Hello to all my xanga friends,

Guess I will try my hand at connecting with xanga once again after a long absence. This time I dedicate this blog to our dear son Delton who passed away 16 years ago today, August 16, at the young age of 16 years, after a feed truck accident 6 weeks earlier on July 6th. He was critically injured and in spite of the many improvements and God's miraculous healing in the following 6 weeks, severe complications set in and he peacefully passed away surrounded by family and friends...soon after we had sung several songs, with the last one being, "Safe In The Arms of Jesus." Heaven seemed so near and within reach, almost as though we could touch the angels as they (seemed) to hover near. Later the little ones told us of actually seeing a Someone (dressed in white) waiting outside the window, and again on several other occasions.

Something that seemed rather ironic, but interesting, was the correlation of numbers in the same family (2-4-6-8-16) that was rather outstanding...not only was Delton 16 years old, but he passed away on the 16th day of the 8th month; (and had been born on the 22nd day of the 4th month)...we recieved 16 plants and flowers in sympathy...with 4 of those being Peace Lilies (and I still have-16 years later, 4 of those plants, with 2 of them being Peace Lilies)....he had $16 in his wallet and also there was a mug sitting on his dresser filled to the brim with loose change, which came to $116 and some cents...and many more incidents which include the numbers above.

Something else that was interesting and comforting was that Peace Lilies bloom several times a year, but not necessarily any given month (a florist told me), and yet these peace lilies which were of course blooming in August when they were given, they also bloomed again at Christmas, and then again in April for Delton's Birthday...with a continuation of this cycle for several years, blessing us with blooms in his birth and death months besides presenting blooms in Dec...being a gift of comfort to us as well at Christmas time.

The greatest comfort is in knowing that God makes no mistakes. He really cares about us and has sent us comforting circumstances from time to time, including vivid dreams that assure us Delton is waiting in a happier place. Along with that, we were told by various people how the evening of Delton's passing, that they were simply in awe of an extra beautiful sunset and sky--the vivid pinks, gold and silver of the clouds against the blue, blue sky...which is rather unusual for August, especially since we were having so many hot, hazy days just prior to this.

Another outstanding scene was only 6 weeks after Delton's passing...when we were in a low time of extreme sadness and loneliness, God allowed our whole family to observe a very magnificent and unusual sunset. There was an abundance of gold and silver linings on numerous clouds...but what was so breathtaking was the very large space that was completely void of a single cloud and was a deep blue, and in the center of this cloudless circle was a perfect cross also lined in gold and silver. As we watched in awe, it slowly faded away...and in it's stead was a feeling of pure tranquility and sweet peace, with the words of Jesus echoing in my mind, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you..." (Dear Lord, thank-you for your love and goodness to us!)

The church and fellowship we belonged to at that time, began sponsoring a Bible School for Christian youth. The youth from our home church were allowed to go as 16 year olds the first several years or so. Delton really looked forward to attending his first year which would come up the following winter. He was a little on the quiet side by nature, and yet he had a friendly out-going personality. He joined the youth chorus when he was 15, and when he turned 16, all the youth functions were a real highlight for him as he enjoyed being with the youth and always looked forward to attending and participating in the various youth activities, along with his cousins and classmates as well.

The last Sunday before Delton had his accident, he received his Bible School application and filled it out ready to give back. Beings God called him Home the following month, and that never transpired, we felt prompted and inspired to fix a poster filled with pictures and poems etc. of Delton's life, from babyhood till his death, which also included the Bible School application...and we gave this poster to the Bible School where it was hung in an appropriate place, in memory of Delton. The following letter was posted on the poster as well....as a reminder to the youth that "we have this moment, but we have no promise of tomorrow."

Dear Fellow Youth,

"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them."  Eccl. 12:1

Just imagine that I could come back and speak with you today. I too was young and carefree; I had dreams, ambitions, plans and goals I was striving for. One dream and goal I had was attending Bible School this winter. I anticipated with joy when that time should come...but the Lord had other plans for me.

July 6th dawned to a seemingly perfect summer day. The sky was extra blue with big white fluffy clouds; the birds were singing and with a pleasant breeze blowing, it seemed good to be alive!

As I filled my water jug with ice and water at the kitchen sink, and as I paused and smiled at my Mother as I walked out the door, I did not know that I would never be able to do this again...yet my Mother's love and prayers went with me as I left and went about my duties that day.

But...God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He had a perfect plan for me as I neared my destination where I was making a delivery in my Dad's feed truck. (I had a load of corn on with 30 bags of feed on the side.)

As I topped the hill and entered into a right hand curve, I accidentally dropped my right front wheel off the pavement. In spite of my desperate attempts to keep the truck on the road, I lost control and 600 feet later I was thrown out of the truck onto the pavement. I vividly remember bouncing down the pavement on my back. As I slid off the edge of the road, the truck was tilted onto it's left side, it turned and the back wheels ran over my mid-section.

