We're facing another one of those moments you know is coming but are never fully prepared to navigate. Frank's father is extremely ill. Last week was Spring break here so all the girls made it to NC to visit Grandpa. We were already scheduled to go Thursday of this week.
After surgery last Thursday morning, Dad Hawley had a serious respiratory reaction. Kristin (who was at the hospital) called and said, "Mom! Get Daddy on a plane as soon as possible." We did.
(Weeks ago a friend had seen down the road of Dad's illness and had insisted that I promise to call if we needed a plane ticket at some point. What a Blessing!)
Decisions came quickly, the phone call was made, a bag was packed and he was at the gate in less than three hours. Pretty good since we're a full hour from the airport. Because things were so unstable with Dad, it was decided that Frank would fly; I would cover the service this weekend then drive to NC.
Fortunately, I was already scheduled to preach Sunday after teaching workshops at a conference Friday and Saturday. Because John and Joy made it back Saturday and because our leadership team was supporting him in prayer and because I had the details covered, he was able to be fully there once he hit the hospital door.
One leader had prayed over him, "Father, help Pastor to disengage from FL and know it's okay to be a SON for this moment." What a powerful prayer. Frank took in the message and has mentioned it to me again several times during our short phone conversations. Simple words can be powerful.
Dad Hawley is still holding his own but is most often confused due to the extreme pain and large doses of morphine. Someone from the family is with him around the clock.
In addition to Dad's health crisis, the NC family have been trying to get Mom Hawley relocated to a small apartment where she can have help if she needs it. (That's why Frank and I were originally going up this week.) But imagine the mammoth task of sorting through 30 years of memories with a dear grandma who has a story attached to each piece of paper and every article of clothing.
Frank and Kristin have worked ten and twelve hour days with her trying to lift the load for his brothers and their families. Everyone is shuffling work and school schedules in order to be available. It's times like this you're thankful for BIG FAMILIES!
I leave tomorrow for the first ten hour road trip I've done alone in a long time. Listening to books and music and podcasts should help the time pass as quickly as the miles. (Yes, there will probably be a few phone calls in there, too.)
My mind is racing to find the thread that will tie all this into a tidy package of encouragement for you, dear readers. I guess that thread would be the one that keeps me tied together during all the crisis moments of life. Those moments when you know snap decisions will have long lasting consequences. Those moments when you lean into the arms of One stronger than yourself.
"You will keep him (her) in perfect peace because his (her) mind is focused on YOU!"
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Zip, Shoot, Scoot
I was fortunate to have both of my grandmothers while growing up.
My dad's mother lived almost her entire life in a small, rural community about 100 miles east of Pensacola, FL. She modeled what it meant to stay strong in the face of adversity. She loved God and her family. Life wasn't easy for Grandma Burke but I remember her biscuits, her laugh and her hugs.
My mom's mother lived nearest to us and influenced my life in so many wonderful ways. Grandma Miller had grown up on a farm in Indiana. She and her brother, Martin, had amazing stories of adventure that would invariably leave us all in stitches as they recounted their childhood.
Uncle Martin continued to live in Indiana while Grandma married a young man and moved to FL. They saw one another sporadically but when they did get together, you could see the love and admiration they had for one another.
Their shared stories of remembrance seldom turned to the darker experiences of their lives: abandoned by their father; raised by a lonely mother; shunned by the local community; required to leave school after fourth grade in order to help with whatever work they could find. No, those stories were never talked about. They chose instead to focus on the rich love of their mother; the good work ethic she taught them; the laughter they enjoyed during humble meals.
Grandma worked many different jobs through the years. So I always knew her as a working woman. She drove a cute little tan VW bug for many of those years and she liked to drive fast. (I'm sure "fast" is a relative term. We are talking about my grandma after all and I was never with her when she got the speeding tickets.)
