Learning To Be The Light

 This is one of my new favorite songs.  I haven't had a song have such an impact on me in a long time.  The lyrics to this song dig deep into my soul.  It tells my story.  It tells the story of so many of us.  I'm going to type out the lyrics and make comments as the song goes along.  May it help you think about your life too.   

 

Learning To Be The Light

Lyrics by NEWWORLDSON

When the stars came crashing down

In tiny pieces to the ground

I was all alone down here

Trapped beneath the atmosphere

Then I thought somebody called my name

I spun around and caught a flame

I gave into a God I didn't know

And now everything is falling into place

A brand new life is calling and I owe it all to grace

 Anyone who has ever dealt with depression or anxiety knows what it feels like to have it seem as though everything is crashing down around you.  You feel trapped and like you are suffocating.  You search for anything that will help lift this heavy burden you carry.  You long to feel hope again.  Then something holds out a "candle flame" of hope and somehow deep inside you know it is from God.  I was there.  I was deep in "there."  I remember when I found hope again.  I remember thinking that everything COULD fall into place again.  I remember one day hardly being able to fathom grace and then later being so overwhelmed with thankfulness for God's grace.  It was fresh and new and good. 

It's so much brighter living in Your world

Savior, what you did for me

You gave me something I want everyone to see

When we struggle and it all goes wrong

Only You can make it right

So I say, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I'm learning to be the light."

Whoa, Whoa, I'm learning to be the light, Whoa, Whoa

Even if a person is taking medication because of a chemical imbalance in the brain causing depression, anxiety, or fear, a person can still choose to continue living "in the depths of despair" or a person can choose to SEE that God's world is bright and beautiful and He is taking care of us and giving us strength.  Jesus died on the cross for ME.  He took MY sins upon his shoulders and felt the weight of them.  He gave me peace and freedom.  He gave me hope and ambition.  He gave me a purpose.  I still struggle and sometimes it seems that I am falling back into the pit, but then somehow God reminds me that He can fix things.  He can make things right.  He is good.  He wants to use me to be a light to others.  I'm learning how to shine for Him.  I want to be a reflection of His goodness and love to others.  I am so grateful for His grace that is new every morning! 

When a heart is cold as ice

You can't melt it with advice

No one wants to listen to

A list of things they shouldn't do

So I build a city on a hill

And I light a candle on the sill

Knowing You'll be always knocking at the door

Oh God, I just want to love on everyone

All I have is Yours to give, so let the people come!

There are people in my life who don't know Jesus.  They don't want to.  They don't want to hear about Him from me.  As the song says, "No one wants to listen to a list of things they shouldn't do."  Some of those people I love dearly.  All I can do is pray that God will make Himself real to them.  God knows that I am willing to be a light for Him - a "little light on the window sill" welcoming others in..... or a "city of light up on a hill" trying to shine out even when dark clouds surround my world.  What a relief it is to know that God doesn't NEED me to make His kingdom bigger.  He is mighty and wise and good.  He can accomplish His will with or without me.  He'll be the one knocking on the door of my loved one's hearts.  My job is to "love on" everyone.  He is good.    

It's so much brighter living in Your world

Savior what you did for me

You gave me something I want everyone to see

When we struggle and it all goes wrong

Only You can make it right

So I say, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I'm learning to be the light."

Whoa, Whoa, I'm learning to be the light, Whoa, Whoa

I want everyone to see that Jesus has given me hope, joy, peace, purpose, freedom and unconditional love.  I want everyone to see that even when I struggle with depression or anxiety or fears, that He can make things right again.  He is the bright light that pulls me up when I'm down.  I want to be a bright light for Him.  But, I don't have to be perfect.  I'm LEARNING to be the light to those around me.  Sometimes I'm just a small flicker, but that's still a light. 

That makes the shadows hide

The light that breaks the curse of pride

The light that takes the weary in its arms

Pride, most of us struggle with it.  Weariness, we all collapse there sometimes.  Jesus understands.  We are not alone.  He can help us be humble.  He can give us strength.  He holds us tight. 

When it all came crashing down

There was only darkness all around

But in the distance I could see a flame!

I need to daily choose to SEE the flame of Jesus' love in my life.  I can learn from my past hurts.

It's so much brighter living in Your world

Savior what you did for me

You gave me something I want everyone, I mean EVERYONE to see

When we struggle and it all goes wrong

Only You can make it right

So I say, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I'm learning to be the light."

Whoa, Whoa, I'm learning to be the light.

Whoa, Whoa, I'm learning to be the light.

