GABE's FORTY TODAY 9/24/2016

The Risk We Take

Pawpaw's 1st B'Day in Heaven Celebration 9/5/16

The Lance Boys

The Beach ~ By Al Tepe (Linda Black's Father

Mother's Day 2016

Robyn sent me these on Mother's Day! Delicious! What a blessing to have a daughter that appreciates you and shows you how much you are loved. God is good!

2016 May 8th Mother's Day

After Church & SS at FBCW Bob & I drove over to Emily & Hungs new house that they are buying 5/15 and got to walk through it with them. Then we all went to a Mothers Day Brunch at the Rivermont Country Club that is in the subdivision where they are living now. It was a great Mother's Day! Thank you Father God! 

My Pawpaw

An Eulogy by Mrs. Emily Truong

                                                     Hansel Hester 9-4-1930 ~ 3-16-2016     

     Some of us new him as “Hansel”, some as “Hank”, and some very dear to him as “Hester”, I knew him as “Pawpaw, Pee paw, Peeps, Pops”…

     As a kid, he reminded me of a big Oak tree… sturdy, reliable, always there, strong, safe. His  branches reached to the sky, nothing could knock him over. He would sit in his rocking chair reading his papers or his mystery novel, like the world was his kingdom and he was the king. He never seemed afraid, weak, or worried. 

     He drove that lawnmower around the yard like it was his chariot, and that yard was his masterpiece. He took so much pride in that yard and the beauty it showed and I think he enjoyed being alone and pondering while working in it. He never said much about his thoughts and feelings but I wondered all the time what he was thinking. He was a man of few words. And every once in awhile he would let one of us youngsters, that were tearing up that beautiful yard, ride on his chariot. And for a moment he would let us be the king or queen. 

     He was my Pawpaw, and he could do anything. And then there was the funny side of him…always telling a little joke here and there and most of the time you were the butt of that joke. But if you turned it back around on him, he would laugh, he loved to laugh. And his smile would make you smile. 

     One thing you gotta have in this family is “thick skin”. He would say, “whaddaya say Em”?. He would roll his eyes up and give a crazy look at Me maw or one of us grand kids for something we did or didn’t do. He tried to be the grouchy old man, but we could all see through that. He would yell at us, “shut the refrigerator door, take your shoes off, clean up after yourself”. And we would just yell back at him, “OK, OK old man”! And Me maw was the only one that knew how to put him in his place. She controlled every move he made, even though he wouldn’t ever admit to that. 

     As I got older, I saw more of what Pawpaw loved…He was devoted to his wife, he loved Me maw. He would bend over backwards for her, maybe complaining, but he would do whatever she asked. He was committed to his family. He loved his family. He would drive hours to see family. He spent every Holiday with family. He has been to many baseball, football, basketball, and school functions, for his grand kids and great grand kids. He was a true patriot. He loved his country. He was honored to have had the opportunity to serve his country. 

   

 We will all miss this oak tree of a man, for many different reasons…I will miss the stash of gum he carried around everyday, I will miss seeing him in that rocking chair, I will miss seeing him at my kids games and school functions, I will miss him giving us a hug good bye and saying,  "come see us again soon", I will miss his sweet smile, and the smell of his cologne, his button up shirts that he wore even to do yard work, his light blue, off-brand crocks that he wore, and all the other insignificant things, that most people wouldn’t think twice about. These memories I have will always be in my heart and mind because he’s My "Pawpaw".

HANSEL HESTER ~ Acrostic

H. HEAVEN is for real and Hansel our beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother-in-law, Uncle, Cousin, Co-Worker, Friend is in Heaven!

A. Assurance just takes FAITH and our Father God has given us all that tiny 'mustard seed' of faith to believe in His Son Jesus Christ.

N. Not by our works of righteousness but only by JESUS CHRIST do we step out of this life into our eternal life with our creator Father God.

S. Salvation is our HOPE and we can have this hope today by repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus Christ and making Him Lord of our life.

E. Everlasting LIFE is our destiny and it will be either with our Father God or without our Father God and He has given us that choice to make during our life time.

L. LOVE was how our Father God made the way for us and that was not a coincidence that Hansel passed on 3:16! For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only Son and whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life! John 3:16

H. Hester was a good man whom we loved and will miss dearly!

E. Entered earth on September 4, 1930.

S. Son of Robert Lamar Hester and Claudia Spivey of Uvula, Ga.

T. Trained us how to love our family and to bear with one another in love.

E. Entered Heaven on 3/16/16.

R. Resting now in Heaven and wanting us to join him. Will you make that choice today by asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart by faith? We will be praying for all our family and friends. May God bless you and as Hansel Hester would say, "AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!"

Winters Silence

There are no singing birds

nor a single chirp chirp heard,

from the stray bird.

There are no frogs a croking

nor the katydids, 

nor cricket.

There are no squirrels a running

nor the rabbits hopping or 

the deer showing their faces.

Even the neighbors water fall

is turned off 

and silent.

O the sounds of winter...silence!

And O how our hearts can grow cold

during these months of winter

unless we use these months wisely 

to read God's Word and restore our souls.

My Prayer Closet

the long black mat

On my front porch

there was a mat

it was long

and it was black.

There were little rows

some narrow & wide and

I would send them down 

to the screened door finish side.

Down they went

round, round, round,

down they'd race and 

stack, stack, stack.

That was my game 

that I would play

on my front porch

on rainy days.

That's all it took

with my formation

a bunch of marbles

and a young imagination.

lllbh 3/1/2016 I woke up at 4am and pinned this poem about my childhood while living in Little Five Points area on 1046 Washita Avenue in Atlanta Georgia 30307 and Jackson 4-1267 was my phone number. 

My Yellow Room

MY YELLOW ROOM

I loved my room,

my yellow room,

as it took away

my morning gloom.

The two green swinging doors

that lead into my room

were so cute to me

as they would swish & swoosh.

I would swish into the closet

and out to my front door.

I would swoosh into my room

and outside onto the patio floor.

My room was very nice

for a young teenage girl,

but I took life for granted

not knowing the Creator of my world.

Not thinking of anything

but me, myself and I.

I would lock myself up

in my yellow room and cry.

Then one night, from a far away country,

two missionaries came into my room.

They shared how God's love

could take away my gloom.

As they sat with me on the end of my bed,

we read through the “four spiritual laws”

and they ask if I would bow my head.

“Jesus, will you come into my heart?” I said,

and out of my yellow room,

through those two green doors I swirled,

a brand new teenage girl

trusting in God the Savior of my world!  

by lllbh 2011

What are you reaching for? 1/22/16

The pic below shows Bob & I reaching for a box of Kleenex that got out of our reach last night. We laughed & finally Bob used something to bring it closer so he could reach it. I thought it was so funny to see our fingers reaching out for the box of Kleenex that I said, "Let me take a pic of our fingers reaching." Then as I pondered on this pic this morning, I felt that God was saying, "What are you reaching for in your life?" Are you reaching for those things which are ahead (Phil 3:13NKJV)or are you reaching for things that will leave you behind and unbelieving? (John 20:27NKJV) Thank God we have a Savior Jesus who loves us and died for us and said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing," (John 20:27 NKJV) All it takes is a mustard seed of Faith that even JESUS will give to you, if you will just reach out to Him.