Whatcha Lookin' For?

Are you filled with joy for living 

Or are you empty deep inside?

Is there an aching, longing hunger 

That just won't be satisfied? 

Whatcha lookin' for?

I know you're searching.

If you haven't found the Lord,

You'll find Him right there where you are. 

Have you turned your back on Jesus,

And tried to make it on your own?

Have you found it isn't worth it, 

And do you feel so all alone? 

Whatcha lookin' for? 

I know you're searching-- 

If you haven't found the Lord, 
You'll find Him standing at the door. 

He's a wonderful companion. 
He's my guide, my stay, my friend. 
He promised never to desert me. 
He'll go with me to the end. 

Why not trust Him now?

I know you're searching -- 

If you haven't found the Lord, 

He's waiting right there where you are. 

Want More Family Stories?

 I haven't posted on my blog for a LONG time. 

First we were busy moving. 

THEN I had an illness that kept me busy with treatments. 

But I am BACK, ready to tell some more family stories.  If any of you have questions, send them to me and I will make your question a topic if I remember the answer.  LOVE you all. 

Do I Ever Need to Catch Up...

If you are a new follower of this blog, let me just say that all the entries dated 2017 were actually written over a period of years and were transferred here in 2017. But I am behind! The last years of Grammie Ruth's life were largely taken up with concerns and cares of her. So this blog was set aside for more pressing issues. In health care, we call it "triage". That is, things are done according to the urgency. But life doesn't stay on hold waiting for us to finish what we are doing before the next event happens. So I need to catch up, for sure.

Let's look at some great grandchildren who have joined us over the past SIX years --

This picture of Isaac and Grammie Ruth is one of my very favorites.

Isaac is Erika's son. This photo was taken at Emily's baby shower when she was expecting Calvin. I wanted to get a "generations" picture, which I finally got. But Isaac and Grammie were having so much fun with each other that it was hard to get them to look at the camera. But we love that picture of what "family" is about!

The next Great grandchild to join us was Justus, Scott's and Kelsey's son. We were so happy to be in Wisconsin when he was born on the day after Christmas in 2016.

In this picture Grampie is holding him. This grandfather (and grandmother) surely do love the little ones that the Lord has sent into this family. We pray that they will grow up to be men of God.




And now I need to get more pictures and add to our great grandson collection!
We now have Callen, another Isaac, and Henry. In another month or so, we are adding Dallas.

That will make 7 great grandsons so far.

The Bible teaches us over and over about the blessing of having children. See what it says in Proverbs 17:6 - "Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Well Drills and Romance

This page tells us how our Grampie Ellery met the love of his life! I don't suppose your great grandfather set off to drill a well for the Nasons thinking he was going to meet the woman who would become his wife!

God's purpose and God's plans are always amazing to me. Wouldn't you like to hear more of this love story? We do have some interesting and beautiful old letters that can be shared in this blog someday.

The well drill shown here was an early one, but not the original one. This is the updated version from the 1940s and 50s.
It was a percussion drill and, oh was it noisy! Grampie worked very hard pulling the bit out and "sharpening" it with a sledge hammer over hot coals.

It is said that the original drill had iron wheels like a railroad train and that it was powered by coal. Can you imagine that monster going up and down the road belching coal smoke? It must have been a sight to behold.

Grampie Ellery took his family on drilling jobs whenever he could and they slept in a tent on a wooden platform that he had constructed for that purpose. Likely the platform was to help keep the inside of the tent dry.

Here you can see the back of what Grampie called the "Chuck Wagon". I remember seeing different stages of it's construction. It was a major leap from tent living to have the house built on the back of a farm truck. It had bunks, cabinets, table, stove, and the ability to run an electric cord to power the lightbulb inside. No refrigerator and no water, but several of us spent some happy days and nights on the job with our Grandparents.  Many of us enjoyed it at Cary Lake after our grandparents retired. It became a guest house of sorts at Grammie Muriel's request. What memories!

The Watson Family Enters Littleton

While Heather was living with Grammie Ruth, she wanted to learn some family history and so she began to ask and to record what my mother told her.

It is nice that Heather wrote the story verbatim. Anything in parentheses will be Heather's words. Otherwise, these pages are as Grammie Ruth spoke them.

