by jphilo | Jun 17, 2014 | Family, Top Ten Tuesday
This past Saturday, many of the descendents of my mother’s parents, Vernon and Josie Hess (pictured above) gathered for the annual Hess Cousins Reunion. These are ten of the top highlights of the day.
10. The potluck dessert to salad ratio was about 5 to 1, which shows the Hess cousins have their priorities right.
9. Within the dessert portion of that ratio, rhubarb figured prominently. Grandma Josie lives!
8. The cousins who hosted this year’s reunion shared a recently unearthed treasure trove of pictures and home movies from the 1940s and 50s.
7. The grainy movie footage was hard to see, but totally worth watching for the 5 second shot of Grandpa Hess snoring in the back seat of the car…footage my mother claims she shot.
6. One of the new photos was of my father looking directly into the camera with an expression identical to one my son wears often.
5. Other photos from the treasure trove show my parents in the late 1950s, their faces full of belief in a bright future, shortly before Dad’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
4. Still other pictures show how beautiful the Hess cousins were as babies…something we were never told as our parents didn’t want any of us to get the big head, don’t you know?
3. Conversations with rellies revealed the beauty of our generation as we near retirement and concentrate on what really matters…maintaining relationships.
2. The love in the eyes of members of our generation when they greeted the three remaining members of our parents’ generation: Dorothy Hess Stratton, Donna Hoey Stratton, and her husband Jim Hoey.
1. The feeling that enveloped me during family gatherings during childhood and returns whenever our family gathers: I am home. I am safe. I am loved.
by jphilo | Feb 28, 2014 | Church Newsletter Columns
The night is almost gone, and the day is near.
Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12
Like many people around the world, my husband and I spent much of February watching the Sochi Olympics. We marveled as ski jumpers flew through the air at terrifying speeds, as snow boarders slid down pipes and up inclines, twisting in the air and somehow managing to land upright. We commented on the speed skaters’ massive thigh muscles and on the courage (or foolhardiness) of the luge teams. We watched amazed as figure skaters launched into jumps from impossible positions and completed soaring turns before gracefully landing on a thin, metal skate blade and glided away. Both of our jaws dropped when Julia Lipnitskaia, the young Russian skater, executed a dizzyingly fast spin on one leg while holding her other leg straight up about 4 inches from her face. “How can she keep skating after twisting her body like that?” we asked.
The answer is discipline. Months and years and decades of discipline, combined with the natural talent, was what landed Julia and the other Olympic athletes at the games. Not only discipline to practice their sports every day, but also discipline to eat right, get enough sleep, to fall down and get back up, to encourage and to be encouraged by other athletes.
What motivated them to commit themselves to such rigorous and not always pleasant discipline? The answer is simple. They knew the winter Olympics were scheduled for February 7–23, 2014, and they wanted to be there when the big day arrived.
In Romans, Paul urges believers to apply similar discipline to accomplish the seemingly impossible feat of loving others as we love ourselves. Love others, Paul says, because the night is almost gone, and the day is near. The day of Christ’s returning when this earth will be replaced by new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13)
But why did Paul choose Christ’s coming as motivation for believers to love others? Because the two are closely linked. Because the watching world wants to see if the love we proclaim plays out in our lives. Because when we practice what we preach, Christ uses our love to bring lost hearts to faith in him.
Earlier this year, our small, local church brainstormed ways to reach out and love our community. We voted for our favorites. Now we’re praying about the results to decide how to love our town. Performing the amazing acts of love we select will require discipline. We’ll need to practice. We’ll need to feed on Scripture to seek God’s will. We’ll need to encourage one another to get back up when we fall down.
Our motivation will be the same means Paul used spur on the Romans. It’s the same motivation that spurred believers throughout the centuries to perform amazing feats of love on behalf of the watching world. The night is gone and the day is near. Our motivation is a desire born of love for Christ and the people in our town. We want them to be ready to joyously and expectantly welcome Christ, when the big day arrives.
Photo Source
by jphilo | Aug 5, 2013 | Family
57 is the new 30. I have that on good authority. That is, if you consider Hallmark Cards to be a good authority. Which I certainly do. Because my husband gave me a Hallmark Cardon my 57th birthday a week ago, and it said the following:
Thirty
in great big letters. And I mean great big.
