas I had prayed that if
God really wanted me to do the make over offer that I would cross paths with her
at church that day. Not seeing her before, during or after the main service
where she usually attends, I thought, "OK, God, cross that off the list." Just
as I was about to walk out the door to the parking lot a door to a storage room
opened and there she was standing right in front of me. "OK, God, we're back on
this!" I stammered my offer and her eyes were shining as she grasped my hands
and said yes, she would love to go get a new hairdo. She doesn't have a phone
but she gave me her address and we agreed to meet the next Tuesday for an outing
to a nearby salon.<br />
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<br />
<br />
No answer to my many knocks on her door at our planned
time. As I was writing a note to leave on her door, a neighbor came out to tell
me he had not seen her in a few days and he seemed to know her regular schedule.
This news worried me but the neighbor turned out to be the father of a good
friend so I asked him to call his son and let him know if she showed up safely.
We got a call that night to tell that her daughter who lives in a different town
had come unexpectedly to take her for a visit. The hair stylist who had given me
the appointment is also a friend. She understood the situation and agreed to be
on call the same time for the next few weeks whenever I could meet her and bring
her in to the shop. It takes a village!<br />
<br />
It was January before we made our
Christmas outing to the beauty salon. My friend, the stylist, took such tender
care in shampooing and talking to her about her preferred style. She made her
thin silvery strands look soft and pretty; she dipped the weathered hands in the
paraffin bath and gently folded them in the plastic cover, pealing them back to
reveal skin that was thin and soft. We learned that it had been necessary for
her to leave the teaching profession earlier than anticipated as she had
suffered a brain aneurysm in her early 40's. We learned she had grown up in the
Valley and had moved to Fort Worth after high school to attend Texas Wesleyan
College. We learned her husband lives in a care facility in a different town. We
learned that her daughter also had a rare brain trauma as a girl and
participated in studies by top doctors in Houston. We listened to many stories
while the scissors and blow dryers provided background noise. The soundtrack to
a life.<br />
<br />
I still see this lady at various church gatherings. I have
stopped by her apartment to visit and driven her home in bad weather. I have
taken her food in covered containers, extras from our home plenty and leftovers
from church event meals. Her hair has gone back to its previous limp style. She
must share my same challenge of being unable to recreate the salon look with my
own brush at home. When she opens the door of her apartment, used plastic
bottles and shreds of old newspapers drift out the door, but a smile that
reveals a sweet spirit spreads across an aging face and there is
light.<br />
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<br />
<br />
God sent me to get a woman a haircut. He intended for me to be her
friend.<br />
<br />
Lesson learned. Life in the years.<br />
<br />
Psalm 117:2 For his
lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of The Lord is everlasting.
Praise be to God.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-77064791668667541652013-08-16T12:25:00.001-07:002013-08-16T12:25:34.600-07:00Kenya Journal, Last Days, Animals<br />Appreciation is due to the many friends and well wishers who told me to have
fun on this trip. I love you and I'm grateful for your kind thoughts, but fun
was not my purpose. As I mentioned in my first journal entry, I felt that I was
going on a spiritual journey. My prayer was for Him to show me what he wanted me
to see and teach me what he wanted me to learn. Well, I would say that surely
happened beyond my expectations!<br /><br />The Bible school lessons are done, the
school and church visits have concluded, food and many other items have been
left behind in donations. There is still much needed in the world and it is up
to every one of us to follow whatever we are called to do to make it
better.<br />
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Spending a full day from morning til mid afternoon at Sweetwaters
Game Park was great fun! It's a 90,000 acre reserve for some of the remaining
wild animals of Africa to live in their natural habitat. The top of the vans we
had travelled in to remote areas all week now popped their tops up for us to
stand for great close up views! We saw all kinds of gazelles, antelope, élan,
water buffalo, elephants, cheetahs, lions, dik dik, wart hogs, chimpanzees, a
rhino and lots of zebras! Oh my! One of the lions was a young male just starting
to grow his beard and mane; he came right up to the back of our van and boldly,
proudly walked past. The other two lions were female and we saw them slowly
approach a herd of zebras, antelope and gazelles. The herd immediately went on
high alert and established a large antelope guard at one side and a zebra on the
other end of their grazing area, amazing to watch! After scouting all the wild
life, we had the best meal of the whole trip, an African/Western buffet with
French desserts served in their tented restaurant and they had western
bathrooms! What a treat!<br /><br />Driving back to Nairobi in intermittent showers,
we came upon a long line of traffic stopped on a two lane road. Someone up ahead
had some sort of accident and no one was moving. Sammy , our faithful driver,
knew the urgency of the time schedule for our evening meal and then airport
departure. He was not about to fail on his duties so he decided to detour on a
side road to move ahead of the wreck. Ahead of us on this same dirt/ mud road
detour was a bread delivery truck. The truck did not make it up a very steep
hill & was backing up when Sammy chose to make a pass around it. We were
just past the truck when a back wheel slid off the road and into the ditch,
smoking the brakes as he tried to drive out of the hole. Despite his best
efforts, we became embedded deeper in mud. A lot of people along this route
showed up to offer advice and assistance and Sammy told all the men to get out
and help and the 3 women to stay in the van. They brought on rocks and branches
to pack the mud under the wheel and physically rocked and pushed the vehicle
back into position. You've heard, it takes a village! Since Sammy had jumped
back in to drive while the man were pushing he had to keep gunning past the
crest of the hill to be sure not to slip backwards; our men had a ways to walk
to catch up to us. Always an adventure here! We were on time for our dinner
reservation and our flight thanks to Sammy, the villagers and God's providence.
<br /><br />We're now on the last leg of our journey home, (day 12) flying on
British Air from London to Dfw. The flight monitor on the seat shows us to be
just entering the skies over Newfoundland, Canada. Almost home...<br /><br />People
may assume that those in extreme poverty have nothing to give. Everything I saw
in this journey testifies against that notion. We gave time, financial support,
food, supplies and listening ears. They gave love, gratitude and blessing upon
blessing til it overflowed. What do you think was the best part?<br /><br />Matthew
5:3-12 The Beatitudes<br /><br />Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-51013708402534223252013-08-14T13:17:00.001-07:002013-08-14T13:20:48.842-07:00Kenya Journal, Day 10, Masai villagesDay 10, Masai<br />
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Driving up over a bumpy ridge, we saw people in the
distance brightly clothed huddled under a tree. This was a group of locals from
the Masai tribe gathered to greet us and this was their church, the tree. Our
entourage was 2 vans of the mission team, a pickup carrying the bishop and
others from her office loaded with donations and a motorcycle ridden by 3
evangelists. Along the way we saw families of elephants, baboons and a giraffe,
wild kingdom roadside! Also, en route the motorcycle blew a tire so they piled
it on top of the 200# bags of maize and beans and the giant p/a system in the
bed of the truck. The 3 men climbed in the back and held on for dear life.
Travel continued Kenya style!<br />
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When we got closer the singing became
audible and upon stepping out of the van, the women clasped our hands and
dance-walked us to our seats ( benches made out of split logs) under the tree.
Not much shade was provided by the branches and we basked in the sun's
equatorial brilliance and in the congregation's warm welcome. The children
always manage to squirm their way through the throng to touch us, the muzungas (
white people ).<br />
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Greetings, speeches, prayers, introductions and gift
presentations followed. The Masai women are very talented in beadwork, wearing
elaborate circular necklaces and ornate earrings and bracelets. They brought
their handiwork to display on cloth on the ground so we then visited
individually and some of us shopped. I preferred to buy items like this where
the money goes directly to the families of the creators and you know they need
the income.<br />
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Intrigued with the babies, I spent some time chatting with a girl
named Joyce and her little brother, Bada. It's amazing how the women carry so
much on their backs, shoulders, heads. Bishop Catherine taught me how to tie up
a women's bundle on my back with a scarf so I'm going to try it with Keller and
Sadie. Keller has grown so much, so that one might be a challenge!<br />
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Our
next stop was another Masai village that had built an enclosed structure for
their church consisting of wooden poles , dirt floor, metal roof and walls made
of chicken wire. The room was filled with people singing and dancing their
welcome greetings. Masai people have their own unique moves; I could follow with
my hand claps and feet stomps but no way could I mimic their head bounces mixed
with chin juts and occasional rhythmic jumps! A little girl snuggled in next to
me here on the bench seating. While ceremonies were going on inside I noticed a
tribesman standing outside watching, adorned in his native menswear of skirt,
shawl, wooden club and stick or spear. When all the talk concluded I went
outside to speak to him, surprised that he conversed so eloquently in English!
