FRIDAY FUNERAL

Funerals can be a celebration of a life well-lived. 

Such was today's funeral of 88 year old Lilly Laughlin!

Lilly, a woman whom I have called friend for 50 years, showed me throughout all those years that God was her refuge. Nearness "to her Lord" was evident to all who knew her as she told of His works and lived a life of faith and fun! 

"Her flesh and her heart may have failed but God was the strength of her heart and portion" up until she took her final breath and God received her in to glory. (Psalm 73:24, 26, 28) 

Lilly holding hydrangeas, from my daughter Molly's yard, is one of my favorite pictures. Plus, it's in a "Dotsy" frame.

Lilly did not hide her love of the Lord from her descendants; she told her girls and grands and most of us in attendance, many of whom have told their next generation (grands and great grands) of the "praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done," as it says in Psalm 78:4.

This "Friday Funeral" for one of God's faithful was indeed a celebration!

Our loss of sweet Lilly is heaven's gain! Glory be to God.

Bitty Baby = BIG BLESSING!!

The good news we hoped for was "exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or even imagine!"(Ephesians 3:20)
We came. We saw. We fell in love.....with all 4 pounds of him.

Owen's Baby Brother

"...To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, A-men." (Ephesians 3:21)

MOUNTAINTOP WEDDING!

Today began with prayers for the bride and groom and their families!

Having prayed for this beautiful young woman for many years, as her Godmother, I'm looking forward to all that the Lord is going to do in their lives.
As Meg walked to the altar in this magnificent mountain sanctuary, I lifted up mine eyes unto the hills and prayed from Psalm 121. "May the Lord be their keeper---keeping them throughout life and being their keeper as they go out and come in from this time forth and even forever more." 

As the bride's father said in His toast, "May God lead them in their new life together."

A new life of hope begins as the sun sets in the mountains on this special day. (2 Timothy 1:12b)
May God bless Meg and Tim today and always!

6/22/2018–O WHAT A DAY!

HAPPY "48" BIRTHDAY, BUDDY.
News came from home via speakerphone while we were atop Grandfather ‘s Mountain in  North Carolina that will be a blessing to us forever!

GUESS WHO IS 92?

HAPPY "92" BIRTHDAY, JEAN! Psalm 92 vrses for your 92nd birthday!

 

Psalm 92:12-14 (my paraphrase) says the "righteous flourish and grow, firmly planted in the house of the Lord, flourishing in God's courts and "bearing fruit in old age; ever full of sap and green."
Those verses are a depiction of Jean Hoppe's life as I have known her. Just a week ago, she was cutting and pasting for the VBS hallways at church and attends a couple of summer refreshments, one of which was "My One Word," where her chosen word was pray.

Verse 15 goes one to speak of the very essence of Jean's soul to me. As she continues to declare that the Lord is her rock and He is upright, with no unrighteousness within Him.

What a testimony her life is to all whose paths she crosses. As one who has chosen to "number her days" and celebrate each of life's moments, God has given her a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12) She chose "pray" for her word. For the rest of us the joy deep in her soul and the resulting smile, makes us all smile as well!

CONSIDERING CHARACTER: REMEMBERING DADDY!

Clifton Thacker Adams. Daddy. The kindest man I ever knew!

Dance w/ Daddy my 45th class reunion

• A faithful husband. 
• My dancing Daddy. I learned to dance standing on his feet & looking up to him. He taught me not to look at my feet because that could cause me to stumble. A biblical analogy I adhere to even today, knowing not to look down on my circumstances (or I might lose my way/footing) but to look up and focus on the face of my dance partner, my heavenly Father, who will lead me.
• A loyal friend. Daddy would always fill-up at Rudy's Texaco even if it had the highest prices in town because Rudy was his friend. It helped that the attendants pumped the gas because Daddy never pumped his own gas.

• A man of courage who fought for his country in WWII & was wounded in the isle of Leyte in the Philippines, though he rarely talked about it. 
• A man with a great work ethic, regardless of the pay. His first job paid $19 a week. Daddy worked until September 2010, retiring at age 87.
• A man of consistency. His methodical routine defined him. We all knew his schedule. Post off ice at 10 am. At 11am he would be "walking for exercise" (at the mall in his later years) at 3 pm he would be standing on the porch of Hopkinsville Livestock waiting for the school bus to drive by so that he could wave at his granddaughters, Polly & Allyson, and at 9 pm he would be peeling his nightly orange. On Sundays he would be at the First Methodist Church sitting in the pew---back row of front center section on  right hand side.
• A man of few words. A wise man. A man of understanding. Did he know his character reflected scripture? A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. (Proverbs 17:27)

• A quiet, gentle man. I never heard him raise his voice.

