Saturday Shout Outs!

Greetings and salutations, friends and neighbors, and welcome to another edition of the Saturday Shout Outs! It's been a long couple of weeks here at Chez Jones, but we have survived and continue to be thankful for the love and prayers of so many dear friends. I am very sad that I will not be able to see the many old friends in NC that I had been hoping to see in the next few weeks, including the Springfield/TNT reunion lunch we had planned for next Saturday. We will attempt to schedule a trip up there very soon- even if it's just me driving up and staying with YOU.  :)  In any case there is still much to shout about today- so here we go!

• The service for Marilyn's dad on Wednesday was truly beautiful. An old family friend, Chris Newman (who was also the guy Marilyn was dating when we first met), sang Posey's favorite song- He Touched Me. Both of the pastors involved, Roger & Chad, spoke of Posey's faith and vitality. They also told some great stories that really captured his spirit. The 21 gun salute at the graveside was a fitting tribute to the World War II veteran. All-in-all it was a proper celebration for an 88 year old man who lived life to the fullest.
• Our prayers and sympathies go out to Marie Allen Duke and Kelly Allen Olmeda (Springfield Friends Meeting) who lost their grandmother this past week. Please know your family has been our hearts.
• Less than a week after getting to spend part of day with my friend Tammy Foster (New Garden Friends Meeting) in Orlando, she and her hubby Chuck showed up at the funeral home on Tuesday night. Marilyn and I were both very touched that they had traveled from Kernersville to pay respects. Old friends just rock...
• As we stood in the family receiving line at the funeral home two young women introduced themselves as waitresses from my father-in-law's favorite hangout, John Boy's Restaurant. As one of them shared fond memories of the man she called "my little Posey" I couldn't contain myself, and said to her, "and I'm sure he NEVER flirted with you, did he?" She laughed and responded with a very sarcastic, "Oh NO. Never!" We all had a good laugh. Everyone in the town of Elkin knew Posey Steele.
• If you haven't given yet, you're just in time to support Teresa Reep Tysinger (FUMC-K) in her continuing efforts to raise funds to get her brilliant novel (trust me, I know!) published and out there for all of you to read! For more info, visit pubslush.com/books/id/3267 
• As with any family gathering for an event like a funeral, the "upside" is getting to see family members you have not seen in a long time. For me, that was pretty much everyone! It was especially good to see Marilyn's niece Spring and her 3 kids- Danielle, Evan and Ryder. It was also wonderful to meet Danielle's roomie Kayla. My only complaint about all of that is that 10 year old Ryder kept beating us all at UNO. I am convinced he was cheating...
• Another event we had to cancel during all of this was a little mini-reunion at FUMC-Kissimmee to hear our dear friend and their new pastor Wayne Cook preach. We will do that soon, Dr. Jill, Karen Gould and Cindy Martin!!!
• I will be leaving sometime Sunday to head up to North Myrtle Beach and meet up with Marilyn, her mom, her 2 sisters and one brother-n-law. That's a lot of Steele women in one place for 5 days- pray for me! But before that gets started I hope to have lunch with two of my very favorite people on the planet, Denise Langley and Beth McGalliard, who happen to be leaving the beach the day I arrive. So excited to see them!
• And finally, please keep Will in your prayers. He and Conner the Dog will be holding down the fort while we are away. This will be his last week working 2 jobs, with Chick-fil-A biting the dust (those are his shouts of extreme joy you hear coming from Tampa!) and Olive Garden taking over on a more permanent basis as his classes resume at St.Pete College next week. Will is going to be fine. It's Conner we're worried about...

That's it for now. I am not sure how much blogging I will do while at the beach- depends on wifi at the resorts and if my my 2001 Dell laptop will function. But look for updates on Twitter. Again, we love you guys and thank you so much for all the support during what had been a very difficult time. Have a great weekend!

Because of Jesus,