A Woman of Quiet Courage

 Born on April 30, 1934, in New England, North Dakota, a baby girl was born to a young couple. Virgina was their first child but they provided her with a baby sister before moving across the country to Oregon just a couple of years later. Eventually, she would become the oldest of five.

She was raised on a farm and when she was still young her dad was injured in a farming accident. She had to step up to do more chores. One of those chores was to help bring the horses in. They were well trained and would walk right behind her. She was so little compared to those huge farm horses and she was afraid they would trample her. She would speed up to put some distance between her and the horses, but no matter what she did the horses would just speed up with her. Years later, she still remembered that time in her life and would tell her granddaughter about it.

As Virgina grew up she came to know Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. She graduated high school and felt like the Lord was calling her to full time ministry. She applied to Simpson Bible College in Seattle, Washington and headed there for college. 

There, when working in the dining hall as a waitress, she met a dishwasher named Russell Wayland. He had transferred from Prairie Bible College in Canada and was also studying to go into full time ministry. They often ate their meals with a small group of coworkers before heading to work to serve others. During those times, they started to get to know each other.

Late one afternoon, Russ asked her to go to a basketball game with him that night. Because of how late in the day it was she assumed that he’d asked out another girl and had been turned down. Deciding that she wouldn’t play second fiddle to anyone, she said no.

As Russ tells the story, some weeks later, after returning from a school break, he went down to the dean of women’s office to find something. (He’s always quick to point out that he had permission to be there.) When he got there he saw a group of young women standing around discussing what they were going to do that evening as the school’s strict curfew didn’t go into enforcement until classes resumed the next day. Russ went over to find whatever he was looking for and Virgina came over to help him. He knew that these young women would spend so long arguing about their different ideas they would never come to a decision and actually go do it. He said to Virgina, “I’m going to my aunt’s for blackberry pie and ice cream.” She was quick to respond, “Take me with you.”

That was their first date and Russ quickly knew he was in love. He knew he wanted to marry her and wrote to her parents to ask for their blessing. Her mother wrote back and said “You make your bed, you lay in it.” One day, they were sitting in Russ’ car eating lunch and he asked her to marry him. It had been just six weeks since they had begun dating and Virginia didn’t say yes. Instead, she told him that she would pray about it. I’m not sure how long she made him wait,

One weekend Russ, Virginia and two others were returning to school after leading some version of a Vacation Bible School as part of their school required ministry. On their way back their car broke down. One of the young men with them knew the town they were in and had a friend who lived there. They stopped at a payphone and he looked up the number in the phone book. He found the right name but when he traced his finger over to get the number his finger slipped down by a line. He didn’t realize that he had called the wrong person as he explained to the man who he was and their situation. They were sitting in the car when someone pulled up. When the man got out Russ and Virgina’s friend looked at them and said, “I don’t know who that is.”

As it turned out the man didn’t know them but he was a believer and he was willing to help them out. He took them all to his home and gave them a place to stay for the night. Virginia went upstairs to lie down for a bit. She was praying about Russ’ marriage proposal. She came downstairs and told Russ that the Lord had given her a verse.

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be discouraged, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

She told him then that she would marry him. 

It was another year and a half before they got married. Right after their wedding they moved into a tiny little RV trailer and Virgina came down with laryngitis. She lost her voice for about a week. Over the years Russ would tease her, saying that had been the best week of their marriage. 

As the years went by, Virgina gave birth to their first daughter, Leslie. Russ’ sister, Jeannie, and her husband, Mel, went into ministry with an organization called Village Missions. They’re a non-denominational ministry that sends pastors to rural areas all over the United States and Canada. They shared their experience with Russ and Virgina and encouraged them to join.

They eventually followed Mel and Jeannie’s advice and took their first church in Blodgett, Oregon. There, they gave birth to their second daughter, Teresa. They served at several churches in Oregon, Washington, Nebraska and Idaho, over their years with Village Missions. It was a hard life. They made less than $200 a month to support their growing family, as they added two more girls to their home. They had a hand crank washer that Virgina used to wash cloth diapers and all the clothes that her girls and husband got dirty. There were times that they had no idea how they were going to buy groceries but the Lord always provided. Sometimes it was in the way of church members giving them vegetables from their garden or people anonymously dropping off a bag of groceries on their doorstep. At one point they had a car that you had to put into reverse before you could put it into drive. It made stop lights a little more terrifying.

Russ was still with Village Missions but his ministry had changed, instead of being at just one church he was traveling all over the country. He was on the road when he got a call from his third daughter, Victoria, she was letting him know that Virgina had just given birth to their fifth child. “It’s another girl Dad!” She told him and they welcomed Lynn into their family.

Lynn was born seven years after their fourth daughter, Kimberly, and her sisters would later recount how they loved playing with her because it was like having a live doll they could dress up. Virginia loved her girls and she wanted to make sure that they had the life skills they would need.

Virginia hadn’t known how to cook when she got married so from the time her girls were small she would line them up at the kitchen counter and put a large glass mixing bowl in front of them. The girls, balanced on stools, took turns putting ingredients into the bowl, one at a time then mixing them in.

The most important thing that Russ and Virgina taught their girls was about their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each day before they went out the door to catch the school bus, Virgina made her girls recite their verse of the day. They were always running late for the bus but that didn’t matter, Virginia was adamant that they say verses every single day, without fail. 

