Going to Carolina in My Mind

2011

2011-01-01T11:09:00.002-05:00

As I sit here on the first day of 2011, my prayer is that this is a better year for everyone that I know - both near and far. This has been a year of change, a year in a new season, a year of health concerns, a year of pain, hurt and loss for so many that we know.

There have been wonderful moments and times of joy - any time spent with our family all together, watching as Kaiti grows into an amazing woman, wife and mother, Mama's Steel Magnolia birthday celebration, David's time in Africa, Robert's homecoming, being a part of answered prayers as Kelly finds her place in and then out of school with a wonderful job, times with my kindred spirits, watching my last 2 students getting to the place of being on their own, time spent at the ocean's edge, any time that is spent with Collin as he grows into the most extraordinary 3 year old in the world and no I am not saying that just because I am his KaKa.

I just read this New Year's prayer by a friend of mine and wanted to share it with anyone reading....

A New Calendar Prayer

by Michael B Henderson on Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 10:55am

I open a new calendar, Lord.

It lies flat, clean, crisp, pristine on my desk.

The days are numbered, and, as yet, have no markings in them. Each blank space an opportunity, something that can be filled.

Fill them with your grace, O Lord.

Let me see each one become a place, a time, where your love, your peace, your joy, your righteousness, your justice is made real in this new year.

Remind me to intentionally leave some blank, so that my days do not become so full that I have no time to reflect, no time to rest, no time just to be. Keep me from so much busyness , and allow me to commit, from time to time, the sin of the assembly-line- wasted time.

As the year progresses, Lord this calendar will become creased, marred, torn, stained with coffee-mug rungs. Let those things bring character not only to the calendar, but to this year, and to me.

Finally, when I put this calendar away 365 days from now, let me do so with love and gratitude for all you have done through the year.

This I pray in the name of the One who is beyond time, yet created time, even Jesus.

Amen.

and this I pray for each of you....

Delight is also a Verb

2010-11-12T12:11:00.005-05:00

Rosemary Clooney, was Debbie's mother-in-law. When Oprah asked her what kind of grandmother Rosemary was Debbie's immediate response was that Rosemary "delighted in her children". That statement really impacted me - more of an epiphany moment. What a powerful verb!!! WHO do I delight in. I delight in my family - my husband, my children, my son-in-law, my family that I grew up with, my kindred spirits and my grandson. My grandson...he has brought a whole new definition to this word - "delight". Collin brings me great pleasure. He takes me to a happy place. I only pray that I do that for my God.

Waterways and Trees

2010-10-13T19:21:00.004-04:00

I borrowed this from Kaiti's FB post after she finished reading South of Broad, by Pat Conroy. One of the best reads from last year - and I had forgotten how this passage spoke to me. We are salt waterways, but what kind of tree are we or do we need to be???

You can bury all the streams and creeks you want to, but salt waterways remember where they came from." "...the palmetto tree has more natural flexibility and can bend all the way to the ground and still survive, but an oak knows only how to stand firm against the amazing blasts of wind, and makes itself susceptible to the perils of uprooting." - Pat Conroy

Shifting Gears

2010-10-12T10:23:00.001-04:00

This was in my email this morning. I love Holly's writing and wanted to share it. I need to learn to shift gears. I so feel like I am in a very different and new season of my life - for so many reasons. I know that many of you are in the very same place. New jobs, new ministries, new friends, sadness, new physical challenges, changes, dealing with our adult children, dealing with relationships, new life in your families - everything is changing so quickly. Last night I was able to spend time loving, eating, praying and laughing with some very dear friends. I was reminded me of how very precious this life is - and how quickly any of our circumstances and places in life can change.

Today my prayers are with the Wilcox family as they walk through a very different season in their lives. I pray that God will place his power of healing on Kristin, and supply strength to each in her family. May we be there to help them shift to an easier gear. K

Heart to Heart with Holley

When you're looking for a little more joy...

Posted: 11 Oct 2010 04:22 PM PDT

This morning my husband and I set our for a bike ride. A brilliant blue sky hung above us and the first kiss of fall found its way onto our cheeks as we began to zig-zag down the trail.

Biking hasn't always been easy for me (okay, never). I do enjoy it—especially on flat pavement. But we live in a hilly part of the country and every ride is full of ups and downs (anyone else feel a spiritual analogy coming on?).

My husband is a great biker and my big break through came when he taught me how to use my gears. You see, I had been doing everything in the hardest gear. I was showing off, really. I thought if I could tackle the biggest, baddest hill in that gear then I must be good.

But that's just silly. And I understood why when I learned you can make it easier to pedal just by a little flick of your fingers. Now my gear fits the terrain...I can adapt, shift, make the most of of where I am at the moment.

And when I flip it into just the right gear and it feels a little bit like flying...I feel JOY.

God has been given me some "gear lessons" in the rest of my life the last few months too. As on my mountain bike, I can be a bit intense. I think, "I'll just do it all in the hardest gear. That will prove what a good little Christian I am." Can anyone say "craziness"?

Instead the One Who Loves Me is gently showing me how to shift, adapt, allow seasons of rest with seasons of pushing hard. It has changed everything for me.

And when I flip my heart into just the right gear with Him and it feels a little bit like flying...I feel JOY.

What helps you find a little more joy?

by Holley Gerth

Where Do I Start????

2010-09-02T19:12:00.009-04:00

There is so much to catch up on. For the past 7 months I have had writer's block, reader's block and just didn't need to be spending time here. I found that I have really missed so many friends - new and old who blog and share their lives. I have missed the friends here that I kept up with and prayed for. So, I am back and will gradually catch up on what has really been going on for the past 7 months -so much - so very much!!!! But for today - I have been watching the weather channel off and on all day. Worrying and praying for our friends along the Carolina coast. Watching the warnings and Jim Cantore coverage has really thrown me back over 20 years to a Thursday night - Sept. 21 when we were listening to reports about Hurricane Hugo, and wondering where it was going. That was a night that changed all of us forever. So tonight, we are praying for the folks and friends who live along the outerbanksof NC. Praying that when they wake up in the morning -they will be safe. Don't ever underestimate the fury of the storm!!!!

We're Back

2010-08-26T10:01:00.002-04:00

After a long break - mostly due to reader's block and writer's block, we're back. Back - only to find that aliens had hijacked my blog with no posts even visible and bizarre ads all over the place. So after 2 days - it's back up in a simple format and officially "under construction" again. I have missed my old and new friends and can't wait to catch up with each of you. See you again and SOON!!! Very soon!!!!

Protect Our Loved Ones

2010-01-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Psalm 91 (New International Version)

Psalm 91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. ^a]">[a]

² I will say ^b]">[b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Update from Uganda

2009-07-21T20:06:00.005-04:00

Here is an update from the team in Jinja, Uganda. Keep those prayers going!!

Just a brief update on our team.....

TUESDAY:

Today was another exceptional day in Uganda! Our two rally teams (a mixture of Americans and Ugandans) performed at 15+ schools in the past two days. The teams consist of a puppet and drama team, HIV/AIDS presentation and then a gospel presentation. So far we have seen over 700 students ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior! Several thousand people have been attending the nightly crusade since Sunday and well over 300 salvation decisions have been recorded.

Our dentists have seen 300 patients in 2 1/2 days and our medical doctors over 400. We left the clinic today with about 150 dental patients and 300 medical patients to be seen. Unfortunately it was our last day in this town (Myunge) because we must move on to another location. It was difficult to announce to those who had waited for so long that we could not treat them. We could stay here for a month, in this one village, and never see everyone. It's so hard to leave them. Tomorrow we move closer to town after caring or the pastors who have been attending the pastor's conference.

We have had many exciting things happen already and we cannot wait to share with you all when we return home! Please continue to lift us up as we meet the physical and spiritual needs of the men, women and children of Uganda! We love you all and covet your faithfulness to pray!

Hello Again....

2009-07-14T19:08:00.004-04:00

After a very long haitus from the blogging world - I am back. There are many reasons for not writing, but probably the most important would have to be the tone and words of some of the comments that were made concerning my posts. Those were not published for any of you to have to read. Soooo, I am back and ready to catch up with my online friends. If the comments begin again - I will have to make some changes to the way that I post.
Life has been crazy as usual, but it has taken on an even crazier pace for us in the past week. David leaves on Thursday morning for Africa. This time a week in Jinja, Uganda and then he travels with three other men to Siaya, Kenya. This is really a dream come true and answer to many, many prayers. Our friends and "family" in Siaya are going to get "CLEAN WATER" !!!!
More about all of that later...so check back.
Kelly has completed a year of living on her own and going to school in Charleston. Kaiti has completed her Masters in Teaching, and has decided to stay at home and be with Collin next year. Robert is already gearing up to deploy again in January. This time he will fly off of an aircraft carrier. David is busier than ever with his job, and his passion for the people of Kenya and Uganda. I have cut way back on my real job and now spend too much time doing David's office work. I have also taken on two incredible 8 year-olds who were struggling with home-schooling after the sudden death of their Daddy. I have been working with them on a full-time basis from January up until Apri. Now, I am there as support several times each week. What a blessing this has been!!!
Collin is growing up right in front of us - literally. We are able to skype with him almost daily. What an absolute joy he is!!!!

Collin's Christening

2009-03-03T16:54:00.002-05:00

It has been soooo long since I have had time to post anything. There is much to say and write about but only a few minutes right now. Here are some photos from the weekend of Collin's Christening in SC.

Memory Verse #3

2009-02-03T14:44:00.004-05:00

Job 8:21 (New International Version)

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

Don't you just LOVE this little bitty scripture - what a prayer to wake up to each and every morning!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-28T08:51:00.001-05:00

Finally - the gift from Christmas 2007 is happening tonight!!

Our Birthday Boy!!

2009-01-25T20:33:00.006-05:00

Collin Robert Wicker - 1 year old

God Stop Friday

2009-01-25T19:52:00.002-05:00

Now, I just love it when God shows himself as just a totally, delightful surprise to me. Like I said earlier, music is in my soul - it flows through every fiber of my being. And that is just nothing but a gift from God. Now, there is a certain kind of music that I have loved for years and years and years.

Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the forties, fifties and sixties. These styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues, reggae, rockabilly and old-time rock and roll. Beach music is closely associated with the style of swing dance known as the shag, or the Carolina shag, which is also the official state dance of both North Carolina and South Carolina. Recordings with a 4/4 "blues shuffle" rhythmic structure and moderate-to-fast tempo are the most popular music for the shag, and the vast majority of the music in this genre fits that description.

So, I am driving around Jacksonville, NC, Friday morning running errands for Kaiti to get ready for the big birthday. Turn on the radio and guess what!?!?! 94.1 - a station dedicated to playing beach music!! I just slowed myself down,took my time and listened to some wonderful music!! And just kept finding more errands to run out and do...now I KNOW that there are some blogging friends out there who will appreciate this one!!

Thankful Thursday

2009-01-25T19:08:00.005-05:00

Up at 4:30 to drive to the airport and fly to NC to spend the weekend with Kaiti, Robert and Collin for his birthday weekend. Can I say how thankful we are to be able get away for this time with our favorite little boy - not to mention the rest of his family and friends that we will be able to see. We got to Jacksonville, stopped by Kati's school and were actually able to see her at work. What a thrill, and this sort of visit of course set off her class of 8th graders - who really couldn't believe that she really had parents. Off to get Collin from the daycare, and on to Chuck E Cheese for the very first time!! Yes, this was a day to be thankful for.

