So here we are on Cyber Monday. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Gaches house. It was all four in my family, my parents, and my brother and his wife. We celebrated with a wonderful time of thanks, followed by an incredible meal, then games at the table until all hours of the night. It was a day filled with stories and jokes, laughter and smiles, and more food than any of us could possibly eat. My daughter made a Coconut Cream Pie from a scratch recipe that was made by my grandmother. It was incredible!
Once the meal was over, the ladies spent about an hour getting all the leftovers divided up into containers so each family could take home some of the extra food and nothing would go to waste. So in the past four days I have had more weird combinations of a traditional Thanksgiving meal than any one should ever have to endure. Turkey in every form possible, like chicken at a Chinese Buffet, ways I never thought possible. It’s been good but enough is enough. Thus the title of the blog! I have reached my limit, and thank goodness, the leftovers have run out!
Each morning if possible, after having breakfast with Tam and the kids I check my email and try to outline my day so I can effectively accomplish all the things that I need to. Over the last few months I have received several emails from some of my L5 friends who are walking thru some tough times. They are always so gracious and simply ask that we pray for their situation. Friends, please know this, We Are Praying! We do not take these requests lightly. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job, or a tough situation in everyday life, We Are Praying!
It touches my heart each time I read one of these, not just because of the need, but also because I want to do everything that I can to reassure and comfort you in your time of need. The one thing I know beyond everything is this. God Is Able! I have experienced this first hand. There is no place that you can walk that God cannot reach, and even though you may not see it right now, He is working on your behalf. Sometimes it is so hard to stand in the middle of a storm and know that the sunshine is coming. One thing that has helped me thru difficult times is hearing from others the things that God has brought them thru.
So this is what I would like for you to do. If God has brought you thru something, take this opportunity to share it with those who are going thru something themselves. How you ask? By simply posting it in the responses of this blog. So many of our friends stop by the table each night to share with us how they read the blog, and that it makes them laugh or encourages them. So I am asking for your help in this. I know there are many stories of encouragement out there, and it would do wonders for those who read this and really need to read something uplifting.
Just share your story in the responses, and let it be an encouragement to those who need it. If you are touched by one of the stories, be sure to respond as well! Let’s take the opportunity at this time of the year, to help each other with the great stories of what God has done in our lives!
Until next time…..
Gus, thanks for the post. The most over used phrase in the Church today is “I’ll be praying for you!”. People say it all the time in an almost knee jerk reaction to hearing a story of someone going through some form of distress in their life. I have always personally felt that saying “I’ll pray for you” and then forgetting about that person almost as soon as you say it is one of the most disturbing things one Christian can do to another Christian. It is encouraging to hear that L5 does actually remember the requests for prayer AND follows through on it.
Gus, trust me I am very sick of leftovers. We had almost 20 lbs of turkey this year with 18 people over at our house. And we still have some leftover! Lol but being serious now, I definately have one thing that is on my heart. I have served in the music ministry in my church for a long time, and I have taken private vocal lessons. My dream and I believe my calling is to one day go into full time ministry in Southern Gospel Music, and I don’t just say that because I am typing this as a reply to what a Southern Gospel musician is saying. I honestly feel like that is what God would have me to do. I just need prayer because there are a lot of choices that I can need make. So just pray that God would give me guidence through all of this.
Hope to see more great things!
Oh one more thing: I was thinking about you guys the other day. I was listening to Solid Gospel Radio with my friend and it seemed that that whole day, there was some Country Gospel song playing that made you feel like you were riding a donkey through the desert (then there was a Booth Brothers song that made me feel that way too. Lol.) But all I could think about was you guys singing the song Walk With Me and Scott Howard doing his Willie Nelson voice on the second verse.
