Late, Late Picture Show
09 May 2012 2 Comments
in Ancestry, Family Tags: grandparents, memories, teenager
I love this picture of my grandparents, Wilma and Elbert Pope. It was taken before my grandfather went to war and probably around the time they got married. They look so young and happy. I spent a lot of time with them as a young girl and a teenager. My parents divorced when I was eight and so on weekends I would bike over to their house and spend the weekend with them.
Much time was spent playing cards or Yahtzee at their kitchen table. Grandpa would be cooking a pot of pinto beans and grandma would be making fried potatoes and cornbread. Yummy! They would go to bed and I would make a pallet on the floor out of all the blankets and quilts grandma had. The TV would be on and we watched the “Late, Late Picture Show.” They would play 3 movies in a row and most of them would be the singing musicals or the ones with swimming ladies in the pool. I always wondered what those would be like in color.
My favorite musical was Yankee Doodle Dandy about George M. Cohen. I would stay up to watch every single one and then sleep till I smelled the coffee. In the morning we would again sit around the table and watch the birds or squirrels sitting in the big wooden box my grandpa built for such a thing. At some point I would make some hash browns with scrambled eggs. That is all I knew how to cook at the age of 12.
I miss those weekends some times. I always felt at home and I could be myself. It is where life stayed the same. As I look back on those memories it was my safe haven. Where I did not really have to grow up. I miss them both so very much. But what a sweet memory to have!
Thanks for taking time to share this with me.
Grace to you
Shell
The Tree
04 May 2012 3 Comments
in Ancestry, Family Tags: Ancestry, Family Tree
The most amazing thing to me about doing my family tree is the size of it today. When I started I had 3 generations on both sides of my parents. Now on some of the branches I have up to 8 generations. I have seen pictures of some of my family members, I have seen the gravestones and even a picture of the very house my 6th great-grandfather grew up in located in Germany. It has been renovated twice and still standing. I got to show my sister, Amanda the tree today. She was excited to see how many are actually listed on the tree. This journey has been so awesome, it would be cool if everyone did it, then it would not be so hard to find people! 
Pictures & Words, Bearing Witness
03 May 2012 2 Comments
in Ancestry, Family, Spiritual Journey Tags: Ancestry, Photography, Scrapbook
History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all.
Laurence Overmire
I love photography. I love the art of peering through the lens of a camera to see time standing still. I love that you can capture it and keep it forever to share with others. I love that when the photos are put together they tell a story. I love going back through them one by one, touching them, remembering when. One of my favorite things to do is scrapbook, to present my pictures in such a way that will forever tell our family’s story, to keep a visual record of days gone by.
While most of the albums that I have completed bear witness to happy celebrations or milestones recorded for remembering, there are very few or no pictures of the dark, the broken or the silent days of the past. Photographs memorialize a moment that allows us to go back in time. I am realizing more and more how important it is to record with words as well as with images the stories of our lives. I have been working on my family tree for almost two years now and every time I find a new family member it opens up so many more questions about who they were and how they lived. So finding a picture of them along with a story becomes even more precious.
I have kept a journal for years, probably going back to the very early 90’s. There are gaps between the dates in those pages, sometimes days, months and even years where no words were written. Most often, they were times when life was happening so fast there were too many details to even write the words down. There may be an entry here and there that condenses the facts down to a list or short description of the events. For a few years I blogged on MSN Spaces about what was going on in my life or something God was showing me at the time, which is now cataloged as my digital archive. What I loved about blogging was the feedback. I had many friends stopping by to comment or begin discussion. I was very grateful to have that experience. I felt as if it kept me accountable to the truth. I took it very serious that we are each responsible for every idle word that comes from our lips. The blogging and connection with others became a way for me to not become so isolated within myself during a difficult time in my life.
In some of those written records of thoughts or memories are moments I refer to as “glimpse of glory,” those defining times when God did the most personal, miraculous thing in my life. Yes, I have, on occasion, witnessed God’s glory in my life. As I look back over the last decade, I see images in my mind’s eye that are forever engraved on my heart. They are like framed collages, each image bearing witness to a timeline. The notable thing about His glory is that it always came upon the back of darkness and brokenness, when life became foggy and dazed. When our memory dulls or is clouded by emotion the actual photographs bear witness to the blessings in spite of the circumstances.
