Hero #1

My first thoughts tend toward a brother who has been gone for many years although his dear, faithful wife is still among us. Bro. Charles Keeling, known to us all as Bro. Chuck. That taco hording man with the motto of "you can eat as many as you want here but you can't take 'em home" holds a dear place in my heart as a hero who in his life was an illustrious warrior of the cross of Christ. Another song reminds me of his life:
A faithful old vessel, stands in the harbor,
Bravely it's fought, many battles at sea.
It's a proud symbol of freedom and justice
Each battle scar stands for great victory.
Battle scars from the struggle,
Battle scars from the strife,
Battle scars from the conflict, it's faced in this life.
And when the battle's over and we lay our armor down,
We'll exchange these battle scars for a glorious crown.

I hold Bro. Chuck up as a hero in my life because of his preaching that I was able to hear each week when I was young in the faith. He lived " judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet" (Isaiah 28:17) and taught it each week from the pulpit. His talks were long, and my children were being born and were little babies at the time I got to hear him. But what I heard transported me to a place where I saw the picture of what God's plan of salvation was from the very beginning of time until Christ brought true peace on earth. Even now, I know that those were the days of my illumination; days that I will always hold dear. Yes, he was just a servant of God; God could have opened any other Brother's mouth and poured forth such words of life, but the eloquence he spoke with came directly from the throne of grace and I will thank God for it until the day I die. He was a man I admired for his achievements and noble qualities.

Heroes

I lay in bed last night, not able to sleep for some reason again. My mind wandered around in circles and for some reason I thought about heroes. The dictionary defines a hero as such:
1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b: an illustrious warrior c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d: one that shows great courage 2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement 3 plural usually heroes: an object of extreme admiration and devotion

There are heroes in my life that aren't mythological or legendary. They aren't a principal male character in a literary or dramatic work. But I still consider them heroes. So for today, I'm thinking about the heroes in my life. People who I've looked up to for strength and guidance, people who I've striven to be more like; most often they haven't even known it. I love this song by my favorite singer/songwriter Paul Overstreet. I couldn't find a video of him singing it, but here are the lyrics. I hope the words make you think about someone who is a hero in your life!

Heroes Song by Paul Overstreet

Lately...

1. I've enjoyed all the sister's blogs...wept for your sorrows and shed different tears for your joy and testimonies. Thank you ladies for sharing your lives!
2. We had The Dad's little sister visit us with her children. What a joy they were! I loved watching videos of my nieces dancing so beautifully and seeing them become young women. I got to visit with my nephew who, on the brink of manhood is one step away from the Lord. We got to talk about our thoughts on the world around us and it was fascinating to see life from his point of view. It's wonderful to see my dear sister in law with her children and the care and devotion she has for them...we only wished her hubby could have been with us too!
3. It's getting easier to only have one child left at home... sorta!
4. My granddaughter wrote my name... LORI... and said, "that spells Grammy!" I will always treasure those little things with my grand children!
5. The daffodils are all blooming and it makes me want to go out and plant in our garden again.
6. I had to speak at a city council meeting and I was so nervous, but I went into the quiet part of my library beforehand and begged God to help me... and it turned out not to be so bad after all. I just needed to be myself...just plain old me!
7. I'm making headway on my yearlong reading of the bible! I'm staying up on it (some days I do better than others and I get behind a little! ) but I'm already to 2 Samuel. I have been so edified by the story of the children of Israel and their struggles. I do NOT want to be like them and disappoint our God. I absolutely loved reading Ruth again! I read it thinking of my dear daughter in laws. I stand in awe at the care and love that Naomi had for both them. My heart went out to those three women so much! My hope is to be such a mother in law as Naomi was to all my lovely daughters who love my sons so much!

Well... besides trying to think of what in the world to make for this Sunday's church dinner, not much else is happening lately!

Introducing a new Brother and two Sisters!

