Best Brother Ever

I've used this picture before in my blog. It's my brother, Kevin and his son, Ryan. Kevin looks the same but Ryan is all grown up and a teenager now.

This is the best brother in the world. I hope you have one like him. I am ten years older than he is and, according to my mother, I acted like a little mother to him. I got married when Kevin was 11 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. On my visits home he and I would visit and I found him to be just a nice guy. I mentioned this to my mother who said, "Well of course you like him, he's your brother." Well that's not about liking, that's about loving. You don't always like who you love. She didn't get it.

When I was grieving over Jeff's death I went to visit Kevin and his family. My sister-in-law, Karen, welcomed me in the same loving way as my brother as did his children. I stayed there from the middle of November til late in February. I can't wait to see them again soon when I sell my house and stay with them again for a bit in my transition.

Today I was thinking about Kevin. He just has a servant's heart. I think that when he sees a need he tries to fill it. In December he sent me hard-earned money to fix my car. It's not like he is wealthy. He is sacrificial in his giving and extending himself to others. He gives his time to people. He is compassionate.

Yesterday he sent me an email that said he had been reading my blog and saw that I was wanting the book The Reader so he just ordered me one on Amazon and it would be arriving soon. HOW NICE IS THAT?

It's as nice as being able to stay with him for months on end, as nice as receiving a check to cover my car repair. That's how nice. I cried. Yeah, I'm a crybaby, but you touch me with things like this and it hits my heart and I cry in gratefulness to be close to people such as my brother. A book may seem a small thing, but its huge in its impact.

God kept this brother of mine around much longer than any of us expected and we are all blessed by the gift of Kevin and his life which serves his Master. I'm sure Kevin will hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" when he is embraced by Jesus one day.

I love and like my brother - everyone who knows him does! Not hard to figure out why. Can't wait for the book to arrive but if there were no gifts except the gift of being able to sit and talk with Kevin I am blessed beyond measure.

Way to Go! Olympics 2008

I love swimming and I always have. Many great memories of summers in the sun, zinc oxide carefully placed upon my nose, laughing with friends, racing in the pool...even synchronized swimming with nose plug in place, toes pointed, routines completed after long, exhausting and rigorous practices of just swimming laps to create endurance. Coaches encouraging and demanding all at the same time. But there was nothing like the day of the 'performance' itself. Familes in place in the stands, whooping it up, calling your name, clapping in appreciation when it was all over.

So I am enjoying the swimming events in the Olympics this year. I love the gymnasts too although I've never ever stood on a balancing bar. Sand in my toes is not my idea of fun so volleyball on the beach never appealed to me. We have such great olympians from the USA. We take great pride in their accomplishments and yell and clap when they win -- right in the privacy of our own homes, even sitting alone!

What brings a smile to my face each time Michael Phelps finishes his race he looks to the stands to see his Mother, Deborah Phelps who is, of course, overjoyed and hyperexcited that her son has won another gold medal. The story of how Michael got into swimming is interesting since he was a child diagnosed with ADHD - between Deborah and his physician they felt that sport would help him focus. Well I guess that worked! :)

It's always been intersting to me to see super heros look for that approval from their mothers in the stands....NFL players saying, "Hi, Mom" to the tv cameras, watching my own son, Jeff, as he grew up playing tennis, basketball, softball, and being on a swimteam for a few years, do the same exact thing....'Hey Ma, look at me; I won!""

Mothers can be the best cheerleaders, the best encouragers! A "way to go" from a mom means the world to them. I'm not leaving out fathers...look at Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods! You know they were encouraged as well, but dads have the rules, the systems, the timers, and the advice. Moms just yell, "Way to go, my child!" High five's abounding. I know there are moms who drive their children with the rules, systems, timers and advice....but most of us just want our kids to know they can be anything they desire to be if they just give it their best...whatever that is...so we encourage them to the hilt to do so. We provide the opportunities available in the community, the resources and our time to make sure it happens.

It's really how we should be with everyone we meet. Find the best, encourage and root them on to individual victories whether they be physical, emotional or spiritual. We should do whatever it takes - opportunities, resources, time and the spoken word. Most people hear negativity day in and out and that is what they remember. We can be the vessels that provide the soothing balm of spoken encouragement.

I was encouraged by a friend in the Lord today who had noticed I had not blogged in a few days. It helped to read her words to me just sharing that she was glad I was blogging and that she felt I had a lot to share. What a difference that encouragement made. It lifted me back up, set me toward my blog site and what was on my heart for this day. Thanks Lori.

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up." ~ I Thessalonians 5:11~