2/10/25

 Dear Family, 

 

               Sickness can ruin everything.  Last week I stayed home from Sunday church, Monday work, and Tuesday night youth group with a cold.  I thought it would take me weeks to get better. With prayers from you all (our youth especially)  and Cold Calm, God healed me, Yay! 

               My heart was touched Tuesday night when one of our youth texted me and let me know they were praying for me.  Earlier during our drive to the Ice skating event over an hour away, this person was kind enough to ask if they could rearrange my Glove box and armrest storage.  Now whenever I want to find something in my car I text them because she knows where it is.  Kind of disconcerting but, now I know how it feels to have my items arranged differently than I am used to.  I do this often to Bobby so he laughed when I mentioned what happened.

               Wednesday night at High school group Bobby was trying to teach our youth how to be Humble and kind.  He mentioned if they had the luck to be in line after someone who paid a drink forward at a coffee shop they could also pay for the next person’s drink.  This was met with a lot of pushback and incredulity.  “No, that means we just got a free drink.  Sometimes It’s OK to be a little selfish.”  They probably won’t be paying anything forward for a couple years now. Maturity, it comes with age.

               One student mentioned they didn’t come to youth group last week because they went to see an opera.  When asked for more details they mentioned that it was called, “Rigoletto”, and “I almost fell asleep.” 

               Prayer time was hard for me because the request I had was for snow which I’m not really wanting.  I mentioned that I was praying for this against my will but because I loved x sooo much I prayed for it.  The next prayer request was similar, “Dear God please help it to snow but not till next week because I have a jazz recital.”

               Adriel continues to answer the phone and I enjoy chatting with her.  Sometimes she is so whimsical and fun.  I am glad we have open lines of communication.

               May you also keep bridges open, lines clear and hearts soft even when you disagree about what to pray for, politics, how to stack the dishwasher, or the temperature of your house.  May God’s grace flowing in, through, and over you make this possible.  Love and hugs, Cristy

2/3/25

 Dear Family,

 

               As I marveled at the interesting differences between our friend and Bobby I was so struck, so significantly that I completely forgot to focus on the funny and fun things our youth were doing during middle school group.  Bobby was in California this week on a Youth Pastors retreat.  Our friends and fellow Youth Group volunteers took over and I was so glad that it worked out well.  The kids were the same, fun, giggly, talkative, but the leadership styles were so starkly in contrast.  Where Bobby is loud, boisterous, and energetic our friends are soft spoken, peaceful and calm.  Even the songs became a worshipful feeling of kumbaya instead of a raucous joyful proclamation of God’s goodness.  Same songs, completely different feel. Amazing!

               High school group had Ryland Duval lead music and he is definitely a professional.  That was special, having him come back to his home roots.  Rich led the lesson time very well.  It was good to consider how we can filter the world through God’s word.  One interesting conversation piece was about Psalm 199 being so long.  Rich asked, “The Psalms are what?”  One student said, “A paragraph.”  The right answer was, ‘Poetry’ and Rich went on to mention that Ps. 119 is an Acrostic.  When he asked if anyone knew what and Acrostic is someone asked, “Is that in the newspaper and you have to fill in the blanks?”  No that’s a crossword puzzle. 

               One student mentioned she was excited to turn 16.  I asked if that is because she would get her license? “No, it’s when I get to date.  But now it’s getting closer and I don’t think they like the idea of me dating anyway.”  Ah yes, I remember when our daughter turned 16.  She was allowed to date, but not any person she mentioned that Bobby knew.  No one was good enough for his daughter he had specific reasons for each one but in all reality he did not want her to date at all.

               Please pray for me as I have developed a cold that makes me feel very germy.  I am glad my immune system is updating itself and the virus will die.  For now please pray this happens quickly. 

               May you find joy in serving our Lord.  May His grace flow through you that you can shine for Him and do good things which we are prepared in advance to do.

Love and hugs, Cristy

1/27/25

 Dear Family,

 

               Ice skating with the middle schoolers this year had much less hand-holding than I am used to.  There was a similar amount of shoe-tying though. Several fun quotes had me laughing and saying, “I must write that one down.”  Someone announced, “My dirty clothes have ants in them,” loud and proud with no chagrin whatsoever.  I found that random statement to be hilarious.  How about you?

               We enjoyed an all-you-can-eat pizza/salad buffet at Pappa Pizza’s in Eugene.  It was amazing.  Two great foods and most of us didn’t overeat.  One boy did mention he ate 15 slices!  After that Bobby’s surprise was visiting a doughnut shop.  This was tasty and since Bobby was spacing things out – again – possibly not too much on the belly.  As the girls and I were waiting in my car for the van full of boys to start moving one said, “That man over there smoking really creeps me out! He’s just standing there.”  I did mention that’s what people do when they are smoking. Another person had to ask, “Do you think that guy that creeped you out tastes like vinegar?”  This ended up being a serious discussion. 

