Heading North

Well, I guess since it was two weeks ago today that we left to visit my family in PA, I had better get blogging!

We don’t get up to PA very often, so we try to see as many of my family as possible when we are there. This trip, however, didn’t lend itself to spending very much time with part of the family. We wanted to see my niece, Tabitha, who was home from South Africa for a few weeks, and we had to choose a week, of course, that Ken could get time off from work. That left us with one option. Sadly, the only week we could be in PA was after my nephew, Daniel, had moved to western PA which meant we wouldn’t meet his new little guy; only one day after our arrival, two more nephews and families were headed to AYC; Andy had two bus trips to drive; and Tim and Andy both had annual conference to attend. I guess somewhere in all that mêlée we should have expected to dive into one crazy, mixed-up vacation!

Over the eleven years we’ve lived in TN, we’ve made this trip so many times through the evening/night in winter that traveling during daylight in summer was delightful.

Wytheville, VA, has become a favorite stop for us although we usually stop because it is suppertime and only get off I-81 as far as the Shoney’s. Since we arrived early afternoon this time, we decided to take the time to enjoy the Visitors’ Center even though it was a little off the beaten path. Ironically, as many times as we have vented our frustration at how to pronounce the town’s name, instead of remembering to ask the ladies at the Visitors’ Center, we ended up doing a little online investigation after we returned home to finally learn that the official pronunciation is WITH vil but that the natives run the syllables together and get WI full. (Same way we get MUR vuhl / MARE vuhl out of our town of Maryville, I spoze!)

Here’s Ken relaxing in one of the rockers on the front porch of the Visitors’ Center… quintessential Southern architechure!

We did ask about these beautifully flowering trees we noticed at the edge of the property and learned that they are chaste trees. (Lots of interesting info online.) When we walked close to the trees, we also noticed loaddds of bees!

Every time we have made this trip up/down I-81, I see all the cows dotting the hillsides and hafta hum the little chorus, “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills…” These cows are in a level pasture compared to many of them. Most of the cows we see in VA need to have longer legs on one side of their bodies!

We had to get a photo of this sign. Friends of ours who used to pastor in Staunton, VA, now pastor in Stanton, AL. Believe it or not, both towns are pronounced STANT on.

Sometime when we make this trip again, I will try to keep my camera a little more handy. Probably a half dozen specially decorated towers announce the names of towns. This one is for Mount Jackson.

When Ken said we should stop soon to eat supper, I admitted that I had a vote. He guessed it first guess: Chinese! Then he countered, “Yeah, but they don’t advertise, so how will we ever find one?” We were coming up on Martinsburg, WV, so I suggested we take the first exit and see what we find. Amazingly, a large Chinese restaurant was directly across from the end of the exit ramp! We managed to squeeze into the parking lot, but since the restaurant was jammed and the buffet sorta pricey, we decided to drive on and find another one.

Ken looked at the atlas and thought US Rt 11 appeared to run parallel to I-81 through Martinsburg, so we chose that option for finding another Chinese restaurant. Well, 11 wasn’t exactly parallel, but it was a nice jaunt through downtown. Three times on every block, variously painted palettes were mounted. I was so busy looking at the different pictures painted on them that I didn’t think of my camera until we were halfway through town! When I did grab my camera, every light was green and I couldn’t focus on a palette long enough to snap a picture. Ken finally slowed down and held up traffic just a bit so I could get one picture. When Ken saw the photo, he thought it pretty cool that I caught the hanging planter in the side mirror too.

Just before the signs to return to I-81, we spotted another Chinese restaurant, but too late to make the turn we needed to make to get to it. After some maneuvering, we managed to get a Chinese supper after all! The restaurant was somewhat of "a hole in the wall," but the food was very tasty.

