If my life were jeopardy questions...

 Category: Nocturnal

Answer: coyotes howling, beagles baying, siren sounding, Bobby snoring

Questions:  What are noises you hear at night?

For the life of me, I do not understand how he can sleep through it all, especially when the windows are open.

Stephen Smith

 

I first met Stephen in 1996. I was home from China for 6 weeks during the summer and came to Garner where my sister and brother-in-law were working as the Associate/Youth pastor. He was graduating from high school and considering attending Bible College. His parents had some valid reservations and we spent some time talking about respecting our parents even when we disagreed with them. I was impressed with his attitude. It wasn't one I often saw in people his age.

Two years later I was moving to Garner to make sure Bobby (who I met the following summer) was as real in person as he was in emails. Not long after our engagement Stephen and I met at the McDonalds near church so we could talk. He had something he wanted to pray about...two somethings actually. One was he had met someone and was thinking she might be "the one". He wanted people praying that he would make both a wise head and heart decision. I'll never forget how his entire face lit up as he talked about Amy.

Stephen's older sister Lynn is near my age, and I hurt for both her and Amy. I've prayed for his parents and children too, but Amy and Lynn are the ones who have come to mind so much these past few weeks.

Tomorrow and Sunday will not be easy days for them.

September

 Yesterday we kicked off this busy month with a trip to see Bobby's niece and her family. It was a treat to see their new hobby farm and spend time with the great nieces and nephew. They were proud to show off their chickens and goats and sheep and their garden spot and it was just fun to watch their excitement. 

Today is a home catch up day...laundry, produce, cleaning and so on.

I canned the last tomatoes for this year.

Have a small handfull for sandwiches this week, but I opened the garden gate so the chickens can now go in and scratch until their hearts are content. I was going to wait a few more weeks but the peas are drying out and okra is barely producing so I'm putting myself out of turmoil and saying "It's over!"

Beef comes in this week so I need to clean the freezer. Squirrels are already attacking the pecan trees even though the nuts aren't ripe yet. They got almost all the pears and apples this year.

A man in our church has lost his job because he refused the vaccine. He's already had covid, so I don't know if that is why he refused it or not. I do know many people who have not taken it for very different reasons. Many work places are not requiring it but do require employees to be tested every day if they don't get it. Personally, I don't think that is an unreasonable thing to ask.  

It continues to amaze me the vastly different precautions and reactions people are having towards the pandemic. 

Meanwhile life is going forward for everyone, whether they are staying at home or returning to some semblance of a normal life. I'm not seeing a huge difference in infection rates between the masked and unmasked in my circles. I don't know if that is the norm anywhere else or not.

goodbyes

 Last week a friend of mine from college died unexpectedly. Wendy Southwell Briscoe had a quick wit, was an avid fiction reader, loved her family, was an encourager, did her best to cook for her family, knitted scarves for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes every year, and often did Facebook fundraisers for her sister and her family who are missionaries in Spain.  She leaves behind her husband and a young son. 

Today we received word that Bruce Kimbrell died in a car wreck. He served with my brother-in-law at two different churches. My prayers are going out to his two daughters who have now lost both parents (his first wife died of cancer many years ago) and his recent wife Julie.

I wanted to write beautiful tributes to both of them, but my brain is not processing very much right now. So much hurt for so many people. Lord be their balm of Gilead.