Tribute to Grandparents, Part 1...

For those of you who don't know, my grandpa (Paw) went to be with Jesus this week. Following is the tribute I gave at his funeral today:

In I Thessalonians, the Bible instructs us not to grieve as those who are without hope.

My grandpa was an amazing man, and so I have a few memories to share…

Paw was fun…

One of my fondest childhood memories comes from when he took me to King's Island. He wasn't an extreme risk taker, and he wasn't a roller coaster rider. In fact, he probably could have skipped on the rides altogether… well, every ride except one… and it was too memorable to ever forget.

There was a super slide there, at the time, that he simply couldn't resist. Mammaw and Mom and I watched as he climbed to the top, jumped into a burlap sack, and gave himself an extra push off the top. Part way down, he was going way too fast, so he put his hands down to slow his descent. He took almost all of the skin off of his palms! This would have slowed most people down, but not Paw. He took a quick trip to first aid, had his hands bandaged, enjoyed the rest of the day, and then drove home, steering with his elbows…

Paw took me, every year, to Santa Claus Train. He created outrageous Christmas scavenger hunts that led to outstanding Christmas gifts. And he carried me on his shoulders, through parking lots, until I was far too big to be riding on anybody's shoulders, and when we arrived at the storefront he always had change in his coin purse so I could ride the ponies. He took me to Frankenmuth as often as possible and splurged on the famous chicken dinner, even though it was never even close to as good as the chicken he could fry up himself!

Paw was faithful…

He adored children, and especially his grandchildren. When I was little I remember him going off to work with his packed lunches that included fruit pies of every variety. He fed me plenty of junk food, and I repaid him with Old Spice for Christmas… every year… well, every year except one… and he never let me forget it…

Paw only had an eighth grade education, but he could recite arithmetic facts in fractions of seconds, he was the only person I knew who could sing the alphabet backwards, and he taught me how to tie my shoes. And, he was a lifelong learner. If you knew him well, you know that he had many questions. But he wasn't like the average person with many questions. He was never satisfied with an answer until he had researched the subject to the absolute best of his ability, and he never just took someone's word for it… well, except for One… and I will never forget it… Paw made sure of that…

Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (NIV). And Paw sought Jesus with all of his heart… He was faithful to study the written message of God, the Bible, and God was faithful to His promise, because He was found.

Paw was fruitful…

He left a legacy for me… and for my children… and for the many generations that are to come.

There is a lot of my grandfather in me. I am stubborn… and outspoken… and loud. But there's much more to it than that. Paw instilled a love for Scripture in me. He would sit with me and read passage after passage, studying to find out how each verse related to another and fit together in the big picture… the story of God.

He sang to me, under the tree in his backyard… And he rejoiced when I learned to recite all of the books of the Bible in order, in that same place… well, all of the books except one… and he never let me forget it…

Mark 4:30-32 says, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

If my grandpa had a life verse that would be it, because Paw was like that. His life was not perfect. He was not flashy… or highly educated… or rich. But he taught me that choosing to live for Christ can bring transforming change, and what you do on Earth matters. And that's one lesson I will never forget.

I did miss a few very important details in the above tribute...

* I have Paw to thank for my nose... and the noses of all of my children...

* Paw didn't like to wear his seatbelt, but I always made him put it on...

* Paw had a knack for mismatching his clothes, and I enjoyed being his fashion advisor from the time I was four or five years old... imagine that... me, a fashion advisor...

* When you really love someone, 80 years is not nearly enough...

By the way, today was the first time I have ever been present for the folding of the American flag at a funeral. Paw was a World War II veteran. The experience was amazing. It's hard to describe anything as beautiful in the midst of such sadness, but this ceremony truly was. It left me feeling so very proud of my grandpa and his service to our country.

I love you Paw. I'll miss you more than I can say, but I know that I will see you again...

Lisa

I Am A Tempermental Artist...

... Hope that title packs all the punch it's supposed to!

I honestly think I would be happy if I quit school right now and spent all of my "spare" time (ahem... yeah, well that after the kids are asleep time, anyway) learning to play instruments, writing music, writing books, taking photographs, and pulling plugs on monitors and sound systems that make me feel cranky...

The only real problem with that is that my profile will likely forever proclaim that I am a starving artist if I do this...

I am going to lose my mind if I don't produce something worthwhile soon, though, and I think that people are starting to see my wrath on this matter...

I have a headache...

And so, I ramble on once again...

Lisa

That Last Post Was Funny, Until...

... I realized it wasn't washable marker!

After a brief moment of panic, I remembered Judy Neer, who once told me that toothpaste removes permanent marker. Now, it wasn't exactly permanent marker, but it also wasn't "washable"... kind of an in-between thing. You know, the markers that you are supposed to save for kids who are at least over age 5!