Another principle the girls were raised with was Russ and Virgina’s emphasis on hospitality. Russ would often bring home guests for a meal. Since this was long before cell phones, Virginia rarely had advance warning. Even so, she would always find a way to feed them. Sometimes, that was something as simple as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. If anyone needed a place to sleep Russ and Virgina always  provided one.

After their older four girls were out of the house, Russ got a call asking him to move from North Bend, Oregon to Camano Island, Washington and help his brother, Bill, at his Village Missions church there. They packed up and made the move, that was only supposed to be for a couple of months. The Lord had other plans and they ended up there for over a decade.

Eventually, Russ and Virgina retired from Village Missions. Camano Chapel threw them a huge retirement party. They made sure that all five of their daughters, their son-in-laws, and all sixteen grandchildren (two more were born later) were flown in for the party. Years later Russ and Virgina recounted their joy at having all of their family together, and what a surprise it had been when Leslie and Victoria’s families were brought out on stage. Leslie, and her husband Scott, were and still are, missionaries in Austria. Victoria’s husband, George, was in the Air Force and stationed on the other side of the country. The church had managed to keep it a surprise that they had flown everyone in for the celebration.

A few days after Russ’ retirement from Village Missions he took a new job with AWANA. He spent the next several years traveling with them while Virgina stayed home on Camano Island, continuing her own quiet ministry of hospitality and faithfully serving behind the scenes of the church. Eventually Russ retired, again, and they moved back to North Bend, Oregon to serve, once more, at Hauser Community Church. 

 

Russ had several more retirement parties over the years and Virgina was always right there beside him, faithfully serving wherever the Lord sent them. When they were both in their eighties they moved in with their second daughter, Teresa, and her husband, John. By that time it was evident that Virgina’s memory was starting to fade. Though she continued to read her Bible and faithfully pray, she had stopped telling stories of her childhood or their years in ministry. She continued to love Russ just as much as she had since the day she finally gave him an answer to his proposal.

Virginia loved to take care of people. Russ and Virgina owned a cabin in northern Washington where they allowed pastors and missionaries to come stay when they needed a rest. They also got their family together every year for a wonderful, and loud, family vacation/reunion. One year their granddaughter brought a friend who hurt her foot while out on the porch. Someone went inside to ask Grandma for a band-aid but she couldn’t find one. Two days later one of her daughter’s came out to the porch, “Grandma said someone needed a band-aid?” She may have been two days late but her love for taking care of people meant that she hadn’t forgotten and she wanted to make sure everyone was cared for.

By the end of her life, Virgina had forgotten many things but she never lost her sweet and loving nature or her devotion to the Lord. This was evident in how comfortable she was with prayer. Virgina Wayland was a woman who put her trust in the Lord and walked through life with a quiet courage and confidence because of her faith in Him. No matter how dire the circumstances she turned to the Lord in prayer, trusting Him to carry her family through it. He never failed them and she made a point of sharing that with everyone who would listen. Her greatest mission in life was to share Christ with others, wanting all of them to join her one day in heaven. Her second greatest joy was her family, followed by those she was devoted to serving inside and outside the church. 

Virgina leaves behind five daughters, five son-in-laws, eighteen grandchildren (plus a bonus one), nineteen great-grandchildren, and hundreds more whose lives she touched through the years. 

I am honored to be one of those grandchildren, and although we all miss her, I rejoice in knowing that when she passed away she was met by Jesus with the words that she longed to hear. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” One day I will see her again in heaven. Until then I’ll strive to have the kind of love and courage that she exuded every day of her life. 

A Day of Thanksgiving

 Hello! I know it's been a really long time since I posted on here. There's been a zillion things going on. And those things are just a few of the things I'm very grateful for this Thanksgiving. I thought it would be worth writing at least a few of them down.

-First and foremost I'm always grateful for my faith. My relationship with Christ is what gives meaning to my life, it makes the hard times bearable and brings reason to the struggles. I know that life isn't perfect but He allows me to go through difficulties but He always has a plan for my life.

-Secondly, I'm always amazing grateful for my family. They're my built in support system and they've never let me down. I'm very blessed to have them.

-Third, my friends. I have some of the best friends in the whole world. I wouldn't know what to do without them.

-Fourth, my church. This year I started attending a new church. It took me a while to start getting involved but now I've joined a small group, met some amazing people, and I truly look forward to attending each week. 

-Fifth, my new job. In July I took a promotion at the same company but in a different department. The last four months as a front office lead with Physical Therapy have been fantastic. Due to unforeseen circumstances, things have been incredibly busy and hectic but it's also been amazing. I get to work with a great team doing something I really love. I'm excited to continue growing in my career.

-Sixth, my newest book! I'm very happy to announce that "Conflicted Attractions" Book 2 in the Yagos series has been released on Amazon! I'm so thankful for everyone who's worked on this project with me and made this dream a reality.

-Seventh, I'm thankful for our country. I don't mean to list it so far down this list but it is a sincere statement. We live in an amazing country and I'm extraordinarily thankful for the freedoms we have and the men and women who have fought and died to protect them.

-Eighth,  I'm thankful for my house. The heat isn't great. I wish I had a dishwasher. It's not perfect but it's home and I'm thankful for the sanctuary it offers as a place for me to unwind and relax.

