... the riches of His kindness ...

Happy Father's Day 2008! I hope your day, wherever you are, has been as beautiful as the day here in Grand Rapids. We enjoyed worshiping and serving God this morning at church and then joined Cookie and mom at Olive Garden for lunch. We wanted to honor him today on this special day. We had such a nice time with them!


I was at mom and Roy's house Thursday afternoon, just hanging out (!) and took this picture in Cookie's flower garden ~ he loves flowers ~ and he cuts these little miniature roses every day and brings them into the house for my mother. Do you see the tiny insect there inside the rose? Isn't he cool? I think if you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you can see his antennae are multi-colored! And look at his delicate little legs! My kind Father made him (her) and this wonderfully intricate blossom, and everything that our eyes can see ~ and stuff we can't see, right down to microcreatures and our own DNA!


I'm thankful today that God is my Father. I like how David describes him in Psalm 103 ~

The LORD is merciful and gracious;
he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.
He has not punished us for all our sins,
nor does he deal with us as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us
as the east is from the west.
The LORD is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he understands how weak we are;
he knows we are only dust.
PSALM 103:8-14 NLT

There are many kinds of fathers here on earth ... and I suppose a person could spend endless days mourning the fact that his or her father was less than desirable ... but I'm glad God is my Father! I hope I can live my life according to His will, honoring His name, for His kingdom and for His glory. There is no one like Him in all the earth.

Mr. Turtle makes an announcement ...

Jackson is four years old today! We hope your day is extra special, Jackson. We're sorry we can't be there for your party on Friday, but we certainly hope your birthday box is delivered on time! It's been two months now since we were at your house in Austin. We made lots of nice memories together building marble runs, going to the zoo and Sea World, playing at the playground, going to church, reading books, and just being together ...
Jackson and Grandpa enjoying their time together ...
Jackson rescuing Karis from a stalled car ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACKSON DREW!

We love and miss you!

A rather foreign situation ...

Sunday morning, I received kind of a last-minute invitation to my friend Angela's house. She said her 50th birthday was Tuesday and she was having friends over. So after working at church this morning, I drove out to Ada with my map in hand. After getting completely lost on the way (the map was worthless), I did finally find Angela's house. She has a very welcoming front porch ~ I love her bright yellow front door.
Angela is part of an international group of women. They meet on a regular basis and help each other get used to America! I've told you about several of these women who attend our Wednesday morning exercise class, and two of them were at Angela's this morning. I had my camera with me, but somehow it just seemed hokey to be snapping pictures of them for no other reason than to show you their faces ... so I didn't.
For quite awhile this morning, I was the only woman who spoke English as a first language. So, since most of them were from Germany, they were naturally speaking German! It was the oddest feeling to be surrounded by a bunch of women and not understand a single word of their conversation! But it was good for me to know how it feels for them all the time. There were several small children speaking both German and English, back and forth, not skipping a beat! But when these women speak English, it is hesitant and rather broken. You can see them working out the interpretation before they speak; and even when they do, their pronunciation is very ... German! "Ve vanted to verk, but zey vould not let us" (for example).
I posted these plaques for Adam's benefit, since he was a four-year German student in high school. Can you read them, Adam? I wandered around Angela's pretty house and took just a few pictures. It's very colorful inside (lots of yellows and bright blues), with interesting artifacts from their travels all around Europe. I did go back to the kitchen and join the women, who forced themselves to speak in English so that I wouldn't feel left out. It was a unique experience for me to be in the minority, but after resisting the temptation to leave after the first five minutes, I rather enjoyed getting to know them!

When I first met Angela, two years ago now, I knew we would be good friends. I wish you could all meet her ~ I know you would love her too!

Saturday night downtown ...

It was Festival of the Arts 2008 weekend here in Grand Rapids, and wouldn't you know it? After weeks and weeks of almost perfectly beautiful weather, a front came through town sometime Wednesday or Thursday and with it came hot, sticky and rather severe weather! Friday's opening of Festival was so crazy, that people said the weather changed every 10 minutes! Torrential rain, high winds ... then the sun would come out and it would feel like a sauna, etc. Isn't it always that way around here the weekend of Festival?

I love being downtown with thousands of other people ~ you meet such interesting folk! There was a threat of rain and severe weather throughout the day yesterday, but nothing materialized to spoil the festivities ~ whew!

Mr. Jones sings bass in the Kentwood Senior Chorale. They were invited to perform on the Circle Stage (Rosa Parks Circle) at 5:00 last night.
Their concert was very enjoyable. They sing a lot of old broadway tunes, songs from musicals, and a lot of patriotic stuff. Everyone in the choir is over 50 (and most are in the 70's and 80's). What an amazingly talented bunch of folk!
It was SO hot downtown yesterday. I know those outfits they were required to wear made it especially uncomfortable. But they really did a wonderful job.

