The beginning of my kidnapping story!

I gave this title because the details of my story make for a long story. I have told the details many times, but have not personally written it down. I plan to give all the details so that my children and my future generations will have my personal account without anyone else's slant to it. This has been written about and published in newspapers, but each one has misinterpreted things I have said one way or another. So.....here goes!

It was April 6, 1979. One month to the day before my wedding! Life couldn't have been more exciting at the time! I had just graduated from college the year before and I was working as a substitute teacher since I moved in the middle of the school year.  I was just one month from marrying the man that I knew God had for me and we had found a darling little house to live in after our wedding. I was living there and he was living with his parents.

We were attending his family's church where he was the treasurer of their men's ministry. The church had a little wooden box on the wall next to the entrance of the church called the bereavement box. People would drop money into it at will to be used to minister to those in need. We were having our monthly church meeting that night and he needed to give a financial statement at the meeting. He had not counted the money in that box, so I volunteered to go by, get the money out, count it and make a deposit. I had subbed at a local school that day, so right after school, I dropped by the church. No one was in the office that day, so it was quiet. I had parked across the side street from the front door. The church was one block off of a main street in Augusta, GA but wasn't very busy. I entered the church, got the money and crossed the street to go back to my car. As I looked both ways to be sure I could cross, I saw a young man dressed in a white tee shirt and army fatigues walking up the sidewalk toward me. Since there is an Army fort in Augusta, that didn't seem out of place to me.

I crossed the street, unlocked my car and got in. As I started to close the door, someone was right there and stopped me from closing the door. Honestly, I thought he might be trying to sell me something. Instead, he told me that he needed a ride out of town. I offered to take him to the bus station. But he just wasn't open to that. Instead, he told me to get over and he would drive. So many thoughts were going through my head. How can I get out of this? Is this man really going to drive MY car? Can the lady walking right next to me tell that I am in trouble? Is there any way that she and I could over power this man? Why, oh why can't I just jump out of this car and run for my life? Is there any way that I could actually get away from him if I did get out? What would happen to me, if I tried to run and he caught me? Before this moment, I had always said that I would kick, scream, hit! I would fight back if anyone ever tried to hurt me.......but in reality, you don't know what you will do in a given situation.

My car was a Mercedes diesel and you had to pull a throttle to crank it. And it was also a manual stick shift. He didn't know how to drive a stick. I was worried that he would ruin my car. I tried just sitting there and not answering his questions about how to drive it, then, I told him how I didn't want him to mess up my car. He told me how he thought I was more concerned with my car than myself. I was concerned with my safety, but I didn't want my car demolished either. So, I finally gave him instructions and we started off.

That morning I had taken something to drink on the way to work, so I had a glass in my car. He drove to an empty lot and parked. I became very anxious about his reasoning. He opened his door, picked up my glass and broke it on the frame of the door. He pointed it at me and said, "If you don't believe that blood is red, I can prove it to you." Being cut is one of my biggest fears. So, even though he didn't know it, he just guaranteed my cooperation!

Stay tuned!

The question from my only daughter that reminds me of myself.

We just spent four nights and days at the campgrounds in Stone Mountain, GA to attend Atlanta Fest. It was a great time spent with our youngest two children, watching them as they enjoyed music that entertains, but most of all leads one to worship our true and living God! The question that she asked us on the way home today was "What was your highlight of Atlanta Fest?" That is JUST LIKE a question that I would ask THEM after such a trip. It is true the they start sounding like us, isn't it? There's nothing quite like spending three and a half straight days listening to nothing but praise and worship music to make you so thankful to live in a free country! And it really made me think long and hard about my relationship with God and what He wants me to be doing! I don't ever measure up to His standard! Of course, my first answer to Rebekah's question was how much I loved watching them enjoy themselves. Actually, that wasn't what she wanted to hear, so I had to think about trying to narrow down the highlights. Some of those were, of course......listening to Andrew Peterson, Mercy Me, Reilly, David Crowder Band, Tenth Avenue North and personally meeting KJ from KJ52. Then being challenged and convicted by Brent Crowe, Ergun Caner and Bob Lenz. I really enjoyed meeting and talking to a couple of the Sign Language interpreters and Scott Laslo who is a missionary with Pearl Ministries of Birmingham, AL. But, now that I have had time to think even more about it, I would change my answer yet again. I think the biggest highlight would be having so much time to sit and think about how I can worship my God and Savior in a way that would be pleasing to Him! My prayer is that I would be the kind of daughter to Him that would remind Him of Himself.

