But it is only ‘Good’ to those who have been forgiven their sins.  It is only ‘Good’ to those who have trusted in Christ, believed in Him and repented of their sin.  To repent is to be sorry for your sin, to hate and forsake it because it is displeasing to God.  Are you sorry for your sin?  Have you forsaken your sin?  Have you looked to Christ in saving faith?  If so, it is indeed a GOOD FRIDAY to you!

BUT if you don’t think twice about your sin, if you haven’t forsaken your sin, if you’re not sorry for your sin – it is not Good Friday to you because your sins have not been laid upon Christ.  And if your sins have not been laid upon Christ, then you will pay for eternity for the sins you’ve committed.

Don’t think that God winks at sin.  He doesn’t.  The cross is proof of that.  Leave your sin, look to Christ and you will find in Him One who truly does save His people from their sins.

My friend, do not rest until it IS Good Friday to you.

He was a just man, a gracious man, an obedient man and a devout man.  All of these things in the context of his fiancee becoming pregnant and coming up with an amazing story to explain why she was ‘with child’.  Oh, he didn’t believe her story at first – who would?  But, an angel came and told him that the baby in her womb was of the Holy Spirit and that He would save His people from their sins.  Then he woke up and obeyed and took Mary as his wife prior to Jesus being born.

This is the thing that I admire most about Joseph.  He, in taking Mary as his wife and not having conceived the child with Mary, subjected himself and his family to the wagging tongues of Nazareth.  It doesn’t appear that Jesus was really ever to distance himself from the jaundiced eye of some folks who knew of the family situation (John 8:41).  The issue 2000 years ago was the embarrassment of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.  I guess that not a lot has changed in 2000 years since in that regard.  ’Unplanned’ pregnancies are still an embarrassment (at least they still were 19 years ago).  Sadly, and to my shame, I know the embarrassment that Joseph must have felt.  I know, in a very real sense, what it is to have friends vanish because of what you’ve done.  My wife and I know the shame it brings upon families to be ‘with child’ outside the bonds of marriage.  But here’s what I don’t know.  Here is where I can’t identify with Joseph.  He was a just man, he was blameless in the whole ordeal.  And out of obedience, he married a girl pregnant with a Child that wasn’t his.  So as folks sneered and the town gossips chattered and the immediate families distanced themselves and their friends deserted them – Mary and Joseph were blameless before God.  And that was enough for them.

You see, this Mary who was full of grace and this noble Joseph by her side raised a Son.  And that Son kept the law of God perfectly and died as the spotless Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world SO THAT nearly 2000 years later, a girl who wasn’t full of grace named April and boy who wasn’t just or gracious or obedient or devout  named Rick (in fact, no good thing was in him at all) could look to their SON and find in Him forgiveness – not for one sin – but for ALL of their sins.

My encouragement to you this Christmas would be to look upon and lay hold of that same Jesus that April and I, by the grace of God, laid hold of 17 years ago.  He’s the same today as He was then – He still forgives those who earnestly seek Him.  My friend, by God’s grace and with His Spirit’s help, lay hold of Jesus and leave your sin the same place two teenage kids left theirs – nailed to cross.

What must every Christian ‘do’?  Believe.  Yeah, but what works must I do?  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  How does one do that?  Well, to truly believe on Him – you must truly need Him – and to need Him, you must see your sin.  And in seeing your sin, take the arms of faith and present Jesus Christ and His work done for you on your behalf to God.  That’s what you must do.  There is no five step plan but there is great hope because we have a promise from Him that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:6)”.

So, should we burn or not burn the Koran.  I say not burn.  Nothing is accomplished through it.  This should be our prayer though.  That Muslims being converted by way of the cross and an empty tomb will take up their Korans and burn them themselves.  There is coming a Day when every Koran will burn and the only Holy Book that will stand is the One whose words can never pass away.  May God haste the Day when faith shall be sight – The clouds be rolled back as scroll, the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend – Even so, it is well with my soul.  So come Lord Jesus, come.

