In Memory of Grandma

Today was the memorial service for my loving grandma, Jenny Belle Ashcraft. Asked to write out some memories, this is what I came up with. It's been a good day.

"Grandma"

Recollections abound. I’m sure you recall too.
These memories of grandma—I’ll share some with you:
Food is a memory not quickly forgotten
Pot Roast, mac-n-cheese, and corn kernels for poppin’.
Pickled pig’s feet, ham salad and limburger cheese
That one’s for grandpa—smells horrible, you see.
Coffee is best when it’s been percolated.
Water cup’s on the sink if you need rehydrated.
Cheese spread with pimentos and liver with onions.
Fiddle Faddle as well, along-side the Funions.
Neapolitan ice cream in mugs, just don’t drop it.
I want the strawberry—give Tyler the chocolate.
Dr. Pepper and root beer were things not to touch.
Most people enjoy them—JennyBelle—not so much.
Now on to the games and a few other things:
Yahtzee and books made from clipped magazines.
Green light signals go—run as fast as you can.
Try to stop when red’s called. Good luck with that, man.
Gin Rummy and puzzles, and time on the swing
Choosing cars on Decoursey was quite the big thing.
Picking up twigs and leaves out in front of the house.
Hearing stories of grandpa, who just trapped a mouse.
Gathering seashells while off on vacation.
She’d send me a postcard, I’d read with elation.
Her necklace with gold flakes through glass I could see
When sermons at church weren’t of interest to me.
Music was always a thing well displayed,
From guitars to pianos, which everyone played.
Time for bed—brush your teeth. When you flush, shake the handle.
Wash your hands, then come watch scary movies with vandals.
Try to sleep after that as you stare at the wall.
That makes eyes go buggy—worst wallpaper of all.
We’d walk to Latonia—with a stroller for miles.
By Bob’s Five and Ten, and we’d get lots of smiles.
She came out to visit California’s Pacific
When we moved way out there—our time was terrific.
There are things we all miss and it seems so unfair,
That we’re now without, while she parties up there.
But it won’t be too long ‘til again we all meet,
And walk, looking for treasures, on an upgraded street.

Obituary from Cincinnati Post:

TAYLOR MILL, KY - Jenny Belle Ashcraft, 81, died Monday, Feb. 23, at Rosedale Manor, Latonia.
She was a homemaker and member of Calvary Baptist Church.
Her husband, Thomas Jewell Ashcraft, died in 1991.Survivors include her daughters, Linda Williams of Kenton County and Roxiena Hanks of Ryland Heights; sisters, Roxiena Cook of South Bend, Ind. and Mary Pat Van Denplas of Rock Rapid, Iowa; six grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be 9-10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 27, with service following at Swindler & Currin Funeral Home, Latonia. Burial will be in Floral Hills Memorial Gardens, Taylor Mill.
Memorials: Calvary Baptist Church Mission Fund, 3711 Tibbatts St., Latonia, KY 41015; or Campers for Christ, P.O. Box 15038, Covington, KY 41015.

Resting

Noah (my 7 year old) has been sick for a few days, coughing a bunch, etc. We'd planned to have relatives over today, so the rule was that he had to stay seated, resting on a chair/couch. After the second or third time I saw him walking around, I asked him (rather sternly) what he was doing. I could see his wheels turning as he came up with the classic answer:
"I'm resting from chair to chair."
The teenage years are going to be interesting....

Prediction

OK--I'm NOT going to post a billion entries about Idol this year. That being said, here's the winner. I made my prediction last year as well (wrong last year...I thought it was going to be Michael Johns early on, as I recall). This year, I'm right. You'll all see. Danny Gokey is the guy.
Honorable mention goes to his buddy, Jamar, who will also likely be top 5 or so. They would be my top 2 at this point.
Go Danny, go.

The Sheep and the Goats

Matthew 25
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then 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.'

I've been thinking a lot lately about the response of the church is to be as our world is in global economic crisis. What does it mean to live in community? Who are we to help? How does God view that? How much is too much to give a person in need? How many people can live in a 2000 sf house? (yes, kind of joking, kind of not...)

I certainly have more questions than answers. I am also absolutely confident that we are to change. A lot. May we respond in a way that shows our love for Jesus (by showing our love for one another).

Your suggestions and comments are appreciated on this one....

Give Us This Day

I thought I'd freak everyone out and actually do a quick post, since I've been kinda missing in action for...well, a while.
"Give us this day"--it seems pretty simple. It's even almost redundantly emphasized in the most repeated prayer of all time, as it reads "...give us this DAY our DAILY bread...." I'm learning more about what it means to have provision as I actually need it. I've always tried to be the plan way out guy (or sometimes the way-out plan guy, maybe), and do things as safely as humanly possible. As our plans go different directions than intended, it gives God yet another opportunity to step in and show His power.
Interestingly, looking further at scripture, it's often God's plan to step in at the last moment, when things appear to be going quite badly for his children as they do EXACTLY what He instructed. I'm sure some stories come to your mind from both the Old and New Testament.
In fact, Jennifer and I came across another one of those last night in Exodus 5, where in verse 22 and 23, it says, "Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."
He had no idea what was about to come and the deliverance God would bring, if Moses remained faithful to the call.
I wonder what would have happened of Moses had actually given up. It might not have turned out so well. It makes me think that as we're given clear direction from God, we probably shouldn't give up either, no matter what the opposition seems to bring.

All We Like Sheep

Noah and I were reading Psalm 100 this morning, and he got a little tripped up on the sheep bit ("...but dad, we're not sheep...).

Being a good dad, I decided to explain this one to him:

"Noah, what does a shepherd do for sheep?"

"Feed them?"

"Yes."

"Water?"

"Yes."

Simple things like this went on for a bit, when we got to the protection aspect:

"Noah, what would a shepherd do if a sheep got lost?"

"Call 911?"

"right...uh...what else might he do?"

"maybe use a sheep tracking invention?"

Welcome to the 21st century Bible analogies....

Conviction

WOW. I’ve been at the Xenos Summer Institute for the last 3 days with the likes of Mark Driscol, D.A. Carson, Mark Mittelberg, Dennis McCallum, Gary DeLashmutt, etc. Tonight is the last session, and I am utterly exhausted, but this has been really good for me.
Some big things I’ve taken away at this point:
-I am both very convicted and very affirmed.
-as a whole, the church in our country is (generally) in a very scary state of both rapid decline and a turn away from the truth of the gospel.
-we cannot pretend to live in ignorance of the changes taking place, and must seek God with a whole heart, living in a place of humility and repentance
-people need Jesus. The gospel IS relevant. Jesus IS relevant.
-I need to be led by the Spirit of God, with a heart of compassion for the thousands of people all around me who need the love of Jesus.
-I need to do a better job of making disciples.
-The gospel must remain central (I recently heard it said that “the gospel is both the milk and the meat”.) to all we do—both in us personally, as well as the message that we take to the world around us.
-I'm very thankful for my local faith community, where I have freedom to ask a lot of questions as we continue on our journey. God is leading us. It is exciting.
-I really need a nap.

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

So, I've been asked a bunch lately when to start a child with singing lessons...below I've copy/pasted the most recent email reply to the question...in case one of you might be wondering my thoughts on the subject. This is from a parent of a 4 year old girl (or so) who constantly is singing around the house. I'd really appreciated dialogue on this one, if any of you have any other thoughts on the subject....