His name is Samuel and he finished schooling through form 4(senior year of high
school). Distressed that he could not find employment he asked for our prayers
that he would find a good job and be able to better provide for his family.
Currently he is living on his family's land and helping with herding the
livestock. (The Masai region is too dry and rocky/arid, like some parts of west
Texas, to successfully grow crops so they subsist on raising cattle, goats and
sheep). This day he had left the herd to others to come and volunteer as
watchman at the church gathering. In this area they have had trouble with bands
of elephants tearing up their buildings so he was standing guard for us. Before
leaving Samuel brought his 2 young sons out of the crowd to meet me, Baron &
Professor. Hopeful names, don't you think?<br />
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Last stop on our schedule was
in Dol Dol, a Masai village whose church group used half of a tattered meeting
hall. The church in the town of Nyanuki had "adopted" these villages as their
own mission territory to support. Today they were donating their old sound
system to the Dol Dol mission. The reason was that on Sundays, the other half of
the hall was used by a different church group who had a speaker system and it
made it difficult for them to hear their own worship service. Ok, can you
imagine the battle of the microphones that will be going on in that village next
weekend? The rooms are about half the size of a typical US school classroom and
their walls are paper thin. Our church also left them maize and
beans.<br />
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<br />
Asking us to stay longer than scheduled for a "brief" meeting,
their church chairman presented to us a formal document proposing all the goals
that their little congregation wanted to accomplish. His presentation was
fervent, researched, detailed and compelling as they had hopes to set up a
preschool program for the youngest children, a regional medical clinic to
address widespread health issues and a skills training program for teenage
girls. He was very concerned about the genital mutilation that was an ancient
practice still going on in his community, the girls being turned out of their
homes where families could no longer afford to feed and care for them and the
increasing amount of prostitution among these girls who found business from the
military base in proximity. The problems are so big, but God does have a way of
accomplishing miracles through his people!<br />
I wonder what will happen
here?<br />
<br />
After this full day we drove through rain on slick mud roads back
to Nyanuki to check into our last hotel for a one night stay. It was late and we
were tired and frustrated that some of our group had to change rooms 3 times
before they found ones with working toilets. A minor detail considering all we
had seen today. Eventually all was resolved as we loved the hot showers and the
deep sleep.<br />
<br />
Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-66035070014027813062013-08-13T13:00:00.000-07:002013-08-13T13:00:11.648-07:00Kenya Journal, 9th day, Sunday Worship Like nothing I'd ever experienced:Day 9, Exorcism<br />
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<br />Today is Sunday and our team split up into groups of 2-3
people to attend different churches in the area. Pastor Ryan and his friend
Matt, an artist who sells his creations on South Congress in Austin, were
invited to be guest preachers at the host churches. They actually offered for
any of us to preach who so desired and I passed on that; so did the rest of the
group. Teaching high school age and lower are the limits of my public speaking
willingness.<br /><br />I have often mentioned Jenifer in my posts and there are
actually two Kenyan ladies with that name who have been active in our visit. One
is the director of the Aids Orphans/street children ministries & the other
is a church volunteer, the newly elected county commissioner. This is the one
who took me & Trudy ( our church business administrator ) to worship as
guests at her "home" church. She lives in town but does not attend at the one
nearest in her neighborhood ; we went to the MCK ( Methodist Church of Kenya) in
Kenjaibi, a rural area outside of town down a dirt road. This is where she owns
a farm that she inherited from her husband who had passed away. She explained
that it is difficult for women here to remarry because if they did, the
inheritance no longer belongs to them.<br />
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<br /><br />We received a warm welcome and
were seated on the front row in plastic lawn chairs. The services were in
Swahili so Jenifer sat next to me and another lady from the congregation was
assigned to Trudy, acting as interpreters. When the building filled with people
and the service began it was around 11am. They had Bible readings from Psalms
and Romans, recited the Lord's Prayer and the apostles creed - all familiar to
me, just spoken in a different language, sang hymns and lots of them. One had a
repeated chorus & I was able to join in on that repeated part, "Atwendaga" -
means He loves us. Next they invited members to come forward and speak their
testimony or perform to praise God. A group of women went first with a song and
dance that was similar to our line dancing. Then another group of women
performed, then men, then teenage girls, then individuals - this went on for a
very, very, very long time; during this time a piano player showed up &
plugged in their electric keyboard. Then he joined in on what had previously
been acapella songs. His accompaniment was Horrible! He played in a different
key from the singers and turned on a rhythm for what sounded maybe like Salsa
music? Oh my, that was tough on my senses. One of the performers was a young
girl of about 10 who spoke about being in the hospital and seemed quite
emotional & she sang a shy solo, without the piano man, thank
goodness!<br /><br />Differing quite greatly from American churches, the offertory
was the next event of the service. We all walked forward to put our money in a
locked box at the front of the church and some people brought goods from their
farms instead of cash and laid it on the floor - a plastic bottle of fresh milk,
a jug of cooking oil, ears of corn, bags of bananas and spinach and a chicken.
They said a prayer of blessing and then the auction began, people bidding on the
farm goods & cash from the winning bids going into the offering box. Jenifer
won the bidding for the spinach. I about jumped out of my skin when they picked
up the chicken and it started squawking since I thought it was already dead when
it was brought forward to donate. This part of church was really fun to
watch!<br /><br />There were 2 traveling evangelists leading the service; one was a
woman named Noreen who prayed long, intense, fervent prayers and the other a man
( I don't remember his name) who preached a sermon using the story of Jacob
wrestling with the angel and working many years to earn his wives, Leah &
Rachel. His main topic was, What distracts us from God. He was very passionate
and animated in his presentation and seemed to really connect with his audience
as they laughed and amened a lot during his sermon. He often repeated that the
love of God overcomes all things.<br /><br />Nearing the end with more songs and
prayers, the speaker called for anyone who wanted special prayers to come
forward and one person did. It was the little girl who had performed earlier. He
put his hand on her head and prayed with Noreen standing next to her. The little
girl fainted and started to fall but Noreen caught her and gently laid her on
the concrete floor. Then I witnessed the strangest thing, her body was lying
flat but the center of her chest was rising up, not a seizure but something
strange! Then Noreen and the preacher started praying and shouting and gesturing
from the girl and away from her. I heard, get out, get out! My heart started
pounding and my hands started sweating for fear of the devil appearing at any
moment! I know this sounds crazy, but I knew they were casting out demons and I
did not want any demons anywhere near me! I was praying inside my head to Jesus
for protection and I was terrified! About 20 people came up from the
congregation and circled around the girl where we could no longer see her and
Jenifer standing next me was crying. Finally it ended and they brought the girl
over to the side and sat her in a chair. She was looking at us with big round
eyes as if nothing had happened? Holy mother, I had never experienced anything
like that before but I'm pretty sure I had just watched an exorcism!<br /><br />We
immediately asked Jenifer about what had happened and she responded vaguely that
she was really worried about the girl and needed to check into the situation.
