To enjoy the album, click here.
They came out of great tribulation
1 year ago
Thursday, May 13, 2010
My Trip to California - Album Three
One of my mom's most favorite thing to do in all the world is go for a walk out in God's creation. That is just what we did on Monday. This last album was shot at Heritage Park, just a fifteen minute drive from my mom's house. At one end of the park is a pedestrian foot bridge, or an elevated walk-way over the main street next to the park. All along the bridge are pictures of the history of the area. They were fun to look at. At the other end of the bridge was a Starbucks, oh yeah! As always, this visit flew by way too fast but was oh so much fun!
To enjoy the album, click here.
To enjoy the album, click here.
My Trip to California - Album Two
The reason for my trip to California was to honor my mom, to be with her to celebrate Mother's Day. Just a month ago we nearly had to say good-bye. She suffered a pulmonary embolism after having cancer surgery and ended up in critical condition. Well, as you saw in album one the Lord spared us much grief and she is now the picture of health! Still tires easily but so much better than when I left her last month.
On Saturday, the day before Mother's Day, my mom's church held a waffle brunch. (I was good and ate my oatmeal before...) My sister Betty Ann was the program. She had written a script, taking literary license regarding the story of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, with nuggets of truth woven in. It was like a reader's theater. She also sang along with the script and had the audience sing along in places as well. My sister Sherry sang a couple of duets with her. (It was just beautiful, Betty Ann!)
That is where album two begins, at my mom's church.
The second part of the album was shot on Mother's Day. Karin hosted all of us. We had a potluck/bar-b-q in the evening. The weather was a bit too chilly to eat outside so we set up tables in her living room. I love her decor. She has all the old family pictures up on her walls. You will see them, including a couple of my grandmother and great-grandmother, who I mentioned in Album One. As is our tradition, we sang the doxology before our meal, something I treasure. After eating we went outside and took some family shots. It was such a fun day!
To enjoy the album, click here.
On Saturday, the day before Mother's Day, my mom's church held a waffle brunch. (I was good and ate my oatmeal before...) My sister Betty Ann was the program. She had written a script, taking literary license regarding the story of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, with nuggets of truth woven in. It was like a reader's theater. She also sang along with the script and had the audience sing along in places as well. My sister Sherry sang a couple of duets with her. (It was just beautiful, Betty Ann!)
That is where album two begins, at my mom's church.
The second part of the album was shot on Mother's Day. Karin hosted all of us. We had a potluck/bar-b-q in the evening. The weather was a bit too chilly to eat outside so we set up tables in her living room. I love her decor. She has all the old family pictures up on her walls. You will see them, including a couple of my grandmother and great-grandmother, who I mentioned in Album One. As is our tradition, we sang the doxology before our meal, something I treasure. After eating we went outside and took some family shots. It was such a fun day!
My Trip to California - Album One
I have three albums for you, each with less than one hundred images so they won't take long to go through, but I will give them to you one at a time. The first one takes you to Dr. Corey's home, President of Biola University. This was where the Board of Trustees met and included in their agenda for their May board meeting to honor my mom for her thirty-two years of service to Biola as she prepares to retire at the end of June.
How 'bout you grab a cup of coffee...I think I'll tell you the story of how Biola has been in our family for nearly one hundred years.
I was in my third year at Biola when my mom began working as a secretary. But my mother's story about Biola actually begins with my great-grandmother, Edith Gold Wallace. In 1918, she obtained a position at Biola in the business office. My great-grandfather had died as a result of becoming ill while fighting in the Spanish/American War. My great-grandmother had to go to work to support herself and my grandmother, Dorothy. They moved into the women's dormitory, the Willard Hotel. (In the next album, you will see a picture of my great-grandmother and my grandmother.) She was employed by Biola for twenty-three years, where she retired in 1941 as the superintendent of the women's dorm.
Fast-forward approximately thirty-five years to my mother.
After living as a homemaker for twenty years my mother found herself in a similar situation where she had to go to work to support her five children. She only had a high school degree and little experience. She started out at a plumbing and heating company while my grandmother watched my younger sister and brother. I was in high school as well as my older brother and Karin. My mom switched to Thermador Waste King, the company that makes garbage disposals. It wasn't the greatest working environment, but she needed to provide for her five children. My future sister-in-law was working at Biola when I was in my third year there. We were new friends (I met Tim through her, but that is a whole other story for another time!), and she told me about the secretarial position. We didn't think my mom had much of a chance, but we encouraged her to apply anyway. I loved the thought of her being out of a secular environment and working with other believers.
She was extremely nervous for the interview and as she sat waiting she saw a spider crawl across the desk in front of her. She reached out and squished it with her finger! The secretary of the personnel office leaned over to the interim personnel director and whispered, "I don't care what she's applying for, hire her!" (True story!) She had so little work experience but she had done a lot of volunteer work and could type seventy words a minute...on a typewriter...she got the job!
It was the Lord's doing, of course.