I am an in-doors girl

This past weekend, my dear, sweet husband spent all day Saturday getting ready for our traditional Easter Sunday lunch. Each year we try to have family and friends who have no other plans to come over for lunch. Everyone brings a dish or two and if they have children who might want to hunt eggs, they bring a basket. We are blessed with a wonderful screened-in back porch and a nice front porch. We hadn't been using them since they were still covered in an inch of pollen! LOL I have never been one to want to be outside much. I don't really know why, but it's just the way I am. Anyway, when I came home from a bridal shower, I found that my youngest son and my husband had bleached and washed the entire back porch and hung the beautiful swing that my cousin made. The weather here in the south is perfect right now for swinging on the porch. With the end of school just around the corner, my two children and I found ourselves out on the porch today almost as much as we were inside. School work isn't quite as bad when being enjoyed "just a-swingin' ". I find that I can become an out-doors girl during this time of year when coaxed by wonderful efforts of a loving husband who enlists the aid of a 12 year old. It makes me think about when I get stale and dusty inside from not doing everything that God wants me to. He is faithful to clean me up and out and put me back in order for what I am designed and intended to do. I am so thankful that He is so patient with me.

My take on the Beach

As I said in the last post, I am being challenged in several ways. One way is to keep my eyes on Jesus. While I was at the beach watching my two youngest children dig for crabs, I took the chance to watch the waves wash in and out...in and out.....in and out. God used them to draw me closer and closer to Him. I wondered how He can still love me so much after I abandon Him time after time. But, as I watched the waves, He said to me that His love is just like the waves. His love washes my sin away just like those waves come in and out. My heart is cleansed just like the sand is smoothed out with each new wave. And then those sins are carried away never to be seen again. As I looked toward the horizon, I was reminded that His love is as infinite as the horizon seems to be. As far as my eye could see, so is His love. And just as  you think you are reaching the end.....there is still so much more to come! The beach even reminded Ree and EZ of how amazing God is. They tried so desperately to dig down to reach the creatures that make the little holes in the beach. Each time they would think they had reached it....it seemed to dig deeper. EZ asked how was it possible for it to dig so deep. Ree simply said, "God made them that way."

I really don't understand how anyone can go to the beach and say there is no God.

This is new to me!

I have been enjoying others blogs for a few years now and have decided that I will give it a try. I have never been much of a writer. My sister is the one who is talented in that area, but the older I get the more I realize that my opinions about several subjects get more passionate and some not so much. I find that I want to think more and deeper about things of the soul. I can look back through my life and see where God has worked many, many times that have effected me and my beliefs. I want to share some of those things that I have learned so others can know who I really am and why I am the way I am. I love to know little details about others because it's interesting to me to see how it shapes them. I am a firm believer that we need to love people for who they are, just as they are! If we can understand why they are the way they are, it's easier to love them.

I look forward to seeing how this blog is going to develop and what new things I will learn through writing. I don't want to grow old without growing in many areas of my life. I never want to stop learning! I am realizing that I love technology.....at least most of the time. It is a huge part of my learning these days. There is a world of information at our fingertips and I am amazed at that!

I am embarking on some new adventures and hope to be able to share some with you. I am being challenged in many areas of my life which excites me and at the same time scares me a little. But, I know that God is still in control of everything and I can count on Him for everything!!