Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

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Feb 17, 2006

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Today??™s announcements

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Now onto the good stuff!

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Today??™s Valentines Stories

~**~**~

? My First Crush ??“ My Last Romance?? ? 

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By: Jan Verhoeff

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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Brian lived on the other side of town with his mother. Curly strawberry blonde hair, soft blue eyes, freckles and a handsome smile were the obvious attractions for me. I??™d learned to know him as the son of my mother??™s best friend. Eight years older than me, he saw me as just a little girl who sometimes played while our mother??™s visited. I hung on his every word, but I??™m sure he found me a nuisance.? 

Years later, he occasionally rode the bus my mom drove for the school district, from the local elementary to the high school. My sister and I rode too. I ached for those moments when he??™d climb on the bus and gently tug my ponytail as he walked past, giving me just the slightest hint that he noticed me. I lived for those sparks, though they were few and far between. I thrilled for the instant our eyes met and he gave me that knowing smile.

Later, during college he came home and dated a local girl, the little sister of his best friend, who happened to be my best friend, but they didn??™t date for long. After college, he eventually married a beautiful woman. They had a son a few years later, the same year I had a daughter. We bumped into each other occasionally, visiting for a moment, remembering the joy of growing up together, and sharing the friendship of our parents.

When my husband left after many years, I struggled through the responsibilities of being a single parent. During those years, his name was mentioned on the prayer list at our church, and I learned his wife was dying of cancer. My heart reached out to him, I prayed fervently for her healing, and then comfort for him in those moments of loneliness.

Years passed. Our hearts healed; our children grew.

It was a cold Christmas Eve, and Christmas was looking pretty bleak for the kids and I. We had a lot of Christmas spirit to share, but money was scarce and we struggled just for food.

Traditionally we went to Church on Christmas Eve to begin the celebration, and gathered to sing Christmas Carols. Brian??™s Mom was mostly housebound, and I suggested to the kids that we should stop and ???Carol them??? to share the spirit. I knew Brian??™s sister was there visiting, but it had been a long time since I??™d run into Brian. We stood outside the door singing ???Silent Night??? after I rang the bell. His stepfather opened the door and invited us inside, where his mom could hear us sing. She was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying a moment and the music she loved.

The family has built quite a legacy. His stepfather has outlived three wives, each having a large family. All the children come home for holidays, special events and family days. There are no stepchildren, or misplaced children, both parents treat all the children and grandchildren equally well, and love them all.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  After we sang our songs, the kids and I were leaving their home and Brian followed us out. He thanked us for coming and for sharing the holiday spirit with he and his family. We paused a moment and remembered; our hearts connected. For just a moment one Christmas Eve, all of time stood still, the stars overhead glittered down on us, and we felt the connection of years, memories, and a future.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  His curly strawberry blonde hair has faded a bit, and the freckles are less noticeable. The eyes are still the clearest blue I??™ve ever seen and I still get lost in his smile. The years have changed him; he??™s more appreciative and tender now. His heart knows what it means to love someone. There??™s a tenderness about him that touches my heart; a comfort that speaks to my soul.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Who knows what??™s in store for the future? For now, I??™m comfortable just knowing he noticed me. (Although, my ponytail is long gone.) I feel like a giddy little school girl when the phone rings and Brian says, ???Hi, sweetie, what cha doing????

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Jan Verhoeff

Janverhoeff@yahoo.com? 

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~**~**~

Make it a blessed day.? 

Jackie My Valentine

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By Richard D. Sims

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It was four and a half years ago that I met my valentine, soul-mate and now

my wife. Jackie stoled my heart, after three bad marriages I was bound

and determined not to let another female get close to me again. I told my

mother that I wasn't ever?  getting married again.

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But I was lonely, needed a companion,some to share my life with, I had a

Rottweiler name Chevy for a best friend, but I was lost with no female

companionship. I lived in the small town of Granby, Mo. South main St.

I mowed my neighbors lady's yard, she was a nice single lady around my

age, but we just didn't seem to hit it off, we were just friends and neighbors.

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Then just? two month before Thanksgiving I met Jackie on-line, we started off

just talking, five P.m. almost every evening we would chat back and forth,

It was as if we had knew each other all our lives. Then we started talking at

ten A.M. and then again at five P.M. and then we started talking to each

other on the telephone.

