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John and Paulette Stabb

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

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(In limba Romana la sfarsit)

On Christmas day while on the ferry making our way to my sister-in-law for Christmas dinner we ran into old and excellent friends, in fact, if not for John Stabb and his trips to Romania after the Revolution in 1989, I would’ve never met Chet:) God works through people.

It’s through them that we found out about Summer and Aurel Macsim, his daughter and son-in-law who live in Hunedoara, and that’s how we found out about Aurel’s Glioma tumor diagnosis on December 31, located in the right side of his head. Since he had an operation on January 4th in Timisoara and the recovery road, although good, is long and tiresome. Just like many of you who know them and their situation we kept them in prayers and thank God for brother Aurel, as some of you know him, recovery. I believe tomorrow he’ll be transferred back to the hospital from Hunedoara.

For some, the recovery is short of a miracle while for others may take time, but if we have faith and believe we don’t go through the suffering alone. God is on our side. Caringbridge.com (aurelmacsim) has regular updates done by Summer, his wife.

We continue to pray for Aurel and Summer through the recovery process and thank God for their well-being.

 

 

În drum spre cumnata mea în ziua de Crăciun ne-am întâlnit cu niște prieteni dragi pe care nu-i mai văzuse-m de mulți ani.

După Revoluția din 1989, John și Paulette Stabb au bătut pământul românesc mulți ani de zile ca misionari, aducând biblii și propovăduind evanghelia. Prin John l-am întâlnit pe Chet 🙂 Dumnezeu lucrează prin oameni.

Stând la povești am aflat că Summer, fata lor, este căsătorită cu un băiat din Hunedoara, Aurel Macsim și împreună au adoptat o fată. Pe 1 Ianuarie anul ăsta Aurel a fost diagnosticat cu o tumoare la cap. Operația a avut loc pe 4 Ianuarie în Timișoara și drumul de recuperare, deși bun, este lung și obositor.

Ca mulți din voi care-i cunoașteți și cunoaște-ți situația lor, i-am păstrat în rugăciuni și mulțumim lui Dumnezeu pentru succesul operației. Cred că mâine va fi transferat înapoi la Hunedoara. Operația, în general, este scurtă în comparație cu procesul, de multe ori descurajator, al recuperării. Dar victoria este a lui Dumnezeu și spre slava lui Dumnezeu. Amin.

Pentru mulți care suferă recuperarea poate veni sub formă de miracol, pentru majoritatea din noi timpul suferinței se prelinge dar dacă avem credință nu vom trece niciodată prin suferință singuri. Dumnezeu este de partea noastră.

Caringbridge.com (aurelmacsim) are actualizări făcute de Summer, soția sa.

Continuăm să ne rugăm pentru Aurel și familia lui, pentru procesul de recuperare și mulțumim lui Dumnezeu pentru bunăstarea lor.

Psalmul 23 este și va rămâne pentru mine un capitol special din Biblie care mi-a adus mângăiere în timpul suferinței. Vi-l recomand:)

Dumnezeu să vă binecuvinteze pe fiecare în parte. Amin.

E vocea ta Doamne?

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

https://youtu.be/GvuohprOwlc

Anul asta acest cantec a fost favoritul meu. L-am ascultat de sute de ori cu lacrimi de durere sau bucurie curgand pe fata.

Am sa impart cu voi anumite aspecte care pe engleza nu le voi face.

Am avut doua visuri recent care m-au pus pe ganduri, pe urma pe rugaciune si meditare. Am stat de vorba cu Dumenzeu in felul meu si l-am intrebat sa-mi clarifice anumite aspecte. Primul a avut anumite aspecte negative dar al doilea a radiat cu splendoare ca un rau plin de lumina si viata. Prin ajutorul unei persoane am inteles anumite aspecte dar dimineata, in linistea patului, duhul lui Dumnezeu mi-a explicat anumite lucruri.