Ushered into a back room of the church we were served the African meal. It was 4
in the afternoon and we were already a half hour late to leave to visit a family
for afternoon tea but we had to eat so as not to offend our hosts. Whew, a 5
hour church service is Not my cup of tea and my heart was still pounding from
fear from the exorcism.<br /><br />When we were finally dropped off at the hotel,
Trudy and I were dying to talk about all the strangeness but also dying to go to
the bathroom so we ran for the nearest one in the lobby. The bathroom had 2
closeted rooms instead of stalls and when I closed the door to mine I noticed no
doorknob & somehow I was locked in, more drama! I couldn't climb through the
upper windows because of bars on them but one was partially open for ventilation
. I climbed up on the toilet and stuck my hand out the window yelling out for
help. My team mates were waiting for us in the lobby and came to shake my hand
& take pictures of the predicament. Thankfully, they also got a hotel worker
who came with a screwdriver to pry open the locked door.<br />
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<br /><br />We enjoyed tea
with the family who had an adorable baby daughter, Tessie. And then we had
dinner with Bishop Catherine, a bbq arranged in the hotel courtyard with my
favorite, a fire pit! The next morning Trudy & I talked through our church
experience with our Grapevine group and with Pastor Ryan. I think my blood
pressure has now calmed down.<br />
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<br />Thanks, Hal, for praying for our spiritual
protection! Now, I know I needed it.<br /><br />One of the scripture verses read
from Psalms in the sermon was this: Psalm 121:7 The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-56988195728603985122013-08-12T14:07:00.001-07:002013-08-13T13:06:49.308-07:00Kenya Journal, Day 8, CelebrationsDay 8, AIDS Orphans Day<br />
<br />
Ah, thank you Lord! Finally a day of celebrations
rather than heartbreak! For the past 6 years Darrell & I have been
supporters of the program at our church that commits to the welfare of children
in Kenya who have lost their parents to AIDS. We are paired with one child for
which $20 per month goes to their needs, particularly for schooling. They have
appointed guardians that might be a grandparent or other family member or a
volunteer from the Kenyan churches. Our girl's name is Linda Wangui and when we
were first matched in sponsorship she was in 6th grade. When the church sends
mission teams once or twice per year, we would exchange letters. In my letters
to her, I would tell about our family, travels, church, activities. In her
letters to me, she would mention school, her grandmother, trying to grow crops,
blessings and thankfulness. When I was still teaching school, I shared her
letters with my classes to help them increase in awareness of a different world.
I thought I was aware of struggles in the world. After this week of immersion in
African culture, I know my previous understanding of children in poverty was
just a tiny drop when the reality is a churning ocean.<br />
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Children travelled
in from villages near and far along with guardians and health/welfare workers in
the program. We attended a "brief meeting" with church officials and program
directors and could hear the attendees starting to sing as they filled in the
outdoor seating area. We were ushered in to sit in a large gazebo type
structure. All the various age groups performed songs and the health care
workers pulled us in for more celebration dancing. During all the speeches, I
was scanning the crowd, trying to recognize Linda from the previous photos we
had received with her letters. When we were sent out to visit with people in the
crowd, she found me! "Are you Susan, my sponsor?" We had hugs and tears and some
catching up to do! She is now in form 3 of high school (junior year) and aspires
to study Journalism in college. Taking me to meet her grandmother, I was so
surprised to see who it was because I already knew Florence from the activities
of this week! Florence is not her real grandmother (with whom she used to live)
but Isaac 's wife who had hosted our group for dinner at their beautiful farm!
Isaac later gave me a few details of problems that came up with life at her
grandmother's house that caused he & Florence to take her in to live at
their home. She had helped Florence prepare our dinner but had stayed in the
back yard & back room so I had not seen her that night. I am so happy to
know that she is living with such a wonderful family who will help keep her
focused in the right direction and are providing such a safe, beautiful
environment In which to live! She gave me a beaded Kenya bracelet and I brought
her some small gifts in her letter. What a wonderful meeting, wonderful
day!<br />
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Jenifer, the director of the programs for orphans & street
children, called us all back to order and divided the hundreds of guests into
smaller groups. Then she sent us all out to meet with a group. I volunteered for
secondary so I could be with Linda again. Jennifer asked me to do my Bible
school lesson with them, so I mentally modified the plan that I still had
stuffed in my backpack ( that used to be pink) for the age group and time frame.
I truly enjoyed teaching attentive, respectful, smiling, appreciative
faces!<br />
<br />
Then we presented each child with a gift bag, t shirt, letter from
their sponsor and we took pictures of each one to bring home for their sponsors.
After the traditional African meal of stew, bread and fruit, we said our
goodbyes. I left Linda with confidence for her future, a good
feeling!<br />
<br />
Attending the Methodist men's fellowship was our next event of
the day. They were having a day of recreational competitions among many churches
in the area and we arrived in time to see the folk dance "off". Men were dressed
in tribal costumes, sang & danced to their ancient songs but changed the
words to make them fit the category of Christian lyrics. After that was tug of
war, very entertaining! Some of the men sitting near me asked about mens
recreational opportunities at our church, "Did they do similar dances and
competitions?" I laughed and told them no events like theirs but they do have
softball league teams and play in golf tournaments. Because of dinner plans at
Bishop Catherine's house, our group left before all the final rounds had
concluded. Since Bishop Catherine was the VIP, head honcho at this event, the
crowds parted to let her through the vast mass of spectators and we followed as
her honored guests. Darrell, it reminded me of following the bishop through the
crowd at Freda's ordination into priesthood at that cathedral in
Dallas.<br />
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Reflecting back over people and places in this day, it was all
good!<br />
<br />
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due
season we shall reap, if we faint not.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-50962214749802453312013-08-10T09:01:00.000-07:002013-08-10T09:01:08.193-07:00Day 7, The hardest so far...Day 7, Street Children<br /><br />The long running TV show, 60 Minutes, once aired a
feature story presented by Mike Wallace about street children in Africa. They
sniffed glue to give them comfort in their world that seemed hopeless. At the
time, my boys were around the ages of the boys in the show and I thought "how
sad that is" and " how fortunate we are" but "what are you going to do?" And I
went on with my life.<br /><br />When Pastor John returned from his first mission
trip to Kenya, he had noticed the street children in Meru. Mentioning his
concern for these kids in one of his Sunday sermons brought back my memories of
that TV segment viewed so long ago... And John's question resonated in my soul,
"what are we going to do?"<br /><br />Today we visited the street children, first in
their own neighborhood which is an alleyway and a trash heap (heartbreaking, gut
wrenching to experience). No human should have to live like that, especially
children! To be sure it was safe, Jenifer & Lawrence, two workers for the
Kenya Methodist group had gone there in the morning to scope out the situation
while we were touring the Methodist children's home and the School for the Deaf
. ( Plaques on the walls of buildings at this home showed it had been built
mostly by foundations and individuals from the Denver/Colorado Springs area.)
They told the kids we wanted to visit and reported back that most were sober and
willing to have us come into their territory. They also told us to not carry any
cash or valuables with us and designate only one person to have a
camera.<br />
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When our group entered their alleyway accompanied by four of the
local church officials, a large group of boys were gathered next to a wall and
they started singing to us, "Welcome visitors, welcome visitors!" Most were
shabbily dressed but some were in school uniforms; most were coherent and
conversational but some were obviously high from sniffing glue. They didn't have
it out while we were there but discarded bottles littered the ground everywhere.
Two of the men stayed with the women and we went to meet a family who lived in a
shack along that alleyway. The Kenya church group had helped the younger son in
this family get clean and get back in school. We met him earlier in the week at
the Thura high school where he is now a boarding student in Form 1(freshman
year); his name is Hillary. His family living in the shack was a grandmother,
brother and mentally disabled father.<br />
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<br /><br />While we were visiting with
Hillary's grandmother, the remaining men went to see the boys "in seclusion".
