For some reason, as I drove past the cyclist who was waiting to cross the street, I was reminded of her. Something about the serenity on this lady's face brought back the feelings of warmth and security that came from being with her.
But one thing struck me. You would never see her on a bicycle. She was too much of a lady for that. In fact, you would never find her in pants or slacks of any kind. She always wore a dress or skirt. And practical shoes. She took great care to always carry herself with propriety and to live a quiet, upright life.
She was maybe the most beautiful woman I have ever known. I never knew her to be unkind, rude or in any way offensive. She exemplifies what a Christian should look like.
She always took time for us kids; and when she was with us, she was with us. For some odd reason, I don’t remember it ever being a drag to go spend time with her at her house. Going there after school, she would play the hostess and serve us our favorite snack, Sugar Brot (white bread, spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar) with a glass of cold whole milk. This was providing that there were none of her amazing sugar cookies in the shiny chrome cookie container embossed with penguins.
I can smell her house even now – a house that was well-kept, yet not so sterile that it lacked coziness.
I remember the way she smelled of Dove soap as I sat in her lap and she gently ran her fingernails across my back. I remember what it sounded like to hear her voice through her chest as I lay my head there, pretending to be asleep while the adults carried on their conversation after Sunday Dinner (of course, not until after everything had been cleaned and put away).
When I was older, there were cutthroat games of Scrabble with her and Aunt Esther.
I’ll never forget her laugh, her smile, her humility, her love.
I’ll never forget the last time I saw her. I sat at her bedside and we talked about life; about my upcoming move away from Kansas; about old times and fond memories. I wanted to stay longer. I knew this would be the last time I would see her “on this side”. As I stood to go, I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. I noticed, for the last time, the velvety surface of her hand as I squeezed it and released it back to her. I stopped at the door and looked back. “Keep the faith,” she said. It was the last thing I ever heard her say, and those three simple words still ring in my ears.
She was my grandma.
Bertha King Hodges
1894-1982
Aug 31, 2007
They don't make 'em like that anymore...
I hop in the car to run an errand and put the XM on one of my favorite channels -- Fine Tuning -- and what do I hear? Yes! I mean, the group Yes -- Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire -- that Yes. One of my all-time favorite bands. Yes' Fragile was the second album I owned.
So driving along listening to a live recording of "Ritual", complete with drum solo (yes, young people, drum solo) followed by "Roundabout". What a band. I had forgotten just how utterly astounding they were. There are a lot of great bands these days, but Yes was one-of-a-kind. They just don't make 'em like that anymore...
Let me explain "Fine Tuning". It's a station on XM satellite radio that plays the most interesting mix of music. Immediately following Yes, they aired Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring". Listen long enough and you'll hear The Moody Blues, Mozart, The Beatles, Pat Matheny, Sting, Tangerine Dream, The Chieftains, Alan Parsons, Al De Meola, and Yanni, just to name a few. It's a rather intriguing channel to listen to.
So driving along listening to a live recording of "Ritual", complete with drum solo (yes, young people, drum solo) followed by "Roundabout". What a band. I had forgotten just how utterly astounding they were. There are a lot of great bands these days, but Yes was one-of-a-kind. They just don't make 'em like that anymore...
Let me explain "Fine Tuning". It's a station on XM satellite radio that plays the most interesting mix of music. Immediately following Yes, they aired Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring". Listen long enough and you'll hear The Moody Blues, Mozart, The Beatles, Pat Matheny, Sting, Tangerine Dream, The Chieftains, Alan Parsons, Al De Meola, and Yanni, just to name a few. It's a rather intriguing channel to listen to.
Aug 28, 2007
Podcasts 101
Podcasts are the greatest things. It's amazing the variety of information and entertainment that is available through these audio and video productions. And the best part -- they're free!
If you haven't discovered podcasts, you're missing out on a wonderful, tasty slice of modern culture. You don't even have to have an iPod to enjoy them. All you need to do is download iTunes to your computer (free) and begin browsing the selection of podcasts in the iTunes store, download a few and listen to them from your computer. Of course, an iPod or MP3 player makes the shows portable.
