Preparing For The Future

A person spends a lot of time preparing for their future. For what they want to do when they are able to retire.

Tuesday, we went to the funeral home to prepare for Jerry's funeral. It was a hard thing to do, but we know it is something that everyone has to do sometime.

Jerry is being very considerate of me. He didn't want me to have to deal with a lot of things after he graduates to Heaven. One of them was planning the funeral and the other was what to do with all the things he has accumulated through the years.

This week, while he was still able, I helped him go through all of his belongings. He wanted certain items to go to certain people. He knew that would be a hard thing for me to have to deal with. He had a lot of tools that he divided among his sons. I remember all the things he repaired and built with those tools. Then he divided his hunting equipment. I kept one of his hunting hats and hung it up in his hunting room. So many memories.

I remember almost 45 years ago, when we first started our life together. We moved into a furnished apartment. All of our belongings along with a few wedding presents fit in the back seat of our car and our trunk. We didn't even own a television.

But we felt so rich. We had each other, our whole lives ahead of us, and we felt like we could conquer the world.

And the best thing we can tell you is that we have prepared for our eternal future. We have obtained an inheritance of a home in Heaven. This is the most important preparation a person can make. To make sure you have a home in heaven, and we have done that.



Hebrews 1:4

Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.



A Walk Down Memory Lane

What a beautiful and glorious morning.

Every morning has become so special to us. We wake up and open the back door, smell the fresh air, listen to the birds sing, drink our coffee, and spend time together.

This morning we took a walk down memory lane. We remembered all the ministries the Lord allowed us to a part of and to serve in.

We remembered how excited we were when I  got saved and Jerry rededicated his life to serving God. We had no idea what a journey it would lead us on.

We thought about all the boys and girls we ministered to through the bus ministry and children's ministry and then through Christian education. So many precious memories of little boys and girls asking Jesus into their hearts and their lives being changed. We thought about all the lifelong friends we have made along the way. Some of those friends are in Heaven now and we look forward to seeing them again some day. What a great reunion that will be.

And through this life journey of ministries, He brought us  to Peoples Baptist Church here in Greenville where we feel like God has wrapped His arms around us and loved us through His people.

What a WONDERFUL GOD we serve!!

We love you. Thank you for your prayers and love.

A Helping Hand

Hayden helping PawPaw Rice walk with his cane

Psalm 119:173

Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.

Ever so often all of us need a helping hand from someone.

There's a story about a mother who wanted to encourage her son at learning to play the piano. So she bought tickets to see a performance by the great Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski.

When they arrived at the concert hall they found their seats down front and while the mother was busy talking to a friend, the boy slipped away.

At 8:00 the lights dimmed and the spotlight came on and the mother looked up in shock and embarrassment to see her son sitting at the piano bench playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Before she could get her son, the great Paderewski appeared on stage and sit down by the boy.

He whispered to him, "Don't quit. Keep playing." And Paderewski with  his left hand reached over and started filling in the bass part and then reached around the other side and improvised a delightful obbligato. Together the old master and the young novice kept the audience mesmerized with their blended and beautiful music.

We just wanted to say thank you to all the helping hands that support us and love us and help us along the way.

This has been a rough week for both of us. We had the worst stomach bug you could imagine. Jerry came down with it Tuesday morning and that afternoon Neal helped me get him to the doctor so they could give him IV fluids and anti-nausea medicine. And of course, being married we always share everything. On Wednesday afternoon I had it. I think we are on the mend now, just still tired and weak. Please pray that we'll continue to heal.

At this point, we are still going in one day a week for platelet and blood transfusions for Jerry. Every morning we wake up and listen to the birds singing and thank God for another day together.

We love you and thank you for your prayers.

 



The Love Of Family

We were blessed and encouraged by a visit from Jerry's other sister, Janine, her husband, Gary, and Jerry's youngest brother, Norman. We had a wonderful time together.

It's been so great seeing our family and spending time with them.

 Whenever they leave, Jerry tells them, "If I don't see you again here on earth, I'll see you up in heaven."

Jerry, Janine, and Gary



Jerry and Norman

Please continue praying. They have scheduled Jerry to receive platelets and blood each week now.

Each day the Lord gives us grace. He has been so good to us.

We love you! 

Lamentations 3:22-24

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Happy Mother's Day

One of my happiest and most fulfilling roles in my life is being a mother. It's not always an easy job. Sometimes there's heartaches and tears, but most of the time there's lots of laughter and love.

My Rewards

In my life I chose to be a mother,

Not always a glamorous career.

A job you do unselfishly

With no applauds or cheer.

You don’t have to be an expert

Or study for a college degree.

But it does require a heart full of love

And lots of prayers on bended knees.

And oh the blessings that I receive

The hugs, the love, the happiness.

You can’t add them up in dollars and cents,

But to me the rewards are priceless.

-Patricia Rice


Scott




Aaron




Mark




Neal



We are so thankful for the love of our sons and their support during this time in our lives.

They have been so great.

We love you Scott, Neal, Aaron, and Mark!!

Hard Saying Good-Bye

One of the saddest words to me is GOOD-BYE!

Jerry's sister, Jennifer, her husband, Steve, and their two daughters, Olivia and Aleise came for a visit.

They spoiled us rotten with love and kindness. They were such an encouragement to us. We sat around and talked and reminisced about old times, watched old family videos, and ate more than we should, but it was such a great time. Olivia and Aleise are two of the sweetest girls you would ever want to meet.

The hard part was telling them Good-Bye.

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed

at home in the bosom of my family.  ~Thomas JeffersonThe happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home

 in the bosom of my family.  ~Thomas Jefferson

Aleise, Brylee, Steve, Jennifer, Olivia, Jerry, Patricia, Kyla, Hayden, Neal, and Amy

A Good Week

The Lord has given us such a good week. There are a few times I can almost imagine that Jerry isn't sick.

The blood transfusion Monday gave him some energy. We have gotten out a little and were even able to go to church Wednesday night.

One of the highlights of our week was getting to see some good friends from Florida, Pastor Steve and Brenda Ware. We worked for them in Orlando at Heritage Preparatory School. We  had become good friends while we were there. They are wonderful people with kind hearts.

Steve Ware, Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida,
his wife, Brenda, and their traveling companion, Jack

Please pray that Jerry's energy will stay up. We have family coming in from out of town the next two weeks.

We love you.

Thankful for a Christian Doctor

We still believe that God is in control of our lives and makes no mistakes. Even with the one He chose to be our family doctor.

When we first moved to Greenville, we had the job of finding a doctor. I have to admit I like a woman doctor. My husband didn't care and so he said that would be fine with him. Our doctor was still taking new patients at the time and they were able to work us in. She has been great and such a blessing to us. She not only cares about our physical, but also our spiritual.

Yesterday she asked that we stop by to see her just so she could give Jerry a hug. While in the room, she prayed with us and asked us if we were at peace with our situation. To us it was amazing. It gave us encouragement knowing a doctor is praying for you and loving you as they care for you.

Jerry's red cells were low again yesterday. They had to give him a transfusion of 2 units of red blood cells. It always gives him a boost of energy for a few days and so he is  feeling pretty good today. We take advantage of the good days and enjoy them to the fullest.

Please continue praying.
We love you.