Two Lives

Within about a week and 12 hours, 2 people I knew passed away.  One was 100 years old.  One was 16 years old.  One I knew quite well, the other I only knew about.  

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

(Psalm 139:16)

In July 2007, we celebrated the 100th birthday of Grandpa Tigges.  All of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were there and it was a wonderful time.  Some traveled from Arizona, some from Nebraska, and some from California.  My first memories of Grandpa were when Mark and I started dating and he was still helping on the farm.  I can still see him in my mind's eye coming up the driveway on the tractor.  He and grandma had moved "to town" but he still loved to be involved with the farm work.  I saw his devotion to his wife when she had a stroke in 1987.  For many years, he cared for her at home, but eventually it was just too hard and she was moved to the nursing home where he visited her almost daily.  We last saw Grandpa on Christmas Day when he drove out to the farm to celebrate Christmas.  How he loved scratching those lottery tickets he got as a gift.  No big winners, but he came out ahead.  He was a good man who raised good people who, in turn, raised good people.  With the exception of a stay in the nursing home for a few months, he was able to stay independent, driving himself to the farm and church every Sunday, but most of the people that were in his life had passed on and he was ready to join them.  He will be missed, but I know he is "dwelling in the house of the Lord forever."  

Jason was 16 and a junior in high school when he passed away 7 days and 12 hours before Grandpa after a 3-year battle with cancer.  I first saw evidence of the impact Jason and his family have had several years ago when I watched a video of his parents talking about his illness yet their faith remained strong.  I saw it again 2 days before Jason died when I went to a high school basketball game and about 150-200 kids stayed after the game and were down on their knees on the gym floor lifting Jason and his family up in prayer.  The funeral lasted longer than an hour and a half and while it was filled with sadness, it was also a also celebration.  Kids at Waukee High School are asking questions now.  They want to know about God, they want to know about heaven, they have a yearning to know more.  

Where O death is your victory?  

Were O death is your sting?

(I Cor. 15:55)

I read an article that says on your tombstone is the date of your birth and the date of your death and in between those dates is a dash.  It's what you do with the dash that can make a difference.  Two lives - One long, one short, but both made that dash count.  

Time for New Year's Resolutions?

Generally, I don't take much stock in New Year's Resolutions. Especially since I read that approximately 80-some percent of people who make New Year's resolutions, break them before January is up. But I do like to take a look at my life and see if there are things that can be fine tuned. And there always are. Here are some for this year.

I have always enjoyed walking, but as I look back, I walked more in 2005 than 2006, more in 2006 than 2007. So that is going in the wrong direction and I can tell. I caught a cold this year and it's unusual for me to catch any kind of sickness. I prefer to lay around than move around. I want more energy, it makes me live a fuller life. So like about 90 billion other people today, I am going to try to incorporate exercise and walking into my life.

I want to spend more time in God's Word and prayer. That I did more of in 2006 than 2005 and more in 2007 than 2006. So I'm heading in the right direction. Now I need to build on that so that next year I can say I spent more time with God in 2008 than I did in 2007.

I want my house to not feel so full. I am on the box-a-day plan. Every day or at least several times per week (I don't need to beat myself up over this resolution stuff), I'm going to find a box or a drawer and clean it up. I want to reuse more than just throw out. I actually started this in the fall, so the plan is to keep on going.

I want my finances to be different. Some expenses were unavoidable this year and financially we did better in 2007 than 2006 so to just keep working on that. I wish somehow shopping cuold be a career ......

So that's it for me -- Time will tell how it all turns out. Happy New Year!!

The Ones My Heart Aches For

There are several people that I know, friends and family, who I just want to give their entire heart to Jesus. They are good people and I'm fairly certain they believe. But God is not woven into the entire fabric of their lives. I want them to know the joy and peace and hope that He gives us as we build a relationship with Him, as we get to know Him better and better. I have learned, thought, that I can't change hearts. I can't force them to read books by Christian authors who have touched me, I can't make them set aside time to get into God's Word and pray and I can't make them develop a relationship with other Christians. There is only ONE who can change a heart and that his Christ, himself. Does that get me off the hook then?

Ummmmmm, no. Every week after our church service, Jay says "Let all who see you, see Jesus Christ." That is my role. I am to be the light of Jesus to people who don't know Him. That's hard to do a lot of times. "But the fruit of the Spirt is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfullness, gentleness and self-control. (Galations 5:22). That is what I want show to all people, even people who are very different from me, people that, well if the truth be known, I don't really like. Jesus was a very appealing person when he was on earth -- people were drawn to Him. Beth Moore says "No one is more pleasurable to be around than a person who has had her cup filled by the Lord Jesus."

I will continue to fill my cup with His Word, with His goodness, let Him shine through me, and I will bring these people who I love so very much to the throne of God in prayer knowing that God can change a heart much better than I can.

Catching Up

Wow, it's been a while since I've been here. I will admit things have been busy. We have been crazy busy at work -- I was hoping for some extra hours and we sure got them. Lots of sick people.

