This is a moment at a keyboard I never wanted... but the time has come. The Parsley family is sharing this news with our family, friends, associates, partners, church and ministry families that, after a long physical battle, our beloved Mr. James Parsley (Pastor Rod’s father) is carrying out his final days on this earth and is preparing to be received into the arms of his Savior very soon. He is currently resting peacefully surrounded by his loving family. Mr. P’s wonderful team of medical professionals confirmed what we already knew in our hearts.

We have released our dear loved one to join his daughter, and a host of others waiting, in the Heaven that is his reward for a job well done. He has enjoyed eighty wonderful years on Earth’s journey and now deserves to reach his eternal destination. Though our hearts are heavy, as we enter our season and time to grieve so beautifully described in Ecclesiastes, we are comforted knowing that he’s going home in the truest sense of the word. He’s been asking us to go home for a while and now… he finally gets his wish. What a welcome he is going to have!

I’m sharing this news because you are important to me and I’d like to ask for your prayers and support. Please pray for my husband and children, my mother-in-law and niece - our family is small but "strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might." Through God's grace, we are doing well as we lean on each other and most importantly, the everlasting arms of our Heavenly Father.

Obviously, I won’t be posting this week’s blog or commenting. I will be huddled together with my family, in these final hours, as we are wrapped in the comfort of the precious Holy Spirit. At an appropriate time, I’ll be writing a tribute to a great man, husband, father, father-in-law, and Grandpa (his favorite title of all!) and will share it with you, of course.

Thank you for your kindness as always. Please feel free to leave any thoughts, prayers, or words in the comment section. I’ll be reading every few days.

May God bless you with the warmth of His love…it’s what Fathers do best.

Perhaps it’s just me but does anyone else have their fair (or maybe unfair) share of difficult people to deal with?! I’m surprised I have a tongue left since I have to bite it so much to keep from saying what I’d really like to! Oh, the conversations I’ve had or the speeches I’ve rehearsed to these people…all in my mind and after the fact, of course! It’s in moments where they’ve said or done the exasperating; where attempting to engage in a rational conversation about the issue at hand is as impossible as eating chocolate for every meal and staying a size 2! (And if you can do that, you’ve just made my list of difficult people!)

Okay, don’t start wondering who I’m talking about…I’ll never tell! Let’s face it; all of us encounter difficult people in a day. It can be anywhere from someone you know to someone you don’t. You know the ones - the rude cashier, the discourteous driver, the impolite server at a restaurant and let’s not start on those who work at the BMV! I’d rather get a root canal than go to the BMV - it’s much less painful! More and more people have offensive behavior and so the offensive list goes on. The key word is offense. If we’re not careful we can be the ones to get offended and carry around quite a “chip on our shoulder”. Our guard goes up and our walls don’t come down.

There is one solution and I don’t always like it...but I need it. There are times when I want to “say a thing”! Not long ago, I was checking out at a store and the cashier was so rude. It was one thing after another and topped off with, “I can barely read your name on your credit card; I’ll have to see your ID.” Not usually a big deal but she took my driver’s license and examined it like the FBI and held up the picture to my face to make sure we were a match. I was getting embarrassed since it looked like I was a suspicious character trying to use a stolen credit card. Finally, she gave me the okay and then complained that she couldn’t hear me along with a few more things when I asked for a receipt. Yikes, as if! I thought for a minute and looked at her. I wanted to tell her how rude she was and that she should get a job as a prison guard or something! But then I wondered what her life could be like. Was she angry, was she tired, was she in a bad marriage, did she have teenagers (that could make anyone cranky!), was she verbally or physically abused, did she have financial problems? Moreover, could I have compassion instead of anger? Sigh…what would Jesus do?! We know the answer. We may not like the answer but we know it, nonetheless. So I kept my mouth shut, thanked her and wished her a happy weekend. Then I left and remembered the sage wisdom of a friend who told me to “always answer with prayer".

Prayer has a way of adjusting our attitudes. It’s when we approach God that we're reminded that He is love and we were made in that image. We were made in the image of love. In prayer, we open our hearts to receive Him and in His presence so consequently, bitterness, negativity, and offenses can’t remain. Those gloomy feelings melt away in the warmth of the light and love of His reparative presence. If our Redeemer said our sins are cast into “the sea of forgetfulness” then we only have one choice. We have to allow those offenses from others to drown in that sea of redemption and forgiveness too. Where would we be without our Savior’s redemption? (I don’t even want to know!)

