J.B.Crouse

Many of you may know J.B. Crouse as a great missionary and past President of One Mission Society. On Sunday, June 22, 2014, he moved to his heavenly home. I imagine it was quite the celebration.

I had heard of the Crouse family twenty years ago when we first moved to Nicholasville. One of J.B.'s nephews was Bill's high school tennis coach. Over the years I've crossed paths with many of the Crouses in Jessamine County. They are all good people. Not every family can say that.

Last year Scott began dating Kellianne Crouse, J.B.'s granddaughter. I started hearing stories about J.B. and his wife Bette, and then I met J.B. at Yogli Mogli eating frozen yogurt with the family.

I always saw J.B. with a smile on his face. He had a zest for life and never slowed down.












Kellianne always has a twinkle in her eyes when she tells stories about her granddad. Kellianne joined them to celebrate Father's Day this year by going to Shakertown for lunch. He made the drive an adventure that I'm sure she'll never forget. Here's a picture of Kellianne and J.B. that day.

Last week J.B. challenged Kellianne and Scott to play corn hole against him and Bette soon. He even predicted a win for him and his lovely wife. J.B. wasn't the kind of person to sit back and watch life go by. He participated even if he had to get wet doing it.

Even though I only knew J.B. for a short time, I will miss him. His love for God, family, and others will live on, and he won't be forgotten.

R E S P E C T

Today I was inspired to share a story with you after visiting my friend's blog. Jeanne Takenka challenged us to see the "gold" in others.

Here's a link to her blog:


http://jeannetakenaka.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/appearances-4-thoughts-for-finding-the-gold-in-people/




There's a certain man I make contact with on average twice a week. Until a couple of months ago, he usually looked like he needed a bath and a clean change of clothes. I've always tried to treat him with respect because I don't know much of his story.

A couple of months ago, he got a job at an antique/junk store. Little by little this man has started cleaning up. He got a hair cut, he shaves, and he looks cleaner. Plus he wears nicer clothes that are clean.

I've been so impressed with the owner of the antique shop for hiring this man. He's given him dignity and a purpose in life. It's amazing how that can change a person.

I'm not in a position to hire people, but I hope to treat people with dignity and respect.


Philippians 2:3 (KJV) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Brad Paisley - Beat This Summer- Live

Every time I hear this on the radio, I smile. I hope you all have a blessed summer.

Paleo Update

I wanted to update you on my paleo life. Starting this in the spring was a good idea because of all the wonderful fresh produce. I imagine the winter would be a hard time to start.

There are a few shady areas of the diet. Some "authorities" say potatoes and rice are okay. Others disagree. So I've eaten potatoes (especially on vacation), but I haven't touched rice.

We've eaten a lot of salads. I discovered you can have a healthy lunch for less than 200 calories if you put tuna on your salad and use a lite vinaigrette. Tim and Scott think it's disgusting, but it's not bad.

One thing I've tried that we all like is drying my own fruit. It occurred to me that the dried fruit I ate was really sweet. Turns out they add sugar. So I ordered this handy dandy machine to do it myself.

So far I've tried apples, mangoes, bananas, cherries, and kiwi. The apples and cherries were my favorites. Tim and Scott have enjoyed this experiment. Scott even took some to work, and the guys there offered some suggestions of foods to try.

I've lost ten pounds in six weeks, and I feel better. So for now I'm going to stick with this eating plan.

I hope you all have a great week!

Happy Father's Day Weekend

This weekend is Father's Day Weekend. I've been blessed with a wonderful dad, and I hope you've had wonderful father in your life.

Here is a picture of my parents this past Christmas. Dad always has a ready smile and usually a funny story to tell. Strike that, not usually, he always has a funny story to tell that's sure to bring a smile to your face.

Stranger is not in my dad's vocabulary. He's traveled all over the southeast United States to watch the grandkids play sports. He can strike up a conversation with anybody. And he remembers them.

My youngest son says he's had tennis players tell him they met his granddaddy at tournaments, and Scott never knew they'd had a conversation.

Dad also understands why I'm a big Georgia football fan, and he keeps up with the Dawgs so we can discuss them together.
(Daddy graduated from the University of Kentucky but helped me in the decision making process of choosing to go to the University of Georgia for pharmacy school.)








Here my brother, Chris, and I are with my parents last spring.

I love my dad and can't wait to see him so we can celebrate Father's Day this weekend.


I hope you all have a great weekend!

The Lone Star State

I've never thought a lot about the nickname for Texas. The Lone Star State. Seems sad. Don't you think? So I decided to look it up.

Texas became the 28th state in 1845. Before that it was a province of Mexico. Texas fought for independence from Mexico from 1835-1836. When it gained independence, the new flag featured one lone star. It's been said this star reprents defiance, pride, and independence.


The Lone Star is not only on it's flag but also it's state seal. So from now on I won't think of the Lone Star as lonely but a sign of strength and independence.

I've only been to Texas twice in my life, but I'm excited to learn more about it.

What do you like about Sundays?