Here they are doing all of the songs for each branch of service: Army, Navy, Coast Guard, AirForce, Marines ~ with the color guard.

And there is Mr. Jones! We didn't drive downtown together yesterday. He had to be there really early, and I was in the middle of a bunch of projects here at home. So I arrived just in time to hear them sing.

After their concert was over, with my camera in hand, I took a great walk around our beautiful little city.
Outside the new Marriot Hotel, there are rows and rows of these gorgeous roses ...
And don't you love the bridges downtown? This blue one is practically my favorite. I spent a lot of time down by the river, enjoying the warmth and the solitude ...
If I lived downtown, I would take this walk everyday! It was about 6:30 in the evening, and these gulls were everywhere! They would hover over the water, and then take the plunge ... I think they were fishing! I was hoping to get some really good shots of them in flight, but my vantage point wasn't very desirable, and I kept missing the perfect moment ...

By the time I returned home last night, more storms were moving in. We lost power briefly several times. And over in Holland there were sink holes that suddenly appeared and streets were washed out from all the rain. And today, Festival was all but rained out ... again!

A hodgepodge of stuff, without pictures!

It seems that everything is winding down for the summer. My Wednesday morning exercise class met this week for the last time until fall. We did our warm-up routine, and then played games like six-pen ~ and then we all sat down to a delicious potluck brunch. I brought my camera and intended to take some photos of these beautiful ladies that I’ve met this year; but then I ended up not taking any pictures at all! I wanted you show you my great instructors: Barb (mother of six … she has twin six-year-old girls, and then four others, right on up to a 20-year-old married daughter) and Angela (my dear friend from Germany, whose husband co-teaches our Sunday LOGOS class). And I especially wanted you to meet Benita (from Senegal), Carmella (from Italy), and Louise (from England). It’s been wonderful, the friendship that has formed between all of us. I still dislike exercising, but I no longer HATE it. The class has definitely been a stretch for me, out of my comfort zone, and that’s always good! So, Lord willing, I will return in the fall and hopefully reconnect with these ladies.

I also wanted to tell you about a neat family we met the week before last. Mr. Jones and I were at the church choir banquet and a young lady was handing out a printed flyer to various choir members. It was an invitation to “an elegant outdoor dining experience” and it was being hosted by two high school girls from church to help fund their upcoming mission trip to Arkansas. Steffanie and Jacqueline Day are two of ten children (ages 6 months to almost 17 ~ all home schooled), and the dinner was at their house ~ outside, on their patio. They cooked a wonderful spaghetti dinner, with garden salad, garlic bread, and a choice of delicious desserts. They had help from a few other high school kids; but for the most part, the young people did all of the preparation, cooking, serving, cleaning up, etc. These kids hosted this dinner four nights last week! You simply had to give them a call to make your reservation, and then it was a donation-based contribution to their mission trip. The meal was so good, but better than the food was meeting this family. They live right nearby us in Belmont, not far from Rapidfall! Their house is tucked away up a little hill, which turns out to be a 5.5-acre lot where there is an older but in-the-process-of-being-renovated home, a barn, some out buildings, their very own “swimming hole” (complete with a tarzan rope), a nine-foot circular sandbox (handcrafted by the dad) elevated about two feet and surrounded by brickwork (with every kind of digging apparatus known to man inside), a chicken coop (with brown eggs too!), their very impressive vegetable garden, a windmill … I could go on and on! We ate and talked and got a tour around the grounds and just enjoyed each other’s company. Christina (the amazing mother of ten) just quietly visited with the families who were enjoying the meal.

This Tuesday, while I was working in the Women’s office at church, I was asked if I would volunteer next fall every Tuesday morning in the 3’s during women’s Bible study time. I was hesitant to say “yes” because I’m already working with the 3’s on Sundays and feel less than qualified (and I’ll have to update you about that situation another time). I was told I would have plenty of help on Tuesday mornings because two incredible young high school girls were the helpers in the 3’s … and guess who they are? Steffanie and Jacqueline, whom I didn’t even know lived on this planet until I ate at their house last week! How’s that for the Lord’s timing?! I loved these girls right away. It will be so much fun to work with them and learn from them. They are wonderful with young children, so calm and quiet, but very good at leading and directing. I told you their mom was incredible, but not in a flashy way at all. She is smart but kind (a nice combination). She is quiet, yet completely in control (nice again). Also, the lead person on Tuesday mornings is said to be a wonderful mentor, very creative with little kids, and a good teacher to those of us who are challenged with leading folk. So there’s hope that I can gain some skills in this area!

