What I like about you

 

Ross McClain
(photo stolen from Facebook)

 

 

On my way upstairs to tuck the boys in, I walked over to the small bookshelf beside my bed.  I scanned the titles, looking for one in particular: Cosmic Christmas.  My eyes stop at the sight of it, I reach for it, open the cover and smile.  I remember who gave me this copy.  I wondered if he wrote in it?  He did:

 

To Rebecca, Michael, and Jackson,

 

Rebecca, I can not tell you how much I have enjoyed "Cosmic Christmas."  I have read it to my Sunday School and Choirs every year.  I have given others copies as gifts.  This year to a new believer who is recently divorced (with 3 little ones).  Did not know if you still had a copy.  But you read it to Michael and Jackson.  And Michael you read it to Rebecca and Jackson.  And some day Jackson, you read it to your mom and dad.

 

Merry Cosmic Christmas

Ross McClain

2007

 

 

I smiled.  I felt thankful, blessed and encouraged just by the fact that Ross is my friend.  There are some people who warm my heart with just the thought of them.  I know what Paul meant when he said: " I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with JOY." (emphasis mine).

 

The main platform for my relationship with Ross was the three years pre-marriage that Mike and I worked alongside him in the 5th and 6th grade Sunday School room.  Mike and I got married, moved off and have been working with kids every chance we get since then.  Ross, I'm pretty sure, is still with the 5th and 6th graders.  At least he was for years and years after we left.  He's recently been working an "I can't tell you what I do or where I do it" job for the government.  So he may have had to step down. --However, that's not the point...

 

I began teaching Sunday school with Ross and Mike because of people like Karen Bench --who happened to by my 5th and 6th grade teacher, Kent Pride (3rd grade), Joan Lynch (Kinder), Cinda Boshart and Sherry Way-crazy (11th and 12th) and Julie Robinson (9th).  

 

These people taught me much, but mainly conveyed to me two things:

 

1.  I was important.

2.  This following Jesus thing? It is worth it. It's valuable.  It's worth the work.

 

Not one of them had the perfect teaching method, not many of them were flashy or amazingly cool.  They, like Ross, saw value in the little people.  They obeyed God when He said, to teach His Laws diligently to the children.  They chose not to ignore this command.  They didn't pretend discipling was only for people with certain gifting.  They didn't look away when it was mentioned that a teacher was needed for the 3-year-olds, hoping no one would ask them point blank.  They stepped up, saying, if there is a need and I can meet it, I'm your guy.

 

Ross has been the guy for years. 

 

I've recently been saddened and frustrated when I look at our kids ministries in our churches and see needs failing to be met.  In our churches.  Let me say it again.  IN OUR CHURCHES.  I'm embarrassed to write this.  We have nursery directors whose main job is not to plan curriculum, but to beg people to fill empty slots.  Often times on a weekly basis.  No one will commit to serving for a whole year in a class so weekly our nursery leaders are making phone calls, stopping people in the halls, pulling youth out of the service to work the classes.   This is not just our current church, I'm not hating on anyone here, I'm just so sadded that people who speak of following Jesus won't obey him in the most obvious and most tangible way:  Loving the least. 

 

My intent with this post was to honor a man who doesn't ask for honor.  As I think about how clearly he gets what is important to Jesus, I am frustrated inside that I can't figure out how to get across to people that this "kids ministry" thing is for everybody.  Everybody.  It's not just for me because I am a mom.  It's not just for Ross because he enjoys it.  It's not just for Julie because she is gifted in it.  Its for all of us because if we get what Jesus is about, then we understand it is about serving the weak, the helpless, the poor, the needy, the ones who can't help themselves.  Isn't this what Jesus came to earth to do?  If we model our behavior after His then shouldn't we be about taking care of the weak?  The nursery at church isn't the only place kids can be cared for.  There are lots of opportunities for teaching and mentoring.  Right now I'm praying for a man to take Ty out to Lowe's one Saturday a month starting next year.  Mike will be busy busy with the AF and I want Ty to have some man time.  It's things like this.  You were called to do things like this.