I couldn’t not reply to this entry… Thank you for the opportunity to tell others just how good my God has been to me. Altho I have had the blessing of a Christian home, at one point in my life, I allowed a loss to embitter me greatly – to the point of being angry with God. It was the lowest point of my life – filled with discouragement and of course those lies we have all heard – ‘God doesn’t care about you’ and ‘You’ve gone too far’. Let me tell you: The God who must have loved you so tremendously that He sent His ONLY Son to die in your place, still loves you. His grace can still reach you – if you’ll just accept Him, His forgiveness, His mercy and His love. It was a hard time – but also a time I wouldn’t trade for anything. God used it to prove His love and faithfulness to me. You know, God doesn’t just want His children to believe that He is faithful – He wants to show us. And in what better circumstance can He show how good He is than when He sails with us through a storm or carries us through a valley? During that time in my life, I even fought God’s attempts to reach me – I shut out friends – I stopped listening to Southern Gospel Music – I tried to block out sermons. But you know what – He never gave up on me. He never threw me away. He never walked away. He was there all the time – just waiting to heal me. I owe everything that I am to Him. I’ll always be grateful that He never let me go and I continue to pray each day, ‘Lord, make me into someone You can use. Make me beautiful. Let my life make a difference.’ I hope this encourages someone out there – if you’re going through a dark time – just hold on to the hand that has brought you through so often. ‘Hitherto has the Lord helped me’ – say it when the devil says you’re not gonna make it through. Say it when you don’t see His hand. Say it when you don’t know what to do. Say it when your hope is gone. Say it – over and over again. God hasn’t asked something impossible of you. All He’s asked you to do is trust. My testimony is simply this: Up until now, God has helped me in every situation and I’m excited to see what He’s got in store for me.
God bless you.
The Lord wants each of us to be able to say and mean, God “though You slay me, yet will I trust You.” (Job 13:15)
I used to read that verse and think that I could easily say it and mean it with all my heart. Until the truly hard times came. Then, that Scripture took on a whole new meaning for me. When we walk that thin line between life and death, joy and dispair, hope and crushing defeat, God wants us to look to Him for everything. Not only the outward things, our jobs, our houses, our families, our friends, our possessions, etc, but also the inward things—our heart and soul, our very life in HIm. He will be One with us if we trust and obey. (Here is where I can hear L5 break into song: “Trust and obey. For there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”)
Thank you for sharing… your post challenged and encouraged me. May God bless you abundantly.
It sounds like you had a fun-filled Thanksgiving! We had much of the same. 18 family all gathered together. We all play “Hand and Foot”. We introduced 2 more new members to the game this past weekend. But Thanksgiving meals aren’t what they used to be. These days it is all gluten free. My aunt has celiacs disease. So it has really changed the way we do family gatherings. No more favorite receipes that our grandparents and great grandparents used to make. It always fun to sit around and share stories since the last time we talked.
In response to your question:
The hardest situation I have ever gone through is in losing my husband. No one can understand the pain that you go through unless you have walked those shoes yourself. People say they know how it feels, but they only know in part. The loneliness gets so intense that the walls feel like its closing in and you are going to get crushed if you don’t get out. We lived in a small town and we knew most everyone. Martin worked for motor vehicles (titles & reg, drivers licenses) so most people cycled through there when they moved into town. He would always show them a picture of the two of us that would make people go “awwww….what a cute couple!” They would stop us in the grocery stores saying “I just have a question….” and it would always be a motor vehicle question, usually about the inspections. Martin loved to do inspections. It was his favorite part of the job. During the summers we would square dance on the courthouse plaza. People from all over would bring their chairs out and sit and watch us all dance. It was very special to us. Well, with memories like that, I couldn’t possibly stay there after he died. I needed a change of scenery. The only problem was, I couldn’t run away from the big hole in my heart. It took years of therapy and complete dependence on God to work through the issues. I held myself responsible for his death, even though the paramedics assured me there was nothing else I could have done. There were days when inside me it felt like a war zone. On the outside, life went on as normal–work, dancing, family gatherings…but on the inside, my life was turned upside down, and no one could make it right again. I poured into my bible during those days, gleaming on what peace God could offer. I had a devotional bible that I filled with scriptures on the empty pages because there were times when the pain got so bad that I couldn’t even open the bible to read it. I was mad at God, but I didn’t want to be. So on those days, I would read what I had written on those few pages at the beginning and the end of my bible, then would hold my bible, rock back and forth, and ask God to make it all go away. I felt so bad that I couldn’t open the bible itself and read it. But little did I know that when I was giving the bible a hug, God was giving me a hug. I still hold my bible like that today, and the sweetness of God’s presence overpowers me. It’s a very special memory that only God and I have shared through the difficult times. As hard as it was to lose Martin, it did cause my relationship with God to blossom in a way that we never would have had if Martin had still been alive. I can only say that now after it has been 11 years. I couldn’t make myself say those words, let alone believe them, when I was walking through early stages of grief.