I'm learning to be the light.  I want EVERYONE to see this light - even those people that the author of The Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren) called EGRs (Extra Grace Required).  Loving others gives my life a purpose.  My light comes from Jesus.  My job is to love and let Him shine through me.  I love living in His world - a world full of grace and acceptance and love.  I want everyone to see that Jesus is there with compassionate open arms - ready to take us in and give us His freedom and joy and love and purpose. 

Sentimental Accessories

Allow me to introduce you to my Grandpa Iverson..... or at least one of his passions!  My grandpa loved rocks!  He loved to go on trips and find rocks and bring them home where he would cut them, tumble them, polish them, and turn them into necklaces for his granddaughters.  He loved to do this for us.  Just look at the varieties.  Look at the art.  Grandpa and Grandma had one of their rocks put in a display case at the Dickinson Dinosaur Museum.  Man, were they proud of that!  Now I get to remember my grandparents each time I wear one of the necklaces they made for me.  

   Those rocks are just one of the highlights of my sentimental accessories collection found in my antique dresser in my home.  Everything has a story, right?  RIGHT!
    The colorful necklace to the left belonged to my Grandma Alber.  After she passed away, my siblings and cousins and I divided up some of her jewelry and I was delighted to get this colorful piece of art.  Beside it is a necklace from the 1960s that my mom wore with a particular dress.  I think it's SUPER COOL!  I enjoy wearing it.

   Next you'll see four necklaces that have stories of their own.  My grandpa and grandma Iverson loved to teach their grandchildren about the beauty of the Native American culture.  Considering the fact that they lived in North Dakota, there was a lot of Native American history to be learned.  I adored the "papoose" necklace I was given as a girl.  It's carved from bone and strung on a leather strap.  Next you'll see my newest purchase from Amazon.  I bought it for myself the day that one of my best friends moved to Spain.  The necklace has some of the Spanish Bible printed on it.  I reminds me to pray that the Spanish people my friend meets would come to know the Lord.  Next you'll see a cord with two coins on it - these coins are from Japan.  I was so fascinated the first time I learned that some countries have coins with holes in them!  Patty gave me these coins to enjoy wearing after she came back from Japan.  I think of her when I wear it.  Lastly is a necklace from my sister Kimberly.  She got this for me in Papua New Guinea when she was a missionary there.  I love the little shells on it!

 My dear friend Amy got this black, red, and yellow necklace for me in Jamaica when she was there on a mission trip and my friend Angie got this green one from India.  The brown one is from Venezuela.  I bought it myself in 1996 from a street vendor little boy.  You are supposed to barter for things you buy on the street, but I simply couldn't do it!  He told me an amount and I handed him the money - no bartering.  He was thrilled and I loved helping him survive!  I probably paid $5 for that little string with wooden beads, but it made my day. 

     When my husband and I had only been dating for a week, he had to leave for a vacation with his boys to Wyoming for some trout fishing.  While there he bought me a bracelet made of horse hair.  He thought I would like it because the bow hair on the violin is made of horse hair and he liked that I play violin.  I adore that bracelet.  After being married for two years we went to that same spot in Wyoming and bought a necklace to match the bracelet.  The green bear is from our honeymoon to Banff, Canada.  It's made of jade.  The beautiful silver necklace and bracelet are gifts Todd

 gave me when we were dating.  They are simply elegant and I treasure them!
     Anyone remember those colorful stretchy bracelets on my blue jewelry box?  They were all the rage when I was a girl in the eighties.  I still have mine and my students enjoy when I wear them to school.  I also have some of the plastic bracelets that are all the rage NOW.  They all have some word or message on them that inspire me.  One is for the organization Feed My Starving Children and one is to remind me to pray for a little girl named Cassidy who had Leukemia.  One is for school to remind us to "Be Your Bulldog Best" and the others say "Courage," "Hope," and "Faith."  Great one word reminders of what is important in my life.  The silver and pink one on the top of the pile belonged to Todd's Mom who died of cancer about 15 years ago.  I will forever be disappointed that I never got to know her. 
     My friend Christin went to Kenya while we were in college.  She brought me back the two brown bracelets you see in the next picture.  I love

 knowing they are from Africa.  The colorful green and blue one is from Africa too.  I got it at one of my favorite stores:  Ten Thousand Villages!  The colorful one on the lower right is from Haiti.  It's made from coconut shells.  Cool!  And the upper right two are from my students Emily and Jazlyn.  They both knew I loved blue. 
    In the next picture you'll see a pretty pink bracelet.  I bought this bracelet with Sheryl shortly after she found out she had cancer.  I wear it often and it reminds me to pray for her.  Underneath it is a bracelet made locally here in Becker.  But, it

