YOU. ALL. Just wow! Never in my wildest dreams did I think that something so amazing could come together is just a few days time. As of July 18th, we asked and you have KEPT ON delivering! So many of you have shared our posts, given money, cheered us on, and championed with us through prayer. Now, we hold the banner of thankfulness high - so high - and say THANK YOU!! And a big WOO HOO! You guys are all just so awesome!
Our week long #66celebration birthday campaign has continued well past our 7 days. It's been like the 7th day that just won't stop! As of today, 7/27, $4,699 has been given to #66celebration. Along with other donations given since 6/9/15, my dad and mom have been blessed with nearly $6,500 in donations. Though there are many medical bills, several of them have been paid off or paid down significantly. Most importantly, my dad has been able to purchase immediately needed medicines.
Your hugs, gifts, prayers, and overall concern for my dad continue to mean so much. Every day is truly a blessing. I know that my dad's spirits have been lifted in these recent days. God is so good to take our offerings and turn them into hope in a person's life. That is only something that He can do. You have helped pave the way for hope to come. Thank you!
Monday, July 27, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
#66celebration
It's a 24/7 celebration!!
Update Day 1- 7/18/15 $876 given today! Thank you!
Update Day 2- 7/19/15 $1,190 given today! Simply amazing!!! Thank you!
Update Day 3- 7/20/15 $342 given today! Thank you!!
Update Day 4- 7/21/15 $507 given today! Thank you!!
Update Day 5- 7/22/15 $398 given today! Thank you!!
Update Day 6- 7/23/15 $400 given today!! Thank you!!
Update Day 7- 7/24/15 Finishing strong! Final updates will post in a few days to allow offline donations to roll in!! Thank you!!
Today is my dad's 66th birthday! We wish that we could be there to celebrate with him. Somehow, this birthday feels extra important. It's the kind of reality where you accept that your dad has lung cancer stage 3b. We tuck "special days" away thinking that this might be his last, and at the same time, we cling to the truth that every day is special and hope we have many more with him!
So, on this special day, I'm hoping for a miracle of sorts... and it involves you! Today, I'm asking for others to help say "Happy Birthday" by giving to my dad's CROWDRISE fund. I'm praying for a total of $6,600 to be given this week alone! Now, this takes math, and I'm gonna try my best: 100 people give $66, 10 people give $660, or everyone gives what they can, and I let God do the math. (That usually works out WAY better!)
People have been very generous to give money, time, prayer, food and friendship to my family. We are all so grateful and humbled by how God is taking care of my dad (and each of us)! While my dad does have great medical coverage through medicare, the copays and prescription costs have come tumbling in. My mom has been able to pay small amounts on the copays for hospital stays, and most recently, enough money was given in 1 week to cover 1 month's worth of medicine! Humbled, I tell ya!
My dad and mom have lived a life of helping others. They work so hard and give so much! Most of you may not know that my dad receives very little compensation (by his choosing) so that the church he pastors can have more money for giving and growth. My mom is still a faithful employee and goes to work every day at the age of 70! They have never put their hope in the ways of the world and truly live depending on the Lord. I am so grateful for every penny given and every prayer prayed on my family's behalf.
If you can, please consider giving $66.00 today! Give as you can. ANY amount is wonderful!
Click HERE to give!
THANK YOU!! One more thing, I'm so pleased you've stopped by our blog and taken time read these words. Would you please pass this post along: use #66celebration Post on Facebook, Tweet away.
So, on this special day, I'm hoping for a miracle of sorts... and it involves you! Today, I'm asking for others to help say "Happy Birthday" by giving to my dad's CROWDRISE fund. I'm praying for a total of $6,600 to be given this week alone! Now, this takes math, and I'm gonna try my best: 100 people give $66, 10 people give $660, or everyone gives what they can, and I let God do the math. (That usually works out WAY better!)
People have been very generous to give money, time, prayer, food and friendship to my family. We are all so grateful and humbled by how God is taking care of my dad (and each of us)! While my dad does have great medical coverage through medicare, the copays and prescription costs have come tumbling in. My mom has been able to pay small amounts on the copays for hospital stays, and most recently, enough money was given in 1 week to cover 1 month's worth of medicine! Humbled, I tell ya!