It's been a whirlwind day! We knew this morning that we were having a baptism. Sis. Patsy gave her hand a week ago, but we waited because there were sick brethren who couldn't come to watch. But today, as meetng went on, and ended; two more gave their hands! So, here you see Sis. Kaitlyn at the way back of the picture, Sis. Patsy in the very middle and our new Bro. Jonathan! Yes, our youngest and final child has been baptized. And what a wonderful day it is! Thanks be to God that his hand has been extended to each and every one of our children and that they each chose Life!

Visiting Brethren, on the way!

I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! Bro. M and Sis. C are coming all the way here from Oklahoma on Friday evening and they will be here until Tues. morning. I love these dear brethren so much and I can't hardly concentrate on anything else. I'm dreaming of the wonderful visits we will have! Only a few of the brethren here in Harrisburg have met them, so I am as excited for the rest to meet them and fall in love with them too! I really want to post a picture of our finished, painted green house with the blairingly red front door, but I'll probably not get to it until next week. Until then, you'll find me getting all the "martha" stuff done for our company so that I can be "mary" while they are here!

***Urgent side note... I talked to Sis. C this morning and she told me that she was bitten by a spider maybe 4 times on her foot. She is in a lot of pain and needs the prayers of the brethren. It's already gone up her leg and throbs badly. I'll update as I hear anything... Sis. Lori

Understanding God's Mercy to Us

Sis Shannon asked that I post some stories from our quick trip to Colorado and so here goes! This is Sis. Carolyn G. from Grand Junction. She cares for her dear husband, Bro. Marc who is so sick. I mentioned them in my previous post. A long time ago, we had Bro. Marc and Sis. Carolyn in our home (back when we lived in California!) and to make a long story short, they were not treated well while there. So, for many years, The Dad has been praying that our paths would cross again and we would have the chance to say we were sorry and make it right with them. We didn't know where they lived in Colorado and didn't know their last name, so it was pretty impossible to find out who they were. But, lo and behold! The Lord knew my husband's prayer and He made a way for us to apologize to them. Recently our nephew married a sister from Colorado and wouldn't you know it but it's Bro. Marc and Sis. Carolyn's daughter! As soon as The Dad heard her maiden name, he recognized it as the last name of the brethren who were in our home so long ago. We were able to visit with our new niece in Idaho and learned that her father was terribly sick and both The Dad and I knew that we'd need to make a trip to Colorado post haste. That is how we found ourselves on the road there and back again. We were welcomed in to the very brethren's home that we had mistreated so long ago and were welcomed with open arms! They had not carried any hardness of heart along with them through these years. God was very good to us that we were able to meet them again and this time to actually get to know them! We spent time with Bro. Marc the first afternoon and evening we got there and we enjoyed his apparent grace and bravery in the face of what surely could be death. He spoke of his joy in the faith and his hope for the faith to continue through all of our children. He stressed the importance of teaching our children about the treasure we possess and living the faith ourselves so that they can learn from our examples. He loves his children dearly. He loves his wife dearly. And rightly so, two of his children are in the faith now and he hopes for his third. And his wife! She is a dear solid sister. Up she was early in the morning caring for Bro. Marc and caring for their home. You could tell she was very busy at keeping her household running smoothly for Bro. Marc. She tends her yard and it's beautiful! You can tell she loves plants because even her house is full of gorgeous pots full of deep lucious greenery. Good grief, I'd have those plants dead in a week! Her calmness of spirit was an inspiration and she made us feel so at home. The next morning Bro. Marc was needing to sleep and rest and so we got to visit with her and the whole morning the telephone kept ringing. I finally gathered that it was her birthday and here she was cooking breakfast and taking care for us! Later that day we were able to get her a birthday cake and have a little celebration. Even Bro. Marc was able to have a bit of cake and sing to his wife! I cannot stress enough how much that Bro. Marc needs prayers. He needs God's grace to suffer the affliction he has. I know he wants it, I know he will only get it through the grace of God. So, when you think of him, please ask God for mercy for both him and Sis. Carolyn. She has a big job caring for him and their home. Oh and she also helps care for her almost blind mother, Sis. Helen who lives about 45 minutes away! I will always treasure getting a chance to know these dear brethren and understand that it was God's mercy to The Dad and I to have the chance to make things right with such sweet children of His.