Homeschool in the Wildwood - Homeschool Blogger

Autumn

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:53:00 -0500

(this entry was first posted on October 14, 2008).

I just love Jewels over at Eyes of Wonder. The way she writes encourages me to slow down my day, to notice everything, especially the ordinary, and see it with "eyes of wonder."

In the entry I linked to above, she talks about saying goodbye to summer, and welcoming the fall with all of its good things. Like many other people, autumn is my favorite season. What's not to love? The sights, the sounds, the smells. Looking forward to coming inside for a little hibernation. Just reading the first chapter of Little House in the Big Woods gets me in the mood.

This week, I am loving the fallen leaves--the satisfying crunch while walking anywhere, the softened colors of the drying leaves, the musty smell everywhere outside. Just one of the many, many things that make autumn my favorite.

I love watching the earth preparing itself for rest. The softened colors everywhere--the grays, browns, and beiges that happen in November *after* the gorgeous display of color in October. The look of bare trees against the sky, mixed in with the evergreens. It's all good, as Martha says.

Jewels mentions the time in her future, after she has taught her youngest child to read, and the Passage that will signal. That event has already happened for me; I have six children out of the nest, and only two teenagers left--and their time is flying by too quickly. The "autumn" of my life is arriving. At 53, though I'm not too concerned about my age, I have to admit that 35 is long past. Most of my childraising years are behind me.

Jewels had a great thought, about saying goodbye to my "summer," as I transition into the "autumn" of my life:

To everything there is a season. I'm so thankful that autumn is the very season to follow after summer, in God's creation as well as in my life. What a blessed mystery, that something equally/possibly even more special and beautiful, can and will, softly and quietly move into the place of something else long held especially dear, special and beautiful. God is so very good. So kind. So good.

That's a wonderful thought. Why shouldn't the "autumn" of my life, just like the autumn of the year, be my very favorite? Sure, my skin is a little dried up just like the leaves (hopefully, I'm not smellin' too musty just yet...) and my hair color is a tad faded-looking. But this is the time of my harvest--looking at the children we raised becoming wonderful adults, the promise of the seedlings we planted coming to fruition. Fulfilling the purposes God planned for them, and, getting me some grandchildren into the bargain!

Another thing that's apparent at this time of my life is the Wisdom my mother told me I'd get. It's magic! You just keep getting up in the morning, then, one day, all of a sudden you know a few things. A lot of the angst of youth disappears, and you stop sweatin' (at least *some*) of the Small Stuff. I can see as each year passes, Life getting more and more clear. Now, I still worry 'way too much. I thought I'd have it more "together" by this time. I guess I thought I would have conquered all that stuff I don't like about myself. But at least I know that God doesn't hold it against me. He loves me "just the way I am." Really. He DOES.

So now, for this season, I am going to try to look at my life, as well as what's going on outside, with fresh eyes. With those Eyes of Wonder.

Family. The Ultimate Sustainable Resource.

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:10:00 -0500

I hear the word "sustainable" all the time. Everywhere. The Sustainability of the Planet. Sustainable forests. Sustainable crops. On and on and on.

People who know me know I'm not a Green Person, per se. Even though my favorite color is green. When I was a Girl Scout, we called outhouses "greenies." But I really bristle against most things claiming to be "green."

This is not something new. I was around at the first Earth Day in 1970. I didn't like it then, either. You see, Ecology was becoming a booming thing, especially among the hippies. I just wasn't sure there was anything wrong with its predecessor, Conservation. Teddy Roosevelt was big on the Big C. As Girl Scouts, we Left Our Campsites Cleaner Than We Found Them. We stuck a cup under a dripping faucet for two minutes to be Shocked and Amazed at the amount of water wasted. We turned off lights as we left the room. (Oh, yeah. That was my Mother--"don't you know how big our electric bill is?")

As a matter of fact, the whole Green Thing would really go nowhere if it wasn't good business. Recycling facilities would cease to exist if they didn't make any money. That's why you can get fined in our town if you steal aluminum cans from recycling bins before the truck comes to take them to the prescribed facility. We wouldn't want Mr. Individual to turn those same cans into Recycleville to get money for himself, would we?

And don't get me started on Trees. Use the electric dryer in the McDonald's restroom instead of paper towels? How about the cost of Fossil Fuels to run the dryer? Now, the Mess factor of overflowing trash cans? There's an argument I can sink my teeth into.

