Well, it’s been two months now and the business seems to be taking off. I have been kept busy enough that I sometimes don’t have time to get all the things done that I need too and that is kinda nice! I have been averaging about 10 sewing machines a week and while that is the minimum that I feel I must maintain to keep all the bases covered, it is likely to increase as times go on. Besides the sewing machine repair, I have been doing some computer repair, professional photography, and I just got two web sites to build!!
In all of this, I love being home with my family!! What a blessed time it has been to fix machines on my bench while coaching my boys in taking an old one apart on the floor. They loved it and I enjoyed the times watching them interact and asking for directions. My oldest son has taken it upon himself that HE is Papa’s helper and chief media personnel. When we go in a store, he runs ahead to find the owner and tell them we are there and what we will be doing this time! This usually earns him a quick squeeze and a piece of hard, sugary stuff. I can’t say it out loud any more but it’s spelled YDNAC backwards. So far he hasn’t figured it out yet.
Speaking of him growing up, last week at church, I found him and a little neighbor girl playing downstairs while waiting for fellowship meal to start. They were having a great time playing ‘Mama and Papa.’ When it came time to pray, Japheth sat down beside her and gently slid his arm around her for the whole prayer! Ok, I had my eyes open some of the time but I am a parent so I can do that right?! It was cute but I hope that he gets a good healthy fear of girls before he turns a teenager!! I can’t having him turn into a little heartbreaker!
Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, October 30, 2005
The New Look
Well,
Do you Like it? I just tried myhand at this and it was quite the ordeal!! I still am working on a few bugs such as the double date beside the comments. Oh well, I guess it's life. I got the other main problem fixed with the font though so now it at least is readable. Have a great Sunday folks! If I look uglier this week it's because my "beauty rest" went into this while everyone else slept!
Do you Like it? I just tried myhand at this and it was quite the ordeal!! I still am working on a few bugs such as the double date beside the comments. Oh well, I guess it's life. I got the other main problem fixed with the font though so now it at least is readable. Have a great Sunday folks! If I look uglier this week it's because my "beauty rest" went into this while everyone else slept!
Friday, October 28, 2005
To My Love
Congratulations!
To my wife who has today put up with this character for 5 years! Her patience knows no limits, and her love in unwavering in spite of her better instinct! Yea, her children rise up and call her blessed for they see their father and are so thankful that God sent her to their rescue lest they become like him! And while her beauty growth more and more, the light of it doeth reveal such spots of tarnish on her husband that he clings to her so that she cannot see them so much.I love you sweetheart and I want the world to know that it’s you and only you that still have my heart. Thanks for the wonderful times we’ve had the last five years and as I have been married to you, we have both found out why God uses marriage as the analogy for the union with Christ. The times of joy that we have had, give us strength for the times of trial and if I can quote you,
“It’s worth the pain
It’s worth the Joy!”
It’s worth the Joy!”
Happy Anniversary Love!
Monday, October 24, 2005
Thankfull for Thorns
This is the first time that I have posted something I have not written and trust me, it won’t become the norm! But this is a great story that has touched my heart in a very special way and I trust that in this time of thanksgiving and harvest, may we remember the thorns.
“THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THE THORNS.”
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As it weren’t enough, her husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What’s worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. “Has she lost a child? No, she has no idea what I’m feeling,” Sandra shuddered.
Thanksgiving? “Thankful for what?” she wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life, but it took that of her child?
“Good afternoon, can I help you?” The flower shop clerk’s approach startled her. “Sorry,” said Jenny, “I just didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you.”
“I . . . . . need an arrangement.”
“For Thanksgiving?”
Sandra nodded.
“Do you want beautiful, but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the ‘Thanksgiving Special’?” Jenny saw Sandra’s curiosity and continued, “I’m convinced that flowers tell stories, that each arrangement conveys a particular feeling. Are you looking for something that conveys gratitude this Thanksgiving?”
“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted. “Sorry, but in the last five months everything that could go wrong has.”
Sandra regretted her outburst, but was surprised when Jenny said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”
The door’s small bell suddenly rang. “Barbara! Hi!” Jenny said. She politely excused herself from Sandra and walked toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared carrying a massive arrangement of green bows and long-stemmed thorny roses. Only, the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped – no flowers. “Want this in a box?” Jenny asked.
Sandra watched for Barbara’s response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems and no flowers! She waited for laughter, for someone to notice the absence of flowers atop the thorny stems, but neither woman did. “Yes, please. It’s exquisite!,” said Barbara. “You’d think after these three years of getting the Special, I’d not be so moved by its significance, but it’s happening again. My family will love this one. Thanks.”
Sandra stared. “Why so normal a conversation about so strange an arrangement?” She wondered. “Uh,” said Sandra, pointing. “That lady just left with . .uh . . .:
“Yes?”