Inside it said:
Thirty is an attitude.
It says you know what
you’re doing and you’ve
got what it takes to get
where you’re going.
Welcome to prime time!
The man of steel added the words “Happy Birthday” and signed his name.
Well, boy howdy, that card made my day! If thirty is an attitude, then here’s my attitude:
57 is the new 30, and I’ve got 30 covered for at least 30 more years.
I didn’t expect any birthday card to top that one. Especially not one from Mom. Mainly because I’m the one who takes her shopping for cards for kids and grandkids. Depending how energetic she feels, which is usually not at all, she puts little or very little thought into choosing meaningful cards. On higher energy days she chooses cards big on puns and cartoon drawings. On low energy days, she grabs any old card and heads to the register. So I really wasn’t expecting much from her card.
Until I opened it and studied the stylized drawing of flowers and a bird, then opened it and read these words:
Daughter…
When you were young,
you’d get a little scuffed up.
And it was hard to let you
experience the parts of life
I wished I could just love away.
But you were even stronger than I knew.
Soon I was kissing fewer boo-boos,
wiping fewer tears.
And before I knew it,
you’d grown a thick layer of
“mama, I’m gonna be fine.”
And you were.
And you are.
Happy Birthday
She signed the card “Love, Mom” with handwriting significantly shakier than just a year ago.
Now, here’s the deal.
If she chose the card on a low energy day, I just happened to win the pull-the-card-from-the-closest slot lottery. But if she chose it on a higher energy day, perhaps the sentiments resonated with her and she chose it on person. I choose to believe in the second scenario.
Because I am the woman with the 57-is-the-new-30 attitude.
And women that young still cry when their moms give them a card that touches the heart.
At least, this 30-year-old does.
Photo credit: www.freedigitalphotos.net
by jphilo | Jun 17, 2013 | Family
So glad this man was my dad.
So glad this man is our kids’ dad.
Feeling doubly blessed to have had
Harlan Stratton
and
to have Hiram Philo,
in my life.
Two of the best dads ever.
by jphilo | May 10, 2013 | Family
My mom raised 3 kids and taught school for 38 years. She’s a mom and a teacher through and through…still asking if I get enough protein and correcting my grammar during our Tuesday visits. The older I get, the more I appreciate the life lessons she taught and is still teaching me. In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m passing along some of those lessons to you.
Lesson #1: A strong family will be a constant support throughout life.
As a teenager, Mom babysat many of her nieces and nephews. Those nieces and nephews open their homes to her whenever we travel back for funerals or reunions. Their love and respect for her is a touching tribute to her influence on their lives.
Lesson #2: Every woman should get an education so she can support herself.
Mom’s 4 year college graduation
Mom’s Masters in Education Graduation
Mom went back to school to finish her 4 year degree after Dad was diagnosed with MS in the late 1950s. She went on for her Master’s Degree in the mid 1960s. Our lives would have been very different had she not pursued those degrees.
Lesson #3: Some school pictures should never see the light of day.
Thanks to this lesson, some of mine never will.
Lesson #4: Sewing = an inexpensive wardrobe
Once you know how to sew, you can also be your own polyester fashion statement. And don’t forget, some of the best buys are found in the remnant bin.
Lesson #5: The library is an excellent place to hang out
Carnegie Library from my childhood, now a Fine Arts Center.
Mom checked out a lot of books and taught her kids to love to read. This photo is a little ironic since I’m selling my books in about the same spot where we checked them out for free when I was a kid.
Lesson #6: Teaching Is More than a Job
Mom and me at the party thrown by my co-workers when I left teaching.
Teaching is not just a way to support your family. It’s a way to inspire a new generation and help them realize their own potential.
Lesson #7: True love never fails
Mom cared for Dad at home from 1959 when he was diagnosed with MS until 1983 when he required nursing home care. Once he moved to the nursing home, Mom visited him daily, unless she was visiting her kids and grandkids, from 1983 until his death in 1997.
Every now and then someone asks why I drive 45 miles to visit Mom Tuesday after Tuesday. The answer is simple. It’s what my mamma taught me.
Love bears all things, hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:7–8