Same thing happened one time when I served lunch on paper plates. Some neighbor kid told me that I was wasting trees, and should be using permanent plates. I then asked him how much energy it took to wash the plate with hot water, as well as the water to launder the dishcloth and towel. Hmm. Food for thought.

And then, there is the Real Christmas Tree argument. People, people, people. Can you get this in your head?

TREES ARE A CASH CROP.

Just like soybeans. Plant them, harvest them, replant them. Lumber and paper companies have been "planting two for each one they take" for over fifty years now. We are not Raping the Land.

Wow. Got off-subject there big-time.

When I was young (before big plastic garbage bags) we used to lay out yesterday's newspaper on the table after supper. We put all of our garbage on it, wrapped it up, and put it in our shiny aluminum garbage can. We had a large family, but never had more than two cans-full every week. Because all of the wrapping/peanut/styrofoam junk wasn't wrapping everything you bought. Convenience food was rare. Many people burned their paper trash. And of course, Pampers had not been invented yet, either.

Wikipedia defines Sustainability this way:

Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. It can be defined as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.

We can spend oodles of time being Green. I read a magazine article once about a family that only had a tiny waste-basket-full of trash a year. They recycled virtually everything, except they couldn't find a way to recycle toothpaste tubes. They spent a lot of time taking care of disposing things because they were committed to doing so.

Think about what would happen if we spent that same effort on our families?

How would the earth look in the next generation, or even, four or five generations in the future, if we took time to "green" our family lives? I'm talking about Nurturing. Time. Effort. Enrichment. Teaching. Worshipping. Loving. Caring about each other as much as we do ourselves.

Sustainability: the capacity to endure. Sustainable for centuries, should the Lord tarry. My pastor told me once about a theological concept called Redeem and Lift. He used his own life as an example. His father got saved in middle age. His mother took [my pastor] to church, but after his father got saved, it was a whole new ball game. He (my pastor) in turn, started his family as a Christian, and so, in his generation, the Lift part has happened. What if, in our own families, each generation was Lifted higher in the things of God?

When Charming and I were dating, one of the goals we decided on for our family was to raise lots of kids who would be mentally and emotionally healthy as adults. They, in turn, would form (eight) new healthy families. Multiplying ourselves by eight? Sounds good to me.

Sustainability in action. And how much more important that recycling *things?*

Note: Please don't think I'm dissing recycling. I recycle. But maybe because I pay for it on my water bill, whether I want to or not?

Nah, I'm not that irresponsible. But you will be more likely to see me at a rally for Pro-Life issues than at an Earth Day rally.

Why don't you make a commitment to Sustainibility for the Christian family? It is a campaign with eternal consequences, and eternal rewards.

Thinking About Thoughts

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:20:00 -0500

Charming and I had a discussion the other day about Thoughts. He had been "Thinking about Thoughts."

Actually, he had been thinking about Handwriting. Now, I am pretty proud of my handwriting. There was a time, in eighth grade, when I could do a fair imitation of any of my friends' script. Those were the days of autograph books, and so I had permanent samples. When I would write things down, I'd say to myself, I'm going to write this like Janet T*gtmeyer or Betty Sw*ndler.

Wow. Hadn't thought about that for awhile. But back to my own hand, I can be really neat if I want to, every letter well-formed and evenly spaced. I can also be really, really messy, like when I'm taking sermon notes.

Charming, on the other "hand," has a hand that is really small and cramped-looking. Even after 34 years of marriage, I sometimes have a difficult time reading it. Maybe he shoulda been a leftie; in those days they frowned on that, you know. But, my sons Johnny Tremain and Alvin Fernald have the same hand, and there is no longer any stigma. So anyway, it is what it is, right?

Back. to. our. discussion.

He was writing down the lyrics to a song he had written, hurrying to get them all down on paper, when the Lord impressed him of the importance of our handwriting. After all, thoughts are just thoughts until they are spoken or written down. Only you know what you are thinking, but when you share that thought, it becomes "public" so to speak.

Think about how the Bible came to us. God inspired the writers with what He wanted us to know, but at some point, those writers had to WRITE IT DOWN. How very monumental those thoughts were, written down for the very first time!

Now, of course, not all of the thoughts we write down are monumental. Some thoughts are "just for a day," like my grocery list. It is of no importance after I shop. A note to the attendance office after my child has been ill is useless after he is marked "excused" in the permanent record.

Letters (you remember those, right?) may be important or unimportant. I have every one that Charming wrote during our courtship, because, though he did not write very many, they were thought-out, very romantic and, well, Wonderful. He kept every letter I wrote him, as well, but very few were actually worth keeping. I wrote him every day, just rambling little things about what I did. We never know, though, who will keep our letters.

