Senior Recital

In the past five years, I’ve learned a great deal about music.

As our daughter has been working toward her degree, I’ve been impressed.

There’s so much to music beyond knowing the notes and reading the music.

God has stretched and grown our daughter in amazing ways.

These have been very memorable years, especially since she’s gotten married and had two children during it all. (She’s expecting their third baby in December! Squeak!)

Tomorrow is her Senior Recital.

It’s the culmination of all her years of study jammed into one night’s performance.

She will be singing in different languages.

The program is varied to give us a feel for her range.

I’m thrilled that she will be playing both her guitar and her ukulele.

Her guitar was a Christmas gift we got her many years ago with the help and expertise of our brother-in-law, Jon.

The ukulele was a recent graduation gift from her grandmother.

The one she’s always played is an antique from my aunt and does not have the ability to be plugged into the sound system and thus cannot be used.

There’s a ton of last minute things to see to today.

I’m praying for God to be glorified in all this.

Because He is the One who gave her the gift and the calling.

I know He is the reason she is able to do it.

I recently ran across a note in my Bible.

This note was to remind me to pray this verse for my daughter.

I’m praying again for her and will be tomorrow.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your gifts. Thank You for all Your provision for our daughter and her family. Lord, thank You for this opportunity. Please, help her to continue to give all glory and praise to You. Lord, please help her to worship You in the beauty of holiness. Thank You so much for Your faithfulness. May Your name be glorified. Amen.

Happy Boxing Day!

It’s a holiday in the UK and always follows Christmas.

As my friend once said, “You know, it’s for boxing up your things”.

What a great idea!

After all it takes a great deal of effort to get everything out, I love the idea of setting aside a day to put everything away and make things tidy.

We certainly will be doing some of that today.

But more than cleaning and reorganizing, I’m going to be thanking God.

Our youngest girl turned 18 yesterday.

She’s a beautiful young woman and I’m so glad to have her in my life.

I praise God for the friendship we have and the beautiful way she has blossomed.

Yesterday, as we all enjoyed opening gifts and making gingerbread houses and eating loads of goodies, I just felt so blessed.

God has been so good.

His way is perfect.

His plans are best.

When we moved here, Anne had to leave her job, her friends, and most of her family.

It was tough for her.

But He has given her so much here.

She helps me around the house, cooking and cleaning.

She helps watch the grandbabies and she sometimes stays with Sis to do chores there.

I’ve watched her walk in the Lord grow.

She’s been learning how to do things she never would have if we’d not moved.

As we cleaned up and chatted last evening, my heart was so full.

God gave us such gifts in each one of our children and I am so grateful.

Although, letting go is difficult, I like watching to see what God is doing.

I know I can rest in His will for our family, every single one of them.

He made them and He loves them even more than I do.

Praise God!

As we “box up” today, I’m going to treasure the beautiful memories while prayerfully waiting for all the Lord has in store.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for our beautiful daughter. Lord, thank You for our family. I praise You for all Your blessings. Please continue to walk with each one of us and guide our hearts and minds. Lord, You alone are worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Learning by trial and error

Anne and I had so many things planned for our two weeks without the guys.

So, when they came home on Sunday we were unsure what to do.

Obviously, her furniture had to be done, so we worked together on it Sunday, when ordinarily we’d rest.

Our thought was, “It’s in the way. We’ve got to free up space in the garage.”

Of course, we couldn’t get four pieces of furniture done in that amount of time.

My husband understood and appreciated our efforts.

While they unpacked the truck, Monday, Anne and I worked on the furniture.

I’m only able to do some of it because of my health.

So, when it was time to put the top coat on her night stand I went back in the house.

Much later, Anne showed me the table.

She wasn’t happy.

I could see why.

Brown streaks were all over the top of the table and one side had them as well.

Being relatively new to this I wasn’t sure what we were seeing, bleed through or top coat.

The decision was made to let it sit over night and figure out what to do in the morning.

