THINGS I HAD NOT THOUGHT ABOUT

This last weekend we had a cousin reunion with Mary's cousins. Since having this special time together, I have been thinking of some things that I wish to share with our grandchildren. Most of the cousins are now in their 70s. They all grew up within about a mile of each other. They are kind, considerate and are walking with the Lord. They are very special people now spread out over the US. As I was growing up in NW Iowa, I found the Lord as my Savior and sought Him about my future and my future mate. I now can see how God in heaven had His eye on me  and a gal named Mary NW of Salina, KS, who was also being raised in a Christian family. God in His greatness knows how to put the right people together. I confess my prayer and thoughts were only concerning the girl God had planned for my wife. I now see the importance of what goes far beyond just that person. In bringing Mary and me together, He was bringing two families together. I want to share the importance and blessing of that. We now had two sets of parents that were praying for us. Though 3 of the parents are in heaven, we still have Mary's mom that not only prays for us but also for our children and grandchildren. We hear her audibly praying in the morning. What a blessing that is. (In my praying for a mate, I had not thought about that.) Then there is the uncles, aunts and cousins that are of special influence and prayer. I was so impressed with their interest in needs in our family and commitment to pray. (I had not thought about that.) Then there is the blessing of "Christian Heritage". In Exodus 20:6 in the New Living Translation: "But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations." (I had not thought about that.) I also had not thought about six children and who they would marry and then 24 grandchildren and great- grandchildren to come. Those things do not escape our Father's attention. I now realize that God saw my heart and prayer and a girl in Kansas that was blessed in a Christian family and graciously brought us together. Observing Mary's mom, siblings and cousins this past weekend has caused me to praise God for bringing two families together and the ongoing blessing that it is. I challenge our grandchildren to think about these things as you approach that all important decision of marriage. God knows who you need and how He wishes to bless you. Mary and I are praying for that all important decision in your life.



Blessing for Obedience

I want to pass on a Father's Day message concerning my father and the faithfulness of Our Heavenly Father to bless obedience. On June 15, 1952 (which was Father's Day), I was saved as well as my sister, Roberta. The night we were saved our mom and dad rededicated their lives to the Lord. With this new spiritual life in our family, our folks knew we needed to go to a church where the gospel was being preached. That meant leaving my dad's family church where the gospel was not taught. I know that was a major decision for my dad. It was met with great disapproval from his family. They settled on the Meriden Evangelical Free Church some 17 miles from home. Dad became very involved in this new church. At a special prayer meeting for men, one of the men of that community told Dad about a farm that would be sold within a mile from the church. The folks bought that farm, which was one of the best farms if not the best in that county. After they purchased the farm they learned that there were many who wanted that farm. It is clear to me that God reserved it for us for the obedience of my folks. It indeed was a wonderful farm and has been such a great blessing to our family. The Lord said  "I WILL HONOR THOSE WHO HONOR ME" and He certainly did. That decision to be part of a church that honored God's word opened the door to many family blessings. Thank you, Dad for that step of obedience. Thank you Heavenly Father for the blessing.

The Lost is Found

Six or seven months ago I lost a very special ring. I had no idea when it happened, but I realized it when we came back from Cape Cod in October. I assumed it may have slipped off my finger in Massachusetts. It is special and inscribed with "All My Love, Mary". I asked the Lord to please take care of it and return it, if it pleased Him. Mary and I were planting pansies at the church before Easter. I raked off the mulch and tossed it on the mulch area at the church. A bit later Mary looked down and there it was. Thank you, Lord. V. R. Edman, the president of Wheaton College, when I attended there had a  pastor Johnson, who as a boy in Sweden was very poor. He had borrowed a fish hook from a neighbor and was fishing in a small lake near home. He hooked a large fish and it broke the line. He was heart broken because it wasn't his hook. He dropped a net in that spot and pleaded with God to get the hook back. The next morning he went back to the spot and found a fish caught in the net. There was that hook in the fish's mouth. He retrieved the hook and the fish gave a flap and back into the lake, but he had the hook. Pastor Johnson said this was how he learned to trust God. God cares about the small important things in our lives. Learn to ask Him and trust Him. God delights to show His power in small things.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE

One of the things I would like to pass on to you grandchildren is the importance of memorizing Scripture. When I was young I was in a church that left the idea that Scripture memory was for little children and not something for young people and adults. That is so wrong. It was the influence of the Navigators that started me to memorize passages from the Bible. There have been other ministries that have fortified it in my life. It is so important to hide God's word in your heart. When you do, it gives the Holy Spirit the freedom to remind you of Bible verses in a time of need. It will help you to think God's thoughts and meditate on Scripture. Scripture will keep you from sin and cleanse you when you get into sin. It will be used to guide you in life's many decisions. If you will memorize Scripture and meditate on it and do what it says, God has promised to bless your life. I really want your life to be blessed. Please get involved in memorizing passages from the Bible. I will be praying that God will show you how important that is. I would be glad to help you get started if you are not doing it already.