“Well, she had no flowers!”
“Off? Yep. That’s the Special. I call it the ‘Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet’.”
“But, why do people pay for that?” In spite of herself, she chuckled.
“Do you really want to know?”
“I couldn’t leave this shop without knowing. I’d think about nothing else!”
“That might be good,” said Jenny. “Well,” she continued, “Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs and she faced major surgery.”
“Ouch!” said Sandra.
“That same year I lost my husband. I assumed complete responsibility for the shop and for the first time, spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby and too great a debt to allow any travel.”
“What did you do?”
“I learned to be thankful for thorns.”
Sandra’s eyebrows lifted. “Thorns?”
“I’m a Christian, Sandra. I’ve always thanked God for good things in my life and I never thought to ask Him why good things happen to me. But when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are important. I always enjoyed the flowers of life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we are afflicted and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”
Sandra gasped. “A friend read that passage to me and I was furious! I guess the truth is, I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.” She started to ask Jenny to “go on” when the door’s bell diverted their attention.
“Hey, Phil!” Shouted Jenny as a balding, rotund man entered the shop. She softly touched Sandra’s arm and moved to welcome him. He tucked her under his side for a warm hug. “I’m here for the twelve thorny long-stemmed stems!” Phil laughed heartily.
“I figured as much,” said Jenny. “I’ve got them ready.” She lifted a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet.
“Beautiful,” said Phil. “My wife will love them.”
Sandra could not resist asking, “These are for your wife?”
Phil saw that Sandra’s curiosity matched his when he first heard of a Thorn Bouquet. “Do you mind me asking, ‘Why thorns’?”
“No, in fact, I’m glad you asked,” he said. “Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years we were in a real mess, but we slugged through, problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage – our love really. Last year at Thanksgiving I stopped in here for flowers. I must have mentioned surviving a tough process because Jenny told me that for a long time she kept a vase of rose stems – STEMS – as a reminder of what she learned from ‘thorny’ times. That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks for what the problem taught us. I’m pretty sure this stem review is becoming a tradition.”
Phil paid Jenny, thanked her again and as he left, said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the Special!”
“I don’t know if I can be thankful for thorns in my life,” Sandra said to Jenny.
“Well, my experience says that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, Sandra, Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that we might know His love. Do not resent thorns.”
Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. “I’ll take twelve long-stemmed thorns, please.”
“I hoped you would,” Jenny said. “I’ll have them ready in a minute. Then every time you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times. We grow through both.”
“Thank you. What do I owe you?”
“Nothing, Nothing, but a pledge to work toward healing your heart. The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” Jenny handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach a card like this to your arrangement, but maybe you’d like to read it first. Go ahead, read it.”
The card read: “My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn! I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of thorns. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.”
-- George Matheson --
“THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THE THORNS.”
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As it weren’t enough, her husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What’s worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. “Has she lost a child? No, she has no idea what I’m feeling,” Sandra shuddered.
Thanksgiving? “Thankful for what?” she wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life, but it took that of her child?
“Good afternoon, can I help you?” The flower shop clerk’s approach startled her. “Sorry,” said Jenny, “I just didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you.”
“I . . . . . need an arrangement.”
“For Thanksgiving?”
Sandra nodded.
“Do you want beautiful, but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the ‘Thanksgiving Special’?” Jenny saw Sandra’s curiosity and continued, “I’m convinced that flowers tell stories, that each arrangement conveys a particular feeling. Are you looking for something that conveys gratitude this Thanksgiving?”
“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted. “Sorry, but in the last five months everything that could go wrong has.”
Sandra regretted her outburst, but was surprised when Jenny said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”
The door’s small bell suddenly rang. “Barbara! Hi!” Jenny said. She politely excused herself from Sandra and walked toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared carrying a massive arrangement of green bows and long-stemmed thorny roses. Only, the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped – no flowers. “Want this in a box?” Jenny asked.
Sandra watched for Barbara’s response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems and no flowers! She waited for laughter, for someone to notice the absence of flowers atop the thorny stems, but neither woman did. “Yes, please. It’s exquisite!,” said Barbara. “You’d think after these three years of getting the Special, I’d not be so moved by its significance, but it’s happening again. My family will love this one. Thanks.”
Sandra stared. “Why so normal a conversation about so strange an arrangement?” She wondered. “Uh,” said Sandra, pointing. “That lady just left with . .uh . . .:
“Yes?”
“Well, she had no flowers!”
“Off? Yep. That’s the Special. I call it the ‘Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet’.”
“But, why do people pay for that?” In spite of herself, she chuckled.
“Do you really want to know?”
“I couldn’t leave this shop without knowing. I’d think about nothing else!”
“That might be good,” said Jenny. “Well,” she continued, “Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs and she faced major surgery.”
