It never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from children. I'm so proud of Kaelie, my 14 year-old daughter, for what she has taught me most recently. This week Kaelie is on a mission trip with a group of middle school youth from our church. After we had already registered her for two fairly expensive camps this summer, she begged to go on this trip. My husband and I debated and debated whether to let her go for two reasons. First, the money. The trip itself is kind of pricey. Second, the fact that she would be gone for a week, getting home exhausted on Saturday afternoon, and have to be ready for tryouts for the junior varsity volleyball team at the high school at 8:00 Monday morning.
That might not seem like such a big deal, but it really is. Kaelie LOVES volleyball, has played for the middle school team as well as a club team, and really wants to continue in high school. The problem is that there are a total of eight girls moving up from the middle school, and they will be competing for only three or four open spots on J-V. I know Kaelie will be so disappointed if she doesn't make it.
For that reason even more so than the money, I tried to discourage her from going. But what it finally came down to for Joey and I was this: when our teenage daughter is begging to go and serve the Lord on a mission trip, how in good conscience can we put volleyball first and say no?
Obviously, we couldn't do that. That's why I am so proud of Kaelie for having her priorities on the matter straight even if we didn't. This week, I believe she is living out Matthew 6:33-34: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
These verses are really talking about not worrying about God's provision for essentials such as food, clothing, and shelter. But my prayer for Kaelie is that next week, God will reward her faithfulness and her service to him this week by providing a spot for her on that team. What a testimony that would be!
Check back Tuesday and I'll post an update with the tryout results! In the meantime, please pray for Kaelie!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Life Lessons on the Commercial Break
I have to admit it was a bit uncomfortable, watching a tv show with my teenage daughter about a Christian teenager contemplating intimacy with her boyfriend. As the girl's friend attempted to dissaude her from moving ahead with her plans, the girl fired back with every argument in the book. Finally she ended the conversation saying that she had been praying about it and came to the conclusion that since God is love, that He would not have a problem with her expressing her love for her boyfriend physically.
Cut to commercial...thankfully.
I quickly muted the tv and asked my daughter what she thought about that last comment. She said that she completely disagreed with it because she believed that what the girl was about to do was a sin.
I was glad to hear that, but I decided I needed to take my daughter a little deeper. I wanted her to realize how easy it is to rationalize sin, any sin. We can creatively come up with just about any argument to support our decisions, and we must be aware that there is an enemy who desires nothing more than to prey on our human desires and weaknesses in order to lead us into sin. 1 Peter 5:8 says it best: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Doesn't that just give you the creeps?
I asked my daughter this question: "If you have been praying about a decision you need to make, do you think God would give you an answer that would lead you to do something that goes against his Word?"
Her answer was no, and she was right. The problem is, too often we don't bother to find out what exactly his Word has to say about it. We come up with our rationalizations that sound perfectly logical, just like the girl's comment on tv. I told my daughter that's why it is so important if there is any question in your mind about whether or not something is right or wrong, then don't do it. Go first to the Bible and see how your thoughts and rationalizations stack up against God's Word. If they don't fall in line and you proceed with your plans anyway, then do so with the knowledge that you are acting in disobedience to God, and disobedience to God is nothing other than sin.
We all face temptation in one form or another every day. The good news is that we don't have to face it alone. According to 2 Corinthians 10:4, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
God is on our side, and He has graciously given us his Word as an aresenal against the enemy. We just have to be willing to put it to work.
Cut to commercial...thankfully.
I quickly muted the tv and asked my daughter what she thought about that last comment. She said that she completely disagreed with it because she believed that what the girl was about to do was a sin.
I was glad to hear that, but I decided I needed to take my daughter a little deeper. I wanted her to realize how easy it is to rationalize sin, any sin. We can creatively come up with just about any argument to support our decisions, and we must be aware that there is an enemy who desires nothing more than to prey on our human desires and weaknesses in order to lead us into sin. 1 Peter 5:8 says it best: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Doesn't that just give you the creeps?