God only knows why I wasn't killed instantly or why I didn't die later as my life-blood drained away (internally.) I realized that I was in a very life threatening situation and as I lay there praying and waiting, and as I gave up my will for whatever the Lord had for me, I felt the Lord's presence with me and His peace and love envelop me.

"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." Rom. 14:8

After a 5 hour surgery the Doctors gave me only a 20% chance to live. God performed many miracles in the following days and weeks, and I kept improving much to the amazement of my doctors and nurses. They even called me their "Miracle Boy!" In spite of all the improvements and God's healing in my body, my days were numbered. In the weeks that followed, I suffered a lot of intense pain and agony, and only God knows the extent of my suffering. I relied heavily on the Lord to help me through those times and greatly appreciated the many, many prayers that people prayed for me! It also helped me relax when my parents read the Bible to me and prayed with me.

"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee...fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."

"When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; when thou walkest throgh the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.."

"For I am the Lord thy God...thy Saviour..."

"For thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee...fear not: for I am with thee." Isaiah 43:1-5

 I was reminded of how Jesus my Saviour also suffered, but with a much greater agony than I can even imagine...all so that I could be forgiven; and the Lord gave His life for me that I might have eternal life!

On August 16th I became deathly sick. After a 1 1/2 hr. emergency surgery, the doctors told us that my end was near. More than 60 of my family and friends came to my bedside to tell me good-bye and that they want to meet me in Heaven. (Through this experience I also discovered that I had a lot more friends than I realized.) Because of being on a respirator, I could not talk but I nodded my head "yes" and waved goodbye to all in the room. My Dad said he wished he could trade places with me, but I shook my head "no" as I knew the Lord had this planned and that my pain was almost over. I was not afraid to die because I had given my heart and life to Jesus and was redeemed by His blood. I had struggles and temptations like you have, but the Lord is faithful and is able to help us be victorious.

Soon after 6:30 pm as my Mother was talking to me about Heaven, the Lord allowed me to catch a glimpse (of something glorious)...I opened my eyes real wide 3 times, raised my right arm and pointed heavenward.

Several days before my passing I told my parents "I still can't believe this happened to me." Mother reminded me that it is also like that with death, it has always been someone else, but sooner or later it will be you or I. Really, it came to me sooner than I expected. I too wanted to live a long happy life, but we have no promise of tomorrow. Our time is in God's Hands.

Remember you can still sing...

"Hold tight to the sound of the music of living, happy songs from laughter of children at play; hold my hand as we run through the sweet fragrant meadows...making memories of what was today.

Chorus: We have this moment to hold in our hands and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand; yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come...but we have this moment today.

"Tender words, gentle touch and a warm cup of coffee, and someone who loves me and wants me to stay; hold them dear while they're here and don't wait for tomorrow...to look back and wish for today."

The ultimate in life is to give diligence to make your calling and election sure; and prepare to meet thy God. The message I want to leave with you are two verses that meant a lot to me...

"If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." Col. 3:1-2.

Waiting for you on the other side,

Delton Jon

A loving tribute to the Dear Man I Love!

Husbands are wonderful people
      too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
      as often as we should...
For somehow Hubby seems to be
      the man who pays the bills,
While 'your's truly' binds up little hurts
      and nurses all the ills...
And Husbands struggle daily
      to live up to their image
As protector and provider
      and hero of the scrimmage...
And perhaps that is the reason
      we sometimes get the notion
That Guys are not subject
      to the thing we call emotion,
But if you look inside his heart,
      where no one else can see,
You'll find he's sentimental
      and soft as can be...
But he's so busy every day
      in the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
      to his partner-who's his wife...
But Husbands are just wonderful
      in a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
      and accolades of praise, 
One reason Husbands do aspire
      to fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
      and to bring them happiness...
And like our Heavenly Father,
      he's a guardian and a guide,
Someone we can count on
      to be on our side.
(Revised) -- Helen Steiner Rice

I will try and post some pictures tomorrow.....AND change my background now that it's Spring!!

Global Warming doesn't seem to be the answer to all the changes in our current weather patterns and the vast variations that our nation has been seeing already this winter...even though 'winter' hadn't even officially arrived yet.

The following is a true happening and taken from a clipping I recently ran across....

The Year Without A Summer                                                                                                                           

"Freaks in the weather have forever been a subject of interest. Recently information has come to light that the year of 1816 was a year without a summer. A clipping of the "Elizabeth Pioneer" of 44 years ago (this clipping is old so it may have been printed 50-60 yrs. ago by now) refers to the freak years as follows: January and February were warm and spring-like; March was cold and stormy, still vegetation had gotten well under way in April when real cold weather set in.

Snow and sleet fell on 17 different days in May. In June there was either frost or snow every day but 3. July was also cold and frosty. August was worse, for ice formed nearly an inch in thickness and killed every green thing in the United States. In the spring of 1817 corn which was kept over from 1815 sold for $5.00 to $10.00 per bushel for seed only.