Well, anyway...

About 1/2 a tube of toothpaste later, I have a child whose face is clean and whose left hand has only traces of pastel green...

My hands are tingly and we both smell like a mixture of cinnamon and watermelon... perhaps mixed with dirt? Lovely...

This brings me to another interesting thought... not deep... just interesting...

Phil's mom gave us a lifetime supply of Crest Pro-Health toothpaste awhile back, because she bought a bunch of it and ended up hating it. I, of course, said that I'm not picky and took it. I generally take free stuff. Well, there's "not picky" and then there's "capable of brushing your teeth with dirt". The stuff was disgusting! Thanks Mom!

At any rate, at least I've found a use for it. I will keep the supply on hand, just in case anyone else feels the need to tattoo a large percentage of their body with colorful markers...

Lisa

Markers Are Dangerous...

... When left in the hands of an unattended three year old!

I should know this... I should know this... I should know this...

Caleb's only real issue with posting this picture is that you can't also see the beautiful artwork on the other side of his hand... hehehe...

Happy Valentine's Day! We're off to the land of bubble bath...

Lisa

Of life... and ministry... and politics... and Frosty the Snowman...

So... let's start with Frosty...

Several days ago now... OK, it was over a week ago... we finally had a really good snow! Since I had found the kid's snowsuits in some obscure box awhile back, I granted them permission to have a "snow day". Now, when they hear that the public schools are having a snow day, they think that the kids get to go outside and build snowmen... hehehe...

We made snow angels first. Ian was completely confused as to why I laid him down in this cold, white stuff, and he just laid there looking up at me for the longest time. Eventually, he figured out that he could roll over in it and crawl around. It was a good laugh...

Then, we had a snowball fight. And let me tell ya, my kids make some mammoth snowballs! This is only a problem when they are throwing them at me while I am aiming the camera...

Finally, we built Frosty, and here he is, kinda hiding behind the kids. I probably would have chosen a different name for him, but Seth and Grace insisted on Frosty, and since I named the last one Walter, I figured it was thier turn...
Plus... A few more pics. of our snowy adventure...
Now, if I could only get around to unpacking their boots... uh... long story...

Moving on...

All these years later, very few (if any) will understand or remember this... But it is still cruel to leave someone alone on stage singing only echoes and harmonies with a performance track...

I love having a worship band. I would prefer it if they wouldn't catch me completely off guard with comments like, "Hey Lisa, I broke your G-string"... Yeah, that one left me speechless until I realized we were referring to my guitar... But seriously, I am blessed to be working with the group I have. On the pendulum, you could say that this is a complete swing in the opposite direction from my previous worship band experience. I'm very much ok with that, though I am occasionally just a bit intimidated and even once found myself missing the consistency of a previous piano player. It's gonna be all good though...

And politics...

As some of you probably know, the demise of Mitt Romney pretty much through me for a loop. I am concerned about the future of my country, and I am not happy with the choices for leadership that are left. That said, I am not ashamed to admit that I am generally conservative regarding my political standpoint. I almost always vote republican. Well... I really have no choice left now but to vote for a democrat, since we have two left standing in the democratic party and one left standing in the republican party. Technically, I guess Huckabee is still "standing", but we all know he's pathetic and is only vying for the VP role anyhow... This may come as a shock, but I am not going to cast a vote for McCain! In all honesty, I guess I'm going to have to get better informed about both Obama... and dare I say it... Clinton (oh...ouch...ugh...I said it...) Some conservatives, in looking at this situation, have decided simply not to vote. Well... if there's anyone out there who reads this that is feeling that way (which there probably isn't, because more and more of my friends are liberals anyway) please, don't throw away your vote! It is your freedom and your right in this country to be a part of the process that chooses it's leadership! Even if you don't like any of the candidates, casting your vote is better than giving up your rights!

I'm out... but, hey, catch the post directly below this one if you haven't already. It's new, as well, and you may find it entertaining...

Thanks for Reading!

Lisa

Johnny Depp...

... The Saga Continues

If you've been reading my posts for awhile, you know how I feel about Johnny Depp... If not, well, here's a copy of the post I made @ xanga on August 4, 2007 (If you have already read this, please feel free to skip down to the triple asterisk marking the new material for this post):

Well… This post has been a long time coming… It's hard to decide just exactly where to begin, but here's the deal… I really don't think married women should lust over men that aren't their husbands…

Let me explain…

Over the course of the past several weeks, I have awakened… TWICE… to a picture of Johnny Depp in my inbox. It is almost enough to make me change my e-mail checking habits. That's not what I want to see first thing in the morning!

