It's National Good Brother Day

Have you noticed in recent years we have a national day for just about everything?

Today is April 25, 2017. If you search you'll see it's National Crayola Day

It's Freedom Day in Portugal. Okay, that's a legit holiday. The closest I've gotten to Portugal is looking at Scott's pictures from his trip.

You'll also discover it's National DNA Day, East Meets West Day, Hairstylists Appreciation Day, National Telephone Day, National Plummer's Day and many more.

What you may not discover in your research on April 25, is my brother, Chris Lutz was born on this day. He's been a great brother over the years. I've watched him grow into a good husband and father. Chris is a good example of a godly father. Maybe because we grew up with a great example with our dad.

Acts 10:2 NIV "He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly."

My dad and brother are both devout and God-fearing and have prayed for our families regularly. I'm truly blessed to be part of their family.

Because most of these other holidays don't mean much to me, I'm going to be corny and proclaim it National Good Brother Day.

This is Chris with his wife Carol when we vacationed with them in Maine this fall.

And here's a picture of Dad with the family.

And because I have sons, I decided to throw in a picture of them with Tim as we celebrate National Good Brother Day.


If you have a brother, I encourage you to reach out to him today.

Happy National Good Brother Day!

Never Give Up Part 2

Last week I shared how I got into pharmacy school. I loved living in Athens, Georgia and attending UGA. But there were hard times. I didn't breeze through my classes.

I always struggled with wanting to be a good mother to Bill and studying. There were times I considered giving up. I could finish one of the other degrees I started with a lot less stress.

During some of these times it was my mother, Nancy Lutz, who kept encouraging me. She told me I could do it. She reminded me Bill depended on me to graduate so I could provide for him. She had faith in me and wouldn't let me give up on myself. She was the voice of encouragement in my ear.

I did eventually graduate. During my time in Athens, I met Tim. We fell in love and married. Eventually we moved back to Kentucky to be closer to family.

When Bill went to college, he told us he wanted to be a pharmacist. I'll be the first to tell anybody Bill is way smarter than me. He got into UK and is now a pharmacist. I joke about him surviving pharmacy school twice, and he's a great pharmacist.

Here's Bill today with his wife, Amanda and their beautiful daughters.



In this picture you'll see the four pharmacists in my family. Dick Lutz, Chris Lutz, Bill Sturdevant, and me surrounded by our loving, and encouraging family.



If you're struggling today, I'd like to encourage you to never give up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bittersweet Days

Miriam Webster defines bittersweet as pleasure alloyed with pain.

The summer before my son, Scott, started high school he picked up a tennis racket. What started out as a favor to play tennis with my husband turned into a passion. And with that passion came a lot of hard work and sacrifice for the next eight years. Scott took lessons, played on the high school team, and competed in many tournaments through high school. When it came time to look for colleges, he only considered schools where he could play tennis. After several college visits, he finally chose to attend Asbury University.

When he graduated from high school, we were a little sad to see that era pass. But now he's graduating from college, and thus will end his competitive days.

Senior Day dawned beautiful and warm. God could not have given us a more perfect day. Coach Miller had a short and sweet presentation for the seniors before the match began.




Scott's doubles partner is recovering from an injury, so he was paired with Josh to play number one doubles. If you add their heights, they are over thirteen feet tall. It was so fun to watch them play together. Sometimes the other team would hit a shot at them, and I'd think there was no way we'd get it, and one of them would stick a long arm out and return the shot.



The team has conference play coming up. If they win conference, they have a chance to go to the national tournament. Each match they win moves them closer to nationals. Any loss will end the season.

Scott and Josh won their doubles match. When Scott walked off Asbury's tennis courts today, it was his last home match. Ever. A bittersweet sensation overwhelmed me. I think Scott was relieved I only asked to take pictures and didn't actually start crying.

My oldest son, Bill, played tennis for AU before he transferred to UK for pharmacy school. Bill works full time, but he helped Coach Miller at the late night tennis practices through the winter. I was so happy that Bill was able to be around for Senior Day.

Thanks for stopping by my back porch and letting me reflect on the wonderful time we've had watching Scott play tennis the last eight years.