It amazes me how few people attend church on Sunday morning, yet have no difficulty worshipping satan on a dark, cold October night. Hmmm . . . I guess that does make sense since evil does not like the light.
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:11 NKJV)
You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5 NKJV)
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5 NKJV)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Amazing How Time Flies!
Yes, I know it's cliche' to say it's "amazing how time flies", but it is an undeniable truth! As I look back at my life, I wonder where it has gone.
My dad died 2 1/2 months ago. It seems so recent, yet so very long ago.
My dad, Loren Russell Myers, was an amazing man! The following are words that I spoke at his funeral August 5, 2010:
I'm going to talk a little about my dad and things that are important to me about him. He was the best dad I could have asked for and I am very thankful to have him for my dad.
Daddy was a very good and honest man. He always tried to do what was right or what was fair. He was thankful to be an American and was proud of his service in the Army.
He was a good husband, father, and provider for his family and he took his responsibilities very seriously. Daddy worked very hard, sometimes working as many as three jobs at a time. Daddy sacrificed for us. He sacrificed his time, his money, and his wants or needs to make sure we had what we wanted or needed. One time on my way back to college, I got a flat tire down around Williamsport. Daddy came and gave me his car to use for several weeks until I got back home again, In the meantime, he took my car home to get me a new tire.
Daddy was very intelligent. I was always amazed at how smart Daddy was. He could do math in his head quicker than I could do it on the calculator. He knew the exact date of anything in history and loved to discuss politics and current events with me. Daddy also knew stats and who played what position on what baseball team for any particular year, as well as who won each World Series. A gentleman that he worked with in Hagerstown has told me how he and others at work would try to come upwith questions to stump my dad, whether they involved math, history, or sports. They never could stump him. There wasn't anything I can think of that Daddy couldn't do or at least figure out how to do. He enlarged our basement rec room including paneling it. He built rooms in the basement with closets and shelves. He built a cat house and dog runs. He planted gardens, flowers, trees, and grew the most beautiful and largest Impatiens I have ever seen.
Daddy was also the nickname man. He had lots of nicknames for us. My mom was either "Chat" or "Chattie"; Caleb was "The Boy"; Rachel was "Gravy"; and I was either "T-boy", "Trac II", or "Feetsietator". Daddy also had two things he was famous for saying when he was leaving: "Hold the fort" and "Good-bye, good luck, and may the good Lord take a liking to ya."
Daddy loved hunting and being outdoors. I have many memories of being with Daddy as he got his hunting gear ready for hunting trips. Somehow he was able to pack everything he needed for a 2-week hunting trip out west into a single Army dufflebag. I always loved when he came home from hunting, not only to see what he got, but also because he would let me take his gun into the house and lay it on his bed. That was the only time I was allowed to touch them. When Daddy went pheasant hunting, he let us help skin them. But the first thing we would do was pull out the longest tailfeather. We would keep them all so we could see which was the longest tailfeather of the season. Another favorite thing was to open the pheasant's craw to see if he had just been eating corn before Daddy shot him. Daddy usually had us carry his hunting vest to the basement after he was done hunting for the day so we could clean the pheasants later. One time, when I took the vest and set it on the basement floor, it started to move. I screamed and Daddy came down and pulled the pheasant out fo the vest. It started flying around the basement. Daddy ended that real quick! We had a hunting dog named Sparkey, who Daddy had for many years. Daddy had trained him not to eat his food until Daddy snapped his fingers, no matter how much Sparkey wanted to eat it. Sparkey waited every time until Daddy snapped his fingers and then dove into the food like he was starving. Sometimes Daddy took us hunting for pheasants. He wanted us to hold Sparkey until he got to a certain spot in the field. Sparkey could not stand to be separated from Daddy and practically went crazy trying to get loose, which he always did. Sometimees when Daddy was hunting, Sparkey would run off chasing something and would not come when called. So Daddy would leave his hunting vest on the ground, go home for lunch, and return to find Sparkey laying on his vest waiting for him to come back.
