Thanksgiving in Florida

I'm presently in Florida, visiting 2 of our Granddaughters and their families - for Thanksgiving. I've been here all week.

Yesterday, we had a FABULOUS dinner, prepared by husband and wife, with all the Florida family here. I'm sure you did as well - enjoy a FABULOUS dinner, that is.
We had prayer, then turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, plain green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and several other types of food. I was full - including pumpkin pie. Then, we each mentioned some of the things we were thankful for - as I'm sure you did as well.

Olivia, a Third Grade student, and one of my great-granddaughters, suggested another way to express our thankfulness:

In the late afternoon, she had each of us write down three of the things we were thankful for, on small pieces of paper, putting our names on the back, then into the "bin". One by one, each of us selected one of the pieces of paper from the "bin", and read aloud the words written there - by someone else.

Among other things, I mentioned being thankful for my family, Jesus and memories of Grandma. Others mentioned Dad and Mom; school; children; family again; teachers; Grandpa; having a job; glad for not being a turkey; and others. I'm not trying to be all-inclusive in the list, but merely representative. The main thing is, since probably most of us don't express our thankfulness very often (speak for yourself, Mike) it's helpful to do so on Thanksgiving. NOT Turkey Day, by the way! It was good to hear what others wanted to be thankful for.

Speaking of Grandma, this was, of course, the first Thanksgiving that she was not presently here with us. We did have a picture of her on the wall beside the table. Though not physically here beside us, she never-the-less was present! She was mentioned several times, mostly remembering the things she would do. It seemed strange without her, but gradually, I'm getting used to not having her right here beside me. Though the "hole in my heart never goes away, gradually, over time, it gets smaller and smaller".

We went to Church Wednesday night, joining hundreds of others in remembering the broken body and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and being thankful. We took communion with these hundreds, more efficiently than many small churches, I think. We remembered that He GAVE his life for us, though at first glance, it appears it was taken away. Not so! He willingly "laid down His Life" for us!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I visited for the whole school day, the 3rd grade class of my great-granddaughter, and the 1st grade class of my great-grandson. What a difference in the style of the teaching, and the "deportment" of the children!

For the 3rd grade, I spent the day out in the hall, tutoring students in reading and math. When the teacher mentioned "math", I said "Whoa. Maybe I won't be able to do it." She said it was "basic".

With my background in radio and speech, you can imagine the suggestions I might have in the reading. Such as: dropping the voice and pausing after a period; pronouncing the words distinctly and correctly; asking if they knew what certain words meant; knowing the difference between "then" and "when"; (I hadn't thought about the possible confusion of these two words); etc. The teacher seemed to like the suggestions I made. I told her that I didn't bother to correct the pronunciation of the word "a". (The letter is pronounced "aaaay", the word, "uh".) She smiled.

In Math, I had 2 students at a time, doing "subtractions" of 20 different compound problems, then another session of "correcting" some earlier mistakes by other students, also in subtractions. I had to be very careful about suggesting how to borrow, and "take away". What was new to me, was that each student had a plastic bag full of little "chips" (like "Tiddledy winks" for you old-timers), that they would count out the LARGE number in "chips", then take away the amount of the SMALLER number, then count the difference. In my mind, I wondered if that really taught, and was helpful in the long run. But, the teacher has been doing this for a long time, and repetition does help, so, I'm sure it works. (Even then, sometimes they got the wrong number.) One problem I had with one group was that the student
on my left, kept getting ahead of the other one, but sometimes getting the wrong answer. I tried to keep them together, some times not too successfully. We DID break for lunch, and for recess (used to be my favorite subject).

On Wednesday, I visited the First Grade class of my great-grandson, Ethan. What a difference! I marvelled at the way these two teachers taught in a different way, for the two grades. In this class, I observed all day (including lunch and recess).

