Happy-3rd-Face-To-Face-Anniversary, My Max

December 20, 2023

Three years ago TODAY.....I met this man in person for the first time. Happy-3rd-Face-To-Face-Anniversary, my Max Lucado.

Each passing day brings me more and more joy and a deeper and deeper love for you. I am beyond grateful to God for intersecting our lives and gifting you to me at this time in my life.

*

I love you, Chief.

Who Is In Charge Of Our Paths?

December 15, 2023

Two years ago, we were honeymooning in St. Augustine....the oldest town in the US....when we decided to dash into a tiny little gift store for souveniers.

The very first thing we saw while walking through the door was a kiosk with personalized pocket knives on it. It was the kind of kiosk that rotates around and has different names etched on the knives.

As we looked closer, we noticed the name "Chuck" on one of the knives....but it was under the wrong name on the kiosk. It was under the name "Cynthia".

Wayne and I looked at each other and had no words....

It's little nuggets like this that remind us "Who" is in charge of our paths. I can so see Him smiling now......

Tuesdays With Pappo - Eucharisteo....The Act of Giving Thanks

Eucharisteo - The Act of Giving Thanks

December 14, 2023

The highlight to Thursdays With Pappo is witnessing his excitement in leaving a personal note to the waitress. He might be inching towards 96, but he’s (usually) got it going on with his iPad….he teaches his youngest a thing or two on a regular basis.

FUN FACT: Dad speaks Arabic. Bet you didn’t know that!

#tuesdayswithpappo

That Still Small Voice.....of God

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."

Proverbs 16:9

Sometimes....you find yourself where you never expected to find yourself.

Last year, Wayne and I sold both of our houses.....built a sweet home in an adult community in Mansfield near friends and family we loved and wanted desperately to live near. We carefully picked out the perfect lot....picked the perfect floor plan...picked the perfect light fixtures and picked the perfect scriptures to write on the studs of this new house in this chapter of our lives.

But there were problems with the construction....problems with the build....and one night, in a hotel bathroom with the cat, the dog and a litter box after 5 closing delays and 2 days before the 6th scheduled closing on this house we had spent a year building, we said "No". This isn't right.

And we found ourselves moving back near where we had just come from. An adult community near McKinney....an hour away from where we had dreamed and planned for a year to live.

It's been a crazy year and .we have dealt with many things....i.e., those who didn't understand and agree with our decision to move back....remodeling a 16 year old house....finding a new church and building a new life. But I am beyond proud of us for doing the "hard" thing...for walking away when we knew it wasn't right. We heard clearly that still small voice of God.

And this is our first Christmas in "our" new home. A place where "community" is greater than the "house"....and we are discovering that community turns any house....into a HOME.

Merry Christmas from our Home to Yours.

1st Christmas Heritage Ranch

May You Live All The Days Of Your Life

 “May you live all the days of your life.”

— Unknown

December 5, 2023

Grief....Is A Gift

November 28, 2023

Earlier this month, on the anniversary of Chuck and Cyndi's Homecoming, Wayne and I visited the DFW Military Cemetery...to hit the "Pause" button on life for awhile and look back...reflect and remember and rejoice on where we've been.

Having both lost our spouses, we have made it successfully through the Grief chapter of our lives.

As we walked through the rows and rows of headstones in this beautiful peaceful place, we ran across this man.....sitting quietly with his loved one. It was a reminder to both of us of where we have been....and where we will most likely be again one day.

We will all have to walk the Grief Road at some point in our journey, but may you find PEACE and COMFORT in the words of my favorite author, Ann Voskamp:

"There is no fear in letting tears come. Sadness is a GIFT to avoid the nothingness of numbness, and all hard places need water. GRIEF is a GIFT, and after a rain of tears, there is always more of you than before. What seems to be undoing you, can ultimately remake you." (Ann VosKamp, "The Broken Way")

"Blessed", Was Always Her Answer

November 22, 2023

Yesterday, as I was setting the dining table for our first Thanksgiving dinner in "our" home.....Wayne and I chose to set it with his late wife Cyndi's wedding china....and my Aunt Ellie's silver. They looked perfectly at home next to each other.

Both Cyndi and Aunt Ellie may no longer be with us, but they were very present at our Thanksgiving table we shared last night with my son and daughter-in-law and our two beautiful granddaughters.

I am thankful for Cyndi Sekerke. She was a beautiful soul (who had great taste in china!!) that I never met on this earth but will meet one day soon. She lived a life of love and thanksgiving all the days of her life. Her favorite answer to the question "How are you feeling, Cyndi" was the simple answer, "Blessed" as she endured cancer.

I am thankful for Aunt Ellie. She was bigger-than-life and, although she had no children of her own, was the crazy cool aunt to everyone else's children....which included me. She would have been over-the-moon happy to see us sharing her silver with our family and, it may have been my imagination, but I swear, I could hear her robust laughing at the table last night.

"Be Thankful.....In All Things, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Friends.

The Real Deal

November 15, 2023

This - Man......

How I got so blessed to be CHOSEN by God to be his wife during this 4th quarter of our lives, I will never know. But there is not a day goes by I don't thank God for gifting me with Wayne Sekerke.

He is truly, one of the Kindest men I've ever met.

A few months after we started dating, he introduced me to his friends at his Fielder South Oaks Church in Mansfield. I was excited, anxious and curious all rolled into one. But as I entered the foyer of this precious church, there was a line of people just as excited, anxious and curious to meet me. These were his friends. His best friends. And they were also his late-wife Cyndi's friends. Enter "Nervous" into my range of emotions.

