Headed to Arkansas for the birth of our first grandbaby boy... to be grandma ("Nona") for awhile.

Packing for this trip was really tough.  I just threw everything summery I had into a suitcase.  I have never packed so many shoes in my LIFE!  I really have no idea what I was thinking... other than that I simply WASN'T. 

Of course since my back went out three days earlier, I was barely moving, and knew I wouldn't be able to haul anything.  But God is good, and Sunday morning the anti-inflammatories I'd been taking for 2 days worked well enough to keep the trip from being miserable.

I did something I never do this time, I packed clothes into my carry on.  Because I was prepared I had to knock over my coffee onto myself.  Oh well, changing clothes gave me something to do and kept me moving to keep my back from seizing up again. 

Flight went from Anchorage to SLC, where I made a quick call to one of my sisters.  Didn't think I should stop in Utah and not call my family, even if it was only a 30-minute stopover.  Learned Mom had sold the house.  After an initial moment of surprise and sadness, there was relief for her to not have to deal with an older home.  To think they had lived in that home since their 10th year of marriage... wow.  In typical military fashion, it had been her 7th home in those 10 years.  She's moving near my sisters, so it sounds like a good move.

I spent most of the flight writing to Bryce in Iraq.  We haven't heard from him in awhile.  Alex has his wife as his main "homefront"; we're Bryce's.  Lord please keep them safe, help them do their jobs the way You will it to be done to Your glory... amen.

Arriving in Arkansas, I first notice the Arkansas air replacing the cabin air when they opened the doors.  A definite hint of Eau de Farm.  Unlike Sacramento, it didn't have the scent of pesticides and fertilizers in it too.  I had to duck into the restroom on the way to baggage pickup as I got so teary at the thought of seeing my granddaughters and their mama.  Pulled myself together and headed on.  Had time to sit outside on a bench and take in the evening.  Very warm. Muggy. 

Here they come in the white Dodge extended cab truck! 

Saint Bricius of Tours, also Brice, Britius, Criccius, Bricio, (born around 370; died 444 in Tours) was the fourth Bishop of Tours, succeeding Martin of Tours in 397.

According to legend, Bricius was an orphan rescued by (St.) Martin of Tours (France) and raised in a monastery. He later became Martin's pupil, although the ambitious and volatile Bricius was rather the opposite of his master.     ... His memorial day is November 13.

When it comes to big choices in our lives, we all hope to make good, wise and well-thought out ones.  Sometimes it takes years of prayer and patience for a choice to come to fruition, and in that wait we hope that we have not become impatient in our waiting, but that our patience is an act of committment.

There come times in our lives we cannot turn back.  Sure, from sin we must always turn... we must strive toward "no going back" (repentence) no matter how difficult the struggle.  Often that comes in the form of selfishness, covetousness, or pride.  But should I turn away hard work that is the acting out of my Faith?  May it not be so. Because if I do not act, I have no Faith.  I know that it is only by God's very tender mercies that I have any Faith at all.  I also know that my only hope is that every time I fall that I will look to God to lift me up and set me on my feet yet again. 

There is a quote that I love... it speaks - no shouts - volumes on the substance of persistence and of personal integrity when one has made a choice.  I am strengthened and encouraged by the words.  To this writier's words I can only add one thing... and that is the most important... "I do all these things ONLY thru He who strengthens me, and holds me up, and keeps me from the grasp of the evil one." 

A man in Africa who was imprisoned and later martyred for his faith wrote/spoke this:

"The dye has been cast.The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or back away.  My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future secure.  I'm done with low living, sight walking, small planning, colorless dreams,tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals. 

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, positions, promotions or popularity.  I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarding or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, live by prayer and labor with power.  My faith is set, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. 

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversities, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. 

I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ.  

I am a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ ." +

May God hold me up and the family He has so graced me with. May He help me to not complain or get angry in my service to them; but kindhearted and giving and full of grace. 

A Mother's Crown
Source Unknown

Heaven lit up with His mighty presence,
As all the Angels looked down,
Today the Lord was placing the jewels,
In all the mother's crowns.

As He held up a golden crown,
As all the mother's looked on,
He said in His gentle voice,
I will explain each stone to you.

He held the first gem in His hand
But the radiance couldn't match His own.
For He was the light of Heaven,
Reflecting thru each and every stone.

The first gem, He said, is an emerald,
And it's for endurance alone;
For all the nights you waited up,
For your children to come home;
For all the nights by their bedside,
You stayed till the fever went down;
For nursing every little wound,
I add this emerald to your crown.

A ruby, I'll place by the emerald,
For leading your child in the right way,
For if you hadn't taught them about me,
They wouldn't be here with you today.

For always being right there,
Thru all life's important events,
I give you a sapphire stone,
For the time and love you spent.

For untying the strings that held them,
When they grew up and left home,
I give you this one for courage,
Then the Lord added an amethyst stone.

I'll place a stone of garnet, He said,
For all the times you spent on your knees,
When you asked me to take care of your children,
And them for having faith in me.

I have a pearl for every little sacrifice,
That you made without them knowing,
For all the times you went without,
To keep them happy, healthy, and growing.

And last of all I have a diamond,
The greatest of all gems,
For those mother's who lost their children,
When they came home to heaven before them.
This is the most precious sacrifice,
So I give the most precious stone,
For I know just how you felt,
I too lost a child of my own.
After the Lord placed the last jewel in,
He said, Heaven is now complete,
For every mother has her crown of jewels,
And all her children are at her feet.