Sam and Rachel

I rarely get to see Sam and Rachel or their son Samuel, Jr. But absence and distance have not caused them to be out of my thoughts. The three of them hold a piece of my heart that belongs to only them.

Sam is having his 33rd birthday this week. I remember, clearly, the day he and Dennis were born. It was amazing! Sam, even as a baby, had a great sense of humor. He would make the funniest faces and seemed to realize the attention he was getting. Through most of his life he has shown a heart of compassion.

When Sam moved to Alaska, I thought he would be back soon. I never thought he would stay after Wayne moved back down. But, low and behold, Sam found Rachel. They became best of friends and eventually married. Then, it was easy to understand why Sam was so attracted to Alaska. The two of them had a son, Samuel, Jr. He became the pride and joy for both Sam and Rachel. Over the years, they have worked together to raise a very fine son and grandson.

We had an opportunity to have a good visit with all of them a little over a year ago. It was really nice to have them around for a few days.

Sam grew into an independent man. He seems to love Alaska and I am not sure if they will ever move back to the warm country. Hopefully, there will be good opportunities for them to come down here and for us to go up there to see them. I am proud of him and what a great Dad he is to his son.

Dennis and Ashley

This week Dennis and Ashley celebrated their third anniversary. In this short period of time, they have had quite a journey. It has been exciting to watch them grow and bond.

The two met while they both worked at Safeway. I'm not sure what all took place in the storage area, at the back of the store, but I do know that one day I went back there to find Dennis and there he was throwing a football (if I remember it right) with this young girl. With them both having the look of being caught at something, Ashley quickly vanished to the front of the store.

My first impression - she is so young! It happened that Dennis was falling in love with a girl just slightly younger than he was. It was not hard to see in his eyes that he really cared for her. I admit that I wondered about this situation, being that Dennis had an eight year old son and I had to question if Ashley realized what she would be getting herself into. It cannot be easy to step into a small family with a son, at her age.

Around a year later they married. As with many new relationships, there were some hard times to work through and some bumps to get over. Over the past three years, I have watched Dennis fall deeper in love with Ashley and her grow and mature into a such a fine young lady. Not only do they have a strong marriage but Tyler and Ashley have grown very close. Now, the baby, Adam is finding his place in the family of four. He is walking and beginning to talk. If I remember right, I believe I heard that Grandpa was his first word. Adam, now around 18 months, is getting where he is not so afraid of me. I think he still remembers how his Grandpa was willing to let him cry himself to sleep.

I am very proud of Dennis. He is a great husband, dad, man, hard worker, and a son that any dad would be glad to have. Ashley is one of my four girls and is also very special to me. She is a necessary part of this family and I am so happy that the two of them dedicated themselves to do whatever it took to make their marriage work. For that hard work, they are being rewarded with a strong foundation that has been built, one brick at a time.

Dennis, thanks for being such a good son. Ashley, thanks for being such a good daughter. May God bless your marriage and family and as you grow together during each of the coming years, may you also grow in your relationships with the Lord. His hand is definitely upon the two of you and I see Him working in your lives. He has taken "two" and made "one".

Days with Dad

With June including Father's Day, it has made me think about some of the good times doing things with Dad.

Some of my most favorite memories are the golf games, ping pong games and motorcycle rides. I also enjoyed trips in the plane, the hike up to an Indian ruin, working together on projects or even the yard.

Several years ago, Ron called me and told me I should get a motorcycle. He and Dad were going to take a road trip and I should try to come along. I knew, as soon as I heard about it, that I wanted to go. I could imagine that these trips would prove to be great times together for the three of us. That proved to be true. During four years, we made road trips together. The first year we went up through Utah, as far as Wyoming and back down through Colorado. The second year took us on a hot trip into southern Arizona. Uncle Sid was able to join us for some of both of these trips.

The third trip was back to Utah to enjoy the back country on the winding roads with the great mountain scenery. We hit some National Parks and other such things, but the destination was not the trip - the journey was the trip.

The fourth and final motorcycle road trip with Ron, Dad and myself was into Nevada and going to Death Valley. This trip took place about the time Dad turned 81. That is quite amazing in itself, that he was strong and healthy enough to tackle something like that.

All of the trips were special, mostly for the company I kept. Great times!