Daddy spent as much time with us as he could and we always had lots of fun. Wednesdays were a speical day when we were younger because that was Daddy's day off. We went bowling at Sunshine Lanes in Waynesboro and then ate a lunch of cheeseburgers, french fries, and milkshakes at Hardees. In the winter, we went ice skating and sledding down at Wibbie's pond and cabin. We took many trips to Gettysburg and Antietam where Daddy taught us all about the battles there and the different charges that were made. Daddy took us along when he went shooting clay pigeons and we got to pull the rope on the device that sent the clay pigeons flying into the air. We went on many vacations so that we could see different parts of the country. A few times we thought we were losing our minds. We were so bored and at the Pottery Factory so long that Daddy started singing, "Here we go, here we go, here we go" as we moved from one building to another. And we waited in a restaurant so long one time that Daddy started singing the Meox Mix song, much to Mom's embarrassment. And then there was the fateful deep sea fishing trip that lasted almost 7 hours. We were all seasick and didn't catch a single fish. At Christmas time, Daddy took us to a Christmas tree farm in the mountain where we would spend hours searching for just the right Douglas fir. We used hats, gloves, and scarves to mark all the possibilities until we narrowed it down to one. They were usually very large and full, and took up half of the living room.
When I was in Kindergarten, I got to stay with Daddy in the mornings one day a week. We often played games, most of which he made up. The game that I liked the best was rolling a ball down the driveway and trying to get it into a sand bucket. We took turns rolling the ball and holding the bucket. We laughed and had such a good time doing that. One time, also when I was in Kindergarten, Daddy took me to the range at the Sportsman's Farm to shoot one of his high-powered hunting rifles. The gun kicked and the scope hit me in the eye. He was a little nervous about me going to school with a black eye and told me not to tell anybody that I was shooting a gun that morning.
When I was older and getting ready to return to college after the summer, Daddy would take me places where it could be just the two of us spending time together. We went shopping at Harrisburg East Mall, going to one of the battlefields, and one time even to Lancaster. Daddy knew how much I liked Lancaster, so we spent one whole day there driving around looking at the farms and stopping to talk with some of the farmers. Our favorite thing that day was seeing a little Amish boy, probably 5 or 6 years old standing on a wagon seat driving a team of horses. The little boy was very proud to wave at us with one hand while still driving the team.
Daddy was very supportive of us and the things we did. He helped me make an Easter bonnet out of a paper plate in second grade. He helped me make a bird house and a rain gauge in 5th grade. He helped me with my 6th grade science fair project determining "How Light Affects Plants", which we got an honorable mention for. And he was present for every game or track meet I had, no matter where it was. I'm not sure how he did it, but I suspect that he made arrangements at work to come in early in order to get off early to see me. We practiced hitting and catching softballs many Saturday and Sunday afternoons, especially when I first started playing Little League and froze when I got up to bat.
Daddy was a quiet and serious man. He was a man of few words, so when he did talk, you knew it was important. He did not smile or laugh often, especially in later years as the Parkinson's Disease took its toll. When Daddy did smile, smirk, or especially, laugh, it felt like you'd just been given a treasure.
Daddy loved sports. He was a very good athlete when he was younger and loved to play baseball, soccer, and basketball. He enjoyed watching most any sport: baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, tennis, and especially the Olympics. Daddy sometimes got very involved when he watched sports and you could hear him yelling or pounding the floor when something didn't go as he had hoped.
Daddy never complained. Things were not always easy health-wise for Daddy. I remember him struggling for many years with insomnia, severe neck pain, and massive headaches. Daddy watched his own father slip away from Parkinson's Disease, and ultimately from aspiration. He, himself, was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at age 47. Throughout all the years of tremors and hallucinations until a good drug combination was found, I never once remember him complaining about it or his lot in life. When the Parkinson's Disease and the Dementia finally resulted in him having to go to the nursing home, he never really fought it but accepted it as the way things were.
