Memorial for Josh

MEMORIAL

We were so blessed to become part of my son-in-laws wonderful family. Since we moved to Texas, we have spent so many holidays at his sister Liz's home. Family gatherings there were always filled with so much laughter and fun. I will always treasure the memories we all made together. In June of 2008, Esther, my friend and the other grandmother of my 3 grandchildren went home to glory. Leaving her threes children, her husband, her six grandchildren, her siblings and many friends in shock. Thanksgiving and Christmas has never been the same.
April 23rd tragedy struck again and took the life of Liz's teenage son Josh. There are just no words to express how much I ache for her in this time of loss. He was such a sweet, sweet boy, a life so full of promise. He is with Jesus, and his grandmother was there to welcome him home to heaven. They are smiling and know nothing of the tears and sorrow we endure here, but this too shall pass. Hebrews 10:37 ...Yet a little while and we too shall all know the joys off heaven. If we have believed in John 3:16..." For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

 TO JOSH FROM LIZ

My first born baby, my first miracle of birth,

I hope you knew just how much you were truly worth.

You were so cute and cuddly it seems like yesterday,

How fast my little baby grew, the time just slipped away.

You had such a handsome smile, so very wise,

With those beautiful big brown eyes.

We miss you more than you can ever guess,

And time won't make it hurt any the less.

There is a hole in my heart that can never be filled again,

I've known heartache, but none like this pain.

I know you are in heaven where all is peace and joy,

But oh how we all miss you here, our precious precious boy.

The following is one of my all time favorite poems, I've read it to my grandchildren as a life lesson that nothing stays the same.

This Too Shall Pass Away

by Theodre Tilton 

Once in Persia reigned a King,
Who upon his signet ring
Graved a maxim true and wise,
Which, if held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance,
Fit for every change and chance.
Solemn words, and these are they;
"Even this shall pass away."

Trains of camels through the sand
Brought him gems from Samarcand;
Fleets of galleys through the seas
Brought him pearls to match with these;
But he counted not his gain,
Treasures of mine or main;
"What is wealth?" the king would say;
"Even this shall pass away."

Mid the revels of his court,
At the zenith of his sport,
When the palms of all his guests,
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine;
Cried, 'O loving friends of mine;
Pleasures come, but not to stay;
"Even this shall pass away"

Lady, fairest ever seen,
Was the bride he crowned his queen.
Pillowed on his marriage bed,
Softly to his soul he said:
Though no bridegroom ever passed;
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh must come to clay-
"Even this shall pass away"

Fighting on a furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield;
Soldiers, with a loud lament,
Bore him bleeding to his tent.
Groaning from his tortured side,
"Pain is hard to bear," he cried;
"But with patience, day by day,
Even this shall pass away.

Towering in the public square,
Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose his statue carved in stone.
Then the king, disguised, unknown,
Stood before his sculptured name,
Musing meekly: "What is fame?"
Fame is but a slow decay;

Even this shall pass away.

Struck with palsy, sore and old,
Waiting at the Gates of Gold,
Said he with his dying breath,
"Life is done, but what is death?"
Then, in answer to the king,
Fell a sun beam on his ring,
"Even this shall pass away."

Belly Aching

 Since Easter I have been ill with a stomach bug and have not been able to leave the house. Today makes a week of this torment. I am getting my appetite back and Butch says I am starting to nag him again, so he thinks I may be on the road to recovery. I have felt a little better today, I'm hoping for a little better tomorrow, I've got so much work to catch up with. I was so sick I had to miss Josh's Memorial service and I hated that.

HE IS RISEN

Long, long ago; me the chubby one on the left, my sweet Aunt Kathrine  in her pink prom dress and my sister Stella on the right, both of us in our matching blue organdy lace Easter dresses wearing our white patent leather shoes. This was taken at my Grandma Wright's house back in the 50's. We had to dress and pose for this picture, be still and not blink waiting for the bright flash to blind us. Picture taking has changed a lot since then.

 I remember the bright floral curtains and I can almost smell the Old English Furniture Polish. A speck of dust never found time to dwell at her house.

Little Girls and Lace

Long ago Easter meant getting a pretty new dress from the Sears Catalogue. My earliest memory, other than chocolate rabbits and Easter baskets filled with divine goodies was sitting down with the catalogue to pick out our Easter dresses. It was the only time of the year that we ever got a frilly dress. Usually our clothes were made from cotton flour sacks. Mama always bought flour in 25 pound sacks. I remember we ate a lot of biscuits and gravy, or sometimes biscuits and syrup but what ever the meal there were biscuits and or corn bread. Those old flour sacks were pretty, just like the material you buy now days. Some of the very old quilts are made with these flour sack cotton prints. As we grew, it would take two sacks to make a dress, or even three, depending on how flared the skirt, so we had to save up sacks. My favorite, I remember to this day was a green plaid with a flared skirt that mama trimmed in rickrack.

Getting anything from the catalog was fun but the Easter dress was really special. I remember sitting for hours, turning pages and day-dreaming of owning the clothes in that book. All the pretty spring dresses of pastel colors made it hard to choose. In the end mama always did the choosing. One thing was for sure it would be made of organdy and have ruffles and lace. Back then little girls were all about ribbons, ruffles and bows. Things sure have changed a lot and it is something we seldom see now days. We always got white patent leather shoes, white lace trimmed socks and sometimes, white lace gloves. That was about as close as you could come to feeling like a real princess.