1. Lisa Rolston.  Bible Bowl leaders of larger programs have so much work that goes unnoticed.  From finances to renting vans to college/nationals registrations to medical releases to parental dealings (know-it-all types like me) to making all of the pieces fit on a four-man team to, well, you name it.  Lisa has always been one of Christian’s biggest fans.  I can remember her coming to watch him play as a 5th grader in Indy.  It was there that April and I began repeating for the many years to come her often used phrase, “You never know.”  We’d ask if she thought we could beat this team or that team and she almost always used this answer.  We played with Southeast for five of the next seven years (we stopped going to SE as a family in 2003 but they were always kind to welcome us to play with them) and Lisa was an integral part of all of those years.  She coached Christian, Haley and Rachel to their first National Championship in 2008.  I would drop Christian off at her house numerous times over the years on my way to work, she would quote with him most of the day, then I’d pick him up on my way home from work – not just the year that she coached him but all throughout his career.  She is actually the first one that introduced Bible Bowl (in 1999 when the text was Genesis) and homeschooling to our family – she invited April to ‘shadow’ her in the late 90′s (I think) while she taught Ashley, Eric and Kayla.  April came home from that confident that she could teach our little ones.  Lisa has had an impact on our family far beyond the game.  After her two teams were out of the double elimination this year, nothing warmed my heart more than seeing Lisa and Ashley (and most of the Southeast folks) following our boys, cheering them on.  I don’t think I got to see her after the Championship Rounds but I’m sure she was hoping for nothing but the best for the boys.  I’m glad that she was there – the lady that introduced our family to this program some 11 years before, was there rooting for the boys, watching what would be the crowning achievement for our three boys (and, indeed, our whole family) in the program.  So thanks Lisa – thanks for encouraging a young 25 year old mother to homeschool and thanks for introducing and encouraging our family to participate in this game – what a ride it has been! (I couldn’t find a picture of Christian with Mrs. Rolston.)

2. Tracey Chamberlain.  What a guy.  He’s been around Bible Bowl a long time and he is still extremely passionate about the game.  I can remember Tracey from Christian’s seventh grade year – he was always so encouraging to him.  Interesting that in the Lord’s Providence, Christian would wind up in an exclusive friendship with Tracey’s Ruthie.  I remember Ruthie going 0-11 at the Round Robin at Nationals (2008), I’m sure he was frustrated but he was so wise in his dealings with Ms. Ruth. (Something I would get to see this year in how he dealt with Christian.)  I don’t think he expressed too much frustration, at least to her – but he always had a plan.  After that I would look out of our hotel room and see Ruthie quoting with Tracey in the bar area what seemed to be all the time.  And it worked – she went from placing 12th in the RR to getting 5th in the Double Elim that year.

One of the things that I most appreciated about Tracey is that he was exceedingly wise (at least in my opinion) on how to deal with Christian.  My son can be/is/was a difficult player to coach.  I know that, I’m his dad.  I guess it takes one to know one – if you know what I mean.  Tracey was smart in not overcoaching him.  That was certainly my tendency when Christian was younger.  Great players (I guess I can say that about him now) typically know what they need to do to be prepared when it counts.  When we placed 11th out of 12 in the January Round Robin just before Tracey started working with the boys, he didn’t start by trying to change his game – Tracey just went to work.  He started putting a text foundation in place.  The next four months when we would do no better than 4th in the RR (and had fallen out of the Top 16 in the coaches poll) – Tracey knew we would be okay.  When Christian would buzz on keywords and not say anything other than, “It’s a keyword” – he didn’t panic.  He would say “You won’t miss those in June.”  Tracey trusted Christian more than any coach he has ever had.  He listened to Christian.  Oh, he would disagree but he would hear him out.  It was a special thing to watch develop over the course of those months.  I can remember Christian explaining to Tracey and I that the questions at the tournaments were rewarding the quick and the jumpy but that Nationals questions would punish those who were really quick on the draw.  I kinda rolled my eyes and asked Tracey what he thought thinking he would say it was a bunch of excuse making and he said, “It makes sense to me.”