In this class, talking, walking, moving around and doing other things was the norm. No problem for the teacher. She was IN CONTROL. No temper or yelling or pushing for her. She spoke in a normal voice, and yet, she was heard above the "noise" (by the pupils, at least). When one of the pupils "acted up", or didn't do what was expected, she just took him/her by the hand, and led him or her to another part of the room and went about her teaching. One boy sat beside me for at least a half-hour. Neither he nor she said a cross word. Eventually, he was back where the others were.

There was a video monitor in the room, and the class joined all the other students in the school in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the monitor exhibited a clock, that indicated time for lunch and recess.

A couple times, the teacher had the pupils gather and sit down on the "rug". This was for rest, and also, for her to read a Thanksgiving story to them. They were told to "keep your hands in your lap!"; "sit up on your bottom"; etc. Occasionally, someone did NOT keep his hands in his lap, so, he was told to go to his desk and sit.

She had several "hand outs" that she had prepared, on which the pupils wrote and/or drew. And, then, each was given a book with a story, and "tear out sheet". She then read a sentence, then had them repeat after her. There were spaces on the "tear out sheet" for them to answer questions about the story.

Suddenly, she said something I didn't hear, and the pupils all lined up at the door. "LUNCH TIME". I got in line with the others, and filed outside to go to the lunch room. (Oh- I didn't mention that here in Florida, the schools are all on one floor, and they go outside to go from one area to the other.) Excellent food.

OH...I have to tell about recess!

Just as before lunch, the teacher mentioned a word, and they all lined up for recess. Fun time, right? Oh boy. They all asked me if I was going to do the "monkey bars". "Sure. Why not?" We walked what seemed to me a quarter mile, to the play area. The "monkey bars" included a movable bar just above my head, that, when held onto, the student was pushed back and forth until he/she either gave up, or fell to the sand. I helped the short ones reach the bar, and watched as they were pushed back and forth. Guess what! "Are you going to do it, Grandpa?", they all said. I grabbed the bar, lifted my feet off the sand, and away I went - being pushed by the first graders! Back and forth, back and forth. I finally dropped my feet down on the sand and "got off". (You'd think an 84 year old would know better!) From then on, I had to help each one get on, then be pushed back and forth. I thought sure my arms and shoulders would be sore the next day, but, miraculously, they weren't.

There were also two computers in that room that the pupils freely worked on - when not being assigned to something else by the teacher. And, one time they spent maybe a half-hour in the Library, where they "checked out" books for a week. I was VERY impressed with the "education" being taught - in several different ways.

I'm going back home on Monday, to another part of my family. I enjoy ALL of them.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15 PTL!

New Guinea For Sam

I have this Pharmacist friend whose name is Sam. I’ve known him for about a year, I guess. Actually, I met him right after we moved in with John and Tonya the end of September, 2007. I think Sam is maybe half my age, or less. I can’t ever tell. A REAL nice guy!

I don’t know exactly how it started, but Sam got interested in my Second World War experiences. I think somebody mentioned Army life or something, and it seems to me that Sam asked me if I was in World War II. I told him I was.

“Where?”, he said.

“New Guinea and Manila, principally”, I replied.

Before the next customer came up, he wanted to know if anything interesting had happened. I told him I wasn’t in a fighting zone, but rather farther back, installing and repairing Airplane radios. He was “wowed” by that, so the next time - and several times after that, he asked me to tell him something interesting that happened. I did some of that when I went into the Pharmacy, but some time later, Sam was transferred to a Pharmacy in a neighboring town, so I kinda lost track of him.

After John and Tonya got me started on this “blog thing”, I thought about Sam, and his interest in my experiences overseas. So, today I inquired as to where Sam was “stationed” now, and when I found out, I went there and “accosted” him. After caring for a few customers, he came over and gladly greeted me. I gave him my card that now has my “blog” site address on it, and told him he might find some interesting stuff there. Although I hadn’t yet posted any of my overseas experiences here, but, for his benefit, I was going to. (By the way, when I saw him today, and after talking about that possibility, he said, “I could sit and listen to you for hours.” ) Poor guy. Little does he know.