There were three words I often heard Grandma use when she was driving. Zip. Shoot. Scoot. She would say something like, "Hold on now, Sheri. I like to ZIP around the corner so people behind me can make the light, too." Other times she would say, "I'm going to SHOOT over to the grocery store. Do you want to go with me?" Then we would hear, "Alice Marie, let's SCOOT down to the sub shop and grab a sandwich."
Grandma was always on the move and she didn't like wasting time!
I believe her desire to work hard and to keep moving was mostly a result of those growing up years. But Grandma's genuine love for life, her ready smile and infectious laughter were the hallmarks that have stayed with me. As I drove home from my office recently in my only little red compact, I was reminded of the three words I so often heard her use and I had to smile.
This post is rather short but I've waited a long time to say:
My dad's mother lived almost her entire life in a small, rural community about 100 miles east of Pensacola, FL. She modeled what it meant to stay strong in the face of adversity. She loved God and her family. Life wasn't easy for Grandma Burke but I remember her biscuits, her laugh and her hugs.
My mom's mother lived nearest to us and influenced my life in so many wonderful ways. Grandma Miller had grown up on a farm in Indiana. She and her brother, Martin, had amazing stories of adventure that would invariably leave us all in stitches as they recounted their childhood.
Uncle Martin continued to live in Indiana while Grandma married a young man and moved to FL. They saw one another sporadically but when they did get together, you could see the love and admiration they had for one another.
Their shared stories of remembrance seldom turned to the darker experiences of their lives: abandoned by their father; raised by a lonely mother; shunned by the local community; required to leave school after fourth grade in order to help with whatever work they could find. No, those stories were never talked about. They chose instead to focus on the rich love of their mother; the good work ethic she taught them; the laughter they enjoyed during humble meals.
Grandma worked many different jobs through the years. So I always knew her as a working woman. She drove a cute little tan VW bug for many of those years and she liked to drive fast. (I'm sure "fast" is a relative term. We are talking about my grandma after all and I was never with her when she got the speeding tickets.)
There were three words I often heard Grandma use when she was driving. Zip. Shoot. Scoot. She would say something like, "Hold on now, Sheri. I like to ZIP around the corner so people behind me can make the light, too." Other times she would say, "I'm going to SHOOT over to the grocery store. Do you want to go with me?" Then we would hear, "Alice Marie, let's SCOOT down to the sub shop and grab a sandwich."
Grandma was always on the move and she didn't like wasting time!
I believe her desire to work hard and to keep moving was mostly a result of those growing up years. But Grandma's genuine love for life, her ready smile and infectious laughter were the hallmarks that have stayed with me. As I drove home from my office recently in my only little red compact, I was reminded of the three words I so often heard her use and I had to smile.
This post is rather short but I've waited a long time to say:
- I hope you'll zip through all your difficult moments this week.
- Thanks for shooting over here to read.
- Be sure to scoot back by next week for a fresh look at basic thoughts.
Blessings to you and yours!
Friday, March 10, 2017
Wonder Words
I can not describe how HAPPY I am to be back on line with this blog!
All your kind comments have added to my joy - thank you!
For six long weeks Embrace the Grace has been silent because I didn't act quickly enough on a warning I received. What could have been dealt with in just an hour or so became a HUGE ordeal requiring days of time invested and weeks of anxious concern.
Ben Franklin tried to warn me, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Wonder Words that (if heeded) would have saved Cody, Frank, John, Amanda, Becky, Jeremy and me so much time. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I DID go crying to all those people begging for help. Thanks to each of you for the help you gave.)
In the end, it was my own Prince Charming who discovered the solution. Everyone contributed in one way or another but it was Frank who finally found the pathway to freedom for my long-silenced blog site. In other words, he got me up and running.
Wednesday night after Bible study, he calmly told me, "Honey, check your computer in the morning. I'm pretty sure your blog is working again." We've thought it was working several times over the past weeks, so I didn't react then.
But the entire office heard my squealing yesterday morning when I made the discovery that Mr. Wonderful had once again come to my rescue. I love that Man!
I pondered what to share in this first post after six weeks of silence. Finally, I knew WORDS and their importance seemed the appropriate topic.
