family – The Thinking Christian Woman

The Director’s wife

dying to self, family, gardening, life purpose, Uncategorized, vigilance Comments Off

Apr 082014

Mom died six months ago today, after nearly 95 trips around the sun. Though strong, opinionated, and talented, for 68 of those years she poured her life into the dreams and goals of her husband – Christian author, speaker, film producer and director, Ken Anderson.

“Mrs. A” as many around the film studio and the world called her, was a humble, but not common, thinking Christian woman. Shortly after her death, I found a hand-written note in her devotional, written on her 59th birthday:

“Dear Lord – Help me to be a method actress in the greatest film of life. I don’t ask for the lead part. Put me anywhere in the film. I only ask that I can give You 100% of all that I have. If all the hard parts seem to come my way, I thank You for the compliment – it means I could handle it for You. Help me to remember that You never send an actress more trouble than she can handle. Help me study the script (Bible) so I’ll know the lines. And when the director calls “cut” for me because of illness or old age, help me to accept the “wrap-up” and final scene with grace, showing love and kindness as You did when You left the setting of Heaven to come here to earth, to live and die, so that I might live forever in scenery yet unknown, leaving those who remain on set. – Mrs. A”

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Extraordinary Larry

family, praise 1 Response »

Jun 182013

We have a large family; seven brothers and sisters. The first is Naoma, and the last is me.

Naoma and Larry married when I was about 3, but I still remember the cold folding chair, my shiny black patent leather shoes, and how beautiful my sister looked.

Larry had some breathing problems last week, then yesterday, while sitting on the couch after ordering a new bible and a book to help him study Ephesians, his heart and breathing stopped after 73 years.

Naoma performed CPR, and the ambulance team did as well, but Larry left this earth before he made it to the hospital. Here are my initial thoughts about his extraordinary life.

Extraordinary Larry

Defying the odds

Studying the bible

Making a plan

Raising a family

Preaching God’s Word

Running a store

Building a house

Teaching a class

Working on a project

Loving people

Sharing the Gospel

Keeping the basement dry

Running a department

Saying a prayer

Training future teachers

Pursuing a dream

Singing a dog to sleep

Making new friends

Giving to people

Loving his wife and family

Living in glory

Preacher boy

Student

Husband

Father

Pastor

Teacher

Counselor

Dreamer

Planner

Designer

Doctor

Department head

Builder

Administrator

Store owner

Redeemed

Witness

Overcomer

Friend

New resident of Heaven

To the glory of God, Larry has never been ordinary!

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Hall of faith

family, life purpose 1 Response »

Nov 052012

On Saturday, I witnessed my 71-year-old sister’s induction into the Grace College sports Hall of Fame in Winona Lake, Indiana. It was the surprising (to her, not me) culmination of a lifetime love of, and pioneering visionary spirit for, women’s sports.

Margaret played basketball before Title IX allocated school funding for women’s athletics and even before statistics were kept. As a young girl, playing on the court my parents built for her in the back yard, she imagined sinking the winning shot for gold even before there was an Olympic women’s basketball team.

It was frustrating to love sports with her whole being at a time when there was so little opportunity. She often asked God, “Why did you make me good at sports of all things?!” But one day in the 1970’s, giving her testimony to a capacity crowd in Mexico City as a member of the first-ever Venture for Victory (now Sports Ambassadors) evangelistic women’s basketball team, she finally understood.

For several adult decades, Margaret was an integral part of the formation and vitality of a tennis league in her community in which she was one of the top players. Friendships were forged and faith shared as a result. She testifies, “God has given me many opportunities to share my faith over the years through sports.”

Thirteen years ago, a serious cancer diagnosis took away my sister’s athletic life. Today, she confidently affirms, “I would never wish to have cancer, but having had it, I wouldn’t trade that experience because of the deeper relationship I have with the Lord.”