 

The older I get, I am becoming more and more convinced that there is something we can learn from everybody.  What I hope we all learn from Ross is this:

 

• Serving the least of these brings joy.  --He smiles every time he talks about his kids.   
• Loving Jesus through loving kids is worth your time.  --So make it.
• Blessings always follow obedience.

 

Thanks Ross.  You made my night.  And I'm pretty sure there are a couple hundred kids who would say you made their year.  And one day, when you get home, God's going to say, "Well done.  You made it."

 

 

 



 

What I Like About You

Stan, Rachel & Grant

Two months ago, Mike's grandpa got very sick with cancer and passed away. They live in San Diego. Stan lives in L. A. Mike flew out. Stan drove down for the evening to be with Mike and the family. Then he did the same thing the next night. Stan made the drive a third time on a Saturday in order to attend the funeral. He knew there would be traffic and planned accordingly, but he almost didn't make the service.

Last Tuesday I was sitting in my good friend Rachel's living room when she got a call from a longtime friend whose husband had been involved in a very bad accident at work a few days earlier. He had suddenly gotten worse. Rachel packed a bag and was on her way to San Antonio within a couple of hours. She thought she'd stay two nights, then return home. Five days later she came home. While she was down there, her friend's husband passed away.

One of Grant's good friends moved to Florida a couple years ago. Her family decided to return to Greenville for a visit. While traveling, a car pulled out in front of them. The daddy was killed instantly. The younger of the two daughters was immediately sent to a Shreveport hospital in critical condition. Grant and a friend hopped in a car and drove the three hours to sit at the hospital with their friend. Her sister, Hannah, passed away on Sunday.

I hate grieving. I don't like to be around grief. I don't think anyone does.

But what do we need when we must go through times of intense sadness?

Friends.

People who will take you out for a drive, hold you while you sob or sit in the waiting room next to you, people to bring you Subway, crack a joke or lend a shoulder.

People to walk beside you during the hardest, most unbearable moments of life.

Friends aren't the ones that don't have to be there.

But they are.

Friends are the ones that love you too much to let you walk through the pain alone. They give up their gas money, their time, their sleep, their energy, their plans. They bear one another's burdens.

Stan and Grant, thank you. I'm so grateful for your example of love. For pointing a lost world to our savior who really is "a friend who sticks closer than a brother." I'm so glad you are my brothers.

Rachel, my friend, I have no doubt that you would willingly go through it again even if you knew beforehand the intensity that trip would entail. You refuse to let anyone mourn alone. Thank you for spending your life searching for ways in which to help carry one another's burdens.

Thank you for your Christlike compassion.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

Jesus wept.

So the Jews said,
"See how he loved him!"

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

Read John 11 for the whole story.

What I like about you!

John and Donna Kelso

I just got a package in the mail.

The contents?

* Gevalia Pumpkin Spice Coffee--one bag of decaf, one bag of regular
* A HUGE coffee mug (better brew the decaf)
* Two recipe cards--one for pumpkin bread, the other for Gevalia Whipped Cream
* A sweet note

Why?

Cause this is what John and Donna do.

But in order to "do," they first figure out how to love you. They are always interested in you. They look you in they eye and ask questions about your life, and they pay attention! They remember because they care.

Here is part of an email I received from Donna a few weeks ago :
...I also wanted to get your current "temporary" address. I've got something to send you!! Tell Mike "Hi," hope school is going well for him.

See how she seeks me out?

As I'm typing this, I was just interrupted by a chat pop up on facebook. Who was it? Uncle John. He was wanting some info about something I can't make public. Yes, another nice thing he is working on for someone... Here's what else he says:

"I saw a book at Lowe's last month I want to get for you."

Typical.

Uncle John was always after me to get him a schedule to whatever sport I was currently playing. He watched Caroline play tennis in high school. Hannah play soccer, Grant play soccer, then of course with his own children there was football, cross country, and basketball.