A Very Late Wordless Wednesday - well almost...

2009-01-25T18:54:00.003-05:00

I grew up surrounded by music...it is in my soul and always has been. I started playing the piano when I was a preschooler. My parents saved and bought our first piano when I was old enough to take lessons in1st grade. My very first job was as a church organist to a couple of churches in our small town. Best job in town was the organist for a funeral home. So, anytime I hear the sound of the pipe organ in the National Cathedral -I am speechless - there are no words. I couldn't find recordings of the song that I heard on Wednesday - Holy,Holy,Holy -but when it came on the radio I had to pull over to listen. Amazing how we can be in a spirit of worship as we praise and raise hands with contemporary music, and at the same time can hear an old standard like Holy, Holy, Holy and be brought to the very same place in our soul.

Just a reminder...

2009-01-19T16:23:00.002-05:00

It REALLY is tough being a woman...but I was reminded today of the commissioning from the first Beth Moore event that I attended almost two years ago...

Count it a joy, Dear One When life gets hard. God is doing something huge! He is also proving That you are NOT a fake. Be brave, Mighty Warrior. Your God is with you! When waves are crashing, Stand to your feet, Throw your head back And feel the wind of the Spirit! God is painting a masterpiece With multi-colored trials. Go forth and display Divine special effects To the great glory of God. YOU CAN DO IT!

2nd Memory Verse

2009-01-19T12:23:00.003-05:00

This is my 2nd memory verse, and also my daily prayer.

2 Chron 7:14 (NIV)

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land."

For Such a Time as This...

2009-01-18T13:54:00.001-05:00

Can't wait until tomorrow night. Finally - we are beginning our study of Esther!!

Pressing on...

2009-01-17T17:19:00.005-05:00

After reading Beth's post and challenge on scripture memory at the beginning of January I made a commitment to participate. To hold myself accountable, I am going to post the verses on my blog on the 1st and 15th.
I started out with my "life verse" on Jan.1 because it is my all time favorite, and holds more meaning to me than any other verse. It has since my Emmaus weekend in 1992. I realized then, that Christ would hold me up, pick me up - no matter what happened as I pressed on toward the final goal.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14

Happy 5 Year Anniversary Robert and Kaiti!!!!

2009-01-11T21:59:00.008-05:00

pictures by Nate Bell - CharlestonPortrait.com
Nate did Kaiti's wedding pictures 5 years ago!!

2008

2009-01-10T23:39:00.008-05:00

This has been a year full of blessings, answered prayers, and lots of tears. We have welcomed into the world Collin Robert Wicker - our first grandchild. We have prayed his Daddy, Robert, through 7 months of flying over Iraq. We have said goodbye to dear friends as they have beat us to Heaven - Trey, Dr. Pollock and his son, Preston, Simeon -our minister of music, Jeff Andrews and Pat Barry. All lives that seem to have ended too soon. David was able to make another trip to Africa last summer - this time to Uganda to work with Kelly Green and Water Missions to set up a running clean water system in a village. Plans are already being made to return this summer to our friends in Bondo to get clean water running in their village. We have enjoyed every single minute of grandparenting!! We moved Kelly to Charleston to begin nursing school last fall. Thanks to each of you who have prayed with us for the past 5 years that her health would be restored. This has been a great move for her - and she is so excited about "being home". An adoption that was a miracle happened right here!! Being a small part of that was such a blessing. Christmas brought a big family wedding, lots and lots of family in Sumter, my home-town, that we haven't seen in a long time, and what fun it all was!!! This was a busy, busy year - but a year that was packed with blessings for all of us!! This only highlights what has been going on in each of our lives - there isn't enough space or a slideshow long enough to hold it all. Our prayer for the new year is healing for hurting hearts-especially those close to us, for close friends who are out of work to find employment, good health for our loved ones, and safety and protection for Robert in his job, We pray for God to shine a light to show us a clear path and the direction that He wants us to go in this season of our lives. May each of you reading this be blessed in 2009. K

2008-12-08T22:50:00.004-05:00

100+ Things Meme

This is a fun little meme that's been floating around the Internet. The instructions are to bold the things you’ve done and add your own interesting thing at the end of the list:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Spent a summer “abroad”
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train/flight
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Been at the top of the World Trade Center
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted / drawn
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Paid off a mortgage in full
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving/parasailing
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the CNN Tower
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Criss-crossed Canada
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a ~~speeding~~ motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby/been pregnant
95. Witnessed a birth
96. Been present at a death
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day
101. Peed on the side of the road as an adult
102. Milked a cow
103. Been white water rafting
104. Been surfing
105. Ridden a horse
106. Gone down a manhole

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-03T09:06:00.004-05:00

10 Years of Music - Trans Siberian Orchestra

2008-11-15T00:49:00.005-05:00

What an incredible way to spend a Friday evening!! The sounds, the story, the music, the talent, the set, the light show - this was total sensory overload.

2008-11-14T09:33:00.004-05:00

There is no need to even take time to reflect this week. God has been right here with us, holding us up during some very tense and scary moments - assuring us that He would stay right beside us as we watched adoptive parents and a birth mother come to terms with all that was going on. We watched as God completely altered the course of a tiny little life. What great plans He must have in store for this baby boy!!

Publish Post

The Wait is Finally Over

2008-11-13T20:19:00.008-05:00

We have been praying, praying and waiting for a long time for this week and especially today. We thought this would all take place last week - so I stayed home from our vacation. But God had a different schedule. On Monday, November 10th at 2:30 in the afternoon, a beautiful, healthy baby boy was born. Today, that baby boy became a part of our family - adopted by my niece and her husband. God is so faithful!! He listens to the prayers of our hearts and answers them - according to His plan and in His time. We were just so blessed to be even a tiny part of bringing this plan into a reality. A huge "thank you" to each of you who have prayed with us for a safe and healthy birth.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:10-12

an intense moment of Carolina football

2008-11-09T13:36:00.003-05:00

do you think maybe we are Bowl bound??

Definitely A TREAT!!!

2008-11-06T09:39:00.004-05:00

A VERY HUNGY CATERPILLAR!!!

Totally Wordless Wednesday....well not quite...

2008-11-05T12:30:00.007-05:00

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

Corrie ten Boom

Missing....

2008-11-04T09:42:00.009-05:00

My family is here...yes - almost ALL of my Bishop family - in-laws, cousins, babies, husband, - you get the picture...

And I am at home in Florida....this is where I need to be this week,but I sure am missing everyone, the games, the laughs, the good food, the cool air and the memory making.

BUT - this IS where God wants me this week, and I can share all of that later - hopefully, sooner than later!!

2008-11-04T07:49:00.003-05:00

Isaiah 46:9-11 (New International Version)

9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.

10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.

11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that will I bring about;
what I have planned, that will I do.

Bucket List

2008-10-23T17:29:00.003-04:00

Tonight, David is doing something on his"bucket list"!!! He is going to the World Series with a friend - watching the Rays play the Phillies. Good Luck, Rays!!!!

Life is Just a Little Bit Crazy HERE!!!

2008-10-21T22:12:00.005-04:00

So Sunday night, while we were at the Bucs game - just down the road and across the bay - the Rays were playing game 7 against the Red Sox trying to win the ALCS. And guess what - from the worst to first in one season!! The Rays are going to the World Series .... or the World Series is coming to Tampa!!! This had to be the sports night of all sports nights!! The Bucs won, Alstott is honored and during all of that the Rays are playing in game 7. Half of the football fans were listening to the Rays game on their headphones. There would be nothing going on down on the field, and all of a sudden everyone would stand up screaming, yelling and high-fiving. At one point, they jumbotron flashed - "quiet please-offense on the field". The Bucs won, game over and we all started heading out of the stadium. Most of us stopped on the way out at all of the tv stations to watch the end of the Rays game, then all of a sudden the crowd starts moving back into the stadium. The last inning of the Rays do-or-die game was being broadcast on the 2 jumbotrons. So back into the seats and we were watching the game!! I cannot tell you how much fun (even at almost 1am) this was!!! So the entire community and beyond is behind this underdog team of young rookies who have proved to all here the impossible is possible. They have lifted our spirits in this season of doom and gloom all around us. Thank you to the boys of summer for taking us into the World Series!!! AND...David already has a tickets for Thursday's game - thanks Martin'!!!!

Not Just Any Given Sunday

2008-10-21T21:24:00.008-04:00

On any given Sunday in the fall there is an NFL game going on. This past Sunday, in Tampa, the Bucs played the Seahawks. But it wasn't the game that was so important this week. No, this week - Buccaneer fans watched as their "favorite son" officially retired. Mike Alstott, the "A-Train", #40, "brought the filled stadium crowd to its feet one more time. The former Buccaneers fullback, one of the most popular players in the franchise's history and its career leader in several categories, was honored was honored with a ceremony at halftime...It was an honor to describe his great career, longtime Bucs play-by-play voice Gene Deckerhoff said. "And it was a thrill every time I was able to say, 'Al-stott!! Up the gut!! Touchdown, Tampa Bay!!" Alsott was an incredible team player on the field, but even more than that he is a member of our community. He and his family give back in so many ways through the Mike Alstott Foundation - Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Pinellas, Special Olympics Florida, The Angelus House, All Children's Hospital and the Children's Cancer Center. A-Train, you will be missed on the field - but we are so glad that you are still a part of our community!! Thanks for some great memories!!!

An Email From Max Lucado

2008-10-16T12:15:00.001-04:00

The first response to any crisis is prayer; urgent and honest prayer. Before we turn to money managers and governments, let’s turn to the
Maker of the Universe.

You Have Our Attention, Lord
A prayer by Max Lucado - October 2008

Our friends lost their house
The co-worker lost her job
The couple next door lost their retirement
It seems that everyone is losing their footing

This scares us. This bailout with billions.
These rumblings of depression.
These headlines: ominous, thunderous -
“Going Broke!” “Going Down!” “Going Under!” “What's Next?”

What is next?

We’re listening. And we’re admitting: You were right.

You told us this would happen.
You shot straight about loving stuff and worshipping money.
Greed will break your heart, You warned.
Money will love you and leave you.
Don’t put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.

You were right. Money is a fickle lover and we just got dumped.

We were wrong to spend what we didn’t have.
Wrong to neglect prayer and ignore the poor.
Wrong to think we ever earned a dime. We didn’t. You gave it. And now, tell us Father, are You taking it?

We’re listening. And we’re praying.
Could you make something good out of this mess?

Of course You can. You always have.
You led slaves out of slavery,
Built temples out of ruins,
Turned stormy waves into a glassy pond and water into sweet wine.
This disorder awaits your order. So do we.

Through Christ,
Amen

God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them. (Luke 18:7 NCV)

See Max Deliver This Prayer

Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday all rolled into one post!!

2008-10-10T12:03:00.002-04:00

OOPS!!

