It Certainly is Golden....

This beautiful couple is my Mom & Dad...seen here at a luncheon given by the Cheektowaga Senior Center in celebration of all the couples in the town celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries. At this particular luncheon, there were 34 couples all gathered with family & friends to celebrate this milestone in their lives. That's quite amazing, don't you think? Especially in this day & age, and culture, where statistically every 1 in 2 marriages end in divorce. How awesome it was to be a part of this event celebrating Harry & Dottie Smith's 50 years together...known to me simply as Mom & Dad.

Take a look at them on day one....(gorgeous aren't they??!!)

So, 50 years, 4 children and 6 grandchildren later, we will gather family & friends for a private celebration of their golden event. This is my tribute to them. Their love, their life.

I love you Mom & Dad!!

Congratulations....you are a true inspiration.

Cars...Love to Hate Em...

This is not Alex's car. But I'm pretty sure its the twin sister... I just wonder if the owner of this particular car has had as much fun with their car as we have had with his?? Hmmm....I doubt it. Allow me to elaborate....

As most of you know, I flew down to West Palm Beach, FL, in order to spend a few days with my son & then jump into his "new" 1996 Volvo & drive the 1,500 miles back home to Buffalo. What is the saying about the best laid plans...??? One night after a late night hockey game, we come out of the rink & the new/old car won't start. Thank God we bought the oh so smart (if not fun) gift of AAA for him when he bought it. So, left standing in a parking lot at 12:30 in the morning, we watched it get towed away. The greatest thing was just prior to its ultimate removal, macho hockey players now turned Budweiser drinkers, all stood around grunting & speculating as to what might be the problem. Even with their apparent lack of expertise, they managed to accurately make the diagnosis...fuel pump. Twenty-four hours & $620 later (they did a few other repairs as well...hey, as long as we were at it!), the car now runs great! Yippee!! Our question now, is it do we trust it to make the trip all the way up the east coast? We've opted for no.

After much discussion between Alex & I, not to mention conference calls with Norm back home, coupled with escalating gasoline prices and the fear of breaking down in Backwoods, Georgia, we are now flying home courtesy of Jet Blue. This decision, albeit something that we are all at peace with now, leaves my son home in Buffalo for a month & a half without a car. Four drivers, two cars...should make for an interesting summer.

I HATE CARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cost of repairs & final registrations for Alex's new/old car has completely tapped him out, and has taken a pretty big chunk of mom's money as well. Dad...he took care of the plane tickets. I HATE CARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm staying a few extra days...in a house with 6 college guys...I'm sure they're thrilled. The upside...I'm staying a few extra days in 85 degree, beautiful sunshine with an ocean about 5 minutes away. Not a bad place to sit & lick your wounds. Of course, its Burger King or PB&J's for us for the next few days...but hey...we've got an ocean.

I HATE CARS!!!!!!!!!!! But did I mention the ocean??? See ya'll when we land.

Courage...

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God

will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

I can imagine that Joshua & the Israelites were feeling all of those things that God commanded against. They had just lost Moses and knew that they would now have to cross into the Promised Land without him. Moses was their leader and now he was gone & they had to figure out how to carry on without him. Sure, they had Joshua, but wasn't he like the #2 guy?? Could they trust him?? And what exactly would they find in this Promised Land? Would it fulfill all the hopes & dreams they had been holding out for in their many years of waiting? I'm sure they felt terrified, discouraged and anything but strong.

I was reminded of this scripture this past week while attending a church service at Christ Crusaders church on the East Side of Buffalo. You know those moments when the person preaching points out something from God's Word, usually something you've heard maybe 1,000 times, but all of the sudden, WHAM! It speaks to you... Its interesting to me that in this particular piece of scripture, God actually commands them to be strong & courageous. That's how well He knows His people. That's how in tune He is with their emotions, thoughts & hearts. As their Father, He knew that what lie ahead was going to be amazing, but they could not be afraid to take the steps forward necessary to grab hold of it. In essence, they had to trust God. So, He commands them to be STRONG and COURAGEOUS and to not be TERRIFIED or DISCOURAGED. To be perfectly honest, those last two words describe me more these days than the prior two. And that really makes me angry with myself! I want to be strong & I most definitely want to be courageous. In the face of where we still are in the financial world, things are looking grim. But like the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan, I have no idea what's lying ahead. I only know to hold fast to God's promises.

What we also see is that God makes the promise that HE would be with them wherever they would go. That alone gives me strength, and in that small bit of God's Words, I do find courage. Its a scripture that I have come back to over the last few days over & over again. I'm sure that's no accident. Sitting in the pew of Christ Crusaders Church, God allowed those words, His Words, to sink into my heart & mind. That was no accident. He knew that this week would be hard. He knew that I would be terrified of what lies ahead. He knew that that overwhelming feeling of discouragement would rear its ugly head and wash over me over & over this week. Its a daily battle, I'm not going to lie or sugar-coat it. But He commands my strength & courage...therefore He will provide it. He commands that I not be terrified nor discouraged..and then promises to be with me wherever I go. Because He also knows, that I cannot go it alone. And by stating it here, amongst His commands, He is letting us know that He never intended us to take the next step without him.

(Jordan River)