What a great idea!

I would like to add that the Watsons thought they were the first settlers in what is now known as Littleton. However, the town is named for the Little family, who bore the honor of being first.

The year of my grandfather's birth will be on the next page of Heather's journal. He was born on December 17, 1895.

Grammie Ruth is in Heaven

                                                                                                                                                                      So much could be said about my mother -- your great grandmother.                                                                                                                                                                

Her Last Mother's Day With All Four of Us

On May 25, 2018 Carla and I were by her bedside as she slipped very peacefully from this life into the eternal presence of Jesus.

This was the whole focus of her life, really. It was to live for Jesus here and then to abide with Him forever.

She had a full life here, but she also had difficulties that are part of living in a troubled world. She tried to make the best of them and I remember saying to her many times over the years, "Mom, you are a survivor!"

She was a hard worker and was always ready to serve the Lord and others. She was a multi-tasker and was in charge of almost everything she did, as others admired her gifts and abilities. She taught Sunday School, played the Church Organ, and held various offices in her Church for over 60 years. She taught elementary school during WW2 in one room school houses, and worked for the Clerk of Courts in Houlton. Working for Uncle Merle Nason, she supervised children picking berries, beans, and other crops. She did volunteer work: she served as president of the PTA, was on the board for an after-school outreach to teens in Houlton, and served for many years as a Camp Chief at St. John Valley Bible Camp. For many years, she did book keeping and did income tax accounting for individuals and businesses. She was office manager in a doctor's office, and also managed the office for Watson Well Drilling for a number of years until illness forced her to retire at the age of 85. All that, and more.

If she could speak to all of you today, I am sure she would say something like this:
"Of everything that I experienced in the world, there is one thing that remains the most important. That is my relationship with Jesus, my Lord and Savior. I have prayed for all of you that you would know the Gospel -- the Good News that Jesus offers salvation and eternal life to all who will believe.
There is nothing as important in all of life as knowing and serving the Lord. Jesus said, 'seek first the Kingdom of God...' and I pray that you will."

I am going to be posting some stories on this blog that Grammie Ruth told Heather. I know you will enjoy them!

Really Roughing It.

Our grandson Kyle

In the early days of building our camp on Cary Lake, we had to be brave. Well, we didn't HAVE to be brave. Mom invited us to stay at her place next door! But we CHOSE to experience life by making it a bit more difficult to enjoy our modern conveniences. This is a pictorial story of us staying at the camp in sub-freezing weather. That is, two of our grandsons and ourselves.

This is our Lakeside home when it had NO electricity, NO running water, NO interior walls or partitions, NO cooking facilities, NO beds.

Timothy and Kyle went with us in November night of 2011 to help work on this family project and I am sure they have some memories of how things were. And now YOU can get an idea!

Wayne with an air mattress

We had a chair that Brian gave us, so that was one comfort of home away from home! We had a battery operated light, so with that light on, we prepare for a cold one. We had lots of warm bedding, a sleeping bag borrowed from Jonathan, and some air mattresses to protect our bones and muscles and keep us ready to work the next day.

With no cooking facilities, we ate cookies before bed time! And the falling temperatures forced us into our cocoons ASAP!! We knew that if things became too difficult, we could always vacate our place and use Mom's couch and spare beds. But we DID IT!  The first sound I heard next morning was our door closing quietly. I looked out the window to see two boys heading to Gram's. I think they weren't about to use the alternative bathroom facilities!

Kyle fell asleep quickly and Timothy kept WARM! 

It was definitely an adventure and we had fun. 

Snow! Really?

A little earlier today I saw a photo that one of my friends in Monticello shared on the internet. It was big, beautiful flakes and I think the kind that drift lazily to the ground and wait for their companions to join them in making the landscape a fluffy, white wonderland.

Oh, when we were children, the glimpse of that first snowfall was so welcome, so exciting! We loved to play in the snow, making snowballs, snow forts, snowmen, snow tunnels. To us, the more snow, the better. We even loved to take our little shovels outside and help clear a path to the doors and clean up the driveway. Here you see Jim plowing out his and Mom's yard back in the early 60's.