-Ninth, I'm thankful for adventures. One of my favorite things to do is to go for a drive or a hike or find somewhere new. This year some of my friends and I went kayaking for about five hours. We went down a river that had a dam so we had to get out and pull the kayaks over before continuing. We made it all the way to the ocean before we turned around and came back. Then we headed to the opposite side of the river, into a lake before going back to the dock. It was an absolute blast. I'm so thankful we get to do things like that.

-Tenth, I'm thankful for reading. I love writing and creating my own stories but I also love finding myself swept away in the stories I read. I'm so grateful for all the places I've "visited" or adventures I've "been on" through books. It's an amazing gift, the gift of reading, and I'm so thankful for the easy accessibility of books today.

So that's my list of ten things I'm thankful for. What about you? What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Whatever it is I hope that you take a moment to dwell on those things. 

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

20 Years Ago

Twenty years ago the world became a different place then the one I'd always known. I was only ten but I still remember it vividly. I remember the shock and horror as planes full of people were used as weapons of mass destruction and flown into buildings full of more unsuspecting people who had just show up for what they thought would be a normal Tuesday morning at work. I remember the normal, everyday people that weren't going to let others suffer so they chose to fight back, even knowing it meant sacrificing themselves by crashing into a Pennsylvania field to prevent their plane from being used as another weapon. 

I remember the firefighters who ran up those flights of stairs to get people out. I remember the first responders and volunteers who spent months and months searching through the rubble, looking for survivors and wanting to help families find closures. I also remember the terror that continued to plague our nation for weeks, months and even years after that tragic day. I remember thousands of people flooding into churches all across the nation as an awakening swept across our land. 

There were horrible, unimaginable tragedies that took place on 9/11/2001. There were horrible things that happened afterwards. I won't deny that. There were also millions of inspirational moments, stories, songs, art, and acts of heroism that came in the aftermath. 

You know what else there was? What I most remember? A promise. 

"We will never forget."

That was an echo that rang across the land for months to come. It was spoken by almost every person I knew, half the cars that you passed on the roads had the bumper sticker, business had signs and everyone with a platform repeated the same mantra, over and over again. "We will never forget."

As our brave men and young women gave up the dreams they'd been pursuing and raced to the recruiting offices to sign up to serve our country we repeated that promise. We turned out in the streets to show our support of them. We prayed for their swift and safe return. We hung up their pictures to show our pride of the sacrifices they were willing to make.

America was angry. We had been blindsided and innocent people had been made more then just victims, they were made the unwilling weapons of evil, radicalized terrorists who were hell-bent on causing pain, terror and destruction. We were willing to do whatever it took to fight back and reclaim our nation, to make sure that something like this never happened again. And we promised all of those victims the same promise.

We will never forget.

Now here we are 20 years later. And I have one very simple question for you. Have you forgotten?

Updates

Hello, hello! Friends, I find myself apologizing again that I'm late putting up this week's post. The last several weeks have been quite insane. Work has kept me busy as I contemplate my future and what that looks like. I love my team but have been praying about how to grow professionally and what that might look like. More to come on that in the future as things develop.

I also got some edits back from a few beta readers who were looking at the next Yagos book! Which still needs a title. That's on the list of quite a few things that still need to be done. We're aiming for a release date of this fall but don't have anything figured out for certain yet. Besides a title there are still lots of rounds of edits coming and a cover that needs to be designed. There are so many steps involved and although I'm hoping it'll be easier the second time around that doesn't cut down on the amount of work involved.

Apart from that there's always things going as I try to keep up with family and friends. Yesterday was my grandma's 87th birthday. Although she doesn't really know who we are these days she's still a happy, loving person. It's always fun to celebrate someone who has loved the Lord and her family for so many years. 

Recently I've also been getting involved at a new church which has proved to be a huge blessing. It's always a little scary to start attending somewhere new but everyone has been friendly and welcoming. It's been a great time,

With all that said I've decided to take a break from posting weekly on here. I'll post updates as I have them and hope to be back soon but at the moment I just don't feel like I can hold myself to this weekly schedule. If at any time you want to pass on subject ideas for a blog post, ask for prayer or would like to reach out for some other reason then please, feel free to leave a note in the comments or contact me at my author's email address- klkirk@qwestoffice.net 

I'd love to pray for you and would be happy to hear from you.

Spiritual Discernment

Recently I've been attending a new church. The people are really nice, the teaching is solid, the music is uplifting. It's been a wonderful experience. The last few weeks, other then a break for Easter, we've been going through the letter of 1 John. Last week we looked at 1 John 4 and talked about spiritual discernment. It's one of the most encouraging and convicting sermons I've heard in a long time. 

I won't even try to go over everything that was in the sermon. There was just too much. I would like to go through and highlight a few of the points that were made.

1) False teachings can be found inside and outside the church.

I loved this point because it brings up some really interesting points. Paul preached against false teachers in the New Testament. And there are still false teachers in the world today. They come from everywhere, including ministries. Not everyone who is in leadership is going to be teaching the truth. There are all sorts of false teachers in the world. Pastors and teachers are still human-even if they're trying to teach the truth they may make mistakes. 

That brings me to point 2. 

2) We have to learn to discern things for ourselves.