“Ouch!” said Sandra.
“That same year I lost my husband. I assumed complete responsibility for the shop and for the first time, spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby and too great a debt to allow any travel.”
“What did you do?”
“I learned to be thankful for thorns.”
Sandra’s eyebrows lifted. “Thorns?”
“I’m a Christian, Sandra. I’ve always thanked God for good things in my life and I never thought to ask Him why good things happen to me. But when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are important. I always enjoyed the flowers of life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we are afflicted and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”
Sandra gasped. “A friend read that passage to me and I was furious! I guess the truth is, I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.” She started to ask Jenny to “go on” when the door’s bell diverted their attention.
“Hey, Phil!” Shouted Jenny as a balding, rotund man entered the shop. She softly touched Sandra’s arm and moved to welcome him. He tucked her under his side for a warm hug. “I’m here for the twelve thorny long-stemmed stems!” Phil laughed heartily.
“I figured as much,” said Jenny. “I’ve got them ready.” She lifted a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet.
“Beautiful,” said Phil. “My wife will love them.”
Sandra could not resist asking, “These are for your wife?”
Phil saw that Sandra’s curiosity matched his when he first heard of a Thorn Bouquet. “Do you mind me asking, ‘Why thorns’?”
“No, in fact, I’m glad you asked,” he said. “Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years we were in a real mess, but we slugged through, problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage – our love really. Last year at Thanksgiving I stopped in here for flowers. I must have mentioned surviving a tough process because Jenny told me that for a long time she kept a vase of rose stems – STEMS – as a reminder of what she learned from ‘thorny’ times. That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks for what the problem taught us. I’m pretty sure this stem review is becoming a tradition.”
Phil paid Jenny, thanked her again and as he left, said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the Special!”
“I don’t know if I can be thankful for thorns in my life,” Sandra said to Jenny.
“Well, my experience says that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, Sandra, Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that we might know His love. Do not resent thorns.”
Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. “I’ll take twelve long-stemmed thorns, please.”
“I hoped you would,” Jenny said. “I’ll have them ready in a minute. Then every time you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times. We grow through both.”
“Thank you. What do I owe you?”
“Nothing, Nothing, but a pledge to work toward healing your heart. The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” Jenny handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach a card like this to your arrangement, but maybe you’d like to read it first. Go ahead, read it.”
The card read: “My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn! I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of thorns. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.”
-- George Matheson --
Sunday, October 16, 2005
A Real Chicken
What a reddening moment!! We had church this afternoon and my family was supposed to have an inspirational skit. We wanted something that would involve our children (who are 4 & under) and that kinda limits your choices. Never the less, we did one where I pretended to be explaining what we are going to be doing, and my wife and children all of a sudden start squawking and flapping their arms like chickens
Me- “What are you doing?”
My son – “We’re Chickens!”
“Do you have feathers?”
“No.”
“Do you eat chicken feed and scratch in the dirt?”
“No.”
“You’re not chickens! Now come on, be real!”
I then turned back to the crowed and apologized for their behavior and went on with my “explanation.” My wife and boys, did that again as dogs, and the as Christians, shouting “Halleluiah,” “Praise the Lord.” GLORY,” and passing the hat for the offering. I turned again to ask what they are doing.
“We’re Christians!”
“That’s great! Do you also love the Lord with all your heart?”
(Puzzled looks)
“Have you confessed your sins?”
“No.”
“Have you asked Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord of your life?”
“No.”
“Then you’re not Christians. You need to be real!! You cannot be a real Christian by yourself, anymore than you can be a real chicken! Only God can come into your heart and make you a real Chicken.”
(from the audience) “You mean a ‘Christian?’”
I lost it and the church was roaring!! It was a complete gaff on my part, I blew the punch line!!!
Me- “What are you doing?”
My son – “We’re Chickens!”
“Do you have feathers?”
“No.”
“Do you eat chicken feed and scratch in the dirt?”
“No.”
“You’re not chickens! Now come on, be real!”
I then turned back to the crowed and apologized for their behavior and went on with my “explanation.” My wife and boys, did that again as dogs, and the as Christians, shouting “Halleluiah,” “Praise the Lord.” GLORY,” and passing the hat for the offering. I turned again to ask what they are doing.
“We’re Christians!”
“That’s great! Do you also love the Lord with all your heart?”
(Puzzled looks)
“Have you confessed your sins?”
“No.”
“Have you asked Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord of your life?”
“No.”
“Then you’re not Christians. You need to be real!! You cannot be a real Christian by yourself, anymore than you can be a real chicken! Only God can come into your heart and make you a real Chicken.”
(from the audience) “You mean a ‘Christian?’”
