Life Under Construction

I chaperoned a recent trip taken by our church’s youth group and had the privilege of transporting two pre-teen boys in my car. One of the boys was my grandson, and the other was the son of one of our church men, who is a good ol’ boy and fine Christian man. From the conversations we had for those many hours we traveled, it became apparent that this youth considers his dad to be his hero; in fact, he said as much. The dad is a hard-working man, doing whatever he needs to do to take care of his family. Some of the information I learned about this man’s care for his family led me to the understanding that he is a true warrior for them. And I am happy this young man understands the value of his dad and appreciates him.

As I listened to the discussion, however, I have to admit I felt a twinge of sadness for my grandson, sitting in that car listening to this kid idolize his dad. Our daughter is a single mother, raising three young boys. They currently live with us, while their mom saves for their own home. These boys represent for me a generation abandoned by their birth fathers and who are many times left to their own devices.
Continue reading “A Call to Christian Young Men”

Mama noticed that Shelton had left his phone on the table when he went outside the other day. It\’s how they communicate with one another, so she decided she would call him and let him know his phone was in the house.

… wait, it gets better…

Shelton didn\’t answer the first time, so she called him a second time, during which time she realized she was calling the phone on the table.

A few minutes later Shelton came in. Mama was going to tell him what she\’d done, so she said, \”I tried to call you…\” he cut her off and said, \”I didn\’t hear the phone ring.\”

#stilllaughing

Remember the t.v. show called 30-something? Well, the way today\’s society is tiered, we now need a show called 50-something.

I attended the surprise party of one of my friends who has just turned 50. Little does she know, turning 50 is going to be a bigger surprise than she could have ever imagined. Let\’s work our way up to 50, though, shall we?
Continue reading “50-something”

She came downstairs, rubbing her eyes and yawning into the new morning. We met in the kitchen, and she said, “Mom, I keep having this recurring nightmare. It’s just awful. I want it to stop.”

“Can you tell me about it?” I asked. My antenna had gone up at the word recurring. I was really curious to hear what it was that her mind continued to play over and over as she slept.

Her first response was that she didn’t want to talk about it; too depressing. Then she just couldn’t help herself, I guess, and out it all came.
Continue reading “Breakthrough!”

Here we are the beginning of another week. We are already almost finished with January. Can you believe it? This past week was not without its drama, but by now, my life would seem so meaningless if we didn\’t have some drama, you know?

Started out great. Jenni began her new job on Monday. She had been sick all weekend and rested as much as possible. Loaded herself up with medicine and headed out. I didn\’t work Monday, and the boys were out of school, so we hung out at the house.

Other than working out some afternoon details for the boys, we had it mostly figured out. Jenn seems to like the job, and it appears the other workers there like her.

Wednesday, Jenni ended up in the emergency room after describing symptoms that sounded very much like an aneurism in her head. Scary. He dad took her to Prime Care and then to the ER. That was about 3:30 in the afternoon. They got back home at 11:30 that night. Her cold from the weekend had become acute viral sinusitis, which caused her to experience a migraine headache. They gave her meds through an IV to take care of the headache, but told her she\’d just have to load up on ibuprofen for the viral infection. She called her job and they let her come in late the next day. It appears her job is not in any danger. For this we thank God.

She still feels a little punk, but she\’s a trooper–keeps on moving forward. I\’m proud of her.

****

Saturday, I spent the day washing clothes and doing some much-needed mending. That was actually fun. No, really. It was. I love being able to be in my house and get stuff done, and I\’ve been needing to get that mending done for a while now.

Didn\’t get my nap today. After church, I had to get ready for a training session for the jail volunteers who work with our ministry. That kept me out of the house until 5 or so. Too late to take a nap. So I\’ll hang out and watch football for a little bit and then I\’ll just turn in early.

I know. Ho hum. But this is my life.

So what good can I accomplish this week? What sort of impression will I make? What witness will I leave with folks? Stay tuned.

I know, I know, life is always good. And you would be right to say so. I believe this.

But this day–today–is especially good. On this day, I have both of our children in our home. Josh and Mel are down visiting from the beautiful state of Pennsylvania; and Jenni, who is my precious girl, is here as well. Well, actually, Jenni and the boys live with us, so she\’s always here with me. And a blessing to have, I tell you. She knows how to get it done. So it\’s going to be a great weekend.

For the last nine months or so, Jenni has been without a job. She had a part-time thing that ended and then just couldn\’t find anything else. She was also in school at the technical college and taking care of her three boys. Lots of responsibility for a single mom–the same that many other single moms do every day. The good news in her life these days is this–in December she completed her studies in Accounting and will receive her Associates degree at her graduation in May 2012. She is rightly proud of herself for having accomplished this goal.

Then, just last week, she spent a day filling out job applications online. She called and told me she had sent out 13 of them. And within an hour of doing so, she had a phone call and an interview set up with one of the companies the very next day! After her SECOND interview with this company, she came to my work very excited and told me how hopeful it all sounded.

Then the waiting. Two days passed with no phone call. At one time I suggested that she might call them to check on their progress. She didn\’t want to do that, and after a moment\’s reflection, I realized we just had to let this be God\’s timing for it to be right. \”When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.\” (Psalm 94:18-20). So we waited some more; this time with a greater peace that God would handle it.

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, the call came, with the offer of a job. This is not a part-time job–this is a full fledged FULL-TIME, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, with BENEFITS job! We haven\’t stopped rejoicing.

God has taken care of us so faithfully. He is our Great Comforter and Provider. Blessed be His Name.

And even if this job had not worked out, the same is true about God even then. I may not always understand why we wait so long for things (humanly speaking), but I know that God will ultimately provide. His timing is perfect, perfect, perfect.

Have a good day, my friends.

(Oh, and about that 13th thing, I\’m not even close to superstitious. Folks would say that 13 is an unlucky number. Thirteen is just a number. For us, it was just a good old day!)