The Kenyans explained that this is an ancient tribal custom that has survived in
their culture. As a rite of passage into manhood, circumcision is performed
around the age of 12-13and they withdraw from public for 3 weeks to recover and
learn about manhood. Women are forbidden to see them during this time. Reporting
to us later, the men in our group said they saw naked boys lying on dirty
blankets in a corner of the trash heap ( they had found someone to come back
there to do the circumcision , a doctor maybe?)and they were planning to stay
there the required time. Our men thought the learning part was not as intended;
they were disturbed at what they witnessed and the unsanitary conditions. The
boy who seemed to be regarded as the leader of this strange "family" told them
that after seclusion the boys were encouraged to change their ways, grow up,
stop the glue and work on getting back in school and better themselves. This
boy, the leader, Silas, was dressed in a school uniform for the Polytechnic
school. He and several others from the street had managed with help of a new
church program to get back in school. He told us he started using glue because
it gave him comfort when he had no one to care for him after his parents and
grandmother had died. He is clean now, going to school and credits Jesus for his
life change; he actually seems like a good role model for the crew he
leads.<br />
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Silas is in blue shirt and tie, his school uniform.</div>
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<br /><br />Bishop Catherine, who is in charge of all the Methodist churches
and programs in the region we are visiting, walked next to me on the way back to
the vans ( we passed a teenage boy who was high on glue; he had the bottle glued
to his upper lip hanging under his nose) and she told me a touching story. She
said local people all knew about the street kids and they avoided them, feared
them, but when our Pastor John had insisted "we need to DO something" she knew
she had to be the one to try first since she lived here and carried her
responsibilities to God and to her community, so one day she walked back there
by herself. She said her hands were shaking because she was scared but she found
one of the younger boys to speak to first. She introduced herself and found out
his name was Derrick. He wanted her to buy him a cup of tea so she said yes and
he told a few more boys standing around nearby to come with them. Soon after
entering a nearby hotel and ordering tea and donuts, more & more of these
boys showed up from the alley. She got scared of the increasing numbers flowing
in so she decided to make a quick exit, telling the owner to give them all tea
& donuts and call her with the bill amount. When she went back to pay the
next day, she also re-entered the alley to pay a visit. The boys all came out
ready to talk to her; she became their friend by serving them a treat. This tore
down a barrier and a new ministry to street children began.<br />
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Derrick is in the brown shirt.</div>
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<br /><br />Now in charge
of the programs for Aids Orphans and Street Children, Jenifer has worked to
assess needs and learn backgrounds of these kids. She has already helped several
get back in school, rent rooms to live in and organized a twice weekly feeding
program that is funded by our church, with space and cooks provided by a local
church called All Saints. The Kenya local church officials are also in the
beginning stages of a plan to bring in some of these boys to the seclusion
ceremonies organized by the church. This takes place for 3 weeks at a school
campus during December while the schools are on holiday break, in clean
conditions under supervision of a medical doctor. During this time, men of the
church give lessons on responsibility, goals, attitudes, faith in God,
relationships, etc. It is also thought that this would be a good time for them
to give up the glue habit. But then, they don't want them to return to the
streets so they are reorganizing the current Methodist children's home to be a
transition place for these kids to live. We sat in on these discussions at the
committee meeting for this program.<br /><br />After visiting in their home turf, we
all left to go to the feeding program at All Saints. Sammy & Nicholas drove
us in the vans and the children walked ( like 99% of Kenyans) and met us there.
Before lunch we all met together in a church hall where Bishop Catherine and
Jenifer spoke and then some of the kids performed: reciting poetry, singing
songs and one did a comedy routine. We didn't understand because he was speaking
Swahili but the others were cracking up at his presentation. Jenifer later
explained that he was doing a parody of the local news. All the kids were
attentive and calm. Some fell asleep in their chairs; some spoke of their faith
in God and their pleas for his help.<br />
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Rap poetry performance.</div>
<br /><br />During their lunch of rice and bean
stew we visited with them outside. I talked to two girls, Carolyn & Agnes,
who boarded at the Polytechnic school during the week and came to the streets
when it closed on weekends and holidays. They were studying to become
seamstresses. There was a pregnant girl name Veronica & her boyfriend Titus.
There was a baby named Dennis and two young children who pretended to be his
parents, Paul and Nancy, and many, many more. In my conversation with Derrick,
the one who had first asked Catherine for a cup of tea, I asked his age (10) and
how long he had been living in the alley ( a long time but he did not know
exactly) and his earliest memory (going to church with his family). Before
leaving we gave gifts of t shirts, knitted hats, toothbrushes, plastic
bracelets; pens, pencils and spiral note pads went to the 14 who were enrolled
in school; soccer balls went to All Saints church to use as recreation on their
meal days, Mondays and Wednesdays. Trudy plans to urge our church committee back
home to add more feeding days to this program from our support. Knowing her, I
think it will get done.<br />
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<br /><br />So the good news is, that in the horror of a
hopeless situation God's light is starting to shine. "What are we going to do?"
We all do our small part.<br />
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<br /><br />Matthew 25:35-36, 40. For I was hungry and you
gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I
was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was
sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me...The
King will reply , " I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least
of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."<br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-21302672742644029632013-08-09T12:52:00.001-07:002013-08-09T12:52:28.449-07:00Kenya Journal, Day 6 Drought RegionDay 6, Faith in the Midst of Sadness<br /><br />Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing
that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning
were the sixth day.<br /><br />Throughout this week I have seen a lot of the very
good things that God has made: the earth, the sky, the varied terrain, the
plants and animals and the people. On our 6th day we packed in a lot of
activities so here we go: shopped again at Nakamatt for supplies, along the way
to Ntumburi we gave out balls & trinkets to children walking along the
highway on their way to school (delighted reactions!), slowed to watch baboons
eating their breakfast on the roadside, stopped at Mugae to check on the school
- conditions there were very bleak, the school had run out of food so many
children were not showing up, severe drought conditions, teachers were giving
deworming pills to the few kids who were there because most of the water they
have to drink is contaminated, the next school was expecting us at a certain
time & we needed to move on but we could not leave them hungry so the 2 vans
split up with the Salado people going to the nearest store to buy supplies for
them & meeting up with the rest of us later. I gave them 3000 shillings to
contribute to the food shopping; that ended up paying for a 200# bag of rice. We
didn't feel comfortable just giving $ to the principal because the Salado church
had sent them money each quarter for food & apparently it went to other
things so purchasing & delivering food ourselves seemed the best immediate
solution. The principal was asking us to buy them Boy Scout uniforms and I am
thinking, "WHATTT?" So one purpose of this trip is to assess progress and
correct application of our donations and be sure that funds are funneled through
the right people to meet the needs. Kenya has a big problem with stealing, but I
guess with so many needy people some get desperate.<br />
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<br /><br />Ntumburi
school/church compound opened their orange painted metal gates for our expected
visit & before we could start our planned Bible school rotations we follow
their protocol of greetings & introductions, morning tea with discussions of
our plans, campus tour, classroom visits and finally we begin. I taught the
Bible lesson on my own for the 7th & 8th grade groups & they were sharp
participants! The Salado group rejoined us after lunch so Scarlett was there
once again to co teach with me for the 6th graders. After the assembly (with
kids singing for us again!) we toured the unfinished dining hall and the now
completed church building that was partially funded by First Methodist
Grapevine. Many adult members had come to the sanctuary to greet us and that
turned into an amazing celebration! These adults did not speak English so we had
an interpreter, but you did not need an interpreter to explain joy, gratitude
and brotherhood of man (and woman). The words to their native songs translated
to mean they were pouring out a blessing on us more, more and more. They kept
singing and all came to us and pulled us out to dance. My dance partner was
Gladys, the church chairman, and she had enough rhythm to make up for my white
woman moves. Someone has a video?<br />
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<br /><br />Hospitality for the evening was
provided by Jenifer, a lay person in the church who is Bishop Catherine's close
friend. A lovely house in a gated compound, her concrete fence had broken glass
meshed into the top ( art & security). We were once again served the
traditional African meal of rice, stew with meat, beans & carrots, fruit,
bread. Entertaining us with many stories from her years of farming and
organizing women's coop groups, she also revealed that she is the newly elected
county commissioner to begin her official term next Tuesday. That's the day we
start the flights for destination, home.<br />
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<br /><br />Day is done, long gone the sun!