Tuesday came and it was still there.

Anne and I decided the best approach was to sand it back off.

I felt bad for her, as she’d carefully painted flowers on the top that had to come off.

After sanding, she repainted it.

It was definitely the top coat, not bleed through.

So, she switched brushes and reapplied the top coat to a drawer. (Much easier to sand down if it didn’t work.)

Thankfully, it worked beautifully, no streaks.

During all of this, my husband set up a temporary spray tent in the backyard, went to the store to purchase primer, and sprayed all the drawers to the remaining two dressers and primered the long dresser.

This way, Anne can do the painting today and hopefully the top coat tomorrow.

Jase even got involved, he helped sand off the streaky top coat.

Anne and I were thrilled with all the help.

So, when my husband got a phone call from work yesterday, I was praying.

It turned out he cancelled his remaining vacation and returned to work this morning.

His two days were spent with us, just at home.

Cleaning and reorganizing the gear with Jase, painting the dressers with Anne.

Yup.

It was a good two day vacation.

The reason being, our family spent time together.

God is honored when we love and honor one another.

And He was definitely part of all.

No matter what changes come next, I pray our family will honor God through each one.

Psalm 104:1 NKJV — Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty,

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for these two days. Thank You for guiding and directing our family. Lord, we give You our lives, our plans, our family, and we humbly request that You be the center of it all. No matter our task, we want to honor You with our actions, attitudes, and words. Lord Jesus, You see the heart. If there is anything standing in the way of us following You, please remove it. Let our lives shine brightly before You. Thank You. Amen.

The cheering section

This is one of the stations I staged ahead of time.

I’m so thankful the Lord had me do things this way.

I’d prayed a lot about the best way to organize and plan everything.

Experience has taught me things rarely go as planned.

Of course this was true yesterday as well.

Setting up was nothing like I thought it would be.

But God had spoken to my heart ahead of time and I knew He wanted me to be flexible and at peace no matter the circumstances.

I’m glad He did.

Because I really hadn’t expected to be one of the cheering section.

I thought my name was on the “play” roster.

But God knows when it’s best to “bench” someone and that was me.

So, I was really glad I had pictures of things to show the players.

Not everything stayed as I had planned, but that’s fine.

It’s lovely.

I’m praying for all the details to come together smoothly today.

That our daughter will be blessed as well as her husband.

I’m praying for both families as we let go of our children into a new family of their own.

I’m praying for the Lord to touch the hearts of those attending.

I’m praying for…

Well, you get the idea.

The longer I walk with the Lord the more I realize just how little I know what is best.

My plans and ideas are so far from the knowledge of God.

So, when He changes the game, I need to enjoy the position He’s given me.

Yes, at times I’m disappointed.

But that too can be an opportunity for the Lord, if I’m willing to let go.

I’m looking forward to seeing how God is going to direct today.

After all,

I want to enjoy this special day for my little Bell.

She’s beginning a journey of a lifetime.

It’s one I’m so blessed to be called as well:

Wife.

And the Lord God said, “ It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Genesis 2:18 NKJV

Truly, God’s ways are best!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for the institution of marriage. Thank You for my husband and how blessed I am to be his wife. Thank You for walking with our two oldest daughters and giving them husbands. Please guide each if them. Lord, hold them in Your paths and teach them how to walk with You in all things. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your love. Thank You for walking with us each and every day. Today belongs to You. May we glorify Your name in all we do. Thank You. Amen.

Not a typical Monday

What is so different about this Monday?

Well, some things are pretty routine.

I’ll water the garden and eat breakfast.

I’ll be praying and writing.

Yet, this week’s schedule will color all I do.

Because on Saturday our girl is getting married.

I’m very thankful to the Lord for this!

He has been so faithful to us.

He has guided us through all the preparation and here we stand on the brink with very little to do before set-up day.

Of course, we have to travel down and since “running home for…” is out of the question, I’m checking our packing again.

Sis helped me go through the decorations yesterday.