For Sam, and anyone else who is interested, this is the first of my “blogs” that mentions New Guinea, Manila, or other places I was stationed. Sam, I may have told you some of this already. Anyway, here goes:

When we left the USA, our ship sailed from Newport News, VA, and though we GI’s didn’t know ANYTHING, we were SURE we were going to Europe.

WRONG!

Before long, we headed south along the east coast, and ended up going through the Panama Canal. That meant the “Far East” probably. Fortunately, our ship went through the Canal during daylight hours, so we stood by the rail and “gawked”. It was the first time I had seen “locks” for water level control, and it was intriguing.

We were a month aboard ship, when we finally docked at Brisbane, Australia. “Better than New Gunea”, someone said. We took down our bunks (stacked 3 high in our area), and waited for orders to debark.

“897th Signal Company! Put your bunks back up, you’re leaving before the day is out.”

“Whoa! What about the nice people down on the wharf who were waving and throwing flowers at us?” No matter. We were going somewhere else!

Before long, we set sail again, much to our chagrin (I had never heard of that word then. I was only 19.) But, after some days (I don’t remember how many), we ended up in the harbor of some land, and “dropped anchor”. We thought “How will we get ashore while we’re ‘parked’ clear out here in the harbor”. The answer: “Ducks!” We looked ashore, and saw some funny looking trucks driving right into the water, headed our way. They WERE called “Ducks”. I’m sure there was a technical name better than that, but since it was 64 years ago, can you expect me to do better? Of course not! They traveled on land with wheels, but on water, they just floated - having a “screw”in back, of course.

It turned out that we went ashore at “Milne Bay, New Guinea”. The “Ducks” hauled us inland quite a ways to a place called, “Dobodura”. (How does he remember that stuff?) Before dark, we unloaded our tents, set up our cots, then dumped our 2 duffel bags in the corner, and went to sleep.

So, how was New Guinea? Well, it was hot and stuffy, as well as an interesting place that had not only Natives and GI‘s, but there was an Australian base there, providing “groceries” for us. Since we were not yet at our eventual base of operations, we had no radio work to do.

“Anybody here who has driven a truck?” I had FORGOTTEN the GI adage that you should NEVER volunteer, so I said, “I did - right after high school.” “Ok, you’re in the 'Motor Pool'". “Better than KP duty”, I thought. That gave me a couple experiences I wouldn’t have had if I were on KP - or even in the Radio Shop. These are the kinds of experiences that Sam likes.

One time I was driving a “weapons carrier” by myself at night, not really knowing where I was going, but had to pick up some supplies from Milne Bay. I didn’t know how to get there, but I was directed. On the way back to our camp that night, (dark as pitch. Good thing there were lights on the truck.) Suddenly, an air raid alert was given, and right away an Aussie yelled at me, “Turn off those ‘blankety-blank’ lights” I stopped and doused them. It was dark all around. Shortly, I heard a plane not far away, but I think the whole thing was a “false alarm”. I neither saw nor heard any bombs. No danger. “Some guy forgot to turn on his IFF!”, one of the Aussies said. (Identification, friend or foe). Though now, I REALLY didn’t know where camp was - in the dark. I didn’t know whether there was an “all clear” or not. So, “following my nose” in the moonlight, and turning where it seemed right, I did get back.

Another time,-----But, riggghhht therrrre, I see our space is gone, and we’ll have to stop until next time. You’ve been listening to………….” Sorry, I thought for a minute there that I was Miron Canaday presenting “Continued Story Reading" on WMBI.

What verse? How about, “….our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us…” Daniel 3:17 (I DID get home safely. PTL!)

Blabbermouth, Confession and Quotations

The other day, getting into the car after a doctor’s visit, I got listening to an ongoing conversation on a Christian radio call-in program that intrigued me.