Extreme highs and lows carried us through this day, and God's
grace.<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-70633164167075375302013-08-07T14:52:00.001-07:002013-08-07T14:52:35.677-07:00TeachingDay 5, Teaching Bible school<br /><br />Invited to stop by & visit at the
Methodist Retreat Center, we sat in on a session of the first regional pastors'
conference which had been funded in part by our church. The man speaking at the
time was particularly proud to be the second oldest, most experienced pastor in
the region at 81 years old. He said that he and #1 joked about who was going to
make it to heaven first. His topic was about learning from each other,
especially from our elders, (a concept almost lost in American culture).
Throughout my life in the work world, it was always helpful to have a mentor in
my place of employment to listen, question, advise, introduce, suggest and
support. In our spiritual journeys, I believe God provides us with guides along
the way to help us grow in faith. I think he calls on all of us to also be a
guide, what some church people might call being a witness or being a
disciple.<br />
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<br /><br />After a short visit with this group of men and women, we went
outside to admire the beautiful grounds that included papaya trees, brilliant
flowers and an eye-catching cactus type tree called candelabra euphobia. Vans
were then loaded and our trusty drivers, Sammy & Nicholas took us to the
school at Kanondone. This location receives sponsorship from a church in Temple
Tx called Foundation Methodist Church of which their pastor Ryan and 2 of their
members, Matt and Kay Lenn, are along with us on this trip. Upon arrival we were
greeted by the principal, Florence, who led us to a classroom that they had
cleared and set up to serve us tea ( Kenyan people are very hospitable!) and
work out the schedule for the day that included us teaching Bible School with
some of the students. This was the schedule: whole school assembly (over 300
students PreK-8), students return to class for lessons while she gives us a tour
of dormitories and classrooms, lunch/recess, younger ones return to class while
we do Bible school with classes 7-8, then all students reassemble for final
greetings/blessings. The oldest students were chosen to participate with us
because they were better able to communicate in English.<br />
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<br /><br />My favorite
African school assemblies are the ones where the children sing, and so far that
includes all that I have attended! "World Music" live, their voices unify &
blend, solo & chorus, rhythms from clapping & tapping. After the
singing, a long time was taken with introductions and words from various church
officials so, like in America, the children began murmuring and fidgeting. They
were all crowded into the church with some standing. Like in America, the
principal dispatched the teachers to sit & stand among the students to quiet
their restlessness - it worked! <br /><br />Walking the campus grounds, we visited
first the new dormitory that funds from the Foundation church had built.
Compared to all others I had seen, this one was beautiful! Bright colors, glass
windows, good lighting, new blankets and mosquito nets, indoor bathrooms - next
door, in contrast was the old dorm which was now all used for boys, dark &
drafty, broken window panes, uneven floors, outdoor bathrooms. The new girls
dorm was already filled over capacity with more than one child sleeping on a
single sized bunk.<br />
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<br />The classrooms were typical bleak African style, but this
school had managed to still educate to a high standard. They had won awards for
having top scores in the region in the 7/8 exit exams and a good number of their
students had been accepted to a national high school. The younger age students
that I sat with read to me very well in English! <br />
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<br /><br />Our "tea" room became
now our lunchroom where we were treated to a delicious meal of rice, potatoes ,
bread, stew, salad and fruit. The students eat outside sitting on the ground and
their tin bowls were filled with rice and beans. This school wants a new
dormitory for the boys and a dining hall. God, please help here?<br /><br />Joining
the students outside for recess, they were playing rag ball games, jump rope
& tag but the little ones just wanted to hold hands (like 20 all at once)
and pat my hair. They asked why they had black hair and I had white hair? Well,
I didn't want to admit old age so I just said that's the way God made us, alike
but different.<br />
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<br /><br />Bible school began with songs and then we split 7 & 8
for rotating activities. Scarlett ( a lady from Houston associated with the
Salado church) and I became spur of the moment co teachers for the Bible lesson.
We had copies of a basic outline to follow using different colors to represent
topics, gold was heaven, black was sin, red was the blood of Jesus, white was
forgiveness & a clean heart, green was growth. This curriculum was brought
by the Foundation church & I read the plan on the way this morning in the
van. The colors used are also colors in the Kenyan flag. The lesson &
prayers were followed by a craft where they made bead bracelets with those
colors. I personally was not comfortable using black for "bad" and white for
"good" so I let Scarlett talk on those points while I presented heaven, Jesus
& growth. There wasn't enough time to discuss the curriculum before
presenting and to change the flip books of color that they had prepared as
visual models so I had to let that one go. I think we could do something to
modify this lesson to make it more appropriate for our audience, actually for
any audience. I did notice some of the 8th grade boys giving each other "the
look" when she said black represented sin. One of the boys said black
represented Africa. But overall, the lesson went well with plenty of student
participation. When I talked with Scarlett about this afterword she agreed that
the racial connotations didn't seem right and was receptive to changing. In a
conversation with young Pastor Ryan he assured me that Kenyans were not super
sensitive to race like in America and suggested if we wanted to change use words
and scriptures about light and darkness. Jesus is the light of the world (white)
and sin puts us in darkness (black). That worked just fine in the next lessons;
Scarlett and I felt better about using the right words.<br /><br />One more assembly
was gathered for gift presentations & blessings and our vans left through a
crowd waving goodbye. Just enough time at the hotel to brush off the dust &
we were off to the home of Isaac & Florence for dinner. He is a lay leader
in the local church and has travelled to visit in Grapevine. Lush living! Their
home is on a small farm a short distance in the Meru countryside. He guided us
through his barns of cattle, goats, rabbits, a compost system to enrich the soil
and his terraced gardens stretching down a steep hillside growing onions,
potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, cabbage, coffee and tea. Wow, what beauty,
efficiency and productivity! Florence had prepared a huge feast to serve a large
crowd and they arranged their living room to accommodate everyone perfectly,
again overflowing Kenyan hospitality! Isaac even wanted us to all leave the
hotel and come stay at their house.<br />
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<br /><br />Returning to home base, we spent time
packing items for our visits tomorrow & then went our separate ways. Tired,
but happy, ready for sleep, and then a new day.<br />
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<br /><br />Galatians 5:13 By love
serve one another.<br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-30687576674009308852013-08-06T15:41:00.001-07:002013-08-06T15:47:19.909-07:00School Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Day 4, Schools<br />
<br />
Today was a giant lesson in humility and compassion.
Amazing what is communicated through simple gestures:eye contact, a smile, a
wave, a handshake, a hug, a nod, thumbs up, prayer hands. A lot of information,
encouragement and emotion was transferred between people by words and by
non-verbal motions.<br />
<br />
Kambaru Primary School is hidden down a very dusty
side road surrounded by fields of dried up corn plants, dense trees and
underbrush. A bridge crosses a clean green river tumbling over rocks sided by
lush natural landscape. The river scene reminded me of the river boat ride at
Six Flags. The gates opened to a fenced compound where children were beginning
to cross from their dormitories to the classrooms and others were entering from
their own homes by walking some from distances that would be unreasonable to us-
the start of their school day. The director of the school was absent due to
taking a family member to the hospital so one of the lead teachers handled
introductions, opening assembly and tour guide responsibilities. The pastor of
the church which is also within the compound, Sister Mary, joined the group and
helped with our questions. Entertainment was provided by the whole student body
ages 3-16 who sang a song with motions. I could repeat this part for you: thumbs
up, knees bent, turn around...this was a children's praise song where Cathy ( a
lady from my church) and I kept hearing the words, Mickey Mantle. African
accented English is often hard to understand ( probably especially to Texans) so
I'm sure we heard wrong. Those of you who were church goers as children know
about mixing up words to hymns. Did you ever sing Bringing in the Sheets? That
would not make sense at all for an American child of today.<br />
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<br />
Envision your
stereotyped mental picture of an African school and now confirm to yourself that
it is real. Children do sit together 3-4 on a wooden bench and share books and
writing materials. Small wooden shanty type buildings house their small
classrooms which contain 1 black chalkboard and teacher made posters of
geometric shapes and other educational topics, low lighting, some dirt floors -
no color, no educational toys or models, no electronics/computers (are you
kidding?), no library books, no globes or maps. Learning takes place through
oral repetition & recitation, copying from the blackboard into paper
notebooks and with use of workbooks ( but every child does not have a workbook
remember?). This school had small classes for the youngest children in nursery
school (about 10 students) to a class of 25 in 8th grade. In spite of their
desolate surroundings, they were cheerful, respectful, helpful, inquisitive and
polite! <br />
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Nadia, the mathematics teacher for grades 7/8 bonded with me and
became my personal guide through the campus classrooms, dormitories, kitchen,
chicken coops and playground. She asked me to speak to her 8th grade math class
so I asked them how they used math in their life - stares but no verbal
responses. so I asked them if they only used math when their teacher told them to do it.
