My High School reunion happens this weekend in Nebraska.  I can't be there. The Columbus High School Class of '54 is gathering.  I send my love and greetings to those who will be there.

We were a great class of graduates.  I wonder what has happened to us all through the years.  What have we accomplished and contributed to the world? What difference did we make in life?

Reunions are wonderful! Families reunited to reminisce and reconnect. Class reunions bring back great memories (some not so great). It is strange how often our memories crystalize past events of triumphs and failures! The value of reunions is the hope it gives to others to overcome with triumph! I have been to great family reunions -- the Culp, Beem, Betzer family have great reunions -- mostly on the West Coast. They are always worth the sacrifice and planning to get there.

The High School class reunion of mine is happening without me.  Yet, I have spent some hours trying to put together some pics and comments for the event. I pulled out a few snapshots last night.  I had none worth making a huge statement about when it somes to the media and technology we are accustomed to today. I'd have to do a You Tube presentation to make an impact out of these still shots. I have a few of classmates and friends who were special and cared enough to share their Senior Picture!

Pictures of Columbus, NE days include some of Dad and Mom, Pastor and Mrs. C.T. Beem, of the Assembly of God church in town. It was a small, white frame building which sat on the corner of a major road through town.  The parsonage (minister's house) was next door. All my best pictures of the front of the church and house are with snow piled up! I recall drifts up to the eve spouts on the roof. Icycles could get as long as four feet in perfect winter weather warming up! Walking through the snow to school was not always so romantic as we like to tell.  It was a pain, actually!  Pain in the feet which might get frozen if there is too long an exposure time.

High school was a wonderful time - busy, busy, busy! With extra-cirricular music rehearsals and clubs after school, etc., the days were always too short. I recall the privilege of being Advertising Manager of the yearbook and being involved in our campus newspaper. My visits to the businesses in town enlarged my circle of friends greatly. Classmates of various talents and interests were great friends, some parents were willing to buy ads! Great experience for life! College Prep courses included two years of Spanish, which were, sadly, mostly vocabulary!

Musical groups and events were prominent more so than some other interests I pursued.  As one of the piano accompanists for the music department, I played every day. As a student, I habitually had more on my plate than twenty four hours could include. To give full attention to every interest I needed more hours in a day -- still my natural inclination today.  

This reunion is the 55th of the class of '54. I missed all other reunions.  Like a person caught in a maze, the reunion has so many areas of interest to me that I could spend the day writing.  Every path leads to someone with an open door at the other end leading to someone else. . .the connection goes on and on.

For some of us, reunions are filled with great anticipation! And a bit of anxiety, maybe fear! Who really wants to have others see us in our less than perfect state (something other than our posed, air-brushed and published yearbook or Facebook/ Twitter pictures), or with added pounds, or wrinkled skin (actually character lines, you know)! If only we could have done the physical therapy needed to sustain such youthful toned bodies!

I live far from the site of the runion (in FL) but would have been there in a heartbeat if I could.  I am not physically able to make that trip alone. It would have been wonderful. Reunion organizers, Fred and Marlene and others, have put together a couple days to enjoy being together. I was asked to pray before the dinner. Now that I am not able to make it, Fred will do it, I suppose.

To me the prayer was important!! The thought occured to me that there will never be another Class Reunion of "54 where all the people living will now be able to be present.  Not all of us will be still living.  Some will have "finished their course", so to speak. Unless I connect in some other way, I am missing an historic event, an opportunity of a lifetime.

It is this aspect of any reunion which makes it so very timely and important.  There is only one time through life and then what follows this earthly life will begin for each one of us.

I wanted to see each classmate and hear about their life and their hopes and aspirations.  Certainly people still cling to the confident hope that life is full of opportunities until the very last breath!  I do! Dan and I live with the vision of dreams which God has put in our hearts.  We are just beginning to see the greatest days of our lives. We have poured out our lives to Christ through all these years.  He has invested our lives for His eternal purpose. We are longing to see the fulfillment of vision which God planted in our hearts years ago.  We have a world-wide community which is full of people who are in the vision! Locally, we are linked with this global human family. We clearly see the purpose of God for their lives and want to bring to each one the means by which life is lived God's way.

