MEMORIAL DAY-2008-GOD IS NIGH!

ARMY GREEN--JUST FOR YOU, DADDY BOYD!

Today's blog is dedicated to my father, who came to be known as Daddy Boyd in his latter years. He served his country that he loved so dearly in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Besides helping build the Burma Road, he was also a courier, flying "The Hump" several times. After one trip that required throwing parachutes etc. overboard to get enough altitude to clear the Himalayas, he decided that once on precious American soil again, he would never again fly on an airplane. He kept his word. But he always liked to joke that he wasn't afraid of flying..............................he was afraid of NOT flying.

Last night we watched the Memorial Day Concert from Washington D.C. I came to appreciate even more than ever all those who have fought for their country and especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. "Freedom is not free" can sound so trite at times but it is so true. Millions of Americans have laid down their lives so that we can live freely each day. How most of us take for granted our daily lives of freedom, our ability to come and go so easily, to go from state to state without passports or official identification, something many countries require nowadays.

In honor of all those, I want to include some of the favorite verses of TAPS.

Day is done, gone the sun,

From the hills, from the lake,

From the sky,

All is well, safely rest,

God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,

May the soldier or sailor,

God keep.

On the land or the deep,

Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, Must thou go,

When the day, And the night

Need thee so?

All is well. Speedeth all

To their rest.

Fades the light; And afar

Goeth day, And the stars

Shineth bright,

Fare thee well: Day has gone,

Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,

'Neath the sun, Neath the stars,

'Neath the sky,

As we go, This we know,

God is nigh.

Nighty, night, Daddy Boyd, I'll see you in the morning!

The Rest of My Family!

I think I have posted at least one picture of everybody in my immediate family now.

The first picture is our son Chris and his wife, Andrea, and children Ashton and Noelle. And yes, those are roller coasters in the background. It is a theme park on Lake Erie close to Sandusky, Ohio. I think there are 12 of them and they are BIG!

The second picture is our son Michael and his wife, Traci. They are the parents of Katelyn, Caroline, and Kennedy.

Graduation Day for Kailey!

My oldest granddaughter is graduating from high school on Monday night, May 18. It seems just yesterday that I took her daddy to kindergarten and left him for the first day of school. I might as well have been sending him off to VietNam (it was during the VietNam war when he started school) for all the tears that I cried. I had always been there to kiss his boo-boos and dry away all of his tears--now, a stranger would do it.

Her name is Kailey and we will go to church with them tomorrow, eat a noon meal at their church and then go to baccalaureate.

Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset,
Quickly fly the years,
One season following another,
Laden with happiness and tears.

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play,
I don't remember growing older,
When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow to be so tall?
Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?

Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly flow the days,
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers,
Blossoming even as we gaze.

Kailey has been a true asset to our family and has made us so grateful to God for His love and mercy and grace. Her love for God and His work is the deepest joy a grandmother could have.

To all of my children, grandchildren, husband, brother and his family, sister and her family, brother-in-law and his family, I pray for all of you every night and every morning and call each one of you by name. You are all precious to me. My most frequent and sincere prayer is that God would draw each one of us closer to Him. Oh, to know Him and to love Him more!

I pray for the precious baby/babies being formed in Mary Kate's womb. She is just a few days pregnant and we already know it! Technology is incredible. Go to michaelandmarykate.blogspot.com to read all about her incredible journey getting pregnant.

(The first picture above is of our son Jeff, his wife, Kim. They are the parents of Kailey and Kendall.)

A Wonderful Mother's Day!

God graciously blessed me with a wonderful Mother's Day. We went to early service with Kim, Jeff, Kailey and Kendall at Summit Church.

When we first arrived about 10 minutes before service time, I noticed there was a young lady sitting very quietly sobbing. It broke my heart because I think I know the nature of her pain. You see, with it being Mother's Day, the church had planned a talk during the sermon from a young pregnant lady, an older lady maybe in her 40's or 50's (the mother of 6 children and the foster mother over the years of 40 children) and a grandmother maybe in her 70's. They were gathered around a baby crib and a rocking chair. So, I am not sure but think maybe this young lady had either lost a child or is having trouble with barrenness. My niece, Mary Kate, just went through 4 years of this heartache and just found out this weekend that she is pregnant. Praise God for answered prayer.

One of my best friends, Kim, also went through the heartbreak of losing 3 children to miscarriage before one of our teacher friends volunteered to carry a baby for her. Now Kim has an adopted daughter and a biological son carried in the womb of a friend.

The church service was good and very meaningful in all respects. The pastor and the ladies who spoke during the sermon dealt very wisely and gently with the fact of barrenness but encouraged those ladies in their call to be nurturers. I think God just built it into us women--we want to nurture and are fulfilled ourselves through our nurturing.

I cried through most of the service from the scene a few rows down from me of the young lady quietly weeping to the young man who came in late with a beautiful corsage and pinned it on an older lady I suspect was his mother. This was on the row in front of me. Somehow, the look of pride in himself and appreciation in his mother's eyes, brought a big lump to my throat and tears to my eyes once again.

The grandmother told how prayer was the legacy she was leaving her children and grandchildren with--how she reads the Bible through many years and starts with a different Bible each time and marks the favorite verses that God speaks to her--she has a Bible to give to each of her 9 grandchildren that she has read all the way through. What a legacy!!

Jeff's family and Boompa and I met Michael's family at P.F. Chang's for lunch, Traci, Katelyn, Caroline and Kennedy. We had a good time of fellowship and some great food.

I did get to talk to our youngest son, Chris, who is a Youth Pastor in Bellevue, Ohio, for a while this evening. It is hard to be away from family but I want all of them to be in God's perfect will more than anything else.