There was this guy (with a voice like a radio announcer), describing the experience he had had with his “Debit Card” at the bank. It seems that he had changed banks, and unthinkingly used the “pin number” of the account at his PREVIOUS bank, while trying to transfer funds to his checking account in the NEW bank. (Pay attention here. It WILL make sense.) For those uninitiated, a “pin number” is a “personal identification number” that identifies the user as truly the owner of that account. (Don’t go to sleep now. I’ll tie it all in.)

The “upshot” of it is, when he couldn’t transfer his funds, he got so upset at the bank that he went in and gave them a “piece of his mind”, and really “fell off the wagon” so to speak. He lost his temper.

To “add insult to injury”, his check to his Mortgage Company “bounced”, and he heard bad messages - both from the bank AND the MC. (Am I going too fast?). I’m not sure that’s the whole story, but at this point, the guy was describing his actions, while laughing uproariously at himself for what he had done.

He was trying to say that he was so convicted by his actions, that he went back in and apologized to the bank employee for what he did and said, while trying to explain to the employee what a “klutz” he was (are you still awake?) The Bank guy wasn’t interested in HOW he had goofed, but that he HAD, and “he’d better not do it again”. I don’t know how that made him feel, except that he insisted on telling him HOW and WHY he had goofed. (Ad infinitum, I’m sure.)

The part that interests me is that he not only insisted on telling the bank employee the whole story, but continued telling US that story - embellished or not - while laughing so hard he could hardly speak. He couldn’t stop!

The moral of this story is that he got convicted by the Lord, and then went in and apologized, and now felt “peace with God” (not his words).

The program host was “taken” with the story, and encouraged other listeners to not only call-in with reactions to THIS story, but to share their own experiences as well. Good follow-up.

This is not an unusual experience of other Christians, I’m sure. And, it does have a “moral”. He sinned; he was convicted; and he confessed - not only to God, but to the bank employee. I just remembered: At the end of the conversation on the radio, the guy said: “I’m changing banks!” What? (I laughed out loud!)

This story is NOT why I’m sharing it with you “long-suffering” readers of my blog, but rather, when I heard all that I said outloud: “Hey. That’s me!” oops. “Hey. That’s I”. (You know - subject, predicate, the verb “to be”, and all that.) Not that I did exactly the same thing (I’ve done others), but rather that it took him so long to tell the story. Is that me (oh, I), or what?

This whole posting is illustrative of that story. Sometimes, I just can’t shut up! (As our call-in friend couldn’t.) If you’ve known me for some time, or even read some of these “blog postings”, you’ll agree with that, I’m sure. And, I STILL have a tendency to “embellish” what I’m saying, supposedly for effect.

Now: Wait until you hear this! (Follow me, now). When I left the Moody Bible Institute 43 years ago to take over Christian radio station WEEC in Springfield OH (my home area), the last interview I had there was with my long-time chess partner (at lunch) and friend, Robert J. Little. A better friend and mentor I have never had - before or since.

Before I packed up my stuff (including the Chess Board) and left, Mr. Little took me to lunch. Good. Then, he shared with me some observations about me that he had noticed in the last 11 years of our friendship, and made two or three suggestions. I don’t remember much about the other “suggestions”, but this one pops up regularly: (Are you ready for this?) He said, “You’ll be more effective, if you practice getting information into the minds of your hearers, rather than just trying to get something off your own mind.” Whoa!! I wrote that down, and have referred to it many times in the past several years.

Soooo…………., the obvious question is: “Why don’t you follow the advice, Mike?” I don’t know. I just seem to have to express myself - on many topics, regrettably. I TRY to be brief. But that, like me being unable to “slow down, Mike”, doesn’t seem to register. Having this blog is a testament to that. My only excuse is that John and Tonya suggested the blog, and I just naturally “fell in”. Naturally? You bet!

