No Turning Back

The invitations are made. The family reunion effort is off the drawing boards and into actiion. I spoke with one of my cousins yesterday. The clouded relationship I perceived is reality. There are still struggles in one family after all these years. My heart hurts when I hear of siblings that don't get along. After speaking with her, I had twinges of regret. Have I opened a rat's nest? I am not used to family upset. As I said earlier, my father's side of the family has always been a haven of love and acceptance. Not each one saw eye to eye with the other but it didn't come between a relationship. In my family of husband and children, we work hard at not holding grudges. It takes repentance and forgiveness for any relationship to succeed. If these two elements aren't practiced, true relationship cannot exist.

Regardless of the outcome, I have already begun the journey. I am going to trust the Lord will bring connection and renewal to family relationships through a time of togetherness.

In a half hour, Lauri and her four children and Isaiah and I will leave on a coach bus for a day in Chicago. Our church is sponsoring a trip to Navy Pier and Lincoln Park Zoo. One last outing for the kids before school begins again. I'm looking forward to this trip into the city in which I don't have to drive and buck the traffic. Chicago is a great place to visit but I'll take De Motte any day for a place to live. My daughter, Jennifer, wouldn't agree with me on that point.

I don't know if my readers have noticed but the scripture verse of the day is automatic now. Bible Gateway puts the verse of the day in and also gives opportunity to listen to the entire chapter that the verse comes from. Just click on the little sound icon and listen to God's Word. Let it refresh you. I loved finding verses to illustrate the point of the day's blog but decided this was a better way to feed me and the reader also. Another new feature is the NeoEarth that shows where my readers are from. I find that so very interesting. The internet is an amazing tool that I enjoy using very much.

A Family Reunion?

Taking a deep breath. And a great time was had by all.......Sherri and Don and their children were delivered to Midway late afternoon on yesterday for their trip home to Phoenix. My husband had a doctor's appointment so I was the designated chaufeur. I enjoyed the face to face conversations that were to end at delivery. My son-in-law asked if now that we are retired if they would see us more often. I told him that plan had been set in my mind for years. We have been cheated of spending life's moments with that family because of distance so with God's blessing and will we hope to travel there more often and stay a bit longer. They say company and fish begin to stink after three days. We will have to devise a way that we won't be in their space on a continuing basis. We will figure it out in time.

I'm on to a new project. At least I hope I can pull this together. My father's family is very close and has gotten together often over the years. My mother's family has not been so cohesive. My mother and her two brothers died quite young and the family hasn't gotten together for many years. Even when they were alive there seemed to be some cloud in the area of relationship. I don't know if I was the only one to feel that and it was my problem or if that was reality. I have been thinking of having an informal cousins reunion for that side of my family. Now people who know me would think that would be a piece of cake for me. However, it will take a great deal of courage. Since the family has not been very close, thoughts run through my mind like, "I wonder if anyone would come". Then another thought rises up, "Who cares, at least you will have tried." I don't have anything to lose and everything to gain so I'm going to encourage myself to carry on. I'm considering where to start. My invitation is typed excluding the date. How does one pick a date??? I think I will call one cousin from each of the two greater families and make sure the date I pick isn't already filled with a family wedding or some other affair.

During the night this new thought of mind has been running through my head. At first it seemed like it would be an easy effort. Then I thought of all the cleaning I would want to do first. After those thoughts, I wondered if we would be able to get the house painted first. I know. Ridiculous. Yes, the house needs painting and our painter son says he will get to it this year yet. Yes, there are dirty corners in my house, but not so bad as that it would be a big effort. I can do this......can't I?

Yes, I want to see my cousins this side of heaven. It looks as if it will have to take someone to make the effort. Why not me? Each spring I like to honor my grandparents by visiting their graves. I think honoring them by bringing their grandchildren together would be greater respect. I can just see their faces glow with joy. Yes, Lord, I can do this....with your help.

