Never Forget ~ In Remembrance of 9/11

It was 16 years ago, when those terror attacks struck and killed 2,996 people in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. On September 11, 2001, I was a student at Southern Adventist University and remember being in class at the time when the campus contacted all professors and staff to spread the news. The administrators cancelled all classes and activities for the rest of the day, and if I remember correctly, I believe everything was cancelled for the rest of the week.

The news was shocking and confusing and generated a very real fear. We wondered if this was the beginning of a war and perhaps even our tiny college town could be attacked from the air. There was so much details of what was happening that were unknown. I immediately went with other students to the student center to see the news reports on television. I remember thinking of my friends Ashley and Steven Sikora who were living and working in New York at that time. I remember praying for them to be safe, and praying that God would help those people who were in danger and comfort the families of the people who were already dead. A plane hitting a building was a pretty tragic sight to see, because the fire and explosions made it clear and undeniable that the people in that plane could not have survived. Then my thoughts turned to the people who were at work inside those buildings. There had to be people killed inside the building too. At first there was no evidence that the tower would collapse. But, those moments when the second tower was hit, and then both towers collapsed were when the magnitude of this very horrific situation became so much more terrifying! When I witnessed that live on television, it was so terrible, I began to cry and pray and feel such sharp painful shock and disbelief and sadness. It was the absolute worst thing I have ever seen in my life.

My memories of 9/11 always come flooding back to me on this day each year. I will NEVER FORGET!  I could NEVER FORGET!  It was too terrible to ever be erased from my memory. A deep, jagged pit in my memory was formed that brings back the images and impressions of the terrible suffering and sadness and shock I felt in those moments of watching the horror of reality right on that TV screen.

People who lost their loved ones were the feature stories that kept pouring through the TV shows and magazines and newspapers and websites. I remember stories about the people who were killed, and stories of people who were still missing. I remember seeing the piles and piles of memorial items people left at the Ground Zero area and the signs posted showing the people who had lost their lives and those who were still being searched for by their loved ones. It was numbing. It was never easy to look at, and it brought tears to my eyes and a feeling of sympathy and grief. I did not know anyone directly who was killed on 9/11, but there was always a story that touched my heart and made me feel so sad.

It has taken many years for the floods of stories to start to run dry. So many people died and even more people were injured. Countless books were written about their lives, news reports featured their experiences, and stories were printed in newspapers and magazines. So many people had to go on with their lives without their loved ones. So many children did not get to live their lives with a Mommy or a Daddy or an Uncle or an Aunt or a Grandparent. So many children had their tender lives snuffed out. The US and actually the whole world was wounded on 9/11/01 and that wound was very deep and very painful and very life-altering; and that wound left a permanent scar. But just as a wound heals, we have healed, but that scar serves as a reminder of what we have been through and how in the blink of an eye the whole reality of peace and safety can be shattered. NEVER FORGET!

Recently, I was really touched and amazed when I found out that the US Navy has a ship made partly from materials from the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed on September 11, 2001.

The boat's name: USS New York
The ship's motto: Never Forget

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up. It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."

This modern marvel was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center twin towers.
It is the fifth in a new class of warships and is designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It is able to carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

NEVER FORGET

Happy Easter!

This made me laugh! 

Valentine's Day Jokes

2016 Memories: Spring Break Road Trip!!

 

 White Sands National Monument

White Sands was Isaac's favorite part of our Spring Break trip! He loved this place!  He kept climbing the sand piles and running down!

Views along the trail up Guadalupe Mountain, the tallest peak in Texas! 

The views are really incredible during the hike up Guadalupe Mountain! 

Here we are on the top of Guadalupe Mountain! We made it to the summit! It was an exhausting hike, but very beautiful along the way! It was a 8.5 mile round-trip hike that climbed 3,000 feet to reach the top which is 8,750 feet!

Artesia, New Mexico! This is a beautiful city with interesting historical sites. There are some sculptures that depict the history of the area.

As we were driving through Fort Stockton, Texas we saw this amazing huge road runner statue! We saw some real road runners too, but they were too quick to get a good photo.

Seminole Canyon, Texas! This was a great place to walk around and see pictographs on the rock faces. There were anthropologists giving the tour of the canyon and describing the various prehistoric drawings on the canyon walls.

Garner State Park, Texas has the beautiful Rio Frio running through it! The water is crystal clear and lots of people were enjoying swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, and rope swings. It was a beautiful spot for our picnic lunch!

This is the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns! It was a very long walk down to the bottom of the cave, and an even longer walk back out after we spent a couple of hours exploring!

We found a field of snow in New Mexico as we were driving through one day! We just had to stop and check it out. We had not seen any snow since Isaac was about 2 years old. He really enjoyed it!  We all did!

2016 Memories . . . January, February, March

Here are a few photos from the beginning of 2016 . . . happy memories and fun times! 

Exploring the boardwalks during a visit to Anahuac National Wildlfe Refuge.

We enjoyed watching migrating birds fly overhead. Many birds roost in these tall reed grasses. In the past we have seen alligators here at Anahuac, but on this day we did not see any. It was kind of late in the day for them to out of the water sunning themselves. Plus, it was probably too cold and so they must have been hiding somewhere to stay warm.

January 2016

 Isaac turned 6 years old!

 He celebrated his birthday party with family, friends, and neighbors at Chuck-e-Cheese!