My dad and mom have lived a life of helping others. They work so hard and give so much! Most of you may not know that my dad receives very little compensation (by his choosing) so that the church he pastors can have more money for giving and growth. My mom is still a faithful employee and goes to work every day at the age of 70! They have never put their hope in the ways of the world and truly live depending on the Lord. I am so grateful for every penny given and every prayer prayed on my family's behalf.
If you can, please consider giving $66.00 today! Give as you can. ANY amount is wonderful!
Click HERE to give!
THANK YOU!! One more thing, I'm so pleased you've stopped by our blog and taken time read these words. Would you please pass this post along: use #66celebration Post on Facebook, Tweet away.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Matches
Today is a special day. It's a day that changed my life ever before I knew it needed changing. This day came along many years ago, and somehow, I feel it was made just for me. Today is Brandon's birthday.
This year, we're celebrating a bit differently. In fact, we're not even celebrating much at all. You see, I'm 20 hours away spending time with my mom and dad, because we just learned that my dad has cancer. Our children are in another state spending time with their other grandparents. Brandon is home doing what he does every day: working to take care of our family.
I am so very grateful for him and the tremendous way he provides for our family. He serves his church and community with such care and love. Honestly, I feel like I married WAY up. (Yeah, he's a whole foot and few inches taller than me.) My girls and I recently calculated that he has served us approximately 3,000 meals in the past years. We can't even fathom the number of dishes he has washed.
I could go on and on with telling you about all of his wonderful deeds. But, that's not Brandon. He really would want me to tell you about the wonderful, matchless love of Jesus. That's what he tells me about every day. He tells me through the way he loves. Matchless, yet matching. He matches Jesus in so many ways. And me, well, I'm just glad Jesus made Brandon and me matches. Happy Birthday, Brandon!
This year, we're celebrating a bit differently. In fact, we're not even celebrating much at all. You see, I'm 20 hours away spending time with my mom and dad, because we just learned that my dad has cancer. Our children are in another state spending time with their other grandparents. Brandon is home doing what he does every day: working to take care of our family.
I am so very grateful for him and the tremendous way he provides for our family. He serves his church and community with such care and love. Honestly, I feel like I married WAY up. (Yeah, he's a whole foot and few inches taller than me.) My girls and I recently calculated that he has served us approximately 3,000 meals in the past years. We can't even fathom the number of dishes he has washed.
I could go on and on with telling you about all of his wonderful deeds. But, that's not Brandon. He really would want me to tell you about the wonderful, matchless love of Jesus. That's what he tells me about every day. He tells me through the way he loves. Matchless, yet matching. He matches Jesus in so many ways. And me, well, I'm just glad Jesus made Brandon and me matches. Happy Birthday, Brandon!
Thursday, November 6, 2014
It was all in the wording...
When my friend and fellow pastor's wife mentioned us ladies using greenery from our "live" Christmas trees, the laughter just came out. I glanced back at a friend sitting near me, expecting her to understand my sudden laughing fit, but her sweet smile just gave me that look that said she'd still be my friend when this was all over. I'm pretty sure she was just sympathizing with my crazy laughing, in the middle of a women's ministry meeting, during a moment when there really wasn't anything THAT funny being said. I mean, we were only talking about how to use fresh greenery as a centerpiece at our church ladies Christmas dinner. Not really altogether laughing material. Oh well. I couldn't even remember what was so funny after the meeting was over.
Until this morning... I woke up and nearly tripped over my own ability to recall memories from the "live" Christmas trees in my past. I knew right away that was where the laughter came from. Three little words that struck laughter from the depths: "Live Christmas Tree".
I've always loved the smell of a freshly picked Christmas tree. My parents used to load our family up a few weeks before Christmas and take us to a tree farm in order to find the most perfect tree ever. We would look, for what seemed like forever, and all compete to find THE tree. Did it have a straight trunk? Did it have good hanging space for the ornaments? Were there any live critters in it? Once found, the family meeting convened, and my dad sawed the tree down. We'd haul the tree to the farm's entrance, they'd shake it for all the dead needles to fall out, and we'd load it up to take it home. It was ALWAYS a fun family day setting up the Christmas tree, and I was left with the best memories as childhood slowly slipped away.