I asked my daughter this question: "If you have been praying about a decision you need to make, do you think God would give you an answer that would lead you to do something that goes against his Word?"
Her answer was no, and she was right. The problem is, too often we don't bother to find out what exactly his Word has to say about it. We come up with our rationalizations that sound perfectly logical, just like the girl's comment on tv. I told my daughter that's why it is so important if there is any question in your mind about whether or not something is right or wrong, then don't do it. Go first to the Bible and see how your thoughts and rationalizations stack up against God's Word. If they don't fall in line and you proceed with your plans anyway, then do so with the knowledge that you are acting in disobedience to God, and disobedience to God is nothing other than sin.
We all face temptation in one form or another every day. The good news is that we don't have to face it alone. According to 2 Corinthians 10:4, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
God is on our side, and He has graciously given us his Word as an aresenal against the enemy. We just have to be willing to put it to work.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Making Sense from a Senseless Tragedy
What can you say to someone who has lost a child? What words are there to comfort someone who is living through such a nightmare? I can't begin to fathom the heartache as a parent.
In the wee hours of Monday morning, a high school friend of my husband's received the devastating news that no parent wants to hear. His oldest daughter, a beautiful, blond-haired, 20 year-old girl named Mary-Kathryn was killed in a tragic accident. She and her boyfriend had apparently gathered with some others along the side of an interstate highway in Northern Virginia to watch a street race. One of the drivers lost control and hit a parked vehicle, ramming it into Mary-Kathryn and her boyfriend, killing them both.
Soon after we got the news that afternoon, my own two daughters were fighting with each other and treating each other so hatefully. It nearly made me sick to my stomach as I thought about Mary-Kathryn. Life is too short and fleeting to waste time and energy on ugliness and fighting. If only we could all remember to treat others in ways that build up, rather than tear down, to show respect and kindess and love rather than contempt and meanness. I would hate to suddenly depart this life tomorrow if anything I've said or done today has hurt or offended. There's no guarantee we'll get the time or opportunity to make apologies or amends.
Obviously, I have been praying for Mary-Kathryn's family as they cope with this tragedy and if you are reading this, I hope you will too. Let me also challenge you to join me in praying that we would all strive to make a positive difference or contribution of some sort each day for the Kingdom of God. Even if you never see the results of your efforts in this life, trust that the eternal rewards will all be worth it.
"He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
(1 Thessalonians 5:10-11)
In the wee hours of Monday morning, a high school friend of my husband's received the devastating news that no parent wants to hear. His oldest daughter, a beautiful, blond-haired, 20 year-old girl named Mary-Kathryn was killed in a tragic accident. She and her boyfriend had apparently gathered with some others along the side of an interstate highway in Northern Virginia to watch a street race. One of the drivers lost control and hit a parked vehicle, ramming it into Mary-Kathryn and her boyfriend, killing them both.
Soon after we got the news that afternoon, my own two daughters were fighting with each other and treating each other so hatefully. It nearly made me sick to my stomach as I thought about Mary-Kathryn. Life is too short and fleeting to waste time and energy on ugliness and fighting. If only we could all remember to treat others in ways that build up, rather than tear down, to show respect and kindess and love rather than contempt and meanness. I would hate to suddenly depart this life tomorrow if anything I've said or done today has hurt or offended. There's no guarantee we'll get the time or opportunity to make apologies or amends.
Obviously, I have been praying for Mary-Kathryn's family as they cope with this tragedy and if you are reading this, I hope you will too. Let me also challenge you to join me in praying that we would all strive to make a positive difference or contribution of some sort each day for the Kingdom of God. Even if you never see the results of your efforts in this life, trust that the eternal rewards will all be worth it.
"He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
(1 Thessalonians 5:10-11)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
A Test of Trust?
Something is about to happen. Do you ever get that feeling that you just can't shake, the feeling that warns you to be ready? That's the feeling I have, and I'm not liking it one bit.