2008-10-02T12:28:00.005-04:00

After numerous wonderful emails, calls and comments - I need to clarify that Robert's Homecoming is NEXT week!! I guess you could say that I am just a little too overexcited here!! So keep praying him home and I will keep updating. I am on my way to meet up with a great friend who moved away a couple of years ago. She just flew into town to be at the Brandon Care Pregnancy Center's Annual Gala this evening. Tomorrow is another day - and THEN, David and I are heading north to the real south!! Kelly, I can't WAIT to get to Summerville tomorrow!! Then downtown for some special shopping, Edisto Island to look at a piece of property, and finally - Bowen's Island for dinner. Can you just think of a more perfect day!?! Of course we will be listening to SEC football while we are doing all of this.

It's About Time!!!

2008-09-30T17:12:00.006-04:00

If everything goes according to the plan - did I really just say that??? Robert will be home this week!! Can I say that we are all just a little excited here!! David and I are heading to SC on Friday, then NC on Sunday. Robert's parents are heading up. This is going to be one great homecoming!! I cannot thank each of you enough for the prayers that have been said on Robert's behalf. Thank you!! Thank you!! Keep praying - there are so many of our men and women who are still there fighting on our behalf!!

Be Back Soon

2008-09-26T10:54:00.003-04:00

Just One More Thing....

2008-09-23T23:16:00.004-04:00

Just adding this one photo to the earlier post - wanted to make sure you got the picture!!!

Sunday in Florida

2008-09-23T10:13:00.009-04:00

It all started on Friday morning. I headed over to the Hillsborough County Republican office. An early morning email let us know that Gov. Palin was going to be in Florida on Sunday, and tickets were available. Got in, got in line and then I noticed the guy with a huge camera on his shoulder standing off to the side. Great - the local tv station was there!! I tried to get in and get out without being noticed. Not to happen - on my way out with my tickets the reporter who looked to be high school age - stopped me. Well, this gal had no idea what kind of week we had had, and that she was not going to interview me - but Towanda. I am the last person to want to be on TV, but Friday - it just didn't matter. I am so tired of what this campaign has already become. I am beyond upset about what happened to our savings, investments and retirement last week. So when asked why would I want to spend time going to see Gov. Palin and the Republican ticket on Sunday - well, I was nice - but I told them way more than they asked for. I vented. I shared my hopes and dreams for the McCain-Palin ticket. My pride in this country and our soldiers, and a desire for a ticket that will make sure that my son-in-law is protected as he does his job protecting all of us. My excitement that must surely be shared by parents of children with disabilities. Finally, their concerns will be front and center!! I am ready for a ticket that is not afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Someone who won't turn this country over to socialized medicine, and won't ask us to prove our patriotism by giving our money away with more taxes. So, I assumed everything would be edited and thrown on the floor - but it wasn't. I ended up on the news - what they kept in the report was my concerns about the economy - duh??? There is just so much more to all of this!! So Sunday morning Marilyn, Becky and I headed to The Villages about 9:30. After a few stops along the way, we arrived around 1. We were in a trafic jam along with other cars and about 10,000 golf carts - what a hoot!! We found our place to stand and waited in the Florida sun
(you know the kind of heat when you can feel sweat running down your back and then into regions unknown) - until about 4pm - when we got a video of the Straight Talk bus pulling into the Village. Did I say how hot it was - 100 EMS calls for folks passing out!! Great speech, even greater excitement about things to come, fun time hiding in the bushes to get an up close photo of Gov. Palin as she boarded the bus. Over 50.000 folks and believe me, most of them were driving golf carts. Didn't realize until Sunday that you could actually "pimp your ride" in a golf cart!!!

Blogging for the rights of others...

2008-09-09T09:07:00.002-04:00

After following the political events of the past two weeks, I feel so compelled to share the following blog with each of you. I was blessed to have this sent to me by a sister in Christ. Please go to the link following the blog title - this is one you might want to add to your blogroll and read often!!

THE LIFE OF OUR PREEMIE BABY--What`s Really at Stake in the U.S. Presidential Election

http://www.thoenebooks.com/blog.asp

Like a Stream in the Desert- Siesta Fiesta

2008-08-24T17:48:00.000-04:00

Living Proof Live - San Antonio from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo.

Here She Comes!!!

2008-08-18T13:30:00.002-04:00

Fay is on the way!!!!!

At a Total Loss for Words...

2008-08-18T08:20:00.003-04:00

By MICHELLE BEARDEN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 18, 2008

BRANDON - Still reeling from the deaths of their senior pastor and his 14-year-old son in May, members of Bell Shoals Baptist Church are leaning on each other again.

Simeon Nix, the church's gregarious minister of music and worship, suffered a heart attack late Saturday night and died a few hours later at Brandon Regional Hospital. He was 47.

He leaves his wife, Beth, and the two children they adopted as toddlers from Russia, Bre'Ana, 7, and Sterling, 7, as well as a church family of about 7,000.

"He had big shoes, and they will be hard to fill," said Gary Payne, the church's pastor of adult education. "He was big at heart, big at leadership and big on faith. His loss is big, but we have to believe his death was no accident and it is part of God's great plan."

Nix would have celebrated his 13th year at Bell Shoals, one of the Bay area's largest churches, in October. He was 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds. He had the physical presence of a Russian wrestler but the countenance of a teddy bear and the voice of an angel, making him one of the church's most popular and respected leaders.

He recorded two solo CDs and produced several large-scale Christmas and Easter musical productions. When attendance outgrew the church's facilities, he moved the shows to the Florida State Fairgrounds for three years, drawing 10,000 people each season.

Nix Was Counseling Congregation

It was Nix who helped the congregation work through the loss of the Rev. Forrest Pollock and his son, Preston, who died when the single-engine Piper that Pollock was piloting crashed into a North Carolina mountainside May 12. Nix spoke eloquently at a prayer gathering and memorial service, directed the music and led the church's praise team in song. He kept his composure and humor most of the time on the podium, breaking down only once.

Nix continued to counsel church members still grappling with their grief and questioning their faith from the loss of their 44-year-old pastor.

"Simeon mentored a lot of people, he discipled a lot of people," said Payne, a fishing and hunting buddy of Nix's. "He was a man's man, but he was never afraid to give you a big hug and tell you that he loved you."

Nix, who also had diabetes, had complained of chest pain a week earlier. He got some medication Aug. 10; when the pain didn't subside, he saw a doctor the next day and learned he had suffered a mild heart attack. He had a stent put in that evening and remained in the hospital through Friday.

Over the weekend, he told other church staff members how well he felt. Saturday night, he even took a short walk in his neighborhood with friends.

"We thought he would just be down for the count for a little while," said Rich Nelson, the church's associate pastor of music and worship. "There was talk he would take some time off - maybe six weeks - and we were wondering what would happen to all those lives he was keeping together since May.

"People depended on him."

Bell Shoals had been in its new $24 million, 3,450-seat sanctuary for only a few weeks when Pollock and his son died in the plane crash, which remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration. The church dedication hadn't even taken place.

'A Great, Big Lovable Man'

It wasn't the first time Nix had to guide congregants through a troubling time. When senior pastor Ken Alford had to resign in February 2002. Nix was part of the leadership team that kept the church running smoothly for the 10 months it operated without a senior pastor.

Pollock served Bell Shoals for 51/2 years. A search team is expected to be selected by the end of September to replace him. Although the church has been in transition, Payne said attendance has gone up by 10 percent since May.

"The church is not about the man. It's about the body of Christ working and serving together," he said.

"There are no promises in the Bible about life being easy. But there is the promise that God will be with us, and he is always faithful."

The Rev. George Thomasson, the church's senior associate pastor, stood before the congregation Sunday to offer solace and Scriptures to church members. Most first heard the news when they arrived for the 11 a.m. service.

"The Lord called him home," Thomasson said to the congregants, many of whom wept or looked shocked. "None of us anticipated it. But it was not a surprise to the Lord."

In his first week at Bell Shoals, "Simeon Nix got into my heart," he said.

"It didn't take long to understand what kind of man he was - just a great, big lovable man who loved God and people with all this heart."

Funeral arrangements are pending.

News Channel 8 reporter Indira LeVine contributed to this report. Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613 or mbearden@tampatrib.com.

On the road again...

2008-08-06T22:23:00.004-04:00

We are loaded up and ready to ride!! Early in the morning we are heading north to Charleston to move Kelly into an apartment. She starts nursing school in a couple of weeks at Charleston Southern. This is the BIG move out - all of a sudden we have an empty bedroom. Marilyn, I guess that is yours. The pantry has been cleaned out, and my car can come back into the garage!! We had a great group of guys from church come over to load her up. And another group from my nephews church down the road is going to meet us on the other end. So we leave tomorrow as three, and come home to just the two of us again. I know that's how things are supposed to happen, but it doesn't make it any easier. This move and change in Kelly's life is the answer to several years of intense prayer, great doctors, great friends and an awesome support group that has loved and been there for all of us. But most of all - a God who has heard and answered our prayers for Kelly. Kaiti and Collin are meeting us for the weekend - we are seeing old friends throughout the weekend, and have a wedding on Saturday at our former church. Sunday after church - we are heading over to my Mom's. On Monday - I am in store for such a sweet treat!!! I am meeting Technonana and a dear friend who has connected with her for lunch. So after months of only talking online and by phone - we are meeting - up close and personal!! Can't wait!! Then back in another UHaul to load up furniture from Sumter, and we are on the road for home - again!! So keep us in your prayers, and especially continue to pray for Kelly. Updates to follow....

What Our Country Needs

2008-08-03T14:40:00.006-04:00

As the time for the election in November draws ever closer, I find myself being more and more concerned about our country and where we are heading. I am patriotic to the point of tears. I find it hard to breathe when I put my hand over my heart and pledge my allegiance to this country. I have family fighting for our freedom as I write this. I have family who have died for our freedom. I have protested in my younger years, and am not afriad to do that again - because I have that freedom. I dont want to lose the religious and personal freedoms that have been granted to me as an American citizen. I do want my daughters and their families to grow up with same freedoms that I have been privileged to enjoy all of my life. I want them to live in a safe country. I believe that we are teetering on the brink of change - change that may not ensure that these freedoms remain in place. I believe that we have to journey prayerfully into this political season. This song is my mantra over the next several months
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."2 Chronicles 7:14

Hmmm-Is this true???

2008-07-31T18:46:00.000-04:00

You Are Not a Wimp

In fact, you are an incredibly tough person.

Your nerves do not get the better of you.

You don't back down from challenges or intimidating situations.

You love the thrill of conquer... so much so that it outweighs the fear of defeat.

Are You a Wimp?

Summer Camp is Over

2008-07-25T23:06:00.008-04:00

I know that I haven't posted in almost two weeks - but you just can't imagine how very busy we have been, and how much fun we have been having!! And how much more important than blogging this is!! The fun ends early Monday morning when Kaiti, Collin and Kelly head home to NC. Please keep them in your prayers as they travel home. Camp KaKa is over for 2008.

Happy 86th Birthday, Mom!!

2008-07-14T10:01:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Lt. Dan and Captain Wicker

2008-07-13T21:55:00.006-04:00

You all know that our son-in-law is in Iraq. He is a Marine pilot - flying the new V-22 Osprey. I want to thank each of you for your continued prayers for his safety, and the safety of his fellow soldiers. We got an email on Saturday from Robert. He was so excited about the flight he had just completed. The pictures will explain.

Black and White

2008-07-12T21:35:00.007-04:00

Our Childhood in Black and White.

Whoever wrote this, described childhood to a Tee.
Black and White (Under age 40? You won't understand.)

