Welcome Him in the Lord

So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him. — Philippians 2:29

Today is my Aunt Judy's birthday.

She has been a blessing in our family and in hers.

Even though we are far apart - from Virginia to California, it seems like we are just next door.

She has a way of lighting up the entire room with her smile.

And her words of encouragement and support are like a breath of fresh air flowing over us.

We love and miss her.

God Hears Me When I Call

I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you. — Psalm 141:1

Thursday morning I had my Herceptin IV at Kaiser Hospital.

Before I left home, I got an email that our former pastor, Paul Pulliam was there with a torn aorta.

He had been admitted the night before.

I had to stop to pick up a card for my colleague at work whose last day was Friday. She was moving on to another bank after 5 years with our company. We will miss her terribly.

While getting a card for Jen, I picked up one for Paul, too.

When I got to Kaiser, they gave me his room number and sent me up to ICU to deliver the card.

Paul was sleeping peacefully, so I left the card on the table.

Not sure of what the prognosis would be, I wrote a note from Kirk, Abby and me, praying that God would surround Paul and his family with peace and love.

When I got home, I had an email letting me know that they expected Paul to last only a day or two.

He and our friend Burt Smith were the pastors who married us 35 years ago.

In May of 2014, Paul married Kirk's dad and Judy at Tom Hamm's.

Paul just turned 90 this past April. He attended our friend, Bud Jones' memorial service in May, and we enjoyed reconnecting with him.

Our prayer is that God will surround him with mercy and grace and welcome him into eternal rest with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your rest."

Rainbow Welcome

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. — Genesis 9:13

Our wonderful neighbor Stan took a photo of this beautiful rainbow at the end of our street and sent it to us via email the night we arrived home from Spokane.

Here's what he wrote to us, "Welcome home.  The rainbow was @5:30 tonight...your welcome home."

Our flight was scheduled to arrive at 5:30. Instead, it was cancelled and our new flight was delayed two hours so we arrived home closer to 8:00 p.m., exhausted.

God set His rainbow in the sky as a sign of His promise to never flood the world again.

Stan greeted us with a rainbow welcome that brightened our evening. We are grateful.