Many of you may ask, "What is a podcast?" Well, it's kind of like a radio or TV show, produced by anyone who can record on their computer (or if you feel it neccessary, you can go all out with professional audio or video equipment). Some are very professional and others not so much. Some are simply reformatted TV or radio shows. They cover pretty much anything you can think of that might be of interest to someone somewhere.
So what kind of pocasts am I listening to or watching on my iPod? Well...
- Several travel podcasts highlighting various parts of the globe.
- I regularly listen to "Morning Ireland", the morning drive show on RTE Radio (the NPR of Ireland).
- Lots of sermons from various pastors.
- Several worship-oriented podcasts -- discussions and interviews along with reviews of new music.
- Discussion-oriented podcasts about modern church movements and ministry philosophies.
- Various radio programs.
That's about it. I love my iPod. Thank you Steve Jobs.
If you haven't discovered podcasts, you're missing out on a wonderful, tasty slice of modern culture. You don't even have to have an iPod to enjoy them. All you need to do is download iTunes to your computer (free) and begin browsing the selection of podcasts in the iTunes store, download a few and listen to them from your computer. Of course, an iPod or MP3 player makes the shows portable.
Many of you may ask, "What is a podcast?" Well, it's kind of like a radio or TV show, produced by anyone who can record on their computer (or if you feel it neccessary, you can go all out with professional audio or video equipment). Some are very professional and others not so much. Some are simply reformatted TV or radio shows. They cover pretty much anything you can think of that might be of interest to someone somewhere.
So what kind of pocasts am I listening to or watching on my iPod? Well...
- Several travel podcasts highlighting various parts of the globe.
- I regularly listen to "Morning Ireland", the morning drive show on RTE Radio (the NPR of Ireland).
- Lots of sermons from various pastors.
- Several worship-oriented podcasts -- discussions and interviews along with reviews of new music.
- Discussion-oriented podcasts about modern church movements and ministry philosophies.
- Various radio programs.
That's about it. I love my iPod. Thank you Steve Jobs.
Aug 25, 2007
peanuts
Deep thoughts like this overtake my mind from time-to-time...
How do you like your peanuts?
Plain roasted?
Salted or un-?
Redskin?
Raw?
Dry Roasted?
Honey Roasted?
In the shell?
Boiled?
Baked?
Boston baked?
As Peanut butter?
In M&M's?
In Asian foods?
In brownies?
On sundaes?
In GORP?
In peanut brittle?
In turtles, clusters, Snickers, Reeses, etc.?
For those of you who may be allergic to peanuts, I am so sorry. For me -- I love me some peanuts.
How do you like your peanuts?
Plain roasted?
Salted or un-?
Redskin?
Raw?
Dry Roasted?
Honey Roasted?
In the shell?
Boiled?
Baked?
Boston baked?
As Peanut butter?
In M&M's?
In Asian foods?
In brownies?
On sundaes?
In GORP?
In peanut brittle?
In turtles, clusters, Snickers, Reeses, etc.?
For those of you who may be allergic to peanuts, I am so sorry. For me -- I love me some peanuts.
Our journey so far
In a certain sense, Beth and I would love to have been living in Ireland by now. Traveling back and forth isn't the most ideal way to carry out our ministry effectively. However, we have found God's timing to be perfect and He's showing us that yet again.
When we started down this road -- the one that will eventually take us into full-time service in Ireland -- it caused us great consternation regarding Molly. You see, when we first began thinking about moving to Ireland we thought that Molly would want to go with us. She loves Ireland and it seemed like a no-brainer. But then, as we were in the midst of the process to raise our monthly financial support, Molly finished High School and decided that she wanted to become a violin performance major. She had been working with Dr. Yanovskiy at University of West Florida and realized that she wanted to get her Bachelor's degree there.
So then we were faced with this dilemma: We knew beyond doubt that God had called us to Ireland, but we also knew that Molly was not ready for us to leave her in the U.S. on her own. But as I blogged about last year, God made a way for us to begin our ministry by taking regular trips to Ireland, while remaining based in the U.S., continuing to raise pledges for our current work as well as our eventual move overseas.
All the way through the process up to now, I have maintained that God was working out His best plan for all of us. There were times when I wasn't very convincing, even to myself, that we were on the right path and it caused a lot of soul-searching. But, bit-by-bit we see His plan unfolding.