Daddy was a good protector. He sought to protect my mom, sister, and me from anything that he thought might hurt us. I think that could be one of the reasons he never complained - he never wanted to upset us by how bad things really were for him. When he first told us that he had Parkinson's Disease, Daddy was more worried about us than himself. He tried to assure us that it was not contagious and we had nothing to worry about. Daddy was very concerned about Mom and tried to the best of his ability to watchy out for her or help her, even if it didn't work out that way. Daddy got very sick and had to go to the hospital on my birthday in January 2007, and this resulted in him having to go to the nursing home after his hospital stay. Daddy and I were in the Emergency Room. I was trying to cry quietly so he wouldn't know, but he opened his eyes and saw me. Daddy said, "What's the matter?" and tried to make me feel better despite how gravely ill he was at the time. Later, there was a resident on his unit at ManorCare that was combative and would often strike out at others. Daddy kept his distance from the man, thankfully, but always kept his eye on him. One day while Caleb, Rachel, and I were visiting, the man tried to come into Daddy's room. I went to the doorway to block the man's entrance. The man began swinging his fists at me and, although I wasn't in any real danger, Daddy was out of his chair, quick as lightening, pushing himself between the man and me in order to protect me and keep me from being hurt. Daddy had several different roommates after he got to ManorCare and he watched out for them as well. The one man, in particular, was very ill. Daddy often covered him up and turned the light out above the man when the man was napping. He even got help for the man when the man became extremely ill before he passed away.
Daddy was strong, brave, and courageous. I knew he was always those things when I was growing up, but I really saw how much so here at the end. He had Parkinson's Disease for 25 years and Dementia for 17 years, and he was still able to walk independently up to nine months ago. He still knew us and could still follow conversations when he was having a good day. Within the last year, he fought aspiration pneumonia after aspiration pneumonia until the antibiotics didn't help much any more. Daddy had a very long last couple of weeks, and despite everything, up till a couple days before his death, his vital signs were all completely normal. Everyone was amazed at how long he held on. It was a testimony to his physical strength, even after all these years of sickness, and his strong will to live and survive.
The most important thing I can say about Daddy is that he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior October 2009. Because of that, I know that he is in heaven right now where there is no more pain, or sorrow, or death, or tears, and I will see him again!
My dad died 2 1/2 months ago. It seems so recent, yet so very long ago.
My dad, Loren Russell Myers, was an amazing man! The following are words that I spoke at his funeral August 5, 2010:
I'm going to talk a little about my dad and things that are important to me about him. He was the best dad I could have asked for and I am very thankful to have him for my dad.
Daddy was a very good and honest man. He always tried to do what was right or what was fair. He was thankful to be an American and was proud of his service in the Army.
He was a good husband, father, and provider for his family and he took his responsibilities very seriously. Daddy worked very hard, sometimes working as many as three jobs at a time. Daddy sacrificed for us. He sacrificed his time, his money, and his wants or needs to make sure we had what we wanted or needed. One time on my way back to college, I got a flat tire down around Williamsport. Daddy came and gave me his car to use for several weeks until I got back home again, In the meantime, he took my car home to get me a new tire.
Daddy was very intelligent. I was always amazed at how smart Daddy was. He could do math in his head quicker than I could do it on the calculator. He knew the exact date of anything in history and loved to discuss politics and current events with me. Daddy also knew stats and who played what position on what baseball team for any particular year, as well as who won each World Series. A gentleman that he worked with in Hagerstown has told me how he and others at work would try to come upwith questions to stump my dad, whether they involved math, history, or sports. They never could stump him. There wasn't anything I can think of that Daddy couldn't do or at least figure out how to do. He enlarged our basement rec room including paneling it. He built rooms in the basement with closets and shelves. He built a cat house and dog runs. He planted gardens, flowers, trees, and grew the most beautiful and largest Impatiens I have ever seen.
