Dale Kepler was known in many regards, but the title I think he was most proud of was Papa…and we were proud to call him that. What a glorious calling for him, to commend to us God’s love and to capture our hearts at the earliest of ages with personalized silly songs and the telling of stories in his lap. In fact I would often curl up in his lap even as an adult…it was a safe and peaceful place.
Growing up next door to Papa was a privilege, we got to know him better than most children know their grandfathers. He was able to teach us to drive, sing, golf, tell jokes and he influenced us with his hard work ethic, devotion to Granny and an unfailing faith to our great God. He exemplified God’s love and grace tangibly that we might trust Christ in all things.
For his grandsons he set an example of how to serve and lead a household…for his granddaughters he set the bar for the kind of men we would marry….impossible expectations. He joyfully served God and challenged us to do the same with our lives. Through our mistakes and mischievous ways, we proved that His love for us was unconditional. He was a constant and consistent presence in our lives and losing him to eternity is felt deeply by us as we look to future milestones and grieve his absence.
However, Papa did not leave us lacking…including the many memories, he also left us an inheritance to be cherished and nurtured. His inheritance to us is beyond material and temporal….it is a legacy of faith, love, truth, strength, patience, humility, joy and hope. I believe that the way to honor this great man, our papa, is by carrying on his legacy…that we might continue on in life with faith through grace, being sustained by God’s strength. That we might have his patience through trials and his posture of humility amidst accomplishments….and let’s not forget to hold fast to our great hope in the promise of heaven, where there is victory over sin and death. We will forever tell his stories and pass on his love through the generations.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
from suburb to city...
6 weeks in the Big D!
I love our home, it's finally home...we are unpacked, painted, pictures hung...I will post visual aids soon of course. I eat breakfast on our front porch every morning...it's dreamy.
In the name of missional living, we had all our neighbors over for ice cream sundaes last night. It was an incredible opportunity to get to know them and open ourselves up to loving and serving them. They are an eclectic group of people for sure, old and young, married and single, straight and gay, christian and athiest. God has already given me a love for each one of them. Once they left I looked at Eric and said "baby, we aren't in the burbs anymore" and smiled.
Pray that God shows us how to love them like 1 John commands.
by the way, I heart the 8 minute walk to work :)
I love our home, it's finally home...we are unpacked, painted, pictures hung...I will post visual aids soon of course. I eat breakfast on our front porch every morning...it's dreamy.
In the name of missional living, we had all our neighbors over for ice cream sundaes last night. It was an incredible opportunity to get to know them and open ourselves up to loving and serving them. They are an eclectic group of people for sure, old and young, married and single, straight and gay, christian and athiest. God has already given me a love for each one of them. Once they left I looked at Eric and said "baby, we aren't in the burbs anymore" and smiled.
Pray that God shows us how to love them like 1 John commands.
by the way, I heart the 8 minute walk to work :)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
a day to write...
i have renamed my blog because there is something holy about quiet days. i don't just mean a day off from work, i mean the kind of days where the demands of life can't touch you...days absent of noise from the world:
no errands
no alarm
no housework
no unrealistic expectations
no email
no bill paying
rather:
music plays
books are read
movies critiqued
philosophy with tea
dessert for breakfast
dreams conspire
there are things about quiet days that must be captured and held closely to get you through the next week...a quiet to keep.
i have days like these once a week, truly i do. they are fought for and have required unreal amounts of discipline, but they come around every week like a glass of lemonade on a hot afternoon. refreshing, restoring, renewing. i leave these days inspired and eager to live life fully. i have recently decided to use these days as a common thread in my writing and to briefly share to whomever the moments that make up my quiet days.
no errands
no alarm
no housework
no unrealistic expectations
no email
no bill paying
rather:
music plays
books are read
movies critiqued
philosophy with tea
dessert for breakfast
dreams conspire
there are things about quiet days that must be captured and held closely to get you through the next week...a quiet to keep.
i have days like these once a week, truly i do. they are fought for and have required unreal amounts of discipline, but they come around every week like a glass of lemonade on a hot afternoon. refreshing, restoring, renewing. i leave these days inspired and eager to live life fully. i have recently decided to use these days as a common thread in my writing and to briefly share to whomever the moments that make up my quiet days.
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