Viola Kelsey

This past Friday, heaven gained a real saint when Lori's mom Viola Kelsey passed away. She was 82. If I were asked to describe her using just a few words, I would say that she was quietly elegant, and had real class. As one of her sons said in her eulogy, she could say so much without saying much or anything at all. She let the way she lived her life speak for herself. She was truly one of God's servants.

Thanks to all for the prayers, cards, flowers, meals, etc. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by such good friends and family.

I was truly blessed to be Viola's son-in-law. I love you and will miss you terribly Viola, but I know that you were ready to go be with your heavenly father, and you are freed from your earthly heart problems that took your life. Your heart now beats strong, and you can run and skip down the streets of gold.

Until we meet again...

1 ARK

Yesterday during church, I was blessed to hear one of the neatest children's stories during our moments for youth (you are never too old to learn during children's time, so always pay attention!!). Torey Hett showed a video clip from the movie "Evan Almighty". In the clip, Evan asked God what He wanted him to do, and God's response was "change the world". Evan asked how he was supposed to do that, as he was only one person. God replied that He wanted him to build 1 ark.

The "1 ARK" is actually an acronym. It stands for "one Act of Random Kindness". The lesson is this: If every person on this earth were responsible for committing one act of random kindness a day, think how dramatically this world would be changed! God was telling Evan that it had to start with him. God is telling each of us that we are Evan, and He is counting on us to change the world "one act of random kindness" at a time.

Matthew 25: 34-40 says: "34Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

My challenge to each of you is to look for a way to commit one act of random kindness a day. Let's change the world together!!

De Colores

Now It's Cold!!

Man, sometimes Kansas weather drives me nuts!! On my last blog from Monday, I mentioned that it was 60 degrees outside. I'm looking out the window today, and it's 30 degrees and the snow is flying!! AARRGGHH!!

You know, come to think of it, my Christian life can sometimes be like that. One day I'm on fire for Christ, and the next day I can be totally cold. One day I feel like Jesus is walking right beside me, and the next day it feels like I'm all alone. Why is that? Wouldn't it be great to always have that burning desire in our hearts to love God totally all the time!! Wouldn't it be great to feel God right beside us every minute of the day!!

Thankfully, God does not run hot and cold on us. He loves us totally and unconditionally every day. An Emmaus saying goes something like "God is always close beside us, even when we don't feel close to Him."

Until I get rich enough to move to Hawaii, I guess I'll have to put up with the Kansas weather. Until I become perfect in Christ in eternity, I'll struggle with running hot and cold. Thank God that He is always the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow!!

De Colores

Warm Weather!!

It's almost 60 degrees outside today!! It feels so good to get outside to run again!! I am thankful that we have our little "wellness center" here in town, but running on a treadmill while staring at a wall for 45 minutes isn't exactly invigorating.

I logged 940 miles last year, but yet gained a couple of pounds. Life is so harsh!!

De Colores

Chrysalis

My son Brian attended a Chrysalis Flight in Topeka last week. Chrysalis is the youth version of the Walk To Emmaus that you may have seen mentioned in previous blogs. He had a GREAT time!! Judging by his new outlook on life, God must have made Himself known to Brian in a mighty way.

Now his challenge is to go back to school and his every day environment and try to live the life that he knows God wants him to live. It won't be easy with all the temptations and influences that he'll daily be subjected to.

Pray for our kids, they need it!!

De Colores

The Big Gift

I don't know if it is my imagination, but this Christmas season has seemed so hectic!! What with the school sports events, the crazy weather, and all the other things packed in, it seems like there isn't a spare minute to stop and rest!! Christmas seems to be getting lost in all the hustle and bustle of this crazy life.

Think back to your Christmases past. What is it that you remember the most? For me, I remember the big stuff. The little presents are all well and good, but it's the big ones that really stick out in my memory. Like the "Spyder" bicycles that my brothers and I all got one year. That was the biggest and best ever!! We rode the wheels off those bikes!!

This Christmas, remember the biggest gift of all...Jesus Christ coming to earth as a baby to be our savior. When we put it into context, everything else is just the small stuff.

I need to go home, open my bible, and read again the story of Christmas from Luke 2. Hopefully I can get my perspective back, and remember the biggest reason for the season.

The picture is from our project we did last year with the little kids from our church. Too cute, isn't it!!

Merry Christmas

MHS Auditorium

This past Saturday MHS hosted it's first event in the brand new auditorium. The facility is fantastic!! The 551 seat auditorium is nicer than a lot of college facilities that I have been to. I can't wait to see the new gymnasium and indoor swimming pool this spring!!