Oh, yes! Snow is something that can entertain children for many delightful hours in the winter time. We loved the great outdoors, anyway. Every season had its joyous adventures. In the spring and summer it was the wind and flying kites. And it was watching birds build their nests and following the cattle around the pasture. It was smelling the apple blossoms and watching for the strawberries to ripen. It was "Hide and Seek." It was "Cops and Robbers". It was playing "Tag". Our fun was only limited by our imaginations and the weather. We couldn't play outside in a thunder storm. But there is absolutely nothing like putting on your swim suit and running outside to play in the mud puddles. (After all, the driveways weren't paved back then! In the fall it was potato harvest, autumn leaves, carving pumpkins!

But back to the topic: Snow. The photo you see here was from the late 40's. Left to right are cousins Andrea, Lory, and me. We are on our grandfather's snow scoop and we found it delightful when he or another adult pushed us around the yard once the work was done! The two dogs, I think, felt a lot of responsibility for us. "Puppy" on the left was Andrea's and Lory's dog. And "Brownie" belonged to our grandparents.

I am not sure when it happened, but over time I lost my adoration for snow and winter time. Oh, I still love the changing seasons but for me a month or less of snowy weather would be fine! We used to go outside in the snow with our children and grandchildren but to be honest, I would rather watch out the windows and take photos to save the memories!

Here, through a window, is a photo of Isaac, taken about 65 years later on our back deck! He wanted to help his great grampie shovel the snow. He loved every minute of it! Things are so different in some ways, but so unchanged in others. The snow, the child, the shovel, the dog! There is a sweetness to it.

In thinking on these things, I am reminded of the Scripture in Genesis 8:22. ""While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease."
These changing seasons are evidence that the Lord is faithful! They are blessings from HIM. Thank you, Lord! 

We Love Gardening!

Written For Our Grandchildren --

Gardening has always been important to us. When your parents were young, we had two big gardens. One was east of our house and the other was on the west. And we had some great adventures from turning the soil in the spring to harvesting in the fall.

In the early days, Gramp used to come home from work almost every day for lunch. Day after day, he would go to the garden before he ate to see how the garden was going. And he would always announce to me what he saw. "The beans have sprouted".  "The squash is blossomed". "We will need to pick the peas." He simply loved it.

One year our corn was growing beautifully! It was tall and green and just about ready to harvest. I looked out the window just to admire it one day only to see that the neighbor's cows were having a gourmet meal in our corn patch -- twelve rows of it! I went out the door with a broom in my hand and headed to the garden, yelling at those four or five Holsteins. They knew I meant business and they ran in every direction knocking our corn down in the process. The promise of corn on the cob dwindled dramatically in only a few moments of time. Our neighbor was so sorrowful over what happened that he brought us two sacks of peas from HIS garden.



Every fall we were able to can and freeze large quantities of vegetables for our family to enjoy until the next harvest time. Our children -- your Moms and Dads -- were always very helpful in planting and gathering! And they also enjoyed helping themselves. It was common to see our children pulling carrots to eat fresh, shelling peas for a snack, picking and apple or berries, or eating a ripe tomato.
It was just part of the joy of gardening!

Growing fruits and vegetables has, indeed, been a tradition for us. That and apple picking at nearby orchards after we moved to Glenburn. I remember the times that we took some of our grandchildren and their parents to the orchards nearby. It was something that we really loved to do. This year we went by ourselves. But we did pick enough to share!

This spring I thought Gramp shouldn't plant anything. He has the aches and pains of age and I am not able to do much to help him. But he said he wanted to plant a few things. So he planted a row of green beans, a row of beets, about a dozen summer squash (zucchini and yellow crookneck), and around a dozen tomato plants. He planted some cucumbers, too, but they didn't survive.

What a tomato harvest we had! And because the frost was delayed for about a month, the plants continued to produce until nearly the middle of October. We blanched and peeled quarts and quarts of whole tomatoes for the freezer. We cooked tomatoes with summer squash, onions and peppers to freeze and we had more than 30 packages of those.

We made ketchup, tomato soup, and spaghetti sauce. We also froze some beets and made pickled beets -- a favorite. We have also been working on apple sauce. Are we ever stocked for the winter!
Not only are we well stocked, but we had some to share with others. By the way, half of the fun of gardening is to share!

And what about next year? Well, I am thinking already that it would be fun to have a few things to eat fresh. We will see.

