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anut4dan
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Name: Annette
Gender: Female
Interests: "In Christ Alone" - born again Christian - God, autism, and hope - on the journey of autism - my husband Dan - our five kids - John age 20, Natalie age 18, Philip age 16, Seth age 15, Hannah age 10 - piano playing - letter writing - missionaries - Brazil - Moms in Touch prayer group - my two indoor cats - bird watching - wildflowers - Christian historical fiction - amateur photography - Cleveland Indians - journaling - figuring out our three teenagers and one adult - enjoying Hannah before the teenage years come - studying the history of my hometown
Expertise: speaking portuguese - 18-year-old daughter with autism - 15-year-old son with Type I diabetes - husband Dan is professor of electrical engineering
Occupation: "keeper at home" (Titus 2:5)
Message: message me
Member Since:
11/3/2006
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| Virginia is For Lovers 
AUSTIN & CATHY AT THE REHEARSAL DINNER
“He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.” (Song of Songs 2:4)
One of the recent things that I’ve begun to do is to collect magnets from each state. Because of our Virginia trip, I wanted one that said, “Virginia is For Lovers.” I found one that I ended up not buying because it was flimsy and not worth the money. I still find the saying to be true, for Virginia is where my brother Austin fell in love and married his sweetheart Cathy.
On Friday night, after a long trip from Ohio to Virginia, we arrived safely at our hotel. Cathy had arranged some young women from church to watch all the kids. Now, we are talking about a lot of kids. There were ten siblings in Richmond for the wedding, with most families having between three and four children. (All but two families stayed at the same hotel.) While the kids swam and ate pizza, we enjoyed a very nice rehearsal dinner with an all-you-can-eat spread of Italian food. Both Austin and Cathy had stars in their eyes.
As for me, I was thankful to reunite with Dan after his trip to Hawaii. It seemed like he was gone longer than six days, probably because so much happened since he stepped on the plane for the luau state. Yes, Virginia is for lovers and I was finally reunited with mine. 
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| Life's Road 
“But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord…” (Psalm 141:8)
Since Dan was in Hawaii on business, it was up to me to drive the eight hours to Richmond, Virginia by myself for my brother’s wedding. I was thankful when it worked out for me to carpool with my brother Roger and his wife Patty. This way, if our seventeen-year-old car broke down, I would have help. Also, half our kids could go in their van and half of their kids could come in ours, thus preventing discipline problems. I don’t do well in the car with fighting kids.
The trip was pretty easy for all I had to do was follow Roger’s dark olive green van. He gave me an outline of what routes he was taking but since I had planned to go a different way, I had to trust that he knew what he was doing. It was pretty easy to follow. I just had to keep my eyes on Roger’s car ahead of me.
The worst stretch of road was through the Pennsylvania turnpike where there were mountainous hills, curves, and construction. I knew I would make it through for I kept my eyes on Roger’s van. It was getting to be time for a pit stop so I was thankful when Roger got off the turnpike to find a gas station. That’s when my nephew Brad shouted, “Hey, that’s not our van!” Here, I had been following the wrong dark olive green van. Yes, it looked exactly like Roger’s van but when I got up close to the car, the license plate proved otherwise; it was somebody else’s van.
I got to the tollbooth and told the lady that I had accidentally got off at the wrong exit and asked her how to get back on the turnpike. Her answer to me was, “If you don’t know what you’re doing, you shouldn’t be driving!” As you can see, she was a lot of help. Thanks to Brad’s cell phone, we were able to connect with Roger and find them on the turnpike.
As I was driving along, I thought of how this trip mimicked my walk with the Lord. So much about following God is about FAITH. You don’t know the road ahead, but you follow. You know your end destination is heaven, but you really don’t know what the road ahead of you will bring. You can be confident in your leader though for He knows the way and will take care of you if you break down.
Then the evil one enters onto the road of life. He can pretend to be God. He can look and act like God thus deceiving God’s very children. “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) He is a liar and a deceiver trying to lead God’s children astray. You may think you have your eyes on Jesus, but very subtly, he leads you off the path in a different way. Because of this, God’s children must be on the alert and be aware of the evil one’s devices. We must not be ignorant of the evil one’s ways for he tries to “outwit us.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) We are told to, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
Ah, the road of life…twists, turns, straight paths, mountains, valleys, pit stops… I am thankful that God is with me all the way. I will continue to fix my eyes on God till I reach my final stopping place. “For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death.” (Psalm 48:14)
ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME
All the way my Savior leads me,
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.
All the way my Savior leads me,
Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.
BY FRANCES J. CROSBY
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| The Confrontation 
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” (Romans 6:12)
Sin is ugly. No matter how you look at it, sin stinks. It seems to be worse when it is a part of a believer’s heart, for Christians are supposed to live free from sin, without stain, and without blemish. The world looks at believers ready to point out their sin and say, “Ah hah! Another hypocrite. All Christians are alike. I don’t want anything to do with ‘their’ God.”
Then there is the believing husband. He sees sin in his wife’s life and wonders what would be the best way to approach her about it. After all, they have been married almost twenty-two years and they have parented five children together. His wife’s sin is so glaringly obvious to him but she doesn’t seem to recognize it or do anything about it.