Let the Fun Begin

Monday morning........the plan today is for our eldest daughter's family to visit my dad and Mary for coffee time this morning. They will need transportation so I'll tag along. Following that will be a visit to our son-in-law's relatives. Mid afternoon will find us making one more trip to Midway airport. The time in the car will be sweet as we will get one last opportunity for visiting with this precious and loved family. Then the dreaded time of seperation will come. Many years ago, my daughter and I couldn't experience one of those times without tears. However, with more opportunity to travel both for her family and for us, we generally know that we will see them "soon", even if that "soon" is six months or more. I don't think God intended family members to live so far apart. Tongue in check.

Our youngest daughter and husband will also leave for their home today. They live about two hours from us and come "home" often so the parting is not as much sorrow. As a matter of fact, they will be returning next weekend for Kendra's cousin's baby shower.

After today, life will return to routine. Our lives are never boring. I once heard it said, "If one finds him or herself bored, it is not a state of reality but of the mind". I so heartily agree. If I find myself feeling unmotived or blah, I quickly decide to change my focus and look for something to be productive. I have a perpetual list of priorities that lay under the surface so that when the time comes available, I can roll my priorty list in my head and select something on the list. On the other hand, I am not a person that cannot sit for a rest or do something just for the fun-of-it. I'm convinced that God intended that we enjoy our lives. I don't think He stands by with a stick waiting to smack us if we quit working. I know people who seem to think that is the way God is. It is difficult for them to use time for things that are pure entertainment. They feel they are wasting "time". It is the entertaining moments in which I find refreshement that make the moments I find sheer toil bearable. I try to never be too busy for time with people. It doesn't matter how much work I have to do..........people come first. Someone may call with a request to go shopping, meet for lunch, go to the beach or anywhere else. If I'm up to my eye balls in preoccupation but I feel my interaction with them will benefit one of us, then it is time to put down what I'm doing and join the fun. I don't regularly golf or play cards or or or .....even though there isn't a thing wrong in that practice. But I do leave home for activities with friends and family without much qualm. I've come to believe God would have me cherish the moments, AND I DO!

Today, I will enjoy one more day of pure pleasure. Tomorrow I will begin my catch-up. There will be sheets to wash and a house to clean. Until then, let the fun begin.

A Day of Rest

This morning I washed and dried three loads of beach towels. That is a whole bunch of beach towels. Yesterday morning we all went to the parade in town. It is always nice to see town's people that one has known for years. Our town parade route is at least a mile long and people are lined up throughout. We sat across from the bank on the property where we raised most of our children. There were twenty seven of us. We took up quite a bit of space. The kids had great fun picking up or catching the candy thrown to them from floats. Our youngest, Kendra, is still a child at heart and stood out with the kids luring the candy throwers to "Throw it this way!" She collected some the kids didn't see and then passed them out to the highest bidder in our adult crowd. Eventually she brought some to the lawyer friend of ours whose office is now our old house. He and his wife teased her and said they noticed she had no shame. Needless to say, the kids in our clan came home with candy bags full.

After the morning in town, we came home and grilled pork chops and hamburgers for everyone. Then all piled in a van or SUV and off to the lake we went. We were surprised at the crowd when we arrived and learned there was a demonstration by world famous wade boarders. I thought it was hysterical when our son Jay said, "Oh there is so and so from Orlando". He is a boarder that Jay has seen on television and in the magazines. Later in the day, Jay got his picture taken with him. We set up our camp right next to where the boarders were gathered. That was not intentional but fun. All in all, the adults and kids were entertained by the stunts those guys did in the air over the water. In addition our son in law, Elton, added to the day's fun with all the things his boat lended to. The day was a great success.

John and Kim and their five children left for home from the lake. John has to preach today so they needed to return home to get organized for their usual type of Sunday. This morning the alarm went off at five o'clock. It was time to get Jay and Austin in the car headed for Midway Airport to return back to their home in West Palm Beach, Florida. Ken drove them and had returned before nine. Now it's time to go to church. A few of our crowd have already gone but we will still fill a pew today.

Aren't you glad our Lord designed our week with a day of rest included? I just read the story yesterday of how He himself rested after creating the earth and its inhabitants. I'll bet He needed a rest after all that work. I'm grateful for today. We will be busy but there is still a rest in going to church and feeding on the Word and fellowship. Have a blessed day of rest.

