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Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.

Ephesians 1:4 (The Message)

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Isn’t that amazing – we are the FOCUS of His love?

Saying GoodbyeTo Mary Jane

And Celebrating Her Life

Born – January 2, 1928

Baptized – April 14, 1957

Fell Asleep in the Lord – October 23, 2011

The service was held at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colebrook, Manheim, Pennsylvania

Our family was some of the earliest to arrive. In this picture Jordan (third from right) is introducing his girlfriend, Kezi, to Cerwin’s mother. My stepmother, Velma, is sitting on the right. Velma did not need an introduction, as Kezi is the granddaughter of her sister Mildred.

Mother High, Cerwin, Kezi, Jordan, Gloria, Diana, Nathan, Chris.

Jeff talking to a few of Mary Jane’s relatives – nephews, sister-in-law, brother-in-law.

Just before the memorial service.

Cerwin, Jeff, Jere, Roy, and two of Mary Jane’s neighbors were pallbearers.

I sure captured all of them in an appropriate somber mood.

Traveling to a nearby cemetery.

Partway through the procession, we wondered why the lead policeman didn’t take a shorter route. Before long we realized that we were going the “long way” so the procession would go by her farm.

Our son Jeff asked the undertaker to take this route as a special tribute to her.

It was a bit emotional to go by the place she loved.

It was a rainy, cold day so I stayed in the car. I didn’t want to take a chance on reviving my laryngitis/cold.

Each person who went to the graveside received a rose from her casket bouquet.

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We will miss you, Mary Jane. I will personally miss your delightful personality and strong hugs.

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Take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Ephesians 4:24 (The Message)

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Become a new person created to be like God, truly righteous and holy.

Ephesians 4:24 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

Death ~ Birth ~ Life

It has been a week that reminds us of the continuing, fragile threads of life.

We received the news of Mary Jane’s death shortly after 10:00 p.m. Sunday night. This was not a surprise, because she had been in a Hospice facility for the past few weeks.

When Mary Jane’s husband, Bud, died (almost five years ago), he asked Jeff and Chris to take good care of her. Bud and Mary Jane’s only child – a son – died in Vietnam, so Jeff and Chris’s family became her family, and consequently part of our broader family. It was like God gave our children and grandchildren another mother/grandmother.

She delighted in having Jeff and Chris’ family as her neighbors.

She loved gardening or seeing other people’s gardens.

We will be saying our final goodbyes to her body tonight and tomorrow – and celebrating her life – while she rejoices in Heaven.

Keep us – especially Jeff & Chris’ family – in your prayers.

Early Tuesday morning I called Jeff to wish him a happy birthday. I remember that wonderful day (forty-seven years ago) when we were quite young. He was our first baby.

Then, just before sunrise on Tuesday, I received news via email and Facebook that our nephew and his wife (Japheth and Aimee Stauffer) welcomed a new baby girl into their family.

Lily Hope Stauffer

Several hours later a niece and her husband (Crystal and Jakey Feltch) welcomed Bailey Ella into their family.

Another exciting event of the day happened when our granddaughter Jenna passed her drivers test. That means half of our sixteen grandchildren are driving on their own. (We expect to hear the same news from Hezekiah before long.)

The ordinary thread of life also continued when we went to Oregon Dairy for lunch today with about two dozen other relatives – the Sauder family.

Following lunch we went next door to get a few groceries.

Kristen had a meeting this afternoon, so we enjoyed having Jesse with us. He liked helping grandpa take groceries to the car.

The threads of life can be dark or light, dull or brilliant, but somehow when God has woven them all together, our life becomes a beautiful tapestry.

He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul.

Psalm 62:6 (The Message)

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He alone is my rock and my savior—my stronghold. 

Psalm 62:6 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

Beautiful Paintings

After church on Sunday evening (Shamokin Dam Alliance), our friend Don asked us to go with him to the basement to see some of the Sunday school rooms.

I was not prepared for these beautiful wall paintings.

They are all painted on cement block walls.

If I remember correctly, they were painted by a young woman from their church.

It is difficult to choose a favorite, but I do like this concept of using a heart beat symbol…

…especially the flat line before the cross.

The earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw.

Genesis 1:12 (Good News Translation)

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Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good.

Genesis 1:12 (New Century Version)

Happy Birthday

To Our Favorite Jeff

We Love You!

Dad & Mom

Our Sunday

Fog ~ Roses ~ Ministry

We enjoyed a foggy morning drive to Selinsgrove.

It was particularly pretty on Route 15 along the Susquehanna River.

We arrived at Don and Nancy’s house a bit early, so visited a bit before heading to Mifflinburg Alliance Church.

The extra time also gave me time to photograph some of their roses.

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We had such a good time sharing about the ministry of TFC, and visiting afterward that I forgot to take any pictures at the church.

Don and Nancy took us to Applebees for lunch.

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We spent the afternoon at their house and got acquainted with their dogs. I thought I was going to remember her name, but neither Cerwin nor I can think of it.

The smaller one (Gina) never did make up with us. She let us know that we were strangers in the house.

In the evening we went to Shamokin Dam Alliance Church – this is where Don and Nancy attend.

We felt like Satan was trying to hinder us from using the PowerPoint presentation. The church could not get their projector to work, so we finally used our computer and projector – then the remote would not work. Cerwin used the arrow keys to forward the pictures – which was a bit awkward.

It was good that he was doing a shortened version of the morning presentation, because there was a local truck driver there to share his testimony of receiving Christ as his savior on TFC’s Harrisburg Chapel.

Rachel and Phil

Phil shared the amazing story of his salvation. He grew up in a Jewish home, and became a streetwise Philadelphia boy. By the time he was driving truck, he began feeling empty inside – and stopped at the Harrisburg chapel to talk to the chaplain. That was the day everything changed – when he turned his life over to Jesus.

Rachel (also Jewish) was not happy with this choice, but followed his lead about three months later.

One of my favorite moments of his testimony was when he was talking about a situation in which he would have previously used his fists – instead he knelt on the floor in front of us and said,

“I am learning to use the power of prayer, and finding that it is far more powerful than fists.”

You are my God. Show me what you want me to do, and let your gentle Spirit lead me in the right path.

Psalm 143:10 (Contemporary English Version)

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Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

Psalm 143:10 (New Living Translation)