I could go on. Journals and diaries are treasured when they come from relatives. I kept a few thank-you notes my mother wrote as she grew older. I knew that someday, reading her thoughts again would be very precious.

The lesson the Lord wanted to teach Charming was to take a little more time when writing something down. Maybe make your handwriting a little neater. At least, Think about what you are writing. We know that having a "thought" is not sinful; only when we act on that thought does it become sin. We also know that a "thought" cannot hurt someone until we speak it. Death and life are in the power of the TONGUE. So I think we need to be a little more deliberate when committing thoughts to paper, as well. (or to the email or internet, of course!)

I will post this, naturally, under "Thought Life!"

Learning.

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 06:39:00 -0500

Isn't this beautiful?

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom...O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days...and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it."

--Ps. 90: 12, 14, 17

I have just finished the book The Wonderful Spirit-filled Life by Charles Stanley. Here is a great quote from the chapter "Preparing to Hear: the Principle of Neutrality":

"From God's perspective, the content of our prayers takes second place to the question of whether or not we are willing to obey Him. His ultimate goal is hearts and minds that are in complete harmony with His kingdom agenda. His plan for you and me is to move us to the place where we can sincerely say with Christ "Thy kingdom come [regardless of how it interferes with my plans], Thy will be done [in spite of what I expect or desire]." --p. 177.

I have been in churches of the Pentecostal tradition for 33 years now. You may also know that I grew up Catholic. For that reason, I have no problem with praying "Thy will be done." The Catholics have the sovereignty-of-God thing down pat. Some Pentecostals (let's say, a certain "stripe")have a problem with that. It reared its ugly head in the '80's, during the Prosperity Movement. "Don't pray 'Thy will be done:' that doesn't show FAITH!!" I still know brothers and sisters who believe that. But, frankly, I think it takes more faith, not less, to take our hands off and let God do what *He* wants with us.

In two different places, it is recorded that Jesus himself prayed that prayer: in the Lord's Prayer, and at Gethsemane, and I don't think anyone has ever accused Jesus of not having enough faith. And, as the quote above from Stanley's book points out, how can we expect our prayers to be "in line" with God's plan for the Kingdom? We, finite and selfish creatures that we are, will always pray our own will. That's to be expected. Since Charming's last job was sixty-hours-a-week-work-almost-every-weekend, my prayer is, Lord, give him a job that is Monday through Friday, forty hours, at, say, $80,000. But I need the Lord to bring me to the place that says, Thy will be done. Whatever will do Your work Your way.

Weird thing is, I think He is. I have always said that my biggest need is Security. Charming has been out of work before, and it is no-fun-let-me-tell-ya'. I've said, "God knows I need Security, so I believe Charming will always have a job." Sure enough, the last time Charming changed jobs, there was only a one-day lag between them.

This is Charming's eighth week out of work. I still need Security, but I am *astonished* to say, I think the Lord is teaching me that my security is in Him. And I'm coming to the place where it is easier to pray, Thy will be done. Maybe I'm learning. It's always good to be learning. And the Holy Spirit is such a gentle Teacher.

One small step for man...

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:01:00 -0500

Forty years ago, man walked on the moon.

For some of you, this is only the stuff of history books. Others of my friends remember this event for themselves.

Charming was at the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Idaho. Along with twenty thousand others, he lay on the ground while looking up at the moon. He still has the Jamboree Newspaper with the article.

I m'self was sick on the couch, watching the event with Walter Cronkhite narrating (rest in peace, Walter!). My father made me get up off the couch, go outside, and look at the moon. "You will never forget this day," he told me.

And of course, I didn't. These events that are part of our collective consciousness are imprinted forever. Everybody knows where you were when you found out about Pearl Harbor (well, not *me,* I wasn't born yet) or when Kennedy was shot, or, more recently, September 11th.

For those of you young folks out there, here's a little "setting" for Today's History Fact. In the 60's, the Cold War was raging (well, not exactly raging, as, by definition, a cold war is not a hot war...) and the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were in a space race. Russia had won the first round, getting a man-made satellite as well as the first human into space. But then we tied the score, having John Glenn go into orbit around the earth. And so on, and so on, through the Mercury (one manned) and Gemini (two-manned) missions. By the Apollo series (three manned) we were On The Way. Every flight was leading up to Apollo 11. You know the rest of the story. After the several moon landings, the manned space program shifted to the space station and the shuttle flights.