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Then we decided that we would meet in person, Jackie was nervous about

meeting, and I didn't blame her, in this day and time it pays to be safe. I

come up with the Idea of meeting at Larmar, Mo. at the Snack attack

truck stop, they have a Denny's restaurant inside, and Lamar, Mo. was

halfway for both of us.

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Jackie was to bring her twenty two year old son James with her, and I was to

bring my three year old granddaughter Destiny with me, we were so involved

in setting everything up that we both forgot to tell the other what kind of

vehicle we would be in. When Destiny and I arrived at the truck stop in Larmar,

I pulled up in front of the truck stop, after setting in the car for awhile it finally

dawned on me that I didn't know what Jackie was driving nor did she know

what I was driving.

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I the weather was real nice so I got out of the car and Destiny and I walk up

near the door of the truck stop and waited, Then here came a brown ford van,

the beautiful woman inside rolled down the window and ask would you by

chance be Richard? I said yes! and would you be Jackie? James Jackie's

son is confined to a wheelchair and she let him out using the wheelchair

lift in the van, from that moment on I had lost my heart. We went into the

Denny's restaurant and had coffee and talked a long while.

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We then started dating and about three months later decided to move

into a house in Arma together. Then a year later on June 24Th. my

valentine Jackie and I were married in Miami. Ok. James jackie's son and

Richard II ( Rick ) my son was the witnesses and now our granddaughter

Destiny was the flower girl, my Mother and sister Deloris were taking

pictures.

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Well to sum it all up on June 24Th. of 2006 my valentine Jackie and I

have been married now for four years!? 

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About Me

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I am Richard D. Sims 48 years old, I was born in a small town called Granby, the oldest

mining town is Southwest Missouri. I am the youngest out of five children ( The Brat )

I am just a simple back woods country boy, I wear Dan post western style boots and

western shirts, wrangler jeans and my black western hat. I am a jack of all trades yet

a master of none, I have found out I can do most anything and what I can't do? I am willing

to learn.

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I moved here to Arma, Kansas 3 years ago when? I married my lovely wife Jackie, I have

two children of my own, Richard II ( Rick ) Sims 26 years old, and a daughter Rebecka

Sissom age 22. A stepson James Morrison 26 who lives with Jackie and I because of his

birth defect of Spina - Bifida.

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We have found a great church here called the Arma Family Christian Center, My wife

Jackie and I are online prayer warriors so if you have a prayer request just send it to us

to receive a written prayer, please make sure you don't have your E - mail blocked.

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My hobbies are building quarter mile dragsters and drag racing at Asberry, Mo. at

Mo-kan dragway. I also do wood working and wood crafts, Bow hunting and fishing,

motorcycling, and just spending quality time with my family and spoiling my

granddaughter Destiny Dawn Sims age 5.

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Richard Dean Sims? ? ?  armaksman@yahoo.com

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~**~**~

The Valentine Tradition? ? ? 

Lynne Stevenson

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For more years than I care to count,? my mother always received three American Beauty? roses and a few sprigs of? Baby's Breath in a green glass bud vase encircled with? a red velvet ribbon tied in a huge bow? delivered to her job on Valentine's Day. These were always accompanied by a card that never varied.? "Happy Valentine's Day, Nanelle, from your three kids." I always ordered these from our local florist shop, The Ivy Shop, a day in advance, to make sure they would be delivered at the First Citizen's Bank in Clio, SC, where my mother was the Head Teller for twenty-seven years, before they got too busy.

? ? ? ? ?  This tradition began when my son was in kindergarten and my sister had gone off to college. I don't think anyone ever sent my mother flowers on a regular basis and I was determined that if I could ever afford it,? she would receive? her favorite red roses on Valentine's Day. I was finally able to afford to splurge a little bit the year my son was five. Whenever people would see them out together, inevitably the question would come up, if my son? was her child?? Of course, she would proceed to explain that she had two daughters, and no, Mike wasn't her son, but? her grandson. On one of these occasions? Mike took it upon himself to pipe up.? "Of course I am your other kid, Nanelle! Why do you tell people any different?" My mother said he nearly turned out the local Food Lion protesting that he most certainly was her kid.