I had hoped to be at the Class Reunion this week to share about our lives and let them see what the foundational days of my life led to. The work Dan and I do is that of linking people to God and training them to know Him and teaching them to obey Him and  watching them delight His heart with their intercessory living. God imparts to them HIS worldview according to HIS Word which we teach.  Those who are reconnected to HIM by Spirit-birthing through faith in Jesus Christ become New Creation people. They become global harvesters, training others to do the same. His global harvest is waiting for laborers trained and sent out by the precious congregation of Christ-followers we serve as Under-Shepherds.  Our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, is our Sovereign Lord over all the nations and rulers of the world.   As Pastor-Teachers, Dan and I fit into God's grand scheme of things -- found in the Bible -- and we are privileged to be intentionally abandoned and surrendered to Christ's full purpose for living.  We are carefully completing the details of this assignment for our lives.  When God has competed His purpose for this assignment, He will reposition us in the Body of Christ for the next.

Our motivation for our living as pastor-teachers has to do with Reunion:  Reunion with Jesus Christ and with all who are IN CHRIST JESUS through Spirit-birthing! That final review of standing before Jesus at His Bema, His judgement seat, or reviewing stand, will come just before that great Reunion Supper, The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Jesus, Himself, God's sacrifice Lamb for the sins of the world).

While the Class of '54 has some great people in it, some have left this life. Others may pass on  before the Reunion Supper on Friday night. We are not the sustainers of our own breath of life. It is from God. This might be my last note on Facebook. Yet, the final Reunion for me in heaven is one of great anticipation, for I KNOW that many precious people in my life have lived their lives ready for that final review and reunion with other Christ-followers on that final Day. It will be a great reunion with Christ-followers in Heaven.

My nagging thought for my class reunion is this:  Has anyone told them the excitement and joy of being fully surrendered to the Lord of Life, Jesus Christ?  Has anyone really spoken to them the incredible challenge of giving your Life to someone who is the Author and Creator of Life?  Have there been opportunities to see the amazing reality of having Christ as Resident Life within your innermost being?  Has there been an encounter with the power of Jesus Christ to BE LIFE within?  Have they experienced the lavish love of God through Jesus Christ? If not, I wanted to love them with His extravagant grace and scandalous mercy!

I may have to start writing to my class mates.  I may have to put together a book about what I know about Jesus.  They must not miss the reality of Jesus as Life to live from. The Presence of Jesus Christ inside our bodies is the amazing "hope" spoken of by the Apostle Paul when He says, "There is a mystery hid from the foundation of the world and it is this: Christ IN YOU, the HOPE OF GLORY!"  ( Colossians 1:27 Darlene's partial paraphrase)

No, Christ-followers are not a class of super people. We were quite ordinary "used-to-be"sinners.  Some of us thought we were 'saints' and were not like the others who were such 'public' sinners.  Actually, I had no clue I was just like the rest of the fallen race of humanity.  That reality is what changed my life. When you have a status as a "sinner" which you are unable to alter, you are hopelessly troubled and guilty! It is a divided life! IMpossible to sustain! During high school days I proudly witnessed to people about Jesus and tried to give a testimony of who Jesus was/is.  Yet, my evaluation of my own spirituality was full of great pride.  I felt I would certainly not do some things I knew some kids were doing.  No sireee!  Not me!

Some years later, as a young pastor's wife, I realized that I had never seen my sin nature for what it was.  I was crushed to admit that I was just another in the long line of sinners who make up the human family!  The only problem is that God is the one who give us a pardon from the death penalty for being born sinners. It was the Fall in the Garden that did us all in!  It is Adam's sin that plunged us all into the state of being 'sinners.'

My efforts to be good, as noble as I thought they were, were only part of the quest of man to not do evil and to try to do only good. I had not fully trusted in Jesus Christ as Life. I didn't know Him as an internal Resident whose Life was there for me to Live from. I didn't understand that I didn't have to create Him by my good works. He is God Ever-Present IN me.