That reminds me: I remember another thing Mr. Little advised: “Be careful to notice the ‘speed’ of others, not just of yourself.” (I might as well get it all “off my chest”, so to speak. I still can’t remember the third thing. Actually, I hope I don’t! These two are bad enough!) In that vein, the secretary outside of my office at Moody used to say that when I came “running” out of the office, she just felt she needed to “hurry up and do something”.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9

OK. Confession time is over. That’s enough of that!

Home For A Week-End

Who said you can’t go home again? At 84? Oh yeah?

I just did, in a fashion - at least for a week-end.

Well…not REALLY home, I guess. Although it was home for my wife, 3 children and myself for 11 years - enjoyable ones too. We had 11 years of ministry - both at the Christian institution where I ministered, as well as the Church, Sunday School, Christian Education and Choir that some more of the family also participated in. And the friends we gained were outstanding! Our 3 children went to grade and high school there. They were in the Youth Group at the church. Home? Boy, it sure seemed like it at the time! But, out of the 65 years Jean and I were married, that span of 11 hardly seems to be really home.

But, this past week-end it was like “Old Home Week”, as they say. After 43 years of being away, to go back again and see some of those friends - most of whom I didn’t even recognize until they told me their names - sure seemed like home. And, I saw 3 grandchildren I hadn’t seen for awhile, and a great grandchild too. Home? Hmmm.

But, the last 43 years of our family life were spent elsewhere. Back to our original home area, actually. I got to minister to my home town (and others around it) for 34 years, actively - before I became “superannuated”. Didn’t know that was a word? I heard a man in the ministry say one time that he thought maybe he should retire, before he became (that word). It might mean:

1> worn out: used so much as to be able to offer no more useful service; or
2> out-of-date; no longer in fashion.

Actually, I did retire, almost exactly 10 years ago, just 5 months short of my 75th birthday. But, we lived near our original home for 42 years. That was home. Whether I retired because of being “worn out”, or “out-of-date” I’ll let others decide.

But, back to last week-end.

After Jean’s passing last month, I have a lot more time on my hands than previously. Sometimes I wonder what to do with myself. So, I look around and pray about what I might do - productively if possible.

Knowing part of our extended family now live in that place where we spent 11 years ministering, and remembering some of those friends from back then who were still there, I got the idea of visiting family there, and also attending the church where many of those former friends now attend. My family there encouraged me to not only come for the week-end, but to come a day early so as to visit my great grandchild’s day care school. (I'm retired, so why not?)

So, “to make a long story short”, (short? you say!), I informed John and Tonya (who really take care of me), that I was planning on taking the commuter train to the city for the week-end to visit family and friends. “Great idea”, they said.

First of all, I had a wonderful Saturday with many of my family, including a terrific evening meal at Olive Garden. That afternoon, as well as Sunday morning before and after church, I re-acquainted myself with some of our old friends from 43 years ago - only 3 of whom I recognized. (Does old age affect the sight? Or memory?) Actually, only two of them recognized me, and one of them had heard that I was coming. So..... Who else is old?

We shared memories, joys, tears, and sadness, since others, like Jean, had since left us for heaven with Jesus. Memories flooded. I got reacquainted with friends that I wouldn’t have known if they hadn’t identified themselves; but then, we talked about the past. What a joy!

I have to say this: Not a small number of those friends had come to Christ as a result of the Youth Pastor of the church we attended there nearly 50 years ago, who is NOW the Senior Pastor of THIS church - a lighthouse in the community, and a ministry to needy and hurting individuals in that area.

Home? It felt like it - yet with all the wonderful ministry occurring there in these years - I could only now OBSERVE it, and Praise the Lord for THEIR faithfulness!

Matt. 25:21 “Well done, thou good and faithful servant(s).”

Helpful or Hurtful?

I'm a little worried about this posting, but somehow, I feel as if I need to do it. It opens me up to criticism, I'm sure, though some might, hopefully, appreciate my position. I NEVER (until now) critique a minister's message, by "accosting" him after the service (until now).

