Daddy's 84th Birthday

Today Daddy would have celebrated 84 years. Since he is no longer with us, we figured we'd celebrate anyway. Sarah invited us over for a full-blown dinner for lunch, complete with birthday cake. The kids insisted we sing and blow out a candle. They sang real loud so Grandpa could hear them in heaven.

In honor of this day, I thought I would share what my son, Josh, wrote for his grandfather's funeral:

Remembering Grandpa

The past week has seemed a bit surreal. Grandpa Jones is the first person close to me that I can remember to have passed away. It seems very odd knowing that his physical presence will not be around anymore. It is sad that he is no longer here. But, I am glad that he is no longer suffering and enduring life with a body that was failing him. Instead, he now is in the presence of His King and Lord. As I thought about him that Friday afternoon, I started singing the old hymn, "What a Day That Will Be."


Whenever I think back about being around Grandpa Jones, I am never saddened by the memories. I would like to share some of the things about Grandpa that were unique to him; things that he did before his body began to fail. I want to remember him the way my memories do; I want to remember the things that made Grandpa Grandpa...


I remember, when they lived up in Paradise, how he would always be up on the roof sweeping off the pine needles. There could not have been very many up there but, still, he went up and made sure that they never built up.


I remember many times taking vacations with him and Grandma in the old brownish orange Westfalia. We would drive for hours and he wouldn’t say a whole lot...he just drove. He got us to where we were going.

I remember how he always needed more oil...oil for the cars, for the lawn mower, or just to have some extra. Whenever Grandpa went to the store and he would disappear, you could bet that he would find us soon with a case of oil. That is just who he was.

I remember many nights as a child sleeping on the floor in his house when he would come home from work. His heavy footsteps notified all of us kids that Grandpa was home.


I remember how he always took care to maintain his responsibilities. Whether it was continually checking the oil in the cars, washing his vehicles, sweeping the pine needles, or going in to work everyday. He always made sure the paper goods were burned in a timely manner. Grandpa was a man...plain and simple.


You never had to prime Grandpa for the altar call, to come up for prayer. He was usually the first one to come up. And after he couldn’t get there anymore without difficulty his hand was the first one up. To those that didn’t know him, you may have thought that he must have major problems to always be coming up for prayer. He may have had things he dealt with but he knew that bringing them to Jesus would make the easier to bear.


It was his financial sowing into my life that made it possible for me to play the piano and, as a result, lead the church in worship. Without those many years of continued work I would not be gifted with the abilities I have today.


However, my best memories of Grandpa didn’t involve his chores or his quirky habits. You would often find him with his Bible or a book by Billy Graham. Never one of many words for men, he always had words for his God. I remember so many times walking by his room and seeing him knelt down in prayer. You could never make out the words but every so often he would cry out, “OH, JESUS!!” I can only imagine what he was praying about. The state of the world? Maybe. His grandkids? I am sure he brought our names before the King. And I would imagine that he prayed for Grandma and their marriage. But, I know, without a doubt, that most of the time he was praying for his own 4 children. His heart was always thinking about them. He wanted only the best that God had for each of them. And I have to believe that “the prayers of a righteous man avail much.”

What a Day That Will Be

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come

No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye

All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,

What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus:

What a day that will be

When my Jesus I shall see,

And I look upon His face,

The One who saved me by His grace;

When He takes me by the hand

And leads me through the Promised Land,

What a day, glorious day that will be.

There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,

No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;

And forever I will be with the One who died for me,

What a day, glorious day that will be.

And now, Grandpa, you get to be with your Master. No one could ever doubt that you loved your Jesus. You have received the reward for your faithfulness. You no longer have to fight with your natural body that afflicted you for so long. You are now, finally, made perfect in Him.


Grandpa, thank you for all you did for this family. Thank you for always working, for always giving to God first, for always praying for us, and for establishing a firm foundation in Jesus. You have left a legacy that cannot be taken away from you. What you did in quiet service to Jesus will be amplified through the lives you leave behind. I love you, Grandpa...see you soon.


Josh, Serena, and the kids
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Giving Thanks, Day Twenty-One

Dedicating Our Children to God

What a privilege!  Yesterday, Joel and Sarah-Kate dedicated their newest children to the Lord.  It is something that we take seriously and is not just a routine, ritual, or formality.  Joel and Sarah read vows to their children and Pastor/Papa blessed them.  Pastor/Papa charged their parents, their brothers, the godparents, the grandparents, and the congregation.  He gave Deonte and Rhema a little Bible and charged Joel with reading and teaching the Word to them. 

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." 

Psalm 127:3

Of course, we also had a great reception/celebration/party afterwards.  We are so thrilled to have Deonte and Rhema in our family! 

Giving Thanks, Day Twenty

School Thanksgiving Programs

I haven't been to one in a few years.  If this photographer had held the camera a bit more secure, she would have cute videos to bore you with share, too, but she doesn't think you want to see the camera zoom in and out of focus.  So much so that it would make you dizzy.  But, they did sing the cutest songs about obedience and gratefulness.  I'm sure most of you have been to such programs and so know just what you're missing.  :-)

Giving Thanks, Day Eight

Grace: 

A manifestation of favor;

favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.

