Blessings

How Excited Are We?
March 16, 2012

Recently I watched an incredible video -- it brought me to tears and it crushed my heart as I realized very acutely that we take some of our richest treasures for granted. We all do that and it is a tragedy.

The video was about a tribe of people from Papua, Indonesia. This tribal group had never been able to read the Bible for themselves because it had never been translated into their language. But the wondrous day had come and all of the village was gathered about an air strip where New Testaments would finally be delivered to them. Villagers were dancing and displaying feathers and other finery. Excitement mounted as the plane approached, landed, and taxied to a halt. Two men sedately approached the plane and received the cases of God's Word in their language. An elder offered a prayer of thanksgiving. What an amazing scene! The entire village celebrated!

During an interview, one woman spoke of the blessing of being able to read the Bible to her children and her grandchildren. She said that after the adults are all gone, the children will be able to share the Bible with their children as well. What an invaluable inheritance they now have for their families.

How about us? We have many Bibles in our homes. Our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents always had access to the Bible in English. Other forebears speaking different languages (German, French, Spanish, Austrian, etc) were also privileged to have the Bible available to them.

What about us? Do we cherish the Bible? Are we thankful we have this spiritual bread to nourish our souls? Or do we take this wonderful privilege for granted? People were burned at the stake and imprisoned so that WE could hold this precious book in our hands and read it with our own eyes. We ought to be very thankful!

As symbols of this blessing, I have been putting together some Scripture with family pictures as a symbol of the grace of God toward us. Grandchildren and others, we ought to be excited that WE have this Word for daily feasting!

  Keep watching! I will be adding more Scriptures and beautiful pictures of "persons, places, and things."

Would you think about these verses and  meditate on the beauty of the Bible and on the life that God wants to give each one of us. 

Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and understanding so that you can know and

do His will. And thank HIM for the incredible gift of having the Bible in English. And the ability to read and understand it.

Gramp and I will probably not have much in the way of material goods to leave behind when we die and go to Heaven. But we want to leave you something that is way more valuable.   

It is our greatest desire that we will be faithful in teaching you and showing you the wondrous grace of God. We hope you come to the place of trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and that you will live for Him in the now and in the forever.

The things of this world are just temporary, but the life of Christ is forever -- it is eternal. We know Him, His salvation, His love, and the joy of living in the light of His glory, we wait for Heaven. We pray that our family will all join us there!

Things To Think About

More From Our Family Gallery
March 2012

Kelsey at Port Jervis, NY

Gramp and I can tell you for certain that the happiest moments of our lives are when we are paying attention to the LORD and obeying what we know He has for us. Living within God's will is not complicated or mysterious. We believe it is a matter of paying attention to the Bible, trusting the Lord, and praying over everything. We believe the Lord will give us opportunities to serve Him and He will give us peace about His will and His way.

Hope and Rachel Scrapbooking at Our House

People do not have to wait until they are grown up to follow Jesus. God has given children an amazing ability to have faith in Him. That is, they trust the Lord and believe what He says.

They don't need a lot of explanations of where, why, and how. They take God at His word and trust that what He says is true. God wants all of us to be that way, from the youngest to the oldest. He wants all of us to trust that He knows best. After all, God has given each one of us life. He knows us far better than we know ourselves.

Heather Pours Drinks For Her Sisters at Delavan

One way to do the will of God is to simply help others. Even a child can do that.  Just serving a little sibling as Heather is doing in this picture prepares a person to do more acts of service as they grow up. We believe Heather has a heart of a servant. Her opportunity to help the handicapped did not begin recently. It grew over a lifetime of being faithful to help others around her. And that is something everyone can do.

Kristen Prepares Breakfast at Home

Serving others cheerfully is one thing we will do as we grow to be more and more like Jesus. We know from reading the Bible that He came to this earth to serve. In the New Testament we read about Him healing the sick, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, and teaching the truth. The main thing He did was come to this earth to die on the cross for sinners.