I'm trying hard to keep this post a manageable length. So I'll quit talking and tell you what others say about John and Donna.

Grant- [Uncle John] came to about every one of my soccer games all 4 years.

Emily- Donna mailed Claire and Ava princess paper dolls last summer. They play with them often! Donna also plays and talks with our girls a lot when she comes to visit our house. She really makes them feel special!

John and Donna sent us a Starbucks gift card as a thank you for having a graduation party for Grace. I think of them fondly and wish that we got to see them more often.

Caroline- Donna took Grace, Hannah, Caroline and Christa on shopping dates to the Frisco Mall and bought each of us a piece of cheesecake. Donna always got the Godiva dark chocolate cheesecake.

Stan- About two weeks ago I emailed Uncle John to ask about my knee hurting while I run and he wrote me back a long detailed message with that info and how to prevent it. Last week I got a letter from him that had 4 different articles in it about the knee condition. It really meant a lot that he went out of his way to find the articles, find my address and mail them all to me.

Hannah- Uncle John attended my college graduation in Denton. Uncle John took me and Grace up to Chicago to try out for the Amazing Race. The cheesecake from our mall trips with Donna was always delicious.

I've been so blessed to see and be loved by these two examples. It reminds me of how God loves --always there ready to pour blessing on us.

I'll stop here for times sake, but BELIEVE me if I wanted I could have a 20 page report full of testimonies of how they bless people. I'll end with one more quote...

"I'm pretty sure the list could go on and on with them." -Hannah

The coffee was delicious. Come over and I'll share.

What I like about you!

Dustin Jenkins

First time EVER a guy is featured on "What I like about you."

I sort of have a policy that I don't speak highly of men other than my husband. But I've let Mike proof this before it was published and he has given me the OK.

So the question that is on everyone's minds:

Why Dustin? What has he done to deserve this small honor on Becca's blog?

No small feat has earned him this post. As some of you know, Mike is out of town again this week. I had planned --for about two months now, to go on an overnight retreat with the ladies from our church. In fact, I was on the team that was organizing it. (I ended up doing very minimal work, as Mike's schedule didn't allow me to participate more.) The retreat was Friday night - Saturday afternoon. Mike was slated to return home Sunday.

The retreat was out. Mike tried hard to arrange things with his schedule so that I could go, but with the shortage of Navs in the squadron, it just wasn't possible.

Till...

Dustin offered to watch the boys, so I could go.

What a guy.

We bought him Lego's.

Nothing says thank you to Dusin better than Lego's. Well, maybe a new TV or a truck payment or some night-vision goggles...

But could any of those things really express enough thanks to a man who is willing to give up his weekend... to spend with two preschoolers, two toy poodles and two Westies?

No.

Who does that?

I mean sure, we have trains and cool matchbox cars, but there's no way that can compensate for the stinky diaper, wiping Jack's rear, cleaning out eye boogers, making breakfast, lunch, cleaning up toys, reading books, swatting flys, looking for toothbrushes, putting on PJs and waking up to a loud voice saying: "AWAKE Mommy, I AWAKE!"

All for kids that aren't your own.

After Dustin left Jack spelled out "D-U-S-T" with the fridge magnets and called it Dustin. Ty picked up my phone and said, "Ha-Woa! Ha-Woa Dutin!"

Dustin, thanks for loving my boys. Thanks for serving Mike and me. Thanks for not allowing Jack to bully Ty. And thanks for not leaving the house a wreck.

What I like about you!

Laken asked me to write a letter of recomendation for her. She's trying to get a new Job. I thought I'd go ahead and let all of you see what I think of the girl ;-)

Also, if you see any gramatical or spelling errors, please let me know before I send off the final copy to her. (Thanks Lawson!)