The growing season is evidence of our Lord's faithfulness to us and His provision for us.
The Bible says, "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease." - Genesis 8:22

A Lesson From The Great Depression

I am a child of parents who lived through the Great Depression, a time of serious financial struggles for many after a Stock Market Crash that devastated the economy.

My mother has told me stories of how she and her brother Lawrence shared a pencil at school. They stopped at a little store on their walk to school and spent a penny on a pencil. The idea was for the pencil to last for a week. My Uncle Lawrence would cut the pencil in half to share with his sister. One of them kept the end with the eraser and the other used the end with no eraser.  The prior week's stub with the left-over eraser was used by the one who had no eraser on a given week.

Lunches for school were carried in lard cans that had a bail on them. Most frequently lunch was a serving of baked beans packed with a homemade biscuit on top. Fruit was rare. In fact Mom said that a highlight at Christmas time was an orange in the toe of her stocking. It was usually the only orange that she had for the year.

One standard was that NOTHING was wasted! Let me tell you about a treasure that I have from those days:

A few years ago, my cousin Andrea told me that she had a little stack of quilt squares that our grandmother had given her for making a quilt. She had forgotten about them, but had found them in a drawer with other fabrics. She wanted to know if I would like it if she made up the quilt and gave it to us to have at our camp (under construction). And I told her I would love it.

Grammie had made the squares from cotton sugar sacks and from scraps of material that she had saved. Often she saved good parts from worn clothing -- like the backs of shirts. And she reused them in making quilts or other useful items.

Andrea is a great seamstress and she went to work, using those wonderful pieces from 70 years ago -- or more.  When she was finished, she gave it to me and I was astounded! What a beautiful quilt! How precious to look at it and touch the squares that my grandmother had held in her hand.

Each square has a "Sunbonnet Sue" appliqued on it by hand-stitching -- Grammie's hand. Some of the squares still have the printed "Revere Sugar" on them! But to look at it again and think of how Grammie's thread, needle, scissors, and thimble were used to turn something common into something beautiful really touched me! Parts of each one had some hand embroidery, as well. And Grammie, by the way, taught ME to embroider when I was small. What good memories!

The quilt has been stored at our house during the construction of our camp / cottage. But this week we took it there. And we spread it on Mom's bed so we could get a picture to show her.

When I showed it to Mom today, she said, "What's that?" Then she caught her breath and said, "Oooooh!" She was so thrilled to see it.

So, thank you, Andrea! Your labor of love cannot even be described. . . it is beyond
wonderful!

They Were Going To Be Famous!

Grampie Wayne spent some of his growing up years in the coal and corn land of rural Illinois, near the Kankakee River. His Dad was pastor at Custer Park Baptist Church, where his grandmother had been a member several years prior.

Now, according to him, Custer Park was a "one horse town and the horse was dead." You can't imagine the road back in the 1950s. The road had a paved lane in the center and a wide shoulder of gravel on each side of the pavement. Drivers would stay on the paved lane until they met another vehicle and then they would pull over with one tire on the pavement and one on the gravel. He says that was really scary for kids.

The Wabash Rail Road ran through town and the mail sack was grabbed on the way through, by a train crewman, who snatched it from the pole where it was left hanging. We cannot imagine that today, but -- from Pony Express days until now, the mail had to get through! And it did.

There were two grocery stores in town. The main store was Aldrich's and the other was Case's. Case's didn't operate very long, as he remembers. Between the two stores was a low building that housed the post office. He remembers getting baby chicks through the mail and at the post office, that annual delivery day found the building full of chirping!

Next to the post office was a hotel, he thinks. And for some cause, unknown to him it burned to the ground. That really changed the mini-skyline and as far as he knows the hotel was never rebuilt.

The Church was nearby and the cemetary. You can visit that cemetary these days and see a headstone at the grave is his great grandparents, Frank and Martha. The Church has a new building outside of the little town center.

Near the graveyard his friend, Jimmy lived and it was a short hoof for the boys when they visited. Gramp tells of many adventures. And they were typical boys from the time when there was no TV, no internet, no digital games and all that is available today. Most of the play time was outside.