One of the great verses that the pastor brought up was Acts 17:10- "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

What I said earlier is so crucial friends, pastors, teachers, those in leadership or authority, including myself when I talk about the Bible on here, we're all human and we do at times make mistakes. Don't trust someone who tells you not to do your own research! Anyone could be wrong. This is why we need to be studying for ourselves, praying for discernment for ourselves, so that when something sounds off we can find out if the Bible backs up what a leader is teaching.

3) The One living in us is greater then the one living in the world- 1 John 4: 4. This is probably one of the most quoted verses since the song came out but it's also true. It's a great reminder. As believers we have the Holy Spirit living in us. We believe in the Trinity and the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God and lives in us. Can we just take a moment to reflect on the amazing truth of that?

And God is greater then Satan. Always has been, always will be. So whenever things get tough or the devil's offensive team has you feeling discouraged this is a great verse to remind yourself of.

So there it is friends, a reminder to be discerning, an encouragement of who is living in us and a instruction to make sure you're studying and learning and questioning things so that you're on your guard and making sure that you're filtering everything through the word of the Lord and not the word of men.

Toothlandia

My second niece, Addy, 6 years old, lost her first tooth this week. A couple of days before she actually lost her first tooth she started asking her mom where tooth fairies come from. Like all good parents she came up with best answer she could- Toothlandia. And then she told our family about it. My brother jumped on board with that and started throwing out ideas about what Toothlandia was like. Before you knew it a story idea was forming. Addy herself provided the last key of what the tooth fairies did with the teeth. I hope you enjoy the story that I came up with for the kids!

In a far away land there exists the country of Toothlandia. Now Toothlandia isn't like other countries. It's a very special place. Full of faries and princesses and dinosaurs and pirates. They all work together to collect the teeth that children from all over the universe lose as they grow up.

 

Once upon a time in Toothlandia there lived a Toothasaurus Rex named Chomper. Chomper grew up in a normal home with his Toothasaurus mom and Toothasaurus dad and his Toothasaurus big sisters. Chomper's family were some of the best collectors in all of Toothlandia. They had a talent for finding the best teeth, the ones that had no cavities whatsoever. Then they would bring the teeth home to Toothlandia and plant them in the garden. Beautiful bushes and trees would grow from where the teeth had been planted. Those provided food for the creatures of Toothlandia and some of the most beautiful flowers you have ever seen. They were red, blue, purple and green, orange, pink, gold and white. Everyone in Toothlandia loved to see the gardens that Chomper's family had planted.

 

Everyone except for Chomper.

 

See Chomper was sad because he couldn't collect teeth like his family did. Chomper had another job in Toothlandia.

 

When the tooth collectors of Toothlandia went out they had to collect all the teeth. Even the bad ones. But the bad teeth didn't grow beautiful flowers. So the collectors would plant them far away from their town in the Rotten Forest. As the teeth sprouted they grew into scary, evil trees that wanted to hurt the creatures of Toothlandia.

 

Chomper and some other brave creatures had to go into the forest each day and fight against the scary trees. Some of the fighters used swords but Chomper just used his sharp teeth and his claw like hands. Even though his arms were short he was a mighty warrior against the evil trees. 

 

Chomper knew his work was important but he still didn't want to do it. He wanted to talk to the kids about making sure they kept their teeth flossed and brushed before they lost their teeth. That way they wouldn’t have to plant the evil trees but could continue to grow the beautiful flowers and the good plants that fed the creatures of Toothlandia. The problem was that he wasn’t allowed to go talk to the kids. The creatures of Toothlandia had to keep their existence a secret. None of the children were allowed to see them. They were supposed to stay the stuff of dreams and legends. Chomper was worried though because he knew that recently it had been getting harder and harder to find good teeth to plant. Every day more evil trees were sprouting and there fewer and fewer flowers in the gardens around the land. Chomper knew he had to do something or Toothlandia would not have the teeth it needed to grow enough food to feed everyone.

 

One day, Chomper came up with a plan.

He would find a very special family who was willing to keep the secret of Toothlandia and he would ask for their help. It wouldn’t be easy, he would get into a lot of trouble if he was caught but Chomper knew this was a risk he had to take. And he knew just the family he should see. Chromper’s sister had told him about a family a lot like their own. They had a mom and a dad, and one little boy who had two big sisters. They were the perfect family to help Chomper save his home.

 

It took a long time to plan but finally Chomper had everything together. Every creature from Toothlandia had the magic to be able to travel to a child’s house when they lost a tooth. Even the creatures who weren’t collectors were capable of transporting themselves. Chomper waited and waited until one of the little girls in the family lost her very first tooth, The celebration went up all around Toothlandia. A child had lost her first tooth! First teeth were always very special in Toothlandia so this was cause for extra excitement. The collectors were informed that once nighttime came to the child’s house they could go and collect the new tooth. Chomper had other plans. He didn’t wait for nightfall. He found the child’s information in the official town hall of records and closed his eyes. Using his magic he wished himself to the children’s home and poof! He found himself there.

 

Chomper found himself in the little girl’s bedroom but they weren’t in there. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time so he carefully snuck towards the door and peered into the hallway. Seeing the coast was clear he snuck into the little boy’s bedroom. Michael was sitting on his racecar bed playing with his trucks. The little boy’s eyes got wide when Chomper came into the room but he didn’t say anything. Climbing up onto the bed Chomper started to explain why he was there.

