Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

The bold black headline in the Dallas Morning News on February 10, 2012 read:  Donald Tinsley, who helped prepare 'The News' for computerized printing, dies at 80.  The newspaper flew the Texas flag at half mast in memoriam.  Quite an honor for a man who retired in 1994.  Donald Tinsley touched many lives and his legacy lives on.  We praise God for this man from whom all blessings flowed.

Good Afternoon, Readers!  It's a chilly day in Central Texas.  We had attended the funeral for Michael's Uncle Don yesterday in Wills Point.  By the time we neared home last night, it was sleeting and snowing.  Brr!  It sure was beautiful ... a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Michael has such a warm wonderful family.  We met with his cousins and Aunt and Uncle at a mexican restaurant for lunch before the funeral.  It was a time of laughing and reminiscing for everyone.  It reminded me of when I got together with my own cousins before my Aunt Helen's Celebration of Life Service.  I looked at Uncle Richard who is 88 and Aunt Rita who is 90 ... they had made the long trip from Fayetteville (a three plus hour trip one way) to say their good-byes.  They looked tired and worn yet it was important for them to say "So long, brother."  Richard and Donnie talked every day ... what a blessing those chats were for both of them!


I have only been in Michael's family circle for about nine years so I really haven't been privy to all the inside jokes of yesteryear.  Michael was asked to give a eulogy on behalf of the cousins.  His talk was short (short for Michael who LOVES to talk) and brought giggles and tears to his audience.  He loved his Uncle Don who he looked up to almost as an older brother.  As a youth, Michael pestered his uncle relentlessly about getting married so he could have more cousins.  His uncle would always reply ... "When I find the right one..."  He did and the cousin roster expanded to 11.  Michael was hoping for guy cousins but that wasn't to be ... the girls arrived ... Debbie, Kathy, and Lisa.

It's always interesting to me to observe behavior of family and friends at a funeral.  Somehow, I just knew this was a special man who would be sorely missed by his wife, three daughters and their spouses, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  Don's daughters talked about their dad and again, we shared smiles and tears.  It's nice that pastors are able to eulogize and make the departed sound like they were the best thing since sliced bread but, better yet, I always like it when the family speaks from the heart and we get the real scoop on what that person meant to family and friends.  Somehow, the truth matters.

I sat there wondering what my family would say about me.  Would Michael miss me like Genelle will miss Don?  What will my children and grandchildren remember about Grandma "."?  I sighed and was glad that I had started my blog in 2010 so that they would not only know me but where I came from and the struggles and accolades that made me "me".


I think funerals or celebration of life services (as they are now called) are so important.  Somehow, it gives closure to the sting of death and a rise to the legacy the person left behind.  Sadly, some folks leave this world without anyone even knowing they have departed.  It was interesting to me that Genelle asked that pastor to say, "If you smoke, quit ... if you don't, don't start."  It was smoking that took Don's life and cut short his time with his family.

As we enter our teenaged years, we often think of ourselves as bulletproof.  We're going to live forever.  We play Russian Roulette with our lives and are broken when the odds get stacked against us.   I can't help but think of Whitney Houston who passed away at 48 ... Whitney was found dead in her hotel bathroom just a couple days ago.  What a waste ... a singer with an amazing voice and a troubled history of addictions.  Why, we ask ourselves.  The truth is, we just don't know why.

I am marching through the pages of my Daily Walk Bible.  Numbers is definitely NOT my favorite book in the Bible yet I learn something each year as I muddle through the pages.  The little devotional got me to thinking.  "Two bricklayers were asked what they were doing.  The first replied, 'I'm laying brick', the second, 'I'm building a great cathedral.'"  Same task, same bricks, two thoroughly different perspectives!!  Isn't that like our lives?  We live one day at a time with different perspectives ... one says, "I just want to get through the day."  The other says, "I want to make this day count."

It's easy to be a Christian when the going is smooth.  What happens when life throws you a curve ball.  Do you become hateful and spiteful or do you look to the Lord and take on His ways??  I've never never regretted taking the high road that's certain.  I guess someone could say that I'm a pushover or milk toast but that's not true.  I know and I realize what's going on ... I CHOOSE to rise above and find peace and serenity in my days.

A very long time ago, I memorized the Serenity Prayer and would like to end my day meditating on each word!  Always remember you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU!!  God bless!!!

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

~~Reinhold Niebuhr



The legacy of love between brothers lasts forever!