Maybe you didn't know that when the astronauts came back from the moon, they were quarantined for three weeks, just in case there was some dread germ that would invade the earth, a la Twilight Zone.

Forty years. Just can't get my head around that. And, of course, so many, many other big things have happened since then. Personal computers. Cell phones. Cable tv. Things we take for granted, all thanks to the space program. They used to pound that into our brains, how the research needed and the data gathered from the space program brought you Modern Science, with all of its goodies trailing behind.

Thanks for letting me share my memories of that day. It may not mean a lot for many of you out there, but it sure was a Big Thing back-in-the-day.

Henry and Victor and Me

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 20:18:00 -0500

I have finished two "classic" works of literature that I had never taken the time to read before: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein.

I actually became interested because they were on a resource list for a Worldview Course that I was researching. I was not surprised that each of the tales was different from the our common connotations, based on movies that, for good or bad (good: the Spencer Tracy "Jekyll,"; bad: the myriad other versions of both!) could not give to the viewer the torment and anguish the title characters felt.

Each of the two stories is written either in first person, or from another "eyewitness" point of view. The authors were extremely talented in "pulling me in" to the stories.

What you don't get from the cheesy movie versions of Jekyll is the reason Henry Jekyll experimented with the good/bad parts of the human nature to begin with. He wanted to find a way to separate the good and the bad in order to allow man to live in his "good" nature all the time. As we all know, after drinking the potion and entering his "evil" nature, he wreaked havoc on the town, until he took his antidote to return to "normal." He found he had a problem when the evil nature returned to him without notice, and without taking the formula. This happened at shorter and shorter intervals, and he found himself trying to make his way home to get the antidote before he was found out.

Eventually Jekyll finds himself in his evil state without any more antidote, and he must find a "final solution" to his problem.

Then I moved on to Frankenstein. Dr. Victor Frankenstein again had a noble motive: he thought that if he could find the "answer to life," then he could bring people back to life, for example, children who died from disease.

He gathered the most beautiful "pieces and parts" that could be acquired from cadavers. He also decided that he would be more easily successful if he worked in a larger (giant) format. He was extremely excited, thinking that he was advancing God's cause, as he did the electrical and chemical maneuvers that brought the being to life.

He was immediately horrified: the eyes and mouth, instead of being beautiful, were hideous. He ran away from the being, and was relieved to find the being gone when he came home again.

Frankenstein spends the the next years haunted by what he had done. He calls the being alternately daemon, fiend, and monster. His act causes the death of everyone he loves; the monster treks across the earth looking for acceptance and love, and failing that, turns to vengeance and murder. The knowledge of what he has done affects Frankenstein's physical, mental, and emotional health until he eventually dies.

Both Henry Jekyll and Victor Frankenstein had noble motives. Both wanted to better mankind. Both believed they had a "calling" to do so. But they both entered into places that belong only to God--those of Author of Life, and Redeemer of Mankind. We are more than a collection of organs and chemicals, "turned on" at the beginning of our life. We must not forget that the first man, Adam, had life "breathed into him" by the Father God himself.

Adam messed things up, and then left to all his descendants the Sin Nature. The Bible says that we are all "desperately wicked" by ourselves. It takes Jesus' resurrection power to redeem that nature. All the good in us is because of Him. Do you see that both Jekyll and Frankenstein were doomed from the start? They had nothing to give their creations except from their own stores--which were inherently flawed.

These stories have many layers--definitely worth a read. They are short enough for summer reading, as well.

After spending some time this weekend thinking about the two stories, I went to church this morning. During worship we sang the "Revelation Song." Look at some of the lyrics. They meant so much more to me, after reading these two stories:

Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat

(Chorus)
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King,

Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery

********************

So here is the Short Version:

Man disappoints, but Jesus Never Disappoints.

Man fails, but Jesus Never Fails.

God is good. All the time!

Waiting. and Moving Along.

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 07:29:00 -0500

We are moving closer and closer to the day when Charming will, almost certainly, be out of work. I related in my last (two-part) post that, to my *natural* self, this would be a source of great anxiety to me. But it seems that the Lord has other plans this time. He is ever-so-gently preparing me, day by day, for what is to come.