Some of my favorite quotes from Tracey this year:

“I’ve never had a player who had your buzzing percentage.” To Jake after he went 0 for 4 on specialty buzzes during the Double Elimination at Nationals.

“Don’t feel obligated to eat all those.” To Jake while he was stuffing fistfuls of potato chips into his mouth.

“If Christian buzzes on a three part specialty, I GUARANTEE he’s going to get one of them!” Poking fun at Christian’s propensity to buzz way too early on two and three part questions.

It was also such blessing this year to have him around our family – and not just from a Bible Bowl standpoint. He was so grandfatherly to the children – nothing was cuter than Micah pulling on his pant leg and yelling at him, “Tracey, Tracey!” to get his attention. Tracey would yell back at Micah, “WHAT!?!?” And then laugh – so sweet to see their interaction.  What we were able to experience this year playing as a family, having Tracey as our coach – is something that is very difficult to find in bigger programs.  Tracey spent nearly two straight months with our boys – coaching them, not just in the game per se but in life.  It wasn’t about ‘the program’ – it was about the team as a family.  We will be forever grateful for what Tracey did this year.  He invested so much time, energy and money into our boys – I still can’t believe the sacrifices he would make driving down here every month, taking the boys to the tournaments and Nationals, hobbling on sore knees and countless other untold things he would do.  Tracey is the consummate Bible Bowl sponsor – working tirelessly, unnoticed by most but doing what he has done for the past 30 years, that is giving his heart to kids in a program that makes the memorization of the Bible the top priority.  So Tracey, from the bottom of all of our hearts – thank you for what you have given to our family this past year.  We love and appreciate you.

(Quick side note: usually my wife edits these for me…I know I’m leaving out words, commas, etc.  Please forgive me for being sloppy.)

Round 4 was the previous day but it was a game that I was truly concerned about.  We played Southeast 1.  Danielle is an excellent player and seems to always get geared up to play Christian – she is also extremely accurate, if she buzzes she’ll get it right.  Well sure enough, she came out firing going 4/4 in the first 7 questions and taking the two rebounds we gave her.  Christian was 1/3 in the first 7 and we were down 235-45 going into question 8.  At that point, Christian kicked it in gear and went 9/11 on the last 13 questions and we pulled away for a 455-330 win.  I was very thankful to get out of that game with a win.  Christian went 10/14.

Round 6 we played Beavercreek.  Again, a dangerous player – she really took it to Christian at KCU winning by over 200 pts.  The game was never really in doubt – we won on question 15 – Christian went 9/11.

Round 8 we played Valley View 1.  I didn’t think we had a shot – and we didn’t.  They went 7/9 and Christian went 4/11.  The game was over at question 16.  They played like defending National Champs winning 510-250.

Round 9 it was Beavercreek again.  Christian played extremely well going 9/12 and we won on question 17.

Round 10 we played Washington.  This would be our toughest game until game 2 of the championship.  Christian didn’t play his best, we were taking what they would give and we were down by two questions at one point.  After question 15, they were up by 25.  Christian got 16, 17, 18 – reached 400, game over.  Christian always enjoyed playing Bethany and Kelsey and Delisa said after the game that if Bethany had to lose to somebody she would want it to be Christian.  That comment is a good marker of the folks at Washington – folks full of grace and encouragement.  They embody the spirit of what Bible Bowl should be about being fiercely competitive but genuine and encouraging win or lose.

Round 11 we played Valley View 3.  I was worried about this one.  Grace is an outstanding player and one of the many up and coming freshman.  VV 3 beat the boys at least twice over the summer.  But, this is when Christian started to hit his stride and play the best I have ever seen him play.  He went 12/14 – the game was never really in question, we were up 265-70 at question 10.