Years later, I got married. Brandon and I married younger than most, and we found ourselves living in Texas so he could attend seminary. Our first Christmas together, I was insistent on having a live tree. We didn't have any extra money to spare, and we had also just found out that I was carrying a wee one in the belly. So, you can just imagine the amount of emotional trauma going on that year for Brandon: 1st Christmas, pregnant wife, no family, hardly any money... but the fresh tree was a must! So, he did the most valiant thing he could. He took me to Walmart and helped me pick out the cheapest pine tree we could find. OH MY WORD. It smelled so good in the house, but that was the only glorious tidbit about that darned little tree. The needles on that tree were so sharp that Brandon had to put on gloves so he could decorate it. Yes, I don't even know if I helped decorate it. Surely, this wasn't the way it was when I was a child! Those memories made everything feel so perfect. (Did I mention how much sneezing this live tree brought that year?)
Fast forward to pretty much every Christmas thereafter and you will see me pining for my fresh tree, the perfect family memory, and yada, yada, yada. Brandon did manage to convince me that an artificial tree was the answer and that the house could smell good with some pine scented air freshener. He said our allergies would love us for the fake tree. He was right, but I still sulked and whined about our fake and insufficient tree EVERY year. Yep. Glorious, huh?
With several Christmases under our belt, we found ourselves living in New Mexico in 2010. We had just moved to the desert region that fall, and those fresh trees at the local Home Depot were calling my name. There had been no lesson learned, and having a fresh tree in a region were there are hardly any natural growing trees seemed completely appropriate. Uh huh. Softer needles this time, I promised Brandon. Please, please, please! It will smell so good, I said. It will look so great, and it will really feel like Christmas this year, I begged. So, on Thanksgiving week, a full 4 weeks before Christmas, we bought our tree...a tree which had obviously come from some place very far away. The man said to water it lots. Like everyday. But, really? My dad had never watered our tree that much, had he? A live tree in Alabama (where I grew up) is the same as one in New Mexico, right? Plus, that tree was probably already half dead due to being cut and trucked in from who knows where. Anyhow, after having this new tree for a couple of weeks, it was SO dead. I mean, needles were shedding, branches were so brittle, and that beautiful green color was clearly draining from its lovely limbs. So, we used our best intelligence and decided that trimming the trunk must be the only solution to prolonging life. By this point, I was so nervous that it would catch fire at any moment, and Brandon graciously said he would saw the bottom of the tree off while I held it up, fully decorated, as he cut. Yep. We are awesome like that. I'm not sure how catastrophe didn't ensue, but the cutting happened, the tree was place properly back in its stand, and that bad boy was watered everyday like nobody's business. (We also learned a bit about water evaporation rates that year. Yep. New Mexico and Alabama have their differences.) By Christmas day, that tree was so very dead. I was reluctant to even have an electrical ANYTHING near it. I mean, it was on the verge of setting itself on fire just to be done with the misery. Did I mention the sneezing this year?
Yeah, there probably won't be any fresh greenery from our "live Christmas tree" in my table's centerpiece. If there is, you can bet it won't be from any live tree we own. I'm officially over it. No more sneezing. No more gloves. No more fire hazards. But, there will be laughing. Thank you, Jesus, for memories, for laughter...and friends who will smile at me when I'm crazy. "Live Christmas Tree" It was all in the wording.
Until this morning... I woke up and nearly tripped over my own ability to recall memories from the "live" Christmas trees in my past. I knew right away that was where the laughter came from. Three little words that struck laughter from the depths: "Live Christmas Tree".
I've always loved the smell of a freshly picked Christmas tree. My parents used to load our family up a few weeks before Christmas and take us to a tree farm in order to find the most perfect tree ever. We would look, for what seemed like forever, and all compete to find THE tree. Did it have a straight trunk? Did it have good hanging space for the ornaments? Were there any live critters in it? Once found, the family meeting convened, and my dad sawed the tree down. We'd haul the tree to the farm's entrance, they'd shake it for all the dead needles to fall out, and we'd load it up to take it home. It was ALWAYS a fun family day setting up the Christmas tree, and I was left with the best memories as childhood slowly slipped away.