Daddy was also the nickname man. He had lots of nicknames for us. My mom was either "Chat" or "Chattie"; Caleb was "The Boy"; Rachel was "Gravy"; and I was either "T-boy", "Trac II", or "Feetsietator". Daddy also had two things he was famous for saying when he was leaving: "Hold the fort" and "Good-bye, good luck, and may the good Lord take a liking to ya."
Daddy loved hunting and being outdoors. I have many memories of being with Daddy as he got his hunting gear ready for hunting trips. Somehow he was able to pack everything he needed for a 2-week hunting trip out west into a single Army dufflebag. I always loved when he came home from hunting, not only to see what he got, but also because he would let me take his gun into the house and lay it on his bed. That was the only time I was allowed to touch them. When Daddy went pheasant hunting, he let us help skin them. But the first thing we would do was pull out the longest tailfeather. We would keep them all so we could see which was the longest tailfeather of the season. Another favorite thing was to open the pheasant's craw to see if he had just been eating corn before Daddy shot him. Daddy usually had us carry his hunting vest to the basement after he was done hunting for the day so we could clean the pheasants later. One time, when I took the vest and set it on the basement floor, it started to move. I screamed and Daddy came down and pulled the pheasant out fo the vest. It started flying around the basement. Daddy ended that real quick! We had a hunting dog named Sparkey, who Daddy had for many years. Daddy had trained him not to eat his food until Daddy snapped his fingers, no matter how much Sparkey wanted to eat it. Sparkey waited every time until Daddy snapped his fingers and then dove into the food like he was starving. Sometimes Daddy took us hunting for pheasants. He wanted us to hold Sparkey until he got to a certain spot in the field. Sparkey could not stand to be separated from Daddy and practically went crazy trying to get loose, which he always did. Sometimees when Daddy was hunting, Sparkey would run off chasing something and would not come when called. So Daddy would leave his hunting vest on the ground, go home for lunch, and return to find Sparkey laying on his vest waiting for him to come back.
Daddy spent as much time with us as he could and we always had lots of fun. Wednesdays were a speical day when we were younger because that was Daddy's day off. We went bowling at Sunshine Lanes in Waynesboro and then ate a lunch of cheeseburgers, french fries, and milkshakes at Hardees. In the winter, we went ice skating and sledding down at Wibbie's pond and cabin. We took many trips to Gettysburg and Antietam where Daddy taught us all about the battles there and the different charges that were made. Daddy took us along when he went shooting clay pigeons and we got to pull the rope on the device that sent the clay pigeons flying into the air. We went on many vacations so that we could see different parts of the country. A few times we thought we were losing our minds. We were so bored and at the Pottery Factory so long that Daddy started singing, "Here we go, here we go, here we go" as we moved from one building to another. And we waited in a restaurant so long one time that Daddy started singing the Meox Mix song, much to Mom's embarrassment. And then there was the fateful deep sea fishing trip that lasted almost 7 hours. We were all seasick and didn't catch a single fish. At Christmas time, Daddy took us to a Christmas tree farm in the mountain where we would spend hours searching for just the right Douglas fir. We used hats, gloves, and scarves to mark all the possibilities until we narrowed it down to one. They were usually very large and full, and took up half of the living room.
When I was in Kindergarten, I got to stay with Daddy in the mornings one day a week. We often played games, most of which he made up. The game that I liked the best was rolling a ball down the driveway and trying to get it into a sand bucket. We took turns rolling the ball and holding the bucket. We laughed and had such a good time doing that. One time, also when I was in Kindergarten, Daddy took me to the range at the Sportsman's Farm to shoot one of his high-powered hunting rifles. The gun kicked and the scope hit me in the eye. He was a little nervous about me going to school with a black eye and told me not to tell anybody that I was shooting a gun that morning.
When I was older and getting ready to return to college after the summer, Daddy would take me places where it could be just the two of us spending time together. We went shopping at Harrisburg East Mall, going to one of the battlefields, and one time even to Lancaster. Daddy knew how much I liked Lancaster, so we spent one whole day there driving around looking at the farms and stopping to talk with some of the farmers. Our favorite thing that day was seeing a little Amish boy, probably 5 or 6 years old standing on a wagon seat driving a team of horses. The little boy was very proud to wave at us with one hand while still driving the team.