Last night we began our "summer series" in Ladies' Bible Study. Throughout the school year, our church offers a number of classes that have ten to fifteen ladies in each. But in the summer, we all come together in the large hospitality room at the church for a somewhat lighter Theme. This year we're calling it Beach Talk, using the wonderful little book, A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

If you don't know the book, it was written in 1955 by the wife of aviator Charles Lindbergh. The fiftieth anniversary edition says this:

"Lindbergh casts an unsentimental eye on the trappings of modernity that threaten to overwhelm us: the time-saving gadgets that complicate rather than simplify, the multiple commitments that take us from our families..."

Sounds like either she was incredibly "ahead of her time," or women have always had the same challenges!

I happen to have picked up a 1955 copy of the book in a thrift store for 50 cents. I'm anxious to read it as a woman would have in that day. (by the way, my copy says "first and second printing February 1955." My mother was pregnant with me at the time...)

Last night was kind of an Intro night. At each table, we discussed what we look forward to at the beach. I've not spent any time at the ocean, but have spent time on Lakes Michigan and Huron. Not the smell of salt, exactly, that others at my table raved about, but the vastness, the rhythm of the waves, and the Sounds are there. A perfect place for contemplation.

Our teacher went on to relate an experience she had last fall at a beach in North Carolina. She was lucky, lucky, lucky enough to have a getaway with a girlfriend just to get some alone-time with the Lord. Nancy is kind of a chicken like me--it was October, so she wanted to do her walking at the place near the breakwater where the water was still warm, and she could see the bottom of the water. That was "safe," she figured. (Safe is such a Big and Necessary Word for me, you know?)

She found that, although she could see the bottom of the water (and did, indeed, feel "safe"), the Lord led her down the beach to a place that she couldn't see her feet. It was, however, a more pleasant place to walk, and only a little colder in temperature. There the Lord spoke to her: You want to walk where you know it is absolutely Safe. But there is a place where I am leading you to walk, and you need to trust Me that it is Safe there, as well.

That struck me like a bolt of lightning. I need to step out, and trust my Father that He will not take me to a place that He can't make safe. If I do feel like my feet are falling out from under me, that He is right there beside me.

Wow. Now, friends, I am in my fifties. The Lord has led me through a Whole Lotta Stuff in my life. He is always, always faithful and worthy of my trust. I have, like all of you, found Him not to be on my timetable, but when it's over, found His timing right. Every time. But, of course, every step we take in our faith brings us to another place of learning. This is why Jesus is called the "finisher" of our faith. This is how we become "conformed to the image of God's Son."

This is probably going to mean a big learning curve. It may involve some "growing pains." But how very grateful I am that I have had time to adjust to this new circumstance. How gently My Father has prepared me. And then He'll be right beside me, like my own Daddy was when I learned to ride a two-wheeler, or had to 'fess up to a neighbor that I broke a window. I'm never, ever alone. Jesus promised that He would never leave us or forsake us.

What's coming, I don't know. But He does, and it's getting to be Enough for me, just to know that.

What Time I Am Afraid, Part II

Mon, 18 May 2009 08:20:00 -0500

[if you care to read Part I, it is below...]

Charming has had a decades-long desire to be in vocational ministry. Music is his main vehicle, but the man can teach, and preach as well. The wisdom that comes out of his mouth Astounds Me.

Through the years, he has ministered in and out of our local church; playing for and leading worship on Sundays, Wednesdays, and for retreats and meetings, also teaching marriage classes, and many other things.

Except, of course, for the last 3 years, which has meant a severe limitation on his availability to minister.

We've prayed, oh, we've prayed, for a different job, one that will leave him available for ministry, and possibly to lead to full-time ministry. However, I had a specific picture in my head of What That Would Look Like; i.e. a new job would be waiting for him when the present one ended...

Two months ago, Charming was told that, due to the economy, the company was probably going to let one of the managers go. Since Charming is the highest-paid guy, you can see where this conversation was leading. Charming will hear their decision any ol' day now.

Now, probably my biggest Need is security. Under that come all those other "love languages" like Loving Touches and Words of Affirmation--they make me feel Secure. What does NOT make me feel secure is the thought of unemployment!

Psalms 56:3:

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

The Lord is gracious, giving us (me) time to prepare our (my) head for this.

Joshua 1:9:

"Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Has not God ALWAYS been faithful? Yes. Can He take care of me better than I can? Of course. Isn't His plan better than mine? I believe it!

Haven't we prayed for three years for an "escape?"

Yes, Lord, but not by Losing His Job. That's not how I Want It. I need Security, remember? We've done the unemployment thing, a dozen times before. I've Done My Time, Lord.

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

I DO trust Him. He has proven Himself worthy of my trust. He DOES know better than I.

