Summer Photo Dump

Feeling extremely delinquent in getting any recent snapshots of Victor up.  So, here is a glimpse of our summer so far...

 Big shoes to fill, Dad

Boy and his sticks.  Happy.  Very happy.

 

Up and down.  Up and down.  A favorite.

Our brief fascination with slides

This shirt reminds me of Grandpa Vaupel 

(i.e. the Albert for whom he received his middle name)

Time with Gi-Gi

Last December, Grandma Anderson (a.k.a. Great-grandma or "Gi-Gi") took a turn for the worse, and we really thought her days were about done. So on our way out of town from celebrating Christmas, Ben and Victor and I stopped by for a little last-minute visit. I don't know why I never thought of it earlier, in this world of technological marvels, but I took a little video, just to remember her voice and sense of humor and sweetness.

It was over 6 months later that the Lord appointed her to finish the race, but I'm thankful for a few minutes of her smile to remember...

Good-bye, Grandma

The first time I saw a photo of a young Grandma Anderson I thought, Oh, that's where I come from.  I don't share a strong family resemblance with my sisters, but in the gilt frame on my mom's piano, that young Irene Anderson looked like my kin.


Grandma A (as I knew her for most my life) died on Saturday.

So many memories...

The warm little kitchen in Vinton, IA with spoon rests from everywhere covering the walls.  We girls really wracked our brains to try to count them all, pretty much every visit... 97 or thereabouts is my recollection.

Packs of Bubblicious gum always tucked into the big white drawer (because sugar-free gum is not for grandmas!).  When we were little, a piece of Bubblicious could keep our jaws chawing for a pretty long time.  And then we'd try to have contests to blow the biggest bubbles (a real bummer when it popped in our hair).

Sometimes we'd get to go to Grandma and Grandad's for an overnight.  They'd take us to a bakery in the mall to get some huge, frosting-covered pastry, and then we'd look around at exotic stores like Dollar Tree.

Grandma played the organ at her little Baptist church for 50 years.  She had an organ at home too, and I remember turning on the little light on top, looking through her Christmas hymns album, and marveling that someone could simultaneously play a left hand, a right hand, and foot pedals.

Saturday nights of pizza and pop and Rummikub.  Her crispy sugar cookies.  Orange Jello salad with carrots and pineapple.  Reading her Good Housekeeping magazines.  Wearing the slip-on fake plastic fingernails with bright red polish.

Our "Anderson side" weekends in Rochester were wonder-filled for me as a little girl.  I couldn't sleep the night before, it was so exciting.  We would meet Grandad and Grandma at McDonalds in Waterloo and eat pancakes with warm syrup on a yellow styrofoam plate.  Then we'd caravan with them the rest of the long, long trip to Rochester.  Grandma would have little baggies of animal crackers, which really helped to pass the time.

After f o r e v e r, we'd arrive at the Best Western and meet up with the rest of the family in The Dakota Room.  Normally, we celebrated Grandad and Grandma's anniversary, and they always sat in the middle of the U of tables, sweetly happy with one another and with their family.

Laughing, laughing, laughing.  That was the bulk of those Rochester weekends.  Games of Pictionary, "dictionary" (what is a mome, we can all now tell you), swimming in the indoor pool, fuseball, pizza, lots of pop, and some pretty crazy April Fool's jokes.  Grandma had a sense of humor right up to the last time I saw her, and that was a pretty strong gene that passed down in the family. 

Years took their unavoidable toll, and eventually the Rochester weekends ended.  But Grandma wrote letters--typed on her age-old typewriter, with the typos endearingly included.  We all got them, but she would often write a little note at the bottom just for you.

"I'm so proud of you."  If there was ever a gracious, thankful, and encouraging matriarch of the family, it was Grandma.  She may have begun scrambling a few names and losing track of the babies, but she still had words of affirmation and care to the very end.  It wasn't that we gave her no reason to complain--but I never heard her say a cross or discontent thing about God's care for her or her family's care for her.

I think the words of the hymns she played so long must've lingered in her heart, even when her fingers couldn't maneuver the keys anymore.

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
 
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

He was with her.  And because she trusted Him, and now Grandma's laugh is freer and brighter than ever before.

We love you and miss you, Grandma.  

Obituary

For Dads

Here is a free PDF of Pastor Dad by Mark Driscoll.

Some good thoughts on what it means to shepherd the flock of God entrusted to you, in your home.

Door #3

Follow up to this post.

Woke up feeling really cruddy this morning... sore throat, burning eyes, achy.