Now that I know Christ's Life inside of me is the only sinless life, I do not have to keep trying to be "like" Him.  His Life is available for me to use as the Source of all my living.  That is what's happening at this momet!  I am alowing His Spirit to ooze out of me through this writing. . .so as to draw attention to Jesus Christ, rather than to myself.  For the words He speaks are Spirit and Life.  They will produce desire towards Him.  If I sin, He is my advocate before the Father. If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I wanted to be at the Class Reunion to let Jesus "ooze" out of my life into theirs. I want them to be at that final Reunion where we are at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Jesus, God's Lamb). That Reunion is one none of us want to miss!

There's only one way to get there -- God's! He will not announce the date, but all are invited and we are to live in a state of readiness!  Washed in the Blood of Jesus Christ, Clothed in His Righteousness, Fulfilling His Great Commission to take the message to everyone on the planet in every generation. . . the legacy of Christ is passed on by Spirit-filled people headed to our Reunion with Jesus in the air. 

Some call Christ's appearance in the air, "The Rapture". It is called "catching away" in the New Testament. If you are alive at Christ's coming in air and miss the Rapture, you will certainly also miss the Reunion at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

I pray my classmates know about THAT great REUNION!  It is one none of us want to miss.  Not if we realize the significance of that eternal moment! Jesus waits for us to respond to His invitation! "Come, the Spirit and the Bride say Come."~~

 Fred, I know your prayer won't be a sermon -- but I'd like to be there to dump my heart out to all who are. Blessings!

Note: (For more information about being ready, please send me a message.)

Sitting under the blow dryer, I realized the sounds of grandchildren and friends were wonderful! Lois was working on the recovering hair -- rendered unmanageable by surgery some months ago.  Graciously, she gave me time to get healthy again and appear in public with a managed mane. . . all because of her care of my hair.  Periodically, she would make her recovery work. She made my hair do what only she knew how to do.  I did'nt have a clue how surgery effected the hair strands.  She knew I would struggle and she decided to do something to make it easier for me.  Thanks to her, I regained control of this daily struggle to organize my hair in as flattering style as possible.

Have you ever been caught in the rain and knew you would die if you saw your hair dresser or barber just at that moment?  This can be a social hang-up -- having to appear your best in order to be sociable!

It happened to me yesterday.  There is this amazing man in our community which has a master's touch with hair -- Vinnie is his name.  He is absolutely a magician at making people look sensational, as much as possible. He trains his personnel so well that the reputation of his salon is one of great renown.  Vinnie has been doing my hair for years.  Lois is one of his gals at the salon. Lois is also a godly woman who recognized an opportunity to assist while I was recovering from back surgery.  The gift Lois gave me is beyond any monetary value I could pay.  She came to me, brought her tools and worked on my hair right in my kitchen.  When I wasn't going out, she offered to come to me!  She brought her gorgeous daughter, Abby, the clean-up artist.

These monthly visits of Lois have brought me through to a place where I am able to manage my hair again. Until recently, I reserved my strength for "have to" things -- husband, home, church and doctor's appointments until this summer.  I have been careful to recover my body to full strength before returning to heavy housework, etc.  I have been blessed by Lois making possible such a good recovery.  She has had the gift of helps and the Holy Spirit prompted her to minister to me in this way. She has done such a great job caring for my hair these months.

What about yesterday (the day before a needed cut and style)?  I took our grandchildren to the store to get soccer cleats for one of them.  We parked, ran through the rain to get into the store. . . and became a bit more disheveled than ever due to the wet hair.

Just when I was checking out, I spotted Vinnie!  My master hairdresser for years! -- the one who sets the standard for all the rest. No I hadn't fixed my hair since the rain.  I had not done my face after being out in the rain at the house. I was not dressed in my best. I was fully prepared to quickly purchase the soccer cleats and get back in the car, knowing I was an unknown shopper in the store! I was headed for home! I had seen no one I knew!

NEVERTHELESS, I stood there, for only one moment!  I saw our great friend, Vinnie!  I had not seen him for months.  What a great treat to run into him.  My first thought: Hug his neck and greet him enthusiastically! 

But, MY HAIR!!! It is typical to have your best customers properly represent your trade and skills in the community.  It is good for business!