SIXTY YEARS AGO

Today I am thanking the Lord for a decision that I made on June 15, 1952. I was early very interested in spiritual things. I wasn't hearing much at the church we were attending, but I did get a lot of input from HCJB, the short wave Christian station from Quito, Ecuador. My mom thought we needed to hear more Bible, so she saw to it that we attended evangelistic meetings in Sioux City, IA. sixty miles from home. On this date in 1952 we attended a meeting in the memorial auditorium in Sioux City. Dr. Bob Cook was the evangelist. I don't remember much about the message, but I knew I wanted to be saved. I remember thinking, if I go forward I may not be able to find my parents in this large crowd, but I remember thinking, I don't care because I wanted to accept Jesus as my Savior. If I remember right, I was the first one forward. A dear lady dealt with me and led me in prayer to receive Christ. My sister, Roberta, also responded to the invitation for salvation. Our parents also ended up in the prayer room, rededicating their lives to Christ, so I didn't lose them after all. It left me so grateful that now I was a Christian and would one day go home to heaven. I have been blessed to never doubt my salvation over these sixty years. I pause today and thank the Lord for His faithful care of me since that day.

EXPOSING THE FLAWS

We just finished another "Camp Gramma" with 22 grandchildren and 12 adults. Our grand children always look forward to "cousin time" and we are thankful for that. We were together for 72 hours at our home. Things really went well, but as usual when it was over we learned of some bumps along the way. My desire would always be for things to flow perfectly, but I have learned that is not realistic with the fallen creatures that we are. My response to learning about some bumps tends to be regret, but then God showed me that this time together is to be used to expose some of the flaws that need to be worked on and brought to God in prayer. David asked God to show him those flaws in his heart so they could be corrected. "Camp Gramma" went well and there were some flaws exposed that now we can pray about and work on. God's ways are far above my ways!

CAMP GRAMMA 2012

We had the blessing of having this time with our grandchildren May 25-28 at our home this year. We had 22 grandchildren with all their parents except Roger and DeeDee. Our theme was "Guard Your Heart". I have been impressed from Scripture and from observation how important the heart is. We talked with them about how God is always looking at our heart. We talked about how hearts can be led away from the Lord and how they can become hardened. Our theme verse was Proverbs 4:23, "Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." It was a special time to celebrate our 45th anniversary and thank God for His protection of our family through the years. We also had the special joy of baptizing Meryn on Saturday night. It was hot and windy, but we all survived. We are grateful for this time with family. These are precious kids and we want to do all we can to encourage them on to walk with the Lord.

BLESSINGS PASSED ON

Every 5th Sunday at Berean we have a Scripture memory night when we quote Scripture we have been memorizing. I had been working on Psalm 103 and quoted it Sunday night. There are many blessings in this psalm which exhorts us to bless the Lord. I was especially blessed with vs. 15-18 [15] As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
[16] For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
[17] But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
[18] To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
In spite of our brief life, the blessing of the Lord's mercies go on and on. If we fear Him, we experience His mercies, but it doesn't stop there, His mercies go on to the grandchildren, if they will walk in His ways. It is my fervent desire to bless the grandchildren by fearing the Lord. It is my prayer that you grandchildren will walk in His ways and pass the blessing on to those after you. Bless the Lord O my soul!

RESULTS FOR 2011

I challenged the family at the beginning for those who wanted to, to record miles walked or run and Bible reading. Here are the results at the end of the year:
Rog - 1065 miles, Mary - 1234 miles
Roger - 197 miles, DeeDee 247 miles, Taylor - 10 miles, Brittany - 20 miles, Dawson - 119 miles, Cooper - 8 miles
Julie - 156 miles, Owen - 123 miles, Malia - 90 miles, Meredith - 86 miles, Brooklyn - 24 miles
June - 1020 miles, Damon - 800 miles, Maggie - 250 miles, Micah - 174, Evan - 143 miles, Eli - 100 miles, Molly - 72 miles
Elisa - 800 miles, John - 128 miles, Trey - 156 miles, Avery - 60 miles, Ethan - 21 miles, Raegan - 8 miles
Susan - 627 miles, Brendon - 150 miles, Caleb - 150 miles, Trevin - 140 miles, Meryn - 177 miles
Those reporting reading through the Bible: Rog, Mary, June & Julie
Those reporting reading the new Testament: Damon, Maggie, Micah, Evan, Owen & Malia
I trust the challenge helped us on to the GOAL.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