Reference Letter for Laken Tilly


If I were you, I’d hire Laken. She worked for me last school year in AWANA (a children’s program) at South Side Baptist Church. This, like most all of the programs at our church, is run by volunteers. It is crucial that we have committed people helping or the programs will fail. Laken is dependable. She was never a “no-show.” If she couldn’t make it on a particular week, I always got a phone call. She came several times with a headache from a long day. One time she even showed up after studying all night and working all day --when she could have gone home to sleep, she was there. That’s why I would hire Laken.

Several times during the year I asked Laken to do extra jobs, she accepted the tasks with a “can-do” type of attitude. She went above what was asked and served our students with a willing heart. She is energetic, motivated, and a hard worker. That’s why I would hire Laken.

Laken smiles, she laughs, she looks you in the eye when she talks to you. She would make an excellent Walmart greeter. All of the students we work with love being around her. All of the adults we work with love being around her. She is joyful and pleasant. That’s why I would hire Laken.

One of the most important things I would consider though, is that Laken is a believer. She is someone who does what she says she will do, who lives to honor God, whose ethical standards are high. Her goal is to be like Jesus. So, if you’d hire Jesus, you should hire Laken Tilly.

What I like about you!

***

Cinda Boshart

Mom,
You are special. Not just because you are my mom, but because you are a great mom!
Thank you for years of loving me and supporting me and my family.
I hope you have a great birthday!
Love you,
Emily


Hey Mom,
You are incredible... and I don't tell many people that. I'm so thankful for you every single day as I work to be a woman who glorifies God by the way I serve my family. I'm so blessed to have you as an example and a motivation. Your hard work inspires me to keep loving and keep giving. I figure if you could do it for 8 kids, I can do it for 2. We all love you so much and today are especially celebrating having you in our lives. You make sure you celebrate too. You're the best.

Love,
Becca

Happy Birthday Mom! Growing up you always made my birthdays so special and i hope today you have one of those special days. Remember today is all about you, no school work and it is OK to eat sweets! I love you! Stan



I love you mom! You're the bestest. Sorry you have to do that icky presentation on your birthday, but YOU GOT THIS! It'll all be over this afternoon, then you can relax for the rest of the day. Happy Birthday!!! -Hannah

Mom,

Thanks for working so hard for us. Thanks for all you've taught is about life: how to clean-up the kitchen after you eat, how to do hair, how to shop smart, how to cook, healthy eating, how to take care of and love people, how to be a good wife. Thanks for all the real-life advice and training. So many moms don't take time for that. All of this shows us how much you love us and how much you love Jesus. We are so lucky to have you. Put your feet up and have a good birthday.

I love you,

Caroline

Happy Birthday mom! I wish I could be there, but have the best birthday you can even though you have work to do. Good luck on your presentation! -Grant



Happy Birthday Mom,
Thank you for everything you do for us!
Love, Christina



Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you so much for all you have done for all of us kids. You truly are the best mom ever! Thanks for going through all this school to help support our family! Thanks again! Love you, Laura


Claire, tell me what is special about Gigi."

"Gigi loves me and I love her. I like her games a lot.
I like to snuggle with her in the night and...l like my room at Gigi's house." -Love, Claire

"Ava, tell me about Gigi"

she has floaties,
she has gloves,
she has beds,
she has a kitty cat,
she doesn't have stairs,
she has a computer,

Happy Birthday Gigi!
-Love Ava

She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family.
She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her houshold;
for all of them are clothed in fine linen and purple;
Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
and she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue;

She watches over the affairs of her houshold
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

Give her the reward she has earned

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

What I like about you!

Sarah Mathis

I have been planning on featuring Sarah on "What I like about you" for months now. I don't know why, but I just haven't done it yet... until today!

Sarah was the first person I met at South Side B.C. She was dropping off Noelle at the nursery the same time I checked Jack in. Mike was still in Little Rock so I was attending by myself. I asked where the adult Sunday school classes were and Sarah offered to take me to the Fellowship Hall where the adults were meeting that day. She introduced me to her friends and invited me to sit with them. She gave me her phone number and told me about a playgroup that she and some other ladies from the church attended.

I called her later that week and she gave me directions to the home where the playgroup was meeting.

