Happy Birthday Doug!

Today is Doug's birthday. I imagine we would have had a huge celebration for the milestone of 45 years. Instead, my parents and I will have dinner together and probably share stories of this individual that infiltrated our hearts and lives forever. My words will be inadequate for the love that I feel for Doug but I will do my best.

Forty-Five years ago God blessed this family with Doug. Douglas Edward Hale III. Three years younger than me. I always felt the need to take care of him and speak for him as he was learning. As you grow up you learn understand that you can't do everything for them but you have to learn things on your own. 

One time, as part of a bible study group, I was asked to write down three characteristics of my immediate family. I wrote these words December 9, 2013. The three words I chose for my brother were...Brave, Funny, Determined.

He was BRAVE. He took cancer head on and knew that he need to rely on God's strength. Some days were harder than others. Some days he had questions and felt like he wasn't getting answers. God had answers and they weren't the answers I wanted to hear but God's plan is greater. I know without a doubt that Doug boldly approached the throne of God on April 8, 2014.

He was FUNNY. He made me laugh. He had a smirky smile that you couldn't help but laugh and smile yourself. I remember having laughing fits at the dinner table that would totally get us into trouble. I'm sure he always started it because he always was an instigator. I still look at his pictures and I still smile even though sometimes it is through tears because I miss him so much.

He was DETERMINED. He had opinions and he was determined for you to hear them. He knew how to do so many things. He was smart and knowledgeable. He knew what he wanted and nothing held him back from getting it. He was determined to win souls to Christ and cancer pushed him even more to get that message across. He was determined to be faithful to God through ANY circumstance.

There is a song entitled And Can It Be, every time I hear these words I can't contain the emotion. I always wonder what it was like when Doug approached the throne clothed in righteousness and with boldness to claim his crown. 

“No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own.”

— Charles Wesley, 1738

I love you Doug! I miss you as much today as the day you left this earth. You will always be in my heart and your memory and testimony is etched deep in my brain. Thank you God for giving us this special gift in Doug! Our lives have been forever changed because we knew him.

Photo Credit: Family Photo taken by http://www.digitalmemoriesdk.com/

Christmas 2015

Christmas brings families together. Christmas is always is about the gift of Jesus. The Son of God. Wrapped in flesh. The light of the world. Our Savior. This Christmas we wanted to celebrate family. From the seven month old infant of our great niece Emma, to my 98 year old grandmother, to all of those in between. We spent much needed time with Bernie's nieces and Emma, who is the center of attention when she is in the room.  

We saw Star Wars the Force Awakens. My niece Kim is the biggest fan and she waited to see it with us. She made sure everyone was decked out in Stars Wars gear. I will remember that for a long time.

Another great moment was meeting Emma. She's is beautiful. She growing so fast, so alert. I got to give her her bottle and I rocked her to sleep and loved every moment! 

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Spending time with my grandma was special. It was harder to say goodbye to her this time because she is 98 years old. Who knows when God will call her home but you have to take advantage of these moments. 

This Christmas was focused on family and making memories. No one can take those away. 

Quiet Moments

It's the weekend and the weather is going to be above average on this December day. The warmth in the air and the sunshine on my face does this body good.

This morning in the quietness, before I turn on the tv and get ready for my day, I am gazing at my decorated mantel and my tiny real life Christmas tree. There is something about Christmas, maybe more so than any other holiday, that makes you long to be with family.

As I look at my mantel, the stockings are hung with care. We have people and fur babies that are no longer with us. As I was getting the decorations out of their boxes I just couldn't bring myself to not hang those stockings that are engraved with Doug and Osa's names on them. They belong to us. Family. People we love. Loved ones we will never forget.

So as painful as that may be, it also brings to mind memories and the promise of Jesus. The hope in that baby born on Christmas Day. A gift for us from God the Father.  

Photo credit: laurajdake

Photo credit: laurajdake

Can't have hope without grief

I saw this quote today. Thank you Debby for sharing! This week we lit the advent candle at THQ (work). Bernie read the passage and I lit the candle. How fitting it was for us to talk about hope. I'm tattooed with hope and so is my family because almost two years ago we claimed hope for my brother who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. We have a hope and his name is Jesus! This resonated in my heart today.  

"It's precisely because everything hurts that we prepare for Advent now. We don't get to hope without having grief. Hope dares to admit that not everything is as it should be, and so if we want to be hopeful, first we have to grieve. First we have to see that something is broken and there is a reason for why we need hope to begin with." Sarah Bessey

photo credit: lauradake

Pray for Paris

Tonight I am so saddened about the terrorist attack in Paris. A beautiful city that I love. What has happened to this world and when will the madness stop?  

