Singing His Praise!

MOTHER’S DAY JOYS  (started this on Thursday, May 7, 2009)

Today I finally ventured out to take a walk very casually since my toe nail removal and then two weeks later I walked into a chair and got a hairline fracture of one the small bones above my fourth toe.

I keep telling myself that I am going to start walking.  Not a hard fast walk, just a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful our-of-doors.

Several  trees are in bloom now, There are forsythia blossoms on both sides of the entry to our little village and a few flowers are popping there heads out.  It was  a blessing to be able to breath in the fresh air.

There is a nice little playground over by the Riverside apartments, and I decided to take the sidewalk to that and walked out on the basketball court over to the edge of the woods.  The birds were singing joyfully and I could see the water standing in the woods (probably the source of  mosquitos who torture us when we try to sit out in the swing in the evening).

I returned home after about forty-five minutes and sat down to do some bookwork and our grand-daughter, Hillary, called and asked if she and sister Lois could bring some dresses to alter for a wedding for which they will be bridesmaids on the 16th of May.

They said they would pay me, but having them come with Hillary’s two little boys, Riley and Wyatt,  Lois and her friend Ben was pay enough for me.  As a matter of fact I should pay them for the enjoyment that I would receive.

Just before they arrived I received a call on our alert phone and one of the residents needed an ambulance, so a hurriedly contacted “911” and gave them directions, then hurriedly grabbed my let-in key and went to direct the squad to the correct apartment.   By the time I was finished and was on the way back to our apartment, Hillary drove into the parking lot.

After fitting the girls and marking the hem it was about time for lunch so I quickly made up some chicken salad and we had lunch together.

Our apartment is pretty small so I had offered Lois my old cedar chest, which her father is going to refinish for her. I had it standing on end in the corner in our bedroom.
I was happy when Ben took opportunity to flex his muscles as he picked it up and once he was outside raised it over his head and took it out to the van.

After they left I checked my email and followed a link to our son, Ken’s, site
http:/wwwkenpierpont,com  and read a beautiful mother’s day greeting which he wrote to me in 2005 and posted again today.

Then this evening our son Nathan contacted me through chats for a video chat and I was able to see and chat with all of them. They also came for a visit Thursday and we had a sweet visit.

Today we also heard from each of the other children by email.

My children and grandies are bringing me more JOY than I could have ever imagined and as I have said many times when the children ask what I want or need for a special day I truthfully had to say and will repeat again at this Mother’s day season.  “My greatest JOY is for them to serve God and be in the very center of His will every day”.

They always interpreted that as “Be Good”.

I pray for all of them every day and though I would love to have them all closer geographically, I am thankful that they are close to God and faithful to HIM.  This is my JOY.

Some might interpret being in the center of HIS will, as being a preacher or a missionary or in full-time Christian ministry, but I mean being close to God everyday… There is no such thing as a “part time child of God”. It must be all or nothing.

Lord, Make me an Instrument  of love, peace, and joy and an example to all my children and grandchildren.

On Mother’s day I sang “To Be Like Jesus”, praying that I could encourage mother’s to live in such a way that their children would see Jesus in their daily lives and then the children too would have a desire to honor HIM in their own lives.

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in HIS own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

TO BE LIKE JESUS
Dick and Melody Tuney

A LITTLE GIRL IS BEGGING FOR AFFECTION
A LITTLE BOY NEEDS A HAND TO HOLD
AND OH, HOW HE LOVES THOSE LITTLE CHILDREN;
HOW HE LONGS TO BE A FRIEND
TO YOUNG AND OLD.

HIS TENDER SPIRIT WELCOMES ALL WHO SEEK HIM;
HIS GIVING HEART ASKS NOTHING IN RETURN.
AND I HAVE FOUND HIS PROMISES FAITHFUL;
I SEEK TO LIVE MY LIFE THAT I MAY LEARN

TO BE LIKE  JESUS,
TO BE LIKE JESUS,
TO BE THE ONE I WAS CREATED TO BE
TO BE LIKE JESUS, TO BE LIKE JESUS,
MAY ALL WHO SEE MY HEART
FIND HIM IN ME.

WHEN I RECEIVED HIS SALVATION;
HIS HEAV’NLY LOVE FILLED MY EARTHLY SOUL,
AND I BECAME A NEW CREATION
MY BROKENNESS HE MADE COMPLETELY WHOLE

AND THRO’ THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD
I’VE BEEN COMMISSIONED.
TO BE A LIGHT THAT SHINES 
FOR HIM ALONE
SURROUND BY HIS INFINITE MERCY,
MAY MY LIFE ALWAYS BE KNOWN.