You could hardly see for all the snow, Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go. Pull a chair up to the TV set, "Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet."

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to eat it raw sometimes, too.

Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag, not in ice-pack coolers, but I can't remember getting e.coli.

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no be ach closures then.

The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system. !

We all took gym, not PE .. and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now. Flunking gym was not an option even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym.

Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem, and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention. We must have had horribly damaged psyches. What an archaic health system we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.

I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed to be proud of myself. I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.

Oh yeah ... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that bee sting? I could have been killed!

We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we got our butt spanked there and then we got butt spanked again when we got home. I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front stoop, just befo! re he f ell off. Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house. Instead, she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof.

It was a neighborhood run amuck. To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have known that? We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes? We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills that we didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did we ever survive? LOVE TO ALL OF US WHO SHARED THIS ERA, AND TO ALL WHO DIDN'T; SORRY FOR WHAT YOU MISSED. I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING. Pass this to someone and remember that life's most simple pleasures are very often the best.

Fun in the Summertime

2008-07-10T20:31:00.004-04:00

So for the past few days we have been trying to get Collin to try food. Kaiti's pediatrician said to start with cereal, then stage 1 veggies, then stage 1 fruits. Oh - has this been fun!?!? You know that face you see when someone gets something in their mouth that they don't like - texture or taste? The eyes glaze over - get red rimmed, the gagging reflex starts up. Well, that's where we have been for several days. Then - all of a sudden the temper flares. I think Collin was really mad at us for putting this foreign substance in his mouth. And spying his bottle sitting on the counter didn't help at all!! This afternoon Kaiti decided to try this all again - but this time we added some real banana mashed up in the cereal. All of a sudden this child decides that he likes having food in his mouth. We were even able to add squash in. By the end of this first successful meal he was banging his little fist on the tray for more food!! So, it's deja vous time again - remember when they were all so tiny and the food would be everywhere - in the eyebrows, dripping from the nose, in the ears, under the neck and when you think you're all done - well you can scrape enough off of the face and bib for another couple of bites. So this is our fun and entertainment in the summertime!!!

Let Freedom Ring - It's Independence Day

2008-07-04T08:16:00.009-04:00

As we approach this 4th of July - I am reminded, more this year than ever before, what sacrifices American men and women have made and are making to protect and preserve our freedom. My grandfather, Daddy-2nd Infantry WWII, Uncle Punch, Uncle Nathaniel, Uncle JE, my brother - Woody, who flew the Huey Medi-Vac in Viet Nam, cousin - Bill - who was killed in VietNam, another cousin, Bill - nephews - Pete, Jason and Dennis have all served bravely on our behalf. Right now, my son-in-law, Robert, a Marine pilot, is serving in Iraq.
Our current military and in our recent past has been an all volunteer military. No matter what your feelings are about the current war - these men and women allow you to sleep peacefully every single night. They are guarding your freedom from posts all over the world.
As you celebrate this freedom with picnics, fireworks, swimming, boating, watching Wimbledon, playing games, enjoying being with family - then cooling off in the AC - remember all of those soldiers, past and present who have served us. ... thank them. Let the soldiers in your life know just how much we appreciate what they have done.

Thankful

2008-07-03T21:13:00.004-04:00

I have been in a Towanda state of mind all week - things just haven't been going exactly as I had planned. Customer service is definitely not in vogue any longer. I have run into roadblocks, rude people, delays, "NO", and lots of waiting during that "window of time" for estimators, installers, etc. So this evening, with some time on my hands I start going through David's pictures from Uganda. Upload - download, photoshop...and then...I see this picture. I keep going back to it. I zoom in on it. I crop it and zoom again. I close my eyes and I still see this tiny, beautiful little girl standing in line with her cans to get water. Water - a basic human need. She should be in school, or better yet - out playing somewhere. But she is standing in line - barely clothed with her cans in her hand. I keep going through pictures and find her again. This time - her face. And...it is such a serious face on a little child. Thank you, Jesus, that this time she is getting clean water. Water that won't make her sick. Thank you to all who help with Water Missions to bring this beautiful child pure water to drink and maybe even play in. Thank you to those who bring her the message of the Living Water that will change her life for eternity.

The List

2008-06-27T21:03:00.003-04:00

Die with your eyes shut and your heart open.
I just finished watching a great movie - The Bucket List. Now, I love a good movie - and this has to be it for me. This is the best movie that I have seen in a long time. I knew I would have a good cry with this one as soon as it started - but it was so worth it!! Rent it or better yet - buy it!! Start working on your Bucket List. This one is almost as good as The Ultimate Gift. If you haven't seen - find it - watch it.

What is a PIP anyway??

2008-06-27T10:13:00.003-04:00

A big thanks to Sharon/Technonana!! I LOVE music, and I have just had so much fun with this playlist. Then I find out today - that I can just play the playlist solo - just to hear all of the great music. So after updating the list AGAIN - I am always thinking of new "favorite" songs - I am listening. I have decided that in another life I would like to be a PIP!!! I went on youtube to find a great PIP video, and after laughing at this all over again - well, just enjoy!!

OH - you can stop the playlist by clicking on the little square button on the top left.

Get Busy

2008-06-26T15:18:00.003-04:00

I just got this devotional in an email....

Faith does not isolate us from sadness
Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:4-5 NLT

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27 NLT

Truly, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see me again. It will be like a woman experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy because she has brought a new person into the world. You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.
John 16:20-22 NLT

Bond of understanding

There is an immediate bond of understanding between people who have suffered similar hardships or losses. Parents who have lost children, widows and widowers, and families of terminal-disease patients, all find comfort and encouragement in the presence of those who have known similar pain. Paul urges believers to see opportunities for giving comfort as both a way to share the comfort of God and to use their own experiences of sorrow for good. We rarely know why suffering or trials enter our lives, but we can know that God wants to do through our sorrow.

Updating from Collin

2008-06-24T13:04:00.003-04:00

After months of my Mommy being just way too busy - I have decided to update my blog all by myself. If you want to see what I have been doing since February just go to MY BLOG!!!

Here We Go Again!!

2008-06-22T15:50:00.008-04:00

I have decided that every 12 years or so it would just be easier to move than to start remodeling, replacing, repairing the current house. We are getting ready to recarpet the 4 bedrooms upstairs and replace the hall - bedroom entry with wood. Do you realize that to do this everything has to come out of each room?? AND that would include the closet floors!?!?! Now, I don't know about you - but there are boxes and THINGS in the backs of our closets (except for Kelly's) that no one has seen since the movers put them there. The box of World Book Encyclopedias that were almost new when we moved here. A HUGE box of David's parents tax records (and Marie Bishop saved every SINGLE receipt that she ever received and then some!!) from 1981 forward. So most of yesterday was spent shredding - what a step back in time. Do you know that they could fill up their car and this was a big Buick car - for $13.00 !?! I realized that Marie would have LOVED shopping online - because she LOVED catalog shopping. I am so sure that those genes were passed on to me somehow, even tho we were not blood related!! So now, our closet is cleaned out - and no one wants encyclopedias!! It's my office upstairs that I am worried about now. I have to get that done tomorrow. Lots of boxing of books and trying to thin out and simplify my life one more time. Kaiti's room is cleaned out, ready to be dismantled and painted a blue color that's more suitable for a baby boy. I even splurged and bought MYSELF a new ladder today. If I can get the border removed and the room painted by the end of the week, then hopefully the carpet is in the first of next week. The wood is scheduled for the end of next week, and it will be done before the girls and Collin get here. That is absolutely it for the inside of the house except for bedding, windows, etc. I am so looking forward to getting into the Beth Moore study here, and the Priscilla Shirer study at church this week. So that's it for now - a weekend of cleaning out, throwing away and getting ready. About the time this is done, it will be time to move Kelly to Charleston. Hmmmm.....Here we go again.

Growing Old

2008-06-19T07:49:00.002-04:00

Just got this in an email from a precious "old" friend - it is definitely worth posting!!

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body!! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt..

And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long. I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I have become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio.

I am entitled to a treat, be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's and 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

I will walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They too, will get old.

I know that I am sometimes forgetful. But, there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not be broken when you lose a loved one or when a child suffers, or even when someone's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong. So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day if I feel like it.

Tagged?? What's Tagged??

2008-06-18T22:08:00.006-04:00

OK - I have been tagged!! I wasn't sure what that meant, but have now figured it all out - thanks Technonana!! Sooooo - here goes!

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Let's see 10 years ago - 1998. I was driving into Tampa everyday teaching at a private school for students with varying disabilities. This was a great job, with great co-workers and great parents, and some of the best students I have ever taught. I am still in touch with several of them who are away at college now. Harrison - I love you!! Kaiti was in 11th grade, and Kelly was a 6th grader. This was the year of looking at colleges, and lots of debate trips. David and I were working with the high school youth at our church and with Chrysalis, and our Emmaus community. We had a house full of teenagers here 24/7. David's Mom had just been moved to a nursing home here so that we could care for her. That was a big life change for all of us - but exactly what God wanted us to be doing.

My five favorite snacks. White chocolate turtles from Market Street Sweets in Charleston, homemade ChexMix, vanilla walnut fudge, nachos from Taco Bell, layered Mexican dip - I can make a meal out of this!!

Five things on my to do list today: this list is a carryover from yesterday - life just doesn't always turn out as planned - pack up Kelly's bedroom, start packing guest room for new carpet, buy paint for guest room/nursery, get flowers for cemetery, bank for Kelly, get by church to pick up new Bible study book, check at Joann's for new light and fabric for chair, call Guillermo to set up a tutoring - I know I said that I wasn't gong to work this summer, but Guillo is such an incredible little boy and I have so much fun with him - mail water samples and other packages off today, buy plants to replace the ones that I lost in the ongoing slug war-order the hammock stand - FINALLY, look at highchairs - is there any of today left???

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: I would plan a great trip somewhere extraordinary for my mom, my sister and myself. I would buy water treatment systems for Water Missions to set up in Africa - specifically locating them near the orphanages. I would fund research for the cause and cure of autism. I would set up private programs for educating children with autism. Fund research for developing a better treatment for migraine headaches and a cure/prevention for ovarian cancer. Do I still have money - figure out a way to reach out to single, pregnant women - provide education, medical treatment, housing, etc. Start a foundation for students who need academic help, but are not qualifying for help through the public school system. If there is any money left - how about that house on the beach for Camp KaKa.

Five jobs that I've had: organist - pianist for funeral home, church organist, department store salesgirl, teacher of autistic students Kent State Lab School, LD, EH, BD middle school teacher, Reading Resource teacher, LD Resource teacher, admissions testing, business owner-Magnum Opus Education Center

Five bad habits of mine: shopping, NOT exercising, putting on my makeup in the car - I really like that little light up mirror, reading the obituaries first everyday, procrastinating about way too many things in life

Five places I've lived: Sumter, SC. Statesboro, GA, Charleston, SC, Kent, OH, Hudson, OH, Hollywod, FL, Tampa, FL, Summerville, SC, Tampa, FL

Five random things people wouldn't know about me: I fell into a manhole in highschool - let's not even go there!! I love music - love to feel it, play it - would have written movie scores in another life. I could sit on the beach with a book from early morning until sunset - If you know me, you already know that. Sitting on the beach and reading Beach Music, - by Pat Conroy the week after we moved from Charleston was probably one of the most cathartic experiences of my life. I had an "afro" in college and my Mama paid someone to take it out - of course this ruined my hair!! My sister reminded me last weekend, that we were part of a bomb scare (we created the scare) at the old Dairy Queen at Windy Hill Beach - this had to be the summer of 1968 or 69. I really accepted Christ for my own at a Billy Graham movie right after my Daddy died when I was 14. And, this one is just for John and Cheryl - when I am really in a pinch, I still get store-bought food, and fancy it up in my own dishes and take it like I made it!?!?! Remember that night???