REFLECTING ON 2011

At the close of 2011 I want to share some thoughts as I look back. This has been a really good year for Mary and me. We have enjoyed each other in an increasing way. We have spoken the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26 to each other every morning. We have walked and ran together over 1000 miles. We have read through the Bible together and enjoyed eating out together until Mary went on this high protein diet. But, we will endure that. Our times of prayer have been good. God continues to use us in the lives of those He sends our way. We have sensed God's blessing on the church. He has given us wonderful people. We have had special times with family. Our "Camp Gramma" at the YMCA of the Rockies was very memorable for all of the family. We had a great time with Mary's cousins at a reunion at our home. Mary's mom, who lives with us, continues to be in good health. We also had an opportunity to visit my dad's family at our reunion in Iowa. Greg and I built "Gramma's Perch" on our cut off pine tree that pleases Mary in a big way. We have made a practice of accepting what God has for us each morning and resisting what Satan plans, and I can say that is has been an outstanding year, and God gets all the praise.

NOVEMBER RESULTS

Only one more month to bug our kids for their results. This has been quite a deal for very busy families. Here is what I have through November.
Roger - 1035 miles, Mary - 1210 miles
Roger - 197 miles, DeeDee - 214 miles, Dawson - 118.5
Julie - 149 miles, Owen - 119 miles, Malia - 85 miles, Merideth - 80.5 miles, Brooklyn - 21 miles
Damon - 751 miles, June - 941 miles, Maggie - 214 miles, Micah - 160 miles, Evan - 132 miles, Eli - 92 miles, Molly - 61 miles
John - 128.4 miles, Elisa - 706.4 miles, Trey - 156.1 miles, Avery - 54.2 miles, Ethan - 20.6 miles, Reagan - 18 miles
Susan - 595 miles, Brendon - 137 miles, Caleb - 140 miles, Trevin - 130 miles, Meryn - 165 miles

FUN IN MEMPHIS

June and Lisa signed up to run the marathon in Memphis on December 3. Mary and I decided to go and support them, so we signed up to run the 5K. June had her 40th birthday on Nov. 30 and wanted to celebrate by doing a marathon. Lisa ran one 15 years ago and wanted to try it again. June had injuries in both feet, so it looked impossible for her to do it. BUT, June is very tenacious and completed her first marathon. Lisa did well in her run. We are very proud of these gals and had a great deal of fun running the 5K and cheering our daughters on in their race. All our children are such a blessing from the Lord, and it is "fun" to be with them and join in their challenges when we can.

ENCOURAGEMENT ON HALLOWEEN

October 31 was the last day of Pastor Appreciation month. I want to journal about how God encouraged me. On Sunday October 30, I spoke on the importance of the Christian being strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and the importance of putting on the armor. The end of October is always dark because of the honor given to the kingdom of darkness by the use of all the symbols and observances relating to darkness. I woke up on the 31st being harassed with all sorts of belittling thoughts. Though I do know how to handle that sort of attack, it still had its effect on me. That day I received three calls from totally unexpected sources that greatly encouraged me. It was as if God told them what I needed, without them knowing anything of my need. I don't believe they called to encourage me, but that was the effect. And then there was a card that said things that reached the deepest need I had. I marveled at the insight in that card. I must say I stood amazed at what happened that day. It was as if God had come in those three calls and the card to address every fiery dart that had come my way. And it all took place on Halloween. Thank you Lord!

TWO MONTHS TO GO

Here is the update on miles through October.
Roger - 1010.5, Mary - 1194
Roger - 197, DeeDee - 187, Dawson - 118.5
Julie - 137, Owen - 119, Malia - 85, Meredith - 77, Brooklyn - 20
Damon - 731, June - 867, Maggie - 191, Micah - 153, Evan - 126, Eli - 90, Molly - 57
John - 117.1, Elisa - 618.3, Trey - 154.6, Avery - 51.7, Ethan - 18.1, Reagan - 6
Susan - 515, Brendon - 127, Caleb - 130, Trevin - 120, Meryn - 155
Keep it up guys!