She’s the wedding coordinator and therefore it’s important she understands all the details.

I’ll be asking Anne and Jase to pack their things today.

It’s a shot day, and I’m praying.

Sometimes shots make me very tired.

We are expecting visitors today and tomorrow.

So, I’ll have to plan a few meals.

Throughout all these things, one thing is foremost on my heart.

It’s something God talked to me about at the beginning.

Enjoy the journey, don’t rush through just to get through.

I want to focus on praising the Lord no matter what.

Marriage is His blessing.

He  who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord .
Proverbs 18:22 NKJV

My heart’s desire is to be free from worry and stress during this.

To simply walk in peace and thanksgiving to God.

Because I know, He has all the details in His hand.

Praise the Lord!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for everything You have already done. Thank You for walking with us each and every day. Lord, I don’t know what today holds, but I know I can rest in You throughout. Your will is perfect and although I have my own ideas and plans, I surrender them before You. Please help me to walk with You in all things and to be gracious, patient, and loving. Thank You for this journey. Thank You for Your love. Amen.

Every detail

Although the days are flying past and the wedding date is rushing upon us I wasn’t concerned.

My husband’s outfit hadn’t been purchased yet, but I was trusting in the Lord.

He had already spoken to my heart about it.

In fact it had been more than once that His gentle voice said,

Do not worry, I have it all in hand.

So, when my husband looked at me on Saturday and said, “Let’s go buy my outfit for the wedding,” I was excited, but not anxious.

When we arrived at the store, I realized I had forgotten my dress.

My husband suggested we go look anyway.

After all it doesn’t have to match exactly.

To our pleasure and surprise he found some slacks which were not only a great color, but also on sale!

From there we headed to the ties.

I’d been praying for my hubby since we got up that morning.

He has a bad back and he’s been suffering neck pain for a while now.

I could tell his neck was really hurting.

So my mind wasn’t on the shopping.

I think that’s why it caught me off guard.

We found the ties.

Blues, black, tan,…no gray, not even one.

“Well,…we can try somewhere else.”

“No, I think I have a gray tie that will work.”

My brow crinkled up as I tried to recall all the ties in the closet.

Unfortunately, I didn’t just trust my husband to know what he was talking about, nor did I stop and pray.

“Babe, the only gray tie you have is the one from my dad and it won’t work.”

He didn’t argue.

He turned toward the check out and said, “I need to go.”

I realized he was hurting.

I saw that I’d stopped trusting.

I began to pray silently.

We had other stops to make and when we reached home he tried on his pants.

My time in prayer had restored my peace.

The slacks were very nice.

His white dress shirt went well.

He retreated to the closet to find his ties.

I followed, just because.

To my surprise and delight he drew out a beautiful gray tie with stripes.

Honestly, I don’t remember ever seeing it before and said so.

“I got this for Oreste’s wedding.”

It matched perfectly.

When my husband went to Oreste’s wedding, our Bell went too.

It is a special memory.

This tie is so much more meaningful than a new one from the store.

As I fingered it, I remembered the Lord’s voice.

And thanked Him for all His faithfulness.

He truly has every detail in His hand.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for this added blessing of the tie which will hold even more memories as my husband walks our daughter down the aisle. Lord, truly You are the beginning and the end, and Your understanding is beyond anything I could ever imagine. Thank You for bringing something so small into the last pieces of the planning. Thank You for loving us so much. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Finishing touches

We are making a few little things for the wedding.

Yesterday, we were rolling napkins, Sis and I.

Handsome had made me over a hundred and sixty yellow paper circles to serve as napkin rings.

I enjoyed sitting across the table from Sis rolling napkins.

She talked about her time as a waitress while we worked.

Later, it was Jase and Anne sitting around the table with me.

Anne and I were folding pinwheels from gray paper and Jase was tracing holders for the flower petals.

(We are not allowed to throw rice or birdseed, so we will be throwing rose petals.)