Five cds that I'd have to take on a desert island: Rich Mullins - Ragamuffin, Soundtrack from Prince of Tides, Beach Music Anthology - this is a 3 cd set - sorry bout that, worship cd that I made of my favorites, Alabama - Shagging on the Boulevard - is that the greatest!!! somewhere I would hope to find washed up on the beach Lynard Synard's greatest hit

People that I want to get to know better.........You've been tagged Annette at Annie's Eyes, Jean, my precious friend who I pray for daily - take a break and do this - it was really fun!! My kindred spirits - Kerry and Cheryl and Chris - how have we all changed over the years??

Out of Africa

2008-06-18T12:45:00.004-04:00

David and team got in from Uganda arond 1:30am Tuesday morning. Thanks to each of you for your prayers for all of them and the people that they ministered with and to. More to follow on the incredible way that God worked through this team.

Mama, MeMe, MeMaw, Steel Magnolia, friend...

2008-06-18T12:06:00.003-04:00

My visits home are always filled with amazement at what my almost 86 year old mother is up to. So just a little blog about what we did with our precious time together last weekend. Because of my leisurely drive through the backroads of SC, I was a little later than I thought getting to Mama's on Thursday night. I had suggested that we go out to dinner when I got there, but no - a big pot of homemade soup was ready and hot when I got in. She was already working on plans to take one of her best lady friends to the doctor the next morning - cancelling her own appointment if that's what she needed to do. She headed out to pick up Miss Margaret and I headed out to run some local errands. We met up and had a great lunch at at 4 Seasons - nothing but fresh, fresh fruits and vegetables and homecooked food!! Local shopping, seeing and talking to some old friends filled the rest of the day. I had finally talked to the local cable company to try and get Mama switched from dial-up internet access to high speed. She does all of her banking, email, IM with dial-up - so that ties up her phone line which bothers all of us, not to mention how very, very SLLLLOOOOOWWWWW this all is. Hopefully, even tho she doesn't think it's necessary - it is all being hooked up today. I thought that we were going to sleep in a little on Saturday - that WAS the plan. I got up around 8, went to check on Mama and the bed was made and she was gone!?! I walked through the house looking for her - and then I heard it - the sound. The sound of a lawnmower running away!!! I threw up the kitchen blinds and there she was mowing away in the backyard!!!! Thank goodness I already had a cup of coffee in hand and sleep pants on with a t-shirt. I had to wrestle the lawn mower away from her!! And then, when I asked her why she wouldn't let my brother take care of the yard - this is what she said. "Kathy, your brother is 65 years old - he has no business out in this heat doing yardwork!!" Does anyone out there even believe this!?!?! I finished up - THANK GOODNESS it was early enough to be a little cooler than 100 degrees outside!! Took in the Farmers' Market looking for some local, untainted tomatoes - but didn't have any luck. Now, across the street from Mama is one of her closest friends - Miss Pauline. In the past two years, Miss Pauline has been very ill and is now dealing with her health problems and Alzheimer's. At least twice every week, Mama goes over to visit Miss Pauline and spends an hour or so massaging her feet and legs. According to her daughter and caregiver, this precious time that these two friends spend together is the only time that her mother is completely calm and relaxed. I had the privilege of being able to go visit Miss Pauline with Mama Saturday afternoon. She was on the sofa waiting - towel and lotion ready. We talked and visited while Mama took care of Miss Pauline - rubbing and massaging her tiny feet and legs. The change in Miss Pauline was immediate and evident when Mama came in and got to work. I listened over and over this past weekend to the words of Tim Russert on fatherhood - the lessons and legacy of Big Russ. Well, Miss Pearl, is leaving a legacy of her own - as a sister, aunt, neighbor, friend, woman of faith, grandmother and mother.

4 Months Old!!

2008-06-17T21:54:00.001-04:00

They Just Don't Make Them Like They Used To!!

2008-06-16T16:37:00.004-04:00

I got up Friday morning, got a shower and needed to blow dry my hair. I asked Mom where I would find a hair dryer. OK - under the sink, in fact, she thinks the hair dryer belongs to me. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT - what I found under the sink was a blow dryer that I had in COLLEGE!!! Does anyone out there realize just how long ago that was??? This was probably back at the beginning of little blow dryers!!! What a hoot!! David is ALWAYS complaining that things just aren't made like they used to be - do you know how many dryers we have gone through in our household of three females over the past 25 years??? This one is still blowing!?!?! So, I dry my hair and decide to get a photo of this so that the story is believable. Next day - time to dry my hair - start to work and all of a sudden fire is coming out of the bottom, I get the feeling of being electrocuted, and the dryer dies. After I finally get the "fire" out - I realize that my hand is hurting and I have a black spot where the wires were on my hand. CRAZY!! Just another crazy day in paradise or in my life. But really, thirty years for a hair dryer - unbelievable!!

Traveling On....

2008-06-13T16:51:00.006-04:00

Friday was such an incredible treat!! I left Kaiti, Collin, and Kelly behind and headed out for Wilmington. About a year ago - I had the pleasure of "meeting" an incredible woman online through this thing called blogging and Beth Moore's blog. We were able to meet last December and share a Christmas hug and lunch together. Yesterday, we met again for lunch in her "neck of the woods". Lunch on the water, in the sunshine - smelling and feeling the salt air - talking, catching up, laughing, getting to know each other even better - life is good!!! Then back on the road again - I decided to take Highway 17 most of the way to Mom's house. It is so much more fun than taking a boring ride down I-95 - just lanes of traffic going north and south. 17 winds close to the coast and through numerous little towns. And THEN - you hit Myrtle Beach - woa!! Now, that was exciting!! Just a week earlier - there was very little traffic and not much going on. Not even a wait at a good restaurant. Well, a week later - schools are out -and it was just plain crazy there!! Don't they call this the Redneck Riviera!?! Anyway - it looked like an invasion from New Jersey to me!?! So on through MB, then Surfside, then Garden City and finally the traffic is thinning out. A couple of quick stops at some favorite shops that I needed to revisit, a couple of special books for a very special little baby boy, the ever important "arrogantly shabby" t-shirt from Pawleys and I was headed home. So I punch "home" into the GPS so that I can avoid the interstate again - off of 17, and onto some backroads - now I mean BACKROADS here!! I love the GPS - for someone as ADD as I am - this is a real source of entertainment. You have to remember that it is summertime here in the south - 100+ degrees outside - and acres and acres of tobacco fields on both sides of the little road - as far as you can see. No one in sight - just too hot too work in the middle of the afternoon. Then out of nowhere comes this beautiful farm - a daylily farm!!! I couldn't believe it - the bright flowers in every color!! I wish that I had taken time to stop and get some photos - but I didn't. I was too ready to get home, and make it without getting a speeding ticket. But the beauty of the daylilies stuck with me, and was a true little gift and surprise from God - a little sercy in the middle of a hot afternoon. So after touring most of the farmland in the middle of the state, I arrived home. This is a wonderful way to end my little vacation - spending time with my mom, the Steel Magnolia - who, by the way, turns 86 on July 14 - if anyone would like to send her birthday wishes - tpearl227@aol.com She would LOVE it!! Time to eat some fresh veggies, get some REAL barbecue and hash, and see the rest of the family. You CAN go home again....oh, and the shopping is great, too!!

Memories

2008-06-11T15:01:00.003-04:00

Oh yes, how quick we forget - or maybe we forget because it has been soooo long!?!?! Let's see Kelly is 22, so it has been 21 years since I have had a baby to take care of. Don't get me wrong - I am still taking care of her, it has just been a long time since she was a baby. So here I am - staying home with Collin while Kaiti and Kelly are at Kaiti's school trying to finish up the mountain of paperwork and moving classrooms that come with the end of the schoolyear. Monday was the 4 month check-up with shots - UGH!!! He did great this time - no fever - just slept a little more than usual and wanted to held and rocked. That's OK. Yesterday, we played, made bottles, ate, changed lots of diapers, rocked, rocked and slept. Sometime in there the laundry was getting done - do you remember how many onesies, tiny socks that get lost in the wash, burp diapers, blankets, and bibs one tiny person uses in a day!! What a blessing this little boy is for so many people!! Keep praying for his daddy, who is now CAPT. Robert Wicker. Check out those socks - just like the big boys!!

The Sweetest Times

2008-06-11T14:48:00.002-04:00

Thirty-something years since college, dating, weddings, children, moves, working, more college, more children, more moves,funerals, high school graduations, engagements, college graduations, wedding, grandchild, law school graduation, high school graduation....It has been all of that since my sister and I have had time away together. We met at Pawleys Island Thursday evening and spent a great weekend together!! I am so thankful for this special time together. We talked, ate, shopped, took in Sex and the City with only 11 other movie-goers, shopped, sat on the beach for hours, did a book-signing, shopped, ate, slept and talked.. So I feel blessed and thankful for an incredible weekend with my sister!!!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way...

2008-06-09T21:36:00.008-04:00

It was last Thursday.

I dropped David at the airport, Walker had already been taken to Uncle G's Bed and Biscuit, and I was on the road to Pawleys Island for a few days. Most days I enjoy driving, especially driving from Florida to the LowCountry where my spirit is at home and at peace. North up 95, then finally off to 17 through the marsh, big oaks, the smell of pluff mud and salt air. I was in great need of this trip alone to try and clear my head and heart of the sadness that has hung on since Trey's death and the tragic loss of our minister and his son. The questions that I have asked God have almost put me into a crisis of faith - not a place that I like to go. I just prayed that I would be able to come to terms with all of this over the next few days. I was hoping that being physically away from the sadness would help. Driving up 17 through Charleston - just a little further north to Pawleys - I opened the windows and the top to take in the smells that bring me home. Then it happened. A song comes on the local radio station - a song that I haven't heard in a long time. A song that defined my faith after we survived Hurricane Hugo and stood shoulder to shoulder with friends and neighbors to put our lives back together. A song that played in my mind as we lost David's Dad just days after Hugo. A song that was dedicated to our community by Ray Boltz when he performed in Charleston shortly after Hugo. As I listened, the tears came...and came...and I realized that this anchor, just like the anchor of our boat would keep me strong and would keep me from moving out and floating aimlessly and lost. It's this anchor that has brought me through 54 years of ups and downs, doubts and fears, and personal loss. It is only this anchor that I can count on holding strong when those winds and storms of tough, tough times come roaring into my life. It was this special time on Highway 17 heading to Pawleys that I felt this anchor grab hold again.

Thoughts and Prayers - June 5th

2008-06-09T19:21:00.002-04:00

This is the first of several posts going on at one time. So pretend this one was posted last Thursday - June 5th. Today is the day that David leaves for Uganda. The trip this year is very different from the past 3 years. Due to the political unrest in Kenya, our church made the decision not to take a team to Kenya. While that decision was being made - God was very, very busy putting together a trip to Uganda that would include a medical, dental team, evangelisim AND Water Missions. Almost 60 people left - doctors, dentists, nurses, EMTs and team members. Please keep them in your prayers as they minister to the people of Jinja.