Here’s a sign I was happy to see! : )

After traveling all day, we weren’t overjoyed to see DETOUR signs directing us to Paxtonville as we came down the hill into Middleburg, PA. Ken was sure there had to be a shorter option, but I assured him that there is no other way to get around the first bridge (that used to be by the ice cream shoppe) which was apparently the one that was out since they detoured us already at Paxtonville Road. I wished it would be the second bridge (that used to be by Cole’s Hardware) that was out because I know how to get around it. * sigh * Sunday morning when we asked Tim & Ruth to refresh our memory with directions to their church, we discovered it is the bridge by Cole’s that is out. All that long, roundabout detour for nothing! They’ve been driving the short detour, but didn’t think to mention it to us when we had called.

Perhaps that was a “Here’s your sign!” moment for one crazy, mixed up vacation straight ahead. …we missed it!

Sunday was a wonderful family day, however. My brother, Tim, conducted the ceremony for my nephew, Philip, and his wife and family as they dedicated their little Micah to the Lord. Niece Rose and nephew Stephen and their families as well as their Grandma & Grandpa Stence were also present for the service. We were so happy to be there for the baby dedication and delighted to hear Tim preach too! He posed a question that has been mulling in mind from time to time since that morning: Would God have become flesh if there had been no fall? Hmmm......

I didn't miss my opportunity to hold Micah!

Afterwards, all the family met at the parsonage for a picnic dinner. I tried to get photos of all the kids for their Grandma Becky (and me, too, of course!).

I absolutely love Hana's grin. You can't look at her when she's grinning like that and not smile!

Liliva doesn't quite know why Uncle Ken is snapping pictures.

Something has Kihannah's attention. (I was so focused on Kihannah, I didn't realize I chopped Rose & Fanie's heads. Sorries!)

Uncle Ken was nervous to hold one-month old Micah but didn't want to miss his only opportunity!

I tried most of the afternoon to get a picture of Allanah, but she was on the move until Daddy Stephen sat her on his lap and gave her an ice cube. Shylah Faith looks like she wanted an ice cube too!

This was one of the rare times LaDonna was not chasing Alannah! That ice cube kept Alannah occupied long enough to give Mommy a break. Mommy thinks Alannah is into the terrible twos a year early!

Abigail's a great mommy's helper! She's holding Micah and hoping for her own baby brother come December.

I can't resist Hana's grin! I asked her if I could take a picture just for Grandma Becky. She nodded a happy yes.

Micah is safely sleeping in Daddy Philip's care.

More to come... this doesn't even finish our first day in PA! :)

Home again, Home again, jiggety-jig!

Praise the Lord we are safely home from our vacation in PA. We know that people leave their homes to travel somewhere, sometimes near and other times far, and never return home. Tragedy can happen in a split second. We thank God for protecting us over many miles.

And praise the Lord our house is safe too. Every time we come home from a trip, round that last corner and see our house is standing, we breathe a sigh of relief and thanksgiving.

I'll be back soon to start posting photos and telling you about our vacation.

A Soggy but Special Day

Today started 19 years ago (if I remember correctly). Long day, huh? I was hanging out in my classroom at Penn View Christian Academy on Registration Day, in between meeting parents and students, when an adventuresome little fella toddled through the doorway. Not knowing him or his parents but feeling rather certain they weren't far away and would be looking for him shortly, I struck up a conversation of sorts with him to keep him in one place until they would find him. Greg was so delightful that I was disappointed when I heard his frantic mother say, "Oh, there he is!" a couple minutes later. In those few moments, he stole my heart!

Whenever Mommy came to school for some reason, he always had to visit "Miss Cooley." He was so cute, so loving, so talkative, so funny without trying to be funny, so "little man," so disciplined that he was the highlight of my day every time he walked into my classroom. Truthfully, I thought Mommy (and, of course, Greg) should come to school more often!

By the time I was planning a wedding, I had only one name in my mind for a Bible-bearer: Greg. I was pleased as punch when Mommy & Daddy gave their permission. Mommy schooled him about what he was to do, and he was ready for the big day. He protested a little bit about donning his gray tuxedo, however, because he was certain that a Bible bear ought to wear a brown, fuzzy suit!