Carmen, prin visuri eu vorbesc cu copii mei si de multe ori conversatia mea cu voi este extrem de degajata. Exact cum vorbiti voi intre voi, cu prietenii cei mai apropia-ti…Ioane, sau Mihaela, sau Gabriela, sau Valer ce mai face-ti mai? Azi va voi aduce ceva mezeluri, ve-ti fi acasa? (traducere, azi am pace, sau speranta, sau bani de paine etc pentru tine si vreau sa tii aduc, vei fi acasa sa ma primesti?). Visurile este un aspect al comunicarii mele cu voi, o comunicatie de multe ori degajata si prieteneasca.

Dar in timpul explicatiei am auzit un sunet atat de strain dar placut incat singurul fel de a-l explica este: ca si cum o mutitudine de cristale se ciocneau producand anumi-te sunete clare si scurte dar foarte placute si simultan emanand o melodie muzicala schimbatoare. Am ramas muta, ascultand ceva ce nu am mai auzit niciodata incercand sa-mi dau seama daca cumva vecinii au pus ceva muzica dar au scapat o gramada de pahare simultan.

E vocea mea, o mostra, dar daca as vorbi asa nu m-ati intelege. Ar fi ca si cum as sta pe strada vorbind cu voi si voi ati trece pe langa mine crezand ca-s nebun. Asa ca va vorbesc prin limba care o intelege-ti, visuri, culori, imagini, emotii, senzatii, mirosuri, prietenii, si intelegere launtrica, in inima, toate pline de iubire, pline de culori radiante, de muzica frumoasa, de pace si claritate. Daca visurile sunt negre si pline de frica nu sunt de la mine.

Chiar daca primul vis a avut anumite aspecte neplacute pentru mine, al doilea a fost plin de promisiuni si pace.  Dumnezeu mi-a aratat in primul vis ca mi-am pierdut concentrarea asupra cadoului dat de el, dar al doilea vis mi-a adus reasigurarea actiunilor lui pe viitorul prezent.

Incurajarea mea pentru voi este urmatoarea: chiar daca ati facut greseli asta nu inseamna ca promisiunile lui Dumnezeu pentru voi nu sunt reale azi.

Incepe-ti anul cu o panza alba si impreuna cu Dumnezeu decide-ti cum vreti sa arate pictura vietii voastre. Dumnezeu vrea sa fie in viata noastra ca si cel mai bun prieten, sa treaca impreuna cu noi prin toate etapele vietii noaste fie ele pline de bucurie, durere, suparare, fericire, pace, descurajare etc. Nu suntem singuri. Amin.

La Multi Ani!!!! Va doresc un an nou plin de sanatate. Sa va gasiti destinul, ca odata destinul stiut nu mai ezitam si nu mai peirdem vremea ci intram in actiune:)

Amin.

 

The Spandex Curse

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

Sunday morning, needing to breathe some fresh air, I stopped at a tiny coffee shop here in Magnolia where they make my favorite decaf latte with almond milk drink.

The coffee shop, located in a deserted looking minuscule strip mall, has a male barista and a barbershop feel. Beside the male barista, a man in his 40s or 50s, two other gentlemen were occupying the small space, one on a stool to my left and another paying for his order.  All three laughing. The laughter and under the breath later on giggles were coming and going like a tidal wave and I smiled, happy to see them having a good time. I ordered my coffee, paid and waited. Picking his own coffee the man by the registered left for few seconds then returned, taking a seat on a stool next to the other, all three still giggling. One of them kindly let me in on the humorous secret.

“He just got caught staring at a guy in spandex.” Another wave of laughter.

“You wonder sometimes if people look in the mirror before they leave their house and think: sure, I look alright!” The other one, who got caught staring, now facing the wall, head bowed low and away from me, as if ashamed by his misfortune, spoke.

‘He’s still recovering.” The first man clarified to me, while everyone else kept laughing, me among them. The victim turned around and continued.

“And he was not in good shape…more laughter…I mean he was fat…in spandex.” The poor guy still looked terrified but what he’d witnessed that day and we joined him in laughter.