Jesus did not look forward to the suffering part, but he willingly gave Himself to be sacrified on the cross in order to satisfy the debt that we owe to God for our sin. The penalty was death and He paid it -- he paid it ALL because He loves us. Read John 3:16 and be reminded of how wonderful the love of Jesus is to US.

Life Lessons

Tidbits of Advice

March 2012



Cousin Kaysen DeMerchant

You were not a surprise to God! He knew you before He even made the world. Before you were growing inside of your Mom, God knew what you would look like. He knew your name. He knew everything about you.  So be a thankful person! Thank Him for giving life to you. Look for ways to live a life that is pleasing to Him. It's the only way to really LIVE.

Matthew Sykes and Grammie Ruth

It is so sad that we live in an angry world. There is fighting and war everywhere. The TV shows are violent, games are violent, there are bullies in the school. People are selfish and they very often do not care what happens to others. But God wants us to stop thinking about those things. He wants us to think about Him and think about His love for us. He wants us to think about being kind and loving to others.  God has promised that we will be contented and peaceful we have our focus on Him. Ask Him to help you keep your thoughts right.

Samuel and Robert Buza at Cary Lake

One thing Grampie and I have found is it is a lot more fun to get along than to be arguing and fighting. When one of us is grouchy, the other one is sad. But when we try to be kind to each other and help each other out, it is a happy home! And even if one of us is wrong, we have learned to forgive each other. We should be that way with other people, too. What is the sense of being mad? Most of the time it is because we are selfish and want our own way. God says to get along!

Our Front Walk in Glenburn

I love the walk that Uncle Jonathan helped build in front of our house. It is especially nice in the spring time so we aren't sinking in the mud! But in the summer we have flowers growing there. We have several colors of Day Lilies and some other flowers. Some come up every year and others we find at the various stores and just plant them there to enjoy all summer long. It is good to have things pretty on the outside of our home. It makes people feel welcome. But it is better to have things nice on the inside where we live. It isn't fun to have someone over for a lunch or to watch a movie if it is all messy inside. Having things cleaned up and looking nice makes us happy and relaxed and it just gives us a lot of joy. But what about our lives? We can dress up and fix our hair and look really nice. But if we are grouchy inside or if we are thinking mean things about people, we need to be cleaned up! The Bible says that people look at us on the outside, but GOD looks at the heart. So we need to repent and confess our sin and God will clean us up from all the wrong and make us nice inside, too. That is the most important.

Godly Parents

Godly Parents Are Not Your Enemies

Marcia and Amber

You know, it is tough to grow up. It really is. And it is so tough to listen. You don't remember, but the fact is this: it didn't take you long to find out that you did not like the big "N" word. And it didn't take you long to learn how to protest very loudly if Mom or Dad looked you in the eye and said, "NO". Even as a baby, you were beginning to question the wisdom of your parents. (How dare they say "no"?)

Kevin and Hope

That was just the beginning! Another thing that you didn't know is that you were questioning the wisdom of someone way bigger and way more intelligent than Dad and Mom. You were questioning the wisdom of God, himself. For it is GOD who planned the family as a place to be safe, a place to learn, a place to grow, and a place to prepare for your own family someday.

Jeannie and Samuel

I just want you to hear right now that there is NOBODY in all the world who knows you as well as your Mom and Dad. And there is NOBODY who cares as much about your health, your safety, your happiness, your success, and your spiritual life as your Christian parents. They pray for you, they cry over you, they hope for you, they advise you.

Grandchildren: please listen to them!

Jonathan and Robert

Your parents welcomed you into their home and cared for you in the best way they could. They gave up a LOT of what they might have just selfishly had for themselves in order to take care of you and to bring you joy. Right now, it is not possible to know how much LOVE has been poured out for you. But one day, when you have children of your own, you will know it. You will have in your care someone who means more to you than life itself.