Round 12 we played Mt. View.  This kid scared me to death because he was unpredictable.  In the middle of the RR game on Friday, he gets a nose bleed on the last question, calls time and shoves a piece of paper (not a kleenex, a piece of paper!) up his nostril before he sits back down to play.  Anyway, Christian gives him the first two questions of the game, and then Mt. View gets the next three.  After question five, they are up 190-0 and only need 5 of the last 15 questions to win.  I honestly thought it was over.  But then Christian gets the next 10 questions!!!!!!  He went 8/8, got two rebounds – game over.  It was the best game I have ever seen him play.

Round 13 we played Worthington.  I didn’t know what to expect because I don’t know enough about them.  They pulled within 35 at question 13 (245-210) but then Christian got the next three…game over on question 16.  Christian went 7/11.

Round 14 we made it back to the Championship game and low and behold, guess who was waiting for us?!?  Only the best team from the best program in the whole world.  Again, I was thinking about what a good run the boys had made, too bad it was going to end – in my mind VV 1 was too tough – I was sure, they had the mental edge on Christian.  But as Providence would have it, Christian still had another good round left – he played well, taking their five ‘earlies’ and playing a steady game – it was over at question 14.  He went 7/11.  This game was strangely familiar to last year’s game 1 of the championship.

Round 15 – last game.  It didn’t start well.  Christian buzzed in and MISQUOTED a keyword question – are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?  But, in one of my proudest moments as a dad, when asked by David Strange if he misspoke, he put up no fight, he simply agreed with Evan.  That took guts and, I was sure we would lose by that simple mistake.  VV would get the first three, then we traded questions for awhile, we pulled within 15 pts on question 10.  But then VV got the next four, 11-14.  They were up 340-175 at question 15.  All they needed was one of the last six to win.  I was thinking to myself what a good run the boys made, how proud I was that Christian was honest – that there was no shame in losing to one of the best teams to ever play, etc.  But again, Providence was very kind to us.  Christian got an early buzz on a three-part specialty (back-to-backs)…this was a miracle considering he was 46% in the double elim on specialty toss ups.  Question 16 was bounced to us…now it’s 340-255.  Christian gets 17, a keyword toss up.  340-290.  He has a great buzz on 18, a two-part general cross reference on Eve from next year’s text…this was a really great buzz…we miss all of the bonus asking for the keyword BEFORE the one given (of course, I’m trying to tell my boys this through telepathy but nothing is getting through!)  340-300.  Question 19 is a keyword buzz that Christian buzzed on when he heard the word required or require (which ever is not the keyword), he realized it was too early, recalled the California was making it optional for students to say the ‘pledge’ and nailed it!  It was an unbelievable buzz!  We get all of the 40 point bonus to go up by 10, 350-340.  Question 20, I don’t remember much about it at all, I heard Evan buzz and miss…Christian got the rebound and he quoted as slow as he ever has, even though we had won.  I asked him later why he did that and he said that he wanted to savor his last question ever in Bible Bowl.

We won.  It was the best that Christian had ever played in those final few questions.  I will have more thoughts on that later but looking at the stats it’s very easy to see why we did so well…Christian was 78% (53/69) on keyword questions in the double elim (Round 4 and beyond), 75% on generals (18/24)…specialties his biggest weakness throughout his career, not from a lack of knowledge but an inability to stay off and be patient, he was 46% (10/22)…that’s 70.4% on early buzzes.  That is tough to beat.  All for now…I hope you’re enjoying reading these as much I am enjoying reliving last week.

“This is my last night. My last chance. This has been more than half my life. And now it’s ending.” July 4, 2010 at 11:12 p.m. That was the text I received from Christian while he walked around on the concourse level gathering his thoughts for the next day.  It became a tradition for Christian and I to walk around and sit outside the room where the championship game would be played the next day  - something we started in Georgia.  We would talk about the day ahead of him, the teams that might give him trouble, we’d talk about the old days and we would pray.

It was a side of him that very few got to see – he kept his emotions in check very well, something that he had to learn so that he wouldn’t be laughed at.  But when I called him and asked him if he wanted me to come down, I could tell that he had been crying – something he hadn’t done in the game since a last question loss in 8th grade to the Harlow boys in Round 7.  He needed 6 of the last 7 in that game to win – he got five and then Spencer nailed a Keyword question on #20, putting the game away (again, I digress).