• A "gentleman" as well. In his final weeks, he wore a monitor so that he wouldn't stand alone and lose his balance. In the dining room the monitor alarm sounded constantly as Daddy stood every time a lady came to his table.

Daddy died 7 years ago today.

My older brother, Buddy said it well in this morning's text.

"Daddy never said anything bad about anyone and no one said anything bad about him."

His character is etched on my heart. My hope is that the next generations, his grandchildren  and "great grands" will consider the character of their Grandaddy Brud and emulate it as they remember him.

Disclaimer---I am my brother's favorite sister, I just happen to be his only sister.

JUSTIFY IS A "WINNER'S" WINNER

For a gal who grew up in Kentucky, the first Saturday in May meant Derby Day and friends gathering together to see "the horses run."

Derby Day justified the yearly "Derby" party for Mother and Daddy's "crowd," usually at Dr. Joe and Phyliss Bastin's country home, if they weren't at Churchill Downs. A social event. Today, brother Buddy is at Churchill Downs to watch the Belmont Stakes on the big screen because it's what Louisvillians do when a derby winner is running to win the third leg of the Triple Crown. Justify, a horse who lived up to his name, literally meaning to show or prove to be right or reasonable, which he did in 2018 as he was undefeated entering the Belmont. Only one other colt had won the Triple Crown undefeated---Seattle Slew. 

And win he did! Was I rootin' for him.You betcha! Rather I was "rooting" for his jockey, Mike Smith and was hollering excitedly at my TV set the entire race.

Why would I root for the jockey more than a horse?

I knew that Mike would gratefully acknowledge the One who gave Him strength and power. Smith was the oldest (52) to ever "win" at the Derby and as a Triple Crown winning jockey.

When the interviewer asked him how he was feeling, his first comment, with his hands in the air, was, "FIRST, I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Later he even told of racing for all the disabled jockeys and named one he had been praying for recently. 

His reply has been the same for all three legs of the Triple Crown and to me that justifies Mike Smith as the real "winner!"

CONSIDER SHARING GOOD NEWS

Allen Bible Church in Texas encourages it's members to consider taking the "good news" of God's  love and ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to their neighbors, to the nations and to the next generation. 

A goal I consider as very worthy.

Psalm 107, a psalm of praise, also shares the "good news" well---no matter what our struggles or our distresses are, the Lord is good and meets us right where we are. Even in our rebellion, weaknesses, depression or other afflictions, He is there. He hears us when we cry out.......and out of His love, He delivers us. 

It is a long psalm with 43 verses. It's a psalm for both the hurting and the "wise" among us.

The last verse sums it up well.

Whoever is wise let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. (107:43)

A worthy read!
A read which might have you considering sharing the "good news" of what God has done in your life.

REAL POWER RECONSIDERED

A popular myth is that you can do or have whatever you desire if you work hard enough to achieve that goal.  REALLY!

All who espouse that theory haven't burned our yet or run out of steam yet or hit the wall yet in order to learn that "empowering beliefs and one's own strength are no always enough. NOT to be a naysayer.....but be positive with encouraging words and call that myth what it is----malarkey.

Life happens along the way. sometimes, no matter how how you try things don't work out regardless of all you positive thinking and mantras. 

Don't fritter your life away trying "to do it all" in your own strength.

A Christian's "point of power" is centered around the Lord in an abiding relationship. (John 15)

Note to self---quit striving and allow Him to exert His great power on my behalf, even in my greatest weaknesses.
It's time to reconsider Who is the source of real power and stay plugged in to Him.

CONSIDER OTHERS & LET THE SUNSHINE IN

On a soggy day when one's heart feels as gray as the clouds outside, it's hard to have a "sunny" attitude. But God....reminds me in His word, that He is the lifter up of one's head. (Psalm 3:3)

So, I looked up and there was a recent gift from a sweet friend. A perfect gift for me. It had even been given in a "Dotsy" bag....and "dots" ran along the border of the tea towel.

It was all I needed. A gift with a "spiritual" history to take my eyes off my self and begin considering others. The fair trade company tag said, "Let Hope Arise!" My tea towel was hand-made in India by "Daughters of Hope, a social enterprise which supplies "a link in the chain of freedom in southern India." Sale of their products provide, poor and often forgotten, women from the slums of Bangalore with a chance to better themselves. What a treasure of a gift! A gift to open my eyes.

Lesson learned. Allow what you already have to bring the "Sonshine" in to your heart. I only had to have eyes to see that which was right in front of me.