Ice Storm - Round 2

For several days, we have been bracing for another huge ice storm that the weathermen have been predicting. It started raining yesterday at about 5:00PM, and it loked like the big storm was on. Strangely enough, the temperature bottomed out at about 32 degrees, and didn't get any colder. We woke up this morning to a lot of ice on the trees, but very little on the roads. We've gotten about 1.5 inches of rain so far, (can't tell for sure, as the rain gauge froze over), so all in all, this is a real blessing. The wheat crop around here was pretty desparate for some moisture.

Virtually all the schools in the area are closed today, which of course thrilled Brian. I'm sure he'll make the most of the day by sleeping and playing video games all day long....

All in all, it's pretty hard to complain about the storm. It could have been much worse. The forecasters were comparing the potential devastation to 2005, so I'm not complaining one bit that it didn't turn out that bad.

De Colores

Hoops Mania

Basketball season has started with a vengeance! MHS played this past Friday, again last night (Tuesday), and will have games this coming Thursday and Friday. Brian plays on the JV, and also gets to see a little action with the Varsity. We sit through the JV game, then have to wait while the Varsity girls play, and then sit through a whole game again to watch him play a few minutes with the boys Varsity. That's a lot of basketball for me, especially since it's not one of my favority sports to watch. I'm getting bleacher butt already!! It's a long season, so I'd better get used to it.

Lori's mom is in the hospital again with her congestive heart failure. She fell quite ill over this past week, and we actually almost lost her on Sunday. She is doing better again now, but it seems to be a cycle of fluids building up, kidneys shutting down, going to the hospital, getting better, and then starting all over again. It is really wearing on Lori, so I would covet your prayers for Lori and her mom.

De Colores

Management Material?

Our middle daughter Erin has been working as a server at the Kansas City Country Club while she is going to school in KC. While at home for Thanksgiving, she was telling us that she got a call from the general manager who said he wanted to speak to her. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be able to help but get a little apprehensive about getting a call like that. Maybe it's from past experience....

Anyway, she met with him, and he told her that her boss recently was promoted, and he asked her if she would be willing to serve as an interim supervisor of the various dining areas in the CC until they found a permanent one. She would do all the scheduling and trouble shooting. He said that they would have considered offering it to her full time if she were finishing up with her schooling now. Darn!!

Oh well, this will be great experience for her, and will give her a chance to see if she likes a position in management. Maybe things will work out and they will have a place for her permanently when she is done a year from now.

21 years old and already working in management. You go girl!!

De Colores

Snow???

Yesterday (the day after Thanksgiving) I was privileged to spend the evening with my whole family at home. You don't realize just how special those times are until they move away from home. The girls tried their hand at making some new soups. Something like butternut squash and pumpkin something something. It was an adventure (sorry for the comments last night Erin, that wasn't very fatherly of me). I guess I'm still just a boring guy who likes tried and true foods.

Erin wanted to help decorate the Christmas tree, so I brought it up out of the basement and set it up. I can't remember the last time I got to sit and watch all the ornaments get put on it. They reminisced about ones they made years ago in preschool. They couldn't believe our "First Christmas Together" ornament was still even holding together!! Hey, it's only been 26 years since we got it!! Watching them decorate it brought back a flood of memories, both for them and for me. It was great.

When we went to bed last night, a light snow was falling. The weatherman said that we should only get a light dusting, or maybe up to an inch. I woke up this morning to at least 2 or 3 inches on the ground!! It is very pretty out. It was a wet snow, so I'd guess that a lot of it will be gone by the end of the day.

Mary Beth Bowers' father Charles Kjellin passed away and his funeral is this morning. I was privileged to be asked to sing at his service this morning, so I'd better go get my vocal chords warmed up.

God is good, all the time!!

DeColores

Varsity Blues

Brian came home from basketball practice with a cheesy grin on his face a couple of days ago. He said that the coach was handing out uniforms and asked Brian what number he wanted. He said he wanted the same number as he had last year, and the coach told him that he didn't have a varsity uniform with that number. It took Brian a second or two to figure out what he meant!!
He came home from practice last night and had his new uniform and warm ups with him. He's pretty excited to be a part of the varsity team. Sure, he'll mostly play JV, and will be down towards the end of the bench at varsity games, but he's pretty proud to be wearing the varsity blues as a sophomore. Ready or not, basketball season is here!!

