Yearly Archives: 2015

Friendship, Project 365, Thankfulness

Goodbyes are Hard

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One of the joys of living in a military community is the amazing friendships you have the opportunity of enjoying. The beautiful, unique, special people who come into your path.

A sister friend.

A sister friend.

One of the greatest sadness of living in a military community is how those same people – those ones you’ve come to call dear friends – leave your path.

I still remember the first time some of our close military friends were moved to another state. The children were devastated.

“I’m NEVER going to love someone whose dad is in the Army again!” One of the children declared fervently. “It hurts too much to be their friends.” Silently I agreed.

But our hearts are meant to love. And the Lord has placed us in this city, going to an incredible church, full of military families.

And so we say hello and we welcome new people. And we love and, sometimes, too often, we say goodbye.

Today we went to a going away party for a beautiful family that we have grown to adore. Cynthia and I have spent the past two years meeting regularly as part of the mentor program. We have laughed, prayed, encouraged and shared DEEP struggles. Although Cynthia called me her mentor, she blessed me more than I can express. She lifted me up during some of the dark days of my parenting struggles, and she understood a lifelong battle that I’ve faced in a way that few people do.

Sweet family!

Sweet family!

These children have been part of our Sunday School class. They have served weekly with us in AWANA. They have thrown their energies into memory work, Tim’s drama program, and growing more like Jesus.

And so, when I feel a clenching of my heart, and I know I am saying goodbye to a family that I have grown to love, and a woman who has encouraged me to be a better wife, mother and Jesus follower, I stop and Praise God for the hearts and stories He is weaving into our family’s tapestry.

And I cling to the truth that we are called to stay here and be a secure resting place for those who come along. We keep our hearts open. We love freely and generously. We don’t hold back because loving and saying goodbye hurts. We let roots go deep because we know friendship is more than just living in the same city. We celebrate the pieces of our hearts that will travel to different reaches of the world. And we honor these families who have sacrificed so much to serve our country.

We will miss you, M. Family!!

Project 365 – Day 150
Kathy

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Daily Life

Bring Home My Baby!

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Three years ago, Joshua went off to college in Tennessee. We thought we would see him for summers and Christmas holidays, but he’s actually been very busy and seldom home. Last summer, he spent two months on a mission trip to Turkey. The winter before that, he was on a shorter-term trip to Germany. The summer before that, he traveled the Midwest as a counselor with Worldview Academy. This summer, he will pursue a research fellowship for his Physics major, so he’ll be in Waco, TX for ten weeks, studying with a Physics professor at Baylor.

Kayaking on American Lake

Kayaking on American Lake

As much as you expect your children to grow up and enjoy their own lives, you don’t necessarily want them to actually do it. Between weddings, mission trips, summer jobs and school, there just hasn’t been much time to connect with Joshua.

After he finished school this Spring, Joshua served as Best Man in a roommate’s wedding. Then there was a week of idle time before he had to report to Baylor.

“Bring home my baby,” Kathy insisted tearfully.

“It seems a waste, for only a week,” I growled, a little resentfully. Spending money always makes me a little gruff.

Joshua takes a fond farewell from his sisters ...

Joshua takes a fond farewell from his sisters …

But Kathy persisted, and Joshua hinted that he was willing to grace us with his presence, so I dug out my frequent-flier miles, and found him a flight home.

I’m glad I did. He seemed to have had a lovely visit, and we all got some time with him. It felt good to be a family with five kids again, even if a lot of the ‘kids’ are starting to be grown-ups.

A Boy and Two Moms

A Boy and Two Moms

I drove Joshua to the airport tonight, and he’s off for an adventure in Texas. I can’t wait to see him again (briefly) in August and hear all his stories of his life as a Texan physics researcher.

Project 365, Day 149
Tim

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Daily Life, David, Project 365

Garage Declutter

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Oh my word!! What in the world has happened to my garage? How did it become the dumping ground for every bit of odds and ends in the whole house? And how have I possibly let it go this long?

This can NOT really be my garage!

This can NOT really be my garage!

Heh heh. Well, life is busy and full and so is the garage. I can’t believe I am willing to reveal these bit of hoarding horror on the blog. Not sure it’s really hoarding if it’s just our plain messy lives. Lazy, messy lives as we’ve obviously been ignoring the garage since Christmas. Yep, I don’t think any of the Christmas bins were put away, and two of them were opened and still unpacked. Ha.

Today it was warm and sunny and we didn’t have any evening meetings. It was the perfect time to start tackling the garage mess.

All those beloved stuffed animals!

All those beloved stuffed animals!

David and Sarah helped as best they could. David moved boxes and bins. Sarah took one of the extra twin mattresses out of the garage and up into her room. She also stacked wooden boards for me. We all loaded the van up with giveaway things.

