Milestone Birthday

Time marches on, doesn’t it? I know this because I celebrated a milestone birthday a few weeks ago. The phrase “milestone birthday” is a nice way of saying, “Wow, you are getting old!). To commemorate this auspicious occasion, my husband planned a huge “I Can’t Believe She’s Sixty” birthday celebration event for me. I must admit that I was surprised – perhaps even a bit overwhelmed at the number of people who cared enough about me to be a part of this celebration.

As is common when my husband turns his attention to a project, my birthday bash was spectacular - a gala event of epic proportion (or as he likes to say the pre-eminent pinnacle of party pizzazz). There were festive decorations in my favorite colors (pinks and purples), a never-ending supply of barbequed burgers and hotdogs, a large, beautiful, and delicious birthday cake, cases of soft drinks on ice, and more summer specialty salads, side dishes, appetizers, and desserts than I’ve ever seen assembled in one place at one time. There were inviting groupings of chairs and tables with umbrellas scattered across the lawn.

The main attractions for youth and adults were the swimming pool and the live music provided by the band my husband plays in (he’s a rock star bass player and I’m his favorite groupie). Highlights for the kids included a kiddie pool (complete with water slide), two slip-n-slides, various play structures, organized games, a fish pond (for prizes), water balloon fights, and a piñata. It was a kid’s version of heaven on earth for twenty-plus kids that day.

My husband asked me to organize the kid’s area and activities because he knows I love children and wanted to do this. Planning and coordinating the other aspects of the day were my husband’s gift to me – and what a fun day it was. I am a lucky woman.

As great as this was, the best part of the day was a gift from God. As dozens of family, friends, and neighbors parked their cars in the field across the street, our deck, patio, yard, and swimming area came to life with conversation and laughter, I realized that most of the purpose, meaning, fulfillment, joy, memories, and lasting value in my life was embodied in these precious relationships. From family members I see every day to those I haven’t seen for years; from my best friend since 5th grade to our newest friends who rent our guest house; from neighbors we have laughed with, cried with, and prayed for over the years to the new family that just moved in down the street; from people we ministered to and worshipped with in our last church plant that closed six months ago to those in our new church family that we are just getting to know, it’s the people in my life that count. People matter to us because they matter to God.

I was humbled when I realized how God had used us in the lives of so many families and blessed to recall how he had used so many of these people to enrich our lives. From the oldest to the youngest, I was grateful God allowed all of these precious people to become a part of each other’s lives – in large and small ways.

I felt so blessed and humbled as the awesomeness of God manifest itself through those relationships. Tears filled my eyes as the band led everyone in a rockin’ version of Happy Birthday. As everyone sang, my nephew who had been estranged from me for years, put his arm around me and whispered, “Happy birthday, Aunt Cassie. I love you.”

The pure joy and deep gratitude of that moment was overwhelming – a life-changing birthday moment experienced in the rich context of meaningful relationships with people was my favorite gift this year. Life is precious. God is good. He is so good to me.

Classy Act

My sister-in-law Renee is an artist who owns and operates a business out of her home called Classy Plaques (www.classyplaques.com). Her business is growing nicely and her artistic creativity has recently been catching the eye of influential people from all over the world.

Less than a week before Father’s Day, she received a request for a plaque from the CEO of a well-known Fortune 500 company. This powerful CEO was looking for a gift for her father and was running out of time – just like the rest of us (with the exception of the personal assistant who did the shopping research and ordering for her).

Having found the perfect gift of a custom-designed ceramic plaque for her father’s new house, this CEO daughter was faced with the challenge of getting the gift produced and shipped to California in time for her to forward it on to her father who lived in Oregon. She really wanted the plaque for her dad and told Renee that money was no object if she could make it work.

While researching all of the high-speed shipping options, my sister-in-law realized that the father of her customer lived less than thirty minutes from her home (and business) in Oregon – so she simply offered to personally hand-deliver the plaque to her customer’s father when it was finished. Needless to say the CEO daughter in California was grateful for my sister-in-law’s problem-solving offer to go the extra mile - literally.

Given the influential position of her customer, I’m sure it was a good business decision but one thing I know about Renee is that this wasn’t just a business decision designed to create another satisfied customer. It was really all about loving and serving God by loving and serving people. Renee believes in the power of God to change lives and she was simply living out her faith – like she does everyday.

Christians are called to care – to be shining lights in the darkness that illuminate the way for a dark and dying world to find Christ. It’s often as simple as going the extra mile.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:14-16

Passing the Baton

I recently traveled to Bend, Oregon with my husband to attend commencement exercises for two nieces who were graduating from high school and college, respectively. Our high school age niece graduated with honors and is very talented in the area of photography. The older one is an exceptionally talented artist who graduated from college with a 4.0 GPA and was selected as the outstanding student of the year for the entire fine arts department. Her professors spoke of full ride scholarships for graduate school and we even attended an art show where her work was prominently featured. We are very proud of both of them.