One day a few boys, including his friends Gary and Jimmy were playing in a nearby corn field. As they went between the rows, kicking at the wonderful, black soil they found a BONE. It was big and it needed to be dug up. A DINOSAUER BONE! They had to dig it up and report their find to the Chicago Museum of Science. They were going to be famous. And they were going to be wealthy.
So they dug and dug with their hearts beating faster and faster (I presume). AMAZING! They had an area, probably 9 x 11 feet dug up in the field and probably as much as 6 feet deep. Whatever the size, he remembers it as pretty massive.

Everything was fine with the young scientists until someone driving past the research site stopped the car and screamed at them. They took off running -- all in different directions! Gramp said he ran into the electric fence but he was so scared he didn't know if he got a shock or not. Maybe it was off at the time.

It was so humiliating to Gramp! Not only did they find that their archeological dig was unappreciated, but their dreams were shattered when they found out the skeleton was that of a horse! (Maybe it was that one horse from the one-horse town.)

But one of the boys kept the dream alive by keeping a "dinosaur tooth" in his collection at home. Gramp doesn't know where he got that specimen, but likely from another adventure at a different time or place. From time to time he would take the tooth to school and show it. Your Gramp thinks it was a rock!


Note: The photo of Grampie was taken about a half century later very close to the original scene.

Words -- Peace or Pain?

A friend wrote a message today about verbal and emotional abuse. She wants people to realize these kinds of mistreatment are as harmful as physical abuse or battering. And she is right. In fact, cruel and hate-filled words may be even MORE painful than a slap, a kick, or a punch.

Unfortunately, verbal and emotional abuse are not rare. Many of us remember the child on the playground who was always chosen last to be on a team. Perhaps we ourselves have been victims of mockery and name-calling.

All around us there are people who carry insecurities, anger, and sorrowful memories because they have been targets of someone else's mockery or wrath. Perhaps we are casualties of verbal emotional, or some other form of abuse. Some may heal to an extent, but many will bear the scars of emotional trauma all the rest of their lives.

In our culture, in our families, at school, on the job, and even in our Churches hurtful things are said to one degree or another. This is counter to what God has commanded us when He said to love our neighbor as ourselves. By our words, we can bring peace and joy to others (and to ourselves). And we can bless someone else. Conversely, our words can bring pain and sorrow. It is hard to think of it, but we can be perpetrators of abuse.

The Bible is clear that our words -- and even our thoughts -- are of great importance.  James wrote, "With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." It is Jesus who said that people will know that we are His followers if we have love for one another! 

There is a little song that we used to sing in Sunday School when I was a child and we taught it to our children. It goes like this:

"Oh, be careful, little tongue what you say!
Be careful little tongue what you say.
For the Father up above
Is looking down in LOVE,
So be careful, little tongue what you say."

Let's join with the Psalmist, who prayed:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."  Psalm 19:14

Being The Eldest Sibling

Here is another memory, family! This photo is from 1967 when Valerie was about 2 1/2 and Stephen was almost a year old. When I think back on those days I think of how she took it upon herself to care for her little siblings. It was so sweet.

That is what the eldest child so often does! They are the helpers and the care-givers of the family. As the older sister in my family, I waited 5 1/2 years for a sibling. And, oh what a happy day to have my one, dear sister come into ou...r family. She was so much fun and so sweet.

By the time I was almost nine, there were four of us -- two brothers were welcomed into our family. And I was the baby sitter since Mom was sick with phlebitis in her legs quite frequently in those days.

I felt responsible for her and for my siblings. It wasn't easy. I thought at times that Mom expected more than I was able to give. The kids gave me a tough time sometimes. But God enabled me to do what He called me to do. And I still thank Him!

The care-giver older sister role became more intensified when Mom was widowed at the age of 34. Those were very tough times, but there were so many lessons to be learned and I am grateful that now I can hold a hand here and there and honestly say, "I understand. I care".


The Bible tells us this in 2 Corinthians chapter 1:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer.

"Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation."

So, dear ones, trust the Lord in the good times and in the tough times. Through all the joys, all the sorrows, all the rewards, and all the injustices the Lord will walk with you. And He will form you into a more loving and compassionate person. May He be glorified through it all.