Oh, GOOD parents say YES as often as they can. There are times that they must say "NO", but they want to give to you all the good gifts that they can. They want your childhood to be as delightful as possible. But more than that, they want you to grow and mature and be a blessing to others all of your life. They want you to make good choices about school, a job, a spouse. They have seen a lot of life and their wisdom is a treasure stored up to share with you.

Children who enjoy the blessing of having godly parents, who love and follow Jesus are truly blessed. Take advantage of the gift of Mom and Dad and learn from them. They are GIFTS of GOD to you -- just as YOU are gifts of God to them. Treasures, dear grandchildren!

We LOVE The Children God Has Sent to Our Family

Children are Welcomed and Cherished in Our Family
March 18, 2012

Robert, Michele, and "Gunner"

Grampie and I love to watch your parents spending time with you. We like to see the fun times -- like when you get a new puppy or some other pet that you can enjoy. Caring for a pet gives you a lot of fun and it also teaches you to be responsible. That is because you have to feed and care for your pets when they need it, not just when you feel like it.

Stephen and David

Little children learn so much from Moms and Dads who are not too busy for them.  And life is SO busy. We do have work to do and many responsibilities as parents. But taking just a little time to make memories is time well spent. When our children were little, we read the Bible and prayed together at night. And from time to time we took the tent or went to a motel for an overnighter or a week. Fun memories!

Valerie and Gunnar

One thing I did more with Valerie than any of the other children was to hold her in my lap and read to her from the time she was only a few weeks old.  Some of her early words were the names of people depicted in a Bible story book. These Mommy and Daughter moments probably contributed to her lifelong love of books. She, in turn reads to her children. Here Gunnar holds a book while his mom reads from another.

Timothy and Kyle with Lucy

I have always loved this picture. Lucy was such a sweet beagle, loyal to her boys! And the boys loved her. Do you wonder if Kyle is just trying to be patient as he waits for a Lucy "kiss"?
This picture was taken in the apartment at our Marshfield house. Those were good days having grandchildren next door. We got spoiled! The Bible verse here reminds us that greater than all of our earthly family and friends is Jesus, Himself. He will never, ever leave us not forsake us. What a promise!

Bethany and Matthew

This picture is so sweet, isn't it? Actually, Matthew was looking at the light over our dining table. Apparently he was amazed at it for some reason! To me it was the perfect picture to remind us that all of God's nature and His other gifts are amazing. We look at the sky, the trees, the ocean, the birds, the flowers -- we look at all the wonders He made and we can, indeed, see what an awesome GOD He is!

We Really DO Depend on YOU!

We Are Depending on YOU!
March 19, 2012

Joshua Buza

We really ARE depending on you, our grandchildren. You are the ones who will go and bring a new generation. You are the ones who will carry our family history. And most of all, we are depending on YOU to stand firm in the faith that we have tried to teach and demonstrate to you.

You guys will be fathers to our great grandchildren. You ladies will be mothers to them. And lying before you is a great responsibility to love and teach those that God sends to bless your home.

We pray, too, that you will devote your lives thoroughly to Christ and His gospel. We pray that others will see Jesus in you and that they will trust in Him as their Lord and Savior.

Timothy Harmon

The Bible says that if we live for the Lord Jesus there are people who are not going to like it. This world system does not want the Lord God in it and has no desire to acknowledge Him in any way. Christians are very often not respected and are hated for the sake of the Lord they love. Don't cave in -- don't deny the Lord in order to be more comfortable in this world. This is not your home. Heaven is! Don't forget you are a citizen of Heaven.

Kyle Harmon

Just as this verse on Kyle's picture says, it is a GOOD thing to live the way God asks us to live. If we live a clean and holy life, there are people who may not like it. But there are rewards to having a clean conscience. And there are rewards to being able to go to bed and know you haven't broken laws or that you have not made enemies. But more than that, GOD has offered a forever home to those who love Him! I look forward to it.