Some said yes & others laughed. I saw examples of proportions on the board
so I told them how people in our group had used proportions to do our currency
exchange from American dollars to Kenya shillings. They were preparing for
required national exams of all 8th graders to determine where and if they would
be accepted for continuing education in secondary school. During our visit, the
younger children were summoned out of their classrooms to sit on the ground and
eat their breakfast porridge which reminded me of "gruel" from productions of
Oliver. They were chowing down & not wasting a bite! The cooks were also
preparing the lunch meal cooking a stew in a huge pot over an open air fire in
the school yard.<br />
<br />
Nearing time to leave for the next scheduled school
visit, I asked Nadia what would help her most in trying to educate her students,
did she need any special books or supplies? What she wanted most was to take
them on a field trip to Mombasa where they could visit museums and see the
ocean. None of her students had ever been out in the bigger world away from
their village or homes in the countryside. She wanted them to see and experience
what they had only read about or been told of at school. Ok, God, please make
this happen! Tell me how?<br />
<br />
This morning visit was followed by tours of
three more schools. I thought I had seen all the possible sad conditions at
Kambaru, but no! Individuals, sites and events continued to add more to my heavy
heart at Thura, Kithare and Ncunguru. I can't pour out all the stories here just
now- save those for later. Ending our day of touring, Bishop William took us to
one of the churches in his synod to meet adults from all over the area who were
serving as caregivers to orphans, bringing them to live in there own homes. Many
of them took turns speaking about their hopes and dreams for the future,
thanking us & thanking God! We brought gifts for them to share with the
children that they keep - knitted hats, pencils, rubber bracelets, toothbrushes,
balls, toy cars and yarn dolls. Before leaving for home (our temporary home is
the Westwind Hotel in Meru) some of the ladies served us British/Kenya style
late afternoon tea - breads similar to sopapillas and naan with fruit,
watermelon & bananas. That revived us for the drive back. Passing through
the rutted roads in dimming twilight, I could not stop the tears from flowing
again. Looking out the window, I saw misty mountains in the distance with lush
foliage in the foreground and felt like I was in a scene from Lion King. Peace
surrounded me, God's peace.<br />
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These are street scenes looking out from the hotel parking lot in Meru:</div>
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And this was my room:</div>
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<br />
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-47003507361660744732013-08-04T17:26:00.000-07:002013-08-04T17:26:28.355-07:00Kenya Journal, the 3rd Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day 3, travel from Nairobi to Meru<br /><br />A plan comes together at breakfast
(this story goes back a few months): attending to the hospitality sign up table
for the GCISD retired educators group, I spotted a friend, a former coworker
that I had not seen in about 10 years. "Suzanne good to see you! Fill me in on
where you've been and what's been going on in your life?" She reported that she
had been working the past year at a Christian boarding school in Kenya called
Rift Valley Academy. That immediately increased my interest because I was signed
up to go on our church mission trip to Kenya and I had heard of a new book by
Steve Peifer written about his experiences at this school. (A Dream So Big). We
were leaving the meeting and headed our separate ways but agreed to meet soon
for lunch; she wanted me to take items to her friend, who had worked as her
housekeeper while she lived in teacher housing at RVA. I said yes but i did not
know if I could work it out. Kenya is a large enough country that I knew little
about.<br /><br />An email from Suzanne invited me to lunch and she gave me
directions to her house. I knew exactly how to get there because the address was
in my same development. We had been neighbors for 8 years and had not known it!
So I walked to her house and we enjoyed talking, eating and looking at pictures
and artifacts from her year in Africa. She told me her housekeeper's personal
story that includes many struggles with health, single parenthood, caring for
her aging mother and 2 daughters, low income, a tragic death in her family and
basic living in a place of beautiful patches overwrought with extreme poverty
and rampant government corruption....but she keeps a great attitude, hopes for
children's futures and firm faith in God. Suzanne wanted me to take some items
she would gather - shoes for her very large feet (size for women not found in
Kenya), lithium batteries that are long lasting ( not found in Kenya), pictures,
trinkets, letters of encouragement, a book about the Johnson's ( the Born Free
story) and cash (always needed)! Again I said yes but had no idea how it would
work out. Our mission group was not going to Rift Valley, we were headed to
Meru.<br /><br />Over the passing time in June & July the mission trip itinerary
was being set by leaders in the African Methodist Synod that we support and Lisa
Kumani's life was moving along through the problems listed above while also
enduring a more extreme cold and rainy season than expected. During this time
God was also working out some timing of events in her life to bring her to
travel to Nairobi at the time I was to be there. The RVA is between school terms
so she was allowed some time off. The public education strike had just ended so
her daughter returned to school. Her sister lives in Nairobi and provided her a
place to stay. She used the public transportation system to make her way to find
me at the Methodist Guest House. (I could write an entire post about kenya's
transportation system and noticeable common driving habits!) Today I had
breakfast with a new friend and delivered a needed care package. She is even
more beautiful in person than I had seen from pictures. What a blessing to meet
a lady with such dignity, elegance, grace. She gave me hugs and a gold beaded
bracelet that her daughter had made and left me with a small package of gifts to
deliver to Suzanne & family. <br />
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<br /><br />I am so grateful that God let me to be
present to see him at work in our world!<br /><br />Romans 8:28 and we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.<br /><br />And this was just the beginning of the day. I
will write more later about Kenya state police, highways, monkeys, a tree house,
ox and donkey carts,a curio shop, people walking, flowers & crops, Nanyuki
spinners & weavers, crossing the equator, the burial place of the Boy Scout
founder and a little girl named Winters.<br />
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This is the Methodist Guest House where we stayed overnight in Nairobi before traveling by vans to our home base of Meru.<br />
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<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-11042486650911775452013-08-03T06:38:00.001-07:002013-08-03T06:38:12.916-07:00Embarking on a Spiritual JourneyTrip journal, day 1-2, travel to Kenya<br />
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7/20-21, woke from a peaceful
sleep after intermittent worries all week, worries for Timmy , Alyce, Randy,
Stevie, Sam; worries for my eating, drinking & health in a strange place,
worries for the unknown,I feel like I am taking a spiritual journey like Billy
Jack or the old woman in The Stand, I remember Duana the psychic predicting this
journey on my own to a far away place, I thought she was wrong at the time, wish
I could remember her exact words, but I do remember she said it would be good,
our group met at the church to ride together in the church van to the airport,
we met the people joining us from Temple & Salado, my heart must have been
overflowing because when i received hugs and sweet words from Kenda & Emily
Diehm i burst into tears, so much love, memories & emotions in that moment,
we had some encouraging words from people who had been on this mission trip
before, speaking about openness and life change, my friend's husband who had
loaned me his electrical adapters said that he hoped that we would have
spiritual protection, that struck the worry chord in me, what does that mean?