Ping pong - Growing up, from 1961 and forward, ping pong was part of the picture. The table was always ready and waiting for the next re-match. The basement holds great memories, not only with ping pong but with pool and bumper pool. The juke box would be blasting hits from the 60's and 70's, always with the bass turned up and the house vibrating with the beat of the music.

Dad was always good at ping pong. As Ron grew up their games became more competitive and exciting. The same with me. The more I played and the older I got, the more fun the games were. At some point, I was able to win some of those games. But, for some reason, by the time we got upstairs, Dad would have a memory lapse and deny it ever happened. Great times!

Golf - There are lots of stories to tell about golf games and at some other time, I will add others. Golf became part of our lives in the early 60's due to Dad helping develop the local golf course and the rest of us getting to play for free as we grew up. Since none of us were golfers, it took awhile for any of us to get up to speed. Over the years, Dad and Ron and I had a lot of rounds of nine holes. Whether it was Twilight League on Wednesday afternoons, games just for fun, or an occasional tournament, we spent a lot of hours on the golf course. Each of the three of us had our own strengths: Ron was the long ball hitter but lacked some control, Dad was dependable at being in the middle of the fairway, and I became a good putter once I finally reached a green. I had to concentrate on the only part of the game that my small size was not a handicap and putting suited me well.

Golf, like ping pong, was something it took years for Ron or I to be able to beat Dad. Even if one of us were ahead with only a couple holes to play, Dad found some way to talk us out of a key shot or help us feel the pressure of the last hole having a water hazard. Talk was another of his strong attributes in the golf arena. Finally, youth and skill outlasted age and talk. Great times!

With the fun times we have had, some of my cherished times are sitting and talking with Dad. God has blessed him with the ability to understand the Bible and teach others the things of God. He has wisdom that he will share, if asked. He has understanding gained through experience. He has the love and compassion of a great Dad and Grandad.

Dad and Mom are looking at 63 years of marriage this October. That is even older than I am! They have been an example to five kids, a bunch of grandkids and now some great-grandkids, and a lot of others along the way. Their home always feels warm and welcome to family and friends. It is the only place that the grandkids know of the two of them ever being - same house since 1961.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! Thanks for all the great times.

Mark and Anne

Mark and Anne are celebrating their anniversary this weekend. It is hard to believe that they have been married for five years.

The changes in their lives have been numerous: marriage, moving to Idaho, buying a house, finding work, getting pregnant, having Ben, becoming Mom and Dad, getting pregnant again...

They have gone from two individuals to one family. I could not have asked for a better husband for Anne than Mark. From every indication, he loves her with all of his heart. What more could anyone want. And this I can say without any prejudice, Mark did pretty good for himself, too. Anne is in love with Mark and Ben. She seems to have what she wanted, a good husband and a family. Both of them love God and have a desire to follow Jesus.

This family is part of "My Favorite People". It does my heart good to hear from them and know that they are doing well. I am filled with joy whenever I get to see them.

Mark and Anne, stay focused on what is most important - God, your spouse, your children, your Dad. I love you all with all of my heart.

Moms

Moms, what an amazing group of people! Some young lady, just starting out in her own life, after getting out of school, gets married, gets pregnant and has a baby. All of a sudden, her life is not her own. She gives up "her life" for the sake of this little one or two or ... For the next couple decades or so, her life is wrapped up in turning little babies into responsible adults. Many of those things she dreamed about doing, once she was an adult, are now on hold. She gladly delays her other dreams for the little dreamboats she is now responsible for and for caring for their each and every need.

Sacrifice? Not at all! She would not even slightly consider what she is doing as a sacrifice. It is not a burden, it is one of the greatest blessings God could give to her. She has been touched by the hand of God and a miracle has grown in her belly. In the eyes of a mother, the baby, no matter what it looks like or may have wrong, is the prettiest thing to ever grace the face of the earth. The pain of childbirth seems to be forgotten as soon as she holds the baby for that first time. Would she do it all over again? Evidently so, she has another baby soon.

A mother is a picture of the love of God to a great degree. John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his (or her) life for his (or her) friends." I add, Greater love has no woman than this, that she lay aside her life and devote herself wholeheartedly to the development of her children, to nurture and raise them to love and serve the Lord. This is a visible example of serving, of giving, of putting others first, of unending love.

My Mother is an unbelievable example of this kind of love. She gave and gave and gave. She loved and loved and loved. She has always been there for each of her five children. To the best of her ability, she made sure that our lives were the best they could possibly be. She did not do this by smothering us, but by guiding us and little-by-little, giving us our wings to try out the world - or at least the neighborhood at first.