Those late night chats with everything on the line – those were especially sweet to me as a dad.  Our last one, we talked about what it would mean if he won, what it would mean if he lost – teams that he expected to lose early because of this reason or that (he turned out to be right), we spent a good hour breaking down the bracket, strategizing on the games he had to play and finally, as always, we closed in prayer.

He stayed down there after I left at midnight – he needed to be alone.  The game meant/means a lot to him.  He never put it in these words but I think he wanted to be the Roy Hobbs of Bible Bowl.  After the last game, there were several folks including two current coaches (who never coached him) who are legends in the game with sixty years of BB experience between them who said that Christian was the best ever.  I think that is very kind folks to say but in many ways, it doesn’t really matter.

And I say that for a couple of reasons, first – in ten or twenty years there will be very few who remember who he even was.  20 years from now, he’ll most likely be known as the sponsor from “Put Your Church Name Here”, if he is still involved in the game.  He got a little bit of a taste of that this year.  These teams with young, hungry players that he had never heard of would jump up and beat him at the college tournaments and Christian would jokingly say, “They don’t know enough about me to be intimidated by me – I’m all washed up!”  :-)

The second reason why it doesn’t matter is because it is only the Word that he has memorized that will ultimately stand the true test.  If Christian was to at some point shipwreck his soul and abandon his faith, the Word that he has memorized would stand to condemn him.  Can you imagine being able to quote some 20 Books of God’s Word back to HIM as you stand before Him in judgement?  It honestly makes me shutter.  That is why it is so important to remember that you are memorizing, not some ancient, dead text – but something that is living and active, sharper than anything – something that judges the thoughts and attitudes of YOUR heart.  Never, ever lose sight of that no matter how many championships you have won.

With this being Christian’s last year of Bible Bowl, I wanted to do a few posts of random thoughts I’ve had over the years about the game, among other things.  To give a bit of background, he was an emotional wreck and a big game choker when he first started playing.  He flamed out in 4th and 5th grade at Nationals finishing 7th and 8th, respectively.  He was a GREAT round robin player – seriously, he went 77-0 in Round Robin games his fourth grade year but he was in no way ready for any kind of double elim – which was my fault because I was his coach.  I can remember expressing my frustration to Lisa Rolston about why he couldn’t win any big games and in her calm and always optimistic way she would always say that he would be fine and “You never know…”.  This phrase became quite a mantra for April and I as we would talk to Lisa over the years.

In sixth grade, the Lord really began to doubly bless his efforts.  Having never won any kind of DE tournament, he beat a very strong Mt. Pleasant team in the junior division at KCU in the summer.  I can still remember Mark Young coming in and picking him up and hugging him – what an exciting day that was BUT he was still such an emotional player that could get five questions in a row – the other team get three – and he would literally be crying at the table.

In sixth grade, my wife and I can remember gathering around the bracket in Cincinnati listening to folks talk about how to beat him – not realizing that we were his parents!  :-) There were some things that stick with you as well, from a parental standpoint.  Christian matured in the game well beyond his years very, very early but he was still emotionally and physically a sixth grader.  There was a team that had several girls on it that would laugh at him when he would cry – things like that always tug on your heart as a parent and leave a bad taste in your mouth for that program.  He finished up pretty well as a sixth grader, getting third at the National Tournament.  That was the first year for the quote bee as well and he took home third place.  Perhaps an even greater accomplishment than both of those is that he finished 19th on the test that year out of some 500 players would be my guess.