Today, along with homeschooling, I’m hoping to finish the pinwheels.

I’m also planning on doing some staging.

Since we live so far away from the bride, she can’t see the decor.

Therefore, I’m going to set one table up with all the items and take a picture and send it to her.

I plan on doing this for all the decor that I can.

These pictures will be with lists of the items required, inside numbered totes.

I’ve been putting together totes with numbers to correspond with my decor list.

The plan is to have all of it together for when we go to set up.

That way I am not trying to explain each area, nor handle everything myself.

Hopefully, it will streamline both the setting up and the taking down.

It’s been such a journey.

Learning to live differently.

I’ll be honest, sometimes I feel frustrated over all the limitations.

But each time I do, it’s like a warning light.

Reminding me that’s not the proper way to see it.

God has allowed all these changes and many of them I’m very thankful for.

I think of Job’s words:

Job 2:10 KJV — But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job didn’t sin with his lips, because his heart was right before God.

He didn’t understand all the changes in his life, but he served God faithfully.

I want to walk in the same way.

To accept either “good” or “bad” in life as an opportunity to walk with the Lord.

Because most of the time, my perspective calls something either “good” or “bad” depending upon how I feel or perceive it.

Obviously, God’s view point is far superior.

As we put the finishing touches on the last details for the wedding, I want to remember.

No matter how it all comes together nor how different it all has to be due to the current restrictions, it’s a wonderful moment.

The beginning of a new family.

Praise the Lord!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for all the changes. Thank You for allowing the things I do not always understand nor want. For I know I can trust You completely. Lord, thank You for teaching me and my family so much through all these changes. Please continue to hone our hearts, to guide our steps, and to guard our words, that we might not sin against You. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Three years ago today

Wow!

The days have swiftly gone, like dried leaves in a strong wind.

How blessed it has been.

God has truly done marvelous things in these three years.

When our Sis married, we gained a son.

Our other children gained a brother.

We all were granted a huge blessing.

For truly, he loves all of us and most importantly, he loves Jesus.

Through this wonderful new family, God has granted such encouragement to us.

Tim has supported Sis as she’s continued to follow her education, because he knows she feels called by God to do it.

And God has blessed them in that.

Both of them have supported us as we walked this road of struggle, first with injuries to Anne and Bell, then with my illness.

Along with that, they opened their home to us.

I spent a major part of last summer living with them while we tried to figure out what to do about my inability to live in our house.

Often Jase or Anne was there as well.

When it was clear God was moving us, Sis packed, and Tim hauled things in his trailer.

They helped unload and unpack when we got in this house.

There are so many little things they have done to bless and encourage us.

Of course the best occurrence in these three years has been our grandchildren.

Both the birth of our first granddaughter, over a year ago, and the expected birth of our first grandson next month.

Near Tim’s birthday, this spring, I asked him how he felt about his birthday.

I can’t recall the exact phrase, but it was something like:

“Really blessed. I had no idea God was going to bless me so much. I have a beautiful wife and I’m the father of two children, although our next is still in the womb. Yeah, I’m really blessed.”

My husband and I agree.

God has truly blessed them and us.

So much has happened in three years.

What an incredible God we serve!

Happy Anniversary, Tim and Sis.

We love you!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for family. Thank You for creating the entire social and human relations with the first family, Adam and Eve. Lord, none of us deserve Your blessings, but we are so grateful for it. Our hearts are full of wonder at Your works. As we walk into another day, please continue to lead us. We want our families to be a reflection of You to those around us. Thank You so much for these three years. Thank You for our daughter and son-in-law and their children. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace poured out upon us. We praise Your holy name, Jesus. Amen.

Rejoicing in the day-to-day

Boy!

This was a long time ago.

I ran across this while searching for something else.

So many memories return with a look at our girls grown big before they were large.

How does it happen so fast?

You simply try to deal with life day in and day out while the miracle of childhood turns into the blessings of adulthood.

And suddenly:

Those tiny fingers and messy heads and snuggly cuddly bodies have stretched out.