I started this post with the idea of writing about the girls, their graduation, and their obvious love for the Lord. But as I pondered our outstanding graduation experience in Bend recently, it occurred to me that the primary story is about the generational blessings of Christian parents who live out their faith day by day, year after year – blessings that are passed down from one generation to the next. We observed first-hand the frequently inevitable outcome of many years of faithful, diligent, obedient, Christ-centered family living and how it is now manifesting itself in the lives of the next generation.

Over the years, God has granted to my brother and sister-in-law all of the wisdom, patience, love, and discipline required to care for, parent, train, build up, lead, shape, influence, and mold their daughters into the gracious, loving, beautiful, and responsible young adults they are today – young women who truly know, love, serve, praise, and follow God with their whole hearts. They are now beginning to make their own unique and significant contributions to society. What a blessing!

I’m not saying there haven’t been obstacles and difficulties, problems and pains, bumps and bruises along the way. Like all of us, I know they had their share of high points and low points. God never promised us an easy life here on this earth - but he did promise to walk through it with us and to always be there for us.

My husband and I have both been married before so I have only been part of his family for eight years. That weekend I found myself stepping back and observing the many family members who make up this clan. God’s influence in each family member over the years is evident and the deep love and respect they share for and with each other is powerful.

I enjoyed the chance to get to know my sister-in-law better. What an amazing woman, wife, and mother she is. Her sunny personality and welcoming attitude made everyone feel right at home. Her husband is very much involved as a husband, father, and leader in their home and the love and respect his girls (wife and daughters) show toward him speaks volumes.

I also met my sister-in-law’s parents – another amazing Christian couple. They exude that quiet inner strength that comes from knowing God is in control and that Christ holds a central position in their lives. The same is true of my mother-in-law. She also raised her children in a Christian home where they learned God’s word and his ways. These parents instilled Christian values deep within their children’s hearts – values that remain to this day and have resulted in Christ-centered families that follow hard after God. And now the baton of faith is being passed to yet another generation. Family done God’s way is a blessing like no other.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. ~ Ephesians 6:1-4

No Room for the Squawker

My fourteen month-old Grandson spent the night with us this past weekend and Sunday morning was his first time in church. It didn’t go so well. The sign-in process went well but by the time I released him to the nursery attendant, he was crying. I overcame the twinge of guilt that popped up in my heart by reminding myself that he was in loving, capable, and well-trained hands. As I walked back to the sanctuary, I found myself looking forward to what was sure to be an inspiring sermon from our pastor.

During the third song of worship, I felt the spirit moving – a warm vibration emanating from deep within. But something was wrong. Was it an earthquake? Or perhaps a heart attack? I suddenly realized the violent vibration from my right side was the nursery pager. Now I knew why the young mothers jumped up so quickly when summoned to the nursery. “How do you turn this thing off?” I thought as I hurried back to the nursery wondering what could possibly be wrong.

From the far end of the long hallway, I heard his loud and tearful screaming. As I opened the door, a young nursery worker with a smile that thinly veiled her concern and frustration handed my grandson to me. With an apologetic tone she informed me that he had been crying nonstop from the moment I left. She kindly offered me the option of taking him to the squawkers room. The squawker’s room is the one year-old equivalent of toddler detention where you go when you get kicked out of the nursery – without the pink slip.

As I comforted my sobbing grandson and made my way to the squawker’s room, he quieted down and gave me a big smile – the one that always melts my heart. I reached to open the door and wondered if we would have the detention center to ourselves or if someone else might be there. Imagine my surprise when I found myself in a very large squawker’s room that was packed to capacity with noisy children and their mothers. Pink slip or not, there was no room for us.

I returned to the sanctuary and told my husband that our little angel had been kicked out of the nursery and sent to detention – but since there was no room at the inn, we were going to roam the halls for a while and then head to the car until church was over.

After a quick stroll around the children's area, I took our little charmer outside. As we walked to the car, he darted after a butterfly as fast as he little legs could carry him. With purse and diaper bag in hand, I worked hard to keep up with him.

I got him settled in his car seat and gave him a cookie and some juice and I wondered how I had done this with my own kids. (the answer is that I was younger – a lot younger). Soon he was finished and ready to get up out of the car seat and play. So we walked some more. He was fascinated by the flowers growing near the fence and excited about the bug by the rock we sat on. He loved splashing the water in the little fish pond. We walked and I told him about all the fun and beautiful things he was experiencing and how God made them for us to enjoy.

Something began to change in my heart. Suddenly I wasn’t missing church. I was no longer frustrated or resentful that I wasn’t able to listen to our pastor speak. God had a different worship experience planned for me that day. I felt his presence as I walked and talked with my little grandson. I marveled at the simple wonder of God’s creation. I saw the world through the eyes of a child and stood in awe as I felt the joy evoked by a flower, a bug, a rock, and a splash of water. I was overcome with a sense of gratitude. God is good.