In seventh grade, our family broke off with two other families and formed what we called Covenant Christian Fellowship.  What a blast that year was!  I knew that he might be pretty good when he won the test at February KCU scoring a 199/200 (as I recall), edging out Courtney Hosp – one of his favorite players from Austin , and also one of his biggest encouragers (planning to do a post later on some of the great folks from BB that we have met).  We spent A LOT of time working on his mental game (thanks Ed!) doing various drills…for example, I’d make him quote late at night (10:30 or so) holding a whiny baby (Elijah) so that he would have to focus on what he was doing.  He hated those drills…Ed Stivers, the coach of his 7th grade team would do things just to mess with him…tell he was wrong, when he right, not let him contest, make him sit out the first several questions of games – all to press him and pressure him.  Well, he had a great summer that year.  We played him up at all of the tournaments (except Johnson) – as best I recall he finished Top 8 at Milligan (I think he was knocked by a future National Champ in Curtis Gibson).  At KCU that year he beat Jon Derry (a BB great and one of the players that Christian looked up to) twice in the DE and a future National Champ in Josiah Gorman.  That was the first time I met Bill Thomas who was another one of Christian’s biggest encouragers.  We finished third in the DE – being knocked out by the Harlow boys (more on them later).  At Johnson that year we won the JR Division RR and went on to finish sixth in the DE (Christian’s highest finish ever at Johnson)…as best I recall, we took Jon Derry to a tie breaker that Christian bounced but really, we were just happy to be there.  One of the games that I recall (i’m pretty sure this is right) is a game that he played against Austin.  He got the first 14 on Courtney who was a very good player and Tracey Chamberlain (Christian’s future coach) just shook his head after the game and said, “There’s nothing you can do about that!”

At Nationals that year, Christian went undefeated in the RR but there were a couple of teams that scared us to death. MP with Chase Coy, VV with Richie Clubine and ICC with Jessica Henry.  They were all 8th graders and very good players…thankfully we didn’t have to play MP or VV in the double elim but we did have to play Jessica in Rd 6 (i think).  The game was fairly close but Christian began to bounce and Jessica was lightning quick and we dug ourselves a pretty deep hole.  He needed to get the last four to win…something he had never done.  Well, as always, the Lord was kind in that he got 17, 18 & 19 and Jessica buzzed on 20 and missed giving us the game.  That game was a turning point in his career in many ways. He went on to beat Macomb that year who proved to be a very tough challenge, we didn’t win until question 18.  That gave him his first National Title, albeit a junior title, but ask any player who’s won one, a lot of hard work went into those titles.  There were some very good teams in those days who would’ve caused a bracket nightmare had they played up at the national tournament.  That year he also finished 18th on the test and won the quote bee beating Daniel Moorehead.

I guess that’s it for now – those were his formative years in the game before he moved up to play against the big boys.  The thing that made Christian excel in the game at such an early age is first and foremost, the blessing of God.  If God does not bless your efforts, you will not win.  Period.  It doesn’t matter how hard you work.   Now, I’m not saying that Christian was more deserving and THAT brought the blessing of God, MAY IT NEVER BE – in fact, we were less deserving than many teams and why God was so kind to us, I really honestly have no idea.

Secondly, from a human standpoint, the reason why he excelled so early is because he would very rarely misquote – even as a sixth and seventh grader (he left his biggest misquote for question 1 of the Championship game this year, but I digress ) if he hit the word, he would get it.  Third, the Lord gave him an uncanny ability for general toss ups.  When we would play up, there were players that were just flat out faster but where we would make up points is in generals – and generals come by text knowledge.  His seventh grade year is the first year that he began buzzing on references and getting them within the three second time (this was before black dotted verses)…again, where does that come from?  Well, humanly speaking hard work and April’s genetics but more important, MOST important – that is a gift from God.  All for now, if you’ve read all of this, you must really be a BB junkie or family, either way, thanks to all three of you for letting me share a few thoughts.

April writes:

Three years ago today, my grandmother fell asleep in her bed and awoke standing before the throne of grace.  Shortly after, I penned a list of things that I will forever miss.

I miss:

-the Monday arrival of the ‘survival’ care package which always consisted of 1. paper plates 2. a huge vat of ketchup 3. a couple of penne pollos (smart ones) 4. a bottle of ranch dressing 5. something for Graceann to cook (muffins, cookie dough, brownies, etc.)