? ? ? ? ?  I never figured out why he decided to call her "Nanelle" since her given name was Rebecca. From the time he started talking until the week? before she died, she tried in vain to get him to call her "Nanny" or "Grandma" but neither name? stuck.? After all, he never called his paternal grandmother anything but "Grandma", so I never knew where he picked? up "Nanelle."? That is still a mystery to this day.

? ? ? ? ?  She received her last gift of Valentine roses? on February 14, 1997.? She was fully engaged in the final stages of lung cancer and? we all? knew she wouldn't live much longer. That day the delivery truck pulled up here at the house instead of at the bank. I tried to make it? as pleasant for her as possible, but we both knew that her days were limited. On March 21, 1997, her fellow employees at the bank placed a single red rose in a green glass bud vase at? her Teller Window? beside her? engraved brass plaque. This was their final tribute to her and her long career with them. At the end of the business day her boss brought the vase? and her plaque to me here at the house.

? ? ? ? ?  Now periodically I take her artificial red roses and leave them at her gravesite. She and my father are both buried at the same cemetery as her older? brother, Harry, who died when he was 5 days old.? I don't place roses on? my father's and Harry's graves, just my mother's. They also get artificial flowers, but she is the only one who still gets red roses, just not strictly on Valentine's Day anymore.? ? ? 

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PUGMOM37@aol.com? 

About Me:

Biography:? I am a senior? transfer student at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC. I hope to graduate with a BA degree in English next December. My children include: Michael, my two legged son; Maggie, Bubba, Samantha, Ed, and Missy the? 5 beautiful Chinese Pugs? who own me. I? am an AKC Certified Chinese Pug breeder. I have been married to my husband Ernest for 16 years.

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~**~**~

From a Valentine??™s Party to Enduring Love? ? ? 

Janet Seever

Pit??”the noise of the game was deafening. In my late twenties, I had come
to the Christian singles Valentine??™s Day party in 1974 to meet other
singles. But how did anyone converse over the loud yelling that was part
of the popular card game of the 1970s?

Seeking refuge from the noise, I sat down at a table in the corner of
the room occupied by a tall, balding young man wearing hearing aids. I
remembered talking with him at the Christmas party a couple months
previously, but concluded then that I wasn??™t interested. All he was
doing with his life was working at a grocery warehouse. I had spent a
couple years teaching school and was now working at a community college.
I was looking for someone with a level of education equal to mine.

Now as I sat at the table, the shy young man told me his name was Dennis
and he avoided loud games because the noise overpowered his hearing
aids. He didn??™t even remember we had met previously at the Christmas
party??”that??™s how much of an impression I had made on him.

As we talked, I found we had a lot more in common than I had thought at
Christmas. How could I have been so wrong about him? He had a teaching
degree like I did; his was in industrial arts. He was interested in
missions. So was I. I also learned that he was compassionate and cared
about hurting people.

I had a good time that evening, but when it was over, he hadn??™t asked me
for my phone number. I wasn??™t certain if or when I would see him again
because he worked nights and wasn??™t able to come to a lot of singles
events. So I was very surprised when he called me a few days later. He
had talked with three people before he tracked down my phone number. Add
persistent to the list of qualities.

We dated that winter and spring, and when it came time for my friend
Joyce and me to move into a new apartment, he was one of our two moving
men, willing to lift furniture and carry boxes. Our other friends
weren??™t anywhere around when their assistance was needed??”but Dennis and
Maury were. (Joyce later married Maury.) Add practical assistance to the
list of good qualities.

In June, Dennis took me to a park with a beautiful rose garden in full
bloom, where we admired the roses and walked around a small lake. He
used that beautiful setting to give me a prepared speech. ???I??™m planning
to go into missions, and once I leave the U.S., I don??™t want to leave a
girlfriend behind. It wouldn??™t be fair to you.??? He avoided looking at
me. ??? So our friendship will be over at that point.???

The coldness I felt creeping through me matched the stiff breeze coming
off the lake.

I couldn??™t believe what he had just said! My mind reeled. He didn??™t yet
have a mission agency to go with, but said he was exploring several
possibilities. The day was ruined and I had him take me home.

