WHOA!!!

Can you see him? The lizard on the windshield? This happened to me on the way to work yesterday. I had just finished a session with a student that is preparing to take his GED test. My mind was swirling with the many things I had to do:

• sew David's pants
• pick up drycleaning
• buy baking soda and vinegar for the volcano experiment
• pick up rolls for church dinner
• get home on time to bring David to work
• look for cheapest place to fill up with gas

And suddenly, PLOP!! Out of nowhere flew this little lizard and he landed on my windshield! He slowly made his way to the left side of the window and we had a few eyeball-to-eyeball moments. I sort of was hoping he would talk to me like the little green guy on the Geico commercials. When I stopped for a red light, he hopped off.

I couldn't help but think of how often our lives feel like that little lizard. We are just plodding along, going where we need to go to get done what we need to do, and suddenly....out of nowhere, we are swept off of our feet! It can happen with something as simple as a change of plans to something big like an illness or death, but the result is the same. We are suddenly doing something we NEVER planned on doing, heading in a direction we never planned on going, and hanging on for dear life!! Have you ever had that happen?

When it happens, it's good to know the driver of the car on whose windshield you land! I'm so thankful that while interruptions may seem like a wild ride, they really are controlled by a God that is Sovereign and in control of ALL things.

*********

Today I had a cute surprise waiting on my coffee table. I was dusting off a bowl of artificial fruit, when I noticed some teethmarks! I had to laugh. I knew exactly who had tried to bite the apples...my little friend, Mickalah

Here she is! She spent the night and I didn't have pajamas for her, so I put her in one of Elise's t-shirts. It was wwaaayyy too big for her and she kept pulling up the falling sleeves and reminding me that, "Elise's pink dress is too big Mrs. Joyce!!"

I love to hear her call me "Mrs. Joyce". She thinks that is my last name. She calls my husband "Mr. Joyce"!

As you can see, it doesn't take much to entertain her. She occupied herself for quite sometime with the umbrella.

Mick and the "way too big pink dress"

Child Protective Services

Want your heart to break? Go to the Child Protective Services website and look at all the children that are in need of a home.

I went there recently because a woman in our church was sharing with us the fact that CPS is now asking churches to help them. Because of the economic situation in our country, child abuse has risen, while the available homes for children has declined.

Did you know that when a child is taken out of their home because of abuse, if there is no available foster home, the child has to sleep in the CPS office until he/she can be placed? I was appalled! A friend of mine who has adopted several children from CPS said, "Oh, yeah! It happens all the time! The little girl we adopted was only 5 months old and had to stay in a car seat all day in her caseworkers office until she was placed in our home."

I am in the talking stages with our church to begin a small ministry to the caseworkers. If they get a call to take a child out of a home immediately, our church is a place they can call if they need diapers, formula, toothpaste, shampoo, p.j.s, clothes, etc.

If I could, I would take all of these children home to live with me! One little boy that is looking for a "forever home" had this write up under his picture: M longs for a family. He does well in school and loves sports. Despite the fact that all of the toes on one foot have been amputated due to abuse, M still has the will to play football with his friends...

Who would do something that cruel to a child? Please join me in praying for these children. Maybe you can think of ways you and your friends could be of help to these precious little ones and also to their caseworkers. The caseworkers have such huge work loads. I think there is a ministry in writing them, encouraging them, and praying for them as they go into a real life battle zone everyday!

God's love for his children...it boggles my mind. But even though I don't understand the depth of His love, much less the "why" of His love, knowing the love He has for me and that it is based on fact not feelings, gives me a depth of security that no one or no situation can take away.

Whew! That was a pretty long sentence! I think my writing must be getting too much influence from the Apostle Paul...I mean, seriously,have you ever really looked at that guy's sentence structure?

I digress...

When I returned to Michigan after living in Chicago for several years, I returned as a very confused young woman. The "boyfriend thing" that I wrote about a few days ago was a difficult time in my life. I returned to Grand Rapids feeling very lonely, very shaken, very uncertain about my future. It seems funny now to think that at such a young age I felt so "washed up", but that is truly how I felt.