But there was a constant comment they all whispered in my ear as they hugged me for the first time that day: "Wayne Is The Real Deal" they all said. I breathed easier hearing this from those who had known and loved him for many years.

Over the course of the past three years of knowing Wayne, I have discovered over and over again, this statement to be true. He puts everyone ahead of himself in ALL things. He is the most selfLESS person this chick Liz has ever met. Just ask anyone who knows him....they'll tell ya.

He understands the importance of watering relationships and stopping his life to help theirs. It's nothing for him to take a day off work to spend with a neighbor he doesn’t know well who is going through a serious illness so his wife can get out of the house. This past weekend, he flew to CA to see his late-wife's parents.....a family he loves deeply and considers his own. He flew his grown sons in from the opposite end of the state to also spend time with the grandparents they love. It's what Wayne Sekerke does. He can't help it....it's just who he is.

So why am I telling you this? Maybe it's because most of us could learn from the example of Wayne Sekerke....myself included. Maybe we need to embrace others....before we embrace ourselves.

This man.....he is a quiet doer.....not expecting accolades for the kindness he extends to those around him or expecting anything in return. He does it because he simply doesn't know how not to.  

He is truly....."The Real Deal".

Age Is Something That Doesn't Matter....Unless You Are A Cheese

"AGE IS SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MATTER.....

UNLESS YOU ARE A CHEESE"

November 7, 2023

This man.....my Dad....my Pappo (pronounced Pop-O), is no cheese. He has decided that being near-96 years of age is a good time to learn how to install a zipper in his britches. Last month....he was learning how to play the piano. Month before that, he was hoping to learn how to play the mandolin. Month before that, he was trying to negotiate a storage room at his Independent Living Center so he could set up shop to fix walkers for the residents.

Each Tuesday, I drive 1-1/2 hours to have lunch at Brahms or Cotton Patch with this crazy sweet man in anticipation of learning what he's trying to do that week.

It's a fun season with this almost 96 year old father of mine. He keeps my siblings and me on our toes (our inherited web-toes we got from him, BTW) and we're constantly looking at Life 360 to confirm where he is.

He no longer tells us "NO" but rather, "Well, if you think I should". Those words weren't in his vocabulary two years ago. He trusts us to help him....he laughs more....he shares his sometimes bizarre memories and wisdom with us and always...

.....always tells me he loves me.

 #tuesdayswithpappo

Better Than The Beginning Of Our Lives.....Is The End

 Charles (Chuck) Etheridge

11-5-2018

*

November 5, 2023

My Missing Chuck < (is less than) My Joy of Him Being Healed.

It has always been a common phrase of my Dad's to say, "There's worse things than death". I thought he was crazy...until death touched close to MY home and I realized....dang, he was right.

Worse than death, is seeing someone you love in pain and suffering.....unable to be freed from it.

I miss Chuck every day, but only for a little while. My missing him does not begin to equal the JOY of knowing our prayers were answered....Chuck Is Healed. I WILL see him again because I know he knew his Creator. This I know with certainty.

I have an appreciation for death...a thankfulness for it actually. For those of us who believe in Christ, we know that death is life's defining moment. It is the point where the final touch is put on each person's life portrait and our real life…the life we were always meant to have….is just beginning. A Forever life. Like being woken up for the first time.

Charles Spurgeon once said, "We are all born dying. Because of sin, our bodies are born broken - fearfully and wonderfully made, yes - but hurtling towards death from the moment of our conception."

*

We can be assured that....better than the beginning of our lives.....is the end. For so long, I had my definition of death all backwards.

So today, the day 5 years ago he arrived Home, I celebrate that man named Charles, Chuck, Bur, Grandpa Charlie.....and I thank God deeply for "rescuing" him from this old world of ours. He is Home. He is Safe. He is Well.

*

What more could a wife ask for?

Where Did 19 Years Go??

 Where did 19 years go?

This beautiful young woman below is my 19 year old granddaughter, Brie Etheridge, who celebrates her birthday today.

As my friends all know, I can get a little "wordy" in my posts, so this year, I thought I'd say Happy Brie Day with pictures.....pictures of the beautiful life she has chosen to live.

You are so loved, Brie, and our hearts swell with pride for the person you have become. We love you deeply and fully. Enjoy Chapter 19 in the Book of Brie! Enjoy the video below….

Brie 19th Birthday

 Calloway-Cousins-Reunion #2 was a huge success!!

As cousins growing up playing at Grandma-in-the-Woods' house in Verbena, AL, it took over 40 years for us to reconnect. But in 2018, we came from all corners of the US to meet up once again and get to know each other as Senior Citizens (well, most of us).

This past weekend in Orange Beach, AL, we met up for our 2nd Calloway Cousin Reunion. It's crazy how 40-50 years can go by and it's almost like time stopped. I actually know them better NOW than I knew them THEN.

We grabbed my 95-year old Dad and drove back in time on the same roads we used to drive when going from Texas to Alabama visiting Grandma......minus the Stuckey's stops along the way! My sister-cousin Sheri and her husband Doug, along with Uncle Ray (Dad's only living sibling and 91 years old) flew in from different parts of CA....our cousin Rob and his wife Sandra flew their own plane from Nashville....and our cousin Heather and her son Will drove in from the other side of FL....along with our cousin Steve and his beautiful fiancé Diana to all meet up in Orange Beach, AL.

I once heard a quote that said, "Some family trees bear an enormous crop of nuts"....and trust me, our Calloway family tree has its fair share of "nuts". But in our case, the nuts all stayed home and the fruit came to the reunion.

Counting down to Calloway Cousin Reunion #3.....Coming Soon......

(Sorry....not sorry....for the explosion of pictures)

#CallowayCousins