Heavenly Ramblings

Yes I am still among the living! I am telling you I thought life was busy with all the kids in our house, but now I have yet another non-monetary paying job. I never knew what WORK it was going to be, being a pastor’s wife. I was so very nervous about this position God has so graciously placed me but let me tell you it is work. Just keeping Richard organized is enough. I laugh and say that every pastor I have met over the last 10 months has a good and efficient woman behind him whether that be his wife or a secretary. So now taking up my time are the non-paying but graciously satisfying jobs of wife, maid, mother,cook, maid, secretary, gopher, maid, writer, teacher, maid, painter, carpenter, maid, gardener, nurse, maid, accountant, plumber, and did I mention maid? LOL

I could go on and on and on about this subject but I wanted to tell you about a funeral I attended today. I sang there, in celebration of Ellen Delois Buswell’s life. I have never seen her before today, however I learned she was my mother’s 4-H leader when she was a child. Richard officiated the ceremony, and he kept a constant theme throughout the service as to what a wonderful teacher and woman she was.

I want to tell you about a man that I remember. My dad.
I can still picture my dad bouncing me on his knee, cheering me on at my dance recitals, teaching me how ride my bike, helping me reel in my first fish and telling me stories about his early days of working on the Burlington Northern Railroad. I can still hear him saying the words, “Sis, I love you.” I can imagine him russeling my hair as I sat on his lap, playing barbies with me on the living room floor and sharing a hot dog with me at on of his many ball games I watched.

I can still see him puffing up his chest when he talked about me to his friends. He was proud to be my dad. He would do anything for me. I was his daughter; he was my dad. I was his pride and joy.

I can still see all of this and much more, but I don’t see it in the reservoir of fond memories. Instead, I recall it from an imagination and yearning that wished then and wishes now that it were so. My dad left home when I was fourteen. I never really knew him. He was a very distant man from his family and rarely spent time at home with us kids and my mother.

I’m 43 years old. My dad died almost 3 years ago and I still miss him (even though that’s hard to admit). I even cry sometimes when I’m honest with myself about how I feel.

You see, I hadn’t talked to my father but once in about 8 years, and before that it was only at funerals or by happenstance. I don’t miss my father the way I did know him, I miss him in the way I wish I knew him. I wish I could tell you what a wonderful father he was and how much I knew he loved me but I really don’t know if he did or not. If he did he never told me. In 40 years of my life I do not recall one time my dad saying, “I Love You”.

Now that I am a foster parent, I see what an effect that has on small children’s lives and what an impact it will have on their lives forever. If you are a parent and you are reading this…please tell your children EVERYDAY how much they mean to you and how much you love them. And children tell you parents how much you love them. Even when they seem the most uncaring creatures in the world, they make decisions based on what they think is best for you and you will thank them for it when you are grown.  I wish I had the opportunity to have that conversation with my father.  I told him I loved him every time I saw him but because of his choice of not seeing me for several years I sometimes wonder if he knew I loved him.

Children deserve a father and a mother to help nurture them and teach them the ways of the Lord. It is our God given right and responsibility. In fact it is a commandment from God to teach them the way they should go and they will not depart from it.

Don’t ever let a day go buy without telling your children that you love them. The rest of their life may depend on it.

My mother gave birth to her 4th child.  After having 3 boys it must have been a welcomed sound for the Dr. to say “It’s a girl!”

With all the ups and downs of a mother/daughter relationship, ours has stood the test of times and we have remained close to each other not only in miles but in feelings.  Now that I am older I appreciate  my birth and my mothers raising of me alone more and more each day.  She sacrificed alot to bring me up to be the person I am today.

And just who am I you ask?

I am a person who…

• Is a child of God who for some reason loves me no matter what.  Every time I fail Him he just reaches down and picks me up and says “welcome home My child, I am here for you”.
• Loves the Lord with all her mind, soul, strength, and body, and strives everyday to grow closer to Him and learn to trust in Him without fail.
• Is finally happy in a marriage that I can share my desires of knowing and walking with the Lord daily.  I could not have asked for a better choice from God for the gift he gave me in my husband Richard.  He is a true man of God, who’s only desire is to preach the Gospel to lead other to Christ.
• A mother to 13+ children (all step and foster kids included) who I would lay down my life for any one of them.  They are all beautiful children and I praise God everyday that each and every one of them have come into my life and left footprints on my heart.
• A teacher to my daughter Kelsey.  We enjoy homeschooling so much.  We spend the day together hashing out math and other subjects that aren’t on OUR priority list.  LOL  But nonetheless we get them done.
• A Nanna to this beautiful child:

Ok I realize it has been exactly 2 months since my last post…but let me tell you I almost forgot what it was like to breathe much lest post on my blog. So a few updates on the Davis household.

