Henry Isaacs

Our friend Henry passed away this morning. He stepped out of this world of pain and into a world with no pain, no need for medicine, oxygen, hospitals.
I can't list all the ways our families are connected. His mother-in-law was my baby sitter. We attended church together. I went to school with his kids. His wife worked with my mother. His daughter Patty and wife Deannie were Jason's baby sitters from the time he was a tiny baby until he was 18 month old. His daughter Brenda carpooled with my sisters. His niece is now my closest friend in the world. Way too many connections to let his death go by without acknowledging his role in my life.
Henry and Deannie continued to keep up with Jason throughout his life. Every time I saw them, Henry would ask, "How's our boy?"
This morning he entered heaven. I hope Jason was in the throng of those who met him at the gate. Henry doesn't have to ask the question any longer. He now knows that "our boy" is perfect as Henry is perfect.
I know this holiday season will be a blurr for his family. Phyllis died on Dec.
19th. I truthfully don't remember that Christmas very well. Soon they will be able to fondly remember Henry in his heathy years. My prayer is that the family will find peace in this time of loss.

Christians with an Attitude. Is that Christlike?

The holiday season brings out the best and worst in all of us. We are stressed, frustrated, confused... One thing a Christ follower shouldn't be is rude. It seems to me that lately we are nitpicking over every statement made by the people we come in contact with. I know that Jesus is the Reason for the Season and that we need to keep Christ in Christmas, but do we have to be so forceful with our opinions. If a store clerk wishes us Happy Holiday instead of Merry Christmas, we may notice it, but we shouldn't be rude to that clerk. The best response is a smile and a Merry Christmas right back.
We are all guilty of not keeping the "reason for the season" in front of us every minute. Can't we give others a break.
We don't live in a part of the country where there are multiple cultures, but some of our huge companies that have stores all over the nation may be based in a more multi-cultural part of the nation, so they may be telling the store managers to tell their clerks to say Happy Holidays.
One thing I am a firm believer of is that we represent Jesus. When I open my mouth, I am speaking as a representative of Jesus. I fall so short, but I must keep in mind that the people whom I come in contact with are expecting me to be Christlike. Jesus was never smart mouthed.
We have to keep in mind that our ultimate goal is for more people to follow Christ. If we are rude, why would a person want to join us as the bride. They wouldn't.
Let's purpose to make every person we come in contact with wonder what makes us so happy and kind. Maybe they will want to meet the God we worship.

Pictures

We took family pictures today. I know we have had pictures before without Jason in them, but it seemed like a turning point for us today when the four of us were looking at the camera. I was glad to get the picture, but I can't help but be a little sad.
I had a really good day. My brother, sister-in-law, and niece brought puppies down for my nieces' kids and Allison. We went to Aunt Polly's today for the Humphrey gift exchange. It's so good to have the kids together. Cody and Ashley are here from San Diego, so with Kirby and Beth, Allison, and Carson, all the cousins were together. They crack me up because they banter back and forth like they always have.
Allison and I went to Crystal and Brandon's to see the kids with their new puppies. Nothing is cuter than Laney tying bows around their neck, Kiersten carrying poor little Meadow around, and Ashton and Gavin lying on the floor being attacked by puppies. Anthony, bless his heart, is too grown up to play with the other kids. He sits with me on the couch while playing pac man on Allison's phone. He's way too grown up for his own good.
I thought of Jason all day. It's inevitable that someone will call Carson Jason when we are together, and then there's this awkward silence for a few seconds. I love the fact that everyone is willing to bring up his name, the things he loved, the things he did, the things he said. He is still such a presence with us here.

Deep water

Our sermon series this month has been about Diving Deep, going beyond the shallow water in pursuit of a relationship with God. I have learned a great deal about diving, but I've also learned about myself. I have been challenged to dig deeper in Bible study, in prayer, in connection to the Holy Spirit.
I wonder how many times in my Christian walk I have heard and accepted this type of challenge only to let it go after a time. I honestly can say that it has been too many to count.
It's about time for my SS class to choose a new topic of study. I've been reading a book about David, a character in the Bible I can totally relate to. David is described as a man after God's own heart, yet he did some awful things in his life. He is a character through which God can teach us of forgiveness. I love reading the Psalms when David is in despair because I've voiced those same words. I love reading when David is worshiping God through his poetry and song because I've been there too. I wonder how long it would take my SS class to do an in depth study of David. He certainly lived an eventful and exciting life.
I want to dive deep into this study. I want to clearly understand how to have God call me a woman after God's own heart.

The house is ready for Christmas, but I'm not.