The day before Easter we went to “Bannie’s” house; that is what we called Grandma Wright, our mother’s mother. Dyeing Easter eggs was something everyone did, children and grown-ups. There would be dozens and dozens and dozens, everyone squealing with pleasure and exclaiming, “Oh look at this one!” I don’t know what Bannie used for dye but the egg colors were brilliant. For supper we ate the cracked eggs and there was always plenty.

Early Easter morning my Aunt Kathrine (Kat) and Uncle Melvin would hide all the eggs in the big pasture behind the house. After church we all gathered there for a big dinner with lots of delicious food. We kids were too excited to eat and already full of candy. We were ready to go to the big pasture; there were treasures to be found, Easter eggs were hidden over what would be at least two football fields in size. Oh to have a smidgeon of the energy that I had back then. “Youth is wasted on the young”. (I truly know what that means now!) The grown-ups were out there too having just as much fun as we were. We hunted until dark, but we never found all the eggs, we hunted for weeks after Easter, up into the summer. Of course the eggs were rotten by now but what a thrill to yell, “I found one”, long after Easter and then toss it far into the woods.

Though these things make for beautiful memories that spring forth to an old woman's heart as if it were yesterday, it's not all about little girls and lace, nor is it about chocolate rabbits and baskets full of candy and pretty colored eggs. All these things make fond memories but do not even begin to compare to the message that He is risen.

HE IS RISEN

By: Lillian Carol Russell

Think of how our Savior died,

A shameful death and stripped of pride.


He carried the cross that was His own,

Until He stumbled, His strength all gone.


They scorned Him and cursed Him and someone said,

A crown should be placed upon His head.


It was fashioned of thorns, sharp to prick the skin,

And the blood flowed down His face where they stuck in.


They placed spikes through His feet then drove them through each hand,

His body nailed firm, the cross was raised on Golgotha’s Hill to stand.


My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken me He cried,

Then taking with Him all our sin, He gave up the Spirit and died.


He hung on that cross, rejected and alone,

Taking with Him every sin, but none that were His own.


To the tomb they went to anoint Him early in the day,

They found that he had risen, the stone was rolled away.


Praise God for Jesus who rose again,

Defeated sin and death and with the Father now does reign.


Praise God for saving grace,

For Jesus who died for sin in my place.



John, 11. 25 …I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

BORN INTO HEAVEN

BORN INTO HEAVEN

IN MEMORY OF DANIEL & CHLOE

On March 26^th 2011 my little twin 3^rd cousins Daniel & Chloe were born directly into heaven. They started out as triplets but one was lost early on. We were so excited about the twins, anticipating their arrival but they came too early and God called them right on into heaven. I know Aunt Virgie & Uncle Shelton were so excited to greet them when they got there. Robert and Amy my heart just aches for your loss.

Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

THE GIFT OF SPRING

By: Lillian Carol Russell


Winter came and spoke with a chill,

Covering the land with an icy kill.


Nights are still cool; days are getting warmer,

Spring is upon us and she’s a real charmer.


Daffodils burst forth in their golden glory,

Birds are singing their new love story.


Tender new leaves adorn aging trees,

The Lord in His wisdom gave us all of these.


These gifts that remind us that all is not lost.

Because of a savior who went to the cross.


He died there, our savior our king,

He defeated death and rose again just like spring.


So let spring remind us that eternal life is ours,

A gift from God through His almighty powers.

So many of the fruiting trees in town are snow white with blooms, they look so beautiful, like brides adorned for their weddings.

                SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS

I'm changing the subject here a bit but my husband and I saw an amazing sight while driving to Amarillo just as dark had fallen. It was March 23rd, a large blueish-green flaming meteor with a long golden-orange tail streaked across the sky from West to East just as we approached the Canadian River. It lasted several seconds and we watched it disappear on the Eastern horizon. I was so glad we were at that spot at that time, it was our second large flaming meteorite to see, both since we moved to Texas. This one was smaller than the first but still very large and in living color, it was awesome! The first one was about five years ago just before daylight while driving on that same highway. It looked to be the size of a school bus, it was an orange ball of fire with a tail behind it. And no I have not been on board a UFO, we really did see meteors. We discovered that the blue green one was witnessed by people in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas and was caught on the camera of one Oklahoma weather station during a live broadcast.

Looking at the fire streaking through the sky I thought of the verse from Matthew 24 where it speaks about the last days and says nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and great earthquakes will be in many places, and famines, and fearful sights and great signs will be in heaven. Preachers are not preaching it, teachers are not teaching it. Just turn your television on, look at Japan. Read Isaiah chapter 19 and look at what is going on in Egypt, it will curl your hair.

As I watch the horrors unfold daily on TV, I believe we are living in the days of Second Timothy, chapter 3, where it says that in the last days there will be very difficult times, that people will love only themselves and their money, that they will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.

When I see what comes out of Hollywood and what our youth has to watch on TV, is it any wonder that things are not going well?

Ephesians 5:15-17 ...Be very careful then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

I am reminded of the child's song which we would all be wise to live by as adults:

O be careful little eyes what you see,

O be careful little eyes what you see,

There's a Father up above,

And He's looking down in love,

So be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear,

O be careful little ears what you hear,

There's a Father up above,

He's looking down in love ,

So be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little hands what you do,

O be careful little hands what you do,

There's a Father up above,

And He's looking down in love,

So be careful little hands what you do.

O be careful little feet where you go,

O be careful little feet where you go,

There's a Father up above,

And He's looking down in love,

So, be careful little feet where you go.

O be careful little mouth what you say,

O be careful little mouth what you say,

There's a Father up above,

And He's looking down in love,

So be careful little mouth what you say.

Our Father is looking down on us and knows everything we do and that which is secret here on earth is open shame in heaven.