• We had a wonderful Christmas, filled with joy in celebrating the birthday of the Christ Child. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and hung a cake ornament on our tree with His name on it. My whole family (well practically the whole family…23 of them) were at the parsonage for dinner. We sat around 3 huge tables put together and ate family style, passing dishes around the table like a family was supposed to. Everyone seemed a little bewildered about this but they soon caught on. LOL
• In November, one of our foster children left and we had a very quite month. It was a welcomed break and I got quite a few things around the house done. Bedrooms changed around, the kitchen got a face lift, and I got caught up on my crocheting and reading.
• The end of December in the realm of all things being equal…we got 3 more additions to our home. They are very cute kids and are up for adoption. We have discussed this option and have decided that we aren’t able to accommodate them all three at this time. They will be 3 little ones that are going to be hard to let leave the house when the time comes. If anyone is interested in adding these three beautiful children to your family, The are girl 8, boy 7, and girl 4, email me for pics and more information. They are wonderful children that have just been dealt a bad hand.
• School is back underway with Kelsey. We have done some cleaning of the school room and reorganizing. Not sure we like the new floor plan yet but we are not moving it again till the end of the year. LOL (yea right, those of you that know me know I LOVE to move furniture)
• Richard has been appointed a third church to the parish. This comes along with the retirement of Byron Byrd from Pleasant Grove UMC. Three churches, three sermons, three services, and more people to call our family. We sent out 260 Christmas cards this year. It is a pretty safe bet that those numbers will go up next year. Next year I think I will do address labels, at least for our return address. My arm was cramping pretty bad after addressing all the envelopes. But what a joy it was to get comments and returned cards from some of the parishioners that we haven’t even had the opportunity to meet.
• Oldest daughter Briana, lives with her father, and continues to do well in school receiving very excellent marks on her report card. WAY TO GO B!!! Hard to believe she is a sophomore this year! Her and Andrew continue to be an item. I really like him. He seems like a good guy.
• We finally acquired a second vehicle. It is a little S10 pick-up and Richard is driving it back and forth to work so I can have the van for hauling the 5,000 6 children that live in our house around. Isn’t he a great guy!!
• Ima and Catlynn continue to live with us and are we are both proud and feel privileged to have them a part of our family. Catlynn is continuing to grow like a weed and keeps her “Nanna” on her toes. Ima has a friend who happens to be a “boy” and Richard and I informed her that he passed the test of being grilled by her parents. He came out for supper the other night and Richard and I asked him lots of questions and he never seemed bothered by any of them. (including Richard asking about his spiritual life)

So there you have the important updates anyway. Sorry for the absence in the blogging world but I finally sat down to breathe and write a few things. I hope things are back to normal so I will have time to write more. Did someone say normal? What is that?

God Bless!

Ok I am supposed to wait another 22 days (Ima’s 18th birthday) before I post these pictures, but I have waited 6 months already! I asked Ima’s permission to post these pictures of her and Catlynn, (and the rest of us) and she gladly gave it so here they are. She has been with us for 6 months and the two of them have brought us great joy!

There wasn’t anyone there to hold up a little birdie saying look at the camera Cat.

Ok. So maybe Kelsey needed a birdie too!

Sisterly Love. For the moment anyway.

The newest editions to our family! Ima (mommie) and Catlynn (her daughter).

Catlynn Loves her Aunt Kelsey!

SHOW OFF!!

I wonder if I touch them if they will blow up?

Me and the Preacher Man.

This week and last has been a hectic week with Ima having surgery on her wrist and going back and forth to Columbia. Then Dr. appointments and the opportunity to sing a wonderful song “Life’s Railway to Heaven” for a dear old friend’s funeral, this week, It seems I have had no time (as usual) to do much of anything much less write in my blog. I know, Cindy, I know…. I never call, I never write, and I don’t post in my blog. LOL. So here I am posting about a feeling I have had over the course of being a mom and explaining how I have come to grips with it.

I have fond memories of living at home with my mom and sharing responsibilities with her of house cleaning and laundry, and cooking. I did most of household chores because it was the only way I could show my mom how much I appreciated how hard she worked to put me through school after my parents divorce.

I have said to my children on more than one occasion…”I am your mother, not your slave”. Before having children, I did not acknowledge my self-centeredness. After all, I did nice things for my mom, my friends, helped my co-workers with their struggles, volunteered at church. But any serving I did was because I chose to serve at a time that was convenient for me. When my children were born my ability to chose what I wanted died. I became an on call servant whether I liked it or not. I spent most of my time stomping around the house hollering “I am your mother, not your slave” or “I am your wife not your slave”. They ignored my complaints but I recently found out that God was listening all the time. Every time I would ask the question…the answer from God came…”yes”.