Oh, but sometimes this forgiveness thing is so hard! We’re hurt, injured, upset and feel like throwing that offense a life-preserver before it drowns! We need it to stay around a little longer in order to justify our words or actions…um, I admit it - guilty! On the other hand, I’m not saying to be a doormat, but we do need a filter not a fit! When we just stop a minute before reacting, we can let the God in us overpower the “us” in us!

There are times we can tell someone that they’ve said or done something hurtful, especially those we know and have relationships with. It still can’t change our response in the end. We may not get the “I’m sorry” that we want or deserve but we don’t get a “get out of jail free card” either. Our right to be right ended the day we asked Jesus to be Lord; we had to give up the throne!

Yeah, yeah…I get it. "But what about my hurt feelings?" Well, well, well…Your feelings matter because YOU matter. He loves you through that hurt and harm and tends to your wounds and bruises. We must quiet down long enough to think of how we need Him so then, we can let Him. To let means to let go…let it ALL go! God has big shoulders and He can bear anything!

People can be thoughtless and careless for many reasons. Praying for these difficult people keeps our hearts right and therefore, ready to receive from God. I was hurt just this week by someone I care about (and isn't that the hardest kind?). While I was driving, I began to pray and this scripture came to me, “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 English Standard Version). It worked!

I’ll tell you what happened next week! We’ll also find out who’s doing the fighting in “The War of the Roses”…tune in next week for Part Two!

I AM PRAYING! When such tragedy and disaster strikes, I feel so helpless. I'm sitting miles and miles away watching the unthinkable happen before my eyes. I cannot do one thing except the best thing...PRAY! God KNOWS what we cannot, can DO what we cannot, and MOVE where we cannot. There is no better relief plan than His.

People are dealing with loss on so many levels and it's hard to wrap my mind around it all. To think that someone gets up in the morning and later that day, their house is gone, their neighborhood is gone, and worst of all, people are gone. When I saw the parents gathering at that school, my heart ached. Imagine the terror of trying to get to your children through a tornado and breathlessly wondering if they're okay...some were not.

Where do we put these feelings? Isaiah 53:4 is a good start. "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried." We can pray knowing God is faithful to His Word and will carry the sufferings of those affected by this devastating event. We can stand strong for those who are struggling in the most adverse of circumstances. I want them to know they are NOT alone!

I'm asking you to show what the family of God is like by leaving three words in the comment section...I AM PRAYING! I'd like to see hundreds of these messages of prayerful support to those suffering right now. We are moved with compassion for our brothers and sisters...and we are praying.

What exactly is a milestone and why is it supposed to be so special? I don’t know why my mind would wonder such a thing. I guess it’s because I’ve thought so much about this past weekend and I can’t stop thinking about it. My daughter graduated from Liberty University with a Master’s Degree in Human Services. This was, as they say, a milestone.

Another interesting fact about most milestones - they usually come with tears. It’s defined as a significant event but who determines what’s significant? Is there an unwritten social law that has listed what is seen as a milestone? We do seem programmed to notice certain moments in life…think about it. A child’s first steps is an event that warrants the video camera, calls to the grandparents, tears of joy and wonderment, and squeals of excitement. I know because I did all of the above! However, no one sees the first sleepless night, as the baby fusses and cries, as a moment to remember…oh, but I remember. Who bothers to record in the baby book when the little one surprises you with projectile vomiting that either goes all over you, the wall, or the car? I know because I had all of the above! All I can remember is wondering how that much could come out of one little baby.

Nonetheless, I guess milestones are celebratory occasions that mark something momentous. Such was this graduation. We were in the stadium watching and waiting for a glimpse of our daughter. Even though there were thousands of graduates, we were determined to see her. I was so focused on finding my daughter, out of all those students, that I wasn’t prepared when I finally saw her enter the stadium…it took my breath and the tears began to flow. Her dad and brother were waving and screaming her name as I was trying to speak but all I could do was wave .We were her fan club in the crowd…we always have been and always will be.

As she began walking in the processional to “Pomp and Circumstance,” the first thing she did was look up. We had text earlier to tell her the general location of our seats so she kept looking our way and finally spotted us. She broke out in a smile, waved and pumped her fists in the air to symbolize the victory in reaching this personal goal and then, kept walking. That was the killer…she kept walking and we kept cheering.

I was there for that milestone of seeing her first steps. While her dad was waiting on one end with his arms open, I was holding her hand and let go. She started wobbling but kept her balance and did it! She walked right into her dads waiting arms. She kept walking and we kept cheering.