Mother's Day

2008-05-15T14:07:00.003-04:00

Mother's Day this year was so very special - I spent the weekend with both of my girls, Collin and David. It was incredible to be able to share this day with Kaiti on her very first Mother's Day - it was more than wonderful to just be a family. Only wish that Robert had been there with us.

More Sad Days

2008-05-14T14:50:00.002-04:00

Please be in prayer for the Pollock family and our church family.

Forrest Pollock, son killed in plane crash
By: StaffOriginal article can be found here, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=28043.
BRANDON, Fla. (BP)--Florida pastor Forrest Pollock and a 13-year-old son were killed May 12 when the single-engine plane Pollock was flying crashed in North Carolina.Pollock, 44, had been senior pastor of the Tampa-area Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon since 2002.According to the Citizen-Times in Asheville, N.C., rescue officials confirmed the deaths of Pollock and his son, Preston, who were reported missing after their 5 a.m. takeoff from an airport in Rutherfordton, N.C. The St. Petersburg Times reported that Pollock had flown to North Carolina to see his mother on Mother's Day. The Times also reported that one of Pollock's daughters, Brooke, 14, had gone along but had stayed with her grandmother. Pollock planned to stop in Arkansas to pick up a friend before heading to Texas for a preaching engagement.Debris from the single-engine Piper PA-32-260 was found Tuesday morning by rescuers in a heavily wooded area in the western part of the state, on a ridge north of Cold Mountain in the Shining Rock Wilderness.Pollock is survived by his wife Dawn and five other children, Courtney, 15; Brooke, 14; Hope, 12; Blake, 10; and Kirk, 8.Shortly after noon May 12, the website of the 6,000-member Bell Shoals congregation stated, "We grieve with hope and assurance that our Lord Jesus will lead us and carry us through these difficult times. We have lost a great brother, pastor and friend in Forrest Pollock as well as a precious little brother in Christ, Preston Pollock."Referencing the rescue workers in North Carolina, the website added, "We owe a great thanks to those who risked their lives, endured extreme hardship, and worked non-stop in the attempt to rescue our pastor and his son."Pollock was to have been a featured speaker at the Southern Baptist Convention's June 10-11 annual meeting in Indianapolis. He also had been appointed to serve on the convention's Committee on Committees.In 2006, Pollock nominated Frank Page to serve as SBC president during the annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C., and he was a member of the Resolutions Committee that year.Pollock also was president of the Large Church Roundtable, a gathering he founded in 1999 for pastors of large churches who meet for fellowship and sharing ideas.Page, who will conclude his SBC presidency in June, told Baptist Press, "We are deeply grieved and in a state of shock that someone so young, so promising was taken so early." Heaven is "a richer place today because of the presence of Forrest and Preston Pollock," Page said."I know I speak for our entire convention in expressing our appreciation for his ministry and our prayers for Dawn and the other five children and the precious people of the Bell Shoals Baptist Church."Page said he and Pollock became friends through the Large Church Roundtable. "Forrest quickly endeared himself to me and to everyone present with his kind heart, his competency in ministry and his sweet spirit. He was a man who was self-effacing and had a tremendous sense of humor."Page said he had been scheduled to preach at Bell Shoals during the Memorial Day weekend. "I pray that I will be able to speak a word of comfort and direction" to the church's members, he said.Morris H. Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said in a statement "our hearts are heavy" for the family and he described Pollock as widely "trusted, respected and admired." Chapman said Preston was "so full of promise and was a source of joy to their whole family.""Dr. Pollock served Southern Baptists in numerous ways, nominating our current president, serving on the Resolutions Committee and the Committee on Committees, and was scheduled to preach at next month's annual meeting in Indianapolis," Chapman continued. "Perhaps his greatest contribution to Southern Baptists was through his work as a member of the Southern Baptist Council on Family Life from 2001-03. This council helped us recover our focus as Kingdom families by emphasizing seven pillars for family health and spiritual vitality. Not only did Forrest Pollock help author this report, he lived out these values in his own home and ministry."I know all Southern Baptists join me in asking the Lord to strengthen his wife Dawn and their surviving children Courtney, Brooke, Hope, Blake and Kirk today and in the days to come as they deal with the reality and shock of such a great loss; to sustain them by His mercy and grace in the following months as they learn to lean on the Lord in new ways; and to lead them gently to see and feel His faithfulness to them," Chapman said.James T. Draper Jr., president emeritus of LifeWay Christian Resources, said in a statement to Baptist Press he is grieving over "the death of one of our most gifted young pastors in the SBC," whom he had known for 10-plus years."His influence was beginning to rise and his love for the Lord, his family and Southern Baptists is one example that will be sorely missed," Draper said. "... His leadership especially among younger pastors will be greatly missed."John Sullivan, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, told the Florida Baptist Witness that Pollock was a "committed leader in his church and his denomination.""There is no way to estimate the loss of one of God's good men like Forrest Pollock," Sullivan said. "He led Bell Shoals in an exciting and godly manner."William Rice, president of the Florida Baptist State Convention, told the Witness, "While this sudden and untimely death of so gifted a man in the prime of his ministry, not to mention the death of his son who had just begun to live, is one of the imponderable mysteries of life, we are comforted in knowing that Dr. Pollock spent his life pointing to the one whose life and power transcends time, space and death itself."The truth he built his life upon and invested his life in will sustain us through this time of loss," said Rice, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater.Pollock, a native of Oklahoma City, was a journalism graduate of the University of Oklahoma who later earned master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. At the time of his death, he was working toward a liberal arts master's degree through Harvard.Prior to assuming Bell Shoals' pastorate, he was senior pastor of Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, La., from 1997-2002; senior pastor of Rosen Heights Baptist Church in Fort Worth from 1994-97; and associate pastor of church growth at the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano from 1992-94.He was the author of two books: "The Last Sermon I Would Preach If Jesus Were Coming Tomorrow" (2007) and "Ten Habits of Highly Effective People" (2000).Before entering the ministry, Pollock worked in communications and at age of 25, as president and CEO of PDC Multimedia Productions in Norman, Okla., was named Young Business Owner of the Year by the National Federation of Independent Businesses.Funeral arrangements for Pollock were incomplete at press time.--30--Compiled by Baptist Press editor Art Toalston, with reporting by Joni B. Hannigan, managing editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, on the Web at www.floridabaptistwitness.com.

Random Thoughts...

2008-04-26T14:02:00.006-04:00

Hello Friends, No posting in a long, long time...life has taken many twists and turns over the past few weeks. Seems like I have found myself in a very different and new "season of life". Professionally - I am not working much at all for the first time since I was 14 years old. Personally - I find myself still overwhelmed with grief and sadness over the senseless loss of a young man's life. Kelly finishes school here next week and heads to NC to be with Kaiti and Collin for a month. I will feel so much better about the three of them once she gets there. My niece and Kaiti's 1st cousin spent this past week with them. What a blessing for both of them!! Thank you Phillip and Anita!!!! David and I are flying to NC to spend Mother's Day with the girls and Collin. We will celebrate Mother's Day and Kaiti's birthday. Over Memorial Day we will meet the girls and Collin in Charleston to get Kelly settled in for summer school. Then David heads to Uganda with Kelly Green, and I will head back to NC to play with Collin while Kaiti works for two weeks!! We are all just praying and hoping that we make it through everything that we have going on so that by July 4th we will all be back in Tampa together for a month. Somewhere in all of the comings and goings - we have the small project of putting new carpet in all of the bedrooms upstairs and putting in wood floors in the halls. Hmmm - just not quite sure how that is going to play out....it will. Spiritually - I know that my faith is being tested through grief, but I also know that the testing and questioning only serve to make me stronger and to hang on to God even tighter. I was challenged beyond belief by the Beth Moore conference. I am so excited about beginning a new study in the next few weeks - even if it's only two of us Kristin!! I know that the women that God wants to be here on Monday nights are the ones who will be here - I am not going to worry or fret over that one any longer. BUT, I am keeping my house open. BTW, did anyone see Jennifer Rothschild on Good Morning America this past week!?! Our Sunday School Department class is splitting up with some major changes going on at church - this is sad, but we need to look at this as an exciting time for us to ramp up our class.

AGH!!! Another hard drive crash late yesterday. I am hoping, hoping that the information on the crashed drive can be saved and I am sooo thankful that I renewed the warranty program on the computer!!!!

All of that being said - I have a great photo from Iraq. God's world is so very small - a friend in Tampa out of McDill AFB traveled over to Iraq this week. He located Robert - was able to spend some time with him and assured us that he is OK.

Collin - 2 Months Old

2008-04-06T19:42:00.003-04:00

What a Week!!!!

2008-04-06T17:22:00.006-04:00

So it has been awhile since I have been able to post on here. What a week!! Wednesday, a week ago - March 26th, David flew up to NC to be with Kaiti when Robert left. Robert deployed on Thursday. Thanks to each of you who are praying for his safety!! Friday morning, I dropped Walker off for boarding and headed to Jacksonville for the Beth Moore conference. We had a group of 15 Sonshine State Siestas that made it safely in unbelievable traffic from Tampa to Jacksonville. What should have been a 3 hour drive took some of us 7 hours!! AND...a dear new friend who I had only met by way of the blogging siestas, Annie's Eyes, flew in from Texas with her sister. Meeting them, spending a few precious hours with them made this weekend so very special. Who but our Lord could put relationships like this into place? But it was worth it!! Beth's scripture just happened to be my "life verse" - when I saw this on the huge screen as Friday evening's session was beginning I couldn't believe it....

Pressing on Toward the Goal - Philippians 3:12-14
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

So I am not looking back - I am not wasting energy on what could have been. The future is always in front of us - so face forward and meet Christ!! If we keep looking backwards we will miss all that God has for us!! So Siestas - face forward and run!!

Heroes

2008-03-25T21:31:00.006-04:00

Definition of a HERO
a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities : one that shows great courage: an object of extreme admiration and devotion

Our heroes today are young men and women who are willing to put their lives on the line for what they believe in, for our country and its people, to protect our freedom and even the freedom of those on foreign soil. One of these heroes is my son-in-law, a marine pilot. He will be leaving this week for a 7 month stay in Iraq. Please pray with us every single day for his safety and the safety of those serving with him. Gracious God, We pray for our soldiers. Let your grace be a protective shield, guarding them from harm and keeping them close to your love and compassion. May we always remember that they are the ones who face the horrors and dangers of war first-hand. Help us honor them for their courage and care for them when there is damage to their bodies or spirit. When they are lonely and afraid, and long to be with those whom they love, fill their hearts with the sure knowledge of your presence at all times, in war and peace. Let them feel, O God, deep in their hearts, that your love is always there—boundlessly, unconditionally, and eternally. Amen.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

Easter Sunday

2008-03-23T11:05:00.001-04:00

Resurrection Sunday!!!

Good Friday

2008-03-21T12:33:00.002-04:00

Today is Good Friday...

I LOVE THIS PHOTO!!

2008-03-17T10:25:00.002-04:00

This deserves a big spot on the blog!!

Class of 2030?????