Gus, thank you for letting us share our story….
I couldn’t help but be so convicted by this…..I definately can relate to the loss of a loved one, maybe not the way you experienced it, but it’s still the same situation in many ways. What got me the most is the fact that God was able to still work in you more than ever because He brought a tragedy that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Your faithfulness to the Lord reminds me of the song “Faithful to the Cross” and the words “Forgetting what’s behind me and counting it a loss, Faithful to the Finish, Faithful to the Cross.” Despite your past, you still were faithful to Him. May God bless you for that. <3
Thank you! It’s these experiences in life that cause you to become faithful to the finish. Yes, “Faithful to the Cross” causes me to tear up every time I hear it.
Thank you so much for sharing your story… It touched my heart. Yours is another testimony to the world that God truly IS faithful.
Not many people know how, but it’s a fun game to play together!
Off subject, but my family and I love to play ‘Hand and Foot’ too.
God bless you.
It is truly a blessing getting to read these encouraging words, and an even great blessing seeing that they are doing what we has hoped, encouraging others!
Ok, before anyone says anything, it was supposed to read
It is truly a blessing getting to read these encouraging words, and an even greater blessing seeing that they are doing what we had hoped, encouraging others!
Haha, don’t worry, I caught the mistake about the seventh time I looked over each sentance. Can you say, sloooooooowwwww?
Sorry, that should be ‘sentence’. Now I’m the one making the mistakes. LOL
In my life there have been lots of ups and downs and still are. When I say I will pray, I mean I will pray, and the people I’m talking to know that too. Prayer from others is the only thing that gets me through some of the trials in my life – the loss of both my parents and my husband’s parents, the loss of his sister (who I counted as one of my best friends and the sister I never had), the loss of my husband’s nephew in the prime of his life (18 and about to graduate) – the physical distance I am from my biological family (I know I sound like a big baby when I know L5 leaves their families all the time to minister to all of us). But most of all, I know that God sees me through with prayers from a best friend when I ask her to “go to the closet” for whatever situation I’m in at whatever time – she doesn’t need to know what’s going on, but she goes and prays every time and she knows I will do the same when she asks that of me. We all need to keep in the forefront of our minds that God IS with us at all times and in all things and will see us through whatever trials that come our way.
It feels sooooo good to have a friend like that! Your story of complicated grief struck a chord in my heart. My prayers are with you. That’s why we need Legacy Five and all the other concerts we can get to. The love, the joy, the stories, the laughter, and yes, even the tears gets us through one more day, one more week, one more month, one more year.
The holidays are very hard for me, in 1998 a week before thanksgiving my mother passed away suddenly but I know she is heaven and no longer in pain or suffering anymore. then on December 28 2003 just 8 days after her 4th child was born my sister passed away from a sudden brain annerizm so as you can see Holidays are hard for me. But even with the Holidays bringing up memories of what happened. I put a possitive look on things, my sisters for kids come over to my place and bake over 60 dozen cookies not including brownies and fudge. Then we give out trays of cookies and brownies, and fudge to people as gifts, and what we have for left overs we donate to the church I go to so they can make up cookie trays for the shut ins that way they have a chance of getting homemade cookies. back when my sister was still alive on earth that is we would take a day to bake cookies as well so I have carried that tradition with her kids and this year I have made a book with a copy of all my baking recipes for them to have for their future. blessing to you all and have a wonderful Chritmas season
60-dozen cookies!!! Wow! I’d be cookied-out by the time we ate all those. It sure sounds like fun memories of baking in the kitchen. Sweet, sweet memories.
I’m going to be a little bit sappy here, but I just want to tell you all how much I love you!
Hi and greetings from the northern polar circle!
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I just wanted to tell everyone that my life got just more wonderful after downloading you wonderful album wonderful life (….ummm I think I got it right
Gus, where are you? It seems like it has been a year since you posted.