I made a big step this weekend toward getting ready for Christmas. I decorated the house and put up the tree, but I can't seem to get myself in the mood. I'm better than I was last year because I was able to put up the tree myself instead of calling on friends to do it, but every time I go shopping, I just walk around and look at stuff. I don't buy anything. I haven't seen anything out there that shouts, "This would be great for __________."
Tonight I've watched a couple of Christmas movies; I've been listening to Christmas music; I plan to see The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever next week. I'm trying.
Next weekend I'll go shopping for our Adopt-a-family project. We will buy for about 20 kids. That always makes me feel good.
I hope tomorrow they will sing carols at church. I have to be reminded every minute that everything is never going to be the way I want it to be, but I can still be happy and enjoy my family throughout the holidays. I have to be reminded that others are counting on me to rejoice; many people in this world are hurting in worse ways than I am. I have to be reminded that Jason is in heaven, a real place.

Something to think about

We all have difficult people in our lives, co-workers, neighbors, family members, the list goes on. Some of those difficult people are being prayed for by Christian family members. One of the prayers I pray for my unsaved family and friends is for God to place people in their paths that can witness to them. I don't mean verbally sit down and witness to them; I mean live before them like a Christ follower is supposed to live. I think about this often when I am facing a difficult person. They may have a relative or friend praying for ME to be the witness. If they are, God's Holy Spirit may be telling me to behave myself. How do I make sure I know who is observing me? I don't, so I have to treat everyone the way I am supposed to. How do I respond when I have a conflict with a difficult person? If I think about him or her as a soul bound for eternity, it alters my response.
The nucklehead causing problems for you may be the very nucklehead I am praying for; please don't undo the witness I have tried to be to them, and I will behave myself for the nucklehead you are praying for.

Hearing from God

This morning in his sermon Jimmy challenged us to turn off the noise and pray. I did that on the way home and my prayer turned into a question fest. I asked God Why?
Why have so many people I love had to die young? What am I supposed to learn from him in all of these deaths? Why do some people go through life without ever losing family members, and we have lost so many? What have I done to merit these losses? Get the idea; I had myself a full-blown pity party. I went home this afternoon in tears. Maybe that's why I have noise around me all the time because when I'm left in quiet, I lose my mind.
Tonight I watched 60 minutes and saw a story on the people who live in the Congo. One woman had lost her husband and three children to war and was then raped by a soldier? Every day is a struggle for survival, for food. I got my answer from God. That woman didn't do anything to deserve her fate any more than I did. Sin entered this world, and we are living proof that sin has consequences.
My method of survival in all the deaths in my family has always been to look for the sadder story. When I was grieving my mom's death 13 years ago, I had a girl in class whose mother had died when she was a freshman. I felt blessed to have had my mother for 41 years. When Phyllis died (by the way, I am now the age she was when she died) we had a sixteen year old boy in our school with testicular cancer. I saw him weekly sitting on the basketball bench wearing a sock cap to cover his bald head. I kept thinking of his twin brother whose fear of losing his brother so young was palpable. His parents were facing the worst possible tragedy, and I kept wondering how they were maintaining their faith and sanity.
Daddy was 83 when he died, and he went quickly: four days from a stroke to heaven. I was reminded of people who live for years after a debilitating stroke and celebrated that Daddy and our family didn't have to endure that. When Linda died, her chronic illnesses had handicapped her for so long that I had to celebrate that she was in heaven with perfect eyesight, no longer blind; with a perfect body, no longer bound by arthritis and excess weight. When Jason died, I couldn't imagine a sadder story. The first message I received from God was the day before Jason's funeral. Our former principal and his daughter happened to come to the funeral home when we were there. His daughter is 28 years and has never seen, never walked; she has experienced life in a body bound by cerebral palsy. She requires full-time care that her daddy now provides for her. Her communication with them is limited to signals and a few words. I was blessed with a healthy son who lived life in a healthy body for 33 years. Lesson one.
Lesson two. I received a card the week after Jason died from a family in Kansas who knew Jason through NCHA. Their only child died the April before after a four-wheeler accident. I have two other children to push me back into life. I can't imagine the emptiness they feel. Lesson three. In October I began communicating with a lady from Elmore City whose 14 year old daughter was killed in an auto accident. Her 17 year old son was driving the car. Such heartache for them all. They had to grieve their daughter and help their son survive the guilt. I think God put this "looking for the sadder story" in me. He knew the day I entered this world what I would face; he knew I would need an extra dose of faith; His Holy Spirit spoke to my mother during my childhood and said, "Teach her my Ways. She's going to need them in her lifetime." Thank you Lord for taking care of me in advance.