General Conference

Today is a new experience for hugsum.... he is going to General Conference!

This may not mean much to you if you are not Methodist - and maybe even if you ARE Methodist, you might not understand the significance.

General Conference meets every 4 years. Delegates are elected the summer prior to this huge event. Those elected come from literally all over the world. They meet and worship together. They plan the emphasis and goals of the United Methodists, they establish the government and "laws" of this great denomination.

Hugsum is going as an observer. It is meeting in Dallas this year. He was invited by our District Superintendent to ride down for the day. He really is excited.

This has lots of meaning for me in many ways. As I have been packing up for our move, I packed some things that brought a flood of memories and history to mind. One is a wooden cross and flame (the symbol of the UMC) that was given to the delegates of General Conference many years ago. Another special thing I have is a set of coffee mugs from the centennial gathering of the world wide United Methodist General Conference.

These precious items were gifts from my parents. My daddy was an elected delegate for many many years. He attended other times as part of the "press" since he was the editor of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate. I would dare to guess that he attended General Conference for 50 years of his 65+ years of ministry. This may be the first time he has not attended since he started going.

Anyway... this is a nostalgic day, a memorial day, a special day....

I would request prayers for the General Conference. As I have said, this is the law making body of the United Methodist Church. They have fought off the battles of homosexuality and abortion. You may not agree with everything the UMC stands for, and for denominations, but... this is a huge part of the Body of Christ. It is important that it be whole and pure. Please pray for her....

Thanks....

What would YOU have done?

Yesterday at work, just as we were about to close, one of the kids of a coworker came in. He came up behind a teller and just slapped her on the back as hard as he could.

EVERYONE in the place heard it. The poor girl he hit was almost in tears and had a big hand print on her back.

The mother just calmly got up and smiled, got the child by the hand and walked him away. She didn't say a word. He was not reprimanded, or disciplined, nor did he ever apologize.

I went to the back and as I was walking back, the same child was standing there with his little brother coaxing him and they were BOTH headed toward the same teller hands up ready to slap her again....

I turned around, pointed my finger in their faces and VERY sternly and loudly told them they had better NOT hit her again.

They began to tell me it was okay and WHY couldn't they hit her and that they hit people all the time. I told them it was just WRONG and RUDE and they should never hit anyone, especially a girl or adult.

The whole place was in shock - this is a side of me not seen frequently by anyone. They began to tell me the oldest child has "problems" and they are working with him .... etc...

The mother was in a meeting and unaware of the second incident. I'm not sure what she would have done or said.

Was I wrong? Was I too stern? Was it okay for the boys to hit an adult? What would you have done?

The Process ....

Well, the "fun" of packing is going on...

These are pictures from a past move - (since my camera is being borrowed, I can't take any current pictures)

But, the outfit is the same, the process is the same the boxes are the same and well, thankfully, my hair has changed and I once again wear my contacts.... and of course, it's a different house with different furnishings.

This will be the results when we are packed...

The main difference this time is that we now have furniture to move too.

Don't you want to come and join the "packing party???"

God's love

I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love for us from the church and community. We have only been here for a year, but people have come to us repeatedly expressing their love and sadness that we are moving.

The constant expression of what God has done in their lives through us, is very humbling. The greatest gift is to be used by God.

The people have been so loving and understanding that we want to be close to our children and grandchildren and that the door has been opened for us to move. It is a sacrificial love that I'm experiencing from them. It is God's love...

I'm so thankful.

Well, the cat is out of the bag....

Tonight we made an announcement... it is finally okay to let the cat out of the bag.... he's been trying to get out, but we had to keep it quiet.

We let our churches know tonight that our dream is coming true. We are moving close to our children and grandchildren... It is bittersweet because we are also having to move away from dear friends and loved ones here.

Here are three of the (presently) fifteen - and growing - reasons to move. In September we will have FIVE grandchildren under three years old! God has opened the door and made the way.

We have a contract on a house... This is our street sign....

This is our front door...

This is our backyard - designed especially with entertaining the children in mind!
We are praying that everything goes through as planned.

Watch for more updates.... we plan to do lots of fixing up and enjoying.

We just praise the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness in allowing us this time to be close to our children. We are very excited to have that privilege

I would also like to express our thankfulness and love for the people where we are serving. We have seen God move. We have experienced His love through them. It has been a privilege and adventure.

We are blessed.

Barney, are you OUT of the bag????

Cat..... What are you doing in the bag????

New

"There's a new day comin'
It's comin' round the bend...
There's a new voice callin'
It's callin' you, my friend..."

I wish I could remember the rest of that song. It has been running around in my head for a few days.

It makes me want to eat, and sing loud and say things like "de colores"...

If you've ever been on the Walk to Emmaus, you will probably understand all that. The song is from that weekend.

- it was a fantastic weekend, but has nothing to do with what is going on in my life now... except that I feel the presence of Jesus and His love and blessing.

Wonderful Weekend...

I have not blogged much lately - can you tell? I guess that was a very obvious statement.



We had a fantastic weekend and got to spend time with all the grandchildren and children.



It was Kate's 2nd birthday. Here are some pictures from then.

Kate's mom and Grandma from Michigan, along with her aunt and cousin, all fixed us a feast to enjoy! Kate enjoyed opening many gifts and got lots of cute clothes and some "practical" gifts of broom, mop and vacuum cleaner, as well as a basketball goal that all the cousins enjoyed playing.

I'll blog more later - thanks for stopping in...