Dad's 88th Birthday

Today is Dad's 88th birthday. We are having a family get-together tonight for other reasons, just a coincidence, but I do think about him and how sweet it would be to have his smiling face sitting at the restaurant table with all of us. I miss my little boy.

We all still miss him very much, but today is a good day. The Lord is good. He made this day. His goodness fills this day, and His glory and good works are circling the world.....today. Jesus is Lord, and on the throne of heaven. He controls the visible and invisible universe. Why do I say "it is well with my soul"? Because I know who He is and where He is.

One Year Later: The Lord's Sufficiency

Today is the one year anniversary of Dad's departure and homegoing. I miss him. I always will. He was my Dad. He became my little boy along the way. He changed. I changed. And that's a good thing!

I've written many aspects of our journey with the Lord, His care, His Word, His promises, but I have to say that His sufficient, satisfying grace cannot be stressed enough and is the reason Dad and we, his children, finished this journey well. We are mortal creatures of the moment. He is the eternal, uncreated, unchanging, "I AM"! He is the One who does all things well! We don't know the details of what lies ahead next year, next month, next week, or tomorrow. We struggled to navigate our way through each moment's needs. We had no idea how long this season with Dad would be. Through it all, we succeeded at honoring our Dad, and he succeeded at receiving our love and care, because God graciously walked us through the valley of the shadow of death. By the way, did you notice the word "shadow"? It's not death for a believer. It's just a passing shadow. It cannot claim us eternally. The Lord knows our days, our seasons. He had our family situation well in His hands. He held us firmly. His plan was perfect. He did not fear. He did not waver. He did not sigh or wince at our doubts. He gave us the victory.

Amazing grace indeed!

Happy New Year 2019

It's another new year. Hard to believe. Our lives really are a vapor, as James wrote. We're here for a little while, and...<poof>....we're gone. Today is also the one year anniversary of Dad beginning the process of going home. On this day one year ago, it was a tough day because Dad was getting ready to leave. He was difficult to handle that day. He slept alot. He became immobile at the end of the day. It was confusing to me. It was different from every day I experienced with him for 4 years. I was concerned and nervous, but when I woke up the next morning, the Lord had calmed me. I knew what was happening. It was all so clear. Dad was tired. He was preparing to leave us. The Lord was preparing to receive him. The next seven days were an amazing blessing from God, and then Dad finished his course. It's already been one year. Doesn't feel that way. More like a month or two. The memories are so vivid, so fresh. But all's well. How? Because Jesus is Lord! He's doing just fine!

Happy New Year!