Church Signs

I enjoy reading Dr. Black and his recent post about "Who is Head of Your Church" echoed some conversations we have been having with family members. When on our trip in the mountains we were driving through a small (well not-so-small for the mountains but small compared to many places in the US) town with a "First Baptist Church" sign. It could have been "Main Street Methodist" or "First Presbyterian" but the point was so obvious - the size of letters of the church and the street address were less than half the size of the letters of the pastor's name (which ironically was a paste-on and not painted directly onto the wood :) - so much for permanence!). Anyway, we laughed at the sight but unfortunately it is often only an obvious outward expression of the truth. And then a few days after returning we were in a discussion with some extended family members about two churches we were members of in ages past. Both have suffered severely because of leaders (pastor in one and deacons in the other) who were totally unwilling to confront blatant grievous sin by leaders in their congregation. They called the church "their" church. They told people that they had been there for xxx years and had ancestors in the graveyard and had authority. Ohhh... how my heart aches to think of what they will have to answer to when the real head of the church returns. Beware - any church where you hear it referred to as anything, yes anything, other than Christ's church, be it "so-and-so's church" or "such-and-such denomination" or "the best music church" is a fair warning to watch out. Just a lesson hard learned by this family that we try to share with anyone who will listen. There are churches out there which try to honor Christ alone and above all things - but they are becoming rarer. Look for the signs. All of them. Literal and figurative. The best ones will be invisible except for the Cross, the glory of Christ, the love of neighbors and the humility of all leaders. Hard signs to put up, harder to see but well worth the looking.

Mother

So many of you have sent me such sweet emails about my parents anniversary - thank you! And in response to a few comments from those who knew them I wanted to post these pictures of my Mom on her birthday. First as a toddler with 2 of her brothers:



and then after her success battling polio (from age 14 - 20) she finished high school and became a licensed photographer:



and finally as a young woman engaged to marry my Dad:


Happy Birthday Mama!

Wedding Anniversary

Today is my parent's anniversary. I must ashamedly admit that there have been a few years in my life when I forgot it. On their 40th anniversary my sister lovingly planned an Anniversary party for them which falls near the Family Reunion each year (my parents married on my Mom's parents' anniversary which is when we have the reunion). They thought everyone was coming for the Reunion but didn't know that it was also an Anniversary Party. It was such a beautiful time that day (thanks for all your hard work Joye!). Little did we know that it would be their last anniversary together. Less than 3 months after the anniversary party I gave birth to my parent's first granddaughter. They were so thrilled to see her and hold her. But 4 months later my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and 3 months after that she passed away. She was so excited to know she had another grandchild on the way (my niece) and little did she know that she would have a total of 7 grandchildren live to know about her and hear stories about her. Today would have been my parents' 59th Anniversary and tomorrow would have been my Mom's 92nd Birthday. Love and miss you both very much ---

Handy hands....

Like crafts? Here are some of my friends' craft sites:
Jewelry - from Lindsey

Crochet - from Lea

These are some talented ladies!!

Family Reunion

We just got back from a quick trip to the mountains for my family reunion. In typical fashion, I had planned out our route and activities (with a list :) !) but when we arrived at our first destination Thursday morning they told us they were closed (contrary to their website information) until the following day. No problem. We would just "reverse" our activities and do Friday's stuff on Thursday - Plan B. We went on over to Oconaluftee Village and enjoyed the heritage and history. [OT: Over the weekend I found out that I have Cherokee ancestry on both sides of my family, although I had known for years that I had it on one side. As you can imagine, many families in the mountains had Cherokee blood that didn't talk much about it because many of the marriages happened in the early and mid-1800s when the Cherokee were being forced onto the "Trail of Tears".] So after a day of enjoying Cherokee, we checked into our hotel and looked forward to the fun rides the next day (we had planned to take the little ones to the newly re-opened Ghost Town). Friday dawned cooler and .... wet, very, very wet! For the first time in weeks the mountains were getting rain which they needed but now I needed to go to "Plan C" (which was nonexistent!). We drove across a few mountains, stopped and got some great local produce including the absolute best muscadine grapes EVER (we've saved the seeds in hopes of growing them - anybody know if they need to be stratified or any particular soil needs for them?? I need advice!). As we drove into Bryson City my 5yo said "I thought we were going to a city. Where's the city?". Big laugh from all of us (along with a little sigh from me as I realized how little my own children know about the area where I grew up)! Since it was Railfest Weekend (unbeknowdest to me earlier but now designated as "Plan C"!) we arrived just in time to take a special 30-minute train ride
and then the kids had a blast doing a scavenger hunt in the Train Museum. The rain almost stopped during the train ride and started back heavy while we were inside the museum so who could complain?! After eating at "Na-Ber's Drive-In" (I am NOT making that up!!), stopping to take a picture of the crushed cars used to reinforce the bank of the Tuckaseegee River (gotta be there), and double-checking our map, we moseyed on down the road past Sylva, driving by it's "almost famous hillside courthouse",
past Western Carolina University (my sister's alma mater which has grown a lot since I was last there!),
and Lake Glenville where I have many, many memories of camping as a child, we arrived near Cashiers. Since it was a little earlier than planned and the rain was only a "spit", we drove a few miles up Hwy 64 to two of my favorite waterfalls - Bridal Veil

and Dry Falls (where on this heavy rainfall day we did NOT stay dry walking behind the falls - which made it even more fun for the children!). Saturday was the reunion with lots of big hugs, shared memories, new babies, sadness at the loss of loved ones, great food, and my children's favorite - BINGO! A family tradition for sure! Unfortunately many cousins were sick or couldn't come and no one brought the horseshoes (the other family tradition) but a new one was started by my 8yo - Ring Around the Rosie for all ages! The oldest family member (my Uncle Bill - age 86) was in the circle with some of the youngest ones and I know my "Pop" would have been right there laughing and playing with them if he was still here. There's nothing so good as family and I pray that my children and cousins and generations to come will hear stories of their grandparents and great-grandparents who prayed for them long before they were even born. May that blessing never be forgotten or halted - that's the Master Plan.

Field TRIP!!!

What a blast we had today at Yates Mill Park. Our tour guide was a professor from NCSU and was so great answering the children's questions and getting them to think about life in earlier times. The mill was built in the 1740's and it is amazing to think about standing in a building that was used before our country was even formed. The wife of the original owner wrote about what a terrible time they had with bears, cougars and wild animals to the point of barely keeping their livestock alive. Amazing to think about as you stand there with cars whizzing past about 20 feet away and knowing 1 million people are now living within 50 miles of that spot! Anyway, enough history lesson - here's some pics!!

Remember Setpember 11th

September 11, 2001. My 8yo doesn't remember the day. My 5yo wasn't even born. But my oldest 3 children will live with that date burned into their memories and my youngest ones will hear about from us and from history books. For some of us our hearts burned with the same feeling as when we heard about JFK's assassination. For older Americans it rang like the words over the radio from FDR "a day that will live in infamy". Actions of a few who affected the lives of so many. Actions from misguided fanatics who had no real hope in life. Who did not value the lives of others. But actions from a few who love as strongly as those hated can change the world, too. It's just not as dramatic or advertised. It won't be on the front page. But those who love and live for others and spread the truth and the true hope have more impact than those planes. Impact for good. Impact for eternity. Today let's remember those who daily put their lives and livelihoods on the line to carry Hope to a hopeless world. To carry the message of Love to a world filled with hate. To carry the Light of the World into the darkness. To do what is right and good even when no one notices.