 The birthday party theme was LEGOs!

Chuck-e-Cheese turned our son into a super hero!

March 2016

 We enjoyed the giant slide at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Carnival

 Our little farmer taking over the wheel at the Houston Livestock show!

It's that time of year . . .

It's that time of year again when we think back on the year gone by and make plans for the new year ahead! I like to come up with a theme or focus for each year. I don't always stick super close to that but I try to be consciencous of my goals and area of focus. When I take the time to identify something I want to do better that theme stays in mind as a good reminder to myself throughout the year. Its a way of motivating myself and also a way to aim for something higher.

2015 was my year of Purpose...I wanted to do things with purpose and direction and with specific goals. In 2013 I had completed my master's degree after a great deal of effort and hard work through about five years. During those challenging five years our family was changed by me losing my job followed by the birth of our precious baby Isaac in 2010. Jason earned his master's degree during that time as well. We were at our limits trying to work, take care of our baby, and study! I was also continually working from home as a freelance writer and editor completing various writing assignments and editing projects. Chaos was the normal at times but thankfully God gave us strength to complete what we had started. It was a time of great celebration when we were done with school!

So, in 2014 we were transitioning to new goals and a somewhat new outlook because of less demands on our time and schedules. The graduation goal was no longer pressing and so it was time to focus on "what next". Setting the theme of Purpose was my way of wanting to grow into a better disciple of Jesus Christ, sharing and caring more.  I wanted to put my heart into what I do more and more and more instead of just burning steam and spinning my wheels but not knowing where I was going...

It was also a time when one of our deepest desire came true --we found out we were  pregnant with baby #2! We had prayed for our family to grow and hoped it would happen soon. We were so excited when we confirmed our pregnancy with the doctor and started to dream and plan with excitement and longing!

Unfortunately, at 11 weeks, we lost the pregnancy to a devastating miscarriage. Complications after the miscarriage took several months of 2014 hostage because I had to be on bed rest to recover from severe anemia. It was a slow and lengthy process. We thank God for His love and comfort during that time and even now as we continue to pray and surrender to God our dream of a growing family.

Finding Purpose after the ground gets knocked out from under you is not as easy as when everything is "going exactly how you want". We still had our faith in God, that never has changed, but we struggled to understand what had happened to us and to regain focus. So, day by day we discovered joy in the Lord more fully than ever, and we discovered that He wants to work in and through our lives no matter what challenges and tragedies happen in our lives. A broken or damaged pot can still grow wonderful things, lush greenery, delicious fruit, and beautiful, fragrant blooms! God is still God and always will be. Pain, death, and sadness are the result of sin and were never part of God's plan for us or this world. Our story is not over, because God is giving us life day by day. We are thankful. We seek Him and His will no matter what it is.

Then in 2016 it was my year of Completion ... I wanted to finish things I had started but later abandoned. Some things had been abandoned because I started working full time the week after we moved into our house and was very busy ever since. Some things were abandoned during the years we were pursuing our master's degrees because it was such a demanding time with reading, writing, and projects to complete and classes to attend. Other things were abandoned because I like to save stuff and most of the time I save too much. I'm learning to be better about not saving everything but instead either giving it away, sharing it if it is inspirational, or putting it in the paper recycling bin or donating it to Goodwill or another charity. Life for several years felt more like a white water rafting trip with highs and lows and twists and turns --some we could see up ahead and others that were around a blind corner --and always hanging on to avoid landing in the swirling waters of life.

I wanted to wrap up loose ends of various projects or situations. Praise God I was able to experience some pretty amazing completion experiences (message me if you want some specific stories/testimonies). I was able to clean and organize some areas in my house that had been crammed with unfinished stuff or with just stuff I had not had time to go through and get rid of. I wish I had completed even more things, but I plan to continue my efforts towards better efficiency and organization so that less things need to be in completed after they have been started.

I kept reminding myself that during each week we have certain things to do and those are the things we should complete. Instead of filling my work load so full that I could not get it all done in one week, I have been learning to only say yes to the things I can finish within the time necessary and say no when I am at my limits. This is a hard lesson for me to learn, but I am doing better.

God gives us six days to do all our work and the seventh day is for us to rest.


Exodus 20:9-11 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

I aim to complete my work for the week and then enjoy the weekend Sabbath rest! It is such an amazing blessing for me and my family!  If you want more information about Sabbath, message me!

There will always be some projects that obviously take more than one week to complete, but even those projects I want to be more organized and efficient about completing them on time and with a clear deadline and purpose in mind.

Now as we are approaching a new year, I am thinking about what I want my theme and focus to be. 2017 will be my year of Thankfulness! I know that sounds simple, but praising God for everything is such a blessing and life-changing! I want to truly feel thankfulness in my heart and live in a way that recognizes all that I have to be thankful for. I want to praise God more and do that through prayer and song. I want to be more thankful towards my family and friends. I want to see the good things and be uplifted by focusing on them.

Happy New Year! 

A Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear, "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve, You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December," Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers." My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam', And now it is my turn
and so, here I am. I've not seen my own son in more than a while, But my wife sends me
pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone, Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another, Or lay down my life with my sister and brother Who stand at the front against any and all, To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright, Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least, "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast? It seems all too little for all that you've done, For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, "Just tell us you love us, and never forget To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone, To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead, To know you remember we fought and we bled. Is payment enough, and with that we will trust, That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."