Rhema (l., 2yo) was in time-out.  Sitting alone in the living room.  Saraa (r., 1yo) saw her all alone and climbed up to visit.  A little bit of child-like grace.

When we don't get what we deserve

That's a real good thing, a real good thing

When we get what we don't deserve

That's a real good thing, a real good thing

(Newsboys, Real Good Thing)

Are you like me?  In need of some grace from God?  Did you know it's free?  You don't have to earn it!  And you can't.  It's unmerited and freely given.  And even better than Saraa's grace, God's grace is not temporary or a delay.  It is forever!

Giving Thanks, Day Two

My father.



My father is 83 years old.  He has Parkinson's Disease and some form of dementia.  It is hard to watch him get worse daily.  But, we've been feeling that for some time and he's still hanging on.

My father was a strong man.  An athletic man.  A man who could swim across a river, ride a horse bareback, and pray and read the Bible for hours on end.  Now, he can barely walk across the room with his walker, wears a diaper, and pays very little attention to what goes on around him. 

This picture was taken ten months ago.  I was walking past his room and found him kneeling in prayer.  It wrenched my heart because I had not seen him in this position for a very long time.  I don't think I've seen him this way since.  But, at one time it was a regular occurence. 

I remember one time as a child when I had a raging fever that I woke up to see him sitting beside the bed reading the Word of God to me.  I remember whenever there was an altar call in church, he would be the first one to the altar.  It didn't matter what the call was for; he really wasn't responding to that.  He just took every opportunity to pray.  If the altars were open for prayer, he was going to be there. 

He lived a hard life.  He had many demons to fight -- both figuratively and in reality.  But, he fought through.  He was not the disciplinarian in our home, but he was our spiritual leader.  He worked hard and provided for our family.

All of his great-grandchildren have a relationship with him, albeit a bit of an odd one.  They love going into my parents' room.  They watch tv in there, do puzzles, read books, and just play.  (My mother has special drawers and cubbyholes that are just for them.)  However, they watch out for Grandpa.  If he starts to stand up, they all make a large wake for him to pass.  They always talk to him, but he doesn't usually talk back.  Just the other day, Israel (age 8) kept asking him to play a game with him.  Grandpa never answered.  But, Izzy asked him several times before giving up.  But, on bad days, Grandpa will yell at them.  "Get out of my way!"  They don't seem to mind.  It doesn't seem to phase them -- even the little ones.  They just get out of his way.  (Yelling is also a new thing.  He was always very mild-mannered.  Never raised his voice.  Or banged, hit, or threw things.  All new things.) 

Rhema, age 2, has been a bit of a problem for Grandpa.  She is rambunctious and head-strong.  She doesn't sit still.  She is always moving.  I think that causes him to be stressed.  So, we try to keep her out of his way.  You would think from outward appearances that he doesn't like her at all. 

Last Friday, when we went to court for the finalization of Rhema's and Deonte's adoption, Grandpa and Grandma went, too.  Grandma really wanted to go and since we all wanted to be there, too, there was no one to leave Grandpa with.  So, we loaded him up (wheelchair and all) and took him to court.  I wondered if he knew why we were there.

As we left the courtroom, he asked my mother, "Don't I need to sign anything?"  She said, "No, they've already done it."  "Oh, so they did it for me?"  "Yes."  He was happy.

You don't know how touching that was for me.  He did know a bit about what was happening.  And he was willing to sign papers for their adoption into our family!  Even little Rhema. 

After court, about twenty-two of us went to Hometown Buffet to celebrate.  Now, Grandpa hasn't been to a restaurant in a couple of years.  We weren't sure how it was going to be.  (He has a very hard time swallowing.  This limits what he can eat and it makes his eating not very appetizing for anyone else at the table.)  But, he ate a plateful of soft foods and even had ice cream for dessert.  I think he enjoyed every minute of his outing.  He came home and slept the rest of the day.

Days like the one pictured above and last Friday make me happy.  I see a bit of my father in the man who is still here and I thank God for the heritage He gave me through my father, a man who loves the Lord with His whole heart.

They are ours!!

At ten o'clock this morning, we all met at the courthouse for the most wonderful reason I've ever been in a courtroom.  The adoption of our two newest grandchildren is now final! 

With the judge

We have waited for over fourteen months for this day.  We have not been able to post any pictures of them online all this time.  So, we've been saving up!  You may now see an abundance of pictures of two of the cutest kids in the world!  (There being thirteen others, you understand.)

Deonte (age 3) and Rhema's (age 2) parents are Joel and Sarah-Kate.  Their brothers are Diego (age 4, almost 5) and Donovan (age 2).  Rhema is eleven days younger than Donovan.  Yes, Joel and Sarah have their hands full!

(l to r:  Deonte, Rhema, Diego, Donovan)

All fifteen grandchildren!

Our entire family!



Our hearts are full.