When Mommy had him completely attired, she set him on a chair in the nursery with strict instructions to sit still right there until Miss Cooley told him to get up. He sat so still he fell asleep and almost fell off the chair several times!

He did a perfect job of being a "Bible bear."

At attention.

Looks like he fell asleep on his feet!

Listening intently to my brother's exhortation about marriage. (The flowergirls and Bible bearers sat on the steps throughout the wedding so they wouldn't get too fidgety.)

After the wedding, we lived in Baltimore, MD, for five years and visited my family in PA quite often. While visiting, we attended various events at the school, so we saw Greg from time to time. After we moved to TN 11 years ago, however, we only visited once, or sometimes twice, a year, usually at Christmas or in the summer. As a result, we didn't see Greg for several years. Were we ever shocked when we met my brother Andy in his bus in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and discovered that Greg was part of the high school senior class who had chartered the bus! (I just knew he must have skipped several grades... but he hadn't!) We were so proud of him for becoming such a wonderful Christian young man.

In college, he was chosen to be part of "Majesty," a PR team for Penn View. We have tried to attend at least one service each summer where he is. We were delighted to learn that this summer he would be at our own church!

...which brings me to today. We woke up this morning to rain so intense it had me thinking Noah. (While I was drying my hair I said to Ken, "Why am I doing this?!") By the time we had loaded the car with several bags and a hot crock pot with foods for the pitch-in dinner after the service, not even our big umbrella had done a very good job of keeping us dry--Ken was so drenched he opted to come back inside to change clothes. So, we arrived a bit late, and the church was full except for a seat here and there and the first two rows on the left side. Embarrassed as we were, we "slipped" into the second row.

Majesty did a wonderful job and were a blessing! We enjoyed them so much. Of course, we had perfect seats from which to enjoy them!

After the service and during the pitch-in, we had a few minutes to talk with Greg. Interestingly, he taught music lessons at the same school my nephew and his wife worked at last year. We can hardly believe he starts his college senior year this fall. He will likely not be giving music lessons this year as he has a very full academic load and will also be choir accompanist.

After graduation, he plans to marry on June 12. I asked him if he remembered that our wedding date was June 13. He said he knew it was somewhere around that but didn't remember exactly. They had actually initially chosen June 13, but changed to June 12 because they would like an evening, candlelight wedding. So cool, tho, that his date will be so close to ours!

Yep, he was the highlight of our day.

Campmeetin' Time!

Wow, where has time gone? It's been a while...

We were rather involved getting ready to leave for, going to, enjoying, returning and recuperating from the AL Bible Methodist Church camp in Pell City, AL.

We've been associated with the AL Bible Methodists for 11 years, however, this year's camp was our first to attend. Not that we haven't been invited, had our arms twisted, etc., but that to me there just seems to be something wrong with this picture: "campmeeting in AL in July!" For the past 10 years I have been telling those who asked when we would come that we'd be there "when it was held in February," but after enduring a simmering, sweltering, miserably hot God's Missionary Church camp in Penns Creek, PA, last summer (our first there since we had moved to TN 10 years earlier), I decided we may as well attend in AL!

Always a highlight of campmeeting to me is being part of the band. I was excited to be told to bring my instrument. I very much enjoyed playing, but the band was not quite the size I had been expecting! The highest participation was eight people. I just know that in that group of 300 or so people were some people hiding their talents and instruments!

Another highlight of campmeeting was the God & Country service on Friday, July 4. Lots of patriotic music and flag waving and applause! As each branch of the US military was called out, veterans of that branch stepped to the front of the auditorium for recognition, a photo op and a prayer. This photo is of all the veterans.

Dr. David Gibbs, Jr. (founder and director of Christian Law Association) was the featured speaker and was entertaining and powerfully convicting as he usually is. Never pass up an opportunity to hear the man speak!