               We arrived early at the ice skating rink so Bobby had some group games and races.  In one race a boy gave up.  His friend announced, “You have five seconds of stamina!”  I thought that was silly.

               A game of Simon Says lead by a youth had us rocking a pretend baby and then tossing it in the air away from us.  When Rich refused he was asked, “Why didn’t you toss the baby?”  He simply said, “No, I don’t want to.  I love the baby.”  How sweet – he’s a new grandpa and I am glad for his loving care of even pretend babies.

               Tuesday night youth group was enjoyable and the High School group was downright fun.  I enjoyed taking some pictures of our youth during game time and have shared one with you.

               Sunday school had a funny moment.  Bobby mentioned he was going to spoil the coming story about Saul.  “Spoiler alert, he ended up being a bad king.”  Our Church regulars had to go with that, gasp, and holler that they also have a “Spoiler alert!” Jesus rose from the grave!

               Chatting with Adriel is so interesting woman to woman.  The relationship is good and feels kind of weird at the same time.  Our jobs are similar enough that we can chat about that and her other job is with youth so that parallels. How interesting.  I enjoy hearing how she is doing and sharing my life.  I am glad we carve out some time to connect.

               Seth’s car wouldn’t start and Bobby thanked me for buying a Huge CAT battery that charges cars, pumps up tires, and the like.  I was glad to be of service.  Yay, Union Gospel Mission Thrift Store for having such a great product for me to buy.

               Seth received a dean's list award.  Bobby made such a big deal of it when we saw the paper on Seth’s desk that I also feel proud of our son.  He’s doing this on his own without our help. 

               Adriel and Bobby teamed up to decorate my desk for Valentine's.  I am so blessed that they were both willing to give me Valentine's gifts early.  I feel loved every time I look at my seasonal shelf display.  Yay!

               Bobby made several amazing meals and mowed the lawn this week.  I am so blessed that he is invested in our well-being and took the time to keep our yard up.  That was very kind of him.  He also folded my laundry while I was out doing errands 😊.  He sure is a treasure.

               May you also treasure those you encounter daily.  May you find joy in knowing them, holding them in your arms, and lifting them up in your prayers.  Much love,

 

 

Cristy

1/20/25

 Dear Family,

               Because I have delighted to tell this story several times, I decided I must add it here for time, eternity, and your pleasure.  Last Sunday morning I was privileged to be a Sunday School teacher for the 3-5 year olds.  They are a delightful group, full of energy.  Our lesson was on being the salt of the world.  I thought it would be fun to have part of our lesson be the air popping of popcorn.  CE director brought the air popper and bowl into the room.  Sure enough, lesson time became very exciting when the loudness drew their attention.  They all brought chairs up to the counter and watched the kernels go round and round.  When the popcorn started popping there was delight and uncontrollable laughter.  I was privileged to hold a three-year-old up high.  His laughter was so endearing to me, I laughed and became teary-eyed.  How fun!  Delight soon turned to disgust.  This popcorn had no flavor.  Most of them said, “I don’t like it!”  (Only one out of six was happily munching away at the unsalted kernels.)  This is where our lesson took a new turn.  Salt was added and we let the younglings know that our actions can make living on this earth better for those around us just like salt makes popcorn yummy.  I don’t know how much the lesson stuck but I do know when I told one mother about the joyous laughter she said, “Oh yeah, he’s never seen popcorn pop, we just use the microwave kind.”  How fun to be part of someone’s first.

               Middle school group had so much entertaining banter.  I loved the lesson time when Bobby was trying to help people figure out which friendships are the best ones to have.  He mentioned that if someone isn’t reliable, they might not be a good friend.  His example was, “I’m sorry, I can’t pray with you right now.  I’m playing a video game.”  I had to chuckle when a youth said, “That happens more than you think.!” 

               High school group, Bobby had to talk about school lunches for some reason.  I don’t quite know the context, but he mentioned he would bring a bag of chips daily and that was his lunch.  No school lunch, no veggies or fruit.  When he was met with incredulity he said, “And I’m still here – it’s all the preservatives.”  Oof, at least he’s not trying to be an influencer when it comes to health.

               One fill-in-the-blank was good but had a silly side answer.  It is B------- Q------ people (Proverbs 22:24-25).  Can you guess what it was?  I’ll post it at the bottom and the silly answer as well.