But really, there wasn’t very much they could do. It was a Mama Job. And I made great progress. The kids have their annual testing on Monday and Tuesday. I’m selling a table full of curriculum on one of the days, so I hope to clear out more of the garage then.

This one had to be kept.

This one had to be kept.

One of my favorite things about the summer is having time to purge, declutter and organize the house again. Our schedules are looser, our days freer, and the weather perfect for clearing out cabinet, shelves, drawers and closets. Off you go, mess!

Hope this garage gets in shape quickly.

Project 365 – Day 148
Kathy

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Daily Life, Family, Joshua, Project 365

Brothers

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We are savoring every relaxed minute of having Joshua home this week. That doesn’t mean we’re busy and active every minute. On the contrary, we’re almost having a “non-vacation” time. The kids are sleeping in when they can, we’ve had some meals out and some in, we celebrated Daniel,we went to church as a family. It’s not about grand adventures, instead it’s been about living and breathing and just BEING together. It’s been a relaxing, sweet time.

Today the sun returned. Happy Days!! I came home from a walk to find the children (everyone but Daniel who had school) sitting outside. They were perched on lawn chairs and sleeping bags. I grabbed my cook book and sat with them. Joshua may or may not have fallen asleep.

Tim worked from home today, but we were careful not to distract him hardly at all. Joshua and I can’t help it if we have fun things to talk about. Or if Rachel needs to snuggle down for a nap. Or if the sun is heating up the house. Mmmmmmm.

Oldest and youngest boy

Oldest and youngest boys

David mowed the neighbors lawn. Joshua worked on some summer communications he needed to do. Sarah finished one of her school books. I had two long phone calls and managed to sneak in a walk each time.

It was a good, relaxing, peaceful day. The only two sad things are – Joshua is leaving on Friday night, and Daniel has to work so much this week that he’s not with us much. :(

This evening, after everyone had gone off to bed, Daniel said to me, rather wistfully, “I’m sad that Joshua is leaving so soon. I’m going to miss him.”

Me too, me too.

Thank you for spending a week at home, Joshua. And thank you to Tim for flying him home (first class no less – ha).

Project 365 – Day 147
Kathy

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Daniel, Family, Project 365

Blessed Daniel

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For the past several years, our church has celebrated graduating seniors with a special dinner and an opportunity for their parents (or in some cases, guardians) to bless them.

Three years ago, Joshua was eligible, but Kathy and I were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in Turks and Caicos. So we sent an email blessing and one of our friends read it to Joshua. They did a good job reading it (or so I hear) and so it is possible that Joshua felt significantly blessed, but I suspect that the whole experience was diminished somewhat by the fact that we weren’t on hand to actually do it ourselves (sorry, Joshua).

Last year we had the opportunity to give a blessing to Rachel, but at the time we weren’t posting many blog entries, so (as impactful as it might have been at the time) it is almost as if it didn’t happen (sorry, Rachel). As everyone knows, if a tree falls in the forest but the event is not chronicled in our family blog, it didn’t happen (and in fact, there is serious doubt cast on the existence of either the tree or the forest).

This year it was Daniel’s turn. He will soon be finishing his Low Voltage Electrician and Fire Safety Systems course at Clover Park Technical College, and so we are declaring him a high school graduate (with a little extra on the side). It was very fun for me (and hopefully not too painful for Daniel) to publicly reflect on some of his strengths and to ask God for His blessing in a few areas. My nephew Timothy and his wife and son, and my parents were also able to attend, which made it a bit more solemn (while at the same time, more festive).

This time we were all able to rally around Daniel and honor him.

This time we were all able to rally around Daniel and honor him.

As I wrote his blessing, one thing really stood out to me — Daniel is an Evangelist. He really cares about the people that God puts in his path — and he doesn’t make the (often unconscious) mistake of judging people’s worthiness. When I look at a lost person, I often look at them in a human, strategic way, determining whether they are ‘likely’ to accept the gospel or not. If I think that they can’t understand the gospel, or are hardened against it, or have some other moral handicap that will probably quench the gospel’s effectiveness, I am very unlikely to care about them or to tell them about Jesus. This is clearly not reflective of God’s heart, but I tend to think that way.

But not Daniel. His first ‘solo’ attempt at street evangelism paired him with a young man who didn’t speak more than a few words of English. Last Fall, Daniel spent several hours befriending a homeless man so he could give him a Bible. He is routinely embroiled in the strangest arguments about spiritual matters with the most unlikely young men in his class at Clover Park. Daniel is not ‘strategic’ but simply obeys the leading of the Spirit and lives out the gospel to a lost world.

I’m very proud of Daniel. I blessed him tonight in several areas with confidence and hope — knowing that Daniel loves God deeply and knowing God’s expressed plan from Philippians 1:6:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Congratulations, Daniel!

Project 365, Day 146
Tim

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