When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I never said things like “I want to be a servant”, or” I want to serve people”. Jesus tells us that we should all want to be servants. In Mark 9:35 it says “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all”. Some days it is hard to be a servant. The servant in me wants to say, “go ahead honey, you need to study. I will keep the children quiet so you can do that”. But the sinful nature in me wants to say, “What do you mean, you need it quiet to study? All week you go to a clean, quiet office, while I am stuck in a messy house with loud, demanding children. I’m the one who needs some quiet time!”

The solution? Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” When I am unable to let the servant in me serve, I let the Jesus in me take over. When I have taught Kelsey all day and one of the other kids come home and immediately need help with homework, I let the Jesus in me do math. When Catlynn is screaming for food and I have not had time to eat breakfast or lunch, I let the Jesus in my fix her something to eat. When Richard tells me he needs to study when he gets home, I let the Jesus in me make sure his desk is clean so he can get to it.

Jesus’ life was a life of service. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:25). He gave his life for all who would trust and believe in Him. He didn’t demand the things He deserved. He often postponed His personal desires so He could minister to others. I have much to learn about being a servant. Daily I pray and ask God to help me with this. Daily I seek His wisdom and ask Him to help me die to self and live for others, to serve my family as He has served me. As I pray, I discover that God is not only doing something through me, He is doing something in me. He is teaching me to be more like Jesus.

I want to do something very special for my husband tonight. I hope he doesn’t read this before he comes home. I am going to wash his feet for him. Washing the feet of His disciples was one of the last things Jesus did to show service to them. Richard and I have done this at a service at church for Maundy Thursday celebration. It is a very humbling experience and portrays my feelings of love for him and the desire to be obedient to God, and the submissiveness to my husband that he deserves.

So I want to say thank you to my husband and my children. If it weren’t for you, I am not sure I would ever have learned what it truly means to put others before myself.

“Be very careful to keep the commandments and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”  Joshua 22:5

In Christ’s love.

I was wondering if there was even a way to update you.  So much has happened in the last few weeks that I don’t know where to begin or how I could fit it into a post.  So here is the Reader’s Digest version:

Two weeks ago we welcomed a sibling group of 3 into our family.  Two girls, 12 and 8 and a boy 11.  The most positive thing I can say about the brief stay of one week they had with us was that it was just that…only a week.  I think we experienced our first stumbling block as foster parents.  These kids had been taught to lie and taught well.  They were very used to getting what they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted it.  The 8 year old girl ripped wallpaper off the bathroom walls.  The boy emptied a bottle of propane (thank God he didn’t know where the matches were).  The oldest stole some items from us when they left.  All of this I could have dealt with but it was the names they called us to our daughter that I couldn’t handle.  We have always said that if being foster parents made Kelsey’s life change we wouldn’t do it.  We want to maintain the relationship intact with her.  Even though we treat our foster kids the same as if they were our own…we still want Kelsey to feel a sense of being special.

Then last Friday we got a phone call and took in a little 11 year old girl.  Of course as you know I can’t give you names or details, but know that this little girl needs prayers and lots of them.  She has been through a lot (as most of them have) and needs to have a sense of what a real family is like.  I hope and pray with God’s help we can provide that for her.

Outside of the foster parent world…we have been having a wonderful time at the churches that Richard has been assigned to.  Each Sunday we have been having parishioners over for dinner.  This past week we had Ron and Jan Miller, and Mike and Aneta Patterson.  I fixed the only Japanese meal I know how to make.  Teriyaki Beef, Vegetable Stiry Fry, Shuma, California Rolls (compliments of my full blooded Japanese mother-in-law), Rice, and Japanese Cabbage.  All thought the meal was great.  I am not sure I could cook  Japanese meals all the time.  It is very time consuming.  But I have a wonderful husband who happens to be a fabulous cook and a great help in the kitchen.  We had some wonderful table discussion about different topics in today’s society.  It is nice to be able to have dinners like this to get to know each of the families in our churches on a more intimate basis.  When you only see them once a week it is hard to get to know them.  Richard and I decided to do this early on to give us a more in-depth relationship with each and every one of them.  It may take us a few months to get through all of them, but that is the plan anyway.

School is going good for Kelsey and I.  She doesn’t think her teacher is so mean this year.  LOL.  We are really having fun.  Every subject we are studying has biblical influence in it. In History, we are working with “The Mystery of History“.  It is written from a biblical perspective and by a woman proclaiming Jesus as her personal Savior.  I was impressed the very first time I saw it.  The same with Science.  The book is titled “Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day”, by Apologia.  She has a Math class, which we are using Saxon Math.  I needed a clear cut math text because I am not very good at math.  (Dad is the math whiz)  Bible Study, Spelling, Language, and her personal favorite, the extracurricular classes, which include: sewing, cooking, computers, and scrapbooking.  I save them for the end of the day to make sure she gets all of her other work done.  I will take pictures of the room we have set up for school soon and post them here.

Well that is about it for now.  To the outside our lives seem busy.  To us we are just doing exactly what we want to be doing…spreading the good news of salvation.