Grandpa Gene's birthday party included some cousin fun!

Five Minute Friday ~ Messenger

I've mentioned before that my father-in-law loves sailing.

The man built, over the course of a couple of decades, his own wooden sailboat. Quite the accomplishment!  (And if, after I finish writing this post, I can find a few pics of my hubby and kids sailing on that boat with their grandfather, I'm gonna scan and add them here.)

When I married into this family, I knew nothing about sailing... had no desire to try sailing... was only vaguely clued in to the fact that people still actually sailed using sails instead of engines and motors and automatic stuff.

Since then, I've learned a few bits and pieces... and have definitely paid more attention when I've stumbled across nautical terms... because of this.

One interesting piece was that "messenger" is also a nautical term. 

If you'd asked a sailor back in the early 1800's, "What is a messenger," he would have said something like: "a small kind of cable, which being brought to the capstain and the cable by which the ship rides made fast to it, it purchases the anchor." That's the old-fashioned way of saying that a messenger is actually a small line that is used to help pull up a heavier line or cable, like the thick, weighty metal cord typically used to hold an anchor. The messenger line tends to be easier to throw, more readily threaded through holes... in general, this line is more conveniently and efficiently manipulated to accomplish tasks necessary for securing, releasing and otherwise controlling the boat.

I guess you could think of the messenger as a potentially delicate (but not less important) connection between the captain and the anchor... that thing that holds fast, keeping the boat from drifting away or maintaining stability when the winds and waves batter it.

A contemporary of Robert Lewis Stevenson (I actually read somewhere that Stevenson modeled his character of Long John Silver on this man), William Henley wrote a famous poem - I'm sure that even if you don't recognize the entire poem, you'll recall having heard someone, somewhere, quote the last few lines. In some senses, they are the epitome of the American dream and spirit: 

Out of the night that covers me,

    Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

    For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

    I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

    My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

    Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

    Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

    How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

    I am the captain of my soul.***

Those are words that sound so courageous, bold, inspiring... but yet without a messenger line anchoring the captain in his boat to a secure anchor, he really is at the mercy of whatever may come... wherever the tides pull, however the winds buffet... pointless and without consistent direction.

And that thought has me thinking today about what serves as my messenger line in life, safely leashing me to God Almighty... His Word, my church (and pastor), my husband, my children, good friends... come to mind immediately.

How about you? What tethers you, today, to the Lord?

photo credit: Franck Vervial via photopin cc

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Linking up with Lisa-Jo for another Five Minute Friday... and this one was fun to write. Loved having a "different" sort of word for today's writing prompt!

{*** indicates where I was when my five minutes had expired. :-) I kept on going!}

Come What May ~ Jr/Sr Banquet, 2014

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Slideshow Credits:

Photos by Captured Memories, Faith Neeb, Hailey Dittienbir

Music:

Souffle d'ange (Le Vent du Nord)

Le Souhait (Le Vent du Nord)

Theme from Somewhere in Time (John Barry)

Five Minute Friday ~ Glue

I knew she would be here, but I forgot.

What?

My sis who lives on the West Coast while [for the last 14 years] I've been living in West Africa just happens to be in town and I knew and I got distracted with the busyness of life and this family and I forgot... until I talked to Mom...

Our plans rapidly changed.

We enjoyed a lovely evening and were heading home when on impulse, we decided to load up the van, drive to the "Big House" and hang out with Aunt Julie. It was 10:30... Yes, p.m...

Brendan was flying in on Friday morning - but we could just as easily drive to Detroit from Lansing as drive from Midland. So we did... and we've had a blast.

Talking, laughing, teasing, maybe a little gossiping, eating, enjoying the spring-ier weather, shoe shopping, Easter dinner eating (a little early), pie eating, kitchen cleaning, Qwirkling, Pictureka-ing.

But for my four big girls, the manicuring took the cake. Bright colors, crazy designs... even glue to fasten googly eyes.

Can you figure out each design... and then match each hand to either Rebekah, Nadia, Anna or Tori?

We've got a surprise for whoever comes closest.

Go ahead. Leave your best guess as a comment!

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Joining Lisa-Jo for another Five Minute Friday!

When it rains, it pours...

When it lightenings, it thunders...

When it snows, it blizzards...

