Post #4: Memories of my years at Wedgwood Baptist Church, taken from my journal (maybe slightly edited)😉

February 9, 1992
Sang in choir this morning, watched all my friends. Sunday School announcements were funny--oh boy--"9 top ways girls turned down dates to the Valentine's Banquet"! Robby's was, "Karry and I were talking about going to that...we'll get back to you..." Dogging me about Russ! We acted a little mad at him, but laughed. Karry, Kathy, Amy, and I ate lunch at Grandy's and planned a "rebuttal" announcement skit for next week. I cleaned the yard and watched a movie this afternoon, helped children's choir and went to church and Prayer & Share tonight. Had a hard time paying attention and being serious.

March 16, 1992 [Mission Stay]
I got up and went to the church without a shower this morning! It was chilly at first, but warmed up a lot. We broke up dirt and leveled it out for flower gardens all morning. (Chris Henderson, Danny, Cheryl, Lynn, Julie, Kelly, LeaAnn, Amy, and I) We laughed a lot at lunch. Then Amy and I left to get ready for Karry's party--we decorated and made a cake, and I bought the groceries for supper. The party was fun--Allen and Barry came into the house as "Birthday Police," blindfolded her and took her away. She was still blindfolded when she came in to Amy's house, and then we all yelled,"Surprise!" And sang to her and gave her presents and stuff. We had a good crowd: Chris, Ridley, Steve, Randy Holcomb, Earl, Joni, Sydney, Barry, Allen, Ben, Ed, Scott Salzman, John Espinoza, Cheryl, Julie, Kelly, Lynn, Danny, Beverly, Amy and I. I think she had fun. :)

Post #3 Memories of my years at Wedgwood Baptist Church, taken from my journal (maybe slightly edited)😉

January 22, 1992
My kids were awful today, church was fine, choir was good (they sang "Happy Birthday" to me!), and when I came home, my friends gave me a surprise birthday party!!! I was so surprised! I didn't see any cars and wasn't expecting a thing--Beverly had the TV on and was talking about "Quantum Leap" and when I went back to my bedroom--WOW! There were streamers, balloons, cards, presents, a cake, and lots of friends!! Half of them came after the surprise--even Karry, because she was shuttling people from the bowling alley. She was disappointed, but I told her it didn't matter--I stayed surprised all night! 32 people came!!! And I got to open my presents--a bookmark from Troy, stationary from Angie, a cross stitched "Virtuous Woman" from Karry (!!!), Crabtree & Evelyn stuff from Beverly, a teacher book of prayers from Kathy, "Guesstures" from Ed, and lots of cards! :)
[Note: I got my first card from Mike that night. I just didn't realize at the time how significant that would be!]

Message to 25-year-old Kecia: Your future husband is in these pictures!

January 31, 1992
I got up to pray this morning [at the church] and the Merediths went to breakfast with us! It was fun. No school today, so I came home & went back to bed! For two hours. After lunch I went and talked to Bro. Al for 1 hour, about church and missions. It was a good talk. I ran errands all afternoon, then had to cook my dip. Our Sunday School department had a "regressive" dinner tonight--dessert at Earl's, main course at our house, salad at the Osiek's, and appetizers at the Clovermeadow Cuties. It was really fun. We stayed pretty late, and then Karry and Beverly and I got our revenge on Ben! We "decorated" his car with gummi bears and dinosaurs, pink toilet paper, and shoe polish ("Just Married" on the rear window!) We whispered & tiptoed around, having a good ole time, and drove off laughing at how smart we are...until Doug drove up, saw us, and waved! I couldn't believe it.
What luck! Nobody but us would get caught leaving the scene of a crime. Now Ben will get us back for sure.

2nd post! Memories of my years at Wedgwood Baptist Church, taken from my journal (maybe slightly edited)😉

September 1, 1991
Chris and Ridley apologized to me and Karry and Beverly this morning [for not calling us to go to Ranger game]- -said they didn’t call because they didn’t go to the game. We forgave them, and we all went to lunch at the Black-eyed Pea after church. 13 of us! Fun. Beverly and I went shopping at Hulen Mall — I bought a skirt, 2 shirts, and 3 pair of shorts for under $70! We had fun. Went to choir practice and sang in ladies choir. Chris and Jenifer Norris were at church tonight. Crazy. I had fun smiling at everybody from the choir loft. We got to sit in the pews for the sermon, which was preached directly to me, about forgiveness, giving up rights, brotherly love. Ouch. Chris Keys asked us + Amy to a picnic tomorrow. After church we went to Ken, Allen, and Tom’s and watched "Home Alone." Laughed  a lot. We had another long relationship discussion in the kitchen—Sydney, Beverly, Russell, Ken, Sam White, Scott Bissell and his friend Andy, Tom, Doug, and Allen. Interesting. Stayed ‘til midnight. I don’t know who to like or why I avoid commitment like the plague.