A little background: Ten years ago, I finished 45 years of Ministry in operating, then directing, Christian Radio Ministries - broadcast, that is. My family and former associates will testify, I think, that I'm just fanatical about some things. One subject I am VERY fanatical about (along with "striving for excellence"), is my "lifelong" HOBBY of studying and listening to, grammar, and the use of words in speaking. Pronunciation. Diction. Using proper words to describe something. Not being repetitive.

One time YEARS ago, I found a little printed card that read: "Be sure mind is engaged before putting mouth in gear." Guess where I put THAT card! You're right. On a shelf in front of the on-air announcer's face.

When Jean was in the Nursing Home for a little over 5 months this past summer and fall, we couldn't always get out to church on Sundays. I sometimes could, by going to an 8AM service, then arriving at the Home around 9:30. But she could only go occasionally.

Thankfully, 3 or 4 different church groups hold services in the large dining room there - either on Saturday morning, or Sunday afternoon.

The one we attended the most often was on Saturday mornings. It was provided by a local church, with volunteers - both adult and youth - who regularly helped the "wheel chair" patients there, and encouraged others. The leader, whom I initially thought was the pastor, was actually a lay person, with a supervisory job in a factory during the week, I found out. This 50 to 60 year old man was gregarious, helpful, joyful and every other week, gave the message. On alternate weeks it was given by a young man whom I presume was a student at the church's college.

The first time I heard him (the adult) speak, he used the word "OK?" several times during the message. "So David picked up the rock. OK? Then he put it in his sling OK? He walked down to meet Goliath OK?" etc. Now I'm SURE that I was the only one sitting there who noticed that - including the volunteers. But, remember my background. The message was all right, I presume, but I was distracted by that "OK?" thing. I didn't know what he was trying to teach.

The next week, the student spoke, then following that, it was again my adult friend's turn. This time, knowing his "over use" of "OK" the last time, instead of listening to the meaning of the message, I counted the times he used "OK".

After the service, (while praying), I waited for him to come out of the room. When he did, I approached him, giving him my name and said that I had spent 45 years in the Christian Radio ministry, then said, "I noticed that in your message today, you used the word 'OK' 86 times". He said, "You counted?" I said that I did so because the last time I heard him, he used it several times, and it took away from the meaning of the message. He said, "Thank you for that! I tell my wife that she uses a certain phrase all the time, never realizing that I used 'OK' so much myself." We parted friends.

The following weeks when he spoke, we attended and listened. The first time, he may have said OK 2 or 3 times, but NEVER after that, for several weeks. As far as I know, he still doesn't say it.

I told him that I really appreciated his ministry and message, and that he was surely an open and teachable person, and I admired that.

We've been friends ever since.

Was that helpful? or hurtful? Did I do the right thing? Was I so "full of myself" that I had to set him straght? I'm not sure yet, though he seemed to appreciate it. His "appreciation", though, is certainly not any justification for what I might have done.

Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual (ouch), restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

I don't know whether I feel better or worse for sharing this on my blog. I only know I felt a "compulsion" to do so. Compulsion from whom? I'm not sure. I hope it was God.

"Brethren, pray for us!"

Church Signs

Today, I had to make a trip to another city 10 or 12 miles away, to see how to get to the doctor I must see next week. (Now that's not the subject of this posting, but later, if I get brave enough, I might share my NEED to do that sort of thing. Grin)

Back to my trip out of town.

I find church signs fascinating, and I guess I LOOK for something different on them. This time, after FINALLY finding the doctor's office and starting to return to my adopted town, I saw a church sign out front with an interesting statement: It read, "God is good. Good is normal. Expect good." What is meant by that? You can read into it anything you want, I guess. But, What? The implication, it seems to me, was that, of course, God is good; you can depend on good to be normal; so expect that "good" will always happen. In other words, "trust the good to happen", wherever it comes from.

Surely, I took that wrong, being the "slogan" of a church, but it hit me like a "ton of bricks." Surely they meant: "God is good; and God's good is normal; so, Trust God to make good happen."

But, that's not what I got out of it. Is that too "picky?" I suppose.

