In Memorium: A Life Well Lived.

Leonard Dick graduated to glory yesterday. He is a man who I have known my entire life. He had the heart of an evangelist and loved to share the gospel.

He was born and raised in Scotland. He joined the British navy during WWII. His hearing was damaged at that time from the big guns they used to shoot off the ships. He met and married his dear wife Cherry, and they raised a family of four children together. They were both saved in their early twenties while attending a Billy Graham crusade in Scotland. After finishing college he got a job in America in Milwaukee WI. There they got involved in the same church that my dear husband grew up in. This is rather remarkable as it is a small chapel. He worked for PPG (Pittsburgh Paint and Glass) as a chemist his entire career. He was a research chemist in their auto paint division. He used to point out to me the cars that had some of the finishes that he had developed.

Mr. Dick and his family have been a part of my whole life. When I was a young child, he shared a devotional time at a Sunday evening meeting back when our church was so small that it met in homes. God used that message to touch my heart and I talked to my Mom that night and asked the Lord Jesus to save me from my sin. I will always be grateful to God for bringing Mr. Dick into our lives for that reason.

Len Dick was also an avid gardener. He knew so much about planting vegetables and flowers. He was always willing to share his knowledge with the rest of us. Gardening was a year round hobby for him. He was always building his soil and tilling and planning. I am privileged to have been given a good amount of the rich soil from his gardens when they had to sell the house and take down all his raised beds to plant grass. I know my gardening beds are all the better for it.

Mr. Dick also was an avid fisherman. He loved to go to Canada or Florida and fish. He knew a lot about that as well. He was a real fisher of men. He was so faithful to the Gideon Bible ministry for many many years. He would take the Testaments to schools, hotels and even to the intake center for the military to give the young men and women a Bible.

The last few years have been very challenging for Len and Cherry. There were many financial struggles as his mind slipped slowly away. It was so hard for Cherry and the rest of us to see this once proud man humbled. He bore it cheerfully. For much of the time he was still able to function at church and share in the ministry there as he was able to do the things that he always had done for quite awhile. He remembered our names and always greeted us. He loved to be with the people of God.

We will always miss him. He was a faithful man who persevered to the end. I know he is happy now. Until we meet again!

~Mom

Life Happens, Even when I'm NOT blogging

This is a bit of a 'stream of consciousness' blog.

We had a lovely New Years Day with lots of family and friends. It was a planned potluck. Mom and Dad made their traditional pork and sour kraut. Everything was yummy. We had about 35 people for the day. It was a lot of fun. I missed a bit of it as I was recovering from a bad stomach flu.

JoAn turned 20 this year. We are so blessed to have her in our family. She is working hard at college and will have gotten 30+ semester credits since October. The family she works for as a 'mother's helper' is pregnant with twins. Now that's job security. She is still teaching at a Children's Evangelism Fellowship after school club as well as AWANA at church. She is a real peach! I am glad she has chosen to stick around. She is a real positive influence on the other children.

Mr. Boots, who we will call Paul from here on, is now 18. Not sure how that happened so quickly. He is a big part of the reason this blog has slowed down lately. He is on my computer ALL the time. He is really enjoying playing volleyball on a church league. He is growing up so well. We have decided that he will school at home for another year. There are a lot of good reasons for this. It is because he is doing so well, not because there are problems, that we have made this decision. He still picks up his violin and plays it for church. He is starting to grow and has passed me up by over an inch.

Here is Paul in his birthday suit. Yep. He and Thomas have joined a Speech and Debate team. He was required to have a suit for it. He and his partner won the Best novice team award for their club round robin. The big tournaments start in 2 weeks. This club involves lots of studying and research. I can really see it bringing a big change in both boys. Their comportment and clarity of thought is really improving. But it does hinder my blogging efforts, as he uses the computer in my office all the time.

We have made several trips to a local sledding hill. The children love it. We have had a cold snowy winter. We have kept both wood stoves going 24/7. They do a good job keeping us warm unless the temperature drops into the teens consistently. The basement, family room and bedrooms are warm, but the living room, dining room, and kitchen didn't get above 52 degrees today. We thank the Lord for warm sweaters and a big wood pile.

We are homeschooling and working hard at many things. Keep following this blog as you never know what you will learn soon.

~Mom

The Brevity of a Life

Birthdays make me realize the brevity of a life.
Our family has a tradition that at the June birthday party that all the grandchildren line up in order of age along the back sidewalk at Grandma's house for a picture. This is the ninth year I think we have done it. T-Bob and Katie were the youngest back then. In the first pictures, the children went up like stair steps, now it is jumbled. The oldest two grandchildren are now adults working out of state and can't come.
Time is passing rapidly. The days are long, but the years fly by. Be intentional in how you live. Put your time and effort in things that have eternal value, like people. You will never regret investing your life in your children's. Train them up in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord. The Lord desires us to faithfully train up our little ones for His service.
It is sobering to think that I am in the second half of life. I see the strength and energy of our children in contrast to my own. I want to finish strong. Not just physically, but spiritually. I still feel like I have so much to learn. I have so much growing up to do myself.
We want to hear, "Well done, my faithful servant!" as we cross the finish line of this life. We need to make sure we know the One who is the Judge, and have accepted His payment for our sins.
Remember, this life is just the beginning of eternity. Make sure you know where you are going to spend it.
~Mom