Thermador Waste King offered my mom a raise to keep her, which would pay her more than Biola, but she turned them down. She could not forget the warm feeling at Biola. Her new boss had even prayed with her, unheard of where she had been working! She took the job at Biola and her very first week she not only answered phones and wrote letters, she proctored a chemistry test for Dr. Crawford, her new boss, who was also a chemistry professor! (I didn't do so well in Dr. Crawford's class...I was a nursing major at the time...decided to switch to Education and become a teacher...a good move on my part!) Three months after being hired by Biola, her boss became the Vice President. He loved my mom's work so he took her with him as his secretary. Eventually my mom became secretary to the President, and for the last fifteen years has been secretary to the Board of Trustees. My mom even got to sign the Big Red Book that contains Biola's doctrinal beliefs. In that book are also her mother and her grandmother's signatures.
The Lord through Biola has been so faithful to my mom and to our family. My niece, Lauralyn Koontz, recounted God's blessings to our family through Biola at the dinner. The biggest blessing for me was when the president, Dr. Cook at the time, was by my mom's side as my step-father was lingering near death after a heart attack while on a cruise to Alaska with all the board members. Dr. Cook called me and told me what was happening and then prayed with me. You will see Lauralyn in the album, behind the famous Biola podium. Lauralyn is a sophomore at Biola, set to graduate in 2012, and when she was finished Dr. Corey said he'd never heard a senior give such a moving speech, let alone a sophomore. One of the board wives shouted when she was finished, "Do it again!" There weren't many dry eyes when she closed with the words, "My goal tonight is to express to all of you my family's gratitude to Biola in all it has done for my family. So thank you! And I'm proud of you Gramma, and I love you."
Enjoy the album by clicking here. (And by the way, the cheesecake that was served...was to die for!)
How 'bout you grab a cup of coffee...I think I'll tell you the story of how Biola has been in our family for nearly one hundred years.
I was in my third year at Biola when my mom began working as a secretary. But my mother's story about Biola actually begins with my great-grandmother, Edith Gold Wallace. In 1918, she obtained a position at Biola in the business office. My great-grandfather had died as a result of becoming ill while fighting in the Spanish/American War. My great-grandmother had to go to work to support herself and my grandmother, Dorothy. They moved into the women's dormitory, the Willard Hotel. (In the next album, you will see a picture of my great-grandmother and my grandmother.) She was employed by Biola for twenty-three years, where she retired in 1941 as the superintendent of the women's dorm.
Fast-forward approximately thirty-five years to my mother.
After living as a homemaker for twenty years my mother found herself in a similar situation where she had to go to work to support her five children. She only had a high school degree and little experience. She started out at a plumbing and heating company while my grandmother watched my younger sister and brother. I was in high school as well as my older brother and Karin. My mom switched to Thermador Waste King, the company that makes garbage disposals. It wasn't the greatest working environment, but she needed to provide for her five children. My future sister-in-law was working at Biola when I was in my third year there. We were new friends (I met Tim through her, but that is a whole other story for another time!), and she told me about the secretarial position. We didn't think my mom had much of a chance, but we encouraged her to apply anyway. I loved the thought of her being out of a secular environment and working with other believers.
She was extremely nervous for the interview and as she sat waiting she saw a spider crawl across the desk in front of her. She reached out and squished it with her finger! The secretary of the personnel office leaned over to the interim personnel director and whispered, "I don't care what she's applying for, hire her!" (True story!) She had so little work experience but she had done a lot of volunteer work and could type seventy words a minute...on a typewriter...she got the job!
It was the Lord's doing, of course.
Thermador Waste King offered my mom a raise to keep her, which would pay her more than Biola, but she turned them down. She could not forget the warm feeling at Biola. Her new boss had even prayed with her, unheard of where she had been working! She took the job at Biola and her very first week she not only answered phones and wrote letters, she proctored a chemistry test for Dr. Crawford, her new boss, who was also a chemistry professor! (I didn't do so well in Dr. Crawford's class...I was a nursing major at the time...decided to switch to Education and become a teacher...a good move on my part!) Three months after being hired by Biola, her boss became the Vice President. He loved my mom's work so he took her with him as his secretary. Eventually my mom became secretary to the President, and for the last fifteen years has been secretary to the Board of Trustees. My mom even got to sign the Big Red Book that contains Biola's doctrinal beliefs. In that book are also her mother and her grandmother's signatures.
The Lord through Biola has been so faithful to my mom and to our family. My niece, Lauralyn Koontz, recounted God's blessings to our family through Biola at the dinner. The biggest blessing for me was when the president, Dr. Cook at the time, was by my mom's side as my step-father was lingering near death after a heart attack while on a cruise to Alaska with all the board members. Dr. Cook called me and told me what was happening and then prayed with me. You will see Lauralyn in the album, behind the famous Biola podium. Lauralyn is a sophomore at Biola, set to graduate in 2012, and when she was finished Dr. Corey said he'd never heard a senior give such a moving speech, let alone a sophomore. One of the board wives shouted when she was finished, "Do it again!" There weren't many dry eyes when she closed with the words, "My goal tonight is to express to all of you my family's gratitude to Biola in all it has done for my family. So thank you! And I'm proud of you Gramma, and I love you."