Since it's Armistice Day (Oh, excuse me. Showing my age!) , Veterans' Day, this church sign said: "Thank you Veterans". I like that, don't you? Last week, the same church's sign read: "It's never too late to make a new beginning." I like that one, too. One can trust Christ as late as the last minutes of his life. (BUT don't stretch it is my advice.)

Two more that I like: "Let's trust our leaders and trust Jesus Christ for our future." I might have made the emphasis on Jesus first, but it's still good, in my opinion.

Another: "Some see a hopeless end, and others an endless hope." Of all those church signs I saw today, I think this one, and the one about "a new beginning" are my favorites. Our hope in Christ is forever, and we can begin that life ANY TIME! There is never an end to God's Mercy and Grace.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

"Whosoever" means YOU, ME and EVERYONE.

Praise the Lord!

Jean and her Grandchildren

Anybody knowing me and my love and respect for my deceased wife, would expect me to post a blog about Jean Maddex. How better to do that than to relate her relaltionship to HER grand-children?

There are undoubtedly millions of grandmothers, as well as billions of grandchildren and great-grandchildren in our nation. All, it seems to me, have an unique relationship. I'm not so brash as to claim that Jean had the BEST relationship with her grandchildren of all time, but she's the one I know about, and hear about from our grandchildren. And, according to them, she was the BEST. As one of them said at her memorial service, "She was MY grandma!"

What did she do that endeared her so to them? Not unexpectedly, I'd have to say her LOVE for them, and she TOLD them so. She also demonstrated it to them. She DID things for them. She spent TIME with them - not the so-called "quality time" we hear about today that equates "quality" with actual minutes and hours. When we went to see them, or they to see us, she always "grabbed" them first - kissed them and hugged them. When they came, she cooked for them also, which makes me wonder WHEN she had time for that.

She played with them, and invented special non-traditional games or stories for them. Her stories were many times "made up" ones in her mind, although she sang or read MANY traditional kids' stories. Traditionally, teenage boys don't like to be seen by their peers with their parents, or grandparents. One of ours was like that. Although, when it came to Grandma's Story Time told to her granddaughter in bed, THIS teenage grandson slipped unnoticed (he thought) into the bedroom, and lay on the floor beside the bed - listening to HIS grandma!

If there were two "kids" who needed special seat belts or restraints in the car, she insisted that she sit BETWEEN them in the back seat, telling stories all the while.

One year, we hosted for a week, 5 of our grandchildren who were old enough to go to Kings Island. For the 6 days we DIDN'T go there, Grandma set up a mammoth chart for the "kids" that listed all of their daily chores (make bed; take bath; brush teeth; don't clutter; don't argue or fight; etc.) Each "transgression" resulted in 25cents taken off the promised $5.00 they were to receive at the end of the week. Boy, did that work! I won't report the end result, to save embarrassment, but it was a huge success. And, cost me almost $25.00.

Jean Maddex was THE grandma, as far as our grandchildren were concerned. And, in some ways, that feeling has passed down to the NEXT generation. As she lay dying, one of our younger ones cried, "But I didn't get to say good-bye!" He did though, and he got right up to her ear to tell her he loved her, just before she joined Jesus in Heaven.

In Proverbs 31:10-31, a virtuous woman is described. In verse 28, we read: "Her children arise up and call her blessed; (grandchildren also) and her husband also, and he praiseth her."

That's what I'm doing, and what this post is all about!

Virtuous woman? That was Jean Maddex!

Praise the Lord!

Sixes and Sevens

Does this title make any sense to you? "Sixes and Sevens"? Maybe those from our little town of Mechanicsburg are the only ones that use it. If so, and you're not FROM "The Burg", you may not know what I mean.

You know.......you lose your job; a loved one passes away; somebody unjustly criticizes you; you get the flu; you're on a new job that you haven't learned yet. You're at "sixes and sevens". Nothing makes sense; you feel like staying in bed in the AM (might just be laziness, not "sixes and sevens"); you just feel like getting in the car and taking a "nothing" ride. You're at "sixes and sevens".