               Bobby mentioned how good friends will bring each other chicken noodle soup if they are not feeling well.  Then he realized these people are young and might not drive.  He said, “You guys probably don’t do that.”  A youngster said, “No, we bring pepperoni pizza.”  Bobby then proceeded to pretend he was sick, “Cough, cough, I don’t feel so well.”

               Oh, the joy ministry can bring.  Our interactions with each other are fueled by love, common interest, and a desire to grow closer to God.  May you also learn the best place for your skills and talents.  May you find volunteering to be a wonderful way to give back to God all that he has given us.

               Much love,

 

 

Cristy

 

Bobby's fill-in-the-blanks were Befriend quality people.  The silly answer was befriend questionable people.  Yikes!

               

1/13/25

 Dear Family,  

 

               I delight in how fun and playful our youth are.  They are silly, like the girl who put her long hair under her nose and said, “I grew a mustache” or the young man who played swords with our pens.  They are our children – but going through so many changes, voices, stature, and thoughts.  Their thoughts are expanding as their world does and I am privileged to be part of that.

               High school age people are also enjoyable.  One person was frustrated that they didn’t have a prayer request to pray about.  When they voiced their chagrin a sibling said, “They ran out, deep breaths.”  Bobby saved the day when he mentioned the person could pray for Rich and his son who were home and not feeling well.  That worked.

               Another time I had to chuckle was when Bobby mentioned how it might sound a bit awkward to, “Put on the new man” if you are a girl.  This is why we talk about the meaning of our Bible.  Searching deeper than the words is very good, especially in that instance.

               One student had never heard of Billy Graham.  This brought some outcry from me.  Oh dear, not knowing about those who are doing God’s work in the world right now! (Well Franklin his son is carrying on his work.)  The horror.  It became even worse when the student mentioned they did know of “Billy Joel.”  Bobby said, “No, they have different goals.”

               Adriel is still delightful to chat with on the phone.  I enjoy her cheery voice and repetitive, “I love you.”  She mentioned she plans on graduating this spring and I am glad for her. 

               Seth remains a lovely constant.  I enjoy greeting him and an occasional hug.  He is there for our repair people and I am very glad for that.

               As the weather is cold but the sun is coming back earlier may you remember our Lord who gives us rain for the flowers, sun for our enjoyment, and beautiful sunrises just because.  Much love,

 

Cristy

PS The picture is from my commute to work this week.  The sunrise can take my breath away and I enjoy stopping to snap a picture of it.

1/6/24

 Dear family,

 

               May the fresh start of a new year bring you renewed joy and desire to do God’s will more and more.  May you also feel His strength flowing through you so that you can just do it.

               I enjoyed sleeping through the new year and waking up to a day filled with absolutely nothing planned.  We need days like that don’t we?  I enjoyed cleaning, doing the bills and relaxing.  Seth and I sat side by side for hours and may have said 10 words to each other.  And it was good.  I enjoy his company.  I would say, “Introverts unite!” but, well, it might just not happen.

               Bobby is getting better from a cold so that is good. 

               Adriel had the travel bug and ended up in Arizona for a couple of days.  I can’t even imagine.  I do hope she is having a fun time and I’m glad for her.

               I chuckle every time I look at my bicycle.  People can see me.  I’m a light show.  😊.  I also delight in the path I take.  It’s so beautiful.  So sometimes I take a picture and the above is one of them. 

Sunday morning Bobby asked for prayer requests during Sunday School.  Someone said, “Everything”.  Bobby asked them to be more specific. When they hemmed and hawed Bobby said, “Do you want us to pray for your enemies?”  They said, “No” too quickly and then, “Wait, yes!” 

               May you enjoy the desires of your heart and may you seek God always.  Much love, Cristy

12/30/24

 Dear Family,

               I am blessed that Bobby has the sense to give me space when I am stressed.  I was able to get presents ready in time for Christmas and that was a huge undertaking.  Yay!

               Leftovers can be so amazing.  I’m glad for a good time and I am also thrilled that the great food can make the party linger – for days.  Bobby cooked an amazing meal for his family on the Saturday before Christmas and then he made tasty Salmon bisque on Christmas day. 

               The Christmas Eve service was meaningful as usual.  I am so blessed to gather with people and sing God’s praises. 

Adriel wasn’t feeling well so we had a quiet Christmas day at home.  I enjoyed spending time with her very much.  She brings joy wherever she goes even if she isn’t feeling well. 

My mom is proud and not so scared anymore.  Now I have bright bicycle lights that make me visible.  Merry Christmas to me!  Thank you family for making that possible.  I have to giggle at the exclamations of people as I zoom by.  It’s dark and boy do they see me.

               May you also stay safe, love God with all your heart, and find joy in the calm before New Year's.  Love and hugs,

 

 

Cristy