Of course, another highlight of campmeeting is fellowship, but we felt a little apprehensive initially since we thought we only knew two families in person and another couple by phone. Interestingly enough, within our first five minutes on the grounds, we had bumped into all of them!

Here are a few people we enjoyed seeing again:

We became acquainted with Bro Eads when he was our pastor. He works in the sound booth (that's what he tells us, anyway!). The first three times we went to the sound booth especially to find him, he was nowhere in sight. The next several times we stopped by, he was there, but he wasn't workin' that we could see! :) Ken finally managed to snap a pic of this rare moment when he went to see if our ordered CD of camp messages was ready--it wasn't. "We report; you decide!"

I had to laugh when I saw Ken's photo of Bro Eads holding a money bag. One of my most embarrassing moments in church happened in response to Bro Eads saying from the pulpit that ...I better stop there to protect all the innocent, but it had to do with money. LoL Oh, the stories I won't tell here!

Jessica was still a cute-as-a-bug pre-schooler when the Eads left our church, so you can imagine that we barely recognized the beautiful young lady we met at camp. I was sitting behind her in the band the first evening we were there thinking that there was something very familiar about this girl playing the violin. All of a sudden it clicked: Jessica!! Duh, she should be familiar! (She wasn't very eager for us to snap a picture tho.)

We also had time for a nice chat with our friend, Carm. (It's a shame when people live nearby and you have to go all the way to AL to sit down and talk together! LoL)

We were delighted to see Jeff & Susan again and their not-so-little Colton. (Susan was a teacher at Foothills Christian Academy when I worked there 7/97-7/01.) We enjoyed being part of the same church as Jeff & Susan for a time and were sad when they moved to GA.

Rana's family attended Ken's home church in Baltimore, MD, way back when Rana was a kid. We've visited their family twice since we've been married, but the last time was probably at least five years ago. Thankfully Rana recognized Ken! (Having only seen her twice before, I didn't recognize her until Ken pointed her out to me.) We so enjoyed meeting her and her husband, Byron, and talking together. Interestingly enough, Byron did his pastoral internship and a year of youth pastoring with Bro Eads! Now Byron & Rana are pastoring near Huntsville, AL.

We met lotsa people, most of whom were new to us. Surprisingly, we met people with whom we had various connections we didn't even realize! Most often, Ken was recognized as being "Paul Young's brother" (Paul & Christine lived there on campus for 6 years.) A few were with my family. A dear lady with whom we have been acquainted in TN for almost 10 years was so surprised to discover that I'm Becky's sister (she's known Becky for years). She had no idea we were related! Obviously, the #1 reason connections between people are hidden is our cultural practice of a wife losing her maiden name and taking on her husband's name when she marries.

I have to chuckle again and again at myself. As a teenager, so many times I groaned, rolled my eyes, shook my head, etc as my parents, especially my dad, explained how people were connected to others in one way or another. Now repeatedly I find myself doing the very thing--and, worse yet, loving it! :)

Mnemonic for the 10 Commandments

A friend emailed this to me yesterday, and I think it's really cool! I can list the 10 commandments, but I am always unsure of the correct order. Enjoy!

* Click on the graphics to see the big picture and read the text.

I'm a Great Aunt again!

Micah Clayton Stence arrived on Thursday, June 19!!* All 8lb 7oz, 19.75" of him. :) Isn't he so sweeeeeeeeeeeet?! Praise the Lord for his safe arrival. (June 19 is Great-Great Uncle Dan Cooley's birthday.)

Congratulations, Philip & Jennifer, Elanor, Jeremiah, Hana and Shylah!!

We can hardly wait to get up to PA to hold him close. * sigh *

*Yes, the post is a little delayed, but the news was a little delayed getting to me! :)

Dad's Day

This year Father's Day falls on June 15. Dad always enjoyed years like this. Since he was born on June 15 and got married on June 15 (18 yrs later), on a year like this, he celebrated a triple-special day!