The truth is that God’s glory can shine brighter in the darkness of brokenness. It seemed to me in those times in my life I was acutely aware of how God was more real and present in my circumstance than ever before. As one of my favorite authors, Elisabeth Elliot, has written, “It is in our acceptance of what is given that God gives Himself.” And He truly does. I realize now that all those memories, images, photo albums and written recordings of my life become the very building material God used to bring about personal growth in my relationship with Him. I can see it unfold through the timeline filled with snapshots and paragraphs of words.
I know there are many who would say, “quit looking back, you need to look forward” but there is something to keeping record of where we have been so that we can celebrate how far we have come. Many times in the Old Testament God would tell His children to build a memorial so that their children would know where they traveled or what they overcame. So I do believe God wants us to remember. To count our blessings and to avoid veering away from Him. I guess that is why researching my family tree has been so exciting. I want to read the stories and see the pictures. I want to know how far “we” have come!
Would you believe that my tree is so full that I can’t even hardly see around it! I have to date about 2,391 people, including my husband’s side of the family. I get to see pictures of Great-Great-Greats, etc that just make me more curious. I began to wonder what their stories were. Wondered about their faith, their day-to-day lives, their heart-breaks, their victories. I want to read their stories…I have found a few which are like gems! An exciting discovery was finding out that my father’s side of the family was a long line of Christians.
Finding that information was the piece that gave me inspiration to be more diligent about writing it all down, to annotate the pictures, to tell the story about the pictures. Then a thought occurred to me, as a Christian, I pray for my children, I pray for their mates and for their children. I know that my ancestors who had the same faith most likely did the same, which means they prayed for my father, for me and for my children. That was the most incredible realization for me. It was the understanding that none of us are alone. We all belong, we all come from somewhere. We all are a part of something bigger than ourselves. Understanding that the Lord is faithful in His answer to prayers from our forefathers, He is faithful in His answer to our prayers. He is faithful!
Grace to you,
Shell
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 89:1
More on ancestry: Counting Backwards
Slay My Flesh, Awaken My Heart
24 Apr 2012 2 Comments
in Spiritual Journey, Uncategorized Tags: Crazy Love by Francis Chan, Ecclesiastes, Elisabeth Elliot, lukewarm
Being on my blog again seems so foreign to me. It has been over eight months since I have written a single, solitary word let alone a blog entry. So much is crowding my thoughts and my heart. Since the beginning of this year there has been a small voice in the back of my head speaking to me about that very thing. It is getting louder now and can not be ignored any longer. I knew that I had let so many things come between my walk with my Lord and my walk in the world. I do not mean that I have gone out and fallen into a sin, merely that I have grown somewhat lukewarm in some areas of my life. I was reminded the other day, after watching a video on You Tube, Crazy Love ~ by Francis Chan In God’s Word, the Lord says to the church of Laodicea:
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans[a] write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[b] I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (KJV)
The word ‘lukewarm’ hit me so between the eyes. I have, at times in my walk with Jesus, felt the longing in my heart for His presence. That longing led me to seek Him in desperate prayers and sacrifice for Him. I always found Him just as He said I would and He always filled me when I emptied myself to receive Him. To have experienced that filling leaves you so much more aware of a distance that can creep in when you finally have reached a place of peace and rest in Jesus. It is so subtle and happens over a period of time. We allow the distance into our relationship with Him because of noise around us, our flesh and the enemy, who is a master at subtly. I could make excuses as to why the distance happens but when I say them out loud to myself they sound so lame. Even now at this place I am today there is no good reason as to why I am here again.
I have had some amazing, wonderful things happen within my family that only God could have orchestrated so I should be on a mountaintop screaming to the world, ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow!’ but it seems I have turned inward to some extent. I have, dare I say it out loud, backslid within my heart. Why does that happen when we receive the desires of our hearts? Why is it when dreams come true there is a moment of euphoria and then an emotion comes along that kind feels like a let down. I have heard that many people who work towards a goal or achievement often experience this ‘let down,’ after reaching the very thing they have had their eyes on for months or years. What is that?
I believe Solomon tells us exactly what it is and starts by saying….
“Vanity[a] of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
And then sums it up…
“All things are full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
That which has been is what will be,
And there is nothing new under the sun.”
He has gotten my attention and I am turned my heart toward Him once again. I know that His word is true when it says, “His mercy endureth forever” and I do not want to take that for granted. I want to be the wise woman who fears the Lord and honors Him daily in her life. That is my heart’s desire. ~ Grace to you, Shell
It’s God’s Move
22 Aug 2011 4 Comments
in Spiritual Journey Tags: God's Word, Psalm 139:23, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 8:1, Romans 8:28, truth
I have been having these memories lately about my years as a young mother and even some from my childhood. They are random but somehow related and I am not exactly sure what I am supposed to do with them. They seem to be moments in time where the direction of my life changed significantly due to a decision I made. They say that the devil uses your past failures or sins to discourage you, to taunt you or cause you to be defeated. But I think the devil gets way to much credit for things that may be of God.