Look at the verse one more time:

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

I can trust in Him *while* I'm afraid. He knows I'm afraid, but that's okay. He loves me anyway, like I love my children. When my four- or six- or thirteen-year-old has been afraid, I just hold them and tell them it's okay--they don't need to worry because Daddy and Mommy are there. I can climb up in my Father's lap and tell Him all about it, and He tells me it's going to be okay. He'll be taking care of it.

I think I'm ready to face the day now. How wonderful that I'm *not* in charge! Wouldn't that be a mess!

What Time I Am Afraid, Part I

Mon, 18 May 2009 08:01:00 -0500

[I'm writing this for myself, to get these thoughts down "on paper." It will probably be long, so Caveat Emptor, so they say...]

Psalms 56:3

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

Thirty-three years ago, Charming took a job at Pizza Hut, training to be an assistant manager. He figured to work in a restaurant only long enough to figure out "what he wanted to do with the rest of his life."

Over the next nine years, we endured a number of bouts of unemployment. Back in the day, "standard practice" in the restaurant industry (Charming had also worked for four other companies) for a newly-hired district manager was to fire all the managers and begin again with people of his own choosing. In between times, Charming tried lots of "own your own business" things: Christian books, Amw*y (twice), carpet cleaning, insurance, business brokering. All commission-only, all miserable failures.

We learned the truth of Psalms 37:23-25:

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in His way. 24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand. 25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

We have never gone without a meal.

Once we had a case of blue-box mac-and-cheese (24 boxes) to cover lunches and dinners until the time the first paycheck came for a new job.

Once we had pb&j sandwiches for a week, three meals a day, except for the last two days when there was no peanut butter, just jelly sandwiches.

We have been bored, but not hungry.

We also have not been unemployed since February 1984. That's when Charming took a job with W*ndy's, for whom he worked for 21 years. The last two years were extremely stressful. The day he was admitted to the hosptital with chest pains and his heart beating 150 times a minute, he got a call from Cr*cker B*rrel. The job looked promising for rapid advancement and good money.

The price has been high. The schedule is brutal, with some weeks having to rise at 3:45 am to open the store, some weeks getting home at 1 am when he had to "close," and some mid-shifts, where he misses seeing the kids for days at a time. Worst of all have been the weekends. At W*ndy's, except for the first eight months, he had weekends off. For 3 1/2 years, he has had only a handful of weekends off a year. Worse still, he only gets to go to church about once a month.

[Part II to follow...]

Rest in Peace, Denny Kite

Tue, 12 May 2009 15:18:00 -0500

Wow. This is the second memorial tribute in a row here on this blog. You'd think I had nothing better to do all day than read the obituaries!

I read in the paper that a schoolmate of mine passed away. He was a year ahead of me in school, and our paths only crossed for a few months in my junior year.

We both tried out for the spring musical "Fiddler on the Roof." Denny wanted so, so badly to get the part of Motel, the suitor of Tevye's oldest daughter. He went "all out" at the audition, singing Motel's song "Miracle of Miracles." He got that part, and I got the part of one of the other daughters.

One day at lunch, he sat across from me. I had bought my lunch; he showed up with a brown paper bag and a thermos. With a string hanging down the outside. Curious, I waited while he opened it up, pulled on the string, and pulled out two hot dogs, steaming from their boiling-water bath.

As he continued to prepare his lunch, he started talking to me about JESUS. Now, it being 1972, the Jesus Freaks were out in force. I politely let him state his case, then responded that I didn't see the need to embrace the new Jesus thing.

You see, we were Catholic (it was a Catholic high school), and, well, I told him I already believed all that stuff. I felt privileged to pray to the Father, and didn't see the need to add Jesus to the mix. It went, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that to me meant that the Father was most important.

I made a new commitment to the Lord in 1975, that made a great change in my life. I still believe that I was saved in third grade, at my Confirmation, where I made a public pronouncement of my desire to follow the Lord my whole life. As a matter of fact, when I "got saved" in 1975 (tho' I really don't use that term to describe that encounter), nothing really changed in my relationship with Jesus. Outward things changed--reading my Bible, praying often, lifestyle changes. But I think that the changes were a result of God saying to me, in effect, "now you're grownup--it's Time To Get Serious."

I have not seen Denny Kite since his graduation, 37 years ago. But I have thought of him often through the years, witnessing to me over two hot-dogs-on-a-string. I rejoice with his family today, knowing he is worshipping the Lord, face to face. He faithfully witnessed of the "hope that was in him," and I thank God for that.