September 8, 1991
God has taught me a lot today - I've felt Him moving in a way I've been missing. I sang in singles choir this morning - lots more showed up than practiced. Steve Maness sang, "He's all you need" - beautiful, and gave me such peace. I told him it ministered to my heart and he hugged me and cried. Sunday School was on prayer, and I've been so lazy lately, rushing through prayer to get to school. Pot luck lunch - delicious. We sat with a guy who's going to be a missionary in Zambia. Foreign missions still excites me so much. I cleaned house and napped this afternoon, then went to church with Beverly. It was on prayer also, and we had a Prayer & Share at the Osiek's. We prayed for almost two hours, and cried and sang. We were being really honest. Sydney started it, for me. Her honesty inspired me to examine my heart, my motives, and most of all my priorities. They've been all wrong. I haven't been seeing Como as my mission field, but as my job, and that is so wrong. God, help me to serve you there...

Memories of my years at Wedgwood Baptist Church, taken from my journal (maybe slightly edited)😉

Wedgwood singles fall retreat 1990

I first met David Mikkelson at Como Elementary at a welcome-back-to-school luncheon. He stood behind me in line, I introduced myself, and we ate at the same table. As we ate, I found out he was a seminary student as well as a teacher. His girlfriend came later to help him set up his room. Later that week, Susan and I visited Wedgwood BC. I sat next to Becca Lechner, since I’d met her at Charlie and Angie’s wedding, and she introduced me to a girl next to her- it was Amy, David’s girlfriend, and David was there, too. I joined the church a few weeks later, and David and I became friends at church and school. Oh, he was such a character! We used to sit in faculty meetings together and whisper and snicker. We used to stand in the copy room and I’d gripe about my kids and he’d hug me and say something to make me lighten up. 

He had to quit after a couple of months because the cancer he had had in his leg came back in his lungs and he couldn’t keep up; the work was too hard. He went downhill pretty fast. I remember at the fall retreat he was in the hospital at Houston for treatment, and we made him a big banner. Amy came to the retreat late, crying. I didn’t know what to say. They went to Houston a lot after that. I remember at the New Year’s Eve party David was on a team against me playing Win, Lose, or Draw, and we started having an eraser war (getting chalk dust on each other’s pants.) Anyway, later that night I got Tommy Anderson to get David back for me, and they goofed around and fell on the floor, wrestling and laughing so hard. We all laughed so hard. 

But David got worse. He got so thin, and raspy, you could hear him breathing. He would ask for prayer in Sunday School, but I only remember one time seeing him look down or worried. I remember him with a smile on his face. My most vivid memory is when we went to the Osiek’s for Prayer and Share after church one night- a special one, just for David. He sat in a chair in the middle of their living room, and we all put our hands on him and on each other, and took turns praying for him—his healing, his comfort, his peace of mind. We cried, we were strong, we were scared—we turned to the Father. We gave it all to Him. 

I never saw David again. He went to Houston. Amy went with him. He held on long enough to see his little sister. Amy was with him when he died. Earl told me. It was the day before Valentine’s Day. And I praised God. I did. I thanked Him for saving David from his pain—for stopping the pain. I cried for me, for Amy, and for David’s family, and for death itself. Incomprehensible, strange, vicious, fearful death. But even though I don’t understand David’s short life and painful death...he’s so brilliantly happy now...at rest...healthy...with his 
Savior. Smiling!

Embracing the curl!

After years of hating and fighting my curls, several years ago I decided that God made me this way on purpose, so I might as well embrace it! Finding the right styles and products to help me actually like my hair has been a journey of its own. I have had several people ask me what I use lately, so here is a brief summary of what I have learned. 

1.  Never brush your hair. Seems like a no-brainer, but people with straight hair genuinely don’t know this! I don’t even use a comb on mine, honestly. 

2. Avoid sulphates! And anything else that dries the hair out. Frizzies are hairs reaching out for moisture. 

3. Only shampoo once or twice a week. Some people never do, by using conditioner as shampoo, but I found a shampoo I like and I feel cleaner when I use it. 

