"Success is measured not by money, but by friends and acquaintances--and what you leave in this world as a testimony of your life.  Success is showing love.  Trust in the Lord above all things.  Take your troubles to Him.  I have proven this over and over in my own life!

I don't understand a lot of verses in the Bible, and I often wonder how God could love us so much to send Jesus to die for us--but He did!  John 3:16 is a wonderful verse.  It is my assurance of a home in heaven. 

Family means everything to me.  I love them all very dearly and I would do  anything for them.  I would even give my life for them.  God has so richly blessed me with a good husband, a good son and daughter-in-law Evie and grandchildren. 

Paul is my favorite Bible character.  He went through so many tribulations but came out victorious and God really used him.  He was very strong willed before his conversion and God showed him differently.  I think we all are much like him until God causes us to surrender to Him.  

I enjoyed Christmas programs later in life.  We often trained boys and girls to say their lines in Christmas plays at church.  I think of the little girl that was to come out and say her lines--"it is I,be not afraid." When she came out and saw the audience she said, "it is me and I'm scared to death."   I guess I could relate to that when I was in the programs as a child!

I am very content with what I have.  I'm thankful for good health, and the ability to take care of myself and my husband.  I'm thankful for America, our home and the beautiful state we live in and my family..  I have so much--why would I want any more? I'm thankful for my church life.  I'm thankful for answered prayers.  God spared Delbert when he had cancer in 1980.  God healed him completely.
I pray for peace from war but only God can give peace. 

God has given to us a beautiful home to share with others when we can.  My prayer is that we do unto others as we would want to be treated ourselves. 

I have enjoyed attending churches and learning about the Bible.  That has been my greatest enjoyment.  But I did like sports at times.  I grew up with everyone rooting for the Cubs so I just joined in.  Football doesn't make any sense to me--just people jumping into each other and falling down.  I usually holler "run"and it's always the other team I'm cheering for!"  

    -from Mom's Life Story            

"When I was 19, I knew I wanted to marry Delbert.  When we married, we were both young and scared.  But I felt safe with him.  We didn't have a honeymoon--not even a cake.  We ate supper and went home to our three-room apartment.  Delbert didn't like carrots, but I didn't know that.  The first meal I cooked was buttered carrots as the vegetable.  I cooked them several times and finally Delbert said--"you know, honey. I don't like carrots."  When I asked him why he didn't tell me earlier, he said I thought you didn't know how to make anything else!  Thanks a lot!

Even before we were married, I wanted a boy (Robert Lee) and he wanted a girl (Jane Ellen).  We got our Bobby and loved him dearly.  We didn't want a large family as we saw the way our folks had to work to take care of all of us. When Bobby was nine months old, we bought our first home in Bridgman for $1825. We lived there for twelve years until we built our home in Baroda in 1956."

      - from Mom's Life Story  

     

"I was raised on a farm in Michigan.  My mom and dad raised the five of us and two grandchildren, Duke and Donnie.  I didn't have a favorite room, but I saw the kitchen most of the time!  I was eight years old when my mother became blind.  My memory of her was listening on the party lines on the telephone so we always knew what was going on in our small town.  My dad was a farmer and a carpenter.  Later he worked for Clark Equipment of Buchanan until he retired.

We liked to go on family picnics. Mom always made fried chicken. Sometimes we would get a huge navel orange and a bag of chocolate drops.  We swam in the creek and gravel pit near Three Oaks. We also had a pond and when it froze over, we would skate on it and slide the hills around the pond. 

I earned money picking tomatoes and different fruits around our farmhouse.  As I grew up, I learned some important lessons in life:  to be honest, to be an encourager, to help wherever I could, to pray, to do the best I could and leave the rest to God.  I learned to accept Jesus as my Saviour and to walk with Him. My grandpa and grandma Martin gave me my first Bible on my high school graduation when I was 17 years old.     

My favorite pet was BUDDY, our dog.  We could dress him up and he didn't mind at all.  We even put a pipe in his mouth and a cat on him and he just sat there. I remember as a bunch of teenagers, we tipped over an old outside toilet for a Halloween trick.  It happened a man was in it!  We sure did run when he hollered at us.  We had to go back and put it up again after Mom and Dad found out what we all had done!   

I remember one time it snowed really hard and all of us made a cave in the snow.  The teacher rang the bell and no one came.  We all hid in the snow bank cave.  She had to go get a neighbor to make us get out.  We all laughed as we could see her underwear when she tried to look in the cave!

I took over the household duties for Mom at eight, and I continued to do them even after I was married until Mom died at 79.  I took care of Dad for ten years until he was 93 at home.  I never regretted it.

I wish I could have learned to play the piano.  We were poor, so my folks could never afford to give me lessons. I never had many toys.  I had a doll given to me by my cousin and I couldn't believe it was mine.  I loved to cut paper dolls out of the old Sears catalogues.  We often went down to the creek to bathe with soap and wash rags.  One time the cows came in to join us, and we thought it was a lot of fun. 

I wanted to become a nurse.  I was prepared to go to college but my folks didn't have the money so I got a job in the A&P store.  I was going to work and save a year, but I met Delbert and my whole thinking was changed!   I worked at the A&P store for 32 years. "

           -from Mom's Life Story