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“I have given skill to all the skillful, so that they may make all that I have commanded you. “ Exodus 31:6


“O Thou who art the all pervading glory of the world, we bless Thee for the power of beauty to gladden our hearts.
We praise Thee that even the least of us may feel a thrill of the creative joy when we give form and substance to our thoughts and, beholding our handiwork, find it good and fair. “.
Walter Rauschenbusch


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"Come, and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.
I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD woud not have listened and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God, Who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!" Psalm 66:16-20
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Monday, July 20, 2020

Powers Family Reunion

In this crazy year of social distancing, we were finally able to gather these 5 siblings, me and 4 of 5 brothers, and some of the extended family for another reunion.  The last one was 4 years ago,
 at Fathers' day, 2016.  Since then my sister, Mary,  has passed away. 

A big change for me was that I have been widowed since then, so I was going alone.  But at the last, I got in touch, (through Facebook!) with a niece that I had not seen since she was maybe 2-3 years old.  She is now 46 !   She wanted to come !  Precious reunion just right there ! 
  Even the rest of the family had not seen Ruhama, since 1998, at her mom's funeral.
 She and her husband drove to my house from just one county over , and followed me out to my brother's cabin on the Buffalo river.   Can you just imagine us living that close all this time and not knowing it ! ? !

Anyway, it made it very nice, and she was able to call her dad, Richard,

the last brother that I have yet to reunite with, and I got to finally talk to him on the phone (we send cards at Christmas/birthdays).  He was unable to come out and bear the extreme heat and humidity.


Jeff and Judy drove ahead of me to remind me how to find Ted's place.  Judy's daughter, Trista, and her man, Terry also followed. 

Ted kept the smaller kids busy playing in the river and creek, and most of us wound up escaping to the airconditioned cabin when we could no longer take the heat. 
  Ted and Gina layed out a spread of food that was just amazing, including ribs that were totally falling off of the bone !  And, OH!, the strawberry cake !

  John and Deb were there most of the day, and his son, Josh (and Sasha, his wife) came later, and a few of John's grandkids stayed awhile, enjoying some kayaking and good food and company. 

We were very heartened to have my brother, Jim, his fiance, Lisa,
his daughter, Kasie,
 and his granddaughter,Lindsay Victoria,
   there.  Sadly, Jim's son, Lindsay, took his own life a week earlier, and we will be reuniting for the memorial NEXT weekend, LORD willing.

My daughter, Kelley, and her husband and kids were UNABLE to come due to his position with the army, and the fact that his coworker had been exposed to someone who tested positive for the Covid 19 virus.  This caused Tim to have to be quarantined at home until the coworker is cleared or Tim is cleared.  Very disappointing, but life these days. 

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL day, and I am very grateful to GOD for the chance for us all to be together again.   We should NEVER take that for granted.  You never know when it's the LAST TIME you'll ever see someone you love in this lifetime.

  EDIT:  Ruhama's sister, Vivian, (who I also haven't seen since 1976 or 77,) and her husband, Chris,  just added me as a friend on Facebook, and shared this photo.
Joe, Tim, Chris and Micah,........Chris and Vivian, with Princess Jocelyn


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2 comments:

  1. JanJuly 21, 2020 at 9:09 AM

    I love family reunions! My dad one of 12 and when they got together, which was every two years, we had a rip roaring time! Sadly, we are down to only two aunts surviving. I have about 50 first cousins but we don't get together as often as we should. It looks like you had a great time. Making memories!

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  2. ConnieAugust 7, 2020 at 7:50 PM

    Oh Dolly, I think it is wonderful that you were all able to get together. You're so right about never knowing if it's the last time or not. Hallelujah, because of the price paid on Calvary and His glorious resurrection we can all be together for eternity. Oh what a family reunion that will be :)

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Thanks for stopping by !

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