Give and You Shall Receive

And His mercies are new every morning. Yes, His strength is new this morning, too. I'm thinking mainly of my daughter Lauri who has gotten the brunt of the responsibility this week with our family home. I have ten in my household but she has more and many of them are little kids. Her home is more conducive for kids because there are kids that live there. Beside that, she has a lovely big home and a big yard. I feel badly, though, when I see her strength wear thin. I know what its like........I did it for years and years. However, she would be the first to say that we are having the time of our lives. She commented yesterday after we took the kids to a movie just to have an hour and a half of quiet, that though we complain about the noise they make, it is a delightful experience to watch those little cousins interact.

I don't recall laughing so much recently as I have the last few days. The way the adult kids banter between them and poke fun at each other (all in love of course) is entertaining. My dad and his wife have been with us several hours this week. Last night my dad just sat and grinned from ear to ear as he watched the adult kids mess around. There happened to be on the table a magnet in plastic with many magnetic screws. One could fashion a creation on the plastic base. A contest developed over the course of the day and by the time our eldest son, John, arrived, the heat was on. Pictures had been taken of earlier creations and he took on the challenge of trying to create something bigger and better. He completed his statue and then something occurred that threw all the magnetism off and the thing collapsed. The entertainment was priceless. I'm not sure the contest is over. I think new mercy will be had in that area, too, this morning. I should think of some neat prize to award the winner.

Having Jay around, our computer gurue, is a big help in the tech department. He put all the pictures from our Bear's camp trip on a slide show with music in the background. Too cute. I asked him if he would put that link on my blog so maybe we will get lucky today. One has to stand in line as Jay grants tech wishes to family members. Poor guy.......

Yesterday, a couple of my daughters presented me with a Joyce Meyer study Bible, a gift for my birthday. I opened it this morning and thought I would begin at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Genesis 1 is such an interesting commentary of the beginning of the world. It struck me how God tells us that with each living thing He created, He put within that thing the ability to recreate. He talks of making flowers and trees with fruit, all having their own seed within them. It made me think of how we have within us the seed of Jesus Christ. As humans, we not only can recreate another human, but we can use the seed of the presence of Jesus within us to create good in all our activity. Jesus tells the story in the gospels of the sower, one who plants his seed in good soil and reaps a good harvest and those that plant their seed in bad soil and reap no harvest or worse. When I look at my family, I am grateful that in God's grace I was born into a family that had taken this seed planting and harvesting principal very seriously. This principal was taught to us very early in life. What one sows, one will reap. Now we all know that life isn't always predictible but we also now that on the law of averages, that principal is strong.
When we give love, we get love. When we give time, we get time. When we give money, we get money. When we give effort, we receive results. It is a principal of life. I trust Ken and I have taught that to our children and I pray our grandchildren are learning the ways of life taught from that vantage point. All of this hangs on God's grace to us all. After all, it is His prinicpal.

Bear's Training Camp

Our plan was to attend the Bear's Training Camp today. There was a scheduled practice on their internet website for today. We have talked this trip up to our little kids for days and all these Bear fans were hyped. Yesterday afternoon, Lauri checked the schedule one more time only to find they had cancelled today's practice. Fortunately, if we acted fast we could save the day because they had a practice last night at seven. We hurried and scurried to ready gazillion sandwiches and get all the troops ready to leave. We made the practice on time but learned we should have arrived earlier because there were so many activities for kids that we didn't get time for them to do. We also relearned something we have learned before which is that it is very difficult to keep track of family children at a thing where there are so many people. This was our first visit to the Bear's camp and I thought we may be out there with twenty or at the most fifty people. Was I in for a shock. There were probably a few thousand people there to watch some guys in blue and orange uniforms run across a field. I commented to my son that I wasn't impressed with the work they did in their practice. He had to agree that it was a movement practice rather than a contact practice. All in all, the weather was perfect ( a bit humid but then it's August). We enjoyed the sunset and felt the cool breeze on our damp skin. The kids all had a great time playing with each other and enjoying some of the things the camp provides to "condidion" kids for football. Our adult kids were glued to the fence taking pics of this and that player and of course, Lovey Smith. To be honest, he was the only one I could pick out. I'm not a football fan but I must be in the wrong family because the rest are wild about football.