-the $50 or so she’d slip me occasionally, always accompanied by one of three phrases – “if you wanna blow it all on bubble gum, then that’s fine” or “take your little family out to dinner” or “well, you can’t take it with you”.

-our Sunday phone call chats.

-our Monday talks about how our church services went.

-lunch out on Monday, I’ll especially miss Applebee’s as she was the only person that genuinely enjoyed that restaurant as much as I do.

-the way she always tore the little one’s hamburgers into bite size pieces.

-her thoughtfulness in always feeding Mollie the leftovers after lunch.

-her cleaning off the table after everyone was done, while I finished up my lunch.

-her sitting in the rocking chair holding the newest baby.

-laughing with her – usually over something that grandpa said or did.

-seeing her little red car pull in and the feeling of profound relief, gratitude and security that would go along with it.

-hugging her bony frame, the feel of her stiff hair and her smell.

-hearing her say, “Let me have the baby and you go get whatever you need to get done.”

-her encouragement and unfailing belief in me.

-her hamburgers and zesty fries.

-hearing her sing all the old hymns to the little ones.

-all the idle times filled with so much precious conversation.

-her fast driving and near misses.

-our lunch runs (Long John Silvers, Wendys, KFC, Taco Bell).

-shopping with her – that’s an old memory, but still so precious!

-her account of lying in the bed and envisioning each child before she went to sleep; she’d try to decide on a favorite, but said she couldn’t because each one was special in their own way.

-hiding Christmas presents at her house from our children, her annual Christmas dinner of KFC and her fudge.

-her lilac and hydrangea bush bouquets.

-her familiar form in the rocking chair.

-her greeting of “Hey, hey!” or the door bell ringing several times in a row.  Sometimes she’d say, “Anybody home?” and then just come on in.  This didn’t happen often however, due to the children’s vigilant watch and subsequent greeting of running out to the car and overcoming her with their hugs and squeals for candy (hershey kisses and little reese cups).

-her home on Crews Drive.

-the way the china would rattle in the hutch when you walked through the dining room at her house.

-having lunch in her basement.

-the way the phone would ring when she called (we assigned a ring-tone to her number).

-her love and support of our family, I especially miss all the prayers that went up on our behalf.

-debating over Scripture and our interpretation of different things; I’m grateful for her conclusion that Jesus was her Savior and all that really mattered was Him and His death of atonement for her.  She’d always tear up and say, “I’m ready.”.

Monday, May 14th, 2007, she came over to the house to keep Micah (8weeks) and Ryle (2 years old at the time) while I went out for lunch with a few ladies – something I rarely got to do.  She spent her last full day on this earth caring for the precious little ones that she loved so very much.  She gave Micah a bottle, she changed a dirty diaper on Ryle – doing what she had done hundreds if not thousands of times before.  She wasn’t there to criticize – she was there to support and to serve in whatever capacity she was needed.  That’s it.  She was just there to be a help, a confidant, and a friend.  After she left our house, she went home.  And then, later that night, shortly after midnight, she went Home.

These posts are usually long and longer so I am hopeful that this one will be quick and to the point.  Oftentimes on Mother’s Day, grown children are thankful to mom for providing so much of the ‘things’ that they WANTED growing up.  As I’ve thought through the wording of that phrase, my wife really can’t provide many of the ‘things’ the children want.  You see, she labors IN the home.  The pay is bad, the work is menial and I mean menial – folding clothes, doing laundry, changing pull-ups that aren’t able to hold THAT much, fixing sandwiches, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, dusting, straightening, putting kids down for a nap, getting dinner together, running to school for a meeting, teaching Jake, Grace, Elijah and Ryle – bandaging scraped knees, writing a quick note to encourage a sister in Christ, bearing patiently with her grandfather who comes over everyday, disciplining, bringing the children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord and then, I get home.  By no means is that an exhaustive list (there’s seven children for crying out loud! ).  Just a few things off the top of my head.