Her welcoming heart made me feel very comfortable and at home at South Side.
Another friend of mine told me a similar story about Sarah welcoming her to the church. Seems like this is pretty common for her.

Sarah is someone who will go out of her way to help.

Three weeks ago I called and asked if she would mind watching Ty while I took Jack to the ER. She didn't. She fed him, bathed him and put him to sleep during the 5 hours we were at the hospital.

Two weeks ago Sarah and Chris invited all of us over for Easter dinner.
Last week Jack and Ty spent the night Friday night while I was at church for the girls lock-in.
That's three weekends in a row we have intruded on their time. Here's the best part about it. Chris and Sarah don't make me feel guilty for bothering them so much. Should I? Probably. But I don't. I just feel like they love us.

To me this is huge. I can't even explain what I'm trying to say here. There are very few people who make me feel like this. It's like when you leave your kids at their grandparent's house and you don't feel bad about taking advantage of the free babysitting because the grandparents really want to love on the kids. Know what I mean?
That's how the Mathis's are. They just make you feel like they want to love on you. I hope this makes sense to you.

Sarah is one of my very good friends in Abilene. She is pleasant to be around. She is always actively learning about God's Word. She hosts Bible studies and small groups in her home. Her house is so kid friendly -I LOVE going over there. She cooks well. She sews. I stopped by her house the other day because a button fell off my sweater. I needed purple thread. She gave me some :-)

Sarah's always up for a party. -I like that.

Sarah is patient, and she is so humble. She will downplay all of this stuff I am saying about her here -just watch.

She keeps Chris in line. ha ha. No really. Chris, you are so lucky to have her.

The more I have gotten to know Chris (he is the boys AWANA leader so we do stuff on Wed. night together) the more I see how beautifully they balance and compliment each other.
Sarah pays attention to people. I had a huge Easter party at my house for the neighbor and church preschool kids. There were about 25 kids sitting on the floor of my living room with snacks and juice while I was reading the Easter story. A child spilled their juice in front of me -during the story. Most of the other moms were visiting with each other and didn't notice what had happened. I looked up and scanned the room for someone to go get some paper towels. Sarah was standing near the back and I pointed to the floor and she said, "I got it." I know that is tiny, but it seemed big to me. She was paying attention to the kids, to the situation, to me and was willing to help at any turn.

That's just who she is.

If you live in Abilene and want to know Sarah. Let me know. I'll introduce you -and you will be a better person for knowing her.

What I like about you!

Judy Trapp

Judy, Judy, Judy... where do I start? I guess I'll go back to the beginning - my beginning.

Judy knew me before I knew Judy. She took care of me in the church nursery at Ridgecrest (Greenville). She loved on me just as she loved on all the other little babies that have come through that nursery for 30+ years. And that is a LOT of babies. She wiped our noses and our rears, snuck us snacks when our mothers were of the opinion that we shouldn't have sugar till we were in high school, and she taught us how to adjust to life away from mom. -I have recently learned what a really great thing that is for a baby to know. :-)


Ok, now fast forward to high school with me... Judy and her mom (Junie) paid for me and my siblings to go to Falls Creek (youth camp) every year. It was important to them that we to go to church camp. They wanted to give us an opportunity to learn about Christ in a camp setting. It made them happy to know that Mom and Dad wouldn't have to stretch the budget too much to get us there.

Between high school and now there have been many things that Judy has done for me. No telling what she has done for other people that I am unaware of.

It is really fun to get to take my boys to the same nursery I grew up in and to hand over my sons to the same woman who mom handed me to many years ago. Judy loves my boys. It is a blessing to me to see her eyes light up when she sees us coming.

Who does that?

Who genuinely gets excited to see a two-year-old?

A nine-month-old who is teething?

Judy does.

I know because I see it in her eyes.

She loves.

As Jesus loves.

"Feed my lambs" -she has.