Holy Week

2008-03-17T09:04:00.003-04:00

Holy Week - This is the most meaningful time of the year spiritually to me. I grew up in the Methodist church. Observing the liturgical calendar and developing an understanding and knowledge of this has always been so important in my life. I remember the first time way, way back in my memory as a little girl, really hearing the Easter story and crying through church, internalizing for the first time that there was a man - Jesus - who suffered like that for me. I grew up observing the season of Lent, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and finally, the celebration of Easter. When Kaiti was beginning school, we made the decision to enroll her in Summerville Catholic. Before long, I joined as a member of the faculty. It was there that Lent and Holy Week took on even greater meaning to me. It was here that I learned about the Stations of the Cross , and taught students as young as 2nd graders what this meant in their lives. In my faith journey Easter is so much bigger than Christmas. Easter IS what being a Christian is all about. Easter is about accepting the true story and the gift that God has given us. It began with his entry into Jerusalem. A journey on a donkey when He knew what was ahead of Him. He went on in spite of what it held, and rode in "triumphantly"!! I read a meditation yesterday that put that donkey ride into a different perspective for me. Am I willing to "get on the donkey and ride with faith" when I know what lies ahead. Do I ride into a storm, bad times, possibly even death triumphantly with my head held high because I am certain of who is in charge? Is my faith that strong? Something to think about....

The Triumphal Entry

1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "

6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"

10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"

11The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

Matthew 21

Hats!!!

2008-03-15T17:36:00.004-04:00

Last night our little group of YaYas went to see the musical, Hats, at the Performing Art Center in Tampa. What a hoot!! What a great way to spend an evening together. We had seen Menopause the Musical together last year, and that was definitely a great evening, too. We have all been "mysteriously" brought together from different walks in life and areas of Tampa Bay to work in several ministries. We are the remnants of the local Chrysalis charter board, have worked Emmaus and Via de Cristo weekends together. We are bonded together through Christ and are fellow prayer warriors. All of us are 50+ except for dear Sally who is counting the days until she reaches that milestone in life. The whole hat thing was getting to me. When I was young I absolutely LOVED hats. Easter hats and gloves were just the norm for a little girl growing up in the south. I even wore a big hat when I got married - can you believe that!?! I loved it - had a long veil attached to the back. And it was different...so last night looking at the red hats - I am thinking that I could do this, but not the hat - and our group is not the froo-froo hat type. So I was thinking of an alternative and found the perfect one!! Maybe we will wear the hats after all!!

Today is a better day...

2008-03-12T10:25:00.004-04:00

Today is a better day. Kaiti called early, early this morning to say that going back to work was hard, and it is more difficult every day instead of easier to leave Collin. Wow, the memories of being a young mom and needing to head back to work...
Today is the day we finish getting every last piece of paperwork off to Charleston Southern. We got behind due to everything that has been going on in our lives the past 10 days, but overnight mail is wonderful!!
I would ask all of my friends that are reading this to please keep Robert, Kaiti and Collin in your prayers as Robert prepares to deploy for Iraq in the next two weeks. Remember "we are the home of the free, because of the brave".

Thinking

2008-03-11T18:55:00.005-04:00

Today has been a day of doctors and too much thinking...Kelly saw the neurologist this morning for another round of botox treatments for migraines. As afraid of this treatment as we were - I thank God that this is working for her, and that she is finally at a point like most people her age - to go on with her life. I saw the liver specialist at LifeLink today - another MRI and monitor everything for 6 months - YEA!!! I felt so blessed as I sat there with so many others who were waiting for a transplant. Thinking - thinking about the losses of a younger generation. Thinking about all of the past students that I have worked with, all of the young people that we have been in ministry with through our church and Chrysalis. Where do we lose them? How do they lose themselves? Where do we go wrong? How do we save their lives....

LowCountry Visit

2008-03-10T23:17:00.002-04:00

What a weekend!! By Wednesday, we knew that the best thing for Kelly was to get out of town for a few days. We had plans to be in Charleston for the Water Missions Gala on Thursday evening. This is their major fundraiser and takes places at Charleston Place. It was a beautiful evening - silent auction, live auction - dinner. We were able to have dinner with 4 couples who are longtime Emmaus and church friends. It was such a blessing to be able to share this ministry with them. Water Missions is providing clean water purification systems to countries without all over the world. David is going to Uganda for two weeks in June with a medical/dental team and Kelly Green They will minister to the physical needs of the Ugandans, and set up two water systems in two different villages. Kaiti, Robert and Collin met us in Charleston for the weekend. What a whirlwind weekend!! Friday, my sister, niece and nephew came down to meet us for lunch. Afterwards, we were off to introduce Collin to the Citadel. Just had to find a t-shirt in a tiny, tiny size!! Lots of photos later, and we were off to the mall for a quick shopping venture, and then back in the car. We headed down the road to Beaufort - close to Hilton Head - for dinner with Robert's cousin. It was wonderful for the two of them to be able to spend some time together before Robert heads to Iraq. Long drive back - but so worth it - great company, best seafood anywhere around!! Saturday - was lunch at Tommy Condons with our great, great friends John and Cheryl. Soon - too soon, we were headed to the waterfront for family pictures taken by the same young man who did Kaiti and Robert's wedding photos. What a special time for all of us!! From there we headed to the market for more shopping - can you beleive that we ran smack into one of the gals from my Monday night Beth Moore group visiting Charleston with her husband for a quick vacation!?! What a surprise!! After finding the hand-smocked Easter outfits for Collin that we were looking for, we headed into a cafe for hot coffee. Within minutes a couple walked in that were great friends of Kaiti and Robert - friends they hadn't seen in a long time. What a crazy small world we live in!! Dinnertime and we were off to Mt. Pleasant for a dinner with very special friends - Emmaus, Citadel and football games. This was just an awesome time of hugging, laughing, baby-holding, one old college story after another, and the best food of the weekend!! Thank you Nancy!! Time passed too quickly, and we were up on Sunday morning packing and heading home in two different directions. Letting go of Robert was difficult - I won't see him again before he leaves. I am so proud of the parents that he and Kaiti have become. They are the best!! Check out the top slide show from Collins' first weekend in Charleston.

Hurting Hearts

2008-03-10T22:19:00.005-04:00

It was last Saturday, March 1, when I received a phone call that would change our lives and the lives of friends that we love forever. The message just said to come over - something awful and tragic had happened. Their son, Trey, had been found dead that morning by his mom - my friend - when she went to wake him up to go off with the family for a day of fun at the boat show. The sadness that has grabbed hold of our community is almost more than anyone can bear. The unexpected grief that has overtaken the spirits of Trey's friends is so difficult to witness. Kelly and Trey have been friends for years. He spent almost as much time at our house as his during his school years - tutoring every evening. When there was no homework or projects to do - he was often still here just hanging out. How and why does a sweet life that is so full of promise come to an end? How do you explain this to your child? How do I explain this to myself? The loss and emptiness that everyone who loved Trey is dealing with is like learning a language that we have never spoken. We are supposed to support his family, yet we are all feeling this huge loss. All that any of us can do is to pray that God will bring glory to Trey's death - that goodness is going to come from this - that in time, our grief and mourning will turn to joy as we see The Trey Curry Foundation help those who Trey would have helped in his own time here on earth. I thank God for the gift of having Trey in my life and having the privilege of teaching him for 10 years. I thank God for the friend that Trey was to me, David and especially Kelly. I pray that God will help Kelly through this time of grieving. I pray for Trey's family as they make it from day to day right now. God please help us all.

Happy Birthday Kelly

2008-02-26T21:17:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Kelly - our little potato chip!! You have just had your 22nd birthday, and it seems like yesterday that I brought you home on a cold, cold, wintry Charleston day. MaMa was waiting at home for us, MeMe and Aunt Melanie had brought Kaiti home - all ready to meet you!! The years that followed have to be the most fun that I have ever had. I don't know anyone who has given me more joy and laughter. I laughed all weekend watching all of the old home videos. You and your sister made us a family. You made us parents, and taught us so much about what loving and living is all about. I know that the past 5 years have been such a challenge for all of us - but especially you. You know that I have prayed one prayer constantly through all of this for your healing physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our prayers are being answered as this is written. You have been without pain since Dec.14. Emotionally you are becoming strong, independent and confident. Spiritually, I am watching as God is using you in such powerful ways - to disciple a young woman you just met, to minister to a woman that God put in your path in the Sunglass Hut today. You have been gifted with all of the passion, compassion and skills that are needed to become a nurse. Your goals have been set for a long, long time. I know how difficult it has been to put all of those goals on hold, to miss out on the typical college experience, to have to be at home with your parents so that you had support and medical care close by. I know how rough it has been spending days on end at the hospital instead of out having fun with friends your age. We are so proud of how you have persevered when most of us would have called it quits. We are proud of the daughter, the sister, the granddaughter, the sister-in-law and the aunt that you are. Now, it is time for you to fly!!!

My Favorite!!

2008-02-21T22:16:00.003-05:00

Look at this incredible picture of my baby with her baby!!

What a Wild Ride!!

2008-02-17T19:22:00.003-05:00

OK - We have had one crazy few days here!! or really there... Thursday afternoon we hit the road heading north to Charleston. We left mid-afternoon to avoid the crazy, nutty afternoon traffic in and out of Tampa. We got about an hour up I-75, and were stopped due to an accident for 2 hours. So, detours and hours later - we checked into the hotel at 1AM. We had an appointment at Charleston Southern University with the head of the nursing school at 10 on Friday morning. Kelly and I had visited Jacksonville U last Friday. We were both impressed and excited with the nursing program that they had. We had mixed feelings about even doing the Charleston visit. David, Kelly and I just prayed together that God would give us a clear answer about where she should be in school next year. I always ask God for signs - signs that are the in my face kind of signs. As we parked and headed towards the new building for the nursing school - I saw a huge bright yellow banner hanging over the entrance. "100% of our students passed the NCLEX-RN. OK - thank you God for a sign - a real sign - as soon as we start this journey!! The meeting/interview was incredible-I watched as my baby girl talked about her passion for nursing, her calling to be a nurse, what she has lived through the past 5 years since the accident, how her pain and treatment is going to enable her to be a better nurse, how excited she was that in this particular nursing program faith is an integral part of the plan, and I watched as my little potato chip handled that interview as a young woman very sure of what she wanted!! God wasn't finished - after a tour and a few more questions - we asked about apartments. Dr. H looked at us and laughed - seems that her son is working to open a new complex just down from the school. We headed down the road for a tour of the complex - it was only about 3 miles from where we lived from the time Kelly was born until we moved to Florida when she was 9. She truly felt like she was going home. Kelly just kept saying that she was so excited she was about to come out of her skin. Goosebumps from God!! Off to lunch to meet up with our Kindred Spirits (remember the beach last summer). After lunch we headed over the bridge into Charleston to check in with Water Missions International www.watermissions.org David is going to Uganda in June with Kelly Green - http://www.kellygreen.org/ They are taking a medical and dental team, and are also going to set up two water purification systems!! YES!! We are just a little bit excited!! We are going to be back in Charleston March 5-6 to help with their fundraiser gala and walk for water. Then off to NC for Collin's christening. We had planned to be in Friday night and most of Saturday, but after finding out that Kaiti, Robert and Collin were at my mom's - only 90 minutes away - we hit the road again for my hometown to surprise everyone. Four generations together - how often is that going to happen for us!?! We left at noon to head back to Florida. It was a wild ride, a quick trip, a special time with family, and a time for God to really reveal Himself in Kelly's life!! Check out the new slideshow from our family time together.