 reminds me of bracelets and necklaces being made by women in Uganda.  Katie Davis who wrote "Kisses From Katie" started a ministry in which people in America can buy these pieces of jewelry to help support these women in Africa.  This bracelet reminds me to pray for Katie and her ministry in Uganda.  In the upper right hand corner you'll see a bracelet that tells "The Lord's Prayer" through each bead.  I adore this bracelet.  When I wear it, I say the Lord's Prayer over and over and over throughout my day - standing in line at the grocery store, waiting at a stoplight, waiting for my students to be finished with gym - so many opportunities to pray.  The last bracelet is one I received from my dear husband.  It has a heart on it and colorful beads.  I love doing life with him!
    Lastly I have displayed my pins.  It seems that no one wears pins anymore!  But, these pins I wear on a regular basis.  My students at school love these pins.  The two violins belonged to my Mom.  The Matrushka Dolls and round pin with the red roses on it come from Ukraine.  The heart and three gals made of wire come from Africa.  The rose inside the glass case from Beauty and the Beast is from my friend Rebecca.  The children playing Ring Around the Rosey pin is from Cobber Kids Corner Preschool where I worked for my college years.  The covered wagon pin is from Walnut Grove, Minnesota from one of my road trip with Mom to see one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's homes.  So many pins and necklaces and bracelets - so few days to wear them all.  May this blog inspire you to dig in your drawers and wear your sentimental accessories!  They make for great story starters!   

Surgeries #1 - #11

Gifts from my students after my "cyst surgery"

Most people at 35 years of age have not had eleven surgeries to write a blog about.  Strangely enough, I have!  Quite a few of them (#1 - #5) happened before I was ten years old.  I was one of those children who had tubes put into her ears over and over again.  I remember absolutely despising the smell of "happy gas" as they put me to sleep as a child.  That has got to be the worst smell I have ever experienced!  The trouble with all those tubes in my ears was that they kept falling out and they would have to be surgically put back in again and again and again.  The trouble with THAT was that it wore away my ear drum and I now only have half an ear drum in one of my ears.  Thankfully, when I was about fifteen I had reconstructive surgery (#6) on my ear.  They took tissue from behind my ear and recreated half of my ear drum!  I think that is pretty amazing!  But, the surgery was pretty awful!  I am thankful that Mom and Dad took such good care of me.  And, I had an excellent doctor.  Thank you, Dr. Jones!  My hearing was still damaged, but I have learned to cope.
     Most high school kids have to get their wisdom teeth out at some point.  Me included!  Out of all my surgeries, that one (#7) was the easiest for me.  I didn't get black and blue or swelling.  I had the surgery on a Thursday and was back to school by Monday.  Ice packs were my friend.  The pain meds. made me loopy! 
     Later I had to have another surgery (#8) to remove one of my teeth for upcoming braces that I had for a year.  As they were putting me to sleep, I was reminding them it was tooth #12 (or whatever it was) and I guess I kept saying "Tooth #12" over and over.  When the nurse woke me up, she asked, "Now, was it Tooth #12 you wanted out?"  She thought it was quite funny.  I had been so worried they would take out the wrong tooth!  Maybe that surgery tied for easiest one with my wisdom teeth!
     The next surgery (#9) was on my eye!  Somehow I developed a bump on my eye ball!  They gave me steroid drops and I drove to Alexandria from Becker about six times for appointments with Dr. Gess.  The day of the surgery I had to be awake for the whole thing.  I had to stare at a corner of the ceiling and not move my eye as they did surgery.  I remember that I sort of freaked out and started my deep breathing to calm myself.  Dr. Gess was afraid I would either pass out or injest too many fumes, so he asked me to breathe with my mouth shut.  Thankfully he took care of the bump and it was not cancerous.  My eye looked terrible for a long time.  Mom and Dad took care of me again.  I didn't open my eye for about three days.  I remember sitting in Dad's special chair downstairs with his special speakers facing the chair perfectly for the best sound.  I mostly listened to "The Swingle Singers."  They're the best!
    The most major surgery (#10) I had was when I had a cyst on my ovary removed.  I had been having lots of tests done for my high blood pressure.  During the ultra sound they found the cyst.  It was the size of a grapefruit!  My roomate, Angie named it Spike because when I would laugh I would grab my tummy where Spike was located.  Spike consisted of fat, fingernails, hair, and teeth!  Gross!!!!!  Even though it was an "emergency surgery" I had to wait two weeks before having it removed.  My last day of teaching school was on my birthday, and my students gave me cards and presents.  I felt so loved.  My second grade team gave me a bathrobe and new p.j.s.  So sweet!  I was out of school for five weeks!  I missed my kiddos!  I was very nervous for this surgery because it was so major.  I mean they were going to cut into me!
    I remember that before surgery I asked my surgeon (Dr. Nash) if she could "scoop out some fat" while she was in there.  Anything to lose a few pounds, right?  She laughed and said she definitely could NOT do that. 
   Before and after surgery, I was visited by my pastor.  That meant a lot to me.  My church family was praying for me.  My roommate Angie visited me as well as some friends from school (Kristi, Jenny, and Corrie).  I was so touched by that.  One of my nurses was my friend Stephanie G.  That was neat.  Mom was there with me every step of the way.  She slept at my house in Becker each night and spent her days with me.  I had to stay in the hospital for about three nights.  I remember pushing myself to walk a little each day.  I remember that the nights were lonely, but my Dad had sent a CD player/boombox for me to listen to music on.  Angie had made three CDs of great music for me to listen to.  I felt very loved and cared for.        