Years later, I got married. Brandon and I married younger than most, and we found ourselves living in Texas so he could attend seminary. Our first Christmas together, I was insistent on having a live tree. We didn't have any extra money to spare, and we had also just found out that I was carrying a wee one in the belly. So, you can just imagine the amount of emotional trauma going on that year for Brandon: 1st Christmas, pregnant wife, no family, hardly any money... but the fresh tree was a must! So, he did the most valiant thing he could. He took me to Walmart and helped me pick out the cheapest pine tree we could find. OH MY WORD. It smelled so good in the house, but that was the only glorious tidbit about that darned little tree. The needles on that tree were so sharp that Brandon had to put on gloves so he could decorate it. Yes, I don't even know if I helped decorate it. Surely, this wasn't the way it was when I was a child! Those memories made everything feel so perfect. (Did I mention how much sneezing this live tree brought that year?)
Note from Brandon:
She left out the morning (all-day) sickness and that she was "getting sick"every few minutes while the tree was being set-up. And the rash....My arms looked like I had been hauling poison ivy for hours. Then, a few days after getting this lovely tree, Kristen's grandmother passed away and we went back to Alabama for the funeral and stayed for Christmas...That's right...we weren't even at home with the tree for Christmas. Luckily, when we got back to Texas all the needles were already on the ground to save us the trouble of shaking them off. Good times...
Fast forward to pretty much every Christmas thereafter and you will see me pining for my fresh tree, the perfect family memory, and yada, yada, yada. Brandon did manage to convince me that an artificial tree was the answer and that the house could smell good with some pine scented air freshener. He said our allergies would love us for the fake tree. He was right, but I still sulked and whined about our fake and insufficient tree EVERY year. Yep. Glorious, huh?
With several Christmases under our belt, we found ourselves living in New Mexico in 2010. We had just moved to the desert region that fall, and those fresh trees at the local Home Depot were calling my name. There had been no lesson learned, and having a fresh tree in a region were there are hardly any natural growing trees seemed completely appropriate. Uh huh. Softer needles this time, I promised Brandon. Please, please, please! It will smell so good, I said. It will look so great, and it will really feel like Christmas this year, I begged. So, on Thanksgiving week, a full 4 weeks before Christmas, we bought our tree...a tree which had obviously come from some place very far away. The man said to water it lots. Like everyday. But, really? My dad had never watered our tree that much, had he? A live tree in Alabama (where I grew up) is the same as one in New Mexico, right? Plus, that tree was probably already half dead due to being cut and trucked in from who knows where. Anyhow, after having this new tree for a couple of weeks, it was SO dead. I mean, needles were shedding, branches were so brittle, and that beautiful green color was clearly draining from its lovely limbs. So, we used our best intelligence and decided that trimming the trunk must be the only solution to prolonging life. By this point, I was so nervous that it would catch fire at any moment, and Brandon graciously said he would saw the bottom of the tree off while I held it up, fully decorated, as he cut. Yep. We are awesome like that. I'm not sure how catastrophe didn't ensue, but the cutting happened, the tree was place properly back in its stand, and that bad boy was watered everyday like nobody's business. (We also learned a bit about water evaporation rates that year. Yep. New Mexico and Alabama have their differences.) By Christmas day, that tree was so very dead. I was reluctant to even have an electrical ANYTHING near it. I mean, it was on the verge of setting itself on fire just to be done with the misery. Did I mention the sneezing this year?
Yeah, there probably won't be any fresh greenery from our "live Christmas tree" in my table's centerpiece. If there is, you can bet it won't be from any live tree we own. I'm officially over it. No more sneezing. No more gloves. No more fire hazards. But, there will be laughing. Thank you, Jesus, for memories, for laughter...and friends who will smile at me when I'm crazy. "Live Christmas Tree" It was all in the wording.
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