How Firm A Foundation

Jason's grandmother Wilfa Moorman went to be with Jesus this past Sunday morning. The viewing was yesterday, and the funeral was today.

I didn't see Grandma Moorman a whole lot - holidays, major family events, a random visit here or there. I didn't have long, sit down conversations with her; we would exchange hellos and pleasantries and show off the kids. After today's service, however, I feel like I know her much better now than before, and I am struck by the amazing legacy that she quietly left behind.

A business person from World Gospel Mission spoke at the funeral. Grandma Moorman worked in the accounting department at World Gospel Mission for many years. He painted us a beautiful picture of what Heaven may be like right now for Grandma - Kenyans, Bolivians, Hondurans, all greeting her in Heaven, thanking her for her part through World Gospel Mission in them accepting Jesus Christ.

Another gentleman spoke about Grandma, saying that you couldn't help but fall in love with her, and he couldn't think of one unkind thing to say about her. I believe him whole heartedly.

Her pastor spoke of her and Grandpa's faithfulness in the church, in reading the Bible, and praying for others.

The service ended with a tape recording of Grandpa and Grandma Moorman singing "Each Step I Take," a song stating that every step they take is one closer to the Lord. How fitting for a service like this. It was beautiful.

After the service the family had one last chance to say goodbye. She has 7 children, 20 some grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, all but a few in attendance. It was obvious the impact that this woman had on her family. As my grandpa would say " Not a scrub in the bunch." Since Jason and I have been married for 10 years, I have gotten to know Jason's aunts and uncles, and I have a lot of respect for them. I enjoy watching the interactions between 7 brothers and sisters. And of course I've really gotten to know my mother-in-law, and she and my father-in-law are amazing people who are continuing the legacy that was started generations ago.

I started fast forwarding into the future (the very far future, hopefully,) wondering what people will be saying about me at my funeral. "She played okay at short field in softball." "Didn't she have a blog?" "I think she attended our church." To have them say anything close about me like they did Grandma Moorman is one lofty goal. Just sitting in that service today, listening to the testamonies, made me want to be a better Christian, a better wife, a better mother, and a better servant. That's what Grandma Moorman's life was - a great example of what the above should be. I know that just a little from personal observation, but a lot from the impact she had on others and her family.

Watching the girls in this process was interesting. Anna just matter-of-fact accepts the fact that Grandma is sleeping and is now with Jesus. Elizabeth was much more emotional, then started questioning on the way to the cemetary. What if it's all made up? What if the Bible isn't true and there isn't really a heaven and when you die, that's it? Then we won't see Grandma again. We had a quick conversation on faith, but it's hard to explain such hard things when I don't fully understand myself. It was quite comical to listen to Jason and I try to explain to Anna that Grandma is with Jesus, even though she was right there in front of us.

This post is kind of all over the place, but the service today really had an impact on me, and understanding the life Grandma Moorman lived really impacted me. We sang the song How Firm a Foundation, and I think about the foundation that has been laid for our family, on both sides (mine and Jason's) and feel like I am falling short of where I need to be for our girls to continue that heritage. I want to strive to continue that firm foundation for our family. As I passed by Grandma for the last time, I leaned down into her ear and whispered "Thank you," to thank her for her life, her witness, the example she was to her children, and I know right now she is reaping the rewards.

Save RadioU

I read the letters to the editor on a daily basis. I have often been tempted to write my own letter to the editor, but I never have. There is finally a cause that I am passionate enough about to send in my own letter to the editor. I have not officially sent this in (will tonight) so I am posting this for two reasons. First, I want to get the word out to whoever will listen that RadioU will cease to play in this area in a few short days. Second, I want feedback on my article because I am a little nervous about everyone in the community reading my opinion (that's ironic, I post them on here all of the time.)

Keep RadioU on Grant County Airwaves

This letter is in response to the June 23rd article regarding Indiana Wesleyan taking over the 94.3 radio station, currently known as RadioU. Randall King, director of broadcast media at IWU, states in the article that starting in September, the station will “offer a mix of contemporary Christian music and locally based programming.” In addition, the article states that the station will be off the air from July 1 until September. As an avid listener and financial supporter of RadioU, I am very concerned about the possibility of RadioU becoming unavailable to this area. In addition to the thirtysomethings like me who listen to RadioU, I’m sure there is many more high school and college aged people in Marion who make this their primary radio station. In fact, when I have been in the Indiana Wesleyan locker room, I have heard RadioU playing over the speaker. There are already several radio stations available in this area that play contemporary Christian music; WBCL is one well-known example. RadioU is the only music station in this area that offers Christian rock and alternative music. RadioU is a ministry to the local high school and college students, not only by the music that is played but also by the programming that targets this age group. The station is 100% listener supported, so in between songs, listeners hear encouraging sound bits, testimonies from musicians, and music news regarding their favorite bands instead of commercials. There is a help line that listeners may call for support. I’m sure there are many people in the Marion area like me who financially support RadioU and their ministry. I hope through community members like me, IWU realizes the impact RadioU has on the younger generation of Grant County and decides to keep this wonderful ministry opportunity on Grant County airwaves.