If you stop by routinely, you know how intense I am about watching over our words; especially words spoken to others. "The power of life and death are in the tongue..." is a favorite scripture for me.
Our entire family has been fascinated by Madi who developed a language all her own since she hasn't quite mastered English yet. She's a quick kid and observed that older siblings, cousins and adults speak in long full sentences with lots of different voice inflections then wait for a response from the listener.
So, around 14 months she grabbed the six or seven words she COULD say and began stringing them together with "full sentences" that go something like this, "Mama, slkafdj wieioei lkaskjox adskkj sj aks No-wah!" (That sentence routinely comes after brother Noah offends her somehow and she needs Mom to fix the problem.)
"JJ, zios asldkfj asd asiie dakjl asdklj asdi adfkasjdl asdio?" Then she turns her head slightly, pierces Aunt Joy with those big blue eyes and waits for an expected response. We have all found ourselves complying and answering, even though we have No Idea what our little Wonder Word Smith has asked.
She even patted my hand the other day as she launched into a full paragraph of words that made perfect sense to her but were unintelligible to Noni. I found myself nodding and thanking her for the blessing before she toddled off on her skinny little legs.
Madi has discovered the wonder of words and she's chosen to not stop talking just because she has such a limited vocabulary. Imperfection should never keep us from attempting what we long to do!
(Those are great words of encouragement; totally worth the read today.)
I'll never be able to express my heart perfectly but that doesn't stop me from trying. Some may remember that I first started blogging after watching a movie about a woman who took a year of her life to work her way through a cook book by Julia Child and blog about it.
While watching that movie years ago I felt the little nudge, "You have so many more things to talk about that would encourage people. No, it won't be perfect. But you can at least attempt writing. TRY!"
Those were Wonder Words of challenge for me. And here I am over 450 posts later, grateful that I didn't allow the certainty of imperfection to keep me from diving in to the wonder of word crafting.
I read again just this morning in the book of John how God used words to create the heavens and the earth. Then in chapter 3, He used words to affirm Jesus, "The Father loves the Son extravagantly!"
After reading, I sat quietly pondering the power of words. The joy on Madi's little face when her stumbling "sentences" bring a smile and response from those she's speaking to. I rehearsed the ecstasy experienced by Zach, Noah, Abby and Spencer as they share words with Noni and Papa.
"PahPah! PahPah..." Zach beams and claps pudgy hands indicating it's time to play "patty cake, patty cake, baker's man..."
"Noni, I wen two (stops to hold up two fingers) two poopsh in de potty!!" Noah is about to conquer the first mountain of toddlerhood and move into Big Boy territory. He haltingly reports; we cheer!
"Noni, we lurhned a new shong today. Wanna heaur it?" Abby is excited about all of life. Her beautiful words remind us to celebrate each new moment.
"Papa, listen to my new Bible verse...." Spencer has left behind the precious toddler sound but still loves words and their ability to connect us to one another. We look straight at him and listen until he is completely finished. He smiles with his sense of accomplishment and victory; feelings brought to him by words.
So the question for today is this.....what words of wonder are waiting to be delivered by YOU? Who needs you to look directly at them, listen carefully, then cheer wildly? Who needs to hear of your love for them? Who needs the lesson you recently learned? Who is waiting for your WORDS?
I wonder........
Thanks for being excited with me that the blog is working again. And brace yourself, all these words have been bottled up for a long time. I think I know exactly how Madi must feel.
All your kind comments have added to my joy - thank you!
For six long weeks Embrace the Grace has been silent because I didn't act quickly enough on a warning I received. What could have been dealt with in just an hour or so became a HUGE ordeal requiring days of time invested and weeks of anxious concern.
Ben Franklin tried to warn me, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Wonder Words that (if heeded) would have saved Cody, Frank, John, Amanda, Becky, Jeremy and me so much time. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I DID go crying to all those people begging for help. Thanks to each of you for the help you gave.)
