Out with Lavender, Horses and Teddy Bears

Becca finally convinced her mother to remove the Teddy Bear wall paper from her room this summer. Jackie wouldn't let me paint the room until she was satisfied with the color in the master bathroom, so Becca has been living with her furniture in the middle of a small room for a while.

After returning from Indiana, Becca picked out three colors for her walls and we went to work from there. Over the last two days of 2009, we covered three walls with two colors and it looks like we will finish the last wall with the last color tomorrow so I decided to take a few pictures of the room that has reminded me that our youngest daughter is growing up.

After we finish the new room, I will name the three new colors. For now, it is safe to assume that they are not close to the baby soft lavender color on the walls in these photographs.

It is also safe to say that this sketch from Disney World in a clean white frame will not make it into the teen age room. The subject of the sketch will never be lost in her parents' memory. The tiny little girl with glasses just screams "I'm happy".

The golden retriever in the corner of the picture was added later when she cut it out of a birthday card from Robin. These lighted horses were up year round in her room ever since she got them. They will now become a seasonal display at Christmas time.

Passing the Ping Pong Torch... not just yet.

Over the years, I have handed many torches to Adam. In 2008 is was the 40 yard dash. In 2009 it was Ultimate Frisbee. With Cousin Ben's assistance, I have nearly relinquished the Ping Pong torch over the Christmas holiday.

At Thanksgiving, I played over 100 games as Adam and Becca both challenged their father. Of all the matches, I only lost one to Adam. Until Thanksgiving, he pull off a game here and there, but never won a match.

Ben and Adam spent time together over Christmas working on spins and change-ups. By the end of Christmas, Adam was able to beat Ben in a game and beat me in more than one match. I won more matches against Adam than he did against me, but the writing is on the wall.

So Ping Pong and Pool are now in transition.

We challenge each other in chess, but that is one that I am hoping to hang on to for a while.

Christmas at home

The kids are all growing up. It seems like just a few years ago when they were all begging for Jackie and I to get up so they could open presents.

This year, I got up late and had some Wheaties and made some coffee before anybody made any noise.

I think Buster was the most excited of any of us about the presents. He got a chew bone and a new pillow and was really just thrilled to be in the house while we opened presents.

Becca got "Pictionary Man", so we all sat down to figure it out and played a game to 10.

After the game, we had our fourth family meeting where we discussed how conflict was a sign of communication and decided that we still need more communication. Jackie suggested that we go around the room and name something from 2009 that didn't go so well and set one goal in 2010 that would help make sure that same something didn't happen again in 2010.

Everyone shared interesting goals, but it will take some teamwork and accountability for some of them to be able to happen. More demand for communication and chatter.

Onward Christian Soldiers

As I have reflected on what has happened in the last two weeks, I have been encouraged by how the Christians in Indiana and Illinois formed a single line to minister to the Mattern and McMillan extended families in a time of need.

When I left Northern Indiana in the 80's, the Lengachers and the Andrews were inspiring the community to greatness on the gridiron. As I watched the single line and the people that worked behind the scenes to allow the viewing to occur, I was very thankful to witness those same families move from the gridiron to the kingdom. I am sure the community has appreciated that change for years without my knowledge.

In that line, I also saw Steve Hunsberger, who understands loss in the last few years perhaps as much as he understands how creativity, music and hard work can inspire a church and a community.

I watched Russ McMillan tell people in that line about his daughter's childhood. As the people listened to him, they also shared of how Heather had helped them medically, physically and spiritually. I don't know if I have seen anyone willingly take on anything more difficult than what Russ did that day. His brother-in-law told me that Tish's dad was a tough and powerful man. Russ picked up some of that and added some salt.

Jon Andrews challenged me at the funeral to keep writing. He later provoked me by quoting statistics about the inefficiency of the average Christian to reach a lost world. During this past week, he himself had thoughts of his mother in the hospital approaching the end of her life of service as a mother, wife, friend and pastor.

Jon, I offer you this hope. While the church of America may not be reaching our own nation in dire need of Christ, it does have a purpose. A purpose that you and your mother have carried well.

After seeing the mark that Heather and your mother both left on a community, I am even more convinced that the purpose of the American Christian is to pray, encourage and equip the saints and to send out and support soldiers to the furthermost parts of the earth. There are pockets of people in American cities and public schools, and public universities that are open to hearing what Jesus taught about the Kingdom today, but the evangelistic opportunities are in the battlefields where Christians are persecuted, discounted or misunderstood on a daily basis. It is there that people are most open to hearing about the peace and love that God has to offer.

War is tough and the losses are many and sudden. Those very losses transform civilians into soldiers in a battle that is not about sod, grain, grass, goallines, flesh or blood.

I am especially grateful to the families that have lost loved ones in this good fight, and I applaud our Lord and Savior as they press onward in prayer and service, adding to their number the Matterns, McMillans and the Andrews.

Simple Things of Value

When you step into Heather's house, you see an appreciation for simple things of value. She placed her value in a relationship with her heavenly father, her family on earth and her church family. She liked to try new things in the kitchen, set colorful china for dinner, and have a coffee bar set up for guests.

She was ambitious to help others through the healing process at a very young age. Part of this came from her expertise in the medical profession, part of this was just her God given helpful nature. I've only known about Heather's accident for a day, so my mind still has not accepted that she won't be there to help Charlie understand what happened.

She was a beautiful bride, a wonderful mother, and a supportive wife.

At Thanksgiving, I shared with Heather that Charlie and Brennan are posted all over our refrigerator door. Each picture was given to Jackie in love and stuck to the door with a magnet with a message that reminds us of the simple things of value that we appreciate.

Many people have met an experience like this with lots of questions demanding answers. I know Heather's family will look for promises of hope as they experience the simple things of value that Heather so enjoyed.