More Family Memories - Part 1

Did you ever think: "I should write that down so I don't forget it."
We all have, but if you are like I am, you get busy and forget.
So I've decided to dive into the past and pull out some cute and special things mainly for family, but you friends are welcome to join us if you wish. :
...

So let's start right here with a note that Bethany wrote to Valerie in the fall of her freshman year in college! Now, how sweet is that?

Love in the family is more precious than gold! If you, dear reader, have a story from the family that you would like to share, please send it to me. I will pass it along in this blog so that we can have it available for those who love the good, old stories. Then some day when a cherished, little face looks into yours and asks for a story about the "olden days", you will have a resource right here!                                                                            

Have Confidence. God is in Control!

We have often wondered at how people can grow up in the same environment yet be so different. Personality, gifts, talents, interests, academics, physical appearance, and other features and attributes can be so varied -- even among siblings and cousins.

God made each one special and unique. And He is interested in everything about us. See what the Bible has to say: in Psalm 139:

". . .you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,    when as yet there was none of them."

Our God knows ALL things, even before they happen. And He knew us  before we were even conceived. What an awesome thought.

Is there any wonder that the ONE who formed us, made us, and loves us is interested in every aspect of our lives? That, my friends should give us peace and confidence. 

Sometimes we think of a child, grandchild, or other loved one or friend and we become worried about his or her well-being. And we have to remind ourselves that GOD loves them more than we do. And we can trust Him to work in their lives.

Romans 8:32 comes to mind.  "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"

Cling to this thought with confidence that our Lord is in control and He loves us "with an everlasting love": 

 

Thoughts On Aging

These are thoughts that I was having on September 10, 2002 --

Tonight I am thinking of the aged and the aging.

We know that we are to honor, to value, to respect, and to emulate our elders -- especially the dear Christians who have given so much love, time, prayers, money and of themselves to and for us.

But we also have to admit that we become confused, frustrated, hurt, and angry sometimes because we don't know how to properly care for them and we don't understand their concerns and their fears.

Someone said today of a loved one, "he is no longer living the life of faith that we were always used to seeing." And we knew exactly what this friend meant, for we saw Wayne's Dad become more preoccupied with the security (financially) that he could provide in the workplace vs the ministry. It was a great disappointment to us when he left the pastorate.

Of course, he never lost his love for the Lord, His Word, and His Church. But we couldn't help but feel that he settled for second best in areas of his life (and we have, too).

May God grant us patience and an extra measure of love and understanding for our elderly loved ones. And may we remember we will "be there" before we know it!

Addenda added on September 1, 2017:

Fifteen years have passed since I wrote those words. And, we are "there" ourselves. We have watched ourselves losing abilities that we took for granted. We are more fragile physically. We don't move about as quickly as we once did. Every task takes more time and energy than ever. We forget things and have to retrace our steps more often than we once did.

We find ourselves thinking more and more about the changes that may come into our lives very quickly. When one of us dies, what kinds of decisions will the other have to make? We talk about it and are pondering some possible changes even now.

But . . . "we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."  -- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Prayer Is Vital

Doing The Best Thing and The Least Thing We Can Do
January 27, 2012

Grandchildren, here is a picture of some of you in our family room, but I am thinking of every one of you from the very youngest (Adam) to the oldest (Heather). There are 26 of you as of 2012.

Let's talk about prayer today. Prayer -- it's simply talking to God. He is with us always and has His ears open to us. He knows our happy times and he knows our sad times. And He is always ready to listen.

I learned to pray as a very young child. Our family was a praying family. But your grandfather taught me more about prayer after we were married. One thing that amazed me about Grampie was that he prayed about everything. For example, when we got into the car to go somewhere, we prayed before we started our trip and asked God to give us "traveling mercies" -- to keep us safe. He prayed for our children before they were born. And he prayed for the children that our children would have someday (that is YOU, of course).  He prayed when he couldn't find something. Your Grampie prayed about things that never entered my head as a matter for prayer. He helped me to understand more fully that GOD cares about every detail of our lives, whether it is big or little.

One night I was reading the Bible online. Online Bible reading is great because it is easy to go from translation to translation and to paraphrases in order to get a better understanding of the chapters and the verses. While I was reading, an old spiritual came to mind: "It's me, it's me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer. . . not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, Oh Lord." Hmmm -- that made me stop and think. I pray for you and a lot of people, but how often do I really pray for ME?