In the end, it was my own Prince Charming who discovered the solution. Everyone contributed in one way or another but it was Frank who finally found the pathway to freedom for my long-silenced blog site. In other words, he got me up and running.
Wednesday night after Bible study, he calmly told me, "Honey, check your computer in the morning. I'm pretty sure your blog is working again." We've thought it was working several times over the past weeks, so I didn't react then.
But the entire office heard my squealing yesterday morning when I made the discovery that Mr. Wonderful had once again come to my rescue. I love that Man!
I pondered what to share in this first post after six weeks of silence. Finally, I knew WORDS and their importance seemed the appropriate topic.
If you stop by routinely, you know how intense I am about watching over our words; especially words spoken to others. "The power of life and death are in the tongue..." is a favorite scripture for me.
Our entire family has been fascinated by Madi who developed a language all her own since she hasn't quite mastered English yet. She's a quick kid and observed that older siblings, cousins and adults speak in long full sentences with lots of different voice inflections then wait for a response from the listener.
So, around 14 months she grabbed the six or seven words she COULD say and began stringing them together with "full sentences" that go something like this, "Mama, slkafdj wieioei lkaskjox adskkj sj aks No-wah!" (That sentence routinely comes after brother Noah offends her somehow and she needs Mom to fix the problem.)
"JJ, zios asldkfj asd asiie dakjl asdklj asdi adfkasjdl asdio?" Then she turns her head slightly, pierces Aunt Joy with those big blue eyes and waits for an expected response. We have all found ourselves complying and answering, even though we have No Idea what our little Wonder Word Smith has asked.
She even patted my hand the other day as she launched into a full paragraph of words that made perfect sense to her but were unintelligible to Noni. I found myself nodding and thanking her for the blessing before she toddled off on her skinny little legs.
Madi has discovered the wonder of words and she's chosen to not stop talking just because she has such a limited vocabulary. Imperfection should never keep us from attempting what we long to do!
(Those are great words of encouragement; totally worth the read today.)
I'll never be able to express my heart perfectly but that doesn't stop me from trying. Some may remember that I first started blogging after watching a movie about a woman who took a year of her life to work her way through a cook book by Julia Child and blog about it.
While watching that movie years ago I felt the little nudge, "You have so many more things to talk about that would encourage people. No, it won't be perfect. But you can at least attempt writing. TRY!"
Those were Wonder Words of challenge for me. And here I am over 450 posts later, grateful that I didn't allow the certainty of imperfection to keep me from diving in to the wonder of word crafting.
I read again just this morning in the book of John how God used words to create the heavens and the earth. Then in chapter 3, He used words to affirm Jesus, "The Father loves the Son extravagantly!"
After reading, I sat quietly pondering the power of words. The joy on Madi's little face when her stumbling "sentences" bring a smile and response from those she's speaking to. I rehearsed the ecstasy experienced by Zach, Noah, Abby and Spencer as they share words with Noni and Papa.
"PahPah! PahPah..." Zach beams and claps pudgy hands indicating it's time to play "patty cake, patty cake, baker's man..."
"Noni, I wen two (stops to hold up two fingers) two poopsh in de potty!!" Noah is about to conquer the first mountain of toddlerhood and move into Big Boy territory. He haltingly reports; we cheer!
"Noni, we lurhned a new shong today. Wanna heaur it?" Abby is excited about all of life. Her beautiful words remind us to celebrate each new moment.
"Papa, listen to my new Bible verse...." Spencer has left behind the precious toddler sound but still loves words and their ability to connect us to one another. We look straight at him and listen until he is completely finished. He smiles with his sense of accomplishment and victory; feelings brought to him by words.
So the question for today is this.....what words of wonder are waiting to be delivered by YOU? Who needs you to look directly at them, listen carefully, then cheer wildly? Who needs to hear of your love for them? Who needs the lesson you recently learned? Who is waiting for your WORDS?
I wonder........
Thanks for being excited with me that the blog is working again. And brace yourself, all these words have been bottled up for a long time. I think I know exactly how Madi must feel.
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