“I’ve had few such recoveries myself,” I replied, now holding my coffee.

“Have a good day.” I wished them still giggling and left them behind to their recovery ward and medicine. I love the way men talk. Simple, to the point and always with a touch of humor.

Have a great day:)

God Bless:)

Who’s child is this?

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

Humor for those of us with kids:)

So you get married, or not, and have children. You go through the heart burns, morning sickness, heads in the toilet while vomiting, stretch marks, swollen feet and sometimes face, head, brain, in fact, let’s just toss in the whole body, why not? Through the pain you think:

“It will be all worth it! If it’s a girl we’ll do this, and she’ll be that, just like me. If it’s a boy, he’ll play soccer and be the best doctor the world will ever see. So it’s all worth it.”

You give birth and you’re in love. Sure there is the pain from the stitches and your boobs hurt like someone stomped on them a thousand times but you’re raising a mini you or a mini husband and it’s all worth it. They grow up and begin to show individual personalities. You are cheering the boy from the sidelines of a practice soccer game, dreaming of a future superstar, and you see your boy picking up leaves, daydreaming, while the game is going all around him. He has no clue why he’s there and why people are so obsessed with a ball. Your jaw drops and you ask yourself:

“Whose child is this?” Then you hear your husband say:

“I guess he’s not much into soccer.” And you turn around realizing, this must be part of his DNA.

Then you raise your daughter and you dream of buying her dresses and having lots of grandchildren, until one day she comes home dressed all in black, swearing up and down she’ll never have children. And you think:

“I had no idea she owned anything in black!” And you’re saying your good by’s to any future grandchildren you hoped for. Then you hear:

“She’s just like my grandma. She always loved animals and didn’t care much for human beings” And you realize at that moment:

“Is there any part of me in them?”

Then comes the third child, a spitting image of yourself. As he becomes his own person you recognize one of your brothers in his looks and another in his facial expressions and with a glowing expression you say to yourself:
“Well it took me three tries to get it right:)))))))”

So if you don’t see a part of you in them just yet, keep trying:)))))))

God Bless:)

 

P.S. Sorry for the typos, I seem to be losing word memory, I look at the words and I have a harder time each day remembering the spelling of the simplest of words. If the automatic spell check didn’t catch it, no chance for me to catch it. Ta, da.

Our family just got bigger:) Familia sa largit:)

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

Meet Dorothea Damian, born August 27th in London to parents Iulian and Cornelia:) She’s the 19th grandchild to my parents, Lydia and Ilie Damian and the first child for Cornelia and Iuli:) Cutie pie:)

Bine ai venit Dorothea Damean, nascuta August 12, 2018 in Londra:) Parintii Iulian si Cornelia sunt plini de bucurie si noi alaturi de ei:)

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Meet Sofia Damian, born today in Portugal to parents Alex and Mia:) She just rounded the number of grandchildren to 20th:) Sofia is Alex and Mia’s first child and a cutie:)

Bine ai venit Sofia Damean, nascuta azi, Octombrie 16, 2018, in Portugalia:) Parintii Alex si Mia sunt in culmea fericirii si noi printre ei:)

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Greetings and love from the Damean family from London:) Missing in the picture are Cornelia, Carmen and Chet, Alex and Mia, Tibi and Nicol, Oana and Alex and children Merrill, Meleah, Alex, Dennis, Sarah and Rebecah (the twins:), Sofia, Iosua, Ionatan, Hadasa and Dorothea.

Salutari calduroase din partea familiei Damean, din Londra:) Lipseste din fotografie Cornelia, Carmen si Chet, Alex si Mia, Tibi si Nicol, Oana si Alex, si copii Merrill, Meleah, Alex, Dennis, Sara si Rebeca (gemenele:), Sofia, Iosua, Ionatan, Hadasa si Dorothea.