Yesterday, I went on a two-hour road trip to do some furniture shopping in North Carolina. On the way, I tuned the radio to a Christian music station and listened to a guy who was giving an amazing sermon. He ended it by saying "Believe in miracles, trust in Jesus." Within a minute or two as I approached an interstate overpass, I saw the words "trust Jesus" spray-painted on the side of a concrete bridge support. "Wow, that's pretty cool," I thought. God must be trying to tell me something.
A short time later, I lost the signal for that station and found another. This time, a different pastor from a Chicago mega-church was giving a message on Psalm 23 and how it relates to trusting God. That's when I started to squirm. Psalm 23 is usually one that is used at funerals to bring comfort to the bereaved, or it is used to encourage those who are otherwise hurting or experiencing difficulty or trials. "Oh-oh," I thought, "what's coming?"
I found myself praying "If you're asking me if I trust you, Lord, the answer is yes. I do trust you completely. I don't need to experience any difficulty in order to know that I trust you." I suddenly felt like Peter, whom Jesus asked three times "do you love me?" Yes Lord, I love you, I trust you! Don't you believe me?
This morning, I opened my email to find something that disturbed me even more. The daily devotional I receive on email was there, and today's title was "Trusting God Through Difficult Times." The devotional included a couple of stories of faith through horrible tragedies, as well as a quote from Oswald Chamers:
"Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character must be proven trustworthy in our own minds."
I don't know what's coming, but I have this sense of foreboding. If you're reading this, I am asking for prayers for peace, for protection for me and my family, and for unshakable faith and trust no matter what comes my way. In the meantime, I'm leaning on two specific verses:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Prov. 3:5)
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut. 31:8)
Hopefully all this is coincidental, but I don't really believe in coincidence. I fully believe in God-incidences, and if in his grace he is trying to prepare me for something that is to come, it makes me love him all the more.
Yesterday, I went on a two-hour road trip to do some furniture shopping in North Carolina. On the way, I tuned the radio to a Christian music station and listened to a guy who was giving an amazing sermon. He ended it by saying "Believe in miracles, trust in Jesus." Within a minute or two as I approached an interstate overpass, I saw the words "trust Jesus" spray-painted on the side of a concrete bridge support. "Wow, that's pretty cool," I thought. God must be trying to tell me something.
A short time later, I lost the signal for that station and found another. This time, a different pastor from a Chicago mega-church was giving a message on Psalm 23 and how it relates to trusting God. That's when I started to squirm. Psalm 23 is usually one that is used at funerals to bring comfort to the bereaved, or it is used to encourage those who are otherwise hurting or experiencing difficulty or trials. "Oh-oh," I thought, "what's coming?"
I found myself praying "If you're asking me if I trust you, Lord, the answer is yes. I do trust you completely. I don't need to experience any difficulty in order to know that I trust you." I suddenly felt like Peter, whom Jesus asked three times "do you love me?" Yes Lord, I love you, I trust you! Don't you believe me?
This morning, I opened my email to find something that disturbed me even more. The daily devotional I receive on email was there, and today's title was "Trusting God Through Difficult Times." The devotional included a couple of stories of faith through horrible tragedies, as well as a quote from Oswald Chamers:
"Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character must be proven trustworthy in our own minds."
I don't know what's coming, but I have this sense of foreboding. If you're reading this, I am asking for prayers for peace, for protection for me and my family, and for unshakable faith and trust no matter what comes my way. In the meantime, I'm leaning on two specific verses:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Prov. 3:5)
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut. 31:8)
Hopefully all this is coincidental, but I don't really believe in coincidence. I fully believe in God-incidences, and if in his grace he is trying to prepare me for something that is to come, it makes me love him all the more.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Who's in the Loop?
Something happened last night between my daughters and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what. I do know that it caught me very much by surprise.