TO BE LIKE  JESUS,    TO BE LIKE JESUS,
TO BE THE ONE
I WAS CREATED TO BE
TO BE LIKE JESUS,
TO BE LIKE JESUS,
MY ONLY EARTHLY GOAL FULFILL
WHEN I’M CENTERED IN HIS WILL
MAY ALL WHO SEE MY LIFE
FIND HIM IN ME

IN ME

Oh,  yes, they all called me on Mother’s day too.

Every one at church greeted one another with a “happy Mother’s Day” . and I said…..” Oh I certainly am, it is a wonderful Mother’s day.”

I wish I could have made a Trophy for everyone…

The Snowman Trophy went to the Pierpont Family at Higgins Lake.. for their huge tunnel.   Great Job!

The Angel Trophy went to Luke Pierpont for his Giant Marshmallow.

The Bunny Trophy went to Deborah Johnson in WA

If you scroll down you can see the entries.

I do understand that there was another entry which I never received which was posted on the Butters FaceBook  which I will show as soon as I get it.It is a snow Easter Basket made by Kassedy and Aubrie Evans for Riley and Wyatt.

Thank you to all who participated.  That was great fun for me.

CONTEST NOV.  2008 – SPRINGS LAST SNOW 2009

THE CONTEST IS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS… JUST FOR FUN… THIS IS ONE OF THE TROPHIES…A LITTLE CROCHETED SNOW ANGEL…PLEASE SEND YOUR ENTRIES TO MY EMAIL..

The contest will continue until the last snow in the spring 2009                         

In the last year my dear husband and I had the trauma and adventure of moving and scaling down our belongings from an eight room to a five room house.

Yes, when we were young and first started out in the ministry I loved the “Adventures in Moving” including the U-Haul truck or trailer, seeing how the Lord provided little things for us like reaching into the curtain boxes and finding just the right type and color of curtains for the right number of windows in each room. The joy of meeting new friends in Christ and new avenues of ministry. Yet, missing the ministry and friend of the previous work

This Sunday with tears we shared with our people here that we believe it has come time for us to retire and move to a small retirement village in Michigan, not to far from our previous ministry at Jonesville, where we believe the Lord has opened up a place.
The people were so sweet and understanding and encouraging.

Ken will be a key person on the night shift in exchange for our housing in a very nice small apartment. It has recently been completely redecorated with all new appliances. It is just across the street from one of our sweet ladies that Ken and I have called on, who attended the Jonesville church until she became house bound. She is the person who referred us to the job there at the Friendship Village in Litchfield, MI.

At this stage in our life now, this is definitely not what we would call “Adventures in Moving” even though we are still using the tried and true biggest white truck they have.
I just pray that we can get all of our saved treasures tucked into our little place.

Now we are at it again and this time it is a different step in our lives. Scaling down again and parting with dear treasures gained in fifty years of ministry. The treasures consist of four file cabinets of sermon materials, pamphlets and articles in his “Memory-O-Matic” file system (before the computer age). for Ken and two files of music, teaching materials, flannel-graph materials and a five drawer “Simplicity” file of crafts and cassette accompaniment tapes and two three drawer “McCall’s files of yarn and sewing supplies (used in my sewing business) complete with an upholstered board on top for a cutting table, and five sewing machines. Between the two of us Ken and I have seven bookcases with approximately 1,500 books.

I donated my two commercial sewing machine prior to our last move to the Wycliffe Bible translators in Florida where Ken’s brother Bill and his wife, Billie ministered for the past few years)

Today both of us went through our closets and tried to be realistic and parted with a lot of clothes which in the past we felt we could not do with out.

Several times I would take an item and put in in the trash, take it out, put it in the pile for a charitable organization, take it out again. One such item was a sweet little plaque that the pastor’s grandson had given me at the Christian school where we taught, with eight adorable baby kittens in decoupage on a little piece of wood. That little boy grew to be a teenager and was struck and killed by a truck while mowing the lawn. I have treasured that little plague for years and of course there are many more things just like that, so hard to let go.

But, our greatest treasures we do not have to let go. The wonderful memories of our ministry and the dear friends we have from Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana to Michigan.

In all of our years of ministry there has never been a time when we have been without.