That thought never entered my mind!  My friend was here and I was able to see him again! What a great moment for me!  I knew he was as happy to see me as I was to see him.  So we greeted each other enthusiastically and exchanged a brief, friendly hug.  I introduced our grandchildren (he has done their mother's hair for years at times). We chatted and exchanged a bit of news.  We said, "Goodbye". 

I then went back to gathering our purchases -- soccer cleats and stuff.  Those things were incidental to the moment of seeing Vinnie!  Reunion and regaining our close heart-to-heart connection as friends who are in a community of SW Florida -- that was the main thing.

You know, Vinnie is one of my closest friends in our community, really!  It is not something advertised to the world.  But we have had conversations on a very deep level about many things -- all while he was 'doing' my hair from time to time. My husband and I have appreciated Vinnie and his business in our community.

You see, I remember the first day when my greatest concern for Vinnie was whether He was aware of God's lavish love for him and all who were in his salon.  I needed to know.  So I simply asked him.  He was gracious and courteous as he responded with kindness.  So through the years, I have seen Christianity through Vinnie's eyes.  It has been a great school for me. I have seen a man with integrity and honesty make choices which cost him dearly. Vinnie has been willing to be a man of courtesy and grace to people of all backgrounds. He has been willing to sacrifice for choices made in business which were not profitable.

Today I realize our encounter yesterday was certainly not one of showing off my hair style or what I was wearing or not wearing. Our encounter was one of two people who have learned to respect each other in the business they are in. . .and are willing to speak honestly and with no reluctance about values which matter and about God who brought them to when they are today. It didn't matter what he thought about my unkept look, it mattered that two friends, absent from each other for a season, were able to see each other again. 

Our exchange was very brief. . . but heartwarming.  No, I was not proud of the fact of how I looked. But our relationship has been due to spiritual exchanges, not because of style or hairdo discussions.  Our friendship has been about things that last beyond this life. . . about what God thinks about things . . . and how perceptions effect opinions -- how our influence in the community is impacted by the choices we make in daily matters.

One day, Jesus will appear suddenly!  He will come in the clouds and will call to himself all who are Spirit-born Christ followers, ready for His coming. 

It will not matter what clothing you are wearing or if the rain has made you look like you never "did" your hair, ever!  Nothing will matter except a relationship you have with Jesus Christ.  It will matter how you have responded to God's offer to receive His Son and accept the gift of God-life, a quality of life which cannot be attained to, but only received as a gift from God -- a life that endures and lasts forever. It will matter only that you have been quickened in your spirit, made alive to God by the Holy Spirit and have received the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ -- a gift of God. 

Like the sudden encounter with my friend and master hairdresser, Vinnie, my readiness to intersect with his day was only because of friendship, a heart relationship with him.  It certainly was not because he was thrilled to see how well I represented him and his skills as a stylist!  It is a great illustration of the moment of sudden appearance of Jesus Christ in the air.

Jesus cares only about my being ready for Him!  He cares that my heart is eager to see Him. He delights when I am more in love with Him than any one or anything in life. That is what makes it such joy for my husband, Dan, and I to have great hopes for all of our friends in our community to actually join us when Jesus appears in the air.

We have friends from so many churches scattered around SW Florida.  We are certain they will share the joy of the "catching away" in the air that day when Jesus appears.

We want all our friends and their coworkers to be ready for that moment.   So we continue to speak about Jesus and the lavish love shown us all through His sinless Life and His death on the Cross of Calvary. We are excited to tell about our hope in having Christ in our lives -- His resurrection life which enables us to live in the way God designed us, fulfilling God's purpose for us! 

That sudden encounter with Vinnie yesterday was a shock to me when I got home and realized just how awful I looked in the mirror.  Sadly, Vinnie saw me at my worst.  But friends love at all times. 

So God sees us through the lens of His love -- not through our ability to "dress up" this flesh and try to look good!  He sees our death to sin and self and our resurrection Life which we have received!  He has identified us as a friend -- and He Himself loves us at all times.  

The clothing I will wear when Jesus appears in the air are required in order for me to be caught always with Him.