Back to my point.  She can’t provide many of the things that the children want.  But because she is laboring in the home, she CAN provide those things that our children most NEED.  Which is a mom who oversees their care, their discipline, their instruction and gives them not leftovers after a long day off somewhere else – but the ‘first fruits’ of her labor.

To my dear wife and mother of our children, “Many daughers have done well, but you excel them all.” (Prov 31:29).

I had no idea how things were going to turn out.  My desire was to trust the Lord, knowing that He would provide.  Besides, I would get a nice severance, unemployment benefits, etc. and we’d be fine for a good long while.  But then what?  There’s a certain amount of healthy pressure to provide for a wife and seven children – thankfully, we have very little debt but a mortgage payment and groceries (our two biggest expenses), that really adds up.

I really hated the idea of job searching and having to sell my skillset (I use the term very loosely) to a prospective employer.  I’m not ‘that guy’.  I hate networking, I hate foity toity luncheons, slapping backs, laughing at stupid stories – and most everything that goes with it.  Besides, I knew my line of business at the bank, I’d been in it for 15 years and figured someone would pick me up, somewhere, because of my astounding (please note the sarcasm) floorplan knowledge.  But, as the Lord would have it, it rarely works out the you think it will.

In early July, some positions came open at the acquiring bank.  I applied for four of them.  I received two rejects on the positions that I thought I was best suited for.  Then, the job that I thought I was least likely to get a call on asked if I could interview July 26th – the Monday before my last day.  Of course, I jumped at the chance, wanting to keep my five weeks vacation, insurance benefits, retirement, etc.  The difficult thing is that they would have to make me an offer and I would have to accept – all before I left July 31st – or I would lose my benefits (at least that’s what the recruiter said).

The interview went okay – but at the end, I told them the pickle I was in – “I need an offer ASAP, if you like me.”  I’ve interviewed folks and I typically don’t like them putting me on their timetable but there was a lot at stake.  Blessedly, they did offer – on Tuesday!  Now, we had some things to iron out and I didn’t think it was going to work out.  I even woke on up July 31st and told my daughter, “This is it.  I don’t think I’m going to be employed on Monday.”  But again, the Lord was exceedingly merciful and I received a phone call at 10 a.m. saying that all of the wrinkles had been ironed out.

So, it’s a year later.  What has changed?  Everything.  And if you know my schedule from my old job, you know I really do mean everything.  No more working from home.  No more coming and going as I please.  No more trips to Dayton, Cincinnati, Lexington, Ashland to find good Mexican places on the bank’s money (I did audits there, Mexican was a good by-product of the trip).  No more being a night owl.  No more taking a day of vacation when I feel like because it’s “such a nice day”.

Again, it’s a year later.  What has changed?  Nothing.  I still enjoy my work.  I’ve met some great folks -I’ve got my Diet Dew buddy, we go get a our 32 oz. cups filled every morning and spend time chatting about family and movies and such.  We worked right across from each other for six months before they moved all of us into our cubes but he’s a great guy and I’m so thankful to have had those six months to chat with him all day, everyday.  But I’ve also met a dear, dear brother in Christ.  I am so thankful to have someone of like faith and like heart – a wanting to know and love the Lord Jesus – a desire to serve Him and a seeking to be the man that God calls him to be – those men are rare.  True Christian friendship is a wonderful treasure and a token of God’s blessing – I am so thankful for those few close friendships the Lord has given me.

But you know the biggest thing that hasn’t changed?  The Lord’s faithfulness to me and to my family.  I am amazed at His steadfast love in spite of my faltering and wavering faith.  I am so thankful that a year later, by the grace of God, I am still walking in the truth – that hasn’t changed.  I am so thankful that a year later, by the grace of God, I can say with the Psalmist “Bless the Lord, O my soul.  And all that is within me, bless His holy name!”  What the next year will bring – I have no idea.  But I pray that a year from now, I will still be able to say that He has forgiven all my iniquities, He’s redeemed my life from destruction, and He’s still crowned my life with lovingkindness and tender mercies.