After so many milestones and moments, here I was watching her take her first steps into the future that was waiting with open arms. She’s been a student for twenty years and it had finally come to an end. There was a certainty in that for me and thereby, a safety too. Now I was the one wobbling.

I heard very little after I saw her walk in. I thought and thought and thought some more. Sure this was a milestone, but life with my daughter has been filled with so many moments that every day felt like a significant event. There were times I looked at her and felt like the only mom in the world.

So many of the firsts our kids experience become some of our lasts. Every first means a parent is needed just a little less or a little differently. So it’s the moments in-between the milestones that are the ones that matter most. Those are the times when kids look up or look our way and need to see us cheering as the greatest fans of their lives. That’s when they need a bigger hand to hold, during uncertain times, and to know when it’s safe to let go. More importantly, it’s in these moments they need to see us doing the same thing by showing that our Heavenly Father waits for His children with open arms. He is, after all, a parent too.

Well, I have to face it. Another chapter has closed but I’ll never forget that day. I'll never forget that smile when she looked up and found us, and those steps she kept taking while we kept cheering…what a moment.

It’s the first day of May already! When I was in elementary school, I remember May 1^st was called May Day and we would go into the gymnasium and do some dance around the “maypole”. I never really knew why we did it but if it got me out of class, I was happy! Apparently, there is a great deal of controversy on its origin and some even say it’s a pagan ritual. Does it really matter? I’m not dancing around a maypole anytime soon nor have I since my childhood!

Mayday, as a word, is also a signal of distress that’s used in an emergency. I researched (actually, I admit that I Googled it) why that particular word was used and it’s derived from the French venez maider, meaning “come help me”. Hmmm…how interesting! This word was created for mariners and aviators but is used by other transportation vehicles too. The call is to be given three times in a row and is supposed to be loud enough to drown out any other noise. A mayday relay call is made on behalf of someone else in distress. Often, one vessel would make the call for another vessel needing immediate attention. I think you know where I’m going with this!

For us, this last month has been a series of events that were unexpected and critical. These situations occurred on top of those we deal with on a daily basis. It’s though we get up in the morning expecting the day to go one way and it takes a detour into strange waters with a strong current. When I woke up today, I wondered if I should hide under the covers or get out of bed to face it all…just being honest. There are those moments when your faith hasn’t kicked in to tell you anything different. Our faith does speak but in my case, it was yelling, “Mayday Mayday Mayday”! I didn’t ask my faith to be a cheerleader chanting, “You can do it, You can do it, You can, You can”! I wasn’t “stirring up the gift within me” or allowing my faith confessions to take over. I simply cried out to God, “Come Help Me”!

I remember an episode of “Brady Bunch” where the boys were competing with the girls in building a house of cards. This was one of my favorite shows as a kid…we only had three channels back then! Anyway, the winner won the stamps to redeem something they wanted. In the “old days”, we used to have green stamps that could be collected and then redeemed at a center. I always loved going there and remember my sisters and I having to put all the stamps in these little booklets before we could go. To continue, the Brady boys wanted a boat and the girls wanted a sewing machine because the place was going out of business. The competition gets intense as each sibling builds the tower and we were breathless as we watched! As they neared the top it was time for poor Jan, the gawky middle sister, to have her turn but wait…she was wearing a charm bracelet that nearly upset the whole thing! Whew, that Jan! The boys were ready to win but suddenly, Tiger (the family dog) runs into Greg as he’s placing the last card on the stack and the house of cards tumbles down-OH NO! MayDay Mayday Mayday!

Well, you guessed it, the girls won! They went to the Redemption Center to get their sewing machine but, as the wholesome show would have it, the sisters led by perfect older sister “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” (Brady fans inside joke) felt bad for the boys and decided to get a color TV for everyone to enjoy! Applause! Cheers!

I said all that to ask this…Is there nothing to drown out all the noise in our worrisome minds? Is there a Tiger running toward us? Does life feel like a house of cards and we are competing with the enemy for our “stuff”? By stuff I’m talking about everything that belongs to us as children of God; what His Word promises those who have been redeemed. Those stamps entitled the Brady girls to get something. God’s Word is our book of stamps and redemption center all in one! It also entitles us to claim those promises for someone else and shout that Mayday relay call.

No matter who’s in distress, we can shout “come help”! He knows before we even ask but…we are the ones that have to realize who we are and whose we are. We may be in the boat, being tossed to and fro, but so is Jesus and He never shouts, “Mayday”! He goes to the bow of the boat, as He did in the gospels, and shouts, “Peace, Be Still.” That peace enables us to pick up our house of cards and build, once again… and even have the steadiness of Jan Brady!