We're heading to my brother Terry's for Thanksgiving Day. I'm frying a turkey at home, and then will try and figure out how to pack it up for a 30 mile trip to Newton. Should be good!!

Amanda and husband Chad, and Erin are coming home Friday to spend the day with us. I can't wait to see them, even if it's only for a day or so. I am so proud of them and what they have become as young adults. Thank God they had a good mother!!

Once again, God has blessed our family this past year beyond measure. It is appropriate that we stop and give thanks for all His blessings. Actually, every day should be a day of thanksgiving.

Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.

DeColores

Steadfast

Ah fall, that wonderful time of the year when nature signals an impending change with beautiful colors. Our mums are some of the thickest, most beautiful ones that we have ever had. Our little autumn blaze maple tree that we planted a couple of years ago is turning some impressive shades of orange and reds. Several flocks of geese have been honking their way over our house. The turkeys have been out in the vally looking for the last few remaining grasshoppers of the summer. I saw a small buck trailing a doe yesterday...well, we won't get into specifics on that one!!

All around us, we see signals that the season is changing once again. Before we know it, it will be cold, the snow will start flying, and we will be counting the days until spring arrives to thaw us out.

As good as change can be, I am so thankful that God never changes!! He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. In this constantly changing world, it is comforting to know that God is always by our side. Even on those days when we don't feel close to Him, rest assured, He is there!! All we have to do is call on His name.

James 17:1 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Thank God for His unchanging love and grace!!

De Colores

The Gift Of Life

Today, our high school key club sponsored a blood drive with the American Red Cross. I hadn't given blood (at least intentionally) for many years, so I thought it was time to start donating again.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the building was the diversity of donors. As it was sponsored by the Key Club, there were a bunch of high school students (you have to be at least 16 years old and have parental consent) lined up to donate. On the other end of the spectrum, I saw my step mom there, as well as quite a few other "senior citizens". I figured if they could all give blood, then heck, so could I!!

Well, I survived. It was relatively painless, and I didn't pass out, which is a good thing! Plus it made me feel good that I in a very small way did something to help out mankind. I'm kinda tired, but most days that seems to be fairly normal, even without having a pint of blood sucked out of my veins!!

If you have a blood drive in your community soon, I encourage you to donate. You'll be glad you did!

De Colores

Emmaus & Other Thoughts

What an awesome time we had at the Walk To Emmaus this past weekend in Garden City!! I was a part of the music team that led praise and worship singing on the men's Walk. Words can't even begin to describe what God did in the lives of the men who said YES and attended the Walk. The women's Walk begins tomorrow (10-25) and lasts through Sunday. The next set of Walks are in Augusta, and will be held April 10-13 for the men and April 17-20 for the women. Let me know if you're interested!!

Brian's last football game of the season is tomorrow night against perennial powerhouse Hesston. They are ranked in the top 5 in Class 3A. The Warriors' promising season is ending on a sour note, as they have lost their last 2 games, and barring a miracle, will probably lose this one, and end up with a 4-5 record. They have had some bad luck along the way, suffered some significant injuries to key players, and made some mistakes at critical points in the games they have lost. It's hard at this point to not look ahead to next season, as they currently have 6 sophomores playing regularly on varsity, and quite a few juniors that are starting. Plus, Hesston is moving up to 4A, and we won't have to deal with them any longer!! I know it's a cliche', but "Just wait until next year".....

My mother in law Viola is not doing very well. She has congestive heart failure, and is in the hospital at Wichita. We would covet your prayers for Viola, as well as for Lori and the rest of the family.

Off To Emmaus

Getting ready to load up with good friend Rod Just and head to the big metropolis of Garden City, Kansas for the fall Walk To Emmaus!! Rod and I are on the Music Team. Over the next few days (Thurs - Sunday) we'll play tons of songs, eat lots of food, and enjoy watching God pour out His blessings on the folks who attend. We would covet your prayers as we serve God in this wonderful capacity.

De Colores!!

When Bad Things Happen

I have really be wrestling internally with the question of why when some people are faced with a life threatening crisis, they are spared, while others are not and they die. How does God decide who lives and who dies? Or even more confusing to me, does God even have anything to do with it at all, or does He allow life to continue or end without intervention in most cases?

I have a very good friend here in town who seems to throw barbs at church, christianity, or religion in general every opportunity he gets. I found out that he lost his first wife to cancer when they were just a young married couple with small children. He prayed to God to heal his wife, but she died anyway. He became so embittered that he has basically denounced God. I can't imagine being in that position. The closest I came is when my mom died of cancer at 58 which seemed too young, but even this doesn't compare to the anguish he must have felt when he lost his wife when she was just in her 20's. My middle daughter was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 2, and she was healed. Why did my daughter not die, and yet my mom did? Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful that she was healed; it just lends to my confusion.