Enter, John DeVries.. He was the pastor at my parents church when I returned home to live. I first met him in Chicago, where I had his oldest daughter in my class. John had a real love for words and poetry. I'll never forget the first time he recited all the words to this old hymn:

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star,

And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled,

And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain:

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,

And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,

When men who here refuse to pray,

On rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,

All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Often, John would use the last verse of the song as a prayer that concluded the worship service. As I sat under his teaching, as the thought of God's love for me began to warm and soften my cold, confused heart, my life slowly changed and took on a new direction.

Today I received the "ditty" below in an email from my sister Nancy. It's just a little part from a very long email, but this is the part that touched me...that reminded me again - and in a new way - the love that God has for His children. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did...

Is it possible for someone to give 101%??? Think about this:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E

1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%

Now, look how far the love of God will take you:


L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%


Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Introducing Micca

I want you all to meet Micca. She is the oh-so-talented leader that I was privileged to have during the She Speaks conference this past summer. I have been wanting to write about the words from the old hymn, Jesus, Lover of My Soul. Until I am able to get my thoughts together on that topic, here is Micca's take on the infinite love our Savior has for us:

San Diego

Today was absolutely gorgeous...no humidity in the air, no clouds in the sky...only blue skies and fresh air! This weather put a pep in my step and a smile on my face! When I experience this kind of day, I call it a "San Diego" day. Those of you that have had the joy of spending time in San Diego will know what I'm talking about. The weather there always seems to be perfect. It's the kind of weather where the weatherman must have the most unchallenging job in the world simply because the weather is always perfect. If you don't believe me, check out their extended forecast for next week:

Thursday
Oct 29
Sunny
High 68°F
Low 54°F
Precip 0 %

Friday
Oct 30
Sunny
High 68°F
Low 55°F
Precip 0 %


Saturday
Oct 31
Sunny
High 67°F
Low 56°F
Precip 0 %

Sunday
Nov 01
Sunny
High 66°F
Low 56°F
Precip 0 %

See what I mean?

I first visited San Diego during the summer of 1975. How I got there and why I got there is my story for the day....

I had just completed my first year of teaching and in many ways, it was one of the most difficult years of my young life (I was 22 years old at the time). To understand why it was difficult, I have to go back even further...back to 1970. I am now 17 years old. I am a freshman at Trinity. I know no one and no one knows me. At the end of our freshman orientation, my RA walks into my room. She tells me one of her friends that she went to high school with had noticed me and wondered if I might want to go out. Why he didn't ask me himself, I never quite understood. Anyway, I told her I would think about it. I was dating my "high school sweetheart", and while we agreed we could and would date others, I wasn't quite ready for that to take place so soon! The next day "mystery man" introduced himself. He was 6'8", a star basketball player, and yes, I went out with him!

For the rest of the year, we were connected at the hip! We did everything together and when it was time for freshman year to end, I didn't know how my life would go on!! So melodramatic!!

During my sophomore year, at the ripe old age of 19, we were engaged to be married.

During my junior year we broke up. However...the very last day of school, he asked if I would like to have an ice cream cone. Icecream!!! He always knew my weakness!

We dated during my senior year, but it was off and on...and ended up being more off. I tried to move on and even started dating someone else. However, after graduation, mystery man seemed to be fixated on the idea that we were destined to be together. By this time, my feelings had changed quite a bit. But that did not phase Mr. Mystery. He called, he sent cards, he showed up where I worked, and kind of stalked me relentlessly. Finally, one day, he said, "Do you never want to hear from me again?" and my response was, "I think that would be a good idea."

Two weeks later I had a change of heart. I called him. His mother answered and said, "Don't you think you've done enough? Let him go. He just started dating a nice girl from church."

I remember thinking "Um...what am I??? A not "nice" girl???"

I never heard from him again. But during my first year of teaching, I heard ABOUT him all the time. I was teaching in the little Dutch enclave where his family lived. One day, when I had my class outside for PE. his little brother rode his bike up to me and said, "Hi, Joey! Did you hear my brother is getting married?" Insert knife...twist.

I couldn't seem to shake the thought of him marrying someone other than myself...I mean, contrary to what his mother thought, I was pretty "nice". Why didn't he wait for me?? How could he get married so fast???

