Colton Police Department's Newest Chaplain

Congratulations to my fabulous hubby!!! Last night Adam was presented his official Colton Police Dept.'s chaplaincy badge. He has been in the process for several months and this was the last step in making it official. We went to the Colton City Council meeting last night and during the ceremonial part of the meeting Police Chief Bob Miller presented him with his badge and welcomed him to the Colton Police Department. I really like Chief Miller...he was personable and quite funny :0) It was extra special to have Willie Bermudez there with us and be part of this special evening. I really feel that God placed Adam right where He wanted him. Adam is so incredible when it comes to stressful situations. I know he will do an awesome job on behalf of God, our church and the Colton PD. I was sssssssssssoooooooooo proud of him!

Happy 13th Birthday Ian

I can't believe my nephew is 13 years old!!! He has got to be one of the sweetest and thoughtful young "men" I know. He is always so thankful, kind and courteous. I love when he comes over...he is so polite, he makes us laugh, is full of compliments and is quite intelligent! I am so proud to be Ian's auntie.

I LOVE YOU IAN!!!

THE HIDING PLACE

The College and Career class will be seeing the play - THE HIDING PLACE this weekend at Lifehouse Theater in Redlands. It is an awesome production about the life of Corrie ten Boom. She has long been honored by Christians as an exemplar of Christian faith in action. Arrested by the Nazis along with the rest of her family for hiding Jews in their Haarlem home during the Holocaust, she was imprisoned and eventually sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp along with her sister, Betsie, who died there just days before Corrie's own release on December 31, 1944. Inspired by Betsie's example of selfless love and forgiveness amid extreme cruelty and persecution, Corrie established a post-war home for other camp survivors trying to recover from the horrors they had escaped. She went on to travel widely as a missionary, preaching God's forgiveness and the need for reconciliation. Corrie's devout moral principles were tested when, by chance, she came face to face with one of her former tormentors in 1947. Her story is told in her 1971 autobiography, The Hiding Place. Here is an excerpt of that meeting:

I'm Still Learning to Forgive
It was in a church in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavy-set man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken. It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. ...

And that's when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie, how thin you were!

Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent. ...

"You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk," he was saying. "I was a guard in there." No, he did not remember me.
"I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us." "But since that time," he went on, "I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein, ..." his hand came out, ... "will you forgive me?"

And I stood there — I whose sins had every day to be forgiven — and could not. Betsie had died in that place — could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?

It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

For I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." ...

And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling."

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!"
For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.

Copyright © 1972 by Guideposts, Carmel, New York 10512. All rights reserved. (www.guideposts.com)

San Diego :0)

I LOVE SAN DIEGO! I love the weather, the food, the shopping, the water, and just being there with my family. San Diego is one of our favorite places to go for a mini getaway. We will be headed to San Diego next weekend for a night or two. Our favorite place to stay is Hotel Del Coronado but that's not quite in the budget plan :0/ Oh well. Just to be able to get away will be a blast!!!! I can't wait...

6th and Final Day

The senior trip is officially over. Most of us had the chance to sleep in today while a few others went one last time to the White House. The annual Easter Egg Roll on the south lawn of the White House started nice and early this morning. The Easter Egg Roll has been a White House tradition since 1878. Mikhael, Justine, and Valerie even saw the entire Obama family. After they returned to the hotel, we all loaded up and headed to Reagan National Airport. We flew from Washington to Houston and then Houston to Ontario. We all arrived safely at 8:00 p.m. Thank God for a great trip and a safe return. Now to start planning for next year's trip...

I will finish posting pictures later :0)

Day 5

Happy Easter! We actually slept in today and didn't get up until about 7:30 a.m. We started our Sunday morning with prayer and devotion. As in years past, each senior was given a scripture and gave a brief devotion. There was a sweet spirit in our prayer and was a perfect start to our Easter morning. First thing this morning we headed to Arlington Cemetery. It was such a moving experience being in the most hallowed ground of the United States of America. We witnessed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These soldiers were amazing! After going through the cemetery we headed over to the Iwo Jima Memorial. The memorial is dedicated to all personnel of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) who have died in the defense of their country since 1775. This is the large monument showing the brave soldiers raising the American flag. After eating lunch, we headed over to the White House once again for some souvenir shopping. Our evening ended at Union Station with our night tour of Washington D.C. We all boarded a very crowded bus and headed out to see the monuments of D.C. We stopped at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, World War II Memorial, and my favorite, Lincoln Memorial. It was a grand finale for a great senior trip. We will be leaving D.C. tomorrow and I can't wait to get home :0)