Flowers from friends and staff after surgery

After my days in the hospital, Mom brought me home to Alexandria for some of my recovery time.  Some of my recovery time was in Becker too.  I read lots of books and watched lots of movies.  I remember getting to attend the  Tuesday morning Bible Study at church. 
     My most recent surgery (#11) was in July.  I had my tonsils removed.  I had been having trouble with irritating tonsil stones and numerous sore throats.  My ENT specialist (Dr. Craigle) that I regularly see for my ears took a look at my tonsils and confirmed that they needed to come out.  The recovery time was to be about 10 days.  But, I really didn't feel good again for about three weeks.  Out of all my surgeries, getting my tonsils out was my most painful!  There was simply no relief.  I was in constant pain!  I barely slept.  It hurt to move my tongue or to talk.  It hurt like crazy to swallow!  My jaw and my ears radiated pain.  The pain meds didn't help the pain much, but made my body do weird things.  Thankfully, after about two weeks I started improving and I improved more each day after that.  Getting my energy back took a long time too.  Todd is sure I will get less sore throats because of having surgery.  I hope he is right.  Those were two of the longest weeks of my life!
     Despite having had these eleven surgeries, I consider myself a very healthy gal.  I have friends who have had surgery for cancer.  I know that there are people who have regular surgeries numerous times a year for health reasons.  I am so thankful for the good doctors I've had and the excellent care I've received.  I'm so thankful I can exercise and be active.  God has taken care of me through it all and provided loved ones to look after me.  Strangely enough, when I look back on my surgeries, what I think about is the people who helped me through.  Mom, Dad, Angie, Todd, friends, nurses, doctors, my church family, my students..... I am so blessed.  God has always been faithful to me.     
         

Meeting Winnie the Pooh!

 This is a photograph of Harry Colebourn with Winnie in 1914. A.A. Milne named his Winnie the Pooh character after this bear. Harry Colebourn bought this adorable black bear for only $20 while he was in White River, Ontario, Canada. He named the bear Winnie after his adopted hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Once Lieutenant Colebourn was in London with Winnie, he decided to leave Winnie at the London Zoo as he and his unit had to go to France. Colebourn later donated the bear to the zoo. Winnie was a very popular bear in London. A.A. Milne enjoyed visiting him at the zoo with his son, Christopher. Sometimes Milne's Winnie the Pooh character is simply called Pooh.  Here is the explanation Milne gave:  "But his arms were so stiff... they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose he had to blow it off.  And I think - but am not sure- that THAT is why he is always called Pooh."  I was delighted to learn this information while visiting the Winnipeg Zoo last summer while on vacation with my husband. 

Me with Winnie and Lieutenant Colebourn in Winnipeg

Dolls, Books, Books, Dolls!

     I would like to dedicate this post to my Strawberry Shortcake dolls and to Kimberly and Cindy Lou whom you see to the left.  These dolls were a major part of my childhood. There was nothing quite so wonderful as transforming my bedroom into their world and delving deep into my imagination.  I could get lost in that place for hours and hours.  It was a safe place where I controlled the plots and I created the happy endings and everyone depended on "mommy" me to care for them.  It was a world I loved.
      When not in Strawberry

 Shortcake World or playing with Cindy Lou or Kimberly, I could often be found reading books and falling deeply into the world the authors created with their words.  One of the first series I got lost in was the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace.  I would check those books out from Alexandria Public Library over and over again.  They were old, worn-out hard cover books and I delighted in the oldness of them because I felt closer to the characters from long ago.  Betsy was a delightful character who loved to sing duets with her sister at the piano, loved to write stories by the

 lake, loved to have picnics with her friends, and later traveled the world and then married her best friend, Joe.  I wanted to be just like her.  On one of my shelves at home I have these books displayed along with a Madame Alexander doll that Grandma and Grandpa Iverson purchased long ago.  She reminds me of Betsy on her wedding day.  Just looking at them makes me happy.
      Next you see the books "Jo's Boys" and "Little Men," both by Louisa May Alcott.  Her books have always delighted me as they transported me into another time period.  You see here my dolls Nat and Nan (she used to be named Ellie after one of my

 students who had the same hair).  but, Nat and Nan are mentioned in these classic books by Alcott.
     Next you'll see Maggie, Carrie Ann, Darby, Rachelle, and Cindy-Emily-Sara (my doll with 3 names because I couldn't pick just one) near my "Little Women" book and a copy of "Freckles" and a copy of "Girl of the Limberlost" - two books that belonged to my Grandma Iverson.  I love old books!  These dolls represent all the good that can be found in these old books - good morals, innocent fun, and an appreciation for people and nature around them.  You'll see Cindy-

