When LaVonne called from Portland asked what I would be doing Memorial Day, I let go of my desire to read my novel and, smiling, said, "whatever you want, I'm ready!" And the plan came to Lavonne, her husband, John, Jodie and Bruce, and their children and grandchildren coming together for one fine afternoon: Sammie, would be cohosting... here's Sammie
John, (who has agreed, with LaVonne, to support the Marriage Encounter Efforts, along with your friend, Joseph, in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montanna, and Alaska) and Bruce got the chicken burning...
and that barbecued chicken delighted everyone
we shared tough stories and inspiring stories... and there was teasing too... here I am humbly professing my eternal loyalty (if you believe that, I have a bridge I'll sell you) to our leader, John... (check out that blessing he's laying on me)
Sammie... quietly and lovingly attended to our needs and we almost did not meet his
I came home a much better person... thanks to my sisters and brothers here in Tacoma for helping me to become a better human being
how was Memorial Day Weekend for you
7 comments:
Sammie needed to take care of business outside... he waited quietly for someone to open the door, moved around to various parts of the kitchen, reaching out, but folks were busy about other things... finally someone opened the door and away he went...
(all the time I thought he was waiting to get out to go chase the squirrels and I was waiting for someone to open the door... if I had known, I would have opened that door immediately)
next time...
Even then, Joe, don't be afraid to be the impartial observer. Sammie's patience (and your persistence) tells a story without saying a word.
Both of you deserve a scratch behind the ears.
thank you... muchas gratias... bow wow
We got a walkway built and the boundries of our memorial garden laid out. Although we did not get as much done as we envisioned, we were pleased with the result. The sunshine Saturday wasn't supposed to happen and was such a gift!
Hi Joseph:
Sounds like you had a lovely weekend (that dog is really cute!) and quite the feast!
We feasted, too, with great stuff off the grill and ate outside. Lovely!
Kim
Aww...he's such a cute woofer!
So tell me...was that a fire extinguisher you were presenting John with? I'm glad you spent the day in such wonderful company!
fire extinguisher... to cool off that blessing... (can you hear him saying, "fire in the hole," just before he blesses me...
that extinguisher is a marriage encounter candle... each couple and each presenter on the retreat has a couple or priest praying for them during the whole weekend... and that candle is used while they are praying (usually an hour a day)
then, at the end of the retreat, the people on retreat are giving their candle...
when you get a chance check out my marriage encounter blog
www.lovemountrainier.blogspot.com..
and there I am working hard to be supportive of folks who are in the enounter (and others)... and, in one of the first... the one with the Youtube from Hawaii with people singing and signing the Encounter theme song... the candle is prominently displayed...
I am glad you enjoyed the three brothers and sammie story... I had a great time...
two Caucasian American males, one African American male, and Sammie whom every one loves... actually relating honestly and sincerely... love can bring us together, huh...
and I am a better person knowing that love across racial lines can happen...
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