 

“My name is Chomper and I’m from Toothlandia. My family are some of the collectors who collect teeth whenever children loose them.”

 

“Like the tooth fairy?” Michael asked.

 

“The fairy’s get all the attention,” Chomper grumbled. “But yes. They’re collectors too. My family are Toothasaurs Rexes. And we’re some of the best collectors in all of Toothlandia.”

 

“My sister, Addy, just lost her first tooth,” Michael told him. “And Ella has lost teeth too. But I haven’t yet.”

 

“I know,” Chomper told him. “But that’s okay. You will. I have to tell you something very important though. We collect your lost teeth and they grow food for us. But if your teeth have cavities they will grow scary, evil trees that try to hurt us. So I came to ask you something very important. Will you please brush and floss your teeth? And go to the dentist when your mom and dad take you? That way your teeth will stay good and we can keep planting them to grow food and flowers. Can you help me save Toothlandia? Will you take care of your teeth and ask your friends to do that too?”

 

And Michael agreed. From then on Michael always asked people to take extra good care of their teeth and he made sure he did the same. Toothlandia was saved! No one in Toothlandia ever knew what Chomper had done but he didn't mind. Without so many evil trees being planted he was able to start collecting teeth with the rest of his family. And the teeth he collected grew some of the most beautiful flowers and best tasting food in all of Toothlandia.

 

The End

Texting Connections

My family is a little strange. Actually, probably more then a little. They're very strange, they always have been but that's not the point of today's post. A year or two back my brother decided that we should start a group chat with our siblings. We all agreed to download this specific app so we could text. First we had a chat with just the five of us siblings, then we started one that had the five of us plus our sister-in-laws. 

It's given us all a chance to talk to each other, to joke and to surprisingly grow closer as we virtually spend time together. A few months ago we expanded our groups again. My mom joined the app and we set up a thread that she could relay information to us about things with the extended family, asking us questions about things she was getting rid of from our childhood, or other random things she wanted to share with us. Finally a couple of months ago, another significant change happened. My dad joined.

Now you have to understand that my dad hates texting. So we were all a little concerned that Texas would reach a record snowfall in July this summer, or something else equally catastrophic, due to this strange turn of events. However when nothing immediately catastrophic happened we were able to start talking as a whole family.

If you had told me two years ago that I would be in contact withe majority of my family members every few days I would've called you crazy. If you had told me that texting with my family would draw us closer together I would've said you were insane. If you would've told me that my dad would willingly text with all of his kids I would've asked if you know where had frozen over as well.

And yet here we are. If there's one thing my family chat has taught me it's that you don't have to spend time in person to connect with someone. Yes, there's no replacement for human contact, that's true. However, you can connect with people in surprising ways. The other day my brother posted this message.

"Basically 99% of what is said is somehow harassing, joking with, making fun of, pushing buttons, and being mean in a fun and amusing way. 1% of this is actually valid information that needs to be spread. However since starting the thread a couple of years ago, before you and Mom joined the lack-of-conversation, your 5 children and 3 daughter-in-laws have become closer, and communicate more often and for longer. It allows us to stay in contact with one another..."

He went on but that was the gist of what he was saying. The point is that even though texting is not our ideal way of communicating, we're all spread out across the country. So this is a way that we can all talk and "hang out" together. It's an unexpected blessing to be sure. But one of I'm very grateful for. 

Today, find a way to connect with someone you love. If you can't spend time with them in person then talk on the phone, video chat, or even just text. It's an amazing way of being able to talk and make those connections.

Easter Sunday

It was a quiet morning. It was still dark outside but she rose from her bed. She hadn't slept anyways. The pain was still too fresh. Her heart was broken. Her body felt heavy with grief as she dressed. Every motion seemed to require ten times as much energy as normal. She wanted nothing more then for someone to tell her that this had all been a bad dream, that none of it was real. That wasn't going to happen. She knew all to well that everything she had witnessed was real. Jesus was dead. He had been crucified. They had buried his body. Now, the first day of the week, she would go to visit his tomb.

The story continues as we all know. The women walk down to the tomb and they find the stone rolled away. In John 20 it says that when Mary Magdalene found the empty tomb she went running to the disciples to tell them that Jesus' body had been stolen and she didn't know where it was. When Peter and John come running to the tomb Peter goes inside and he finds the burial clothes that Jesus had been wearing. 

Then in John 20: 11-18 it says that Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping and when she bent over to look inside she sees two angels sitting where Jesus's body had been. They ask her why she's been crying and she tells them what she told the disciples. That Jesus's body has been stolen and she doesn't know where it is. Then she turns and sees a man, she didn't recognize him so she asked if he had taken her Lord's body away. She begged him to tell her where it was. Even now she still loved her Lord and she wanted to visit his grave.

Then Jesus said her name, "Mary" and that was all it took. And suddenly she knew exactly who He was. And He gave her a very important task of going to tell His brothers of His resurrection. 

Although the first paragraph of this post is fiction based on my own imagining of what she must have been feeling that first Easter Sunday the rest is pulled straight from the Bible. 

No matter what you're doing this Easter Sunday I would highly encourage you to go back and reread the story of why we celebrate this day. You could start in John 12:12 with the triumphal entry. Or John 13 with the Last Supper. Skip forward to John 18 when Jesus is betrayed and arrested in the garden. If you're in John 18 the trial really begins in verse 15.