Thursday night, Mr. Jones and I had two activities to squeeze into one night. The senior choir he is a part of was having their end-of-the-season potluck; plus, we were invited to a graduation open house (for the son of my cousin, Lois). We ate too much at the choir potluck, enjoyed the folk there, and then moved on to the open house. I took my camera, hoping Mr. Jones would snap a picture of my cousin and I; but my uncle and aunt (from Detroit) were there as well. We got talking, and I totally forgot I had my camera with me! Aunt Sally and Uncle Richard caught me up on all of the Holtzhouse and extended family news. It was so good to see them again and spend time with Lois and her beautiful family.

I’ve been working on my card blog all week long. I now have 12 cards loaded and ready to go! By the end of June, I hope to have 3 dozen or so, and certain staff from church will be able to access this site, choose a card, personalize it, and then I’ll send it out! This blog is only open to invited readers, because I want to keep it exclusively for the staff at church. I have had a lot of fun choosing which photos to use, which Scriptures to match with them, and composing a suitable greeting (that’s the really hard part for me). It has consumed most of my spare time for the last 10 days or so.

This morning, I finally got back to typing a speech given by my friend, Dr. Crompton, at a conference on Neuroethics titled: “The interaction between the Self and the Brain.” I’ve been meaning to get this done for him for months! The audio file I have of this speech is of really inferior quality, Dr. Crompton has a heavy British accent, and the terminology is completely outside my experience (and intelligence), so I’ve put this task off! When I began this project a few months ago, it took two hours just to transcribe one page of material. This morning I had better success, but I still have a ways to go. When I give the finished transcript to Dr. Crompton, I can only hope he doesn't ask what I learned about this subject!

It’s time I stop talking, get in my car, and head downtown to Festival of the Arts 2008! Mr. Jones and the senior choir is singing at 5:00 on the Circle Stage. I’m taking my camera with me, and plan to use it! A picture is worth a thousand words, and I just proved that with this extremely lengthy picture-less post!

A happy letter ...

I received a 12-page letter from Jesse today! I think that's the fattest letter I have ever gotten in the mail! On the envelope is marked, "Free Mail." Isn't that cool that he can send a big huge letter like that and pay no postage? I like it! The envelope is postmarked May 22, so it's not exactly quick getting here; but that's okay.

It's actually a two-page letter with 10 pages of pictures, 58 to be exact; and many of them are from what he's doing over there in Iraq. He sent great pictures of his truck and the convoys, a sandstorm, a trip he took to the northern part of the country (near ancient Ninevah!), one of a Black Hawk (helicopter), the C130 plane that he flew over to Kuwait in, and a bunch of really good family pictures while he was home in El Paso. He also took some great shots while IN the Black Hawk flying over Baghdad.

And good news! Jesse received his small birthday box on time for his birthday. He says he's been getting lots of mail (thanks, everybody!) ~ some from people he doesn't even know. It was wonderful to hear from him today. I need to get busy with a return letter ...

God, the Master Gardener

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, my good friend Karen stopped by the house. She was out in this area, called me, and came over! It was great to spend time with her, but I was a bit embarrassed. Honestly, our yard looked like something from the Beverly Hillbillies! We had neglected mowing the lawn last week, and it was really really LONG! And the weeds that I spent hours removing 7-10 days ago had grown absolutely HUGE! I should have taken a picture yesterday to show you what I'm talking about. Today, I was determined to make something beautiful out of our urban jungle.
And as I was working outside on this gloriously beautiful day, I started thinking about God's gardening skills. I don't mean with the Earth, I mean with people ... with folk like me. As I was weeding today, I used all kinds of tools, some of them really sharp. I trimmed and pulled and dug, and removed a whole bucket full of nasty weeds! And then I watered everything, because all of my flowers and plants were thirsty! Think about how much more concern and care God has for us! And sometimes it's painful, all that digging around He does in our lives ... but I'm so glad He fusses over us, aren't you?

" ... God's discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in His holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening ~ it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained this way." Hebrews 12:10-11 NLB

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever ..." (John Keats) Isn't it cool to think about God cutting the ugly weeds out of our lives, pruning us, trimming back our leaves, watering our thirsty hearts ... so that we can be something beautiful for Him?

These two blossoms are Dahlias! The pretty yellow one I showed you the other day, is this kind too. I didn't know what they were called until I found the label from the greenhouse (it helps to read).

"God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart ..." Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLB. Wow! That's some gardening, isn't it?