After a lifetime of little to no recognition for her dedication and drive, then after physical changes that put sports out of reach, Margaret experienced the Hall of Fame honor as a humbling, worshipful experience. From my vantage point, it’s like God saying to her, “I came to all your games and saw your desire to honor Me.”

Last night, one of my sister’s dearest friends presented this poem at her bible study:

Marg’s a champ, as we all know, even has a medal to show.

We’re so proud of what she’s done, gaining Grace’s fame…she’s our #1!

But, there’s another story she likes to share – her faith in Jesus and His loving care.

So, Miss Margaret, you make us very proud, don’t ever change, or you’ll hear from us, your Bible study crowd. – Jo Lemon

The thinking Christian woman knows that God will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8, 48:11), but He will sometimes allow His people to be recognized for their achievements.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalm 84:11 NIV)

God bless you today as you go forth in excellence in His name – and if not recognized on this earth, know that your loving heavenly Father sees.

Margaret with her college coach and fellow Hall of Famer, Yvonne Messner

With former Laker’s and Heat assistant coach and fellow Hall of Famer, Chet Kammerer, wearing his NBA championship ring.

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I see you!

answers to prayer, family, God's love 7 Responses »

Oct 242011

There’s a standing joke about the patient in a drafty hospital gown struggling in vain to keep the back flaps closed and thinking, “Now I know why they call it – ICU!”

Last week, after visiting my hardy and relatively healthy Mom for several days with the specific purpose of helping her and local family proactively prepare for the time, down the road, when she might need in-home caregiver and skilled help, we were all somewhat surprised by a health event that sent her to the Intensive Care Unit.

When I first got to town, before Mom’s ICU trip, the daily reading included Proverb 6:20, which encourages us, “…do not forsake the law of your mother…” so I asked Mom if there were any “laws” that she particularly wanted me to follow in life. She thought a while, then revisited a teaching she had consistently shared since my early childhood – God sees everything you do (Proverb 5:21 and 15:3).

That reminded me of a story in Genesis about a runaway pregnant slave girl who encountered the Angel of the Lord by a spring in the wilderness. He told her to return to her harsh mistress, and promised to multiply her descendants. In response, she called Him El Roi “The-God-Who-Sees.” (Genesis 16:13)

When Mom’s husband of 67 years died in 2006, she stood alone in her big, empty house and asked God, “Who am I now?” In that moment, El Roi answered her heart,

“You are My child, and I will walk with you.”

Mom’s hospital stay was painful for her and stressful for us, but so many blessings emerged that it soon became abundantly apparent that God’s watchful presence hovered over all. Here are just a few examples:

Strong spirit of love and cooperation between family members as the Body of Christ. Good opportunities to improve communication and understanding.

Multiple opportunities for family members to express honor and love in ways that Mom can feel.

The hospital’s Director of Imaging bought my lunch! (a story unto itself).

Bumped into a high school friend who just happened to be the hospital’s Director of Engineering and Security. He personally made sure that the annoying intermittent loud whooshing sound in Mom’s room vent, that had steadily been getting worse (we had nicknamed it “The Whale”), stopped that same day.

Mom gave us all a priceless example to follow when she mustered the poise and courage to allow a procedure she greatly feared, but that brought instant relief and vastly hastened her recovery.

Mom came home from the hospital just 15 minutes before I had to leave for the airport and I had the joy of seeing her comfortable in her recliner again.

No one wants to be in the ICU, or to see a loved one there, but for the Thinking Christian Woman, the acronym “ICU’ can be transformed into a confident reminder that El Roi, The-God-Who-Sees, constantly affirms – “I see you!”

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God so loved the world

family, God's love, Gospel, life purpose 5 Responses »

Sep 052011

My parents had a vision and a passion for sharing the Good News about Jesus the Christ with the whole world. They started out wanting to be missionaries, and ended up equipping foreign and national missionaries on a far broader scope than ever could have been realized serving in one mission post.

