The gloomy wet weather this week has been very similar to the mood here in our community.  We lost a great guy early Monday morning when Ryan Prudhomme died and it has literally been raining and dreary ever since.

 I will never forget the first time I met Ryan, we had just moved up here, and it was the middle of winter.  My parents were up so we took a drive to see the area. We found the one restaurant that stays open year round in a neighboring town, and went in.  It's a very small bar/restaurant and when we walked in we saw 2 cowboys sitting at a table and I remember thinking..."where do I live?"  It seemed like a picture from out west!  Well, my dad, who never knew a stranger, decided to talk to these guys.  He goes on to tell them who we are and that we had just moved to the area.  They were both very kind and said they worked at the Ranch at Grace Adventures.  So I wondered if they were just dressed that way because of the ranch or what, I mean they were in full get up, hat, bandanna around the neck, big belt buckles, vests, leather slicker coats, the real deal!  I had seen several cowboys out west, and even knew one, but most people in Michigan, just wear the boots or hat or whatever not the whole shebang!  After living here a while I came to realize that indeed they were true cowboys. And not only that, they had a passion for the Lord and used their love of all things cowboy at the camp to help others grow in their faith and knowledge of the Lord.  It was a blessing to get to know Ryan, yes he was a great man of God, he was also a lot of fun and quite mischievous, he shared some great stories around campfires about his growing up years. He will definitely be missed!

 Today we went to the visitation and were once again reminded that we have a living God who cares for us and gives us the grace we need to deal with the difficulties of this life.  His wife, parents and brothers were all a picture of this kind of amazing grace.  While we are all so very sad that he is no longer with us, we are not like those without hope.  I cannot imagine going through life without the hope that is found in the Lord. 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

There may be some who read this and think this is 'hogwash' so to speak, but I urge anyone who thinks that way to think about something: What if you are wrong?  I mean, if what I believe is wrong, and when we die, we die and that's that, then at least I had hope{don't worry, I'm not changing my mind on this} But, what if what you believe is wrong, and what I believe is right?  Then what?  Just something to think about.  Ryan left a legacy of faith and trust in God, and I can't help but share that with you.  If you've never read Ryan and Kendra's blog, please check it out.  It will be sure to bless you, stretch you and make you think.

Please keep Kendra, Colton and their families in your prayers.

dear 16 year old me...

I am sure many of you have seen this, it has been out for almost a year now.  But, I wanted to share this in case someone may have missed it.  It is almost spring and I know everyone gets the urge to go tanning so please take a moment to watch.  But first, here is my story....

  About 8 years ago, I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.  I had a small spot on my leg which I asked my doctor about, and she said, "I am not sure, but I can send you to a specialist..." we didn't have good insurance, and Ryan was in seminary, so...I said, "no thanks, I am sure it's fine."  Didn't think too much about it until...Christmas rolled around and my sister gave my parents a HUGE medical book and as I was flipping through it I saw a picture of the exact spot that was on my leg, under the heading of "Malignant Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer...!"  I decided to ask a friend who was a nurse if she thought it was suspicious and she immediately told me to "get that taken off!"   So I called my doctor back,{nearly a year later} and got that referral.  Sure enough, they took a biopsy and I got the call with the dreaded word CANCER  and my name attached to it! yikes!  I went back in and they took out a HUGE chunk of skin from the top of my left leg.  I still have a nasty scar.  Thankfully, they got all of it.  It was a slow growing form and had not spread any further, so no other treatment was necessary.  I had to have skin checks every 6 months and now I go back every year.