Hannah, who is 10, went to bed first. A little while later I went to tell Kaelie, my 13 year-old to do the same. I looked all over the house for her and couldn't find her. Finally, I heard voices coming from Hannah's room. When I went in, I found them both crying and neither wanted to share what it was all about. When Kaelie left to go to her room, Hannah said everything was fine, that it was just "sister stuff." Once I returned to Kaelie's room to get her to bed, she also insisted that they were just having a much-needed talk and everything was okay. Fortunately, both of them went on to sleep and seemed fine this morning before school.
I still wish I knew what it was all about though. While I do have some inkling, and I'm happy that perhaps they are learning to work things out for themselves and to talk to each other like rational human beings instead of getting into screaming fights, it drives me crazy to be left out of the loop. I'm their mother and I love them and I want to be able to help.
God has really been teaching me a lot about leadership recently, and I think he's reminding me in this situation that a good leader equips and trains those she is leading so that they can do things for themselves without relying so much on her. I'm certainly not implying that my children will grow up and never need me again, because I know how much I still need my own mother. But it's important that they learn to do and handle things for themselves, confident in the knowledge that I am here for them.
Second, the fact that I feel left out of the loop makes me realize how much it must grieve the Lord when I leave him out. Sometimes when things come up, the first tendency is to go to my husband or a friend to help me through it, or to seek advice from self-help books or others who have faced similar situations. I need to make sure God, the one who made me and loves me and knows me inside and out, is the first one I call to rather than the last resort. Whatever the situation, he already knows it completely and desires to help me through it.
1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I like the word all in this verse. It tells me that I can go to God with anything. I've heard people say that they don't feel right bothering God with what they perceive to be small and petty problems, compared to the much bigger issues that other people may be facing. But God wants to be in the loop for all of it, and I want to have the kind of faith that trusts him to be big enough to handle all of it.
I'm glad my girls were able to talk things out with each other last night. I hope that when they each finally went on to bed, they also talked it out with the Lord.
Hannah, who is 10, went to bed first. A little while later I went to tell Kaelie, my 13 year-old to do the same. I looked all over the house for her and couldn't find her. Finally, I heard voices coming from Hannah's room. When I went in, I found them both crying and neither wanted to share what it was all about. When Kaelie left to go to her room, Hannah said everything was fine, that it was just "sister stuff." Once I returned to Kaelie's room to get her to bed, she also insisted that they were just having a much-needed talk and everything was okay. Fortunately, both of them went on to sleep and seemed fine this morning before school.
I still wish I knew what it was all about though. While I do have some inkling, and I'm happy that perhaps they are learning to work things out for themselves and to talk to each other like rational human beings instead of getting into screaming fights, it drives me crazy to be left out of the loop. I'm their mother and I love them and I want to be able to help.
God has really been teaching me a lot about leadership recently, and I think he's reminding me in this situation that a good leader equips and trains those she is leading so that they can do things for themselves without relying so much on her. I'm certainly not implying that my children will grow up and never need me again, because I know how much I still need my own mother. But it's important that they learn to do and handle things for themselves, confident in the knowledge that I am here for them.
Second, the fact that I feel left out of the loop makes me realize how much it must grieve the Lord when I leave him out. Sometimes when things come up, the first tendency is to go to my husband or a friend to help me through it, or to seek advice from self-help books or others who have faced similar situations. I need to make sure God, the one who made me and loves me and knows me inside and out, is the first one I call to rather than the last resort. Whatever the situation, he already knows it completely and desires to help me through it.
1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I like the word all in this verse. It tells me that I can go to God with anything. I've heard people say that they don't feel right bothering God with what they perceive to be small and petty problems, compared to the much bigger issues that other people may be facing. But God wants to be in the loop for all of it, and I want to have the kind of faith that trusts him to be big enough to handle all of it.