It is of my personal opinion that God may use our past to show us something about the current state of our heart. When God is ready to deal with an area in our life I believe He may start with a memory. The Holy Spirit may bring it to mind, showing it to our inward self much like a slide show. There may be no real trigger to the memory it may just be God’s timing. His time for us to sort through an experience or decision made that led to a turning in the road, a turning that changed our lives forever.
He does not condemn us but may want to teach us truth, truth about ourselves, our heart and its motives. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1) Yes, sometimes, there is pain involved or guilt perhaps because we did not face the truth back then. But for the most part there is freedom in looking at it and asking God, “What do I do with this?” Seeking His wisdom or healing in it.
While Paul speaks of forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to the prize of the high calling, I think there are times in our lives that God uses our past choices as lessons to transform and conform us into His image. David says to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;”(Psalm 139:23) He already knows everything we have said and done in our lives and the moment we become a child of God He begins to transform us. While our past sins are forgiven, often the past consequences continue to be evident in our lives, as well as the current blessings of a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Every decision I made I made consciously but not always in wisdom. Much like a beginner chess player I did not look ahead at every possible move that could have put my ‘piece’ or my family in jeopardy. You know the choices we make in the past are never really at rest until we find God’s grace in them. I have struggled so much with choices I made for my children through-out the last ten years and at times the pain goes so deep. When I find His grace in it I am reminded that it isn’t about me at all, it is about what He does with our choices, good or bad, for His purpose.
Gods’ word says “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) so we should not fear or be anxious about those past decisions. We should just believe that He will do what He says He will do. He will use “all things” to transform us into His image. How it all works I have not a clue, why there is pain involved I do not know but I do know that in trusting Him I find the grace and mercy of His peace.
The older I get the more I often wish I had known Him at a younger age. I wonder what my life would have been like had I known His ways before I chose my ways. I do know more now then when I first accepted Christ as my Savior that He is sovereign and even though He chose me before the foundation of the earth it was still up to me to choose Him. He gave me that free will. He gives it to me every single day, to choose His ways over mine. One of my favorite passages in God’s word is Romans 12:1-2 because I believe it is pivotal to what God wants to do in and through me.
“I beseech ye therefore brethren, to preset your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God.”
“O’ God, give me the wisdom and discernment to see the temptations before me, to apply the truth of your word before I choose so that my decisions glorify you, Amen.”
At The Edge
10 Aug 2011 3 Comments
in Spiritual Journey Tags: alone, paths, Philippians 3
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule,[b] let us be of the same mind. ~ Philippians 3
There are times in one’s walk with the Lord where the path you are walking on becomes obscure. It becomes grown over with wild vines and perhaps even rocks or gravel strewn about before you. If you are not careful you can lose hope of finding sure footing underneath, second guessing on whether or not you have veered off the right path. Fear threatens to overtake you, doubt begins to creep into your thoughts and soon you are wondering if indeed you are alone on this path. Surely, God, in His promise to never leave you nor forsake you, is still true.
So why is the path overgrown? When did you even notice that it was disappearing under your feet? Was there a warning sign somewhere back along the path? Does losing site of the path mean you are lost? Are you fearful or doubtful about the path you are on?
I have hiked trails before. Trails that were well trodden and clear. There were points along the path where it would narrow a bit or wind very close to the edge of a steep hill or a cliff of rocks. They always had a marked beginning and an end. When I was younger I did not think twice about where to put my feet. The dirt before me had occasional rocks, branches or vines interrupting the trail ahead but there was never any doubt that I was going in the right direction. Some trails I have hiked had signs to tell you how far you had gone or they might mention a significant piece of information about the wildlife or plant life surrounding the area. While traveling one such trail in Germany there were signs that mentioned significant events that took place on the very spot the signs were placed.
However, there were other places I have hiked that had no clear path. I remember when I was visiting my mother and stepfather in Arizona during my 7th grade summer, some friends of theirs, took my sister and I on a picnic to Mount Lemon located just a bit outside of Tuscon. We parked the car and began to walk up the mountain. There were some places that a path had been carved out but once we got to the rocks the path seemed to end. We climbed higher and higher until we came to a grassy area where another path seemed to appear. We walked for some time and then our guides made a left off of the path into a bushy area. I don’t remember being afraid, on the contrary, I was very curious as to where we were going. A short time of making our way through the bushes we found ourselves among some tall trees. The sun came down through the trees and it became much brighter than before when we were hacking our way through bushes. Again, we began to move forward and at that point I wondered when we were going to reach our destination. It was not but a few minutes later that it seemed to get darker and cooler. Just as suddenly as we had entered into the midst of the trees we were exiting out of them.
