Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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On our 25th wedding anniversary, Tom and I had decided to be brave and fly to Hawaii, though neither of us like flying, especially over the ocean. Our plans began to grow. We saved our money. When was the best time to go? When was the weather good there? What to take? But then something happened with our plans. We received a telephone call that changed our lives. Would we be interested in adopting again? Yes, was my answer. Tom was a little more cautious, saying things like, “We’re too old.” I never thought our family was c...
I really do not know how people go through grief without the Lord. People always say there are many stages of grief and there are. It depends on what kind of day I’m having as to which stage I’m going through. The pain only tells me the depth of love that Tom and I had for each other. Grief hits me without a warning sometimes – for example, while shopping at Walmart, I broke down and sobbed. Some stranger came up to me and gave me a hug and walked away. That blessed me. It is hard to say the words, “I’m a widow,” but I am, a...
When my husband, Tom, gave his retirement sermon in our church in Buckley, his topic was “A man with no regrets.” Not many people can say that of their lives, but he could. Tom and I have many, many great memories in our 55 years together (50 married). The greatest was serving the Lord for 42 years. Another was how each of our children came to us through adoption. Over the years, Tom traveled to many states to teach pastors; he loved doing that. He also had no regrets writing his book “The Grace Based Life”, which wasn’t...
When our special needs son was in school, he always rode the school bus for handicapped children. God blessed us with great school bus drivers and you have to be very special yourself for this job. In my husband’s church office, he had intercoms that led to his secretary due to the long distance between offices. There were days that Tom would pick up truck drivers speaking on CBs to other truck drivers. Tom would stop his work occasionally and try to catch a few words between drivers. Tom said it never distracted him from h...
Our holiday dinners get funnier each year. Take these last few years – I’ll use the Goetz family for example. We always eat between 12:00 and 12:30, mainly because Grandpa and our son Treg can’t wait another minute. Now Treg always sits by Grandpa, then Grandma has to find her own place at the table. And speaking of tables, we have now added a card table, because I’m too weak to put the leaf in the table to make it bigger. Although this last holiday, my brother-in-law, Greg, did fix it for me with lots of washers that ha...
As we get closer to the celebration of “Mother’s Day,” I think of the women who have been a tremendous influence in shaping my life. My grandmother, my mother and my mother-in-law. My grandmother taught me the beauty of flowers, gardening, sewing and cooking. She had her picture in the paper many times with the flowers she grew and the garden she raised. This began my journey as a Proverbs 31 woman. My mother taught me love unconditionally. She always told her children “to be there for one another.” Even when we were far...
Over the years, I finally made peace with myself, and God, when He called Tom and I into the ministry. You see, I never, ever wanted to be a "pastor's wife". In the back of my mind, I knew if we were to go into the ministry, taht would lead us to the mission field and I never, ever wanted to go to some place like "Africa". I hadn't heard of missionaries being sent to exotic places, like Hawaii. Between college and seminary, Tom and I were asked to fill in for short term missions. Missionaries who needed to come home to rest...
Being the mom of a special needs son changed the direction of my life, from the day the nurse put him in my arms to this day. I was headed my own way in life and the Lord said, "No, you are going my way now." This special child has brought tears, laughter and, most of all, love into my life, and the lives of many, many others. I always dreamed of that perfect family - me having 2 boys and 2 girls. Instead, we adopted 3 boys and 1 girl. I was a young mother with a child that never slept more than 45 minutes at a time, during t...
What does a person learn going through life lucky enough to have in-laws like Jim and Gerry Goetz? What does a person learn going through life with the best examples? I count it an honor to be their daughter-in-law, and I have been with them most of my life. I married their oldest son, Tom. Their other two sons, Terry and Greg, have always said they “can’t remember life without me in the family.” Jim and Gerry have taught me to love unconditionally, especially with our oldes...