I'm glad my girls were able to talk things out with each other last night. I hope that when they each finally went on to bed, they also talked it out with the Lord.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Pursuing the Promised Land
'"If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan."' Numbers 32:5
A sign outside a church I passed the week after Easter read "Attention: We are open between Easter and Christmas." Isn't that great? I got a chuckle out of the church's tongue-in-cheek attempt to remind folks that there are 50 more Sundays a year to worship the Lord besides the two biggest Christian holidays.
Because I happened to be in the middle of a Bible study on the book of Numbers at the time, my mind was immediately drawn to the Gadites and Reubenites, who begged Moses not to make them cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. These people were among the Israelite tribes that had been wandering the desert for 40 years since the Lord freed them from slavery in Egypt. Finally, they've made it out of the desert and they're camped just outside the land of Canaan that God had promised to their ancestors. It's nearly time to enter the land, take possession of it and settle into their new lives, and these people say thanks but no thanks. This land looks really good for raising our livestock so we'd rather stay here. Can you imagine that?
Sadly, I can. It really made me pause and think about how often I am willing to "settle" instead pressing on in faith toward what God has planned and prepared for me. God had promised these people life in a land "flowing with milk and honey" and they turned it down! They grasped for what they could see before them right then, without moving forward with trust that what God had in store for them would be even better.
Things are no different today, unfortunately. I'm always so happy to see the church jam-packed at Christmas and Easter, and I always hope that many of the people who only show up those two days a year will be so inspired by the services that they will be moved to return week after week. It saddens me when the attendance drops back down the very next Sunday. Jesus offers us "abundant life," our own opportunities for Promised Land living. We might think we're living it, but when we don't spend time in regular worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers, of if we don't really even believe in him, we're only settling for what's before us and missing out on an abundance of blessings.
Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." The Gadites and Reubenites had faith in what they could see. Jesus' disciple Thomas, when told of the ressurrection said he would not believe it unless he could see and touch Jesus' wounds. When he got that opportunity, Jesus told him "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Lord, please help me to always pursue the Promised Land and be among the blessed.
A sign outside a church I passed the week after Easter read "Attention: We are open between Easter and Christmas." Isn't that great? I got a chuckle out of the church's tongue-in-cheek attempt to remind folks that there are 50 more Sundays a year to worship the Lord besides the two biggest Christian holidays.
Because I happened to be in the middle of a Bible study on the book of Numbers at the time, my mind was immediately drawn to the Gadites and Reubenites, who begged Moses not to make them cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. These people were among the Israelite tribes that had been wandering the desert for 40 years since the Lord freed them from slavery in Egypt. Finally, they've made it out of the desert and they're camped just outside the land of Canaan that God had promised to their ancestors. It's nearly time to enter the land, take possession of it and settle into their new lives, and these people say thanks but no thanks. This land looks really good for raising our livestock so we'd rather stay here. Can you imagine that?
Sadly, I can. It really made me pause and think about how often I am willing to "settle" instead pressing on in faith toward what God has planned and prepared for me. God had promised these people life in a land "flowing with milk and honey" and they turned it down! They grasped for what they could see before them right then, without moving forward with trust that what God had in store for them would be even better.
Things are no different today, unfortunately. I'm always so happy to see the church jam-packed at Christmas and Easter, and I always hope that many of the people who only show up those two days a year will be so inspired by the services that they will be moved to return week after week. It saddens me when the attendance drops back down the very next Sunday. Jesus offers us "abundant life," our own opportunities for Promised Land living. We might think we're living it, but when we don't spend time in regular worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers, of if we don't really even believe in him, we're only settling for what's before us and missing out on an abundance of blessings.
Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." The Gadites and Reubenites had faith in what they could see. Jesus' disciple Thomas, when told of the ressurrection said he would not believe it unless he could see and touch Jesus' wounds. When he got that opportunity, Jesus told him "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Lord, please help me to always pursue the Promised Land and be among the blessed.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Goodbye and Godspeed
A very dear lady passed away early this morning, and I couldn't let the day go by without taking a moment to reflect and pay her some tribute. She was an elderly lady in my church named Nancy, and she just had this way of making people feel special.