Grace

I was heading down St. Rd 22 with my mom and Elizabeth a couple of days ago, returning from a trip to Target. Of all the stores rumored to come to town, Target is the one I wish would actually come. Anyway, when I am travelling on a highway or interstate, most often I set the cruise at 5 miles above the speed limit. Sometimes I will get in a little bit more of a hurry and will set it 8 miles above. Today was one of those days. I was cruising down 22 going about 62-63 m.p.h. when I saw it - the police car parked on the opposite burn facing the other way. In that split second I had to decide what to do. Do I keep on going at the current speed as if I don't think I am doing anything wrong, or do I slam on the brakes (which I've always heard you are NOT supposed to do because it makes you look guilty.) My reflexes took over and I hit the brakes, taking my car down to the legal limit 55 m.ph. Maybe he wasn't paying attention to me. Maybe other cars have gone by him going much faster - I know many cars regularly go 10-15 m.p.h. over the speed limit. I get passed a lot when I am driving. My eyes darted to the rearview mirror. No such luck. As soon as I passed him, his lights flashed on and the car started moving.

I had just commented to Mom a few minutes earlier that I was sleepy - I was no longer having trouble keeping my eyes open now. My heart started pounding fast, and I was already calculating how much this ticket was going to cost. I looked back in the mirror. Because a lot of traffic had been coming the opposite way, it had taken him quite a bit of time to turn around, so he was pretty far behind me. Then I realized Elizabeth wasn't in a booster seat. Boy, it sounds like I am not a safe driver or law abiding citizen at this point. We do have a booster for her, but it was in the other car. "Quick, Elizabeth, get in Anna's booster seat." Elizabeth shoots me a confused look. "Hurry, now, get in the seat." Well we are just getting safer by the minute. Elizabeth unbuckled her seat belt, climbed across the back seat, and sat in Anna's booster. "I can't get the seat belt buckled," she told me. Well, the fines are just piling up at this point. Speeding, child without a booster seat, and unbuckled child in the back. The car is creeping closer to me. Snap, I hear the buckle go into place. At least we've got that going for us.

Now the police car is right on my bumper. My cruise is set firmly on 54.5 m.p.h. as it has been for the last few minutes. I'm getting irritated at the officer - just pull me over and get it over with. We were approaching a stop light when I looked back in my mirror and saw the officer back off - he made a U turn in the road and headed the opposite way. "He was just trying to prove a point," Mom told me. We went through the light when Mom said, "I think you wanted to turn there." I was so rattled that I missed my turn on 37. "Whew, that was close," I said. I cut through a gravel parking lot and started down 37, with my cruise control set firmly on 61 m.ph.

To date I have never received a speeding ticket. I have been pulled over twice; both times I was in college. The first time was very late at night coming into Fairmount off of 69. A car was messing around with me and would tail me for awhile, then would back off, then would get really close, then would act like it was going to pass me, then would back off. I sped up to get away from it, but as I did I came over some railroad tracks into town and was going too fast. When the officer pulled me over, he asked for my license. After noticing my last name was Porter, he asked if I was related to (Mom) Porter. I told him that was my mom. He informed me that he had pulled her over just a week or so ago, but he had recognized her from her stint as a teacher in the Madison-Grant school system many years ago. She did not receive a ticket. I explained to him my reason for going too fast, and he let me off, too.

The other time I was pulled over was for speeding, but I was not wearing my seat belt, so instead of giving me a speeding ticket, I got a seatbelt violation instead. I now faithfully wear my seat belt. Maybe if I ever get a speeding ticket, I will faithfully abide by the speed limit???

I've Been Tagged Addendum

I'm not sure if addendum is the appropriate word for the title, but it's 12:11 a.m. and I'm not going to take the time to find out. When I was posting earlier tonight, I got to number eight, and my original number eight had slipped my mind. I was fervently trying to remember number eight so I could finish up the post, but the kids were needing to get out of the tub, so I hurriedly typed in the backup number eight about the speeding ticket. As I was brushing my teeth just now, I remembered my original number eight, and because it is SUMMER and I don't have to get up early tomorrow, I will add this little post.