Now, for the part I've been waiting for! Since Mike has started deploying, Judy -every time she sees me, gives me "Date money." Every time I'm in town she sends me home with cash to go out with my sweety on. She will slip some money into my hand and say, "This is for you to go on a date." I know better than to say no.

So I take it and go on a date.

Last time I was in, she wasn't expecting me. Judy didn't have any money on her.

She said:
"When is Mike deploying next?"
"In about a month," I say.
"Oh, then you two will need to go on a date. I don't have any money today, but I'll mail you some"

Sure enough.

Here's what I got in the mail.


It reads: "Have a great date! Love Judy

Just wanted everyone to know how great Judy is. Can I get any "Amens" from you RBC folks?

What I like about you!

Emily Poulter

Well, I could be quite honest here since Emily (to my knowledge) doesn't read my blog. So here I go.

Emily is besides my Mom, probably my top choice for "Mom of the year". She is pretty much always on top of things and never seems to get overwhelmed or lose control. If I hadn't grown up with her -I'd think she was superhuman.

For the record, she's always been pretty much steady and amazingly strong. She is by far THE toughest person I've ever met. Emily? Yeah, that's right. You probably wouldn't automatically assume that, but get her to tell you her birthing story with Claire. It will go something like this:

"Well, I went into labor one day, went to the hospital that evening, but they said the contractions weren't close enough together so they told me to come back later. So we went home and came back the next day and had a baby. " -then she would smile and start talking about something else.

But.

Here is what really happened.

41 excrucating hours of labor with NO DRUGS and NO SLEEP. -did you catch the almost two complete days with no sleep part?

Ok. Are you convinced? I can go on, but I'll stop here for the sake of keeping this post short enough to read in one sitting.

Emily is someone I'll call when the boys are cranky and I'm cranky and no one is getting anything done. After I whine for 3 or 4 minutes. I will stop and ask her what she has going on. She will say that she's just had exercise time with the girls, and that they are coloring a picture now, later she will teach Ava her alphabet -in Spanish and Claire will work on writing in cursive. She will have the floor picked up and have a wonderful healthy supper on the table for Tommy when he gets home.

Good grief. Sometimes I think I would feel better about myself if I had a less "superhero type" big sis. But here are some of the things I like about Emily.

She laughs when I try to make a joke -funny or not.

She can always come up with a good meal when I call her asking "What should I make for supper"

Emily is the calm in the midst of my stormy up and down crazy life.

She calls me when she is frustrated (twice) and makes me feel like I have something to offer her.

She is always coming up with creative things for her children to do, and I steal her ideas.

She knows her neighbors and often organizes events to be around them.

She teaches Sunday School.

She has worked herself ragged trying to figure out Ava's food alergys and is now an expert on the subject. -which makes my life easier cause Jack is alergic to the milk protein. (without Emily we wouldn't know that Jack can still eat cheddar cheese)

She always opens her home to me and my two sleep psycho boys.

No amount of chaos can cause Emily to yell at anyone.

She respects her husband.

I feel like I'm listing off Proverbs 31.

But you get the idea. I guess you could say she's one of my heros. I didn't intend for this to get so long, but I guess there's just a lot to say about this stay-at-home mom.

Ty's crying again so I got to go.

What I like about you!

Susan Pride.


Do you know her? You should. She's awesome.

She's my aunt. Mom's younger sister.

Aunt Susan makes me beautiful. Any time I need it, I can call her up and say, "Aunt Susan, I need a haircut, can you do it?" Know what she'll say, and she'll say it every time. "Sure! When do you want to come?"

Now just saying something like this, anyone could do it. But Aunt Susan really means it (I think). She never acts too busy or put out that I (and all my sisters and some cousins) take advantage of her. The other part of this is that Aunt Susan is the best beautician ever. She does what you ask and then improves on it.

She always gives of herself. Know the verse about God loving a cheerful giver? I love a cheerful giver too. It makes you feel good.

Thank you Aunt Susan for always making me feel important and for allowing me to sit down and visit with you every couple of months. Thank you for serving me.