A BUSY JANUARY

I am taking this opportunity to report on progress in the 2011 Goal. I am only reporting what has been given to me.
ROGER & MARY Roger-107 miles Mary-137 miles We are reading the Bible on RBC plan
VEERS Owen-3.5 miles Malia-3.5 miles They are reading the NT Julie-the Bible
DUEHRINGS June-178 miles Damon-17 miles They are reading the Bible, Maggie-51 miles
Micah-9 miles Molly-4 miles Maggie is reading the Bible, Micah & Evan NT
SEABAS Elisa-154 miles John-32 miles They are reading the Bible, Trey-22.5 miles
Avery-21.5 miles Ethan-12.5 miles Trey and Avery are reading the Bible
LANKERS Susan-25 miles Greg-35 miles They are reading the Bible Brendon-3.6 miles
Caleb-2.15 miles Trevin-19 miles Meryn-11 miles Brendon & Caleb are
reading the Bible Trevin the NT
J.Neirs John & Melanie are reading the Bible
THANKS FOR REPORTING IN. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF WE CAN KEEP IT UP THROUGH 2011

GRADUATION

I have decided to write this blog before I am any older and still in good health. Unless we have the joy of being caught up in the rapture, the day of death will come. I believe we have the joy of being close to our grandchildren, but that makes death even more of a trauma. When that day comes it is so important to be able to see it as "graduation". I have had two small visions that have left an impression on me. They were brief, but very real and the picture I saw was indelibly imprinted on my memory. The first was shortly after my dad died. I saw him and I would judge that he appeared about age thirty. He appeared to be so happy. I remember him having that look when he was really pleased about something. It left me with a lasting impression of his present happiness. The second was seeing a grandson who seemed to be in his early thirties or late twenties. I didn't recognize him, but I knew who he was and he was a very handsome man. I was in the picture in bed, but not very distinct. I assumed I was about finished with my time here. From our perspective here death is always a sad thing because of separation and the weakness that accompanies it. I want my grandchildren to know that when that time comes; It will be GRADUATION. I will be happy, even as I had that impression about my dad. You grandchildren will have life before you and a mission to complete. Rejoice in the blessed hope we have in Christ, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord".

2011 Challenge to Family

As I was walking and running at the arena early this month, I had an inspiring thought. Why not set a goal of running and walking 1000 miles in 2011. My next thought was, why not challenge the family to that goal. I have always found that if I am more disciplined physically it helps me be on track spiritually. I passed that on to the family with a financial incentive. Then the Lord reminded me of I Timothy 4:8 "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." Therefore I added reading through the Bible in the year also. I added some smaller goals so the grandchildren could get involved as well. It ended up as follows:
$100 reading through the Bible
$30 reading through the New Testament
$100 for 1000 miles of purposed walking or running
$50 for 500 miles of the same
$25 for 250 miles of the same
Must be completed by Dec. 31, 2011
God has encouraged me to invest in the family. I trust this is helpful. May God bless our family.

A TEST FOR MY KNEE

On October 16th quite a number of our family were involved in the Waddell&Reed Marathon in KC. Mary and I signed up for the 5K. Our son, Roger did it with us to encourage us.It was good to be able to do that with Mary after the knee surgery. Here we are after the run.

ONE YEAR LATER

One year ago today I had surgery to repair an ACL. As I reflect on this past year I have much to be grateful for. When I injured my knee, Roger drove across Missouri to take me to Blue Springs. In the morning Julie took me from Roger's home to Lisa who then drove me to Hutchinson. Julie and Susan helped Mary with the Thanksgiving meal. I am so blessed with our family. They are there when you need them. Mary was super help in getting me back on my feet. She is a wonderful help mete. Our car insurance paid the medical bills and God had a wonderful surgeon in our church in time for the need. God has been gracious and my knee seems as good as new. I am sure I learned more patience and more understanding for those in pain. I am more thoughtful of avoiding those kind of accidents. It brought me closer to Brady, the fellow I was helping that day. There is no doubt good that God has worked that I haven't yet recognized. When I declare daily to the Lord that I accept all that He plans for that day, I realize I may not like all of it, but I have no hesitation for I know His plans are good. One year later I am grateful for His healing.

STILL STANDING

Whenever we make it to the meadow near LaVeta,CO we check on the trees we have labeled with the year we were there. Here is a picture of "our" tree and the one for the Tuckers. It is always good to see the Aspen standing tall and strong.

A TIME TO REMINISCE

Mary and I spent some time in Colorado last week (September 2010). We spent several days in the Spanish Peaks area where we have visited for many years. We have friends who have let us use their cabin over the years. Our times there date back over 30 years. There are so many memories there with our children and also Mary's parents. It is a good thing to return to areas where God has given you special memories and remember His faithfulness. We spent devotional times by the mountain stream where we spent times in the past. Our son Roger and I prayed and wept there over some heartaches in his life. One of those was the onset of rheumatoid arthritis that he was battling. God has healed him from that. We are so grateful. We visited our tree in the meadow about a mile upstream. We have been carving the years on the tree over the years. Mom and Dad Tucker made it to the meadow several times and also had a tree. We had worship times together several times. Dad Tucker has now "gone higher".
God is a faithful God and has demonstrated that to our family in so many ways. It was so good to take some time to reminisce. That has been such a special place to our family. We are grateful to our friends for making that available to us.