Yes it has taken longer for us to raise our monthly financial support than we had anticipated, but we have, in the last several months, come to this conclusion: when the money is there, Molly will be ready and we will also be at peace about leaving her.
God is good. Here's how He is at work...
Since last September, every trip we have made, Molly has become more confident and self-sufficient. She has become one of the most focussed 19-year-olds that I have ever known -- very serious about her carreer path. The decisions she is making now are all guided by her plan to pursue a Master's and probably a Doctoral degree. She loves what she is doing. She loves UWF.
Last school year we decided (after much prayer and discussion) that it would be a good thing for Molly to live in the dorm at school. It would be kind of a halfway-out-on-her-own experience. It was good on many levels and was worth the extra money spent.
Now, as I write this entry, Molly is preparihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifng to move into a rental house with some friends. Between her scholarships, grants, orchestra contracts, teaching, playing for weddings, etc., she is in the position to support herself completely if need be. (BTW -- she turns 20 in November -- can you believe it?)
So lately, instead of feelings of abandonment, she is anxious for Beth and I to move to Ireland so that she can come visit us there.
Meanwhile in Ireland -- our ministry continues to grow and we are seeing more demand for what we have to offer the worship ministries of churches throughout the country. Our upcoming trip in a few weeks will most likely prove to be our busiest to date.
It seems that the ship has turned and we're on a direct path to Ireland. Now, obviously the big task at hand is to gain the Ministry Partners we need to get us to our monthly goal of financial support.
Want to know how you can become a Ministry Partner and support God's work in Ireland financially? Go to our website and check out the page.
When we started down this road -- the one that will eventually take us into full-time service in Ireland -- it caused us great consternation regarding Molly. You see, when we first began thinking about moving to Ireland we thought that Molly would want to go with us. She loves Ireland and it seemed like a no-brainer. But then, as we were in the midst of the process to raise our monthly financial support, Molly finished High School and decided that she wanted to become a violin performance major. She had been working with Dr. Yanovskiy at University of West Florida and realized that she wanted to get her Bachelor's degree there.
So then we were faced with this dilemma: We knew beyond doubt that God had called us to Ireland, but we also knew that Molly was not ready for us to leave her in the U.S. on her own. But as I blogged about last year, God made a way for us to begin our ministry by taking regular trips to Ireland, while remaining based in the U.S., continuing to raise pledges for our current work as well as our eventual move overseas.
All the way through the process up to now, I have maintained that God was working out His best plan for all of us. There were times when I wasn't very convincing, even to myself, that we were on the right path and it caused a lot of soul-searching. But, bit-by-bit we see His plan unfolding.
Yes it has taken longer for us to raise our monthly financial support than we had anticipated, but we have, in the last several months, come to this conclusion: when the money is there, Molly will be ready and we will also be at peace about leaving her.
God is good. Here's how He is at work...
Since last September, every trip we have made, Molly has become more confident and self-sufficient. She has become one of the most focussed 19-year-olds that I have ever known -- very serious about her carreer path. The decisions she is making now are all guided by her plan to pursue a Master's and probably a Doctoral degree. She loves what she is doing. She loves UWF.
Last school year we decided (after much prayer and discussion) that it would be a good thing for Molly to live in the dorm at school. It would be kind of a halfway-out-on-her-own experience. It was good on many levels and was worth the extra money spent.
Now, as I write this entry, Molly is preparihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifng to move into a rental house with some friends. Between her scholarships, grants, orchestra contracts, teaching, playing for weddings, etc., she is in the position to support herself completely if need be. (BTW -- she turns 20 in November -- can you believe it?)
So lately, instead of feelings of abandonment, she is anxious for Beth and I to move to Ireland so that she can come visit us there.
Meanwhile in Ireland -- our ministry continues to grow and we are seeing more demand for what we have to offer the worship ministries of churches throughout the country. Our upcoming trip in a few weeks will most likely prove to be our busiest to date.
It seems that the ship has turned and we're on a direct path to Ireland. Now, obviously the big task at hand is to gain the Ministry Partners we need to get us to our monthly goal of financial support.
Want to know how you can become a Ministry Partner and support God's work in Ireland financially? Go to our website and check out the page.
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