May 2008

In church yesterday I shed a few tears, which is easy to do these days. We sang this song by Maranatha Singers, which a friend told me later is her favorite song. It is comforting, isn’t it?

And I’ve been thinking, sometimes it’s hard to trust God with things we cannot see, with a future that seems so uncertain. We did not pick the day of our birth, and we cannot know the day of our death or anything that happens good or bad in between. But the Psalms are filled with verses that extol God for the way He rescues the righteous and cares for the downtrodden and needy. David said he had never seen the seed of the righteous begging bread.

I’ve watched God care for our needs over the years, always providing for us even before we knew we needed His help. My parents are a living testimony to the way God has provided when finances were tight and the future looked bleak. God is always faithful, even when we are not.

Which is why I am able to trust Him so completely now, when we are again faced with some tough situations that only He can handle, only He can deal with and provide. In my humanness, I sometimes try to tell Him how I think things should be handled, what I want Him to do, but this time, there is nothing I can do apart from Him. And so I will wait on His goodness, expecting Him to keep His promises not to forsake those who trust in Him. I need him for myself and for my family, for my daddy, who needs Him most of all right now.

But this is truth – God knows our name, and in fact, for those who trust Him, our names are inscribed on the palms of His hands. How much closer can we get? He loves me, and He will hear me when I call as He hears anyone who comes to Him in truth.

“Jesus said unto him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

Jesus is the truth, and I will trust in Him.

Happy Memorial Day~

It’s a beautiful Saturday – perfect Spring weather and a perfect evening meal with my guys – the hamburgers turned out great! (I got compliments!) :) I have discovered that fresh hamburger, hand pressed, and seasoned either with A-1 in the meat or as one son prefers, McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning on the meat, then grilled to perfect done-ness makes the best hamburgers. I fried up some onions and mushrooms, add some Ranch dressing and swiss cheese – yum!

Spent the afternoon visiting my dad at the nursing home. My sister came into town to see him as well. He’s got pneumonia now, and I really don’t understand why he is still having so much pain – perceived or real, we don’t know, but he barely moves his bad leg. We managed to take him outside to enjoy the sunshine, and earlier I read him a couple of Psalms. I don’t think the other guy in his room liked me reading the Bible, but that’s an assumption. His alarm went off twice – he was trying to get out of his chair. Maybe he was trying to escape my voice. Later in the hallway I passed him. I took a sip of water from a bottle of Aquafina I carry with me. He told me not to drink on the job! I told him OK. He wouldn’t have understood if I told him I didn’t work there or that I was drinking water!

Randy and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie yesterday, then went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. My thoughts on the movie? I love the first three movies, especially Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. This one is fun in many ways, but honestly, I was also disappointed. It felt like a combination of three movies (THIS MAY BE A SPOILER FOR SOME) – The Mummy, E.T., and the Indiana Jones movies, take your pick – using Indy’s typical plot points. It was predictable and one of the bad guys was not well developed (poor motivation), but it was still a fun movie in many respects. For new movies this season, I thought Iron Man was much better.

While I was waiting for the movie to start, I was mulling over some characters in Abigail, praying about how to improve characterization and motives. I am happy to report that an idea came to me that was not contrived and fits well with the story. I’ll have to go back to add some things earlier on, but I’m liking the idea more and more. Speaking of which – I’m itching to get some writing done tonight, so I best get going.

May you all have a blessed Memorial Weekend!

Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife MaryBeth, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway.

For more information click here.

Please pray for the family.

Well, as usually happens, my guess was wrong. But I am not at all disappointed. I thought David Archuleta would win last night and would have been pleased if he had. But I am truly glad David Cook took the title of American Idol. He takes more risks as an artist, and there is a sense about him that is appealing – not to mention he’s got great vocals. I think his story of how he came to be on Idol touched me most – he wasn’t seeking fame or fortune. And he seems like a nice guy.

Simon’s apology was appropriate. I like Simon – I think he gets it right much of the time, but there are times I totally disagree with him. This was one of them and as the results showed, I wasn’t alone.

The only problem with TiVo is that it doesn’t know to keep recording a live program unless you tell it to go over the alloted time. Unfortunately, and we’d been saying this for months, we should have reset ours to go over the 2 hour time limit. As it was, Ryan Seacrest didn’t announce the winner until the very end, so we heard “And the winner of the 2008 American Idol is…David…Cook.” Then it cut off.

So today I saw the recap on American Idol’s website and got to hear David sing his last song, but I missed some of the ending I wanted to see. I mean honestly, viewers don’t care about all the performers leading up to the announcement, so don’t run the show so long that it goes over the live time frame! Imagine if he had taken one or two more seconds to say “Cook”! We wouldn’t have even heard who won!

I could have done without some of the performers last night – just tell us the winner and let us enjoy the aftermath with them. Give the Idol time to sing and say something before it’s over without it feeling rushed. They need to change that, in my opinion.

But all in all, I’m pleased David Cook won. I wish both Davids all the best in the future. It’s been fun to watch them grow as artists. Until next year…

Today is my wedding anniversary! 31 years! It’s hard to believe the years have gone by so fast or that I was so young that day 31 years ago. I told one of my sons today that they ought to celebrate our anniversary more than their birthdays – after all, without our wedding, they would never have been born, which would have been a tragedy! I wouldn’t go back and change a thing. But then, I married the best man on earth! :)

We aren’t actually going to celebrate until Friday because Randy had a class tonight. So I enjoyed some time to do some writing – I was at a stuck part for a few days, not really getting into the story, but tonight I started to really enjoy it again. I’m excited to get on with it and finish up the first draft. I just finished part two tonight.

After that, I turned on American Idol. I’m flipping through commercials – you gotta love TiVo – and enjoying the songs. I actually really like both Davids – who wouldn’t love that name? :) – but honestly, they are both amazing singers. To think David Cook didn’t even intend to audition for the show. He was there to support his brother. I didn’t vote for either one – I am guessing that David Archuleta will win, which would be cool, but I think David Cook is a bit more adventurous as an artist. Still, I think they both deserve to win so my guess could be wrong. I’ll find out in an hour or less. :)

Randy just got home from his class. Haven’t decided where we’ll go to dinner Friday but I’m looking forward to seeing the new Indiana Jones movie. Our kids are going to the midnight showing tonight. I’m not quite that adventurous! We watched The Last Crusade last weekend in preparation. They say Harrison Ford is in great shape for his age. I hope this movie is as good as the first three. It is a Spielberg film, after all!

My dad was doing better today, and all in all, it’s been a normal day filled with warm memories of 31 years ago when a young couple spoke vows of love for a lifetime. Our parents left us great legacies of marital commitment – Randy’s parents made it to 64 years before his mom passed away. My parents just celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary. We’re a little less than halfway to their accomplishment. :)

Should the Lord tarry His coming – here’s to 31 more years!

After yesterday’s struggles, I must share some good news! Yesterday, I wanted my dad back, the dad I used to know, because the way he was acting in his lethargic state, he couldn’t communicate very well with me. He kept falling asleep, and I was fairly certain that the pain meds they had him on was causing the problem.

Well, I’m happy to report that after I voiced my concerns to the nurse and my mom did the same, they changed his meds. Today, when I called to talk to him, he was back to the dad I’ve always known! He could communicate with me and told me about his day. I am SO relieved.

Thanks to all who contacted me and who prayed for my dad. He’s fighting a cold and still has to learn to walk again, but I’m so glad to have his energy returning. Continued prayers are always appreciated.

I don’t know what my Lord has planned for Daddy’s future here on earth, but I know He is gracious and He is good – all the time. Daddy appreciates all of your prayers.