Son, Andy, & Joy had hoped to marry on June 15, but their close friends, Dave & Joyce, snagged the day before they did. Daughter, Faith, & Ken would have liked to marry on June 15, but our idea for a Monday evening wedding was shot down, and we weren't dedicated enough to the idea to wait four years for the 15th to be on a Saturday. Grandson, Paul Jr, & Belinda have the special honor of getting married on June 15 (1996)!

Coincidentally, several other things happened on June 15 in various years: Dad's mother passed away due to injuries sustained from a fall the day before; Dad's first dialysis treatment was given; and a dear friend was killed in a plane crash. (The last two were on the same day.)

Dad wondered if perhaps he might die on June 15 and expressed that wonder from time to time, especially on June 15. He thought that would be "neat." Needless to say, the dialysis nurses and Mom were nervous wrecks the years he had dialysis treatments on June 15!

Not that he told me (or anybody), but I have always thought that when Dad kept holding onto life longer than anyone thought possible, he was trying to make it to June 15. He made it to May 1--only 6 weeks short!

I remember Dad for lots of reasons on lots of days and I miss him on more days than anyone knows, but I realize that in a sense he is always with me. Ken especially hears his admonition and phrases and stories and punchlines continually. Not too long ago he declared that he now knows Dad as well as the rest of us! LoL (That didn't last real long tho. When he read my May 3rd post, he discovered several tidbits of new info about both of my parents.)

I couldn't tell Dad Happy Father's Day, Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary, but I thought of him much today and thanked God for blessing me with such a wonderful father. I remember him speaking with awe of several Biblical parents, wondering how they constructed a spiritual foundation in their children in the few short years they had access to them that when those children were immersed in unGodly cultures and education they did not waver from their faith and loyalty to God: parents of Joseph, Moses, Daniel and the three Hebrew "children." They were Dad's heroes, and he wanted to know their methods!

Well, I don't know that any records of their precise methods exist, but Dad believed that Deuteronomy 6:7 figured in there. "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Any job we worked on together that didn't require our complete concentration was opportunity for him to talk with me about spiritual things. Even the shortest trip provided a few minutes for this principle or that. Longer/Long trips, meal times, and family altar allowed for in-depth, intense discussions. He took his teaching responsibilities so seriously, and truthfully, convicted me so terribly (particularly in my teen years) that sometimes I would say, "Do we hafta only talk about spiritual stuff?!" If only I had realized the golden moments I was snubbing!! Notwithstanding my sporadic inattentiveness, however, the incredible amount of training he packed into our 23 years together is still impacting my life. Thank You, God, for my wonderful father!

Two particular principles he drilled into my life were these:

It was his duty to teach me to obey him because if I did not learn to obey him, I would not learn to obey God. Sometimes he would tell me why he wanted me to do this or that and other times not. Sometimes he would say, "This time you must obey me without knowing why I want you to do this simply because you need to learn to obey God even when He does not tell you why He is directing you to do something because that is just part of the reality of the Christian life." Truer words...

The other principle ties into that one--it's about the "mystery bag." When Peter said to Jesus (about John), "what shall this man do?" Jesus replied, "...what is that to thee? follow thou me." Growing up in a Christian ministry setting, I constantly encountered people and situations I could not understand, and I would fume, "How can Christians do that?!" "How can God let this situation be like that?!" "Why won't God do something?!" And Dad would say, "Faith, what is that to thee? Put it in the mystery bag."

(Just in case you have never heard of a "mystery bag," it is a bag that always stretches to hold at least one more item, and it is thrown over your shoulder to be carried behind you. Whenever you encounter a person or situation you can't understand, you put it in the mystery bag. When you get to heaven, you can open it up and ask Jesus whatever you want to about all those things... if they still matter then.)

I never liked Dad saying, "What is that to thee?" or telling me to "put it in the mystery bag" (and sometimes challenged that he just didn't want to discuss things with me), but what a valuable spiritual lesson he taught me!

Again I say, Thank You, God, for my wonderful father!