Devastated, I did what any depressed woman would do...I drove to Trinity and talked to Dennis Hoekstra, the president of the college. He knew me. He knew mystery man. He knew how much we had loved each other. How could this be happening??? How could I go on???

His advice to me was to "get out of Dodge". Go away for the summer. Go some place I had never been before and meet new people in a new location. "Joey", he said, "my brother-in-law is in charge of church volunteer programs. I'm going to give him a call and see what we can come up with for you."

Soon, I found myself heading for San Diego, California. I was in charge of 6 high school students (from Chicago Christian High School) for the summer, and together we did volunteer work for a church in San Diego. We were in charge of youth group activities, Vacation Bible School, and getting out into the community so we could invite people to visit the church. First and foremost on my mind, however, was how I really needed to get back to Chicago as soon as possible and put an end to this wedding nonsense!!

What made it ten times worse was the fact that there was some really tall guy in this church, and I spent many a Sunday looking at this tall man and his family. His two youngest children were always squirming around him, and while he held the little boy in his lap and as his daughter laid her head on his shoulder during the church service, my mind was not focused on the sermon...my mind was focused on how that's what mystery man and I would have looked like with our "one-day" family. I spent many a Sunday with tears in my eyes!!

At the end of the summer, I returned to Chicago and continued teaching. Mystery man was living in Florida with his wife, while I was destined to be some old spinster!!!

My new friends from San Diego invited me to return the next summer. I don't remember the tall man from church, but I do remember his wife. She was very involved in the church and I got to know her better as I worked with her on VBS and sang with her in the choir. She was also the church secretary and when I returned to Chicago at the end of the summer, she made sure she had my address so that she could send me the church bulletins and keep me posted on what was going on with the families from the church that I had grown to know and love.

Years passed. The bulletins gradually stopped coming. I moved back to Michigan. By this time I was deeply entrenched in my life as a spinster. And then one day, out of no where, I receive a letter. It is postmarked from San Diego. How it ever got to me in Michigan, I never could figure out. Even my last name was spelled wrong on the envelope!!

Long story short, it was a letter from the tall man in church...the one with the four children...the one whose wife was the church secretary. He shared with me in his letter the sad news that his wife had passed away very unexpectedly. She had been in the hospital for surgery, developed blood clots that had gone to her lungs and heart and passed away. She was only 36 years old.

I felt deep sadness. I wrote back and shared my memories of his wife. And of all the things I remember of Dorothy, the thing I remembered most was her beautiful smile. Dorothy had a radiant smile!

Turns out, a few years later, I married tall man! And all four children were in the wedding!

It astounds me that God could take such a sad, troubled young woman, send her to San Diego, have her grieve over seeing this tall father in church because he reminded her so much of her old boyfriend, and know all along that someday - in His time- He would lead these two people together.

I have always loved these verses from Isaiah 61:

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.

God gave me beauty for ashes. And every day with Bill is a "San Diego day"!

Thank you, God.

H1N1

As you can tell, I'm a little "obsessed" with this swine flu stuff that's going around. Last week I found out that the father of one of my students has H1N1. On Monday, another student called in sick. He went to the doctor today. The diagnosis? Swine flu! Another student just got over a stomach virus that swept through his whole family. And then, to top it off, I received yet ANOTHER asking me to cancel class. They just received a call from school telling them their daughter had to be picked up as soon as possible because of a fever. I feel surrounded by sickness...

As promised, I will share the "How I Met My Husband Story", but maybe tomorrow...if I'm not sick!

Happy Sweetest Day???

What is Sweetest Day and when did this "stealth" holiday surface? I honestly have never heard of it before. I was having breakfast today with friends and one of them wished me a "Happy Sweetest Day". I thought she was kidding. I thought she just made it up. When I came home, I googled it and, sure enough, it really IS celebrated and even Hallmark has special card to remember the day...who knew???

Well, truth be told, I celebrated this day long before I had ever heard of it. Exactly 27 years ago today, Bill asked me to be his wife! Happy Sweetest Day, Bill. And if you asked me again today, my answer would still be "YES"!!!! Maybe tomorrow I'll write about how we met...until then, enjoy this special(?) day!

The "Cliffhanger" Is Over!

Well, that was unexpected! After my last post, I fully anticipated I would be writing Jubilee: Part Two. But...I got sick and so did our computer! I'm glad to report that we are both back and raring to go!!!