Wherever you start, I hope you reread the story. Remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Remember why He made it. Teach it to your children. Remind your loved ones as you gather together to celebrate. Talk about it with those around you. 

Without Easter we have no reason for hope or faith. This isn't just another holiday we celebrate. It's our reason for faith. The foundation we have built our lives on as we live for the Lord.

Happy Easter my friends. He is risen!

Faith and Fear

I have an app on my phone that is centered around health and fitness. Actually I have several of those apps. This particular one tracks my steps, healthy habits, gives me nutrition tips, fitness pointers and more. The other day it showed me a quote that really struck a chord with me.

"When fear knocks, let faith answer."

As I did a little more research I learned that in one of his sermons Martin Luther King Jr. said this was a quote that used to hang on people's walls. "Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. There was no one there."

I love this quote so much. The fact is that the Bible is quite clear about the matter of fear. 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear..."

When I searched BibleGateway for the phrase "do not be afraid" 81 results came up. One of my favorites was Exodus 14:13 "... Do note be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today."

Or here's one in Deuteronomy 1:29 "Then I said to you, 'Do note be terrified; do not be afraid of them.'"

A couple of chapters later in Deuteronomy 3:22 the Word says, "Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you."

I could go on and on like this but you get the idea. We're told not to be afraid and the reason why is quite simple. As believers we have the Lord fighting our battles. He will fight our battles and shoulder our burdens. We don't have to. When things get hard we lay our problems at His feet. When you feel like you can't go on then He "will lift you up on eagle's wings". 

I don't know what type of fear is knocking at your door today. I do know that faith in the Lord is the best way to answer. And although you might still feel some of that fear, He'll help you deal with whatever comes your way.

A Take on Teaching

Albert Einstein once said, "I never teach my students, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn."

This quote really stood out to me when I first heard it a few weeks ago. It makes me think of the old adage, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink."

At work probably my favorite part of my job is training people. I love the feeling when things start to click and slowly people go from feeling completely out of their depth to realizing they have the skills and knowledge of how to do this job. It's amazing, but not because I really did anything. All I'm doing is talking and giving them tools as I explain how to use the different programs and the rules of the job. They're the ones who have to choose to learn.

In a similar way I feel like God will sometimes use this same process. Don't get me wrong, He definitely teaches us. Often though, He teaches us by allowing us to experience things.

Good things, bad things, all of them make us what we are today. Each experience teaches us something. So often we ask why do bad things happen? I don't have a good answer to that question. Not one that will really satisfy someone who is hurting. I may not be able to explain why bad things happen but I know that when God allows bad things to happen He also allows us to learn from those things. He provides the conditions in which we can learn.

I don't believe that God causes bad things to happen. I believe He allows them to happen and then helps us learn from them. So often the worst things we go through end up teaching us the most. We'd love to be spared the pain. If we were, would we still be the people we are? Would we still be able to help the people we come across? Would we we have the strength to deal with what comes up in our lives?

Who has God put in your life to teach this week? Can you find a way to provide them conditions where they can learn? 

What conditions has God put you in? And what is He teaching you by putting you in that situation?

Computer Dinosaurs

 Today I'm hanging out with my dad and one of his good friends. As we've gone through the multiple topics of conversation we eventually came around to discussing computers. Both of them are IT guys. Dad's retired these days but they've both been around computers so long that they have a lot to talk about. Today they were talking about what computers used to be like.

Now because I grew up around computers I know a fair bit. I didn't just grow up using them but I grew up with Dad working in IT and running his own computer business on the side. So I remember back before laptops were common and when PDA's first came out. What they were talking about today goes back wayyy further then that. So here's a post for all of you computer nerds who want to reminisce and some fun facts for everyone else.

Did you know there used to be a computer called Zenith? It sounds like a video game. I'm not sure how we went from computers being called Zenith to Apple or Dell but they don't sound nearly as cool. Then again they do sound a little more normal so maybe it's a good change. 

One of the first laptops called Kpro weighed 29lbs! Check out this picture of the Kpro 2! You had to flip up the keyboard to close it and then carry around this huge computer! I don't think I'd want this thing sitting on my lap all day, how about you?

How about this fact, did you know that Tetris (my second favorite game as a kid, Oregon Trail was probably my first) was originally from Russia? And the original software had a function that with a simple command key you could switch your screen from the game to a spreadsheet. I remember my dad admitting to me when I was little that he could play a game in the office and when his boss walked up he could hit that command key so the spreadsheet made it look like he was working. That's some smart programming!

There was also something similar that you could play some different games and keep up to ten programs in resident memory so with just a simple key stroke you could pull up the other program. It had the same affect of making it look like you were working, even if you weren't.

There was a program where you created a typed phone list, but of course this was before the days of cell phones so you just printed the phone list to carry around with you and then had to find a landline to call from. 

I always thought some of the old computers are loud but some of the early ones sounded like a jet turbine was starting when you turned it on, at least according to Dad. Of course he's always been half deaf so if he thought it was loud it must have been insanely noisy! Although I doubt it actually sounded as loud as an airstrip, it still must have been pretty insane.

Here's one that surprised me. There was no mouse, just a keyboard. I can't even imagine using a computer without a mouse!