The original #8. My parents bought their first house in 19 sixty something, and my brother and I were both born in that house (not literally, but you know what I mean.) I lived in that house until the summer before my sophomore year of college when we moved to the address where my parents now live. My brother was somewhat newly married and was renting a house a couple of blocks away. I'm not sure if they were already looking for homes to buy or not, but he and his wife ended up buying our childhood home from my parents. A few years and 1 kid later with another on the way, they decided to buy a larger house. Jason and I were living in a house a few blocks down the road, and when the opportunity to buy my childhood home presented itself, we took it and purchased the home from my brother. A couple of years and 1 kid later, we decided to buy a larger house. Jason's sister was living a few blocks away, and she ended up purchasing the house from us. A few years and 1 husband later, she decided to buy a larger house, and the home finally went out of the family. Each family added their own little flavor to the house, but it still remained pretty much the same through each transition. My bedroom went from my bedroom to my nephew's bedroom to Elizabeth's bedroom to a guest room. I haven't been back to the house since Jen and Scott moved, but I have taken Elizabeth by the house and told her that was the first house she lived in.

Elizabeth says that when she gets married, she and her husband are going to live in our house - at this point she said Jason and I could stay, too. We'll see in 20 years. Anna says she is going to be a carpenter when she grows up, and she is going to build mommy and daddy a house and herself a house. She is going to live by herself she says, although she named who her husband is going to be the other day. We're not sure if she is going to let him live with her. Two kids, same parents, way different personalities. Go figure.

On a side note, triathlon training began yesterday. I am going to try to post updates like I did for last year's race, but that means I've actually got to start training. I did do yesterday's (35 minute bike) and figured playing in two softball games tonight offset the 20 minute run requirement. We are starting 7 weeks earlier this summer, so I figure I can take it easy these first 7 weeks.

Wow, with so much to blog about now, it's a good thing it's summer break.

I've Been Tagged Part 2

6. I have only owned and primarily driven two cars since getting my driver's license when I turned 16. My first car was a 1990 gray grand am. My parents bought matching 1990 grand ams in 1990, one gray and one maroon, because they were IWU colors (is that school spirit or what?) My brother ended up buying the maroon grand am after he was married, and he drove the thing until it died just a few months ago. I believe my brother, not counting the replacement he just got for the grand am, also has only owned and primarily driven two cars since getting his driver's license (except for the family minivan) and he could write quite a hilarious post on stories about his two cars. However, this is not his blog, so maybe he will have to be a guest writer on Anon's blog and tell you all about it. This man drives cars until they will drive no more. But back to the gray grand am. I was given the gray grand am as a bribe, I mean incentive, to attend IWU the fall of 1993. Though it may seem unfair that my brother had to BUY his grand am and I was GIVEN mine, let me tell you that he was GIVEN his first car the Christmas after he turned 16, and though I was expecting the Christmas after I turned sixteen to either open up a set of keys or be taken on a mystery drive to the location of my new car, I was only told that I could be the primary driver of the gray grand am and drop my mom off at the office each morning before school. But that's another story for another post. After being the "primary driver" my junior and senior years of high school, I was allowed to drive the car three blocks down the road, park it in Evans Hall, and then call it my own. I faithfully drove that car (which I lovingly named Beauregard) until the spring of 2000, when the car would randomly die with Elizabeth in the back seat (she was only months old) and it needed more repairs than it was worth. We drove the car to Muncie, coasted it into the parking lot of Susie Morris Honda, and we picked out my next, and current car, a 1998 Honda Accord. I am still driving this car, and unlike my friend Kelley's Honda, I have not had to do any repairs on it except for upkeep and one windshield wiper that fell off at a very bad time (see Anon's blog.)

7. Though I was not officially introduced to my husband until the summer in between my sophomore and junior years of college, our paths had unofficially crossed many times before then, and we didn't even know it. He grew up just a school system over from me (a COUNTY SCHOOL) and attended the same church camp I did for several years (Fairmount.) In addition, when I was sixteen, I was a counselor at JBC in Fairmount, and his sister JoEllen was one of the kids in my group. In fact, my mother-in-law has a picture of me with my campers in front of our dorm - I had some of the Brookhaven gang. He even went out on a double date with a basketball player from Taylor, one of our biggest rivals, and this basketball player was the roommate of my best friend at Taylor their freshman year. The only reason our paths finally crossed was because he stayed on campus in an apartment complex with some of my friends, and when I would go over to hang out, we would chat.

8. I have never had a speeding ticket. I would type more about this topic, but I am going to write about this in my next post.