Here is a brief synopsis of the rest of my wonderful weekend at Trinity...

Saturday, October 3

Elise spent the night with Alice and I and was NOT ready to get up and "seize the day", so the two "oldies" got dressed and took a walk. Alice and I walked to the Corner Bakery, had a delicious breakfast, and took our time strolling down memory lane. It felt wonderful to relax over coffee and tea and rehash the great time we had the night before.

Once we got back to the room, Elise was still in bed and it took some "Mama-sized" urging to get her rear in gear. We drove to campus and went to the new Communication Arts Center. Once again we ran into old friends. Dave DeJong asked Alice if "little Joycie Popcorn" was with her. Dave is the son of Dr. Alex DeJong, the first President of the college. Dr. DeJong and my father were best friends when he pastored our church in Grand Rapids. He renamed me "Joycie Popcorn" after spending a LONG time in the car with me when I was about 4 years old. I tagged along on a trip from GR to Florida and I guess I must have been a "handful" (that's what they called kids with ADHD back in the day!!!). It was great to see David and recall our childhood memories. When we were about 5 and 6, Dave stayed at our house while his parents were gone. My dad gave David a little doctor's kit and my dad truly believed that he was the reason David became a doctor! Actually, David is a medical doctor AND a lawyer!!!

The infamous Joycie Popcorn...looks pretty innocent...but beware!!

Next, we attended a "Last Lecture" series. Two professors, Dr. Seerveld and Dr. Mike Vander Weele shared with us what they would talk about if they knew this was their last lecture. Before Dr. Seerveld spoke, I shared a few moments with him. I told him the story about how our family went through Katrina. One day, when I returned to our "rumble", I noticed a spiral notebook. I picked it up and paged through it. It was my Philosophy 101 notebook from 1970! There I was, standing in a place that looked like a nuclear bomb had recently detonated, and amidst all the rubble and trash was my perfectly preserved notebook. As I read over the pages, I could hear Dr. Seerveld's voice, and I was reminded of the rich words he used he used in class - words like "gegenstandt" and "a priori" and "sphere sovereignty". He taught me to never teach in a box, in isolation. Because of him, when I taught high school students American Literature, I also reviewed what the historical times were like for the writers, what the culture was like. Why? Because those were the things that influenced the literature. When I taught about the poetry of the Puritans, I taught my students about the religious views that molded the writers. It baffles my mind that I could stand in a public high school in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and explain how these Puritan authors saw everything "through the lens of Scripture". I was glad I could share with Dr. Seerveld the fact thathe, without ever being in Mississippi, had left his mark on hundreds of developing minds in Pascagoula!

Dr. Seerveld doing what he does best!!!

ALice and I then ventured off towards our old dorm...which, by today's stands, really does look OLD! We knocked on the door, but everything was locked. Wait!!! Someone answered the door! It was the Provost and she graciously let us come inside and snoop around. She even unlocked the door to the suite that Alice and I shared in '73-'74. Today, these are offices for the professors.

Me standing in my old room. If those walls could talk...
The two of us in our old bathroom

Next, we took Elise and her boyfriend, Tommy out for dinner. We went to the restaurant that I worked at during my senior year in college and the summer after graduation.

Alice and Joey...just like in the good old days!

Elise and Tommy (the pitcher of the baseball team)

All four of us

On Sunday, Alice left for Canada to spend time with her family. I went to the Chapel service and heard Elise sing in the choir...beautiful! We hung out the rest of the night together, she slept with me at the hotel, and Monday morning I took her back to campus. When she was done with classes, we rode together to the airport and said our farewells...leaving me to savor wonderful memories.

Trinity's Chapel

My Mother and I after a day of shopping with my college buddies...standing in front of Dorm Two way back in 1970

Sunday Chapel Speaker

Jubilee!

As I have mentioned often in previous posts, this year Trinity Christian College turned 50 years old! Last weekend I was privileged to be able to attend the festivities. Here are just a few of the fun highlights of the weekend:

Thursday, October 1
I flew into Midway Airport at 10:20. My dear husband drove me across town while it was still dark so that I would be at the aiport by 5:30. Thank you, dear Bill! After landing, I went directly to the Hilton. I was certain that I would have to kill several hours before I would be able to check into a room. but the nice lady at the desk let me check in right away! I was exhausted and dove right into the bed. At 1:15, my college room mate, Alice van der Hoek, called me. She was downstairs and wondered what room I was in...that's when the fun began!!!

