Serve by Design

After all these years, I am still filled with joy and feel a childlike giddiness when I see one of God’s colorful “bows” arcing across the sky. I can’t count how many times I have invited family and friends to come to the window or step outside to see the unfolding drama in God’s message of hope in a rainbow arcing across the sky! God's Handiwork! Our son recently sent me a picture that perfectly captures God’s creative handwork in a beautiful rainbow. As is typical, a thunderstorm and downpour drenched his neighborhood. He and his daughter had stepped out the front door to survey for any wind damage. Looking up, they beheld the stunning perfection of dazingly colors in layers of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Many of us have heard about the science of rainbows. Simply stated, they develop as light from the sun is refracted through the water droplets after a rain. Mathematicians add that rainbows are all about geometry. They occur when the sun is low in the...

Our granddaughter, Eloise, has a beautiful and fun-loving sister, Charlotte, whom she adores! Charlotte is eight years old and prefers to go by the shortened version of her name, Char. She is the youngest child of her family and has lots of energy and cuteness! We have seen her in action at gymnastics demonstrations. I can personally attest to Char’s athleticism. She can sprint about “faster than a jackrabbit” in sandals and then kick them off and upward with unusual ease and force! 😊 "A child shall lead them" Char is a cheerleader for the happiness of others. At the end of the school year and the beginning of June, she went to work on her chalkboard easel. She creatively sketched a message with images that embrace the summer season. Then she carried the message board out to the sidewalk to encourage all those passing by her house. Sometimes, you’ll see a lemonade stand in front of a house, but this time, it was just a simple and positive message: “Happy June! Happy Summer! ...

This spring has marked another epic chapter for our family. Two more of our grandchildren are now gainfully employed with part-time jobs! Klay, fifteen-years-old, is making pizza, subs, and salads at Dion's in New Mexico, and seventeen-year-old, Cam is taking orders (via the speaker!) for chili dogs, smash burgers, and shakes. He is also serving as an occasional carhop, cleaning the ice cream machine, and doing other duties as assigned at the Sonic Drive-In. Leander, Texas. The grands are growing up and moving on! Cam, Our Sonic Man! Cam took to his new job like the proverbial “duck to water!” He has been flexing his “cooking muscles” since taking Culinary Arts during his sophomore year. He received a “Food Handler’s License” after completing the class. At home, he can manage the toaster oven and any pan like a professional! Made from scratch Cheddar Bay Biscuits and Fettuccine Alfredo with homemade noodles are his specialties! There is another dimension of fast-food restaurants ...

Our grandsons, Klay and Karter DeFrees, just participated in a Memorial Day service project at their local cemetery in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Churches and schools have promoted the value of such projects to encourage students to “give back” to their communities. Our guys are active in their youth program at Paragon Church. I’m so proud that these beloved grands always “stand in the ready” to help and serve when given the opportunity! Klay and Karter - hard at work! Their church recently featured the guys with this “shout out” on the church website: “Today, two of our youth (Klay and Karter) joined Bob Monclova and Jim S. to clean eight hundred veteran head stones during six hours of service on Memorial Day. Karen, from Daniel’s Family Funeral Home, shared these comments, ‘The guys from Paragon were amazing, respectful, patriotic, and hard working! Thank you gentlemen for honoring our fallen vets!’” There was a moment of levity that Klay, our fifteen-year-old, shared with me about wh...