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God Bless:)

Quincy

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

Tonight while watching the Netflix Original documentary, Quincy, I found out something interesting I never knew about Chet. While living with Grandpa Charlie in Skyway, Seattle, he met and formed a friendship with Quincy Jones’ mother Sarah Wells Jones.

During an intermission of the Bill Gothard Christian Conference called “Insitute in Basic Life Principles” in 1988 at the Seattle Center, most likely at the Key Arena, while reading his Bible outside on a bench a thin lady sat down next to him and soon a conversation began, mostly about the Bible and God, creating an instant bond between the two. Soon after, Chet began visiting her small apartment downtown where she watched a small boy and girl most days. He remembers the good humor they shared while spending time together despite the age difference and the odd homeless look she seemed to have about her. He also noticed that something was a little off with her at times.

In their conversations, the name of Quincy Jones and his brother Lloyd came up and that’s when Chet realized the connection and wondered why would the mother of Quincy Jones live in such a small run-down apartment, knowing absolutely nothing of the personal history between the two. Sarah Jones seemed to be more proud of Lloyd and his important job at the Komo TV station, mentioning him often in the conversation, while hardly mentioning Quincy.

The relationship lasted about six months while Chet moved on to other things in his life and even though their friendship was short-lived, throughout the years he still thinks about her fondly.

Well, I learn surprising new things every day:)

God Bless:)

Osana

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

In ultimul timp mi-a fost tare dor de Dumnezeu. Gura mi-a fost inchisa, probabil pentru ca inima imi trece prin anumite schimbari si desi schimbarile sunt pozitive in final sunt noi, si tot cei nou ia un timp de rumegare. Impovarata de anumite detalii a vietii de zi cu zi, am uitat sa vorbesc cu el zilnic, cum am obiceiul, dar inima a continuat sa tanjeasca dupa momentele petrecute impreauna in mod regular.

Toti trecem prin momente similare, cand gura noastra parca nu poate exprima ceea ce am simtit asa de clar si puternic odata in trecut. Toti trecem prin momente in care parca ne impedicam de toate amanuntele vietii, si ne auto-frustram sau auto-invinovatim. Devenim tacuti trecand cu o anumita sovaire prin noul process al cresterii, icercand sa invatam tot mai multe.

Am invatat, ca durerea nu e sfarsitul sperantei. Am invatat ca nu-mi dau indeajuns acreditate, am invatat ca totu-i trecator, totul inafara de dragoste. Frica e foarte trecatoare si numai dragostea o poate invinge. Am invata ca am tendinta de a conversa direct si fara multe detalii. (Scurt si cumprinzator cum e zicala). Am invatat ca-s mult mai puternica decat mi-am dat seama in trecut. Am invatat ca-mi iubesc fratii si surorile extrem de adanc, desi poate exprim treaba asta in forma saraca. Am invatat ca Chet si copii sunt in centrul inimii mele dar Dumnezeu stapaneste peste toate. Am invatat ca a ierta este nou pentru mine si ca atare am de luptat sa patrez o inima iertatoare mult mai puternic decat mi-am dat seama. Am invatat ca Romanii stiu cum sa incurajeze un om cazut, mult mai superior decat isi dau ei seama. Am invatat sa accept faptul ca Dumnezeu ma chemat sa fiu vulnerabila in fata voastra, simultan un proces necesar insanatosirii unui suflet ranit. Am invatat ce-i suferinta dar simultan am invatat cat de adanc iubirea parcurge in aceste momente de suferinta, daca le lasi sa parcurga. Am invatat ca impreauna putem invinge orice. Am invatat ca toti avem o poveste de zis. Am invatat ca e un privilegiu sa va am in viata mea, privilegiu de care sunt foarte adanc miscata si multumitoare.

Am invatat sa zic: Doamne iti multumesc de toate! si sa simt aceste cuvinte pe deplin.

Voi prin ce trece-ti in ultimul timp?

Va doresc o zi plina de pace in toate colturile inimii si puterea de a invinge orice obstacol prezent in mijlocul vostru.

O zi binecuvantata va doresc la toti:)