What is most disturbing, however, is that the person who sends these pictures has a knack for complaining about her marriage, on-line. Hmmm… Let's see… You admit that you are basically obsessed with a man who is twice your age, you post pictures of him on your personal blog on a regular basis, and he is your screensaver. Think that could have anything to do with it?

And she's not the only one…

I am rather disgusted with the number of twenty-something, married women who describe Depp as, "yummy"… Get a life!

Now, as many of you well know, I am somewhat of a moron when it comes to pop culture. I like it that way, so I'm not ashamed to admit it. So, the other night, I decided that I would do some research on Johnny Depp. This was mostly due to the fact that I couldn't quite grasp what the big deal was over "Edward Scissorhands"… well… anyway… most of you weren't even born, so just read on…

I am not in the business of trashing other people's reputations on my blog, so I'm not going to get into all of the dirty details I dug up. He's a Hollywood star. If you want all the latest gossip, you can just google him. What I really wanted to know was how old he was, because he seemed pretty old to me when I was watching the aforementioned flick… at age nine or ten…

Johnny Depp is 44 years old. That was enough to turn me off, right there… (Not that I was ever turned on, just to set the record straight…) I read futher… Depp is the father of two children and says that he uses most of his fortune to buy their privacy. And he admitted that the kissing scenes in the Pirates movies were uncomfortable, because he was old enough to be the actress' (sorry… name escapes me) father! That should be enough to turn you all off. I don't think he's interested in pursuing your love interest in him…

Now, I am not going to sit here and lie to you by saying that I have never noticed a good looking man. I have no problem with the fact that God made some very beautiful people. But there is a real difference in "noticing" and in obsessing…

Seriously, think about this… If these same women were walking through the mall with their husbands and one of the men stopped at the Victoria's Secret storefront to "admire" the models, do you think it would be viewed as acceptable? How about if he had a pin up hanging by his bedside? To me, this is comparable to the screensaver, is it not? Come on now… you know this is absurd! We would never put up with it!

And, then, there's this other issue… Sorry. You don't have to read on, you know…

My research on Johnny Depp led me to some other popular names, and I decided to go ahead and get an education…

I am really having trouble with all of the headlines… and articles… and web pages that have been committed to these young women who are entertainers of various sorts… and apparently the role models for this generation of teenage girls.

Please… girls… listen to me. There is absolutely NOTHING glamorous about risking your life (and the lives of others) by drinking and driving or by getting involved in drugs. Don't look at these stars and idolize their behavior. They are ending up in jail! And although they may have the resources to get out, you don't! It's not worth it.

Further… It seems like there is a serious trend among teenagers and college aged girls, alike, that is scaring me to death. Has it become the "popular" thing to get pregnant? Let me take a minute to say that I know several very wonderful, capable, young, single moms, and I am not judging you at all. But PLEASE don't be afraid to tell other girls how difficult it is! It seems like every time I turn around there is another baby on the way. The moment you conceive a child, your life is no longer your own. Think about that long and hard. I am very happily married with four beautiful kids, but there are days when it is incredibly difficult for me. I cannot imagine how much more difficult it must be to parent a child… alone. You are young, and you have lots of time. Think that through before you start having sex, and certainly before you plan a pregnancy outside of marriage…

OK… that's it… for now, anyway… Leave me some feedback, but please no more pics. of Johnny…

*** Here's the new stuff...

The other day, Phil took the kids grocery shopping. One of the items on the list was Kleenex. I was mortified... hehehe... to find that one of the boxes was Pirates of the Caribbean themed. I chastised Phil, rather unmercifully, for bringing me a "pin up" of Johnny Depp... and putting it right in our bathroom, no less... Please, if you're not already laughing, start now...

And... I was sharing our family scrapbook from our Disney trip with some friends. During this time, Phil had the middle part and goatee going on. Well, all of the sudden, Jay exclaims, "Hey, Phil looks like Johnny Depp!" Oh my gosh... I just can't escape this...

Lisa

Weigh In, February 2008...

OK... Sorry this is a couple of days late. I kept thinking that I would post a bunch of stuff at once, but... well... you know how it goes...

For now, the weigh in...

I officially lost 11 lbs. in January!!! I am relatively happy with this. I have also been exercising for about 25 min./day, 5 days/week, and I can do 18 sit-ups (ahem)...

I got my hair cut, too. It's cute, but I think I am going to have it layered, as well. I want to color it when Ian stops nursing... and I think I'd like to have my nose pierced... and my belly button... twice... Perhaps I am going through a 1/3 life crises? (I am too young to be having a mid-life crisis, assuming that I live as long as I'd like to...)

So, anyway... goals for February...

I want to lose at least 10 more lbs. this month and increase the exercise to 30 min./day, 6 days/week. And I'd like to do... say... 25 sit-ups, maybe...

My next update should have some great pics. of our snowman... If I ever get them downloaded...

Lisa