Alice and I just saw each other this spring when I stayed with her in Holland...but I can't get enough of this special woman!!! She keeps me in a perpetual laugh. My ribs ached when the weekend was over, just because we laughed so much! If she was always around, I swear I would have abs!

The phone rang again, and this time it was Elise. She drove over when her classes were done and delivered her car for us to use while we were in town. I couldn't believe I was introducing my college buddy to my baby girl! It was so much fun hearing her impressions of Trinity. She also told us about her boyfriend, Tommy. Alice was in awe of all the things Elise shared with us...she kept saying, "My girls would NEVER do that!" Truth be told, I know there are A LOT of things Elise doesn't share with me, but I'm happy and thankful for the stories I do get to hear about!

Phone rang again and this time it was a nother college friend, Daryce Hoff. Daryce lives in the Chicago area and teaches music. She came to the room and kicked the laughing up to an even higher level. We went out to eat at an excellent Chinese, Japanese, Thai place and all shared our food with each other. We dropped Elise off at campus and called it a day.

Friday, October 2

Alice and I met Elise for chapel. Rev. Arthur De Kruyter, one of the founding fathers, was the speaker. He shared fascinating stories about the early stages of Trinity, back when he was on the study committee to research if it was even feasible to have a college in the Chicago land area. Many, many people were against the college, but each each apposition that was raised was overcome and it is an amazing journey that the college went through in those early days...a story that has God's fingerprints all over it!

After chapel, I had an Alumni Board Meeting. I met up with Alice at 3:30, we got ready for the celebration at Navy Pier and headed downtown by 4:30. All of Chicago was on pins and needles that day, waiting to find if they would have the honor of being the host city for the Olympics. It was a big disappointment to the people of Chicago, but I personally, was thankful they didn't get it because if they had, everyone and their brother would have been heading into the city the same time we were, and we probably would have missed much of the party. We tried our best to get their by 5:30 so that we could be there on time to practice with the choir. We were the last ones on stage, but we made it!

After rehearsing, we went upstairs and mingled. It was fun to see old pictures of students over the decades. It brought back a lot of fun memories as well as names and faces that we hadn't seen or talked about/with in over 30 years!

The Grand Ball room was magical...and so was reconnecting with many old friends and professors. At the end, we had so much fun dancing with music through the decades. After our trip home, we had a drink in the lounge that just about put us under the table! We were exhausted!!! Too tired, in fact, to drive Elise back to Trinity, so she slept with us that night.

More tomorrow...until then, here are a few more pictures...

Dancing the night away...Elise is behind the woman in the gray dress
(So am I, but you can't see me!)

Some of the former presidents of the college
Friends from the class of '74 - Steve Bird and Steve Huizenga
Dr. Arthur De Kruyter

Happy Birthday, David!

Today is a special day in our home. Our son, David, is celebrating his 25th birthday! We just returned from a fun dinner at Outback. Happy birthday, David! Make God continue to bless your life as He leads you and guides you in the days ahead...we love you!!!

Many of you may be wondering why I haven't written in a while and why there are no new pictures. Patience, please! I should have time to sit and write soon. I got home late Monday evening and have been running non-stop ever since!! Until I get a chance to write about my reunion weekend, here are a few pictures I stole from Trinity's site...my camera was giving me fits the whole time I was in Chicago. These pictures are very small , but you can go to the college website and see them in a better size.

This is the entrance to Navy Pier. They had large signs welcoming Trinity. It was a cold, wet evening outside, but warm and welcoming inside!
This is the Concert Choir and the Alumni Choir. I got to stand right next to Elise on the risers.
This is my Philosophy Professor, Dr. Seereveld. During my stint in his class, I was in awe and terror of the man. But this time around, we had a wonderful conversation followed by a kiss(European style, three times on the cheek, right, left, right!)

Inside the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier. We had more than 1,400 guests attend. It was a magical evening and I felt so privileged to be at the celebration.