Why do we need it? Guess I will find out.<br /><br />While I am passing through the
air on two long plane rides, I am thinking of loved ones at home. Darrell's text
said he had been shopping for a fold up cart to haul gear to our relocated boat
slip and then watching the Rangers in a poor performance. I'm still leaving on a
jet plane and I bet he is by now watching the British open hoping for an
American to win. Bonnie, Alyce and Lea are celebrating their birthdays. Former
high school classmates are celebrating our 40th reunion. Nana & pawpaw are
in Austin helping Jonathan care for Keller while Erica is in Maine enjoying a
girls trip. Travis & Chelsea are recovering from a motor home trip with her
family to Montana and planning a party/baby shower. Gail & Mary are
patiently waiting to progress through tests & doctor appointments hoping for
healing to come soon for Mary's painful back problems.<br /><br />I am not really on
my own as the psychic said, but I am with a group of people that I barely know
so that is sort of like being on my own, and at the same time i am meeting some
lovely new people, on the bus to our plane in London chatted with a man carrying
a mandolin , the conversation lead to him telling of beginning a new job
tomorrow as a missionary in Nairobi through the African inland church, I had
heard of this group through my friend Suzanne who had spent last year teaching
at Rift Valley Academy, he said his wife taught at RVA for the last 3 years,
this family was sitting near me on the plane (the Saums) and I met the wife and
children, she knew Suzanne, had spent time in her home & taught 5 previous
years at Silverlake Elem in Grapevine where I volunteer each week during the
school year, God gives us so many connections in his world!</div>
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(Sorry this picture of The Saums is so blurry, taken from the plane while passengers were somewhat jostling to unload. Bless this family!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />One last
observation for this entry: I've noticed that babies all cry and babble in the
same language:)<br /><br />Galatians 3:26. For ye are all the children of
God.<br /><br /><br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-87344581740175900012013-06-01T07:32:00.003-07:002013-06-01T07:32:42.446-07:00Fort Worth Tradition
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Cause good memories don’t fade so easy<br />
Does Fort Worth ever cross your mind – from the words of a great song from
George Strait<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And
Fort Worth's such a wonderful town to disappear into<br />
On the muscle of my arm there's a red and blue tattoo<br />
Says, Fort Worth I love you – and more lyrics, these from Michael Martin Murphy<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t ya love this Texas town? Embracing
its roughneck history, Fort Worth preserved the brick streets and notorious
buildings in The Stockyards while also promoting the fine arts in the renowned
museums and performance halls. Downtown has a vibrant and safe environment for
nightlife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Classic restaurants, such as
Joe T.’s and Riscky’s, have survived the tests of time and long established
neighborhoods and parks coexist comfortably with the inevitable new. My true
Texan husband was born here. Our aunts, uncles and cousins have called this
laid back city home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Something deep in my brain likes semblance
of order and tradition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gives me
balance, connection to the past and hope for the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A great experience in the regular Fort Worth
calendar is The Colonial, the yearly local PGA tournament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throughout our years of living in the DFW
area Darrell and I have attended the golf festivities several times and this
year once again lived up to our highest expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many in the crowd, I suspect, are weekend
golfers coming to the show of their pro heroes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are thinking or wishing, “I could do that”, as they watch great
shots as well as mega flubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some are
just there because their parents brought them to enjoy the outdoors (or didn’t
get a babysitter):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>little ones in
parents’ arms or toted in strollers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others are there to accompany family who has golf interests:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>women in their lawn chairs reading books and
drinking wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some are there to work in
concessions raising money for special groups:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nolan Catholic booster club, Arlington High Orchestra, Knights of
Columbus, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others are there to earn
their pay in sports related jobs:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Randy
Galloway, Landry Locker,etc. I found myself there in an imaginary field trip
(the teacher/student life does not really leave you when you retire) where
lessons were evident demonstrating math, science, history, literature,
sociology, logistics, marketing, psychology and fashion. Ah, what a great
setting to be schooled!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Those who know me know I am definitely NOT
a golfer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took lessons along with my
friend Cassandra with the goal of playing with my husband and sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This never lead to a full round of golf,
though I tried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something lacking in my
brain, hand, eye, body coordination!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Darrell and I did recently participate as guests of our friends, The
Leases, in a charity golf tournament for GRACE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a fun night at Grapevine Golf Course with BBQ dinner, Lexus
Lemonade and glow in the dark balls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was a scramble and my shots were never used in the team score.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Farewell greetings ended the night with,
“Darrell, you are a good golfer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
Susan, you are a good sport!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, back to
the Colonial:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thursday is the first day
of qualifying where all the registered players are hopeful of a good showing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scene is being set, the characters
introduced. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many names are recognizable
– VJ Singh, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Rory Sabbatini, Zach Johnson – and
some clothing is recognizable – John Daly in wacky chevron plaid, Rickie Fowler
in his Puma neon brights.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You might even speculate that Daly’s girlfriend was
hopeful of a long term relationship – her shorty shorts matched the wild fabric
of his trousers (fashion statement/commitment?). The contestants are playing
out some of the classic themes of literature, man vs. nature as they battle the
wind, the trees and the lie of the land, man vs. self as they manage their game
within the environment knowing their own past strengths and weaknesses. Viewing
from the shade trees bordering #1 fairway and then later from #9, we kept cool
with sheltering breezes and enjoyed the unfolding stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local Colleyville man, Ryan Palmer, ended the
day in the lead.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday was a full day for us at home so we
kept up with the proceedings through TV and internet as we continued with other
activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I attended the hospitality
room set up by first grade teachers for volunteers at Silverlake Elementary
School so they would know that I appreciated their appreciation. Rains came and
cut short the golfing going on so it turned out to be a good day not to be
there anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We prepared the boat to go
out on the lake with friends for the first fireworks night of the summer, but
again the rains came so we watched from the dock – all good!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Saturday at The Colonial:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived on the transport bus from
Farrington Field in time for the previous day’s play to be finished and the
final cut to be announced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Handed the
new pairing sheet that was hot off the press, we headed to a spot on #9 near
the tents and facilities in case we needed to run for cover from threatening
weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were a few showers but
nothing causing mad scramble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attentions
turned to the leader board and literary themes expanded to include man vs. man
in battle of the birdies. Although I doubt anyone there was sitting and working
on math problems related to quadratic functions, I could see their examples in
results of combined operations of force, velocity, trajectory, distance and
gravity. I’ve gritted my teeth at the T shirts and bumper stickers that proudly
proclaim “I did not use Algebra today!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You don’t personally have to use it yourself, just recognize that it
underlies forces at work in the natural world that surrounds us ;)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt Kuchar, a likable crowd favorite, ended
day 3 in the lead.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunny day on Sunday:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wearing our red for Red Cross and dropping
our meager contribution into the bucket for the recent victims of tragic events,
we reclaimed our favorite spot in the trees lining #9 and met the surrounding
families from Stephenville, Ft. Worth and Lewisville.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leaning over so my head was under the ropes,
I craned to see Boo Weekley make his birdie and take the lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this same time a course marshal came to
warn me, “Be prepared to move your chair.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The next golfer had landed way left and was planning a desperate Tin Cup
shot to try to hit the green.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and his
caddie conferred in serious planning but the miracle did not happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the way, Boo ended the days with cheers of
“Boo!” as he won the tournament awards of a big fat check, a nice silver trophy
and an audacious plaid jacket, his first win in 5 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bet his wife and children were happy to
welcome him home after weeks on the road and the long drought of winning
finally ended.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Great golfers from the past have walked in
these same places, Mr. Ben Hogan and Mr. Byron Nelson, who both have great life
stories as well as sports acclaim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Colonial Country club and surrounding neighborhood carry along Fort Worth
history that includes the Leonard family of Leonard’s Department stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darrell and I both remember visiting the old
Leonard’s in downtown Ft. Worth during our childhood Christmas outings with
cousins. If any of you would like to experience the intersection of Ft. Worth
charm, spectacle of sport and the microcosm of life field trip, get your
tickets to next year’s Colonial.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">And what are the life lessons out of all
this? Be observant and appreciative of the beautiful world around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Persevere through times when things may not
be going perfectly your way. Keep pursuing your given path to contribute to our
world.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing
good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-78652506435334575972013-03-18T15:59:00.000-07:002013-03-18T15:59:27.061-07:00Spring Break