GOAL REALIZED

This past January I made a commitment to walk or run 1000 miles during the year, I had no idea of how I would do, but I was determined to do it. What I have learned is how important it is to stay with a thing in order to finish. It also gave Mary and me a lot of time together, which was special. I reached the goal on October 26. I recorded walking and running  217 days averaging about 4.6 miles on those days. I am thankful for God's prompting and grace to keep me going. It has been a special journey for me. 

SEPTEMBER MILES

This is the report of miles through September.
Roger - 949, Mary - 1139
Roger - 181, DeeDee - 140, Dawson - 113.5
Julie - 127, Owen - 97, Malia - 72, Merideth - 66
Damon - 664, June - 781, Maggie - 165, Micah - 142, Evan - 114, Eli - 80
John - 112.4, Elisa - 534.2, Trey - 137.2, Avery - 47, Ethan - 13.9, Reagan - 3
Susan - 475, Brendon - 118.5, Caleb - 120.5, Trevin - 112, Meryn - 142
There are still three months to go!

AUGUST REPORT - A LONG HOT SUMMER!

In January I challenged the family on walking and running for the year as well as reading through the Bible or for the younger ones, the New Teastament. I think till the end of the year I will just report the miles. Just let me know if you complete the whole Bible or the New Teastament. This summer has been exceedingly hot, but progress has been made.
Roger - 873 miles, Mary - 1058 miles (Congratulations to Mary - Good job!)
Roger - 153 miles, DeeDee - 104 miles, Dawson - 108 miles
Julie - 112 miles, Owen - 78 miles, Malia - 62 miles, Meredith - 55 miles
June - 771 miles, Damon - 561 miles, Maggie - 150 miles, Micah - 132 miles, Evan - 103 miles
Elisa - 451.5 miles, John - 104.4 miles, Trey - 97.2 miles, Avery - 42 miles, Ethan - 8.4 miles
Susan - 378 miles, Bendon - 102 miles, Caleb - 104 miles, Trevin - 82 miles, Meryn - 127 mile
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

JULY REPORT - OVER 5000 MILES

Here is what we have at the end of July. Those keeping track logged 5161 miles
Roger 767 miles, Mary 935 miles We are reading through the Bible
Roger 146 miles, DeeDee 65 miles, Dawson 105 miles
Julie 112 miles, Owen 78 miles, Malia 62 miles, Meredith 55 miles, Julie is reading through the Bible, Owen and Malia the NT
Damon 453 miles, June 700 miles, Maggie 134 miles, Micah 113 miles Evan 91 miles Eli 44 miles, Molly 33 miles Damon, June and Maggie are reading through the Bible and Micah and Evan the NT.
John 83.9 miles, Elisa 411.7 miles, Trey 80.6 miles, Avery 38 miles and Ethan 5 miles
Susan 320 miles, Brendon 77 miles, Caleb 79 miles, Trevin 71 miles and Meryn 102 miles KEEP ON KEEPING ON!

CAMP GRAMMA 2011 (July 30-August 3)

This year we did our Camp Gramma at the YMCA of the Rockies at Estes Park. Everyone was able to attend except Taylor(37). It was a blessing to have the cool weather while it was so hot in Kansas. Our theme was "Following God's Leading" centered on Proverbs 3:5-6. I was very pleased with the cooperation from all of the family. Some of the activity highlights were, the 800 ft. zip line, wall climbing, archery and a trip over Trail Ridge Road. We pray that God will use this special time in our grandchildren's lives.

JUNE REPORT - WE ARE HALF WAY THERE

This is the report I have recieved with the year half over:
Roger and Mary - Roger 682.5 miles, Mary 821.5 miles. Up to date on reading through the Bible
Roger and DeeDee - Roger 131 miles, Dawson 100.2 miles.
Julie and Phil - Owen and Malia almost caught up on the NT, Julie is working on reading through the Bible.
June and Damon - Damon 348.1 miles, June 615 miles, Maggie 114 miles, Micah 98 miles, Evan 65 miles. Damon, June and Maggie are reading through the Bible, Micah and Evan the NT & Eli is plowing through Genesis. (Bless him)
Elisa and John - John 83.9 miles, Elisa 370.4 miles, Trey 80.6 miles, Avery 37.4 miles, Ethan 4 miles.
Susan and Greg - Susan 250 miles, Brendon 61 miles, Caleb 65 miles, Trevin 59 miles and Meryn 82 miles.
THANKS FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING!