Is this the kind of nanny that you want?

Here is story in today's news about Barak Obama's lost brother.
Barak Obama's 'lost' brother found in Kenya

George Hussein Onyango Obama, Obama's half brother, was found living in a shanty in Keyna.

Something about the brother of a very successful and wealthy senator living in abject poverty struck me as very wrong.

I am sure that there are unknown facts that would give a more balanced perspective to this story, but even so, the man's 26 year old brother is getting by on a dollar a month. He has to "take what he needs" to survive. He has been living this way for at least 10 years. That means that he was homeless and destitute at 16. A very different fate than his "American" brother.

A couple of bible verses immediately come to mind:

1 Timothy 5:8 "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

James 1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world."

This story bothers me because it speaks of Obama's character, but it also bothers me because it speaks to his core beliefs.

As the leftist darling, he is running for the position of "nanny-in-chief." He will be expected to use the resources of the federal government to make sure that every person's need (womb to tomb) is taken care of by the state. This is a noble endeavor for sure, but what kind of nanny is Obama going to be if he will not even take care of his own brother?

If history is any indication, I think we all know who Obama is going to take care of.

Picky Eaters II

"He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet." Proverbs 27:7 (NIV)

The gist I get when I read the modern (NIV) translation is this: when your tummy if full, even the yummiest thing that you could think of (honeycomb) is undesirable. UGH... no thank you. But when you are hungry, you will eat ANYthing - even food that you would normally consider to be yucky is a welcome treat.

This is an interesting observation by the Proverb writer. Maybe a child-rearing application. Ok...next Proverb.

That is about all I got from the NIV.

Then I switched to the 1611 "authorized" version* and I read:

"The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." Proverbs 27:7 (KJV)

The gist that I get here is that a soul that is hungry is able to experience the sweetness of God's goodness even in life's bitterness (this is certainly our family's testimony this year). Romans
8:28 comes to mind.

I have found that when I read the Psalms and Proverbs in the KJV, the spiritual application is more readily apparent. It seems that "modern" versions naturalize the sayings. The verse is about physical hunger... or is it? I find myself doing more contemplating and thinking about the deeper meanings when I read the KJV (I am not ready to abandon my "modern" translations yet, but this is very interesting to me).

When I read the KJV here, I wonder what would make a soul full. I wonder if it is little and therefore not able to hold very much. I think about church people that can get full by just spending 20 minutes in God's Word once a week on Sunday morning.

I think about people that get antsy when the Bible study goes 5 minutes into overtime. Is the soul full? I think about people who argue over hymns versus drums. Is the soul so full that it cannot eat at the table of "strange food?" Is the music bitter because the soul is full?

I want to be hungry. I AM hungry. I never get enough to eat on Sunday mornings. I have had to learn to feed myself (is that a sign of growth?). There was one church that I attended during my single years where Sunday mornings was a feast. By the time you got through with an hour and a half Sunday School Bible study and a 40 to 60 minute sermon, you felt so bloated that you had to spend the rest of the afternoon walking it off. Then when 6:00 rolled around, you were delighted to be back at the trough - only to wallow off bloated again by 7:30 or 8:00. It was decadent. Except that there was one really mean Sunday School teacher...but even in her meanness, she spoke the truth. It was sometimes bitter - but it was always good. It was healthy.

I want to have a hungry soul for God. I do not want to be that picky eater that turns his nose up when God offers something bitter. Sometimes it is the bitter thing that makes us stronger or healthier. Sometimes the bitterness turns into a blessing. Our bitterness this year was the death of our baby girl. There is still grief that is triggered by random things. But, God has taken that bitterness and turned it into countless blessings. I will write that book someday.

We know now, more that ever, that words are the Psalmist are true. He makes all things beautiful in His time and His goodness endures forever.

God give me a hunger for everything on your table - both the bitter and the sweet.




* authorized by the king of England, not the King of kings. A little aside for my "KJV only" buddies.

Picky Eaters

The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. Proverbs 27:7

One of our former neighbors, a very wise woman with half a dozen kids, gave us some advice for dealing with our picky eater.

"Hunger is the best sauce," she would say.

We strive to provide our children a very low sugar and otherwise healthy diet. I don't know if its is good genetics, healthy eating, or just the grace of God, but we have only been to the doctor twice that I can remember. Thats in 10 years - for all five kids. We pray a lot and we feed them lots of apples and homemade nutrient rich whole wheat bread.

But what do you do with the kid that doesn't want to get with the program? We got the junk food out of the house (a recent guest was appalled at our lack of "snacks" in the pantry - she had to show her husband- "look at this... can you BELIEVE?" borderline child abuse).

We stopped snacking between meals (most days).

Still - a picky eater. In my mind, I am going to send him away hungry. Then he will be hungry enough to eat monkey brains at the next meal. ... but then I cave... I gave him my yummy homemade roll last night because that was all he was eating. I really wanted that roll - it was the last one, but he was so pitiful. I hope that held him over until breakfast. He didn't complain, but he had LOTS of watermelon for dessert.

He has gotten better over the years. He knows that he can't have anything except what is being served to the rest of the family, so he has (on occasion) ventured out and discovered a new thing or two that he could (would) eat.

We started on the little kids while they were too young to complain. They will eat anything - they never got to choose.

Maybe hunger is the best sauce.

Meaningless

I read Ecclesiastics this morning. "meaningless, meaningless... everything under the sun is meaningless..."

Bottom Line: Eat, drink, and enjoy your work. Finding satisfaction in your work is a blessing from God. Do good to others. Fear God and keep His commandments - this is our whole duty.

Wisdom: meaningless (but better than foolishness)
Foolishness: meaningless
Poverty: meaningless
Wealth: meaningless
Toil: meaningless
Advancement: meaningless

Hedonistic pleasure: meaningless (The American Dream (my dream) is meaningless? I am sure this is correct, but I feel the need to do my own research here. I'm thinking a 7 day cruise to who cares where...leave the kids at home...bring the wife of course...would be VERY meaningful at this point in my life. Perhaps I missed something in the Hebrew context. Maybe there is verb tense that ALL the English translators have missed. A misplace jot?)

So everything under the sun (even the beach) is meaningless.

One Jewish source that I have read summarized the book as follows (paraphrase):

Everything under the sun is meaningless, therefore we should put all our efforts towards that which is above the sun.

I kind of like that. An eternal perspective - because all of these things that we worry about will burn.

Our temporal life is but a vapor. What are we doing with this vapor that that will be of eternal benefit?

Freedom!

I am a HUGE Dave Ramsey fan. I make my Ga Tech students read his material. Last Friday I was listening to his show. Friday is the day that people call in and scream "WE'RE DEBT FREE!" Some of them are lying though - they still have a house payment. A house payment doesn't count as debt on freedom Friday. That's fine with me. I am waiting to call the show myself.

I have vertical bars (a bar graph) on my white board that represent our debts. When we first moved we had some credit card bills (moving expenses) that took a few months to clear. Then we had some medical bills that took a few months to clear.

Now I am looking at my bars... most of them have gone away.

We have a house payment. I wish we didn't. Maybe we won't in a few years.

We have a student loan.

That's it.

Dave doesn't like the student loan.

I want to call Dave and scream "We're debt free except the house and the student loan but thats ok because my savings account is paying three times the interest that the student loan costs."

1.8%.

Would a rational person pay off a 1.8% loan? The math just doesn't work out for the rational person. The rational person puts all their spare cash into a "sinking fund" and then uses the interest on this sinking fund to pay off the student loan. It turns out that you only have to put a little more than half what you owe into savings and then let compound interest do its magic. You still have your savings account when you are done because the interest on the savings account has been enough to pay the loan.

The rational person balks at Dave's advice.

What about the spiritual person?

Would a spiritual person pay off a 1.8% loan?

A spiritual person owes no debt but a debt of love. A spiritual person does not become servant to a lender after they have been set free from their bondage of sin and death. A spiritual person does not go in to debt at all because that is presuming upon the future. A spiritual person believes that God will provide in supernatural ways if he will stay out of debt....

... but on the other hand... the spiritual person is a good steward of God's resources. If super cheap debt is available for a constructive purpose, does the spiritual person pass on the opportunity? Does the good steward pay off cheap debt when they would be better off by keeping their cash and letting it work harder than 1.8% (tax free) for them?

Perhaps our family should have bought a mobile home for cash and paid off all student loans and then saved up for a house before we bought it.... maybe God would have blessed us in ways that we could not even imagine.

... or maybe God gives us wisdom and the ability to do math so that we can make good decisions and not just roboticly follow the over-simplified systems of popular financial advisers.

I want to be the spiritual person...I really do want to be that guy... but my rational brain is telling me that walking in the spirit is a little more complicated than following Dave's baby steps. But the heart (our thinker) is deceitful and wicked...

What do you think?

Is Dave right? Is ALL debt dumb?

Esther versus Romans 6-8

In preparation for Purim (March 21, 2008), I thought it would be interesting to look at Esther.

Read Romans 6-8 and then read Esther in this context:

Esther is your spirit
The king is your will
Haman is your flesh
Mordecai is the holy spirit

It is an amazing read.

Name meanings:

Esther: Something hidden, or a star
Hadassa (Esther's Hebrew name): Myrtle - myrtle gives of a sweet aroma when it is crushed and beaten
Xerses: The king (this is a title, not his name)
Haman: Magnificent, or tumult
Mordecai: Little man
Mordecai's lineage (Jair, Shimei, Kish, Benjamine); my light; that hears or obeys; bent (towards) the son of the right hand

Proverbs 25:2 - ”[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter."

The seven advisers to the king (perhaps 7 facets of "self") with their name meanings:
Casrhena: illustrious
Shethar: star
Admatha: given by the highest
Tarshish: a jewel (yellow jasper)
Meres: lofty
Marsena: worthy
Memucan: dignified

Isn't that how we want to see ourselves?

Some words have dual meanings. This is common in the English language. Can you think of an example? It is common in Hebrew too. The seven advisers names have other meanings.

Casrhena: sleeping, a lamb (lambs are known for being weak and dumb)
Shethar: putrefied; searching
Admatha: a cloud of death; a mortal vapor
Tarshish: contemplation (worry?)
Meres: defluxion; imposthume (I had too look it up... an oozing sore)
Marsena: bitterness of a bramble
Memucan: impoverished

The first list is our mask to the world. The second list (I think) is more representative of our condition before God. Isaiah writes that "all our righteous is as filthy rags." Realizing who we really are magnifies our need for redemption.

I will post more insights later.

(Name meanings are from Strong's Concordance or netbible.org)

Woman at the Well

Here are my deeeeep thoughts from church on Sunday.

The story was about the woman at the well (or something around those verses in John). She was a Samaritan - hated by the Jews - just because they were from Samaria. Jesus asks her for a drink. Of course she is shocked that a Jew would even speak to her, much less ask her for water. What is he doing here anyway? Most Jews go AROUND Samaria, not THROUGH it. Remember the good Samaritan helping the beaten and bloody Jew? Also unheard of, shocking, in that culture.

Anyway, Jesus asks her to go get her husband. She doesn't have a husband. Jesus says "I know, and in fact, the guy you are living with now is not your husband." She had been with lots of "husbands." You know the type. Probably a very needy (aren't we all?) woman going from man to man's bed trying to satisfy a deep need that she can't fully describe. Maybe she needed security, maybe her Daddy never hugged her, or maybe it was just simple promiscuity. We don't know.

I wonder what Imus would say if he were reporting this story? He'd probably be back off the air for a while.

This woman is amazed by Jesus' ability to "tell me everything I ever did." Jesus didn't condemn her or throw rocks at her, he just told her what she had done. I think it was more than historical accounting that got her. Mabye it was something about the way he looked at her. Maybe it was a kindness in His voice that she had never heard from a man. Maybe he was the first man that she ever met that treated her with dignity and respect. I'll bet he was the first man that ever loved her just because she was His - not because of what she could give.

She ran back to the village and told everyone that would listen, "you have GOT to meet this man that told me everything I ever did." Two points here: 1. I do not think I would go running down the street to meet a man who could tell the whole village everything I have ever done. I am kind of a private person. I don't want anyone going through my garbage. But this woman, she had reached her breaking point. The point where she didn't care anymore. She wanted Jesus' living water more than she wanted her privacy. I believe that Jesus wants to bring us all to that point. To the point where we want Him more than we want anything else - including our dignity and pride.

Point #2. This woman did not go and kick the man out of her house or go through any 12-step program to get "clean" or "certifiably holy", before she was used by God. She simply ran and invited people to come see this amazing man who promised living waters to all who would come.

If there was ever a broken vessel for carrying the light of Christ, she was it. We don't have to be perfect* to share Jesus with others. He knows we are dust. He knows we are frail. He knows we are broken and bound to this sinful flesh until the day he calls us home.

Deep thought: What we are should never disqualify us from proclaiming who He is.




*disclaimer: Romans 6:1-2

Turn it up

I remember when I was in high school I had a Lynyrd Skynyrd album. All their pictures were on the back. My mom asked me which one was Lynyrd. I didn't know. I guessed the lead singer.

This was back in the day when audiophiles worried about the quality of their needle and the wow and flutter of their turntable. I had some spare tubes lying around just in case one blew. That Freebird solo would really stress the old tubes - especially when you turned the volume up to "11" (a gratuitous "Spinal Tap" reference).

I soon learned that Lynyrd was not the lead singer. No one was named Lynyrd. I only suffered mild humiliation from my wise and worldly next door neighbor for that one. He let me off easy. I considered him to be extremely wise and cool solely because he was one year ahead of me in school. He knew all about Lynyrd Skynyrd...and other cool bands.

Thirty years later...

I found my Gold and Platnium CD when we moved. It has all the best from Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sweet Home Alabama, Gimme Three Steps, Free Bird.... an audio feast.

My car stereo doesn't have an "11." In fact, there aren't ANY numbers. I keep turning and turning and turning... it just spins around and doesn't get ANY louder. No bother. By the looks and gestures that I am getting at stop lights and gas stations, I am sure that everyone is enjoying my Gold and Platnium with me.

A glorious week.

I also had Max McClain's CD in the car with me. He's the guy with the deep voice and the British accent that reads the Bible on the radio. He is very expressive. A nice presentation.

I get in the car a few days later. A guy a the gas station is forcing me to listen to his "music." I feel violated. WWJD? I decided to get even. A battle of the bands. Make his ears bleed. I know just the song to counter his "onslaught on humanity" so loosely called "music."

Turn it up.

As I am digging in my console... there it is. Gold and Platinum...Disc 2 (the best one).... broken... no shattered....

It had been crushed by the Word of God.

Evelyn thinks that it was a divine intervention in my life. Kind of like when all the pagan idols in the Old Testament kept falling down before the ark of the Lord.

I don't know. What do you think?

God has a Plan

Every Christmas season we tell our kids the Christmas story.

Its not what you think.

We start in Genesis - and it takes weeks. Sometimes its at breakfast or dinner. Sometimes its at bedtime. We have a few visual aids that the Children can stick to a flannel Christmas tree when we are done with a certain segment. The idea is to put baby Jesus on the tree by Christmas.

Its the middle of January, all the Christmas decor is put away, and we are still a long way from putting baby Jesus on the tree.

I am doing the story telling this year and I have found myself reverting to a common theme, a commonality that ties all the Bible stories together. "God has a plan." Each one of these characters plays a vital role in the greatest story every told. God used each of them to accomplish His ultimate purpose.

In Jeremiah God famously tells the Israelites:

• "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (KJV)
• "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)

When I think of God's "PLAN" I always think that it is something grandiose. I keep wondering when "God's plan" for MY life is going to kick in.

As we have told the stories of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Daniel, Ruth, Boaz, David, Solomon, and so many others, it has struck me that "God's plan" may be very mundane - even painful.

What did Issac do? He just lived his life and had a set of twins - he even failed at maintaining order in his household. His kids HATED each other. His younger son lied to him as he lay dying. Yet Issac's life is essential in God's plan. The Messiah is coming through his bloodline. His great purpose in life was to continue the bloodline.

"Well done my good and faithful servant."

"Huh? What did I do? I just took care of my sheep."

"You lived and had a family."

"But I was a terrible father."

"But my purpose was accomplished."

Jacob had a pretty rough go of it too. He had to work 14 years to earn his wife. She couldn't have children, but when she did have a child, he was a little bratty - so much so that his step brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery. Imagine the heartache of losing an only child (by that wife). Then the drought/famine - the worries of taking care of his family. Then having to send his beloved Benjamin to Egypt, only to have him imprisoned...Then you have to leave the land you love and move to Egypt to live among strangers. This man's life was one tragedy after another. Yet God's purpose was accomplished. "Well done."

What did Boaz do? He ran his (very successful) business and married a pretty little widow that came and lay at his feet one night during the harvest. They had a child named Jessee who had a child that eventually became the king of Israel (David).

"Well done my good and faithful servant."

"Uh.. thanks. "

I always thought I had to be a David, a Joseph, or a modern day Dwight Moody, Billy Graham, or a billionaire tycoon to accomplish God's purpose in my life.

I am coming to realize that it is ok to be an Isaac or a Boaz. Maybe I will never know what part of God's plan was accomplished just because I lived, married, and had children.

God may never bless me with that knowledge. But by faith, I carry on, knowing that His ways, His thoughts, are higher than mine. By faith, I know that God has a purpose and a reason for my life. By faith, I am going to have baby Jesus on that tree by the end of this month.

By faith, I know that when I see Him face to face I will finally understand and hopefully.... yes hopefully... he will say "well done."

Three Gifts

Perhaps the biggest epiphany we had during the Christmas season was that we could give them gifts at other times of the year.

It just hit me like a ton of bricks. I can buy stuff next month on sale and by then I may not want it anyway. I don't have to go out and get all the other kids one more stupid gift that they will never play with just because Jonathan has eight gifts and they only have seven.

What freedom! What euphoria! No more Christmas Eve shopping!

The number that we decided on was 3. Thats right. Just three things to open on Christmas morning. Thats 15 presents under the tree. Thats IT. No more.... well maybe something little in the stocking..... but thats IT.

One of the kids wanted a go-cart. Lets wait til' spring! Why spend all our $$$ in December? One kid wanted a transforming monster thingy that slimed. " Are you SURE thats in your top 3?" mu-hah-hah-hah (I laughed silently because I HATE those things....)

Another kid complains. "Only three gifts? awwww man."

"That's right. Three gifts. Baby Jesus only got three gifts. You think you are better than baby Jesus?"

The kids still got stuff from grandparents, cousins, and friends. Christmas was still a crap fest. You know what I mean. After all the dust settles, there is new crap (and a few nice things) everywhere. The kids made each other some very creative gifts out of toilet paper rolls, glue and string (if that helps you imagine what a crap fest looks like).

My hope is that as the years go by, our three gift policy will bring some sanity to the gift giving process and be a lasting tradition that helps us remember the extravagance of the Gift that was given to all of us.

No Greater Joy

It gives me great joy to see my children walking in truth and speaking truth to one another.

Imagine my thrill when I overheard my precious 9 year old call out to his younger brother. "Hey, I want to share a scripture with you!"

It was such a proud parent moment.

The precious 9 yr old had been reading his one-year Bible faithfully as a part of his daily homeschool routine. Finally, I thought, he has begun to internalize the timeless truths of God's Word. As the Holy Spirit spoke through the written word, my son must have been so overwhelmed with the power, the majesty, the beauty of God's Word that he just couldn't contain himself. His only response was to worship God and proclaim the word to his little brother.

I listened intently from the other room.

"Listen to this," says precious. "Make her drunk, for she has defied the Lord. Let Moab wallow in her vomit;" (Jer 48:26)

Hysterical laughter from the other room. They are literally rolling on the floor.

Sigh.

Who needs "Captain Underpants" when you have the Holy Word of God.

Evelyn HATES Captain Underpants. I mean REALLY hates.

God's Grace

A Service For Grace Marchman

Welcome: Rev. Marty Smith

Song: Lisa Mitchel, Come to Jesus

Testimony: Barry Marchman (Father)

We knew the storm was coming. It was as if we could hear the distant rumblings and see the lightning flashing across the horizon. We knew it could be bad.

We cried out to God.

Like the leper in the Gospels crying out to Jesus, we cried, “God if you are willing, you can deliver us from this storm!” We hoped he would say, as he said to the leper, “I am willing.”

He did not.

As the weeks went on, the clouds got thicker and more ominous with each visit to the doctor. At first it was just a cleft lip and palate, then a whole host of problems. The storm was definitely coming.

We thought of Jesus praying in the garden the night before his crucifixion. His storm was coming. “God, if there is any other way, please let this cup pass from us.”

He did not.

“Yet not what I will, but thy will be done.”

The storm was coming. When we moved to Atlanta, the geneticist gave us the definitive diagnosis – trisomy-13. The genetic disorder is almost always fatal. We knew it was going to be bad. We prayed for God to heal our little baby – to heal HIS little baby.

He did not.

The doctor suggested that we terminate the pregnancy.

We did not.

We felt that it would be a much harder pain than the pain we now bear. We felt the most God honoring “choice” was to give her every chance at life. What if she was one of the 2% that could survive? We had to give her a chance.

The storm was coming.

We thought of Paul as he was being tormented. He cried out to God, “Please remove this thorn in the flesh.”

He did not.

“My grace is sufficient for thee, Paul.”

“My grace is sufficient for thee, Barry, Evelyn.”

“My grace is sufficient for thee.”

One more ultrasound. The storm clouds darkened. The rumblings grew louder as the dreaded day came. We still prayed… “God if you are willing…”

My grace is sufficient for thee.

“God you can heal her.”

My grace is sufficient for thee.

When the storm hit, it came crashing like a category 5 hurricane.

Evelyn’s water broke a little after midnight on Christmas Eve. Her contractions were close together. It was time to go. The neighbor did not answer her phone. We made another call, then another. The 20-year old son of one of our dear friends was just down the road. We had to leave. I woke up Jonathan (9) and told him to wait by the door until Michael got there. We were scared to leave, but we HAD to go. Jonathan was brave. As we were pulling out of the driveway, Michael arrived. Jonathan did not have to be brave and we did not have to worry. God’s grace was sufficient for us.

We got to the hospital at 12:45. By 1:30, Evelyn was in hard labor and about to give birth, but the baby was breech, feet down. The doctor was not there yet. By the time the doctor arrived, Evelyn was ready to push the baby out. The doctor told us that they did not deliver breech babies and that Evelyn would have to have emergency surgery – a c-section. I knew that in saner moments, Evelyn would not want to have the surgery, but she was telling the doctor to do whatever it took to save her baby. She was terrified. I protested. Suddenly it was a moot point. Grace came to us feet first and slipped into (a very surprised) doctor’s hands. Evelyn did not have to have surgery and Grace was beautiful. God’s grace was sufficient for us.

The cord was cut and Grace did not cry. She had no heartbeat and she was not breathing. She was given CPR and she finally responded. She was stabilized and taken to the newborn ICU. The doctors confirmed what we had seen in the ultrasounds. Her body was not able to function on its own. The storm was raging, but God’s grace was sufficient for us.

God’s grace was poured out on us by a staff of compassionate nurses, doctors and technicians. Some of them ministered to us so effectively and so beautifully that I wonder if they were placed there at that time especially for us. They went so far beyond the call of duty to comfort us and take care of us. I wonder if I were to go back to the hospital and inquire about them if I would be met with blank stares – “I am sorry, no one by that description has ever worked here.” They were like angels from God – like anchors in the storm. God’s grace was sufficient for us.

Evelyn’s heart’s desire was to be able to hold her baby – if only for a few minutes. Her desire was met abundantly more than she could imagine. All five children and one set of grand parents were able to meet little Grace. The children were allowed to spend as much time as they wished loving on her – they rubbed her little head, poked her little toes and talked so sweetly to her.

After they left, we had a photographer come and take pictures of us holding Grace. We knew that we did not have much time. Just as the umbilical cord shrivels at birth, there is also a passage in the heart that shrivels at birth. The doctor had told us that when this passage was closed, that no amount of oxygen could sustain her. This little passage was doing the job of her missing artery and allowing her a few precious hours of life.

After the pictures, Evelyn and I went back to our room with Grace and held her and cuddled her as her heart beat got slower and slower. We were so thrilled that she could respond to our voices and to our touch. We showered her with our kisses and our tears. As we held her, the storm raged. God had given us Grace and his grace was sufficient for us.

The doctor come in one more time and listened for a heart beat. Silence. Grace had slipped away. The storm was raging, it was tearing at our hearts, but God’s grace was sufficient for us.

We held her for quite a while, but soon realized that our little girl was not with us. We squeezed and held her broken earth suit as if she were still in it ---- but of course she was not. It was like the many times that I have found a little one-zee in a drawer and picked it up and squeezed it as if one of our babies were still it - letting the happy memories bask over me while holding the empty shell. It was the same way with Grace. We held her empty shell and wept. We clung to each other – and to grace - and we finally gave our little girl to the nurse to take away. But really she had already flown away. The storm in our heart was intense and painful. We took comfort in the fact that her Grandmother Joyce, Grandmother Brown, Grandmother Marchman, Grandmother Kitty, Pappa and so many others were there to greet her and welcome her in to the arms of Jesus. She was now God’s Grace.

As we gather together today, we are in the calm eye of the storm. The joy and peace of being surrounded by those that love and care for us gives us great comfort. Thank you so much for your presence today. Your outpouring of love means so much to us. Thank you. We feel your love and we are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. One of the worst parts about moving from Tallahassee was the thought of leaving our dearest friends at the single point in our marriage that needed them the most. However, once again, God’s grace was sufficient for us.

We are so blessed to be a part of the body of Christ where total strangers to us – people we have only known for six weeks or so have taken such good care of us. As soon as we moved, we met several families – all in the same Sunday School class that have walked this same path. It was a miraculous coincidence – the hand of God moving in and around our lives. He continues express His grace to us through this precious group of believers. In first John, we are told that we can identify the true Christians by their love for one another. We were so pleased to report that the body of Christ – the sweet love and fellowship between believers - can be found outside our precious circle of friends here. Our God is a big God and we have found that he can love you where you are. His grace finds you - and it is sufficient.

We are not angry at God. Quite the opposite is true. Our faith has been strengthened through this trial. We have been overwhelmed by his grace and the love of his children each step of the way.

We know that this is just the eye of the storm. In the days ahead, there will be more grief...and more grace.

We covet your prayers for our family.

We take comfort in these passages:

Is 55: Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:

Ps 34:14 The lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

1 Samuel 3:18 (Eli says upon hearing that his sons would die): “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

Rom 8:28 All things work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose

Job: The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Others…..

Thank your for being here today to celebrate with us the life of our little Grace.

Our faith and our peace is that

From this day and forever more she will be.... God’s Grace.

Song: Lisa Mitchel (softly)

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Grace Greater Than Our Sin, Julia Johnson, Daniel Towner