What I saw and felt next I will never forget. We were standing in knee-deep grass. The most willowy green grass I had ever seen. We could hear water moving and there was a fresh, cool breeze on our faces. We were standing in a meadow hidden by a circle of trees with a small brook running through the middle of it. The grass was actually swaying and the sun was hidden by the trees. It was completely enclosed. This was the place we were stopping to have our picnic. I think sometimes memories of experiences we have are sometimes more enhanced than what we actually experienced but if I had to pick a memory that was as close to perfect as any it would be this one. One of the reasons I have never forgotten it because it was an unexpected delight. And that is often the way I feel when God does something in my life that is totally out of left field, totally unexpected.
Maybe that is why I do not fear my path becoming obscure but welcome it. I believe that for me it is God simply using my “overgrown” path to remind me that I must rely on Him in every circumstance. That to rely on myself I would surely slip or get off the path, going in another direction. I have walked with Him long enough to know that wherever I find myself I am not alone but sometimes isolated from others on purpose so that “I may know Him.” I also know that if I am not careful pride would blind me to His purpose for the overgrown vines and rocks in my way. That I can even recognize the fact that He is in complete control of every situation in my life is proof that I am wanting to see Him in all things.
This whole thought was born out of a seed of fear that my heart has grown complacent and lazy in my worship and prayer life. I desperately want to keep my eyes on Him and keep going in the direction He has set for me to head. My heart breaks for the depravity I see on the news each and every day. My soul screams for righteousness and justice for the hurting and lost. I am helpless to know how to help or even make a difference. I stand at the edge and cry out for God to save the lost that are clinging to their own ways. I want to pray, worship and stand corporately on His truths but often feel alone.
I want to be conformed to my Savior, transformed that I might prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. I want Him!!!!
Grace to you all
Shell
Counting Backwards
29 Jun 2011 6 Comments
in Family, Spiritual Journey Tags: Ancestry, generations, Psalm 64:8, Psalm 89:1
But now, O LORD, thou art our father;
we are the clay, and thou our potter;
and we all are the work of thy hand.
Isaiah 64:8
What is the first thing a surgeon tells you to do when he gives you anesthesia? Count backwards to 10. What do they do when they are getting ready to launch a rocket into space? Countdown. What do you do when you are looking back over your life? Reflect and count the accomplishments and failures. I read in a devotional yesterday that if you are focused on looking back you spoil today, if you focus on what is happening today you spoil the hope of tomorrow. The gist of the devotional was to keep your eyes forward and on the fact the God has a purpose for your life. You can not fulfill His purpose if you are too focused on what is past. It is much like driving a car. You do not focus on what is in rear view mirror, you focus on the road ahead while keeping the other cars in your peripheral. Stay alert and ready. And of course be mindful of the rules of the road.
I have been spending some time on Ancestry.com lately. It is amazing and very fascinating. I have been able to track descendants up to 11 generations through my Grandfather on my mothers’ side. All the way to Germany and Switzerland. I have not spent time on each of the individuals yet but just seeing my family tree grow is surreal to me. It only took a couple of days because much of the information is already on the website. All I needed to do was supply names and dates and it connects you with hints to discover new things about your family. Right now it is just facts, names, dates and locations. I have yet to find the stories. I do have a few pictures. I also have some of my own to upload when I am able to spend some time doing so.
I have wanted to know for years where I come from. I have gotten bits and pieces of information over the years but nothing this extensive and it makes me excited to discover something new about our family. I have read the genealogy’s of the families in God’s Word and read their stories and how rich they are, good and bad. You are able to see God’s hands weaving the story of humanity. The stories of relationship with God, betrayal, forgiveness, love and redemption of mankind. I want to see that story in my family too. My own story is one to be told. I want to tell it but am not sure how to begin or where. So I am counting backwards in my family to see if there are any clues to what God has for me to say.
I think some authors become narcissistic in telling their story. I want my story to be unique and refreshing, told in a way that brings light to God’s purpose. I want to connect some dots that contribute to who I am and what I have become as a child of God. I want to show what God’s hand has done throughout my generations.
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I
make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 89:1
