Journeys of Life

Jehovah is sovereign. 
I have been specifically feeling that during these past six days.

In this post (which is late - I apologize), I want to share two {journeys} with you.

The first, taking us back to June 9th ...

I know that many of you, who are reading this, were praying for Olivia and me as we embarked upon a Journey to the Heart, as part of the leadership team.
I want to thank you for all the support that you contributed to that time, as a fellow Christ-follower.
Words cannot describe the ways that He moved in hearts.
And since you were a part of that, I'd like to share just a smidgen of the pervading joy that those ten days were filled with.

Team Blue IV

And it was asked,
"What are Journeys made of?"
The reply was given,
"Skipping stones; late-night sky gazing; oatmeal; getting-to-know-you activities, that are laughter inducing; salvaging the lodge window (that you accidentally knocked off the building), with excessively long shoe laces that came in unbelievably handy; being dooks, etc."
Only, that answer doesn't even scratch the surface.

The Sandie-dook and a lovely Kendall, with a spot o' mustard.  =)

A dynamic trio: Margaret,  Laura, and Gabby. <3

Psalm Mentions

Important Fact:
This is a picture of me, taking one photograph out of a very few from the entire 10 days (tisk-tisk on me, I took less than 50 =/) - the important part being, the majority of the photos in this post were not taken by me. All that credit goes to Gabby, Melody, Kendall, Molly, Alexandra, and Hannah. =)
Thank you, girls!

Just look at those smiles - they're priceless!

Lovingly Squished ;)

~MPH~
(Those are her initials - how grand is that!)

Laughter Abounded =]

Each one of these girls blessed my heart out. <3
(I only got pictures with a fraction of them - there were so many more!)

Sweet Hannah =)

He knew I would need this! <3

~~~ The Olivias Three ~~~

Mostly, my whole team was taller than me ;)

Here we are, all of us together. <3

Dear Dewey. =)

My GT girls!
(*green team)

"Up in the nursery an absurd little bird ..." ;)

Shortness explained?
I think, Yes. ;)
I love each of my girls. <3

Could we with ink, the ocean fill
And were the sky of parchment made ...
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade ...
To write the Love of God Above
Would drain the ocean dry ...
Nor could a scroll, contain the whole
though stretched from sky to sky.


I can't think of a more perfect way to articulate it.
Can you do me favor?
Think about that song for 10 seconds:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
{don't think about the seconds, think about the song!}
Let those words sink in, and bless His name!
 Because His love, so rich and pure, so measureless and kind, forevermore enduring cannot be fathomed by our finite minds.
Isn't that magnificent?
To be born again, Christ doesn't say that we have to understand the depths of His love ...
and it's a good thing, too!
Because, if that were a requirement, there'd be no hope for me.
Frankly, I can't comprehend His infinite love - it's too astronomically crazy, strong, pure, deep, and holy for Sophia F. to compute.
Lovingly, He tells us to believe on Him.
To place our trust and hope of salvation in Him.

That's what I've done and will continue to do.
And I'm so blessed to have a heritage of individuals who have done that.

Which brings us to the second journey I want to tell you about.
It was my Grandfather's.

James Lewis Heiniger
12/7/1929 - 7/29/2012
~
To most, he was known as Jim.
He was born the 5th of seven children, to Albert and Myrtle Heiniger.
His father died when he was 12.
He was extremely athletic throughout most of his life - participating primarily in football (receiving more than several college scholarship offers because of it).
When drafted into the army, during the Korean war, he was assigned the task of boosting the military's morale ... by playing volley ball with the soldiers.
At one point in his life, he was asked, by the Chicago Bears, to join their team; but, his faith in and devotion to Christ was so deep, he declined, because he said that he'd be unable to be a part of the team, on account of his conviction to not play sports on the Lord's Day.
{So, you see, sports-love is quite definitely in our blood. ;)}

He and my Grandma were married for 57 years.
He adored her. <3

He showed me how to clean a fish.
He set such a wonderful godly example to me of what it means to be a servant.
He always encouraged me to pursue and excel in the instruments I was learning (he was the most loving, forgiving, and patient audience).
He would almost always be humming or singing a Hymn - always with such love and joy.
He was quick to laugh and smile.
He would make a special waffle breakfast on Christmas morning, for most of the Christmases I can remember.
He was eager to know what the Lord was doing in your life.
His favorite subject in school was Geography.
His favorite Hymn was The Holy City.
He wore awesome hats.
He expressed gratitude often.
He would always wrap me in a big grandpa hug, and plant a kiss on my head.
He helped me overcome my fear of swimming.
He'd always ask me if he could cut some of my hair, because his was "a little sparse on the top". ;)
He would bounce me on his knee, reciting verses of Rida, Rida Ranka - I loved it.
{he was predominantly Swedish}
For the past 12 years, we lived right across the street from him.
Triscuits were always handy whenever any of us children would go over to visit them.
He always had such tenderness and care for nature - he spent much of his time tending to the flower beds and care of the lawn.
He was a wonderful story teller.
He loved to "warsh" dishes.
He gave us children a goose egg one year - it hatched, and we named the gosling Poppy, in honor of Grandpa.
He and Grandma were always there to support me at every recital and birthday they could make it to.
I can't remember the last time he said my name, because he would always call me Suzie or Suzie Q.
He was "the kindest man in the world."

To all of you who came to the memorial and funeral, or who have texted, emailed, called, or written, my deepest and sincerest thanks.

It means such a very great deal to me. 

As my Grandpa would say,

"May the Lord bless you and keep you,

May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you,

And give you peace."

Thank You, Lord, for both my wonderfully godly Grandfathers, Marvin "Sonny" {d. 1/1/2009} and James. <3

I love you, Grandpa, and I miss you tremendously; but, I know that I will see you again some day.

Your loving granddaughter,

Sophia