You look and see not a child.

And it’s a common phenomenon.

On Saturday we traveled to a wedding ceremony for a man who we used to know as a little boy.

He too stretched out and changed in the day-to-day growth of children.

But I haven’t forgotten the little boy that he once was.

My voice was absent as I hugged him, all polished and ready for this major life change.

But he looked down on this tiny lady who loves him and said, “I love you”.

I signed, “I love you” hugged him again and let him return to his duties.

What a joy!

To daily walk in this miracle of children growing into men and women.

Only God could come up with such a wonderful blessing as babies to child to adult.

What an incredible honor to have years of daily opportunities to instill character into the future generation.

Of course we can only do that through Jesus.

He’s the One who guides, leads, and directs us, we simply have the privilege of holding, comforting, caring, and training those littles He for so brief a time.

And He adds the blessings of loving other littles too.

Children of our friends or church family.

Neighborhood children or those I was blessed to work with.

So many opportunities to share Jesus with those who have yet to leave childhood behind.

As I cherish memories of my children’s childhood, I praise God for the day-to-day.

Praising Him for today and all those which have come before.

Psalm 35:28 KJV — And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for today! Thank You for all the days we have shared with our children and with others. Thank You for pouring into our lives. Please continue to guide, direct, and teach us as we purpose to do the same with our remaining two who still live with us. Lord, please shine Your truth into other parents, that they might use these precious years of childhood to raise amazing adults. Thank You for Your love of children. Thank You for Your love of each one of us. Thank You for all You are doing day-to-day in our lives. We love You, Jesus. Amen.

Holding my hand

For some time now, I’ve been praying for this.

I’ve learned from the past.

My heart knows that the best way is to ask God and then act upon what He directs.

Of course, I also spoke with Bell.

I wanted to give her a shower which would bless her.

We agreed that it would be a pleasure to work along side her fiance’s mother and sisters, her best friend, Anne and Sis, as well as my sister and mother.

Bell blessed me by requesting that I handle the decor.

So, after getting the things which were important to her, I began to prayerfully prepare.

It has been a truly wonderful walk with the Lord.

From small details to making things, God has guided my every step.

As the date approached I found myself worrying.

“Lord, I have to drive down, meet up with…”

Trust Me.

“Father, my asthma is struggling today, what about…”

Trust Me.

“Lord, I love this outfit, but shouldn’t I wear something else and change, or maybe…”

Trust Me.

The night before the shower I prayed.

My emotions were in control, but my thoughts continued to bring in worry.

Finally, I felt I had placed it all back in the Lord’s hands and fell asleep.

And I had a dream.

I was with the Lord.

He was simply listening to me.

Because I was telling Him everything I was concerned about.

He calmly reached out and took my right hand in His.

He squeezed it gently and said,

You don’t need to worry, I’m with you.

When I woke,

the memory of the dream was so fresh I could almost feel His hand holding mine.

The day was so full.

I didn’t have much opportunity to rest, but it didn’t matter.

Jesus was with me.

Details and the schedule changed, but it didn’t matter.

Jesus was with me.

As always, the unexpected happened, but it didn’t matter.

Jesus was with me.

Throughout the entire day, God’s peace just clung to me.

I walked through every moment with His abilities carrying me and found such joy in it all.

God brought many people alongside to give what I needed at the moment.

He brought people we love, to share our daughter’s celebration of her wedding.

When it was over, He brought many helping hands to clean it all up.

I wish I could have written each person’s name down, so I could thank God for each individual.

But even in that, God knows.

When my husband asked the next morning, “How did it go?” I knew exactly what to say.

“It was a miracle.”

What a joy it is to seek God, listen for His answers, and then walk in His ways.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for all You did to bless our daughter and soon to be son. Please continue to pour into their lives that they might being this new family by seeking You, listening for Your answers, and walking in it with faith. Lord, You are incredible. I love You. Thank You for first loving me.