Van & Mary Vee Keese

There's an amazing couple in our church: Van and Mary Vee Keese. Van was a B17 pilot in WWII. I would like to repost a blog entry here, having to do with his service in the war. It was written by B.K. Blackwell, and you can read the original post here. The pictures I post here are from Mr. Blackwell's blog.

I'm writing this on June 14, 2009, for reference. About a year ago, I received an email from Larry Keese who is the son of the Buckeye Babe's Pilot, Van Keese. Larry had been Google searching for information about his (and my) Dad's B-17 bomber, the Buckeye Babe, and discovered this website. In his email Larry informed me his Dad was still alive, 89 years old and living in Wimberley, Texas with his Wife (and Larry's Mom) Mary. I was like, "What an amazing coincidence!" I wanted to hop in the car and go to Wimberley right away but circumstances, a hurricane (Ike) and surgery (mine) stood in the way. Finally, a few weeks ago, Judith and I had the chance to go to Austin for a visit with her Sister & Husband. Wimberley is just down the road from Austin so I went for it :) Judith couldn't accompany me so my Cousin, Chip, came along. We both grew up in Illinois but are now transplanted Texans. Chip and I traveled to Wimberley on a beautiful day and arrived to a very sweet and poignant reception. Van and Mary were so happy to meet us and offered us a very warm welcome. Van is the last living member of the Buckeye Babe's crew. It is a miracle that anyone in the 8th Air force survived the War. That Van's piloting skills brought both he and his crew home alive is nothing short of a miracle. Plus, neither my Brother nor I would be alive today if it weren't for Van (and his crew's) heroic efforts to survive their missions. I got a photo of Van and Mary the day we visited and am very grateful to have the opportunity to share their happy faces with the whole world. God bless them both!

PopZ

This morning I visited Al Brinkley (PopZ) and his family at the hospital. Al went home to be with the Lord about an hour after I left. He and his wife, Mary Helen (MomZ), have raised a family of singers. It was my pleasure to sing with them today--four sisters and a brother--as we all sang hymns and gospel songs together--in perfect harmony, I might add! I know Al was comforted by the singing. I told the family that every person in a hospital bed should be so blessed to have a family of wonderful singers who are singing songs about our heavenly home.

In my prayer with the family I said how truly blessed I was to sing and visit with this wonderful family. It really is true that when you seek to be a blessing to others, that you end up being the one who is blessed. And besides comfort and blessing, there was quite a bit of worship going on too.

PopZ was loved by so many people. Besides MomZ and the kids, their good friends, Ann and Betty were there. The room was filled with a lot of love and wonderful memories. I thank the Lord that I was there to share in this sacred moment. My prayers are with the family.

"Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).

Speicher and the Lost Sheep

Today the news announced that the remains of Lt. Cdr. Scott Speicher had been positively identified. His plane went down at the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991. After 18 years, this is incredible news. It underscores the military's commitment to search for its comrades, both living and fallen. After hearing the story this morning on the news, I was glad that his family finally has some closure.

I was also reminded of the story Jesus told of the lost sheep in Luke 15:

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

I thank God that he searches for people until He finds them. I would give up, but He never does. I would become discouraged, but God, out of His matchless love, stays on the hunt! And when He finds the lost sheep, all the neighbors and frends are called to rejoice with Him. I confess that I've given up on people before, but my prayer today is that I will be able to see with God's eyes just how valuable people are. I pray that God gives me the ability to encourage people in their walk with the Lord, and invite others to join in on the journey of faith that leads to Christ, the Good Shepherd who never gives up on us!

William Vanderbloemen's Thoughts on Hope

Where can you find hope?

I have hope for the future. God has hope for your future. He has promised it. And so I believe you should enter today choosing to hope.

But what does that mean? Where do we find hope?

Sometimes, people think that hope can be secured by living well enough. The thinking goes like this, “If I invest well, my future will be secure.” Or, “If I follow the rules, if I keep my nose clean, if I do what is right, then I have a reason to hope.”

But if you have read the news at all, you know we cannot invest well enough to secure a hope. If you have lived long enough, you have probably realized that none of us are able to keep all the commandments, or live well enough to secure our hope.

This week, I studied and found that the word hope does not occur in the Bible until the book of Ruth. That may not sound important, but a little reflection brought me to an important realization. The word hope cannot be found in the first five books of the Bible, the books that our faith has called “The Law.” My realization,

You will not find hope in the Law.

You will not find hope in your behavior. Nor will you find it in what you know. You will find it in a different kind of relationship with God, one that is based on a heart to heart connection.

Maybe you have been trying too hard to build your own future, or secure your own hope. Let today be a day that is committed to a new kind of hope, one that is based on a heartfelt connection to God. When you do, behavior will flow out it. And hope will flow through your life.

Hopeful,

William

*Read more of Pastor William Vanderbloemen's blog posts here.

A Prayer of St. Augustine

“O Lord, who has warned us that you will require much of those to whom much is given; grant that we whose lot is cast in so godly a heritage may strive together the more abundantly by prayer, by almsgiving, by fasting, and by every other appointed means, to extend to others what we so richly enjoy; and as we have entered into the labors of other men, so to labor that in their turn other men may enter into ours, to the fulfillment of your holy will, and our own everlasting salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

– Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

By the way, I'm finding these prayers on a great blog, the Missional Church Network.

Africa by Toto performed a capella. Incredible!

A good friend just sent this to me. I was a huge Toto fan in the 80s and 90s. I know the song well. This a capella group starts by simulating rain, then performs the song, with all the nuance of the original, but with no instruments. Wonderful stuff. Thank you, Liz, for sending this to me!

A Prayer of Thomas Aquinas

“Most merciful God, order my day so that I may know what you want me to do, and then help me do it. Let me not be elated by success or depressed by failure. I want only to take pleasure in what pleases you, and only to grieve at what displeases you.

For the sake of your love I would willingly forgo all temporal comforts. May all the joys in which you have no part weary me. May all the work which you do not prompt be tedious to me. Let my thoughts frequently turn to you, that I may be obedient to you without complaint, patient without dejection, and serious without solemnity. Let me hold you in awe without feeling terrified of you, and let me be an example to others without any trace of pride.”

- Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274)