I am always amazed at how much work it is to get this large group somewhere and also a challenge to feed them all. I think everyone's appetite is greater when they are together. Lauri and I thought we had made enough sandwiches for our army for our picnic at the Bear's camp but when the sandwiches were gone, some where still looking for more. Both of us looked at each other in shocked unbelief. How could we run out of sandwiches? Today, I ready. I have three cassoroles ready for the oven, a crock pot of meat balls, two jello salads, a green salad, and a big bowl of chocolate pudding. We're going to eat that for a late lunch since everyone ate breakfast late. I'm hoping it fills everyone's stomach. Lauri and I talked this morning and decided to order pizza for tonight, have pork chops to eat after our town's festival parade tomorrow. Sunday's menu is broiled tilapia and shrimp kabobs. Anyone hungry? You are welcome to join us, the more the merrier.

In between the activity I slipped away for a funeral this morning. The woman was only 48 years old and was a single gal. I have known her family for my entire life and felt I needed to make my concern known. As I sat there and looked around at the crowd, it occured to me that the guy across the aisle, approximately six or seven years older than me, had aged. He had hearing aids in his ears. Sometimes those things shock me. Everyone gets old but me, right? I looked at a lady who had been my Sunday School teacher when I was a young girl. I remember thinking then that she must not have known much about families cause she only had one son. I have to laugh at myself. Where did I get such an idea? She knew plenty about the hearts of young girls though. I remember her being a stern teacher but when she gave each of us padded perfumed patterned clothes hangers for Christmas she won my heart forever. I won't forget the thrill of getting such a grown up gift. Even today I can feel the excitement of opening that box.

I'm sitting in this house all alone. Ken has gone to a business appointment and everyone else went to visit at Lauri's house. The silence is deafening. I must get over there too so I don't miss out on any of the fun. I will take along all my food. Good thing we got a van, uh?

There isn't much spiritual truth to hang your hat on in this blog today. That would indicate my business at the moment. What do they say? You can't give what you don't receive? I'm reminded that young moms have so little time for quiet times with the Lord. I feel that one more time this week. God knows and He is as close as ever. Tomorrow is another day in Him.

My Quiver is Full of Them

Wow.......what a night. When we arrived at Midway and walked in the door, Ken's phone rang. It was Whitney (our almost nineteen year old granddaughter). She was calling from the airport in Phoenix to say their flight had been delayed for a half hour. A half hour is no big deal in daylight but at 11 at night, a half hour is significant. It was around 7:30 and Jay and Austin were to land at 7:40. They were right on time. We scarfed up their luggage and beat it out of the freezing cold airport. We found a Friday's and took squatter's rights for a couple of hours. We had a great time looking over Jay's new iphone and checking out all his pictures. Technology is awesome. People who say one shouldn't be on the internet because there is so much pornography on it are people who should also have the philosophy that one shouldn't read books because some of them may have pornography in them. That is a ridiculous philosophy. I find the internet the most amazing source of GOOD information. I love it.

Sherri, Don, Whitney and Aidan arrived a bit after 11:30 p.m. For an early riser like me, that is the middle of the night. We arrived home at 1:30 a.m. Ughhhh. This morning, my body felt it had been run over by a truck. I got up around 7:45. It wasn't long before the rest of my world was waking. We had a great breakfast........each one getting their own desire. I had to laugh at myself. I'm such a wuss. I just pretend I run a restaurant and offer a number of options. It's okay, I enjoy making the rest of my family happy.

Now those staying in my house have joined those staying at Lauri's and it is a big happy boisterous family. Several are playing with their phones or computers and some are watching an old fashioned television. What a hoot. The cousins are counting the precious days they will be together. Schyuler, (John and Kim's son) told Austin he was staying until Saturday and Austin commented, "Cool, we have two whole days together yet". Isn't it a blast for parents and grandparents to watch their kids and grandkids enjoy one another. This is what Ken and I worked toward for forty years now. I haven't lived up to the standard in Proverbs 31 but the Lord has been gracious anyway just as he did with the Israelites. Thank you Lord. What does Proverbs 31 one say? A woman is spiritually successful when her children rise up and bless her. I feel truly blessed. I absolutely love my kids and theirs. I guess most parents do, but I feel it so keenly today. I plan to relish in the moments.