Psalm 37:25
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Our precious Lord has met our every need and many of our wants. There is not enough ink to write all the wonderful joys and heartaches of the ministry, the strength that the Lord gives through hardship and trials, the wonderful joy of leading someone to the saving knowledge of Christ as Savior and seeing the Saints grow in grace and knowledge of their faith.

My prayer today is, as we are trying to accept our limitations of increasing age and decreasing health that we will have a sweet spirit of love for one another and those to whom the Lord allows us to minister in our everyday lives. That we will not use that weakness as an excuse to become bitter or lax in our total commitment to You and that we will honor You in all that we do.

Amen

• TO KNOW THE JOY OF HAVING ALL OF YOUR CHILDREN TRUST CHRIST AS THEIR SAVIOUR AT AN EARLY AGE.

MELONY JANE (PIERPONT) EVANS SALVATION 8-29-60 WHILE HEARING ME WITNESS TO A NEIGHBOR BAPTIZED WAYLAND FIRST BAPTIST, WAYLAND, MI 1-26-1964

KENNETH LEE PIERPONT SALVATION 5-31-1963, DURING FAMILY DEVOTIONS WITH DAD WHILE MOM WAS AT WORK BAPTIZED 12-25-66, HI WAY BY-WAY BAPTIST CHURCH, NEAR MIDLAND, MI.

KEVIN ALAN PIERPONT SALVATION DURING DEVOTIONS WITH MOM, 4-25-1970 BAPTISZED 3-17-1974 BY BLESSED HOPE BAPTIST, DAYTON , OH

NATHAN SHIPLEY PIERPONT SALVATION 7-28-1972 DURING DEVOTIONS WITH MOM BAPTIZED BY HIS BROTHER WHILE PASTORING PLEASANT RIDGE CHURCH OHIO 6-5-1977

• TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE FAITHFULLY SERVING THE LORD IN THEIR VARIOUS MINISTRIES AND DESIROUS OF RAISING THEIR CHILDREN TO HONOR THE LORD WITH THERE LIVES.MELONY AND HUSBAND JIM (PASTOR)- GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH, OTT0WA, IL
  KENNETH (SR. PASTOR) AND WIFE LOIS(HATTON) PIERPONT- EVANGEL
  BAPTIST, TAYLOR, MIKEVIN (PASTOR) AND WIFE CAROLYN (WORTH) PIERPONT – HIGGINS LAKE
  BAPTIST, ROSCOMMON, MI

  NATHAN (MINISTER OF MUSIC) AND WIFE JENNIFER (GIEHL) PIERPONT,
  NORTHEASTERN BAPTIST, KALAMAZOO, MI

  TO BE SO BLESSED WITH THIRTY-ONE GRANDCHILDREN PLUS ONE ON THE WAY IN DEC. AND NINE GREAT GRANDCHILDREN. WHO CALL US ON THE PHONE TO LET US KNOW THAT THEY HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST AS THEIR SAVIOUR. TWO OF THEM ARE YOUTH PASTORS AND TWO IN TRAINING FOR MISSIONS WORK, ONE SERVING FAITHFULLY WITH HER HUSBAND IN THEIR LOCAL CHURCH AND THREE BEGINNING A MINISTRY OF SINGING GOD’S PRAISE, AND MANY YOUNG ONES WHO LOVE YOU AND SERVE YOU IN THEIR YOUTH.

  TO ME THIS IS THE GREATEST MOTHER’S DAY GIFT ANY OTHER COULD EVER ASK FOR. IT IS MY GREATEST DESIRE THAT ALL OF MY DESCENDANTS COME TO KNOW CHRIST PERSONALLY, HAVE A GREAT DESIRE TO HONOR THE LORD WITH THEIR LIVES AND LIVE FAITHFULLY FOR HIM (NOT NECESSARILY AS PASTOR OR MISSIONARY) BUT WHERE EVER AND WHATEVER THE LORD WANTS FOR THEM WHICH OF COURSE WOULD MEAN FAITHFULNESS TO HIM IN EVERY AREA OF THEIR LIVES.

  I PRAY THAT I WILL BE THE KIND OF EXAMPLE AND WHEN I FAIL THAT THEY WILL KNOW THAT MY GREATEST DESIRE IS TO HONOR MY SAVIOUR WHO HAS BEEN MY HELP AND STRENGTH.

“THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ALL YOU’VE DONE”