Daddy was very supportive of us and the things we did. He helped me make an Easter bonnet out of a paper plate in second grade. He helped me make a bird house and a rain gauge in 5th grade. He helped me with my 6th grade science fair project determining "How Light Affects Plants", which we got an honorable mention for. And he was present for every game or track meet I had, no matter where it was. I'm not sure how he did it, but I suspect that he made arrangements at work to come in early in order to get off early to see me. We practiced hitting and catching softballs many Saturday and Sunday afternoons, especially when I first started playing Little League and froze when I got up to bat.
Daddy was a quiet and serious man. He was a man of few words, so when he did talk, you knew it was important. He did not smile or laugh often, especially in later years as the Parkinson's Disease took its toll. When Daddy did smile, smirk, or especially, laugh, it felt like you'd just been given a treasure.
Daddy loved sports. He was a very good athlete when he was younger and loved to play baseball, soccer, and basketball. He enjoyed watching most any sport: baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, tennis, and especially the Olympics. Daddy sometimes got very involved when he watched sports and you could hear him yelling or pounding the floor when something didn't go as he had hoped.
Daddy never complained. Things were not always easy health-wise for Daddy. I remember him struggling for many years with insomnia, severe neck pain, and massive headaches. Daddy watched his own father slip away from Parkinson's Disease, and ultimately from aspiration. He, himself, was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at age 47. Throughout all the years of tremors and hallucinations until a good drug combination was found, I never once remember him complaining about it or his lot in life. When the Parkinson's Disease and the Dementia finally resulted in him having to go to the nursing home, he never really fought it but accepted it as the way things were.
Daddy was a good protector. He sought to protect my mom, sister, and me from anything that he thought might hurt us. I think that could be one of the reasons he never complained - he never wanted to upset us by how bad things really were for him. When he first told us that he had Parkinson's Disease, Daddy was more worried about us than himself. He tried to assure us that it was not contagious and we had nothing to worry about. Daddy was very concerned about Mom and tried to the best of his ability to watchy out for her or help her, even if it didn't work out that way. Daddy got very sick and had to go to the hospital on my birthday in January 2007, and this resulted in him having to go to the nursing home after his hospital stay. Daddy and I were in the Emergency Room. I was trying to cry quietly so he wouldn't know, but he opened his eyes and saw me. Daddy said, "What's the matter?" and tried to make me feel better despite how gravely ill he was at the time. Later, there was a resident on his unit at ManorCare that was combative and would often strike out at others. Daddy kept his distance from the man, thankfully, but always kept his eye on him. One day while Caleb, Rachel, and I were visiting, the man tried to come into Daddy's room. I went to the doorway to block the man's entrance. The man began swinging his fists at me and, although I wasn't in any real danger, Daddy was out of his chair, quick as lightening, pushing himself between the man and me in order to protect me and keep me from being hurt. Daddy had several different roommates after he got to ManorCare and he watched out for them as well. The one man, in particular, was very ill. Daddy often covered him up and turned the light out above the man when the man was napping. He even got help for the man when the man became extremely ill before he passed away.
Daddy was strong, brave, and courageous. I knew he was always those things when I was growing up, but I really saw how much so here at the end. He had Parkinson's Disease for 25 years and Dementia for 17 years, and he was still able to walk independently up to nine months ago. He still knew us and could still follow conversations when he was having a good day. Within the last year, he fought aspiration pneumonia after aspiration pneumonia until the antibiotics didn't help much any more. Daddy had a very long last couple of weeks, and despite everything, up till a couple days before his death, his vital signs were all completely normal. Everyone was amazed at how long he held on. It was a testimony to his physical strength, even after all these years of sickness, and his strong will to live and survive.
The most important thing I can say about Daddy is that he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior October 2009. Because of that, I know that he is in heaven right now where there is no more pain, or sorrow, or death, or tears, and I will see him again!
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