 Emily-Sara in the next picture too with one of my Anne dolls named after "Anne of Green Gables."  They are sitting beside "Old Fashioned Girl," also by Lousia May Alcott and beside "Pollyanna" by Eleanor H. Porter and by an old Bible that belonged to my Grandpa Iverson.  The Pollyanna book is the one I have done a blog entry about.  It belonged to my Grandpa's Aunt Mary who traveled the world telling Pollyanna's story and spreading her "gladness" attitude to others.  I have always been inspired by Pollyanna.  I strive to look on the bright side like she does.   

      My cousin Kia has a matching doll to my Cindy-Emily-Sara doll.  Our grandparents gave them to us.  We loved to change their clothes as Grandma and Grandpa had 6 - 8 dresses made for each of our dolls.  Mine even had a yellow dress that was made from the same material as the dress I wore for my aunt's wedding!  I loved having a matching dress!
    Next you'll see my Samantha doll from the American Girl Collection.  Oh, how I wanted that doll!  And, Kia wanted the Kirsten doll.  One happy year we were both given our dream dolls!  These dolls are based

 on characters from a book series.  Each character comes from a different time period.  Samantha came from 1904 (my favorite time period).  Kirsten was a Swedish Immigrant girl from 1854.  Then there was Molly from 1944.  Now there are probably 12 characters with books by American Girl, but at the time those three were it.  I continue to keep America's history straight in a timeline in my head by referring to these books and what time period they are from.  I highly recommend them!  You'll see that my Samantha has a violin to play.  That came from my third grade team as a gift at the end of my year teaching with them.  I love it!
     The next doll is dressed very warmly and is named Mountie after the sweet little girl in the "Christy" book by Catherine Marshall.  Mountie is a frightened little girl with a coat missing a button and at a key moment in the book, Christy, her teacher sews the button back on and Mountie speaks for the first time and begins trying to learn to read.  It all takes place in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.  I like to imagine I can have an impact on my

 students the way Christy had on Mountie.  Mountie is in our home placed next to an old dog named "Whee" and lamp that were Todd's when he was a boy.
    I taught in Mountain Lake for three years and at the end of my time there a group of friends gave me this doll - Callie as a gift.  I adore her!  She makes me happy just to look at her.  I feel loved.  I actually named her Tacy from the before-mentioned "Betsy-Tacy" books by Maud Hart Lovelace.  I admire how Tacy is such a good friend to Betsy.  I appreciate my friends and I strive to be a good friend to others.  This doll represents friendship.  She is placed next to a ceramic dog that Todd painted with his mom.  Todd and his mom had a very special relationship when he was growing up.
     The next picture is of a baby doll that belonged to Todd's mom.  They called it the Ernie doll and next to that is a baby doll that belonged to my Dad when he was a boy!  Grandpa and Grandma Iverson had Dad's doll restored and repainted because it was falling apart.  I was always very careful with him and just liked to

 look at him and imagine my Dad young enough that he played with dolls!
     I've mentioned how most of my dolls are named after books that I adore.  Well, the next doll is no different.  "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery has always been a favorite of mine.  After reading the books and watching the movies I was a true Anne fan!  No turning back!  When having to do something new I would remember Anne's bravery and try to be brave.  When having to take a big test, I would pretend I was Anne taking the entrance exam to Queens.  I know so many quotes from those

 books, they are part of my vocabulary.  One of my favorites?  "Right now I feel pretty nearly perfectly happy!"  I went to Prince Edward Island in Canada with two dear friends, Amy and Jessica and bought this doll.  That trip was a dream come true!  We took three years to plan our three week trip!  We did everything "Anne" that there was to do.  We sat beside "The Lake of Shining Waters" and strolled down "Lover's Lane" and tiptoed through "The Haunted Wood."  We took pictures beside the original "Green Gables" and tasted Raspberry Cordial before sitting on