Never Forgotten

I am blessed to spend four days a week with my two grandsons. The oldest, a six-year old Kindergartner, catches the bus in front of the house each morning. This morning I watched from the front porch as he waited at the end of the driveway. We both saw the bus coming but today was different. Instead of stopping, the bus just kept on going – driving right on by without even slowing down.

An unforgettable expression crossed my grandson’s face as he turned back to look at me – a perplexed look of complete bewilderment. At the same moment, I heard the kids on the bus yelling and screaming, “Stop! Wait! Go back!” to let the bus driver know she had missed a stop. As the bus came to a screeching halt just a few houses down the street, I wondered what was going through his young mind as I watched him climb onto his bus.

When he got home from school I asked him about the bus incident and how he felt about being forgotten. He told me it had happened once before and seemed to know that it wasn’t anything personal. He said that sometimes the bus driver just gets to talking and forgets to stop because she didn’t have her mind on him at the moment.

This gave me a great opportunity to remind my grandson how God loves us so much that he never stops thinking about us. We are valuable and precious to him and he always has his mind on us. I prayed with him and thanked God for never passing us by – for never forgetting about us.

When we finished, he aimed one of his precious smiles at me. As he ran to the door to play outside, he paused, turned around, and asked, “Does God think about me even when I’m sleeping?”

“Of course he does,” I answered. “God is always thinking about you because He never sleeps. He created you just the way you are and is very interested in each and every minute of your day. He wants you to grow up to become all that He created you to be.”

Thank God for teachable moments.


Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT)
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Unexpected Blessings

It’s Saturday afternoon and I can hear the neighborhood kids jumping off our deck and onto the rope swings we put up for the grandkids. Our acre in the country offers a lot of room for kids to play and when you put eight or ten kids together with a Great Dane named Maverick (who also believes he is a kid), who knows what will happen? The young couple living in our guest house has two children, ages six and eight who are magnets for the neighborhood kids and our house is often the grand central of play areas for the neighborhood.

A bit later, the joyful shrieks and unending laughter draw me to the window where I have a front row seat for the squirt gun battle of the ages. As the kids tear across my deck and run around the yard, stepping out from behind trees to squirt their unsuspecting victims, I find myself laughing and wondering again where they get all their energy and wishing there was a way to bottle it. I would definitely be a regular customer.

At that moment a gentle sense of God’s joy, peace, and contentment overwhelms me and I recognize again how truly blessed I am. Right here, right now in the midst of the uncertain and difficult times in which we live, God’s unexpected blessings appear just when I need them most – and I am grateful.

God is so good. He’s so good to me.

A Glimpse of Heaven

My mother was an impressive woman and people who met her never forgot her. She was strikingly beautiful, vivacious, graceful, and energetic with a wonderfully wide smile that helped her meet people and make friends easily. She was the quintessential home maker – the prototypical female of the 1950’s (think Donna Reid meets June Cleaver). I was her first-born daughter and she worked hard to instill these feminine traits and value in me.

Then there was my other mother – the one with a drink in her hand. Alcohol would turn this otherwise refined and genteel woman into an obnoxious, impatient, overbearing, irresponsible, and boorish stranger. It was during these times that I became the mother to my three younger siblings.

I remember being so confused by her mood swings. I could not understand them until one day I overheard a neighbor in the grocery store making a remark about my mother’s drinking problem. At nine years old, I just hadn’t made the connection between the empty vodka bottles and her mood swings.

My mother’s bondage to alcohol continued throughout my childhood and on into adulthood until shortly before she became ill with brain cancer. On her death bed she apologized for all that she had put me through as a child. She told me she loved me and had always been proud of me – words I had longed to hear as a child.

God’s unconditional love and forgiveness in my life allowed me to forgive my mother long before her apology. And two days before she died, she came to faith in Jesus and found peace with God. But there’s more to the story. Just days before her death, my mother had a vision – an up close and personal glimpse of heaven.

Toward the end of her battle with brain cancer, when death was imminent, my aunt, my sister and I took turns sitting at my mother’s bedside. We wanted to be with her to the end. On one such night my aunt reported that Mom opened her eyes, looked all around the room, and asked my aunt if she was still alive. My aunt smiled and said, “Yes Charlene, you are still here with us.” With a look of wonder and amazement on her face, my mother turned to my aunt and said, “Oh Patty Ann, I have been to a beautiful place full of brilliant colors and indescribable beauty - things I can’t begin to understand.”

God gave my mother a glimpse of what was waiting for her if she would just surrender her life to Jesus, which she did later the next day.

Some think there is no God. Others believe he has forsaken us and scoffers say he isn’t returning. But the Bible says that God is holding back judgment because he doesn’t want anyone to be left behind. He waits with open arms for anyone, anywhere, anytime who will place their faith and trust in him - even an old, alcoholic woman, who came to faith on her death bed.

God isn't late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone space and time to change. ~ 2 Peter 3:9 (MSG)