I mentioned in my first blog that I had lost my wife after 65 wonderful years together as man and wife (Dad and Mom; Grandpa and Grandma; Great- etc.) After that amount of time, the two of you think alike; finish each other's sentences; etc. You turn around and think she's right there in her chair. You might even say, "Do you remember..........", then realize. Oh...Sixes and sevens. Oh, I KNOW she's in a much better place than I (no offense John and Tonya), but she's not here. She's with the Lord, and who knows how much happiness she has now that was impossible for her with me.

Things just don't seem right. They're at "sixes and sevens". Some say, "You'll get over it".

Not so fast.

You do......... but not right away.

Well, what should a believer in Christ, such as I am, do about this? I should REST in Christ, I should accept the wonderful GRACE that I have already experienced from God, and move on.

I often quote a minister friend who told Jean and Me when our daughter of 47 years died in 2001: "You now have a hole in your heart. It will never go away, but over time, it will get smaller and smaller." You know, we found that to be true.

"God will not suffer you to be tested above what you are able, but will, with the testing, also provide a way of escape" (Loosely translated from I Cor. 10:13.)

PTL!

Excellence

An engineer who reported to me years ago, bristled at my insistence that we do things right the first time, because it saves time and money, not having to do it over again. We wanted excellence at our radio station. I wish I could remember the author of the book I read titled: "Excellence Doesn't Cost, It Pays". (I can ALMOST remember the name.)

The engineer wasn't opposed to doing things right, I think, but my insisting on it, "bugged" him. It bothered him so much, that he requested a face-to-face meeting in our basement to discuss it. After talking about it for awhile, the next thing he said floored me: "But Mike, are you human?" (I'm thinking, "What? Human? What does that have to do with it? Of COURSE I'm human......I think.) I gathered from that statement that HE felt I thought I was PERFECT - thereby NOT being human.

Actually, I was neither perfect, nor "un-human". I just thought we should TRY to do things right the first time. There are other humans that do this all the time. I think I convinced him that he didn't have to be perfect, but that he should strive for excellence.

Why bring this up now? Well, Blush, blush. Look at the box on this blog entitled "About Me". See anything "un-perfect" there? I didn't for a long time. Me, that has ALWAYS insisted that those reporting to me should check their work. Blush, blush. Another engineer formerly reporting to me just sent an e-mail telling me that the word "Station" was misspelled in that box. What? Me make a mistake? I say, "You mean it's NOT spelled 'Statiion'?" He said he wanted to "sharpen my iron". So, as a reminder to me, I'm NOT going to edit that. (11/23/08 I've since edited it, after this blog was "archived.") Thanks, Ken. (Ya wanta keep yer thoughts to yerself, Buddy?) Just kidding!

Romans 12:3 ........"not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think soberly."

Whew!

Football

Forgive me for this second post being only 4 hours after the first. I AM just learning. I've had 2 comments already (can't brag. Grandchildren).

Football. I went to the local high school game tonight, but only stayed for the first half (It got too cold for an old man).

I just wanted to comment on what I see so often. "Fair weather fans". Know what I mean? We support our team a lot when it does well, but when not (Why did the coach call that play?) (Can't the quarterback THROW the ball?) (The halfback carries the ball too low.)

"Fair weather fans?" What about support? Or, give them a chance? Why not encourage?

We used to call these guys "Downtown quarterbacks". My problem is, "I do it too!"

I'm ashamed.

People REALLY need encouragement. We forget that the Coach now realizes that it was the wrong play. Let's give him a chance! We don't have to lie if we think he did wrong. Let's tell him - and the team that we appreciate the hard work and effort.

Could I do better as a coach or player? I'd guess not.

"Let each esteem other better than themselves." Phil. 2:3.

Oh.....we lost 14-7. I knew it!

Shame!