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I remember
some fine times from Spring Breaks of my past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>During the school year, this holiday time always came at just the right
moment – when everyone really needed a break from the pressures and routine of
school/work, when stamina was wearing down from long days of answering constant
questions topped off by Open House night during Texas Public Schools Week where
you politically, politely answer more constant questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember some relaxing spring trips to Fredericksburg
and the Hill Country, to Port Aransas and Padre Island, to the St. Augustine
area of Florida and an extended Spring Break trip to southern Spain when Travis
was there on a study abroad semester. We took in wonderful sights, enjoyed
company of lovely people, tasted some great local foods and spent some down
time reading good books.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year
with retirement I thankfully did not feel the worn down need to get away from
my regular life but I did spend a week away from home doing different
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Planning well in advance,
Jonathan arranged to take Erica for a much needed beach getaway during her
spring break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While they spent some time
at a Cancun resort, Darrell and I lived at their house in Austin and filled our
days with watching Keller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really do
mean that literally we enjoyed our week by just watching him – watching him
greet the morning, watching him eat, watching him walk by holding on to walls,
furniture and toys, watching what caught his attention on TV, watching him
explore and look closely at things, watching him take things apart (he’s not
yet at the stage of putting things back together), watching him express his
feelings – elation, curiosity, determination, satisfaction, frustration.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We learned
his eating/sleeping routine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We learned
his likes (hugs, laps, pacifier, blueberries, broccoli and bananas) and his
dislikes (getting his nose wiped, getting his face washed and waiting for a
bottle).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We learned to interpret some of
his babbling:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ach-O, mama, dada, de-dada,
nana, hi, baa. We learned that Pinterest has good ideas for corraling a toddler in a tub. We learned that baby gates are a great invention. We learned that we do not know how to operate all modern baby
technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the monitor beeped and
ran out of battery charge on the first night, we did not find the right button
to restart it until Erica came home and showed us so I listened the old
fashioned way for baby noise in the night using my mother/grandmother
ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few false alarms just gave me a
chance to peek in on a peaceful, sleeping angel.</span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our days
passed by lazily following the Keller schedule of eat, poop and play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We caught up on Jeopardy in back to back
daily shows, caught up on all the broadcast details of the new pope, swung in the backyard hammock, watched
families do yard work as we took different strolling routes, soothed to the
cooing dove noise of their neighborhood and, like all good trips, we read good
books during our down time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Feeling
rather bold, one day we ventured out to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower
Center, only a few miles from their house and just down the road from Erica’s
school and Keller’s day care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Proudly we
were successful in loading a car seat and then a stroller and the possibly necessary
take along items for this outing in the beautiful outdoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darrell and I found some promising native
plants to try in our tiny backyard inspired from the display gardens at the
center and were happy to see our first bluebonnets blooming for this year. Be
on the lookout, wildflowers are starting to show along the roadways, too! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was the
best Spring Break ever!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gratitude for
being given precious time in the life of a precious child fills my heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Psalm
127:3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Behold children are a gift of the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Matthew
19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from
coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10471958675452959809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228917563596013820.post-66283963468266731822013-03-02T10:34:00.000-08:002013-03-02T10:34:46.208-08:00I Dreamed a Dream...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dreams<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For five
days a dangerous fugitive was hiding out in my hometown after wounding a police
officer who was transporting him to a different state to serve a life sentence
in prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I didn’t consciously
worry about being hurt by him, I did change some daytime habits of keeping
doors open for letting in the light and enjoying the view of trees and
sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Night time habits were followed to
lock doors but now double checked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Relaxing hot tub use was cut because the mental relaxation was not
happening when you have a simultaneous possibility of being ambushed in your
own backyard. Dark thirty dreams revealed a subconscious worry when my mind
created a scene that made me cry out from my restless sleep – the “bad guy” was
using a drill to bore through our locked door and then his arm was reaching
through the door…Darrell woke me up from my screams so I don’t know what would
have happened next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, the
Grapevine police and U.S. Marshals working the case did bring it to an end so
our nervous community has resumed its comfortable life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The great
Biblical character, Daniel, was known for interpreting the dreams of the kings
who held his people in captivity in Babylon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Relearning his story and reapplying the lessons has been one of my
regular weekly activities through a Thursday morning women’s Bible study group
at church – retirement allows participation in these opportunities without
feeling too tired or too limited in time with a demanding work schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart is happy with this new lifestyle!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking back over my Daniel notes, these are the highlights/questions
of the study so far that I choose to rethink and incorporate where applicable:
How do you go about breaking bad news to someone, as Daniel did for the king
when interpreting a dream?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What kinds of
ideas fill my dreams for the future? To whom do I attribute my prosperity? Life
choices = indulgence, indifference & irreverence or faith, hope &
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do I react to fear and crisis?
How do I react to being falsely accused?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What guides my decision making process?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What Biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled and what is yet to come?
What do I do with the visions God gives me today? How do I know what is
true?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the impact of prayer?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Daniel was recognized as a godly man. The angel, Gabriel,
spoke to him face to face and called him “highly esteemed”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel gives us an appropriate model of
prayer life – he followed a regular habit, he acknowledged God as the ultimate
authority who keeps his covenant, praised Him for being great and awesome, thanked
him for loving-kindness and compassion, confessed his sin identifying with the
disrespect of so many of his kindred people, made requests for himself and his
nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So lately my dreams have moved from the nightmares of the
convict to reliving past scenes of my role as a mom when the boys were young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jonathan and Erica spent time with us on
Presidents weekend and their sweet ten month old Keller entertained us with his
constant movement, babble, expression, determination and curiosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Travis and Chelsea chose that time frame to
send us all text links to a YouTube video they created to announce the
development of another baby coming to join the Green family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My subconscious mind has been pleasantly
consumed with family, children and babies, most recently Travis as a toddler/preschool
child running to me for comfort from some mishap and climbing into the safety
of my lap. When I woke from this dream, I wasn’t fearful; just nostalgic for
the days when I was able to simply pat his back and solve his problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said a quick prayer for guardian angels to
watch over him in my absence and in my role that has changed over time and
distance.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I’m so glad to be alive”, Travis reported to Darrell
yesterday via cell phone. He works at Sunlight Mountain ski resort during the
winter season and runs his own business, Green Landscapes, during the growing
season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his current job as manager of
lift operators, he has a certain snow mobile assigned to him for use in
traveling up and down the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yesterday, his machine was in for servicing so he was using a bigger,
faster, unfamiliar snow mobile to move down the mountain after going over some
training with his operators at the top of the trails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told of it moving too fast and the breaks
locking when he tried to get it under control, flying off the trail and
crashing into trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could have been
killed, but he walked away with bruises while the snow mobile was completely totaled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank the Lord, oh my soul!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Darrell and I recall that this is the third time we’ve
rejoiced at a call from this son, celebrating that his life continues!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once he was in the back seat of a vehicle
that slid off a mountain road during a sudden snow storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second time was a mountain climbing adventure
with a friend where they got caught in a thunderstorm at perilous heights. And
now this one.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my personal plans to incorporate lessons from Daniel
is to continue my habit of prayer when I wake in the night and to expand on my
adoration and praise for God’s goodness.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Psalm 91:11-12<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For he
will give his angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will bear you up in their hands, Lest
you strike your foot against a stone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Psalm 91:14-16<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because
he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high,
because he has known My name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will
call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will
rescue him, and honor him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a long
life I will satisfy him, And let him behold My salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Isaiah 66:13<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one
whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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