Enjoy the album by clicking here. (And by the way, the cheesecake that was served...was to die for!)
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die
...is the current Piper book I'm reading. Just want to pass along this nugget from chapter 12 - To Take Away Our Condemnation.
The world will bring its condemnation. They may even put their sword behind it. But we know that the highest court has already ruled in our favor. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) No one successfully. If they reject us, He accepts us. If they hate us, He loves us. If they imprison us, He sets our spirits free. If they afflict us, He refines us by fire. If they kill us, He makes it a passage to paradise. They cannot defeat us. Christ has died. Christ has risen. We are alive in Him. And in Him there is no condemnation. We are forgiven, and we are righteous. "And the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1)
If they afflict us, He refines us by fire. I love that. To the one who does not have spiritual eyes, it may look like we are being defeated but to those with spiritual eyes God is absolutely on the throne and in control, working out our sanctification...
No one can be against us, successfully.
Having a great visit with my family. Lots of fun pictures to share when Tim and I get home...
The world will bring its condemnation. They may even put their sword behind it. But we know that the highest court has already ruled in our favor. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) No one successfully. If they reject us, He accepts us. If they hate us, He loves us. If they imprison us, He sets our spirits free. If they afflict us, He refines us by fire. If they kill us, He makes it a passage to paradise. They cannot defeat us. Christ has died. Christ has risen. We are alive in Him. And in Him there is no condemnation. We are forgiven, and we are righteous. "And the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1)
If they afflict us, He refines us by fire. I love that. To the one who does not have spiritual eyes, it may look like we are being defeated but to those with spiritual eyes God is absolutely on the throne and in control, working out our sanctification...
No one can be against us, successfully.
Having a great visit with my family. Lots of fun pictures to share when Tim and I get home...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
California, Here I Come...
...right back where I started from...the traffic, the earthquakes, ooooh what fun!
Hey Everyone (my faithful four), Tim and I are headed to LA bright and early in the morning. My mom is retiring from Biola University as Secretary to the Board of Trustees after thirty-one years of service. She is being honored at the May Board Meeting and Tim and I get to be there for the great event, along with all of my other siblings. I will be returning with plenty of pictures, I'm sure. Karin has our schedule pretty full so I don't plan on posting any new entries until we get back, unless there is an earthquake, but if it's big enough there won't be any power... So, just want to wish all you mothers a great Mother's Day...so thankful and excited I get to be with mine. Be sure and give yours a great big hug if you are able, or give her a phone call and tell her how much you love her!
Hey Everyone (my faithful four), Tim and I are headed to LA bright and early in the morning. My mom is retiring from Biola University as Secretary to the Board of Trustees after thirty-one years of service. She is being honored at the May Board Meeting and Tim and I get to be there for the great event, along with all of my other siblings. I will be returning with plenty of pictures, I'm sure. Karin has our schedule pretty full so I don't plan on posting any new entries until we get back, unless there is an earthquake, but if it's big enough there won't be any power... So, just want to wish all you mothers a great Mother's Day...so thankful and excited I get to be with mine. Be sure and give yours a great big hug if you are able, or give her a phone call and tell her how much you love her!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Isaiah 66:1-2/John 14:23
ISAIAH 66:1-2
Thus says the LORD,
"Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,"
declares the LORD.
"But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
and who trembles at My word.' "
We need to have big thoughts of God, really, really big thoughts...and a proper view of ourselves in relation to Him. This great and awesome God is mindful to the people of His creation but we are given a condition or prerequisite for this to happen. It is with the person who humbles himself before God, in one whose heart is tender and broken over their sin, and takes His Word seriously.
JOHN 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him,
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."
The one who takes His Word seriously and obeys it, is one who loves Jesus. The Father loves the one who takes Jesus Word seriously. Here then is a most staggering truth. The great and awesome Godhead will make Their abode, will rest, with the humble, contrite, and obedient.
Let that fill your heart with wonder and praise this morning...
Thus says the LORD,
"Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,"
declares the LORD.
"But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
and who trembles at My word.' "
We need to have big thoughts of God, really, really big thoughts...and a proper view of ourselves in relation to Him. This great and awesome God is mindful to the people of His creation but we are given a condition or prerequisite for this to happen. It is with the person who humbles himself before God, in one whose heart is tender and broken over their sin, and takes His Word seriously.
JOHN 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him,
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."
The one who takes His Word seriously and obeys it, is one who loves Jesus. The Father loves the one who takes Jesus Word seriously. Here then is a most staggering truth. The great and awesome Godhead will make Their abode, will rest, with the humble, contrite, and obedient.
Let that fill your heart with wonder and praise this morning...
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