AND in the Midwest... when it blows, it tornadoes...

We actually drove through some pretty wild weather last week as we were traveling... but cliché-ish statements like these describe how I've been feeling the past few days... weeks...

Let me be the very first to say ~ I don't think those clichés imply ALL bad... I love to play outside, singing and dancing away in a good downpour. In my opinion, watching a wild thunderstorm is better than any movie I've ever seen (and you should ask Tim sometime how July 4th fireworks compare to heavenly fireworks when you watch 'em from 30 000 feet!) Winter blizzards bring memories of silent white, snow days, and snow men. Maybe it is my Okie upbringing - but tornadoes mesmerize, thrill, horrify, terrify and fascinate all at the same time and that tornado warning beeping on the television starts a quick adrenalin rush, every time.

But those clichés CAN and, at this moment, DO imply a breathless "What's next?" questioning that I'm whispering after the past three weeks, which have included 

• flurries to blizzards of activity, 
• showers of obligations with downpours of miles in the van, 
• whirlwinds of friends, faces and places... 
• and too many thunderous strikes of loved ones seriously sick way too close for comfort... and seemingly all at once.

And so, yet once again, this blog has been sadly neglected.

To quickly summarize ~ We had an amazingly great trip to Iowa where we reported to and visited with an awesome and totally-spoiled-us-rotten group of partnering churches. We caught up with dear folks we had seen in a few years and the fellowship resumed like there'd never been any interruption. It was truly a delight in every which way.

Our way too brief day at the Omaha Zoo was a blast... more photos to come, very soon!

We briefly caught up with Niger friends in Illinois and then relaxed for a small chunk of time with family in SE Missouri before heading back to Michigan.

While we were traveling, we received word that both Tim's dad and Richelle's dad were quite seriously ill and hospitalized. Thankfully, Tim's dad is now out of the hospital, regaining strength and hopefully working on some good habits to prevent a similar occurrence in the near future.

Richelle's dad is still in the hospital. After major surgery and at least 3 major medical procedures in 4 days, he's got several weeks of the recovery road to travel before he'll be dancing with his granddaughters, again. We are thankful for talented doctors, surgeons, nurses, technicians and other hospital personnel who have not only done their jobs with expertise, but who have/are also gently, kindly, patiently and repeatedly explained/explaining what was/is happening: detailing problems, solutions and results, even when their words were sometimes hard to accept.

We are so thankful that the Lord has granted this good and perfect gift of nearness during this year, for this season. 

Even in the hard, it is a treasure.

And can we ask you to please keep praying for our dads?

Thanks!

We really appreciate it!

We knew we could count on you!

Five Minute Friday ~ Crowd ~

I've been spending lots of time sitting among a crowd of spectators watching elementary kiddos learn to play basketball lately. 

It's fun!

It's hilarious, actually!

The first and second grade girls, Elsie Mae's group, are probably the most amusing... although the difference between their games this week and their games the first week is pretty amazing.

But first the back story...

A few weeks ago, Elsie Mae was at church. She was walking out of the bathroom, heading for the drinking fountain. Another little guy was headed down the hall. Both were possibly moving at speeds greater than necessary and not looking out for others. The result was a collision where both ended up on the floor and Elsie Mae ended up with a nose bleed... that took nearly 40 minutes to stop and left her with a nice swollen place on the bridge of her nose as well as a headache.

We talked with her pediatrician and he wanted us to go and get an x-ray, just to be sure her nose wasn't broken. We did. It wasn't. She was, however pretty sore and prone to nosebleeds for the next several days. 

Boy have we found out just how prone...

Fast forward to her next basketball game. The players run in as their name is announced for every game... Harlem Globetrotters music playing in the background. Elsie Mae rounds the corner, promptly slips, falls and her nose starts to bleed, again.

No real biggie. We get it stopped and she's back out to play in a few minutes.

Next week, same story... The shoes she's wearing have a cloth covering on the sole and that cloth covering mixed with little seven year old girl clumsiness seem to be her recipe for sliding, slipping ad falling.

Someone get that girls some shoes that won't slip! Right?

Except she already does have some.

They are just forgotten, every week at both practice and game time, in her locker at school... in a modular  unit that we can't access after academic hours.

I guess we could have bought her another pair. 