SO here it is...do you think that God makes every decision and controls every event in every life on this earth, both good or bad, or does He sit back and let our choices and circumstances dictate what happens to us, and only intervenes when he wants to?

I am waiting for the right opportunity to try and talk to my friend about his anger towards God, but I'm not sure how to go about trying to tell him that sometimes bad things happen, but we just have to have faith that God is in control. It is easy to say when a bad situation turns out to be ok, but one of the most difficult things to hold on to when life goes out of control.

Anyone out there who can give me some easy to understand insights that I can pass on to my friend?

De Colores

The Agony Of Defeat

The MHS Warriors had their showdown with their arch rival Hillsboro Trojans last night. The game started off ominously, with a 50 minute lightening delay in the first quarter. The Trojans started off fast, and claimed a 13-0 halftime lead. The Warriors came out fired up in the second half and scored a touchdown with a minute left in the game to get within one point. We were going to go for two to try and win it right there, but an illegal procedure penalty forced us to try and kick an extra point. Brian is the kicker, and he kicked it right through!! Everyone (including dad) went crazy!!

The game went into overtime, and we had the ball first. We scored a touchdown, but Brian's next attempt was no good. Hillsboro got the ball, scored, and their extra point was good. Just like that, the Warriors experienced the agony of defeat.

Of course Brian is blaming the loss on himself. He thinks he let the team down. There were many events during the game that contributed to the loss. He'll have to learn the hard way that life is not all about successes, but that defeats are also a hard reality. All we can do is pick ourselves up and go on.

He and I are headed to Manhattan to watch the Wildcats play Colorado this eveing. I'll bet you that by the end of today, life will again be good for him.

Keep your head up Brian, you're doing fine.

De Colores

Football, Football, Football!!

This past Friday, our Warriors traveled to Lyons to take on the Lions (who had the sick sense of humor to name them the Lyons Lions??). They had one of those games where they dominated every aspect of the game, except the scoreboard. Fumbles and penalties killed us. Halfway through the 3rd quarter, we were only ahead 6-0. Finally, they cut out the mistakes and started playing some good football and ended up winning 28-0. They held Lyons to only 18 yards rushing for the game, so the defense was the obvious hero of the game.

With that good start to the weekend, I settled into the recliner to watch my KSU Wildcats dispatch of KU. Something went terribly wrong, and much to my dismay, I found myself looking at the score that couldn't be correct. I think this is the first time KU has beaten KSU at our home field since 1989. They had the same problems as the Warriors, too many mistakes.

OK, I thought my weekend could be salvaged with a victory by the KC Chiefs. After all, they seemed to have righted their ship somewhat the past couple of weeks, and were playing fairly well. WRONG!! Either the Chief's offense was as pathetic as it looked, or the Jaguar's defense was as good as it looked. Either way, the Chiefs lost, my weekend was ruined, and I was sick and tired of football.

Then came Monday evening, and Lori and I decided to go out to Warrior stadium and watch our JV play.......oh well, I guess we are gluttons for punishment.

Getting the guitar tuned up and my fingers toughened up for a whole bunch of music at the Walk To Emmaus next week. Ask me about it!!

De Colores

Old Settler's Day 2007

The little town of Marion celebrated another successful Old Settler's Day weekend. The weekend started with a Homecoming football game against state powerhouse Hoisington. The game started off rough for the young team, as Hoisington returned the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and then blocked our first punt and returned it for a touchdown too. It was 28-0 at halftime. The Warriors came out in the second half determined not to allow a blowout, and actually outplayed them in the second half. We ended up on the bottom side of a 35-14 score, but everyone was proud of how the kids came out and played the second half. Brian was successful on both extra point attempts and played every down on offense. He also got to see a lot of action on defense.

On Saturday, downtown Marion was filled with several thousand people who came to watch the annual OSD parade. It was pretty impressive by our standards, as it took nearly 45 minutes to all go by. The above pictures are a shot of the parade as it was coming down the street, and a picture of Brian's sophomore float. He's riding on it.

Every MHS class from 2002 to 1947 in five year increments had a class reunion. They were recognized in the afternoon in the park. It's pretty impressive that so many classes got together to reunite and reminisce.

A fun weekend with lots to do!!

De Colores