I lost it and the church was roaring!! It was a complete gaff on my part, I blew the punch line!!!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Dating or Courtship standards
Now that I’ve told our story, I’d like to bring up some questions for your thoughts. We all have ideas about what dating or courtship should look like. What I am about to share I do not claim to be the final “truth” on the issue but I would like to state that I think that we have a lot to grow in when it comes to our transition from single hood to marriage process.
First, is casual dating ok? Is it ok to go out with several different people to “get the feeling” for what’s out there? I don’t know about all you folks but I cannot spend special time with any person without getting either closer to them in spirit, or withdrawing from them. It rarely is an “emotionally free” time. Thus we get slightly attached to someone and then cut it off, wad up the hurt inside and try it again with someone else. When the right person finally comes along, we do not open up like we did with the first because we are worried about getting hurt again. Thus we proceed with the relationship and never or rarely communicate on a heart level! Is this not preparation for divorce more so than marriage? It also raises questions all through life, “what if…?”
If then our purpose is to find a life partner, should we not then wait till we are ready to take on the weight of matrimony? Is it right to start the car of Courtship rolling if we are not ready to ride it the whole way to the marriage alter? We received some serious criticism for having a very short courtship. They felt it was not proper to make a life changing decision so quickly. While I can understand exactly were they are coming from, I wonder if God did not design some things to be worked thru inside the commitment to marriage instead of taking years to try and do it with no commitment to each other. We were both older, we both had parents who felt we were ready for marriage, and we both felt the leading of God that this was the person for us! Why postpone that decision? We knew we would never find the person with whom we would have no conflict! Whoever we married would make us work thru some things and that is life!
But I see some couples dating/courting for several years and I wonder, is this best? Does no this open up them up to a lot of temptation to go past the boundaries or standards that they have set up? Is this not more likely to make the struggle for purity harder the longer it goes? We were only courting for a couple days and then engaged for 3 months. We lived 1500 miles apart and only saw each other for two weeks between our engagement and the week of our marriage. Still, we struggled! I cannot imagine trying to live like that for a year or more!
Let me make a suggestion. Before pursuing a relationship with any one person, talk to your parents. Ask them if they feel you’re ready for marriage. Let them help you set up some guidelines and get suggestions for who they feel would make a suitable life partner. Your parents know you better than any one else, and thus knows who would be best for us often better than we would know ourselves. Then when we have their blessing, pursue the relationship and when you find that this is the one, get married.
If you think this is extreme, try looking at what they used to do it like! A guy and a girl spent little, if any, time alone and rarely saw each other before marriage. It worked then though I think a blend of the two to be the best.
First, is casual dating ok? Is it ok to go out with several different people to “get the feeling” for what’s out there? I don’t know about all you folks but I cannot spend special time with any person without getting either closer to them in spirit, or withdrawing from them. It rarely is an “emotionally free” time. Thus we get slightly attached to someone and then cut it off, wad up the hurt inside and try it again with someone else. When the right person finally comes along, we do not open up like we did with the first because we are worried about getting hurt again. Thus we proceed with the relationship and never or rarely communicate on a heart level! Is this not preparation for divorce more so than marriage? It also raises questions all through life, “what if…?”
If then our purpose is to find a life partner, should we not then wait till we are ready to take on the weight of matrimony? Is it right to start the car of Courtship rolling if we are not ready to ride it the whole way to the marriage alter? We received some serious criticism for having a very short courtship. They felt it was not proper to make a life changing decision so quickly. While I can understand exactly were they are coming from, I wonder if God did not design some things to be worked thru inside the commitment to marriage instead of taking years to try and do it with no commitment to each other. We were both older, we both had parents who felt we were ready for marriage, and we both felt the leading of God that this was the person for us! Why postpone that decision? We knew we would never find the person with whom we would have no conflict! Whoever we married would make us work thru some things and that is life!
But I see some couples dating/courting for several years and I wonder, is this best? Does no this open up them up to a lot of temptation to go past the boundaries or standards that they have set up? Is this not more likely to make the struggle for purity harder the longer it goes? We were only courting for a couple days and then engaged for 3 months. We lived 1500 miles apart and only saw each other for two weeks between our engagement and the week of our marriage. Still, we struggled! I cannot imagine trying to live like that for a year or more!
Let me make a suggestion. Before pursuing a relationship with any one person, talk to your parents. Ask them if they feel you’re ready for marriage. Let them help you set up some guidelines and get suggestions for who they feel would make a suitable life partner. Your parents know you better than any one else, and thus knows who would be best for us often better than we would know ourselves. Then when we have their blessing, pursue the relationship and when you find that this is the one, get married.
If you think this is extreme, try looking at what they used to do it like! A guy and a girl spent little, if any, time alone and rarely saw each other before marriage. It worked then though I think a blend of the two to be the best.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Stauffer Family 2005
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