Praying for the families of those who died. Praying that there are no more deaths from these attacks. Praying for the leaders and law enforcement of France. Praying for the world we live in. Praying for peace.  

Ordinary Beauty

Partnering with my friend Debby Hudson this month on her Ordinary Beauty writing challenge. 

I had a chance to travel this summer. I went to London and Paris. I love Paris! The architecture and food are amazing! I love to go to new places. Experience cultures, architecture and food. But those photos are for another post. Today is about ordinary beauty. 

A few weeks ago I went with a family to take their annual family photos. Four years and counting. We went to a very familiar place to me. A beautiful park here in Georgia called Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain is only a couple miles from where I live. After we were done, I stayed and captured some of the natural beauty.

I absolutely love it. There are walking trails. You can climb up Stone Mountain...literally a huge granite rock! You can walk the 5 mile course around the base of the mountain. When you do that you see the beautiful lake. In the morning you can witness the sunrise and the water just glistens. Keep walking and the road goes a little to the right and then to the left. The road goes up, up, up. Your legs are burning waiting for the road to level out. Then the downhill! 

There are so many beautiful nooks and crannies and sights and sounds. A place where you can find quite...right in the middle of this metropolitan city and suburbs we call Atlanta. A place where you can mediate on the beauty that God created for us to enjoy. 

You don't always have to travel to another time zone or country to experience the beauty that surrounds us. 

"As as the beauty of nature is constant; so is God who made it." 

#neverforget911

We lived outside of Washington, DC 14 years ago. September 11, will be one of those days that will be etched in my mind for the rest of my life. This is probably one of those tragedies (besides the Space Shuttle Challenger) that I can say, "I remember where I was when..."

We walked the grounds of the Pentagon that very first evening serving with The Salvation Army. The wall collapsed earlier in the day and it just didn't seem real. I remember seeing the workers that had working dogs sitting on the ground completely exhausted. Being a huge dog lover, I was attracted to these workers and their four legged companions. The Salvation Army band played at multiple church services offered at Camp Unity where The Army continued to serve weeks after.

Just last weekend we went to New York City. We didn't have time to take in the tourist sites but as we were driving to Brooklyn, we could see One World Trade Center. I took a few shots from the car with my iPhone hoping for at least one good shot.

We also went to Eagle Rock Reservation in Orange, NJ. It has amazing views of the New York City skyline. Breathtaking! They also have a 9-11 Memorial there with statues and the names of lives lost that day. There is also a piece of steal beam from the Twin Towers.

As my friend reminded me, today we just don't remember those we lost, but we need to remember we survived and we are still building!

Photo credit: lauradake

#NationalDogDay

It has been a year and half since our girl went to "doggie heaven." We miss her so much and on a day that is "nationally" set aside for our four legged babies, how could I not think of Osa. I love how dogs infiltrate you life and heart. You will always be in my heart Osa and I will never forget how you affected my life. 

Photo Credit: Digital Memories by Debbie Koehler 

Dream

Relay for Life

I think about you everyday Doug. You are loved and missed. The one thing you wanted to come of this journey was for people to know Christ. You have touched more lives than you could've ever known. You have profoundly changed my life.  

Last Friday we participated in a relay for life in memory of Doug. My friends, the Farrell's came and hung out with my parents and me at Lilburn Park. It was a beautiful evening with friends as well as the weather.  

I didn't know what to expect when I signed up for a team. In honor and memory of Doug. Team Dougie Fresh. His friends called him that. Some of his family and certain friends [i.e.  John Zanders] call him Dougie. The name that carried over from childhood. I call him my brother and friend.

This relay was on a smaller scale unlike the event being held at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in the next couple of weeks. It was very nice for our first experience. We talked. We laughed. We walked. We shed a few tears thinking abouth this man, this gift from God that we had for 43 years. A son. Brother. Husband. Grandson. Nephew. Friend.

As the luminaries we being placed around the track, my loving "pop" as Doug would call dad, walked around the track to find Doug's luminary. He found it! We took photos of this memory. As the night skies became dark, a bag piper played as everyone who participated walked around the track holding a lit candle. The path was lit by luminaries for survivors, for those who are currently suffering with this evil disease we call CANCER and those who have gone on to a better place we know as heaven. It was a beautiful moment.  

Thank you to all my that helped me achieve my goal. We surpassed it!