Oh Really!?!?!

2008-02-04T09:23:00.000-05:00

OK - I sit down to begin a little quiet time and prepare for the Beth Moore study this evening. Check my email first - big mistake!! There is an ad from Coldwater Creek. I have just decided in the past few months that I like their store and have added it to my list of favorites. Seems that they are advertising a new line of jeans. This catches my attention because outside of my pajamas - I would rather be in a pair of jeans any day!! But get this - the ad states - You won't believe the fit - thanks to cleverly concealed ShapeMe tummy panels - cotton with a touch of spandex for comfort all day. Alright, I really need to know to know if there is anyone out there besides me who has a 50-something body that understands what this means. First after you get into the jeans and zip up the cleverly concealed panel (which back in the 60's was referred to as a girdle that I clearly remember my mother wearing) and you start breathing again - well, doesn't your stomach start aching? Is this just my problem or is it universal? I tried one of the 10 pound slimmer swimsuits and I couldn't breathe or move in it - much less climb onto a jet ski!!!! So what I am concerned about - as much as I would love these slim-down jeans, I see this as an instant source of pain and discomfort, and the worst part - the flab that you are trying to oh so cleverly conceal really just moves right up and becomes a "muffin top"!! I am going back to Chicos where my size is a 1.5 which makes me feel wonderful, and they have those awesome stretchy travelers pants where I feel like I am in my pj's all day!! Besides, we have stock in Chicos and they are really needing some help right now!! Did this post make sense to anyone out there at all???? KB

You are Wonderful!!

2008-02-02T09:47:00.001-05:00

Psalm 139
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
AMEN and AMEN!!!

Happy Birthday!!

2008-01-26T00:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Collin Robert Wicker, born Jan.25th - 6 lbs. 13 oz, 20 inches long

Thanks to each of you for your prayers!!!! love, Kathy

Come and Gone

2008-01-24T08:10:00.000-05:00

The full moon has come and gone...no baby. Please keep Kaiti and Robert in your prayers as they wait for Collin's arrival. Kaiti is still working. Pray for a safe and healthy birth for Mom and Baby!! Pray for safe travel as family comes in from SC and FL to meet Collin when he finally does decide to show up. Will keep you posted!!

Time for the Baby!!!

2008-01-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

21 Jan, 2008 The full moon has been linked to crime, suicide, mental illness, disasters, accidents, birthrates, fertility, and werewolves, among other things. The belief that there are more births during a full moon persists today among many educated people. Soooo - maybe we will have a grandson in the next 24 hours!!!

This is a Nightmare!!

2008-01-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

OK - I am still tutoring/coaching Monday through Thursday from 2:30 in the afternoon until around 8. This schedule works for me, and I have some great students right now. A**** my 3rd grader, had to do his first science fair project this year. GREAT!! Somehow this comes under coaching. Mom presents me with a wad of money, and after the Arabic has been translated - I understand that I am to come up with a project, buy all of the supplies needed, and get busy. After 30 + years of teaching in a school - I am just a little over science fair projects. A*** was so excited - all he wanted to do was to build a volcano and explode it. After a couple of hours of explaining and pleading with him - he realized (sort of) that this was not a true project with a hypothesis, etc. Now enters the book - Science Fair Projects for Dummies. I was able to talk him into what looked like a simple project to me - making electricity from citrus fruits. "Look A*** - the world needs energy, everyone is talking green - we can come up with an alternative energy source that will work. We can do this!!" I was over the top with enthusiasm just hoping that it would catch on. It did. We spent several afternoons together, and then almost...an entire weekend!! At one point, I had to call in the engineer husband to help us run the final test with the voltmeter from our garage. Wow - hooked up the copper wire to the slits in the grapefruit that had to have copper pennies to hold the wire in place, and FINALLY the needle moved!! After the screaming and jumping around subsided, we repeated our project for dummies. OK - same results, we are really onto something here!! Why hasn't the White House or Al Gore picked up on this phenomena!! This could be the answer to the recession that has taken hold of the SunShine State!! Alright - on to the rest of the story - everything is mounted semi-neatly on the project backboard (photos, conclusions, theory, etc) A*** leaves here with his fruit, wires and voltmeter and backboard. So very impressed with himself - not to mention Mr. Bishop, Kelly and me. I am just thankful that A*** has a project to turn in, and one - that after hours of practice - that he can actually explain to his class. Fast forward two weeks later...phone call from A***'s mom. She is screaming Arabic into the phone and I really have no idea what she is saying. Later that afternoon - I find out that A*** WON the science fair!!! Oh, please - this is a fair for grades 3-8 - how can this be???? Now, "WE" are moving on to the next level of competition!!!!! Is there anyone else out there who sees this as a nightmare!!!

Channel Markers

2008-01-11T13:07:00.000-05:00

Channel Markers - channel markers are navigation signals on federal waters to aid in safe waterway navigation....I love the water. I love being on the water in the boat. I
love the memories of spending all of our spare time on the water when the girls
were young. I have been missing the water and have been thinking about all of those days of the best times ever. Thinking about that - my ADD mind wanders
to the evenings that David and I, along with our Kindred Spirits, took the Boating Safety Class. The fun of that was the seriousness with which the guys approached the class - and how the ladies would slip out to take a bathroom break and head to the mall. AND we still passed the final exam!! Back to channel markers...just like the markers that guide us safely through the waters on our boat trips, there are channel markers that God gives us along our journey in life that guide us, direct our way, and keep us in the safe waters until we complete our travels. So I began thinking about the markers and just where in my life the markers have shown up. Channel marker - being born into a Christian home - having two Godly parents. This set me on a path that would forever shape my life. Channel Marker - my Daddy dying unexpectedly and at such a young age. I was only 14. I know that this changed my life forever. Channel Marker - Decisions about where I would go to college. Two transfers, and I was where I needed to be. This decision would change my life and career plans - one semester of volunteering with autistic children and I knew what I was called to do. This one decision to go to school in Charleston would be the most important channel marker of all. It was at tfhis time that God brought David into my life - and there he remains 30 something years later. I heard someone say today that long marriages are "well-seasoned". Ours definitely is. Channel Marker - Our wedding day. Channel Marker - Decision to move from Ohio early in our marriage to south Florida. God brought us closer to family, and brought Sam and Mart into our lives. Channel Marker - pregnancy, and the birth of Kaiti. This marker would redirect us and totally change our lives. The three of us journeyed along from south Florida to Merritt Island to Tampa and there we found another Channel Marker - a move to Charleston. God brought us back to the LowCountry where we had gone to school, where we found our Kindred Spirits, where we found a church home and family, where Kelly was born, and where we bumped right into a huge Channel Marker - Walk to Emmaus. This weekend was spiritually life-changing for both of us in our faith journey and our relationship with Christ. Channel Marker - Susan, Kindred Spirit...diagnosed with cancer and taken from us - so young, too young. A lesson in faith, prayer, and how to do whatever it takes to just get through. Lessons for a lifetime. Lessons that were so difficult and painful to learn - but lessons that shaped all of our lives. Channel Marker - Hurricane Hugo - loss and survival. Channel Marker - David's Dad's death - this marker changed our family once again in a forever kind of way. Channel Marker - guiding us to leave Charleston and head back to Florida. Being guided to make this move only by God and as a total move of faith. Little did we know that we were moving here so that we would be in a place to care for David's mom. This move was like being in the boat at night, when the water is dark and black. The only way to navigate is by the lights on the channel markers. You have studied the book, you know what the lights mean - and you navigate by faith through the dark water. And here we are looking out for more channel markers in our lives right now. Waiting for God to put the markers around the curve so that we know which direction we are supposed to take.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.Isaiah 42:15-17

Kenya Team Update

2008-01-05T12:07:00.000-05:00

We just spoke with my nephew. He made it safely to from Nairobi to Charlotte. He is in the car on his way home. He said that the team knew that God with with them and protecting him, while they could see the violence around them. Thank you each for your prayers that brought them safely out of Kenya and home.

Pray for Mission Team in Kenya

2008-01-03T11:41:00.000-05:00

I just received this note from my nephew via my sister. Chris and the mission team from Charlotte have been taken to a safe house/convent outside of Nairobi.

Hey Mom,We're still at the convent. Its about 6:45 at night here. We're leaving here at 6:30 tomorrow morning and my flight leaves Nairobi at 9:15. See you Saturday.Love,Chris

Please pray for their safety as they travel to the Nairobi airport and home to Charlotte. They will begin traveling 6:30 Nairobi time which will be 10:30 this evening. PRAY FOR SAFETY!!

Pray for Kenya

2008-01-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

Please pray for the people of Kenya during this time of violence and political unrest. Hundreds of innocent men, women and children have been killed in the past few days. My nephew, on break from law school, has traveled to the slums of Nairobi on a mission trip. His group has been moved from the slums to a safe house just outside of Nairobi. Please pray that they are able to get to the airport on Friday. As of now, the roads are closed. Pray that they will be able to fly out of Kenya on Friday and arrive home safely on Saturday.

Going to Carolina in My Mind

2011

A New Calendar Prayer

Delight is also a Verb

de·light

Waterways and Trees

Shifting Gears

Heart to Heart with Holley

Where Do I Start????

We're Back

Protect Our Loved Ones

Psalm 91 (New International Version)

Psalm 91

Update from Uganda

Hello Again....

Collin's Christening

Memory Verse #3

Job 8:21 (New International Version)

Wordless Wednesday

Our Birthday Boy!!

God Stop Friday

Thankful Thursday

A Very Late Wordless Wednesday - well almost...

Just a reminder...

2nd Memory Verse

For Such a Time as This...

Pressing on...

Happy 5 Year Anniversary Robert and Kaiti!!!!

2008

100+ Things Meme

Wordless Wednesday

10 Years of Music - Trans Siberian Orchestra

The Wait is Finally Over

an intense moment of Carolina football

Definitely A TREAT!!!

Totally Wordless Wednesday....well not quite...

Missing....

Bucket List

Life is Just a Little Bit Crazy HERE!!!

Not Just Any Given Sunday

An Email From Max Lucado

Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday all rolled into one post!!

OOPS!!

It's About Time!!!

Be Back Soon

Just One More Thing....

Sunday in Florida

Blogging for the rights of others...

Like a Stream in the Desert- Siesta Fiesta

Here She Comes!!!

At a Total Loss for Words...

On the road again...

What Our Country Needs

Hmmm-Is this true???

Summer Camp is Over

Happy 86th Birthday, Mom!!

Lt. Dan and Captain Wicker

Black and White

Fun in the Summertime

Let Freedom Ring - It's Independence Day

Thankful

The List

What is a PIP anyway??

Get Busy

Updating from Collin

Here We Go Again!!

Growing Old

Tagged?? What's Tagged??

Out of Africa

Mama, MeMe, MeMaw, Steel Magnolia, friend...

4 Months Old!!

They Just Don't Make Them Like They Used To!!

Traveling On....

Memories

The Sweetest Times

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way...

Thoughts and Prayers - June 5th

Mother's Day

More Sad Days

Random Thoughts...