I look back to my childhood and appreciate that I was allowed to be a "boy". I did not get in trouble for getting dirty or for breaking something on accident. I was given the freedom to do things that had the potential for me to get hurt. In that freedom, I grew in confidence, experience and in ability. The more I tried, the more I was allowed to try. The further I ventured into the woods without getting lost, the further I was allowed to venture.

I appreciate living in a nice home, always having the food for meals, always having decent clothes, etc. But much more, I appreciate my Mom and Dad and my brother and three sisters. I appreciate the family that my Mom held together and the atmosphere that she established for our home. There was no doubt in our minds that she would be there when we got home from school. She was not afraid to give us chores, to give us spankings, to give us vegetables... She did what was good for us, not just what we thought would be good for us. Her love and discipline helped to shape us into the adults we each have become. We all love God, we all love family and we all love the families we each have of our own. I would do anything for any member of my family and I know that my brother and sisters would do likewise. Why am I so sure? Because we grew up seeing the daily example of how it was supposed to be done.

Mom, thanks - thanks for all of it. Thanks for not putting up with my bad attitudes but having the love to insist on a change in me, thanks for taking care of me whenever I was sick, thanks for doing the meals and dishes and laundry and cleaning. Thanks for doing the gross things - the diapers (they were not disposable but were cloth that were wrung out by hand), cleaning up the vomit and washing sheets in the middle of the night, the enemas, dealing with wet beds with understanding, the bandaids on skinned knees and elbows, removing splinters, etc.

Mom, thanks for it all; each and every meal, each and every clean pair of socks, each and every talking to and spanking. Thanks for making me learn how to vacuum, dust, do the sinks and toilets, and the dishes. But also, thanks for letting me be a regular boy with a BB gun, bow and arrows, knife, hatchet, .22 rifle, go-cart, motorcycle, etc. Thanks for the trips to the doctor to get things taken care of, such as cinders out of ears, etc. Thanks for not panicking when I would hitch-hike home from Snowflake or be out until the middle of the night spot-lighting rabbits (maybe you did not know that is what I was doing) but thanks for trusting me to be responsible enough to stay out of big trouble.

And, I have a special thanks that no other child that I know of can offer, thanks for not flushing! I mean it, THANKS!

Mom; from Ron, Sharon, Carolyn, Paula and I; with all of the love in our hearts, thank you!

My Most Favorite Person

I have written about some of my favorite people. This time, I want to write about my most favorite person. And, no, it's not about me. This man stands out far above the rest of the men and women I know, have known or ever will know. I can say that with all certainty. I chose to write about him, at this time, because this weekend is a remembrance of what he has done for us and a celebration of what it now means for us.

If my math serves me right, approximately 1,980 years ago, the man, Jesus made his way into Jerusalem. He was fully aware of what awaited him in the city. He was a man on a mission, the most important mission in history. The consequences of those three days would change the world, humanity and eternity. His sacrifice made it possible for you and I to have a unique relationship with God the Father, through the Son, Jesus.

No more would man have to offer blood sacrifices for our sins - Jesus was the blood sacrifice that satisfied all of those requirements.
No more would man be under the power of sin - Jesus set us free.
No more would man have to be spiritually dead - Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit.
No more would man have to pay the penalty for his sins - Jesus paid the penalty for us.

We hear a lot about the religion of peace. There is no religion of peace, apart from the one true God of Peace. The same God of love, of mercy, of grace, of justice - the same God that created the Universe and put the breathe of life into the man He formed out of the dust of the earth - the same God that gave His only Son as a penalty for our sins - He is the Prince of Peace! He is the one, true and only GOD!

Jesus, you give us reason to live. You are the hope that we trust in and the promise we count on. You hold the World in the palm of your hand and your power and control are absolute!

Thank you for dying that horrific death on the cross and shedding your blood for me. Thank you for rising again and living forever.

Great Friends and Great Regrets

I received a call today to tell me that one of the best friends I have had died in his sleep. I have known Ken Land since 1973, when the two of us rented an apartment together. Soon, another great friend, Whitt Highbaugh, moved in with us. The three of us had a great time together and a lot of fun. We became close friends and established relationships that have continued through the years.