I now tag everyone in my links (except Wuertleys, Missy who hasn't posted in a year, and Bekah who tagged me) plus my sister-in-law Jen who hasn't made it to my links yet but will as soon as I can get Jason to add her. I haven't kept up with blogging too much during the school year, so if any of you have already been tagged and posted, please disregard.

I've Been Tagged

Actually, I was tagged quite a long time ago. I had to look back at Bekah's post to see what that even meant, and I found her post in the May 2007 archives. I knew that being tagged had something to do with me giving out some facts about myself, but I was hoping there were predetermined questions to answer. Instead I have realized that I just talk about 8 random facts about myself. Since I'm a pretty boring person (meaning mostly boring, not pretty AND boring, although if I considered myself as such, I would have two random facts knocked out already,) I'm not sure how exciting of a post this will be, but after three days of sitting in the sun at a yard sale, this type of post is about all I can handle for now. So here goes...

1. I know I have covered this in a past post, but it is a random odd fact about myself - I sit down when I take my shower. This started when I was a kid. I am not an early riser, but ever since I have been old enough to bathe myself completely (which was when I was about 16 because my mom is compulsive about cleanliness,) I have taken a shower in the morning. I was/am so tired when first get up that I need that extra 10-15 minutes not on my feet. When I was in middle school and high school, I would get up, shower, and then go back to bed for 20 minutes before I finished getting ready. We were on a strict shower schedule since there was one shower and four people, so I had to jump in when I could, and sometimes my body wasn't quite ready. There are some exceptions to me sitting down - our camper shower (not enough room or hot water,) campground bathroom facilities (do I really need to say more?) and some hotels depending if I am the first to shower (if anyone else has gone before me, I figure they have washed away the previous inhabitants cooties.) Sometimes if I am bathing in a stand in shower only, I have to survey the situation to see if I can scrunch in. This is how our shower is in our bedroom, and it works okay unless I am 9 months pregnant.

2. If you follow Anon's blog, you already know this, but I am a huge Skillet fan. When we go to their concerts, I am always walking the fine line of loyal adoring fan and obsessive stalker. I mean, I REALLY like this band. Anon and I have driven 5 hours for a weekend festival because they were playing, and three hours for a 1 hour 15 minute concert. My oldest knows several of their songs by heart (and by number on the Comatose cd) and my youngest even has two that she requests. From middle school through college, my music tastes leaned towards bands like Nirvana, Guns n Roses, Def Leppard, Metallica, and my two favorite, The Cranberries and Queen - great music, not so great lyrics. Skillet not only has incredible music, but their lyrics have substance and meaning and for the most part are appropriate for my 7 year old to hear.

3. Before I married my husband, I had been camping 0 times. The only state parks I had stepped foot in were Mammoth Cave when I was 3 and Turkey Run when I was in the youth group. In the fall of 2002, we bought a pop up camper, and ever since camping has turned into probably the most fun experiences we have as a family. I would have never dreamed that I would turn into someone who liked to camp, but now we can hardly get enough of it.

4. I love my job. I mention this as a random fact because I think it has merit. It seems like when I hear most people talk about their jobs these days, they are not happy where they are. They either don't like their boss, are looking for a new job, don't want to work but have to, aren't working but want to, or say they would love their job "if only." I'm not saying my work environment is perfect, but after 10 years, I can honestly say I have no desire to quit or work anywhere else. Aside from getting up at 6:00 a.m., I look forward (most days) to going to work, don't watch the clock all day waiting to be done, and even don't mind going in when I don't have to. Of course, I am going to fully enjoy summer vacation, but by August, I will be ready for a new school year.

5. I'm scared of the dark. I'm getting better now that I have kids, because I don't want them to be scared of the dark, so when Jason isn't home and we have to enter the house by ourselves at night, I pretend that I have no problem going into the house. He was out pretty late one night with some guys from church (just wanted to put in there that they were guys from church so you wouldn't wonder what he was doing out so late) and after I put the kids to bed, I searched the entire house, inside closets, under beds before I went to sleep. Why this fear of the dark? Growing up, my parents thought it was fun to randomly turn out all the lights in the house, starting a game of hide and go seek in the dark. I didn't know which was worse, looking for them by myself or staying in one place. Also, my dad would creep down the hall after my brother and I had just gone to bed and then jump up and scare us. Actually, I had a great childhood, and the real reason I am scared of the dark is probably because my mom was, too.

Since this post is getting rather long, and because my family is leaving for a bike ride, I am going to have to post "Tagged, part 2" at a later date. However, tagged part one probably hasn't been too informative for any of you who have read this blog for awhile, because I think I have already posted on each of the above facts. See, I told you I was a mostly boring (maybe predictable is a better word) person.