I'm supposed to pray for YOU. The Bible commands it! In the Old Testament, the Prophet Samuel said to King Saul, "God forbid that I should sin by ceasing to pray for you." In this very difficult world, the very best thing that we can do for one another is to pray! And we can do that any time of the day or night. We can pray lying on our beds, driving the car, at work, at play. We can pray anywhere and at any time. We can speak aloud or direct our thoughts to the Lord because He knows what we are thinking on the inside.

There are always many needs among our family, friends, and "friends of friends": spiritual, physical, emotional, material, end-of life issues, pregnancies, stresses, and conflicts. People are concerned about their grades, where they will go to college, who they will marry. Some of those things are overwhelming to us and they motivate us to pray for each other. Those are the times when we go to God's Emergency Room!

But we should pray for ourselves, too. When we do that, we are telling our VERY best friend about us! One thing to remember is that we should be very careful that we do not ONLY pray when we have problems. The Bible says we should "pray without ceasing". That doesn't mean we have to be praying every second, but we must not neglect our regular times to pray -- daily. You know when we pray for you most often? It is at meal times when we thank the Lord for our food. So three or more times every day we are praying for members of our family. Sometimes we pray because we know you have a need. And other times pray for you "just because".

What do you pray about? If you are like me, maybe you forget to ask the Lord to teach you what you need to know for living this life in a pure and wholesome way. Maybe you forget to tell Him when you have had bad thoughts or when you have been mean or when you have used rude or crude language. He wants to hear from us at those times and He has promised to forgive us and to help us please Him in everything we do and in everything we say. If we just go our own way, we usually live very selfish lives. We need God's guidance and so we pray and we read the Bible. We go to Church and we talk to other Christians and to our family. That is how we learn. And that is how we grow as Christians.

Maybe the thing we forget most often is to praise Him for who He is -- our Lord and Savior. Or maybe we are more forgetful about thanking Him for the blessings and miracles that He freely gives to us by His grace -- especially the miracles of salvation and redemption.

So remember to pray for friends and family. And remember to pray for yourself, too. When you pray, tell God how wonderful He is. Tell Him you love Him. Thank God for His goodness and His gracious gifts. Tell the Lord when you have done wrong things. Tell Him you are sorry and that You want to not do that again. That is repenting -- turning away from those things that do not please the Lord. So pray. It is the LEAST you can do and it is the BEST you can do.

Getting Ready For A Camp

One Of Those Special Moments
February 1, 2012

It really was a very special time for your Grandfather, Uncle Jonathan, Uncle Brian, and me.  We had worked hard clearing up brush and unwanted logs at our site on Cary Lake. It was the fall of 2011 -- late October. It was well into the evening.  The moon was full, the air was calm. Except for the crackling of the fire and the soft tone of our voices, there was little else to hear as we enjoyed the unusually warm night and the fires. We had four of them burning that night. 

It was a night for thinking about the value of family and time together with people that we love. It was a time to be enveloped in the peace of a perfect night. We cherish such times.  

The light from those fires remind me that Jesus said we are to be as lights in this very dark world. One time we were in Luray Cavern in Virginia and as the guide showed us the amazing formations, we came to a large space and he stopped us. He said he was going to have the lights turned off so we could experience total darkness. The lights went off and there was no glimmer anywhere. The darkness was almost palpable. I moved my hand in front of my face but could see nothing. It was total blindness and it seemed to even be a little hard to catch my breath in such dark and "heavy" air. Then after a moment he said he was going to strike a match so we could see how effective a little light was in a totally dark place. It was amazing. I could see features from a few yards away. We all began to murmur over it because we were so astonished.

I tell you this to remind you that Jesus said we are not to hide our light, but to let it shine. If you are ever tempted to think that your good deeds, your kind words, your prayers are of no value, think again! Those things stand out brightly in this troubled world. People all around you are hurting and they need to know that somebody cares. Maybe you can't fix their problems, but you CAN care. As someone wrote on facebook recently, "one person can make a difference -- or at least try." How true!

Jonathan Was Well Received

When Jonathan Joined our Circle
Written 2-12-2012

To Grand Manan and Back

Adventure On A Ferry 
February 12, 2012