I was feeling immense pain that night as I wrote a short prayer on a
piece paper. ???Lord, Dennis is a wonderful man and I don??™t want to lose
him. Couldn??™t You use two people in missions overseas???? I dated the
paper June 4, folded it up and put it away in a dresser drawer.

We continued to see each other, and even read a devotional book
together, but a question mark hung over our relationship. I kept
praying. Then something changed. . . . Late on the night of July 12, we
were sitting at the dining room table in my apartment, reading a
devotional book called Daily Light, which was full of Scripture verses.
The reading for that day had a verse that it is not good for man to be
alone and other verses that spoke of marriage.

When we finished the reading, Dennis closed the book and asked three
questions: ???Do you have a book on etiquette???? (No, why would he want
it?) ???Are you sure your roommate is asleep????(I thought she was and
besides her door was closed.) ???Will you marry me???? to which I responded,
???How could I say no????

To make a long story short, we were married the following spring, and
began missionary training two weeks after our wedding. We??™ve lived and
worked in exotic places like Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and
Darwin, Australia. We??™ve also lived in Dallas, Texas, and for the past
twelve years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We now have two adult children.

Our time in mission work is equal to our years of marriage??”now numbering
30. Over the years we??™ve had times of great joy and a sense of
accomplishment. We??™ve also lived through sorrow and through great
emotional pain when Dennis??™ manic depression went undiagnosed and
untreated for many years. He almost died in 1985 of congestive heart
failure and now has a mechanical heart valve clicking in his chest.

The Bible says that love patient, kind, and it does not envy. Those are
familiar words to many of us. Later on in that passage in 1 Cor. 13, it
says, love ???always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.??? I??™ve learned a lot about perseverance over the years and
sometimes I like to say that love is spelled c-o-m-m-i-t-m-e-n-t. This
is especially true in an age when people see ???love??? in terms of ???what??™s
in it for me.???

In 2004 we faced another major challenge to our commitment to each
other. On the morning of November 13, 2004, Dennis had a very large
stroke. The road to recovery wasn??™t a detour in our journey. It has
become our journey. But that journey has brought us closer together.

Last year a friend of mine referred to Dennis' stroke as a tragedy. I'm
sure most people would think of strokes as tragedies. I thought about it
for a while, and concluded I would rather see it as a major challenge in
our lives. Tragedy looks back at what used to be, but challenge looks
ahead toward the future.

Dennis has been in therapy since his stroke, fourteen long months in
three different places. His current hospital, with the best brain injury
unit in western Canada, is 120 miles from home. I go there on weekends
to visit him or bring him home for the weekend.

Totally paralyzed on his right side for six weeks, he has learned to
walk again using a cane. Speech is extremely limited, but his therapist
is teaching him some basic sign language. He can read some words and
phrases, but reading a book or a newspaper is beyond him. (He has no
trouble looking up the football schedule in a TV guide, however.) He can
write his own name and the date. That??™s all.

But he is able to add numbers on a calculator. That??™s coming back. He
also remembers things; his memory for some things is better than mine
is. And he can think. I can get a huge amount of information from him if
I ask him carefully worded yes-no questions. He often uses pantomime to
get his message across. Once right-handed, he is now able to do many
things for himself using just his left hand. His attitude throughout
this has been upbeat and he worked extremely hard to get to where he is
today.

On Dec. 1, 2005, Dennis and I attended a recognition banquet for our
mission. About 150 people, many of them his co-workers, gave him a
standing ovation as he walked with his cane up to the front of the room
to receive a plaque for 30 years in mission work.

Dennis will be coming home to live the end of March, which will be
another challenge for both of us.