the white sandy beaches by the 40 foot cliffs.  Lucy Maud Montgomery definitely captured the island well in her books.
     I do not have any dolls representing Laura Ingalls Wilder, but I would be doing her a dis-service to not mention how her books have also impacted me.  I adored the "Little House On the Prairie" books as a girl.  My mom and I took road trips to many of the locations where Laura actually lived.  I always felt like Laura was a friend of mine.  The books fascinated me.  Perhaps someday I'll get a little doll wearing a sunbonnet (or maybe the sunbonnet should be hanging around her neck as Laura hated to wear her sunbonnet!).  I may not have a doll reminding me of Laura, but I do have the yellow set of books from my childhood.  My older sisters Patty and Kim also read these books.  In fact, when Patty was nine, our mom was going to have another baby.  Patty wrote on the top of our Little House set "Patty, Kim, Jennifer, and Pamela" because she was so sure Mom would have another girl.  Pamela was later erased when David was born!  I love that story!
     May this post remind you of books that meant a lot to you when you were a child and perhaps inspire you to go out and re-read some of those classics.  Enjoy!   
  

My baptism - May 13th, 2003

 This is the program I created when I planned my own baptism service.  I chose the scriptures, the songs, the people involved, and the service order.  I found a pastor in town willing to baptize me and I sent out invitations to my Mountain Lake friends.  I shared my life story and testimony and shared a meaningful song with the congregation.  As part of my testimony, I explained why I wanted to be baptized.  Here is what I had to say on May 13th, 2003:

Jon and Cindy led worship

   "Why do I want to be baptized?  I've been thinking about it for the past three years.  I've looked up all the verses on baptism that a Bible concordance listed.  I've prayed about it.  I've read about it in books.  One book declared that "baptism in water is an act of obedience to declare the lordship of Jesus in your life."  Jesus Himself was baptized in order to do what was right and He commands us all to do the same.  In Mark 16:16 it says, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved."  I want to be baptized to do what is right.     
    I also want to be baptized because I think it will be neat.  I want my life to be like Jesus' life.  I want to serve others and love others and love God the way that Jesus did.  Jesus was baptized and the heavens were opened to Him and the Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove.  Well, I don't expect the heavens to open up or to see any doves - but I know God will be pleased with this baptism and I know that the Holy Spirit will wash over me and cleanse me.  I know that Jesus is in my heart. 

Mom read Psalm 139

I shared my "story"

Why do I want to be baptized now?  Well, my time with you in Mountain Lake these last three years has meant a lot to me and your friendships and support have meant a lot to me.  I decided I wanted to create my own church family today and experience this event with all of you.  After I leave Mountain Lake and continue my life somewhere else, I want to be able to look back on this baptism as one of the sweet memories of my life here.  I also want to be baptized now because of a verse in Acts 22, verse 16 that says, "And now, why are you waiting?  Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."  Who can argue with that?" 

I sang, "Make My Heart Your Home"

The water and the word

   Here I sit at my computer, 9 years later and I look back on that day as a sweet memory.  My dad made a video recording of the event and I have been able to share the video with my husband, with some of my good friends, and with some members of my current church family in Becker.
    Once in a while I struggle with guilt and shame over things I have done in my past.  I want to be perfect and I often beat myself up when I am not perfect.  Well, there are painful events that happened before my baptism and when I am tempted to let Satan remind me of those events, I tell myself, "Jennifer, you have been washed in the water and the word - you are clean - your stains are gone!"  What a freeing feeling! 
    Sometimes I think how nice it would be to be baptized again and again and again.  But, then I am reminded of Romans 6:3-4 which says, "As many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death.  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."  To me, that means:
  

gathering for prayer

Jesus didn't die on the cross so that I could be full of
guilt and shame.  He died on the cross to set me free!  Being baptized didn't save me from my sins - Jesus did!  His grace is enough.  His mercies are new every morning.  His love is unconditional.  There is nothing I can do to make Him love me less.  There is nothing I can do to make Him love me more.  What a great God we serve! 
     Looking back to 9 years ago, I am amazed at how my life has changed - I'm happily married.  I enjoy teaching in the public school.  I've been to Ukraine on a mission trip.  I've saught out Christian counseling for life's tougher stuff.  I've joined my church's worship team and I help with VBS.  I've found new friends.
    God has been faithful.  He is the same God today, right now, as He was in Mountain Lake on May 13th, 2003 and the same God as when I was born in 1977 and when my Grandma was born in 1917!  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  So, I have the peace of knowing that He will continue to be faithful in my life for the rest of my life!  "Slava Bohu!" - Praise God!  (in Ukrainian) 