Microsoft Windows didn't exist so every program was loaded on a separate floppy disk. (How many of you remember floppy disks? Surprisingly I do.) So for instance you would start the computer, load a floppy disk to open a word processer. Then you could type a document. Then you would have to take out that floppy disk, install a different floppy disk to load a spell check program in order to look over everything, before you printed it out to hand over to whoever needed it. And if it was a report for your boss you were going to walk that over to their office because that was before email.

So there it is folks, a blast from the past that allowed a couple of computer nerds to reminisce together and laugh at my horror, while also reminding me of how far we've come in the world of convenience. 

Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

This passage talks about presenting your body as a living sacrifice but what does that mean? 

Paul starts with telling us why we should do it. He says that because of all that God has done for us we need to give our bodies to God. The Lord lovingly created us and sent His only Son to die for us so we can be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity with Him. He is the one who has done so much for us. Every day He provides for us, He cares for us, He forgives us and gives us strength to get through each day. These are just a few of the things that the Lord does, and in return one of the things we do is give our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Not out of obligation, but love. And because we know that by following the Lord in this way, staying in His will, we end up living our best lives.

So next we see the sacrifice, Paul calls it- a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. We're not expected to lay on some altar. We sacrifice ourselves by living, but keeping ourselves holy. We set ourselves apart for the Lord and live our lives for Him. In that way we make ourselves an acceptable sacrifice. 

We're also told this is a way to worship the Lord. Just by living our lives in a way that pleases Him we worship Him. So how do we do that? Simple, don't copy the world. The behaviors and customs of this world are in direct defiance of the Lord. That's why we're told to live our lives differently. It's not only about living differently, but thinking differently. By changing our thoughts, it changes our words and our actions. Every time.

Finally as we worship the Lord in these ways we learn His will for us, which is good and pleasing and perfect. We know that His will is for us to have the best, so as we learn to follow Him our lives will end up better. Every single time.

Psalms 11:3-7

Have you had those days when you feel like everyone's out to get you? Those days when it seems like evil triumphs, the good guys are taking all the hits and you can't find the sunshine among the clouds? We all have. No matter what path you walk down, or career you chose, the friends you surround yourself with or the life you lead. everyone has days like this. Everyone. So what do you do? Where do you turn? How do you deal with the crushing defeats and the fear that evil will triumph?

You confront every lie with the truth. Every time.

Psalms 11:3-7

"The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do? But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face."

Can you relate? To that feeling of the foundations of law and order have collapsed? I think we've all been there. What I love about the psalms though is that they don't allow us to stay in that pit of despair. They bring us back to the truth. The Lord is in his holy Temple. That's just as true today as it was thousands of years ago when these words were first penned. And it will be true for all of time. 

I love that it brings us back around to the fact that God doesn't only judge the wicked. Although the remember that He's always watching us makes me squirm in my seat when I think about my own sins, it also brings about a great sense of peace. The Lord isn't some distant judge who's so busy judging evil that He doesn't have time to watch over His children. And He isn't a naïve Father who just sees the good His children are doing and refuses to see the bad stuff. He sees it all and He does something about it! He judges the wicked and rains down blazing coals and burning sulfur, punishing them with scorching winds because of His love for justice and for the righteous. That's a pretty amazing thing when you think about it. How much He loves His people. How much He loves justice.

So on those days when things seem really dark, remember that there's someone who has perfect night vision to see in that darkness and He is able to take care of everything. 

Kiddos

This morning my grandpa asked me if he should check my blog to read my latest post. I told him that I hadn't had a chance to write it yet so I asked him what I should write about.

He suggested Psalms 11:4 "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone earth; his eyes examine them."

I love this verse and I want to talk about it but something else is distracting me this morning. Every year my family celebrates Christmas in January or February when we can all get together. It started way back when, my siblings were working in service industries and couldn't get time off around the holidays. As time went on they got married and by celebrating Christmas late we could guarantee to give people enough time to rearrange schedules with multiple families and get time off from work.

Normally we rent a place where we can all gather for a weekend. We chip in on meals and bring gifts to exchange. We get to spend time hanging out, catching up, tormenting each other and being woken up by siblings with dart guns. (That only happened once, brothers #1 and #3 decided brother #2 had been sleeping too long. I got the whole thing on video. It never fails to make me laugh.)

This year, COVID. (And isn't it strange that can be a complete sentence these days?) So instead of going somewhere those who can get together gathered at my parents house. Including the two nieces and the nephew. The older they get the more they crack me up. 

Michael (4 years old) says:

gggggggg

lgg hhhbh h hbb           bh                        ub

gggggg

The verse line is apparently translated: "I am checking a present". I have no idea what the rest supposedly says, he wouldn't tell me.

Addy (6 years old) says:

djdmssssksjjjdkkjjhdyduu

Translation: "Nothing but I say no tonight." I'm wondering if that means she's not planning on sleeping tonight? Have fun with that Mom and Dad! I'm grateful I live close enough to go to my own house!

She also typed her own name: addison

Ella (9 years old in a few days) says: 

I likepups

Translation: "I like puppies." She was a lot more shy about this because she wasn't sure what to day. I told her that was okay, it's part of being a writer. I never know what to say but I write a post each week. I tired to explain the job of an editor is to make our words make sense. Since her grandma is my editor this seemed like a logical explanation to me but she wouldn't go for it.