My father traveled to over 120 countries (there are currently about 196 countries in the world) researching and filming evangelistic audio visuals for Ken Anderson Films and International Films. My mother and various siblings sometimes accompanied and assisted him.

I remember seeing my father lay his hands on a globe of the world and pray for everyone at one time, trusting that God knew individual needs. Visitors from around the world were frequent guests in our home. We were raised to be world Christians.

During college, rather than accept Walt Disney World’s offer of a dream summer job, I toured Mexico, Central and South America with Sports Evangelism’s women’s basketball team. While our opponents rested during half-time, we presented God’s love through music, talent and testimonies.

My family’s vision continues today in the form of InterComm, a non-profit ministry that works with national Christians around the world to translate existing Ken Anderson Films audio-visuals into their heart language.

I have traveled to 17 countries and seen first-hand some of the ways God’s Spirit is fulfilling a worldwide mandate. This website is one expression of my desire for people around the world to experience, and share about, God’s love.

So far, the Thinking Christian Woman has received visitors from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.

If your country isn’t listed, please leave a comment and let us know where you’re visiting from.

And if English is not your heart language, you might enjoy checking out the newly-added “Translate this Page” feature in the right column of the blog.

Thank you for visiting. God bless you! If you enjoy what is offered here, please tell your friends about the Thinking Christian Woman. Thank you!

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Peonies and Pioneers

family, gardening, resurrection, spiritual heritage 4 Responses »

May 262011

What can a Thinking Christian Woman discover by pondering peonies to root out their deeper meanings? Here’s what a budding Master Gardner-in-training had to say:

Peonies are extremely hardy, good for passing from one generation to another (spiritual heritage)
The way to multiply them is to divide them (growth and abundance)
As herbaceous perennials, they require a marked cold spell to bloom (the blessings of enduring hardships)
About the only thing that will do them in is blight, and the only cure is to cut off the affected part and burn it – as my brother says, “better get it right when it comes to blight!” (dealing with sin)

I’m a fourth generation American whose maternal great grandparents emigrated from Sweden and Wales to homestead the sand hills of Nebraska’s North Platte River region. Grandma Hannah Johnson Jones kept house in the middle of a wind-swept section of the prairie that featured buffalo wallows and the ruts left when mail delivery was by Pony Express from Fort Kearney to the post office that later became Hayden School. Grandma’s flowers, especially pansies and peonies, were bright spots against the nearly treeless, grassy tan Nebraska landscape.

Once on a trip to the old home place, Mom dug up some of Grandma’s peonies to transplant back at our home in Indiana (btw – in 1957, the year I was born, the peony became Indiana’s official state flower).

Couple years ago, I dug up two clumps of Mom’s Nebraska-Indiana transplant and brought them home to Southern California, where, unlike Indiana’s highly acidic soil, the soil is predominantly alkaline because of so little rainfall in our semi-arid climate. Naturally, I wondered if the plants would survive.

Well, after about 8 months, I sadly reported to Mom that, by all appearances, the transplants were dead in the ground. I pulled up one, and was intending to pull up the other, but never got around to it. Forgot all about it until one spring day after several months of rain when, lo and behold, there it was, alive and well hidden within a lush growth of weeds!

Ok, so Grandma Jones’ transplanted peony appeared totally dead in the ground but then sprang back to life? What does that mean to the Thinking Christian Woman?

Picture a plot in the Prairie Home Cemetery, east of Holdrege Nebraska, near the farmstead where that plant originated. Many of my pioneering relatives are buried here, including Grandma and Grandpa Jones. Standing over their grave a few years ago, I was struck by the reality that they too are, by all appearances, dead in the ground. And yet, in reality, as they proclaim so confidently on their memorial stone:

“He that hath the Son, hath life” (1 John 5:12)

Peonies and pioneers…from death to life…the reality of resurrection…this is part of the lively hope and power that is the spiritual heritage of every Thinking Christian Woman!

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