It sounds like she needs to begin learning MUSIC, as she already knows how to sing. I've seen so many bad singing teachers in my life...even on a university level and beyond. Singing teachers CAN be a very good thing, bringing great training, encouragement and a great source of confidence to a student. They can also completely ruin a great gift, or, on the flip-side, completely fabricate/mislead a non-gift, leading to thousands of potentially wasted dollars, and a lot of pain on multiple levels.
For these and other reasons, for the time being, I would recommend beginning to teach her music theory when you feel that she's ready. The easiest starting place, in my opinion, is to begin with a good piano teacher (or a stringed instrument of some kind). With pianos and stringed instruments, one has the ability to clearly see intervals as they're played, unlike instruments like a flute, trumpet, clarinet, etc., which are much less visual. I would go to a teacher or a place that will agree to eventually implement some sort of music theory curriculum--where your daughter would begin to have an understanding of what is really happening when her voice sings higher and lower, or longer/shorter, etc. Read my blog entry called Tribute , and it will give you some things to look for in a teacher. Also, don't hesitate to switch teachers, if you feel like the things you're hoping for are not being accomplished. Well, that's what I've got for now.
Regarding age, I've seen kids start with the "Suzuki" method (one option for training for you--not the only one, though) before they can talk...there are a lot of studies on it, and starting too soon doesn't hurt. Just don't turn into a freakazoid, way out of proportion music Nazi with a little one...do everything in moderation. The best and most fulfilled musicians are (in my opinion) those who have developed a legitmate love for their art, not just highly trained performers.

Elmo's World

When I was a little boy, I would occasionally go over to my Uncle Elmo's house with my dad. (Great) Uncle Elmo lived a little less than mile away from our house, I would guess, through the woods and over a big hill if you're hiking--about a 5 minute drive, though, around the woods and hill. He lived in a very small (like the size of my kitchen, literally) one bedroom house. In the house was a small stove, bed, table, a chair or two...I can't even remember if he had a real refrigerator, but let's say that he did....

Uncle Elmo worked the land and loved nature probably as much as anyone alive (although he passed away quite a few years back). He actually had a pond where he would call fish to the bank--no, I'm serious--he would call the fish, "Here, fishy fishy fishy...", and they would come swimming up to the bank for some food or something. Crazy.

I didn't go inside the house much, but remember one day very well. I was standing in the corner when I saw a bunch of ants. I did what most 5 year old kids would do...started stomping. I'd polished off about 5 or 10 of the worthless creatures when I heard a sharp, "What are you doin'?" from across the room. "Those ants are my friends...stop that!" I quickly stopped the slaughter and fell in line behind my dad, wondering what on earth would happen next. Nothing else was actually said about it. I was off the hook--a little scared, though, and definitely curious about the whole "let's be friends with ants" concept.

Noah reminded me of the whole experience this morning as he spotted a couple of the creatures over in the corner. He quickly ran over to the ants in his grammy's house (don't tell her--she constantly tells herself that there's no such things as bugs in houses, I think--oh wait...! Noah just actually caught one in a cup and showed her as I was typing this. Her response--"where'd you find that? Not in the house, I hope!" I told ya...) OK--back to the story. Noah started talking to the ants. He told one of them about his operation and then the trip to Jamestown yesterday. He told the ant about his coonskin cap that he got, with a real raccoon tail. He talked for a while before coming over to me...
"Dad!"

"Yes, my boy."

"I'm going to catch one of those ants for a little bug pet."

"OK"

"Well, first, I'm going to wash my hands so there's no germs on them"

"OK"

"Then I'm going to dry my hands really well so that he doesn't drown" (Noah's always thinkin')

"Good idea"

Noah went on to explain to me how ants are friendly and that "little guys need friends too".

His idea for capture was to go get some human food, because ants love people food, and put it in his hand. Maybe just a little cheese on his finger or something, he said, to trick the ant, and then, he could have the little guy as his friend forever.

Noah has his ant.

Uncle Elmo would be proud.

Jamestown

Jamestown...lots of historical fun, I must say. We saw an Indian (I think I'm supposed to say Native American) village, 3 really cool ship replicas (by "replica", I mean to scale copies, which seemed to have no modern improvements whatsoever in or on the ships, down to the nails used, etc.), the "Jamestown" settlement village, and a LOT of really cool stuff in between. The villages all were completely functional, with a lot of "workers" there to keep things moving along. Things like wood work, canoe building, cooking, garden tending, leather tanning, blacksmith shop, etc. It brought things to life, and was a lot of fun for us and the kids.

A lady explained at one point to Noah how they would make tea out of sassafras roots. It reminded me of being a kid, searching the hillside where I grew up sassafras saplings I could pull up to chop up the root for tea...I wonder if they had microwaves in Jamestown back in the day....