Don't Worry

Don't worry Pops
Moms doing alright
She does miss you so.....

The days you two celebrated
They seem to be the hardest
To be alone......

Mom says to us all
To thank the Lord
For the days
We all had with you......

For don't sorrow the loss
Rejoice with memories
Also the thoughts......

Don't worry Pops
The kids are doing fine too.....

There are moments
When tears come to be
Its because they miss you
Because of the man you were......

God said it was your time
To share the goals
That are in heaven......

So don't worry Pops
We are all doing good
Even if we miss you so.......


Michael VanDyke

The final farewell

All the trees of green

The plush grass like pillows

The silence of life

Only the breezes from the wind

The birds singing their song

I knew this was the place

... For the best man I ever knew

Be with your fellow "Mates" Pop

Enjoy your cruise on the ship

No battles to fight

No enemy to meet

Just your family

Your military and veteran brothers

And friends

Enjoy your peace Jim Huff

Grab your fishing pole

Pitch a tent

Go catch that "Whopper".......
 
Michael VanDyke @ 2012

Glory To God

Glory to the God of heaven
I hold to the testimony of Jesus
For he who has an ear,listen
I heard the roar of rushing waters
Loud peals of thunder
Shouting "HALLELUJAH"
"REJOICE",give him glory
Blessed are those who love Jesus
Of faithfulness and truth
For he is the King of Kings
The Lord of Lords
Our Savior ..........

James

When I came to the end of my journey.
And I traveled my last weary mile.
Remember to smile.
Remember of the good things I've done.
Also remember I've had loads of fun.

Sometimes I fell by the way.
But remember I fought some hard battles.
And won.
Forget to grieve for my going.
I wouldn't have you sad for even a day.

But always remember the place where I lay.
Stand for a moment beside me.
As the sun slowly passes down.
Remember only my best.

I glance to the sky.
With music up above.
Jesus has prepared my room.
For my internal life to be.

I leave my footprints behind.
As I walk the trail a head .
With the sun showing off its colors.
Yellows oranges and reds.

Remember the joy,the laughter,
I gave you.
The comfort when you needed it the most.

I lived a good life.
With a million miles of memories.

For my family and friends,I say to you.
Grab one or two of these memories.
Put them in your pocket.

Smile and remember the good thoughts.
Thats how I want it to be.

There will be times when you will wish I was back.
Just remember this.
I'm in the other room.
The one God made for me.

By Michael VanDyke

I dedicate this to my Pa' In Law.....We will miss you Pop! Love you too......







The Other Room





My Father called, and, I'm sorry I had to leave.

It's o.k. I know you love me when you grieve.

I'm now standing in glory with God, and that, you must believe.

There will be times when you'll wish I was back, but, just remember this:

I'm only in the other room,

The one my Master made for me.

I'm only in the other room,

That space in your hearts, you saved, just for me.

I'm only in the other room,

I love you each, as love should be.

There'll come a time, when we'll reunite...

It's in the other room.


by Brenda VanderWerff

Do You Cherish

The sun was rising over the hill,with a glow of warmth.The birds were singing,the deer bedding down for the day.
A slight breeze blowing through the tree tops,sang the song of a low whisper.
A movement from the cabin above,alerts the rabbits,they scatter towards the brush and trees!The door opens,a large figure appears.A man they call Jim.
He walks through through the doorway,stretching his arms over his head.Enjoying the morning air.
He walks down the mountain to see the city below.The traffic,the people hurrying to get to work!
Nobody stopping to enjoy the new day.
It probably doesn't matter anyway.Seeing all the concrete,wood,steel and asphalt!
As he looks,tears roll down his face.Turning away the tears stopped.
A smile returns to Jim's face,as he looks at the mountain with its trees,streams and animals.
Walking back to the cabin,he gets to the door and stops.His ears perk up,listening to the wind singing its early morning song.
Grabbing his fishing pole,he heads to the creek to catch his breakfast,of mountain trout.
Walking down the path that he is so familiar with,Jim spots an unusual object,laying in a pile of leaves.
Its a briefcase, of beautiful black with gold trim.
Jim being the curious one stopped to take a better look at it.He grabbed it and turned his head from side to side to look around,seeing if anybody was near by.
Seeing nobody Jim heads back to the cabin with briefcase in hand.Opening the door to go inside,Jim slides the briefcase under his bunk.
As he walks out the door to continue his fishing,his thoughts take him to the chore at hand,getting breakfast.
Jim baits up his fishing pole and casts a few times,to catch two nice fish for breakfast.
On the way back to his cabin Jim thinks to himself "I wonder whats in that briefcase"..? Getting to the cabin,he puts the thought of it out of his head and starts to clean his fish.
While Jim was doing his breakfast,his thoughts again were drifting to that briefcase under his bunk.
Even after the dishes were done up and the cleaning of the cabin,he kept thinking,"what could it hold inside".
Going to the bunk,Jim reaches down to grab the briefcase,but hesitates.
Turning around he heads to the fireplace to grab some coffee and pours himself a cup.
Walking outside towards a nearby tree,he thinks about the briefcase.
Whatever is in there,could change my life completely,do I really want that.
Looking down towards the city,Jim sees the hustle of the people,the traffic,noise and houses,houses so close together,they look as one!
Jim's mind clicks to a halt!!! I can't live like that,even if I had all the money in the world!
Walking away,Jim looks towards the the backwoods,"now that's where I want to be and what I want to do"!Seeing the eagles flying so freely,rabbits and other animals without fear,enjoying their days in the woods.
Yes,Jim says "This is what I want"!!!
Without a second thought,Jim goes back to the cabin,grabs the briefcase.He starts walking down the path towards the creek.Coming to the place he found the briefcase.Jim puts it back into the pile of leaves,turning his back to leave,without a second glance.
As his thoughts come to him,the first one was that he loved his life and the way he lived,he smiled.
Back at the cabin Jim starts his daily chores,hauling water,splitting wood and curing meat for his supper.
Later that evening,sitting on a tree stump,Jim looks up towards the sky.The stars were out,ever so bright,ever so plentiful.
The duties of his day were slipping away,making for a new tomorrow.Jim walks back into the cabin,putting lights out and going to bed.
Early the next morning,with the sun warming the air with its first rays,brings light into the cabin.
The door opens and Jim comes out with arms a stretching,smiling for the new day.
Picking up his fishing pole,Jim heads to his favorite creek,walking down the path without even a notice,passes the pile of leaves.
Which stood empty,with a few leaves blowing in the breeze................