The Bible says that Christ's Church ready for His coming will be robed in spotless white!  That is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

Regardless of my outfit for the day, righteousness is a God-given garment which is spiritual clothing which we keep clean by the choices we make at all times.  The only thing which will mar or stain the righteousness, the white robe of holiness, is sin.  The Blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin.  Therefore, I am checking every impulse of my heart to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  If He convicts of sin, I immediately repent and am cleansed and washed through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

Keeping the sin from becoming a stain requires an immediate turning from that sin to do just the opposite of sin.  Therefore, we are able to present ourselves to our Heavenly Bridegroom in robes of spotless white, like a Bride adorned for her husband.

If you are in Christ's Spirit-birthed throng of people, you are His Bride, His Church ready for His soon return in the air. Hallelujah!

Even so, come Lord Jesus.  Maranatha!

Event coming up: '54 Class Reunion, Columbus High School, Columbus, NE (formerly Kramer High School)

The year was 1954. The place: Columbus, NE. The event: Graduation from High School for Darlene Beem, daughter of Pastor and Mrs. C.T. Beem, First Assembly of God Church.

Race ahead to 2009, 55 years later!  (The pace was not always a race, actually. There were times when the seasons were a grind!) Yet, what an incredible story to take to reunion. The one that was and won't be for me. (I just cancelled my flight reservations!)

Clever voices finally got through:  "This is not the time for you! You have taken all we can give. . .and for now, we have no more to share."  (Those were my body parts speaking.) Having traveled over 5,000 miles in the car just the past two months and attending conventions and camps and a family reunion, my body said, "Nuf!"

The news is this:  There were some pretty amazing people in my Class of '54!  They are the generation of steady plodders who kept at life and hung in there, knowing it would be hard work and a steady plodding to come to this point in life with everything in place!  I wanted to hear their stories!

Actually, there may not be so many who made it all this far without some major adjustments in life.  I was so looking forward to seeing the results of our years as people from the Midwest culture back then. 

Here I am, now living with Dan in the deep South of the USA. Yet, we are so multicultural here that it is not a typical place with a predominant ruling culture. The melting pot of America has become the way of SW Florida.  What a lovely mix we are! 

As for Columbus, NE, in the Cornhusker State, it was my home during the high school years. Just before graduation, my parents moved to Springfield, MO.  I was able to finish my senior year there, due to a couple very gracious families who allowed me to stay with them the last month or so.  My father resigned the church to accept a position in the Radio Department at the national headquarters of our church, in Springfield, MO. He lived there until he died.  It was there I met my husband while attending our local church, Central Assembly of God.

The Reunion will be lovely. The chatting will be intense. Those who can travel will make their way to that quiet Midwest town.  For a couple days, the town will be invaded by some very special people, my classmates.

I wonder what life would be like in the USA had our class not ever been born?  Would things be less then they are?  Have we made a difference in the nation we live in, or the world. 

I would like to know. 

This one thing I know:  Having married Danny Betzer in July 1956, I was introduced to a man that would make a difference in the nation and in the world.  For this I am so very grateful. To God be all the glory!

One day, at the Judgment Seat of Christ (the final reviewing stand for all who are true, Spirit-born Christ-followers) we will really know if our lives have been of value for all eternity, or whether we lived for ourselves and everything vanished with the passing into eternity! 

Only what Christ does through us will last beyond life on earth!

I will never know in this life the impact of our Class of "54.  But I do wonder how many of my classmates will be present before Jesus, our Savior, and on that day, our Righteous Judge. 

He will say to all who are IN HIM, to all who are faithful to Him: "Well done, faithful servant. Enter into the joys of your Lord." Oh, I do so want to see Jesus and look upon His face. I want to hear His voice saying -- "Come on in!  I've been waiting for you. You let me live in and through you all your days!  You brought glory to me through your life all your days.  You turned to me for forgiveness when you sinned.  You accepted the cleansing blood which washed and made you whole again. You received the Holy Spirit as the One who enabled you to do all I commanded you. You loved my Word, the Bible, and studied diligently to know Me and My ways.  You allowed me to reveal myself to you as you were intent on our communion in union with one another.  You are eager to speak of me and unafraid to tell others about me.  You did not leave Me as Your first love. You obeyed my every command and carried out my purpose and design for your life -- fully and completely, down to every last detail."