Some people would ask the question ???Why???? in regard to the stroke. I
don??™t. Through it, God has been drawing us closer to Himself as we learn
to trust Him more. He has given us a commitment to each other, which has
withstood some of the major storms of life. In the future, we??™ll face
more storms, but we know that God is with us in the midst of them. And
His love is enough to carry us through.
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Janet Seever writes for Word Alive magazine, a publication of Wycliffe
Canada. Her stories have appeared on Storytime Tapestry and a number of
other Web sites. Links to more of her writing are located at
www.inscribe.org/janetseever and she has a blog site,
www.caringbridge.org/canada/janetseever, where she gives updates of her
husband??™s progress. She can be reached at jseever1@shaw.ca

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Readers Feedback

I really liked the story of the little girl who had
everything.?  Marvelous!?  Story by Pamela Blaine.?  Take care,? ? ? ? ? ?  Louise

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Thanks for sharing Carol! I??™m glad I receive your newsletters. You have some nice writings in here and for sure I??™m learning!

Hope you are doing good.

Take care for now Cheers, Rashmi J

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This was a nice closure. I rub Blue ice on my grandmother for her back. vicks
vapor rub is interesting. Does help though.

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It is so amazing how the memories of love can make something as simple as
a jar of blue ice special to us.?  I hope that it always awakens those loving
thoughts in you my friend.?  Wishing you every joy, Joe

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Wonderful story Carol...(Blue Ice) and by the way you are loved by me, also.

Blessings to you always,

Barbara

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Okay, Carol, I gotta say I got this one, and I like it.

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The one thing that I rebel against though is the thing that tea bags are usually used once and then discarded...I can??™t picture either of you being discard and used up after one time in the hot water??¦Just wanted you to know that you are not disposable to those of us that sort of know you??¦. J? ? ? ?  But I really DO like the rest of simile!?  Roger

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HELLO CAROL?  Wow I have been really enjoying your Special Treats.?  This could of be me also.?  You sure do have a way with words.?  Thanksssss for sharing. Love & Hugssss, Mary Ann

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I just read your story, Blue Ice.?  It seems that maybe you are using your writing about Darla as a tool to help you begin to let it go.?  It would be great if we could go back and change things but most of the time, it seems we can't.?  She seems like a very generous, caring person.?  Since she? appears to have some money, from your stories, she hopefully has found another place to live.?  I am sure Darla is thinking about you, also.?  Sharlett

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?  I overlooked this story somehow and just read it.?  A Time To Let Go is one of the most interesting stories I have read in some time.?  Very good writing and subject!?  Sharlett

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Carol, thank you so much. I am sorry about your wild flower.?  I pray that

in the perfect time you might have a beautiful

little miracle someday as relates to her.?  :-)

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Dar

Dear Carol,

I just finished reading your story and it certainly brought back memories of all the Vicks that my mother used? on us and the mustard plasters for croup. I never heard of rubbing the feet with Vicks to cure a cold though.

Have you tried dried green barley for your aching knees? When I did my cancer site, I found several places that recommended it for arthritis as well as cancer. According to many, cancer and arthritis cells can't live in an alkaline body. My sister and I use it all the time. She uses it in powder form to make a tea but I take the capsules.

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I am a believer in natural cures which seem to be a lot safer. My nephew was working construction when he had small white cysts to appear in one of his fingers. It was so swollen that it looked like it would pop at any time. He had to have surgery on it but after a couple of years they reappeared. My sister and I went to Natures Outlet and got Devil's Claw and Yucca Root in liquid form for him. After about 4 days his finger was clear and he has had no problems with it since.

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Prayer Requests and Updates

So sorry to hear about your Sister.?  You're both in our thoughts and Prayers.

Bob & Ronni

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Senior Writers

Chief writer: Sharon Bryant

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Agee, Vance; Apted, Violet; Baker, Kathy; Batt, Al; Berry, Nell; Blaine, Pamela; Boda, Ginger; Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.; Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark; Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria; Gilbert, Robert, Jr.; Goodier, Steve; Braun-Haley, Ellie; Harris, Kathy Anne; Hunt, Sharlett; Hymes, Christina; Jacobson, Gary; Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim; Jenkins, Pamela; Liles, Norma; Lily Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Mazzella, Joe; Morris, Deepak; Ojeibge, Georgewaters; Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan; Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan; Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe; Warner, Gordon, K; Walsh, Sue; Weymouth, Barbara J.; Whirity, Kathy; White Robert;

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Storytime Tapestry Staff

Carol Roach - Founder/publisher

Thelma Hartselle - Co-Founder, Moderator

Clara Westerfer ??“ moderator

Bob Johnston - moderator

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