I had a great Thanksgiving. Cody and Elizabeth are in Philadelphia so they were missed. It reminded me of last Thanksgiving when they were in Philadelphia and the rest of us made the trip out there to see them. Such a good time with such good memories. But this year was a little quieter. We spent the day with Mark's mom and dad and his 100-year-old grandpa. He is an amazing man, still living alone and driving when he needs to go somewhere. I have a lot of respsect and admiration for Mark's mom. As long as grandpa continues to be with us, she won't go out of town for a holiday because she wants to provide a meal and place for him to spend the holiday. That is love in action and I can take some lessons from that.

Then I did something I have never done before. I went to Jordan Creek Mall at 12:01 a.m. Friday with Monica and Callie. That might be a one and done. It was packed, 35,000 I read in the paper the next day. Now this mall is an average sized mall, bigger than the mall in Sheboygan, but nowhere near the Mall of America. The hallways outside the stores were packed, some stores you could not even get into. We walked around the mall, bought nothing and then went home where I slept a couple hours then got up to be at Target by 6. I am nuts. I wasn't even really shopping for anything specific, just wanted the experience. The Target crowd was a very civilized crowd and Target had employees making sure it stayed that way. I understand the crowd at Toys R Us was not so civilized.

Crazy.

Dena does this early Friday after Thanksgiving morning shopping every year. I believe last year, she even slept in her car for a while. It was an experience that at this point I don't see myself doing again. But who knows maybe next year, I'll totally forget how wild it was and go do it again. Never say never.

Yes, You, Too, Can Help Save The World

We live in the midst of an amazing creation. I am in awe of when I think of all the beauty that surrounds us. I love the deer family that comes into my yard almost every morning and every evening. My greatest earthl desire right now is to go to Alaska. I would love to hunt for some of the most amazing wildlife, but hunt with my eyes, no gun thank you very much. I was completely enthralled with the whales at Sea World. I have never seen such beauty, grace and power all wrapped up in one creature.

But we are destroying this world. I have been convicted to do as much as possible to treat this environment with care and gentleness. I'm quite certain I will never chain myself to a tree or lay down in front of a bulldozer, but there are lots of little things I can do to make a difference.

As much as I love this computer age, here are some facts: "Americans tossed out a whopping 5.5 billion pounds of electronics - TVs, stereos, cellphones, and computers - in 2005, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Only about 12.5 percent of this waste was recovered for recycling. The results? Millions of pounds of chemicals and heavy metals ended up in the ground even though it's easier than ever to recycle electronies." (From Better Homes and Gardens). Phew, 5.5 BILLION pounds???? And that's only electronies, there is a lot of other stuff being thrown out there too, I won't even start on paper and how we waste trees (case in point - The National Enquirer).

If you are like me, I didn't even know electronics could be recycled, but YES, they can. Here are some web sites to check out http://www.mygreenelectronics.org. For cell phones, go to http://www.greenphone.com. Here's one final fact: If 1 million Better Home and Garden subscribers recycled one cathode-ray tube TV this year, we'd keep 4 million pounds of lead out of the ground.

So go forth and recycle.

The Best Day of the Week

I really love Sunday. I love going to church. I love Sean's song "Make Me a Road that leads to Jesus; make me a bowl filled with living water," I love watching Kevin sing, I love how Jay makes me laugh during his messages. Most of all I love being filled with the Spirit of God and how going to church is the most perfect way to start my week.

I love NFL football. I especially love the Green Bay Packers, but I don't love how I very nearly have to hold my breath for the three hours they play because the games are so tense. It was a relief yesterday that it was their bye week.

I love that I don't have to do much of anything on Sunday. Naps are allowed. I even kind of love that the Sunday paper is all over the living room (as long as it's picked up by Monday). I love that this weekend Cody and Elizabeth were here for almost 24 hours. I love that Elizabeth and I could spend some time at the mall. Sunday is the fastest and the best day of the week. I am glad every day isn't Sunday though. I need the other days to remind me what a great day Sunday is.

Sometimes I Just Don't Understand

A woman I know passed away last night. She left a husband and two daughters – one in college, the other in high school. She was younger than me, never reached her 50th birthday. Cancer is such a random disease. Why does it strike this person, but not this one? Why are some healed and some leave us way too early? I have to admit it confuses me. Did God not hear the prayers to heal this woman , didn’t He understand that her husband and daughters need her yet? Here are some excerpts Dena wrote about recently from Psalm 38 and 40:

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? "Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, 'Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!'

"Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? "Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you walked about and explored their depths? "Have you visited the treasuries of the snow? Have you seen where the hail is made and stored? Where is the path to the origin of light? Where is the home of the east wind?

"Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning? Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? Who sends the rain that satisfies the parched ground and makes the tender grass spring up? "Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion? Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? "Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it? Who gives intuition and instinct? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?

"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Have you watched as the wild deer are born? Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery? They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring. Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave their parents and never return.

"The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust.
"Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane? Did you give it the ability to leap forward like a locust? Its majestic snorting is something to hear! It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength. "Are you the one who makes the hawk soar and spread its wings to the south? Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest?

No, I don’t always understand, lots of times I just don’t get it, but my faith says God’s ways are higher than mine and I have to believe He is in control even when all we have are questions.