Another fun thing they did this weekend was when I showed up they were so excited to show me their paper airplanes. They kept telling me that Grandad had made them paper airplanes. It turns out their dad had made about 13 and their grandad had made about 2. That's okay though, all the kids could talk about was what their grandad had made for them. Dad's apparently not important when granddad is around. That's kids though.

Maybe next week we'll get a chance to look at Grandpa's devotions in Psalms. This week I'm going to go enjoy some time with these awesome kiddos. Have a great weekend!

Going Back to Church

Hello and happy Saturday! If you've been following this blog at all in the last year you know that between COVID shutdown and some difficult circumstances I haven't been attending church in person for some time.  Well with a new year I knew that needed to change. So it was time to head back into the house of the Lord.

As we all know houses of the Lord here on earth are filled with His people. And they're wonderful people that make up the church. I know we're all grateful for fellowship with other saints but we also know that saints here on Earth are not completely sanctified. We all still have some work to do! Because of that going back to church after a long absence can be a little nerve wracking. So I've decided to write a list of simple things you can do to make this easier.

1. Check when the service starts- Last week I went to a church that I'd visited recently. I was sure and certain that the service started at 10:30am. I planned out what time to set my alarm, made sure I had time to get coffee and made it fifteen minutes early. I was quite proud of myself. Until I walked inside and found a packed full sanctuary and a congregation that was almost through singing. Yep, turns out service starts at 10am. That was embarrassing.

2. Bring a friend- Whenever you go to a church there's always people who are very friendly and outgoing. They want to talk to you and welcome you and if they can get you to open up you'll soon be telling them your whole life story. If you're like me and you have a hard time opening up then this is a bit terrifying. So, you bring a friend, this accomplishes two things. One, you can talk to each other and some people are dissuaded from talking to you at all. Or two, people still talk to you but now they need to take twice as long to talk to both of you and there's not time for you to share everything before the service starts.

3. Have something in hand to drink- Whether it's coffee, tea or water, having something in your hands is a great tool. It gives you something to do with your hands. Sipping your drink keeps you from having to answer awkward questions like, "Are you married, I don't see a ring?" from the sweet, older grandmas in the congregation or, "Are you in college?" because people think you look ten years younger then you are.

4. Take a Bible and a notebook- Not only do you look more "holy" when you're taking notes and using a real Bible instead of your phone but also it gives you something else to do with your hands. People will avoid talking to you too much or for too long if you're busy with your hands.

5. Get there early but not too early- This way you can find a seat and not be scrambling. You can choose to sit in the back and not get stuck with those crazies up front *cough my parents cough*. If you come in late you have to talk to people to ask to sit with them. However, if you show up too early then you get stuck with all the staff members and set up crew who feel the need to be extra friendly and outgoing. So plan your time carefully.

All right, so yes it's more then a little satirical but I hope you got a laugh at it!

Happy Saturday and I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Write to you all next week!

Pushing Through

Hey friends! It feels like it's been so much longer then a month since I last posted but, as promised, I'm back now that we're in February. My month off didn't go according to plan but then again, how often do these things actually work out the way we expect them too?

My original plan had been to write a bunch of posts and have them ready to go. Instead this is the first time that I've logged on.

I also planned to spend some time just relaxing and dealing with other things in my life. I've been battling severe migraines that occur almost daily for going on six weeks now. That has taken up a lot more time then I expected. It's meant that there are times I can't go to work because I can't even get out of bed or off the couch. Once I do I can't always drive. There's been other times that I make it to work but have to keep the lights shut off and can barely make it through the day. By the time I come home I take a rest before I can even make dinner,

I had hoped to get things around home done, like rearranging my room and perhaps even finish decorating. (After living here for almost two years it seems like it's time.) That it was one of the many projects that's still on the to-do list.

Plans to visit with my godkids got cancelled because of more COVID restrictions. Thankfully we've gotten pretty good at utilizing video chat and weekly phone calls.

I did manage to write some letters to my brother well he was at boot camp, although not as many as I would've liked. Still, he has now graduated and has his phone back so we can talk to him again!

One other plan that did happen was to finish at least a rough draft of book #2 for the Yagos series. Although I'm behind where I had hoped to be at this stage I'm pleased to announce that things seem to be coming along for the next book. More to come on that front so stay tuned!

It's been a weird month. I've had a lot of ups and downs. Dealing with the migraines has been frustrating and painful. Dizziness and nausea are a frequent companion these days that make life really tough some days. Not having answers about what's causing them is hard. God is good though, all the time and I've been extremely blessed as people have come out of the woodwork to help support me and offer their prayers. I'm so grateful for them and I'm trusting the Lord with this situation. 

Over that last month I've learned a tough lesson. One I've known for a long time but more recently have had to put into action. Sometimes when things get tough you just have to push through. That's the stage I'm in, learning to push through but understanding the limitations. Taking time to rest is what gives you the energy to keep pushing. Taking help and support from others gives you the encouragement. And relying on the Lord is the only thing that ever gets you to the finish line. 

So here's to pushing through! And next week I'll try to write something more cheerful! Until then, happy 2021 friends and thanks for joining me on this continuing journey as we discover God's graciousness despite my frequent stumbles.