Growing Up in Boone, Iowa in the 1950s

Lonette, Linda, Nancy, 1953

 Growing Up in Boone, Iowa in the 1950s

Linda, age 7

Linda, age 14

Playing in front of the house on Carroll Street

 My name is Jennifer Sapp.  I grew up as Jennifer Iverson in Minnesota in the 1980s.  My mom's name is Linda Iverson.  She grew up as Linda Alber in Iowa in the 1950s.  I have always been fascinated by stories of my mom's childhood.  I'm going to call my mom Linda in this blog.  Enjoy!
  Linda wasn't born in Boone.  She was born in Blytheville, Arkansas (in 1945) because her daddy was stationed there.  She lived in Essex, Iowa for most of her first five years of life.  When it was time to move away from her white house on the edge of Essex, she looked closely at her chickens in the fence and said to herself, "Now you remember what this looks like, you're going to want to remember this!"
  Linda's family moved to Boone in 1950 when Linda was five.  She remembers the specific day that her family moved and how they stayed at the Shangri La Hotel overnight.  She recalls, "I was so excited to be in Boone!  The next morning we went to our house, which was only a few blocks from the hotel.  I remember so vividly thinking, '"Well, it was so close, why didn't we just come all the way last night?"'  Linda felt like her daddy should have been able to stay awake long enough to get to the house and not have to stay in a hotel!    

The house on Carroll Street, 1953

    The family lived in two different houses during their time in Boone.  For the first two years they lived on Fourth Street and then later moved to Carroll Street.  They were able to buy the house by paying only $50 a month.  They bought the house for $4,000 and then in 1962 when they sold the house, it sold for $6,000.  Her folks had put a lot of work into the house, especially the attic.
    The first thing a person saw when they walked into the Carroll Street house was the dining room.  Over on the right was the living room with big bay windows and to the left was the bathroom.  Right beside the bathroom there was a cabinet with a door and three shelves where Linda and her sisters each had their own shelf.  Linda said, "Oh, how we prized those!  It was a place where we could put our own possessions.  It was so wonderful to have that space to ourselves and I remember cleaning out my shelf and getting it organized and of course, just like a school desk, it would get messed up and I would clean it up and then it would get messed up again."
    Past the dining room was the kitchen and farther over to the right from the dining room was Linda's parents' room.  Off of the dining room were some steps that the girls had to climb to get up to their bedrooms.  The roof was slanted.  Lonette's room was the first one on the left at the top of the stairs.  Nancy and Linda shared a big room that was separated into two rooms by a partitition their daddy made.  All three girls shared a closet in the hallway and an upstairs bathroom.  Linda remembers using the space under her bed to store things such as magazines and books.    

The house on Carroll Street, 2012

 At night the girls would lie in bed and talk to each other, even though they had been told not to.  Their mama would come to the bottom of the steps and yell, "Girls!"  Of course, the girls would quiet down immediately and go to sleep.  Well, one night when Linda was in junior high, she played a trick on her sisters.  Lonette and Nancy were already upstairs in bed and were talking to each other.  Linda went to the bottom of the steps and put on her best mother voice and yelled up, "Girls!"  Lonette and Nancy were quiet instantly.  It had worked!  Linda had fooled them!  Linda remembered, "It was such a trick to play on them and I never tried it again, but that one time, it was fun!" 

   Linda's family moved into the Carroll Street house around Christmas time.  Linda's mamma always liked to tell a particular story about Linda from that Christmas.  She said, "The first Christmas we lived in the house on Carroll Street, we didn't have drapes up on the windows yet, but we did have a Christmas tree up.  We moved just right at Christmas time.  We gave the girls bicycles for Christmas that year.  The girls came down to see what Santa brought them and Linda was the one who said, 'I think we should stop right now and say thank you to God for Christmas!'  So, we did.  And, I have never forgotten that!" 

  The house on Carroll Street had a huge mulberry tree (that didn't have mulberries) in front that always had squirrels nesting in it.  Whenever anyone walked out of the house those squirrels would scold and scold.  Linda and her sisters got so used to squirrels that they became part of the environment around their house.  Linda said, "We had a big back yard.  I don't know that it really was all that big, but as a child, it seemed like a big back yard."  There were lilac bushes, peonies, and asparagus growing in the back yard. There was also a mulberry tree in the back of the house that did have mulberries.  Linda describes mulberries as being halfway between blueberries and raspberries.  Linda remembers that although their mulberries from their tree were good, the very best mulberries were down by Honey Creek (where they were not allowed to go).  Linda said with a chuckle, "One day we were down there and we had a feast of mulberries, which we were not supposed to do.  I got home and my mom said, 'Oh, you've been down there eating mulberries.'  I thought, 'She can read my mind!'  And, then I went and looked in the mirror and of course they were all over the outside of my mouth smeared like everything."    