That is what I want to hear.  I wonder what He will actually say on "That Day".  

As for the Reunionwhich will go on without me, I wanted to be able to let my classmates see the joy of being Christ's and have an opportunity to hear about their exploits in life -- to see if there was anything I could learn from them. I knew I had something to bring to the moment -- the Presence of Christ in my life!  He is ALWAYS Life-giving and loving in His Presence.  He always comforts and heals and brings blessings to everyone who will allow Him to love them lavishly. Sometimes the best Love-gift a Christ-follower can give people is to listen attentively to what they have to say and wait for the moment of response. That is the moment Christ speaks Life into them. His words are Spirit and Life.  I wanted to deposit His Love-Gifts into their hearts!  I wanted to be a verbal witness of Jesus Christ!

Any link to these lives is a passageway to hearts with aspirations and longings.  I pray their lives have been fulfilling and completely wonderful.  But, life is not always wonderful.  We pass through places where life is hard and painful.   We have triumphs and failures.  We may never know the fullfillment of aspirations, but we never give up trying. As for my story: There is a hand which leads me, a voice to guide me, a Savior to rescue me from self-serving choices. There is a Lord who has brought me through to become more than I could ever dream, by simply giving over my life to be Christ's.  In the hands of the Savior, the blessings of obedience have brought me to people around the world from nations and places which were beyond my dreams.  God enlarged and expanded my life beyond all hope! I wanted to tell of God's goodnesses to us, Dan and me and to our family and the church family to which we have been called by our Lord, the Great Shepherd!

From Bonesteel, South Dakota, a tiny rural village in the farmlands of the Midwest, to the beautiful Gulf Coast community of Fort Myers, FL, my life has been full of amazing privileges.  More than places and sites seen which have been incredible are the amazing people now present in our lives. 

First Assembly, where we give our lives to the Lord, is full of the most amazing people on the planet!  They are people willing to go beyond themselves and their personal interests to become the people God uses for His purposes! They are people who are willing to sacrifice their own ambitions for Christ's call to!  They are people who have heard the voice of the Lord and have said, "Here am I, send me!" They are people who are ready for everything God desires to do in using them to expand the Kingdom of God on earth. They are not self-determined people, but God-led people.  They are ordinary citizens of this world, yet they have become extraordinary in their expectations in life. . . knowing that they are chosen by God to do mighty exploits in Jesus' name. They are full of love and overflow with His Life. They are clearly wise in their ways, having abandoned the empty ways of the godless world.  They are clearly a chosen people of God who are willing for God to continue to use them as He desires.  They are a worshiping people who honor Jesus in their daily living in every possible way. They are willing to speak of the amazing wonders of God's grace shown them in Jesus Christ. They are clearly able to love others because the love of God has been imparted to them by the HOly Spirit. They are quick to see the need in the lives of others and do everything possible to meet that need through Jesus Christ. They are giving and sharing people. . . not hoarders of material wealth. They can be trusted to pass on that which God gives them so others may also be blessed by God's lavish outpouring upon them.  He is developing a people He can trust to do the very works of Jesus Christ among people of all backgrounds around the world. Our home town has become a place where people of all nations are coming to us.  We have so much to give them.  God is blessing our region.  We have lost a lot of monetary worth, but the riches we have in our area are of more value than what money can produce. 

I would have liked for our Class to catch a glimpse of these extraordinary people -- to give another perspective of life.  I would have liked to have heard their worldview and their life stories and seen their pictures. . .and become friends again with some I did not remember through the years.

But, in leaving this opportunity to others, I can see that it is wonderful to be here with these precious people we love so much. . . and perhaps some in our class will make a trip to tropical SW Florida in the winter when the snow blows across the plains of Nebraska and piles up against the garage and the front steps of the parsonage of our church and makes it necessary for school kids to walk in the middle of the street "all the way uphill" to school.

Maybe memories will lie down for the night. . .and I will return to sleep again.  For now, the question is this: how many of them know the lavish love of God in their lives -- a love so amazing, so fulfilling, a love so compelling and totally satisfying.  Jesus is absolutely glorious in His Presence in our lives . . . I just want to be sure nobody misses out on the best life has to offer! ~~