The confrontation begins. The husband seeks the audience of his wife when the house has quieted down for the night. As he speaks in his gentle way, his wife begins to cry. She knew that she had been sinning, but she didn’t do anything about it. After all, she has every right to harbor jealousy in her heart against her husband. He is going to Hawaii to give two speeches, eat spectacular food, walk the beaches, and have a whole week to himself while she is home with the kids, trying to get ready for a trip to her brother’s out-of-state wedding with very little help and so much stress. Jealousy had reared her ugly head. What was the wife going to do about it?
She cannot bear who she has become, a jealous wife. She asks for forgiveness, realizing that he also carries burdens. Maybe not the responsibility to get ready for a trip, but other difficulties such as the burden of a daughter who hates him and won’t have anything to do with him. He carries the load of providing for the family and working hard to make sure all are cared for. He makes sure all his family members are prayed for daily. Why, he needs a week off, to de-stress, to relax, to contemplate, to think, to pray, and to meditate. He will come back from Hawaii refreshed and better able to handle his stress load after his “me time” in the luau state.
The wife sees her husband’s trip in a new light. It gives her energy to wash the twenty loads of laundry, shop for the trip, pack the six suitcases, and close up the house, all without her husband’s help. Even though 4,600 miles separate them, they remain one in heart, in goals, and in purpose.
I am thankful for my husband who had the courage to help me in my growth as a Godly woman, to overcome the sin that reared its ugly head. If I live long enough, I am sure there will be other confrontations. I thank you, God, for my husband.
“Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.” (Psalm 119:133)
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| Happy 15th Birthday, Seth!
SETH
“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them…” (Psalm 127:4-5)
I remember the day of Seth’s birth very vividly. His birth set into motion a series of events that would forever alter my life.
First of all, he was born in Scottsdale, Arizona on a day that set a record for the hottest ever in that city on that day. Our house didn’t have working air conditioning, so I was thankful that I could go to the more comfortable hospital; only, being in labor, I wasn’t really that much more comfortable.
Second of all, Seth was born three days after his cousin Kaylee, who was living in Scottsdale at the time. Kaylee was born on a Thursday and on Saturday morning, I had no clue that this would be the day that I would give birth. My sister Darla called me around noon wishing that we could have had pink or blue carnations together at the pulpit the next day. You see, if a baby was born to someone in the congregation, the following Sunday a carnation would be put up front, next to the pulpit, to celebrate that birth. My sister got her wish, for the next day there was both a pink and a blue carnation at the front of the sanctuary.
On Saturday at noon, I was busy making banana bread, not knowing that within three hours, I would be holding Seth in my hands. Seth was the only one of our five children that arrived on time. (Somehow, he has lost that character trait in the past fifteen years, although he has gotten much better in the last year.) All our other kids were nine, ten, and eleven days late, but not Seth. He came one day after his due date. Because of this, I didn’t have my hospital suitcase packed. Dan was out to lunch with a cousin, but I didn't know what restaurant they were at. This was in the days before cell phones, so I had no way to tell him that I was in labor. I had the three older kids to care for and to arrange babysitting for. During this I would have a contraction, pack one item, cry, pray, have another contraction, pack another item, cry, pray, have another contraction, pack another item, cry, pray, etc. From the time Dan got home from his lunch date, within the hour, I gave birth.
Seth’s birth should have been filmed for a Lamaze class. It was picture perfect. Arrive at the hospital. Put on gown. Get into bed. Water breaks. Have doctor check you. You are ready to push. Push. The baby arrives.
I had a pattern of babies going, boy, girl, boy, so of course, I thought that maybe this next baby would keep the pattern. As the baby was born, I waited for the doctor to say, “It’s a boy” or “It’s a girl.” He never said it. I had to ask in exasperation, “What is it?” I think that the doctor must have been so used to couples knowing ahead of time what they were having, that he took it for granted that I knew what it was.
Seth’s middle name was named after his maternal grandfather, Reinhardt. My prayer is that he realizes how special this is. Little did I know that three weeks to the day that Seth was born, his paternal grandmother, his “Oma” would be gone from this earth and be in the arms of Jesus. Little did I know at the time, that two months later, Seth’s older sister would be diagnosed with autism.
Last of all, Seth was a baby to cherish. He had these wide blue eyes that made a mother’s heart melt. He was a comfort to me as we began the difficulty of working through the funeral and then the therapies to help his sister with her autism.
Here it is fifteen years later and the memories remain vivid in my mind. Sometimes, I wish our children would realize what a heritage they have. Because at their ages they don’t seem to care, it is up to me to record my memories and to pass on the stories of the Godly family members in their past. When they get to an age where they really do care, the memories will be written down for them to read. THANK YOU LORD FOR THE BLESSING OF SETH!
"Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.” (Deuteronomy 11:18- 21)
SETH
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| Until Later, Uncle Albert
ALBERT & ELSA AT OUR FAMILY REUNION - SEPTEMBER 2008
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
One of my dear uncles has passed away and gone on to his heavenly reward. I have known Uncle Albert since I was a little tot. He has been a part of my life, along with my Aunt Elsa and my six cousins for the past forty-nine years. I remember him as being quiet, yet always seemingly smiling with his dimples, which he passed down to many of his kids. He was very loving and protective of his wife. His wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were his joy. In his last few years as his health declined, I always made it a point to kiss him and let him know that I loved him. I never knew when he would be going to meet his Maker. Yet, that day has come. I will miss you Uncle Albert but I will see you again one day soon.
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