Except that would be rescuing.

There are times as mamas and daddies that we rescue our children.

There are also times that we don't. 

Instead, we love and support them through the consequences... Even if that means the heart-ouch of watching her slip and fall and be embarrassed because it happened again... Even if it means risking another nosebleed... Even if it means being that parent running to the bathroom again to grab something to stop another nosebleed prompted by the latest slip and fall.

But?

She remembered to bring her shoes home for both practice and her games this week... all on her own. She was super pleased with herself. She played better, too.

Maybe she's learning? Maybe she's figuring out about consequences and how our choices tend to have those and they aren't always ones we like?

I know I am.

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Linking up with Lisa-Jo for another Five Minute Friday - five fun minutes of writing every week - one of my blogging highlights every week!

Would love for you to join us as well!

Thanks to Gammie and Gampie (Captured Memories Photography) &

Coach/Aunt Sonja, for the photos in this post!

Today! It's my favorite day!

I’ve spent a lot of years, now, reading and rereading The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, featuring Pooh, his pal Piglet and the rest of their cohorts from the Hundred Acre Woods.

It’s a good thing I’ve never tired of either him or his pals.

Actually, the longer I read, the more I notice the mighty amounts of wisdom coming from that bear of very little brain…

I’ve read them to kids from other cultures, impromptu-like and on-the-fly-translated to French (in a less than stellar fashion, too, I’m quite sure)! Even rural Gourmantche kids from the backside of the desert got a kick out of the pictures and my awkward, unprepared translations.

Surprisingly, Pooh Bear is quite culturally adaptable. He just rolls with whatever adventure comes his way in a surprisingly positive and yet matter-of-fact way.

I’m trying to take lessons from him....

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It seems strange that this is the post scheduled for today... 

Because today certainly doesn't feel like a favorite day in any way, shape or form. I'm in Southern Illinois for my grandfather's funeral and so feel as though I'm fighting tears or comforting kids dripping in tears a large chunk of the time. At the same time, I'm wondering about a very unimportant-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things-detail - our home for this year. Shortly after we took off for this trip, large storms raced through our town and one result is that we know the power is off at our house - and my husband's dad was restricted from accessing the area, at least yesterday. So everything could be fine at home or it could be a mess. We just don't know.

I guess it is an opportunity to practice this very thing I wrote about as we celebrate the life of one of the best men I've ever had the opportunity to know, and I got to call him Pop-pop!

Head on over to a life overseas: the missions conversation - to read all about the talk I'm trying to walk...

CW Ragle ~ March 20, 1923 - November 15, 2013

My grandfather is with Jesus. 

I'm so thankful we took the opportunity to visit him last summer and again last month (when my grandmother had surgery) since we've been back from Niger.

In fact, I'd planned to be driving down today to hopefully see him one more time.

But the Lord came to get him first.

I'm going to miss him... a lot...

After all, how many octogenarians learn how to use Yahoo Messenger and other bits and pieces of the internet just to keep tabs on their off-to-Africa-with-their-great-grandkids granddaughter?

Pop pop was one of our ever-faithful prayer warriors and ministry partners - even though the fact that we were "over there" worried and sometimes scared him. He always encouraged, had such a fun smile, loved people, had the best steal-able pj shirts ever... and that Nana-made quilt from his old carhartts, work clothes and hunting shirts will ever be one of my treasures.

Mom says he was so happy here... He was leaving the hospital, going home... 

and he knew he'd be headed for heaven soon as well.

But this is how I'll best remember him...

smiling and loving on Nana!

If you don't mind praying for Nana, I know she'd appreciate it.

I think this January would have been their 67th anniversary.

I can't even imagine.

Gampy's Birthday!

Funnel cakes for breakfast

(I offered to make doughnuts, but when I said funnel cakes were also on the table...

you can see Gampy's choice!)

Then there was banana pudding instead of a cake

to go along with dogs and burgers grilled and just about every kind of chip you could imagine.

Tim and Jonathan discovered what happens when you try and steal food before Gammie says everything is good to go...

But the best part of the weekend was just getting to hang out with Gammie and Gampy...

Even though we've been back in the States since June... it feels like we've not really done that since they were out in Niger for Bren's graduation.

YAY for birthdays!