Maybe it was the fact that she always greeted me with a smile, a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Maybe it was the fact the she reminded me of my Great-aunt Louise, another faithful and amazing lady who passed away many years ago. Or maybe it was the fact that when she said she was praying for me, I always knew without a doubt that she really was.
Yesterday at church I was stunned to hear that Nancy had had a stroke and was in intensive care. So today I drove to the hospital to check in on her...I really just wanted to hold her hand and pray for her. When I got there, however, they didn't have her listed as a patient and I assumed I had gone to the wrong hospital. A few minutes later when I called a friend to try to find out where she was, I was heartbroken to learn that Nancy had died in the wee hours of the morning.
For the next little while, I was so angry with myself for not going to see her yesterday as soon as I heard she was hospitalized. Instead, I came home from church and just hung around the house for a couple of hours before I had to attend a scheduled event later in the afternoon. I so truly regretted missing the chance to let her know I loved her and say goodbye.
But then I started reflecting on the last time I saw her. It was in the sanctuary at church, as folks were filing out after a beautiful and joyful Easter Sunday service. She was waiting for our pastor to finish shaking hands with everyone so that she could give him a cake she had baked for him. That was so Nancy, she loved to pamper people with her cooking, and I was blessed to have been a recipient of that goodness as well!
Anyway, when Nancy saw me she came over and gave me a big hug and kiss on the check. "Oh, I just love you Honey," she said. "I prayed for you just this morning and I pray for you every day." And I hugged her back and returned a kiss on her check, and I told her I loved her too.
Reflecting back on that, I'm so very grateful that God allowed me that moment with her. That was our goodbye, and what more needed to be said than that? Even more special was the setting, two sisters in Christ standing beneath the cross of Christ on Easter. How fitting that that was Nancy's last church service...she dearly loved and faithfully served the risen Savior! I know she's rejoicing to be with him now, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Thank you for all the examples you set Nancy, and the love you so freely shared.
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15
Maybe it was the fact that she always greeted me with a smile, a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Maybe it was the fact the she reminded me of my Great-aunt Louise, another faithful and amazing lady who passed away many years ago. Or maybe it was the fact that when she said she was praying for me, I always knew without a doubt that she really was.
Yesterday at church I was stunned to hear that Nancy had had a stroke and was in intensive care. So today I drove to the hospital to check in on her...I really just wanted to hold her hand and pray for her. When I got there, however, they didn't have her listed as a patient and I assumed I had gone to the wrong hospital. A few minutes later when I called a friend to try to find out where she was, I was heartbroken to learn that Nancy had died in the wee hours of the morning.
For the next little while, I was so angry with myself for not going to see her yesterday as soon as I heard she was hospitalized. Instead, I came home from church and just hung around the house for a couple of hours before I had to attend a scheduled event later in the afternoon. I so truly regretted missing the chance to let her know I loved her and say goodbye.
But then I started reflecting on the last time I saw her. It was in the sanctuary at church, as folks were filing out after a beautiful and joyful Easter Sunday service. She was waiting for our pastor to finish shaking hands with everyone so that she could give him a cake she had baked for him. That was so Nancy, she loved to pamper people with her cooking, and I was blessed to have been a recipient of that goodness as well!
Anyway, when Nancy saw me she came over and gave me a big hug and kiss on the check. "Oh, I just love you Honey," she said. "I prayed for you just this morning and I pray for you every day." And I hugged her back and returned a kiss on her check, and I told her I loved her too.
Reflecting back on that, I'm so very grateful that God allowed me that moment with her. That was our goodbye, and what more needed to be said than that? Even more special was the setting, two sisters in Christ standing beneath the cross of Christ on Easter. How fitting that that was Nancy's last church service...she dearly loved and faithfully served the risen Savior! I know she's rejoicing to be with him now, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Thank you for all the examples you set Nancy, and the love you so freely shared.
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15
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