Day 4

I know you are going to have a hard time believing this but it's true...it was another loooonnnngggg day. These poor kids are going to take weeks to recover from all the early mornings, late nights, miles and miles of walking, and overload on the history lessons. They will manage I'm sure. We had a tour of Ford's Theater today where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and the Peterson Boarding House where he died. Both tours were quite interesting and learned several new facts about that fatal April day. We went to the Kennedy Center, revisited the Library of Congress, went to the Washington Zoo to see the fluffy pandas, saw the Pentagon, and ended our day in Bethesda, Maryland. And for those of you who actually read the previous post...we will be going to Alexandria tomorrow...

Day 3 of the Senior Trip

Had another looonnnngggg day...it is amazing what a person can see in a day. Today we went to the Washington Monument again, National Archives, and numerous Smithsonian Museums, Ford's Theater, Old Post Office, FBI Building, IRS Building (we didn't get a tour :0/ and several other stops along the way. I actually had awesome Texas BBQ today at CAPITAL Q BBQ in Chinatown. Good stuff!!!! Everyone is just a tad tired today and aching from all the walking. Tomorrow we will be hitting all the sites in Alexandria, Virginia. Keep us in your prayers...

Day 2 of the Senior Trip

Another looonnnnggg day! Our morning started quite early...5:00 a.m. No one got more than 4 hours of sleep. We were all up and ready to go by 5:50 a.m. this morning to leave for our White House Tour. We had to be there by 6:45 a.m. and did not want to be late. After the tour we went to the Washington Monument, Library of Congress, House Office Building, House Gallery, Senator Joe Baca's office, US Supreme Court, The Blair House, and numerous other federal building. We covered a good chunk of D.C. in one day thanks to Mikhael's organizational skills! We had dinner at a decent (Gavin's choice) Italian restaurant called Cafe Italia. I probably would never go back but the bread was awesome. After dinner, we (Justine, Keith, and Valerie)went to Buzz Bakery in Alexandria. Great atmosphere with delicious baked goodies and an incredible cappuccino. We took a taxi back to the hotel and called it a night. Another loonnnnngggg day awaits us tomorrow...

1st Day of the Senior Trip

Well we made it safe and sound to Washington. Our morning started very early with everyone meeting at Ontario International Airport at 4:45 a.m. Everyone was on time! We flew into Houston and had lunch at Pappadaeux's...one of my favorite Cajun restaurants. We then flew from Houston to Washington and arrived at about 5:00 p.m. Needless to say, it has been a long day of traveling. Within 15 minutes of arriving in Virginia, we were off again to old town Alexandria. If you have never been to Alexandria you need to visit. It is so quaint and an absolutely beautiful place. We ate dinner at La Madeline's (famous for their french cuisine). After dinner, we visited many historical sites including the place where George Washington's funeral was held, Washington's house of worship, Alexandria's narrowest house (7'wide)and took in all the beautiful architecture of the city. Everyone is having a great time and can't wait til tomorrow...we have a 7:30 a.m. tour of the White House.

8th Annual LCA Senior Trip - Washington D.C.

I can't believe the LCA Senior Trip is here!!!! This year's senior group is going to Washington D.C. We will be meeting at Ontario Airport tomorrow at 4:45 a.m. :0/ I will be posting pictures and a rundown of what happened every day. Another group almost gone…wow, how time flies.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI :0)

Happy Birthday Vicki! We love you more than words can express! You are a true friend, a wonderful auntie, a numero uno wife and pastor's wife, a magnificent mother, a soon to be an amazing mother in law, beyond fun, spontaneous, and a real Christian! We love you and are so thankful the Brown family moved to California!

WE LOVE YOU
V-I-C-K-I M-O-U-S-E

Psalm 37:4

Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Wow...what a promise!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIE!!!

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one." - C.S. Lewis


Happy Birthday to one of the greatest people in the whole world...my friend, Christie Cheek. She is a loving mother to two sweet little boys, a fabulous wife to an "A" man, my faithful friend, simply courageous, downright hilarious, and above all a true Christian. We have way too much fun when we get together :) I am so blessed today to have such a wonderful friend.

I LOVE YOU CHRISTIE!!!!