Sunday Notes and Goodbye to Lindy

Church started at 8:30 AM, as usual, on the big monitor here in my sewing room.  Praise and worship was really good this morning.  Evidently, John Hagee's people have upped the game on the transmission.  The music used to be pretty bad.  NOT the actual music, but the reception over my computer.  I sang along with every song while Jerry lip-sinced -- he NEVER sings -- and Lindy listened.  I know the words to most of the songs since I was raised on them.  Jerry has a wonderful deep, manly voice, but he will not open his mouth and let it come out.  I've never even caught him singing in the shower.  If I don't know you are here, you WILL hear me singing.

There was a guest from Angola (?), Africa today.  An amazing man who said he grew up SO POOR, that the poor people called them poor.  He never owned a pair of shoes until he was 18 years old.  Somehow, he got to go to school, and he turned out to be a major brain and has all kinds of math degrees.  He has a doctorate in some kind of math.  After he got all those degrees, he became a preacher.  He has crowds -- according to CNN's sky cams -- of SEVEN MILLION people.  They have had to figure out a way to have more meetings so he can have just two million at a time.  Can you imagine?!  Praise God that people in Africa are coming to Jesus.  Maybe if we Christians move there, we can have freedom of religion again!

His wife was quite a character.  She was dressed in a gorgeous pink ensemble, including a hat.  She is known as Mrs. G. O. -- "General Overseer".  She was the lady "in charge", and she looked the part.  Very classy!

His message began with a prayer ON HIS KNEES.  I loved it.  Not in a show-offy way at all, but total submission to God.  We had to leave about half way through his sermon to get Lindy returned to her Dad, but the first half was about Jesus is the SAME, yesterday, today and forever!

And now our precious Lindy has gone back home to her Dad's house.  He met us at McDonald's to pick her up, and we had a nice chat with him.  Peter is from England, and he and Lindy are going there for two weeks very soon.  His Dad and Mom are in their 80's and are too frail to travel to the United States as they used to do quite often.  What an experience that will be for Lindy.  She says she is coming back here again when she returns from England. 

Jerry misses her already.  He says she is the BEST fishing partner he has ever had. 

He said she NEVER COMPLAINS about anything.   

Funny, he never says that about me.

She really doesn't complain though -- about the food, or the weather, or the fish not biting, or us asking her to do something.  She is a very loving, sweet girl.  Her parent's divorce has been very hard on her and her brothers.  For years, when the rest of us would be griping and complaining and getting on to one another, Lindy would say, "Can't we just LOVE each other!?"

This time, Lindy was really upset about the situation, and actually had just moved away from her Mother's house and into her Father's house.  She was telling me she just couldn't stand it anymore, but did not mention any particular reason why or badmouth anyone.  I would have had a detailed list, 20 pages long, with pictures and names and addresses of witnesses!

I said, "Lindy, you were always the positive one that told us all to just LOVE each other!"  "What happened?"

She said, "I just gave up because nobody was listening to me."

I told her to NEVER give up.  I told her that God isn't going to judge us for how "others love us".  God is going to judge us for how "we love others".  I told her she was the WISE one, the RIGHT one, and asked her to please not ever change.

God is at work in the background, however, and things can change in a moment.  I'm believing God is going to bring our family back together.  I don't know how, and  I don't know when.  But He does.  I trust Him completely. 

Right now, I am very thankful for the sweetest granddaughter in the whole wide world!

Hugs, Joy