4. Wrap wet hair in a cotton t-shirt instead of a towel. 

So here’s my hair care routine:

I shampoo, rinse, then put in gobs and gobs of conditioner and comb it through with my fingers and scrunch  a little. I let it soak in while I shower, then rinse it out. Then I comb Curl Keeper through the same way, gently scrunching. I spread the t-shirt on the counter and plop my hair upside down on it with sleeves closest to me, then fold the shirt up over my head and tie the sleeves to hold it on. I hope that makes sense! After a while I take the shirt off my head and kind of wag my head back and forth to loosen the curls and get them in the right place. I mostly let it air dry, but occasionally use a hair dryer on cold with a diffuser. Usually with my head upside down. 🙃

On a daily basis I wet my hair, finger through some leave-in conditioner and some Curl Keeper and do the same drying routine. Or sometimes I just spray it with water and smooth it out with “praying hands”. 

My favorite products:

Curl Keeper by Curly Hair Solutions. This is by far my favorite of favorites. It keeps my hair from frizzing without making it crunchy. I mean, it can be crunchy if you want it to, but it doesn’t have to be. I have to order this on amazon and the price fluctuates but if I get the big size I  can usually get it for a little more than $1/ounce. 

Renpure Argan Oil shampoo and conditioner. I get this at Walmart for a great price and it’s sulphate free and feels and smells good!

Shea Moisture restorative conditioner. I use this as my leave-in conditioner, and it’s the only thing i use sparingly. Too much can make my hair too heavy. 

As I said, this has been a journey, so things change and adapt as I discover new products and techniques, but I hope this is helpful to someone!

Jessica is leaving.

I've got way too many feelings for Facebook.
Tomorrow I'm taking Jessica to college. 12 hours and 5 states away. The van is all packed up and ready to go, and every time I look at it I feel sick at my stomach.
I'm very experienced with good-byes. I know how to keep from thinking about it until the last possible minute, because there's nothing you can do about it anyway. If you're the one leaving, it's sad, but also exciting, because you're going to new places, new adventures, new friends. But if you're the one left behind, you're just left. With someone missing. And when that someone lived inside of you for 9 months...
When my dad died, I put off packing my suitcase to fly to Arkansas until the last possible minute, because packing meant admitting it was true. This is not even close to the same thing, but still, I haven't packed my suitcase. Because that will make it real. This is really happening now.
A little while ago I walked by the van and looked at all her stuff and thought, "I don't know how to do this." And I don't. But really, I do. I mean, this is what mothers do. This is what we've always done, what we're supposed to do. Mothers birth them and raise them up and send them off. At least my baby is going to college in 2016, when we have Facetime and texting and S
napchat. And airplanes. I talked to my parents on the payphone at the end of the hall once a week for 20 minutes. Angie had to talk to hers through a guy running a ham radio. (over) Mothers of pioneers sent their "babies" off and didn't know when (or if) they'd hear from them again. So I can do this. I know for sure she can do this.
But thanks for the prayers just the same!

Once a Wedgie, always a Wedgie

I don’t remember the very first time I met Al Meredith, although I do remember feeling at home at Wedgwood from the first time I visited! My earliest memories of him would have to be having him call on me on Wednesday nights to say the books of the Bible, or telling me to take a deep breath when I was sharing at the microphone (too often!) during testimony time, or praying together at Friday morning prayer.  Coming from a family that loves to repeat stories, I didn’t mind when Bro. Al used some illustrations multiple times—instead, I rather enjoyed it! Sharing an apartment with a church secretary gives you an even closer look into your pastor’s life, as does being friends with one of his tennis partners. I came to feel I could confide in Bro. Al and go to him with some of my most troubling questions and challenges, such as “Where is God when a child is being abused? Why doesn’t He step in and stop it?” and “How can I forgive someone who isn’t even sorry?” When Mike and I got engaged, we asked my brother to conduct our wedding ceremony, but Bro. Al to do our pre-marital counseling. I still vividly remember some of the advice he gave (even if I don’t always follow it!)

I left a part of my heart at Wedgwood Baptist Church when we left there to serve in Idaho. In fact, any time I have had to miss church because of sick children, I’ve listened to one of Bro. Al’s services on the internet, no matter where we lived. There have been two times when my heart longed to be there most of all. The first was the first Sunday after the shooting. I, however, was 4 months pregnant and 2,000 miles away, and it just wasn’t possible. My sweet husband, however, saw to it that I was able to go to the memorial service one year later. I went up to Bro. Al that weekend and said something along the lines of “I know I wasn’t there when this happened, but my heart was broken.” And he validated my grief with the simple words, “Of course—you were Sydney’s friend.”

The second time is this coming Sunday, when the church family will be expressing gratitude to Bro. Al and Kay for their years of service. (Deep breath) How I wish I could be there! Again it isn’t possible, due to current ministry responsibilities. But I am grateful to be a Wedgie, to have known the Merediths, and to have been impacted by their ministry. Bro. Al and Kay, you will most definitely be on my mind Sunday morning and in my heart forever!