Ken and I have known each other through various stages of our lives and have helped each other through different events. When I was going through a divorce, he was one of the special friends who always seemed to be there for me. After that period of time, he married my sister and became my brother-in-law. During their marriage Ken became addicted to pain pills he took for a bad back. This in turn took a heavy toll on their marriage and it did not survive.

Ken then moved to Tennessee to be near his relatives. Over the past few years, he has done better and was engaged to be married. Since he moved away, we have had limited contact. That is where the regret enters the picture. I had planned to call him numerous times, had wondered how he was doing, would have enjoyed sharing our old stories one more time. But, I was too busy and kept putting it off for another day. Now, there are no more days.

We will not remind each other of trips looking for arrowheads, trips in the woods in my 4x4, wrestling Whitt down to put cowboy boots on him before his date (only to end up injuring Whitt's knee). We won't laugh about the night the three of us had a water, food and everything else we could find - fight that went on until we were exhausted and our apartment was trashed. We cannot tease him about the time he asked for a wood plane and Whitt told him to look at the airport. We won't share the times we took advantage of the little neighbor boys to work off our rent, or when we played football in the living room, or shot Kirby's arrows into the ballpark behind the home we rented, or the ride in Kirby's car with the flames painted on the side, or the motorcycle ride with all three of us aboard, or all of the inside jokes about Pumpkin Head, green pillow cases, Frank spitting, burping contests, Ron Wold, etc. There won't be any more hunting trips or ball games.

Some of these things only the three of us understood and could laugh about. Now, Whitt and I will have to carry on without Ken. We will have to share the stories about him and laugh hard enough for three of us. The memories are all good and they now hold a place in my heart that is even more special and guarded.

Ken, I am sorry I have not been there for you the last few years like you were for me. It never was that I cared any less or that I did not want to talk to you. Sorry, man. You are and will always be one of my best buddies, ever! Rest in peace and I'll see you again one day. Save me a seat.

My Oldest Son and His Wife

This is part two of "My Favorite People".

Wayne and Tandi celebrated their 14th anniversary, yesterday. I bet they are surprised that I even remember or know that. For that reason, I have chosen them to talk about in this post. Wayne is on a trip to California, attending a conference at his old church, right now, so there probably wasn't a lot of celebrating going on yesterday.

Wayne and Tandi married not long after getting out of high school. They immediately took off for places unknown, to begin the adventure of their life together. After a time in Wyoming and Montana, off they went to Alaska, for Wayne to attend Bible College. Several years and a few kids later, they moved to California for him to continue his Bible education in a seminary. Last May, after several more years and several more kids, he graduated.

The two of them, as one, have overcame very difficult situations, survived with very little, and at the same time, managed to grow into an good example of a couple who love God, love each other, and love their six children. They are doing an awesome job as parents and have some great kids that are a joy to be around.

Wayne spent around 12 years to get through is Bible education, all the time working hard to support his family and them reaching out as Christians to help others and minister to needs around them. He now pastors a small church in the north part of Idaho and seems to be enjoying every minute of his new adventure.

Tandi is a great Mom. She not only cares for the family, does home schooling, but also helps minister to others. She is also an example of a very Godly wife.

I am very proud of them, for the accomplishments they already have made, for the great family they are raising, and for their walk with God.

Wayne and I have our doctrinal "discussions" which I really enjoy. It's a little tough for me to admit that my son just may know a little more about these things than I do, so I won't. Instead, I will wait for him to admit that he finally sees it all my way. Wait and wait and wait...

My Wife

This is the first posting for a category I will call, "My Favorite People". Each one will discuss someone in my life who is special to me. I figured that if I am going to do this, the very first one should be about my wife.

My wife just had her birthday. Even though it is in March, she starts the celebration as soon as Christmas is over. She counts on getting her "birthday check" from her parents each year and starts spending it long before they are thinking about writing it. In fact, it seems as though it gets spent several times over again.

She has a heart as big as anyone that I know and I get a front row seat to watch God use her in various people's lives. Even more, I get to be on the receiving end of amazing love. I tease her, that my goal is to give her everything she wants, but it is probably more true that I come close to getting everything I want.

If you are hurting, you will not find anyone more compassionate. If you are in need, she is ready to give. If you are family or friend, you have a defender. She works hard, gives much, loves much and needs much. That's OK. I get to be the one God uses to help meet her needs. I am blessed to be the husband of my wife! She loves God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. She loves those close to her and especially, she loves me.