The eruption of Mt.Temboro, Dutch East Indies, blew 50 cubic miles of dust in the air killing 60,000 people and clouding the skies all over the earth, crops refused to ripen, trees bore no fruit, and cattle froze in the fields as a result. The year 1816 was a year without a summer.

The phenomenon of 1816 was further told in the "Yorkshire, S.C Enquirer": January was so mild that most people allowed their fires to go out and did not burn wood except for cooking. February was not cold and March was windy. April came in warm but, as the days grew longer and the air became colder and by the first of May there was a temperature like that of winter. The young buds were frozen stiff and ice upon the ponds and rivers, corn was killed, and corn fields were planted again and again. When the last of May arrived, everything had been killed by the cold. June was the coldest June ever experienced in this latitude. Frost and ice were as common as buttercups usually are. All fruit was destroyed, snow fell 10 inches deep in Vermont. July came in with snow and ice. On the 4th of July ice was a quarter inch thick throughout New England.

To the surprise of all, August proved to be the worst month of all. Thousands of people would have perished in this country had it not been for an abundance of game."

What rhyme or reason would the weathermen have for us should this happen in 2009 or 10 or ever again?

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CHRISTMAS....What does Christmas mean to You...to Me?

The tendency for most of us at Christmas is to rush through the season doing rather than learning. Christmas happens every year, but somewhere along the line we develop the impression we've grasped all there is to know about it's meaning, like there's nothing else for us to learn. Rather than pausing to contemplate, we shop. Rather than probing into it's meaning, we shop. Rather than think and reflect, we shop. 

Can we reflect on Jesus' birth, life and death, and say with Mary: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." ??

I think if we can have a goal to become more like Mary--to be unpretentious, truly humble and unselfish, understanding, uninhibited-- then and ony then, will we be receptive enough to receive whatever miracle God has for us.

I smiled when I read the little story of a sweet little girl who made a Christmas banner that said: "Mary had a little  lamb.....and named him Jesus." She was ridiculed by her teacher and classmates which broke her heart. The precious outcome and happy ending to this story is, her loving Mother made sure that this special banner was the centerpiece of their Christmas celebration every year thereafter! Mary truly did have a little Lamb....and named Him Jesus!

There's a side to the Christmas story that isn't often told..."those delicate little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, were made so nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, soft and pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet Infant's head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday it will withstand the pressure of the crown of thorns that the men at his crucifiction forced onto it. The tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear." Jesus was born to die. His mission was no mystery and had been foretold in scores of scriptures.

The Baby in a manger was born to die upon a cross; yet most people don't like to think about the cross at Christmas, because Christmas is about birth and a new life. They see the cross as an ugly, nasty, tasteless reminder of man's dark ages when men acted in barbarous ways. The sentiment of most people in this world is that Christmas is a time for tinsel, glitter, blinking lights, warm fires, and fuzzy feelings. Christmas is a season we like to think of as "peace on earth and good will toward men." Nobody likes to think of  horrible first century torture and violence, or spoil the serenity of the season with images of  gore, suffering and bloodshed. Somehow people want Christmas to be the one day of the year when everyone pretends that the world is okay.

Therefore, for most people, it's tough to appreciate the cross at Christmas. Yet if it weren't for the cross, there would be no reason to celebrate at Christmas time, or any other time for that matter. The values of love, peace, good will, and new life...values we treasure at Christmas and that make life worth living...were all purchased and made possible on the cross of Jesus Christ. If we would look at Christmas through the eyes of Jesus, then we see the cross even from the manger. Jesus was born to die and give His life for us. Then again we need to see the manger through the cross....we aren't really ready to worship the Baby in a manger until we have trusted our lives to the Savior hanging on the cross.

When we see a Christmas light, let's always remember that Light that shines in the darkness, even though the darkness comprehends it not. My sin and your sin nailed Jesus to the tree, and it was His Love that kept Him there. Jesus was born to die for us.

So, if Jesus were born to die for us, then we must die to live for Him. When we die to our stubbornness, our selfishness, our deceitfulness, and are willing to bury our pride and arrogance; when we confess these (and many more) as sin and recognize our need for a Saviour....when we embrace the cross and trust in Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us, then, in a spiritual sense, the miracle of Christmas happens again. This time, not in Bethlehem, but in our very own heart and life!

It is through that process that Christ comes to us spiritually and enters, not through a manger, but through the door of our heart. We then embrace the Lamb as the sacrifice for our sin, and the miracle of Christmas happens all over again.....inside of us.

Beautiful?......Yes, very beautiful!!

Last but not least, while we are giving gifts to family, friends and neighbors, let's not  forget that this gift giving is bound to be empty if we miss the opportunity to receive  the greatest Gift of all.....that the Father gave for all mankind.

"....behold , the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying....fear not....and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:20-21