 Linda and her family went on occasional picnics to Ledges State Park, near Boone.  Linda's dad would start the fire and then go for hikes with the girls while Linda's mom prepared the meal.  A particular attraction that Ledges State Park had were fords (little bodies of water) that cars could drive through.  Some people call these "dry bridges."  The park also had large sandstone boulders.
    Linda's family got a television around 1953, when Linda was eight years old.  At that time there were fifteen minute shows.  For example, Dinah Shore and Jane Wyman each had a fifteen minute show.  Some other favorite programs were, "I Love Lucy,"  "Perry Mason," and "Mr. Peepers."  Linda's family enjoyed watching the "Ed Sullivan Show" because of the excellent guests he had on.  They also enjoyed watching, "Bishop Fulton J. Sheen" on T.V.  His program was very popular and was on at the same time as Ed Sullivan for a while.  

   Linda's family always ate breakfast and supper together.  They had a special tradition on Saturday nights:  popcorn, milk, and apples and sometimes they had fudge!  Sunday noon meal was always eaten together as well.  Once a month the family ate out at McCaskey's Cafe in downtown Boone.  They used the money Linda's mom got for being a church choir director.  She got $10 a Sunday and used $5 on their meal out.
   Linda's family attended Central Christian Church.  Linda said, "The only time you didn't go to Sunday School was if you were too sick to stand up!"  They were taught a lot of Bible lessons.  Linda remembers attending church at a very young age.  She said, "Even when I was too young to understand it, I went to church.  At first the sermons seemed awfully, awfully long until I got to where I really could understand what he was saying."  Linda's mom was the choir director and her dad sang, was an elder, and was chairman of the board.  Her dad sometimes gave sermons if the preacher was gone.  Sometimes Linda's parents sang duets together and Linda always felt proud of them.  Linda was in a youth choir that her mom directed.  Linda said, "Church was so much a part of our lives.  Much of what we did together as a family was through church."
     Linda was an active member of her church.  She said, "What inspired me to be a teacher was when I worked at Vacation Bible School at our church in Boone.  I worked with a group of second graders and I just decided, 'I want to be a teacher and teach second grade.'  That was what I had decided."  Years later, Linda did become a teacher, for first graders.     

Central Christian Church

   Linda attended Page Elementary School in Boone from kindergarten through sixth grade.  Page was a small school and had only one classroom for each grade level.  Linda really got to know her classmates.
   Linda attended school in Boone through eleventh grade.
   Linda and her sisters walked to school each day.  It was only a few blocks away.  As was very common at that time, there was a neighborhood store across the street from the school.  In fact, there were stores on many street corners, so almost everyone could walk to a store, get their groceries and walk home again.
   One summer while the family was living in Boone, there was an abundance of boxelder bugs in the house.  Linda's mom made a bargain with her three girls that for every ten boxelder bugs they killed, she would give them a penny.  The girls went to work and caught many of these pesky bugs using old oatmeal boxes as cages before disposing of them down the drain.  Linda earned over nine dollars that summer!  That's a lot of boxelder bugs!

     When not killing boxelder bugs, the girls could be found spending their summers at the pool.  Linda took lessons from the Red Cross in elementary school.  Sometimes popular rock 'n roll music would be playing over the loud speakers at the pool.  Linda did not usually listen to that kind of music, but she remembers that one popular song of the time was, "Splish, Splash, I was Taking a Bath."  
     Linda taught herself piano through the first Thompson book and then took lessons from Mrs. Veale in junior high.  Mrs. Veale charged one dollar an hour.  After Linda had played for a few years, she accompanied the school choir on ocassions.  Linda started violin lessons the summer after fourth grade.  Her teacher was Mr. Scholl.  He started the string program in Boone and taught all the orchestra students from beginners through high school.  When not making her own music, Linda enjoyed listening to records of such pieces as "The Grand Canyon Suite" by Grofe, "The Swan" by Saint-Saens and "The Peer Gynt Suite" by Grieg. 

Grandpa's Music Store in Boone, Iowa

  Linda's dad owned a music store in Boone.  He and his brother Royal worked there together.  The most popular item at music stores in the 1950s was sheet music.
   Linda's mom was a secretary at a junior college and later at a YMCA.
   In 1962, Linda's dad got a job working for his brother-in-law.  The family left Boone and moved to Cedar Falls.  They moved the summer after Linda's junior year.  At first Linda did not want to go because she wanted to graduate with all her friends in Boone.  Linda's friend Sue and her parents offered to let Linda live with them her senior year.  After careful consideration Linda decided to move with her family.  It turned out that she was very glad she did move.  She had a new chance to leave behind her shy self and be the person she wanted to be.  She explained, "When I moved to Cedar Falls, I made a conscious decision that I was going to be a different person.  With nobody knowing Lonette, it was easier to do that."  She said, "There are people now who really can't imagine that I was ever shy."  Despite the fact that Linda did not graduate from Boone, she is still able to attend class reunions with her classmates.