Ben gave me some extra sleep time before he left for the day, and the Lord was very kind and I felt pretty decent for the rest of the day (following echinacea, multivitamin, probiotic, calcium, honey with cinnamon, spinach, OJ, strawberries, and banana).

I put Victor down for bed for the night and popped over to neighbors #3.  Nobody was home with the sleeping baby, so I didn't have long, but I gave them the card and muffins, and a real fly-by gospel message.  They go to church, and there was nodding while I told them what Ben would be talking about, which was encouraging.

They have some friends visiting from out of town tomorrow, so they might be busy, but they said they'd love to come if they're free.  So I'm praying there might be a change in plans so they could make it.  I'd love to have them hear Ben, and I'd love to have some more follow-up conversations.

So, we'll see what comes.  But all in all, the Lord was kind and it doesn't feel as intimidating to bring Jesus into the conversation after doing it several days in a row. 

Dating

For many, figuring out the dating scene is wading through pretty murky waters.  Here's a good message on the whole realm of relationships, dating, courting, and so forth.

Takeaway points:

- Men, take initiative. 
- Women, don't have unrealistic expectations in what you're looking for in a husband (i.e. handsome, financially-secure, not a sinner, comfortable with children, speaks in poetry).  Don't have expectations that are too low (breathing and interested).
- Men, look at the women who are serving right in front of you.  Don't miss someone just because she might not fit the "profile" you were expecting.
- Women, a date is not the same as dating.  Don't put undue pressure on some early opportunities to get to know someone.
- Men and women, don't pursue a relationship with someone who isn't growing in closeness with Jesus.  It's not enough if someone says, "I'm a Christian."  Watch for the trajectory of their life.

Update

Nobody answered at Door #3.  So, try again tomorrow.

(Per yesterday's note.)

Fighting Dragons and Other Items on the To-Do List

Sometimes it takes a convergence of things to really push me out of my comfort zone.

After many months, even years, of praying and guiltily hoping for an opportunity to be a witness in our neighborhood, this weekend I finally bit the bullet. 

Roughly speaking, these were the converging elements:

- South Site cards asking for 5 names of folks to invite to a Wed or Sun service this summer
- Daily prayer list for salvation for neighbors, family, and others
- Last Sunday's sermon (supplemented by this week's also)
- Ben's prayer time at last week's Overflow gathering
- Story (from Ben) of Caryn being convicted by a Joni Erickson Tada message to share the gospel with her neighbors
- Ben's opportunity to teach at this Wed's Connection service
- 5 service invite cards sitting on the kitchen table for a week
- New recipe for muffins from Pioneer Woman Cooks 
- Victor taking extra long naps this weekend

And, the outcome was taking a really deep breath, ignoring the million excuses in my mind why this wasn't a good time, I didn't want to, and this was not going to work, and ringing the doorbell at Door #1.  That was yesterday.  Got to catch up a little on the news about their fam, hand over 4 muffins and an invite card to Chad, and give a pretty basic synopsis of the gospel (as a little preview of what Ben will be teaching on Wed).  A little awkward, a little nerve-wracking, but a start.

Today, during Victor's afternoon nap, it was time for Door #2, but I didn't have to ring it.  They were both sitting out front for a smoke.  I was momentarily halted by the dog growling at me from the entrance to the porch, but she turned out to be a sucker for a scratch behind the ears, so I sat down (unfortunately, on the one chair without cushions, so I felt like I was falling through the slats after a few minutes).  We chatted about the neighborhood, their kids and grandkids, and the landscaping.  Then I pulled out the invite card and gave them a brief run through the gospel too.  Then I gave them the muffins, heard about the oatmeal from McDonalds that is Jim's old standby for breakfast, and got a tour of their home and backyard. 

I fight the sense of failure of all the things I didn't say, didn't follow-up on, didn't clarify.  But I think it was pleasing to God.  And since He can use talking donkeys, I feel in good company anyway.

Tomorrow, it's Door #3, Lord willing.  Still feel like the dragons in my mind and in my heart are in full fight to keep me at home.  But Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.  So I hope to give it a go.

Family Pics

You know that song "Butterfly Kisses," with the line ... I must've done something right to deserve a hug every morning and butterfly kisses at night.  

Well, just a cursory glance through these pictures is proof of quite the opposite.

We didn't do anything to deserve this.

But our lives are so full of the sweet mercies of Jesus, to be lavished with such a wealth of smiles and snuggles and ducky hugs and giggles.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

 Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

 Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

HUGE thanks to Lawrence Chui for capturing these sweet moments!