Caleb DuBois

Of course, Caleb, you are not one of the grandsons. But you've been almost like one! And you have been friends with these three guys. Now you are far away and we aren't sure when we might see you again. But we know this: we might easily be next door neighbors in our Father's house! Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. I cannot imagine how wonderful it will be. We depend on you, too, to carry the Good News to others all of your life.

Running Away

I Was Such A Silly Goose!
March 22, 2012

Grammie Ruth really made me mad. Now 50-some years later, perhaps even 60, I have no idea why I was so angy. Suffice it to say that this girl had "had it". Running away was necessary, but it was a little frightening, too. One thing was certain. When she discovered that her daughter was gone, my mother was going to learn her lesson. I was sure that Grammie was going to be VERY sorry and I was going to be equally happy about it.

Silly Goose

The problem is, when you don't have any money the thought of feeding and clothing yourself and getting a bath is pretty overwhelming. So you have to calm down and look at all the options. You have to make a plan that will work! The other thing is that I wanted to see people scurrying around looking for me. But they would never find me. I was a very clever kid. It was obvious to me that long time would go by before I returned home and the day of repentance for my Mom would be a delicious one for me. Oh, the thought of revenge was so sweet.

With such a great outcome in mind, I began to look around and to scheme. We had a barn with a nice supply of baled hay. Because feeding and watering our cows was in my area of expertise, I was proficient at climbing to the top of that hay, It was a straight climb upward with only the bale twine and some cross beams to help boost me up. It was something I could do very quickly without thinking about it. But MOM was never required to do barn chores when she was growing up. She would never be able to do climb up there. Aha! With my own ingenuity, I had discovered a great hiding place. It was a great place to hide and a place from which I could see the whole yard covertly.

Yes. I would hide in the hay. Maybe forever. I climbed up to prepare my retreat. All it took was carefully rearranging some hay bales. This formed a cavity in the center where anyone could hide, keep warm, and live undetected. The plan was to take some food from the cupboard, a jug of water, a blanket, and a book. I planned to stay up there while it was day. Late at night I would climb down, go to the bathroom, wash up, and replenish my supplies. It was going to be so much fun to see everyone scurrying around and trying to figure it all out. The police would probably be called and all of the relatives. Maybe they would put my picture in the weekly paper. Oh, what a grand idea to run away and still be a spectator of all the excitement!

After verifying that I had done everything on my mental check list, I went out for a walk in the back field and came back to the barn behind the line of bushes that marked the border between our property and Ben Murphy's. This was GREAT. I made it to the barn undetected and scaled the heights to my retreat.

I settled in with my blanket, but the hay was rather "scratchy" on my skin. After awhile I began to itch. I wondered how long since I ran away. Why didn't I have my little alarm clock with me? I peeked over the bales and the yard was empty. Nobody was running around calling my name. I was thirsty, so drank some of my water and ate my peanut butter sandwich. Time was creeping along. It was still daylight and I was tired of my book.

A neighbor walked into our yard and went in the house. She came to see Mom almost every day. Still, nobody was looking for me. It must have been at least fifteen or twenty minutes. Why didn't anyone know I was missing? Mom probably didn't even know I was mad at her!

OK. I began to think that running away is no fun. It became obvious that nobody cared anyway. So what was the point? I grabbed my pillow and blanket, threw my sandwich bag in the trash, and went home. What a disappointing welcome. Nobody even asked me where I had been.

PS: I asked Gramp if he ever ran away and he thinks he didn't. Or maybe his adventure was as uneventful as mine and it has just gone into his hard drive somewhere.

Here is my advice: don't ever run away. It can be too dangerous if you don't have a retreat in your own back yard. Just call us and we will come and help you work out your differences. Home is way better than the hay mow after all. Your bed isn't an itchy place and you get hot food and ice cream.

What a silly goose I was!