Michael VanDyke @ 2012

Birdnests,Fifty Cent Piece and Grandma VanDyke

As a child,every kid had their hero.Mine was Grandma VanDyke,she had the answers to everything.
She had a huge kitchen as I remember and a nice old cook stove in the corner,next to her rocking chair.
Most of the older grandkids hauled the wood in for her,that she feed her stove with.
No running water in the house.Water was hauled everyday by her son "Uncle Willis",sometimes cousin "Randy"...
The outhouse was behind the woodshed,spotless,oderless and always swept out everyday.
Her yard was huge,lots of play area for the grandkids.
I spent alot of time with Grandma,sometimes overnight too.Her stories were of ahhhh!
She could tell you stories that you knew where high tales,but her voice made them so believable!
The best foods that I ate as a child came off her old cook stove,mostly burgers,potatoes and veggies...
Plus a huge glass of cold milk for every meal.
My favorite chore helping Grandma was the walk to the grocery store for her.If I remember the store was called "Rays Grocery",right on the highway.
She would always give me a dollar bill and it was always the same list too,one pound of burger,one quart of milk and a can of tobacco"Prince Albert" in the can.
Usually there was 15 cents left for change,that was my reward for doing this chore for her.
Watching television with her was always fun,she would always talk back to the television,telling the broadcasters and actors they were liars,their product wasn't true,stuff to that nature.
Grandma was a Christian woman,keeping her bible on the dining room table at all times,unless she was reading it.
Its the only book I ever seen in her home too.Always told me that anything I ever needed to know was in that book!
Could quote it from front to back too!Seen her do it a few times..
When outside,Grandma was at her best,knowing nature like I never seen someone do!
Not even to this day!
We would look at the birds in flight or the horses next door running towards their corral.
She would say,"its going to rain soon".How do you know that Grandma?I just do,trust me.
Than walk over to the many ant piles in her yard and point down to several of them,saying"see the ants building their dirt piles higher around their nests".Yes,I would say.
That means its going to rain out soon,the creatures are getting ready for the rain.
About four or five hours later,its raining.
Like I said,she was my hero,knew everything as far as I was concerned.
I remember around my birthday as a young child,Grandma would always say "your birthday is coming up,don't forget to come by Grandma's,ok".
My birthday I would head over to Grandma's.sometimes she would be outside or in her rocker in the house.
Grandma had this way of laughing and smiling at the same time.It always made a person feel warm.
Still to this day,I don't know how or why she did this for me,but she did.
It was always,"Lets go outside and look for your birthday gift".
We would walk outside,I'm excited to see what it was!
The first year I remember Grandma doing this,was me being excited and curious,all in one!
She would say"Hey there is something in that tree over there".I would glance over there and see a birds nest.
I would say,"Its just a birds nest Grandma".
Well go check it out for me,I would walk over to the tree and climb up to the nest(wasn't to far up) and look into the nest.
Looking back at me was a shiny fifty cent piece! I would yell back to Grandma"There is money in this nest"!
Grandma would chuckle and say"How did that get in there"?
Can't remember how many years she did this for me,but I did enjoy every year,like it was the first time.
As an adult,I'll be walking by a tree or see a birds nest somewhere else,it brings this fond memory of Grandma VanDyke....................Grandma VanDyke my hero...

Michael VanDyke