A Lifetime of Love

"Jesus said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace'." ~Luke 7:50 I am going to share a secret with you (my reader, whoever you are): I carry an immense amount of guilt with me about my abortion 13 1/2 years ago. I know that when I placed my faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save me, all my past sins were forgiven (even my abortion) and I am now righteous before the Lord (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:1-9, Romans 5:8-9). However, the pain and guilt as a result of such a horrific sin were often brought to the forefront of my mind each time I heard the word 'abortion.' I have been struggling and dealing with these emotions for a long time; I even consulted with my pastor looking for wisdom and insight about the forgiveness offered by the Lord. Sunday I received my answer in the form of the above verse. Do you see what it says? Did you read the words carefully? It says my faith has saved me; GO IN PEACE . That is such a freeing statement that I immedia...

This is my 200th post! I can't believe it took me so long to reach this "milestone", but I guess because I'm so busy it's taken me longer than most. Hmm, that seems to be my theme song. It took me 7 years to complete an Associates Degree, and I've been working on finishing the remaining courses for my Bachelor's Degree for 4 years now (will complete it next year, for a total of 5 years). Oh well, I guess better late than never! I'm digressing. *The kids on the Blue Team *The kids on the Green Team So, VBS ended today. I am exhausted. It was an awesome week; I'm sad to see it come to an end, but I am so tired that I can't stop yawning. I tried to nap but my house has been neglected more than usual all week and my mind was filled with all that I need to do while TJ is home to help with the kids. No Carowinds today- too much piddly stuff to do here. We don't dare go tomorrow because of the crowds. Oh well, maybe next Friday we'll...

VBS- Day 0 Here are some pictures of my classroom while we were decorating yesterday. Before we started. . . One of my helpers, Cody ( Mark's son), hanging a decoration. . . My wonderful husband helped us decorate. Without him, the room would not have turned out as awesome as it did because I don't do ladders (I am afraid of heights). Here is TJ hanging vines from the ceiling. . . TJ, Cody, and Thad (another helper) working hard. . . The finished room. The picture doesn't show it, but there is a dinosaur nest at the base of the tree on the left. My helpers gathered sticks, weeds, and rocks in order to build it. There is also a real tree in the opposite corner of the room that my youth workers built another nest in. They found a stray dinosaur so they put him in there. It turned out great! ************************************************** VBS- Day 1 I had 15 boys in class today. It was less than I expected, but we still had a great time! Today's lesson was on Creation...

As I wrote in my last post, Mark’s son C. preached at church this past Sunday evening. He did an awesome job! The subject of his message was about how God allows trials into our lives for various reasons. He presented text from Job 1:6-2:10, 42:1-6, 10-17. The entire time he was preaching I just kept thinking about what a strong young man C. is, his entire family is really, that he could apply the truths of God’s Word to the passing of Mark. God really blessed me through C.’s message. First, I was caught up in the nursery getting Ta and T.G. settled. I entered the sanctuary just as the service was beginning. TJ and Th were already seated, so I found them and slid into the chair next to an older gentleman. I didn’t know who the gentleman was, but he shared his hymnal with me since the congregation was already singing the opening hymn. The service began with C. preaching, followed by 2 other teenage boys preaching. I already stated what C.’s topic was, and as I listened to him, I real...

This weekend was so nice. It all began with a phone call Friday afternoon. . . My friend J. called me and presented me with 2 propositions: we could go shopping for a wedding gift and then have dinner ALONE (as in a “girl’s night out”) OR we could do the same thing as couples (with her oldest girls staying with my children to baby-sit). I called TJ to get his input, and honestly, I was thinking he wouldn’t be up for either of J’s ideas. He had a rough day on Friday and I didn’t think he’d like the idea of being home alone with the kids and it was evident from his mood he didn’t feel like being sociable. But, he surprised me by telling me he and P. (J’s husband) had planned for J and me to get together for a girl’s night out while we were at the Wilds. So, J and I went shopping and then had dinner at the Olive Garden (which, if you know me, is my FAVORITE restaurant)! After dinner, we went to Panera for coffee and sat there 45 minutes after the store had closed drinking coffee, talking,...

I opened up my blog to allow anyone to read it. It scares me to do that; I am very apprehensive about not knowing who reads it. I switched to this hosting site to better know who was viewing my web page because of the comments left by total strangers at the last web host. BUT, not everyone wanted to log-in here each time. So, to combat that and to make me feel better, I have shortened all of our names to just initials. If you know me and my family, you should be able to figure out to whom I am referring. If not, email me and I'll consider sharing that information. I am also feeling better today. Just a little congested but nothing to complain about. I have a million things to do today and a few errands to run. I am actually excited about that since we haven't been out of the house in a few days. Well, that's not true. We did go to the doctor and library yesterday, neither of which was enjoyable. I am helping to bring a meal to Mark's widow this evening. That is weird t...

It’s been a week since Mark passed away. Since his death, I have been reflecting on his life and the example for living he left behind. Mark’s funeral was more difficult than I thought it would be. I cried from the moment I saw the crowded parking lot. The funeral was a celebration of his life, but what made it sad was just knowing that this wonderful, godly man was no longer going to be sharing in any of our lives. The church was packed with military members, family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers, all of whom came out to honor this dear man. I knew he was an officer in the Army, but truthfully, I had no idea he was a Colonel until after his death. When Mark and his family first began visiting our church, our pastor asked if he should address him as Colonel or Dr. Mark Stiling. Mark’s response, “Just call me Mark.” That is a testimony of how humble he lived his life. He wasn’t caught up in titles. I could give example after example of what an awesome human being Mark was, ...

Mark, a dear husband, father, son, brother, uncle and true man of God went home to be with the Lord on July 17, 2007. Mark was born in Buffalo, N.Y., to Major Stewart and Miriam Stiling as the fourth of five children in a military family, living in several places until high school graduation. A decision he made for Christ at a young age set the direction and plan for his life. He earned a BS in Pharmacy at MUSC and after a few years working in pharmacy, he followed his father and grandfather as a career military officer. He served on active duty for 12 years with the U.S. Army as a pharmacy officer, Ass't Director and Director of Pharmacy Services. During this time he met his wife, Valarie and together they returned to MUSC, where Mark earned his Doctorate in Pharmacy. His total service, active and reserve duty, was 29 years. His last assignment, after achieving the rank of Colonel, was the 3297th U.S. Army Hospital Detachment Commander in the U.S. Army Reserves. His current employ...

A friend of ours from church went to be with the Lord yesterday afternoon. We got the news last evening, and found out all the details this evening at church. It’s just crazy because we just saw him Sunday at church. He has been battling cancer for a while, but his prognosis was stable. He and his daughter were running some errands on Monday and he started acting funny. He was rushed to the ER and it was determined that he was in the early stages of a stroke. Apparently his cancer spread to his brain, and the tumor in his head ruptured. No one knew the cancer was in his head, so he was literally a walking time-bomb. Mark was such an inspiration. Even though he was fighting for his life, he always put on a good face and had an upbeat attitude. Despite the pain he endured during his treatments, he always took the time to find out about others. He inquired about my dad on Sunday, and encouragingly patted me on the back. Like most people, I just wish we could have said good-bye. He left be...