Family Time

This last week was a really neat week. It started on Saturday with the girls, Jen, and my sister experiencing (very mildly) a "deployment." They went through a deployment line; they toured a C-130 and a Blackhawk Medivac Helicopter. They came back to Base X, where they tried MRE's, ate lunch, put on chem gear, and more. My sister's favorite experience was driving the bomb robot! It was really well-done. If you'll go to www.warren.af.mil next week, you had ought to be able to see a pic or two. I'll try to post some next week here as well.
We left on Sunday for Oklahoma to visit my mom. It was a horrible, wicked, no good, very bad day! I was cranky; Jen was cranky; we hit a concrete abutment and flattened a tire (Thank you, Lord, for safety!); we hit at least one bird, and a doe walked up to the edge of the road. It's already a 13-hour drive, which didn't help at all! However, we did eventually make it to a very green and wet Oklahoma--most unusual for late June!!! In fact, not many people could remember this wet of an OK summer. Be praying for them--wet ground makes harvesting difficult, if not impossible! We stayed in OK until Jen and I left on Thursday. My Grandmother is 92, and suffers from dementia. She is skin and bones, and often refuses to get out of bed. We had a great time with her! She enjoyed going on rides around the country; she did puzzles with our youngest; she was cracking us up. She told me she was going to cry when I left. I did indeed almost cry, because I don't think I'll ever see her on this side of heaven again. However, I'm really grateful that I was able to spend some time with her. She has always been very proud of me for being a pastor--in fact, one year for Christmas, she gave me a box of clippings to use for sermon illustrations! She loves bright colors (finding the flowering shrubs, etc., while we were riding around was always a plus), so Jen bought her two yard ornaments--the spinny kind. I grew in appreciation of this wonderful woman this week, and the wonderful woman--Mom--who honors the Scriptural mandate of taking care of one's family. It was a bittersweet week. My Dad is buried there, Mom's gravestone is also there. My uncle is buried there, as are my great-grandparents. When Grandma dies (she thought I called her "granny" this last week and got hot!) and Mom leaves, my family will be out of a town lived in for many years. Nevertheless, what a great opportunity to be with family we had! The girls remained, giving Mom much-needed "Mimi" time and help, so Jen and I are enjoying our time alone.
Tomorrow's sermon begins a series on the Book of James. It's titled "Revolutionary Living." May your lives be filled with the revolution of the love of Jesus Christ, and may you revolutionize the world around you! Happy Independence Day (such a misnomer for Christians)!