One More For JC

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)   “Look at the clock!” In my household, that was the universal signal that it was 9:17 PM.  September 17th was my parents’ anniversary and at some point, that became a beautiful tribute to a very special day in the lives of my Dad, Mom, sister, and I.   Unfortunately, after my Dad’s passing in 2006, I haven’t heard those words said again, but I always think about it whenever I happen to catch 9:17 on the clock.  In fact, when I was going back and forth on whether to write this verse app, I came upstairs for a cup of coffee and the clock on the stove just happened to be sitting on 9:17.  I couldn’t help but smile – it was one of those gentle leadings I get from the Lord from time to time, and so I went back downstairs and finally decided to put pen to paper.   Although 9:17 can bring a smile, it can also bring a lot of sadness

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) On June 20, my mother-in-law, Nancy, passed away at the age of 76.  She left this earth as one of the greatest cooks and seamstresses this world has ever known.  Although her food was legendary, I’ll remember her most for the following three stories.   The first was from October 2005.  At the start of that year, Dee and I both felt a strong desire to reunite our parents for what we felt would be the last time.  We prayed and prayed, and ultimately put together an east coast trip for October.  At the tail end of that trip, the six of us were able to spend a couple days together at Hershey Hotel in Pennsylvania and then spent a day in New York City with a Broadway show and visiting some of the main tourist sites.  We made sure we returned to my parents’ home early enough so Nancy could make her incomparable Chinese feast.  We were also sure to invite my grandmother Do