James J. Mines' Celebration of Life

My grandpa, James Joseph Mines, passed away last week at the age of 92. While we are sad to lose such a loved and prominent member of our family, we find joy in knowing he is at rest with our Lord, with Grandma and all our other loved ones who have moved on before us. He was a farmer, rancher, outfitter, inventor, teacher and a friend to all. Grandpa was also an army officer in World War II and was taken as a Prisoner of War, twice. We have all learned so much from him about what the true treasures in life are.

After the funeral, we got together as a family to celebrate Grandpa's memory. We enjoyed some food and fellowship - some of the Mines' favorite things! Jim and Kristine: Doug with our cousin, Patrick. These two think so much alike, it's scary :) My sister, Kris, and her daughter, Samantha:

Thank you to all our friends and family who came to celebrate Grandpa's life with us. To those who were unable to make it, thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, flowers, cards and phone calls.

My aunt and cousins outside enjoying the break from a Wyoming/Montana winter; Kelly, Bobbie, Jamie, Sarah and Tiffany: The Mathern Crew; Waylon, Alex, Uncle Ken, Aunt Marilyn, Patrick, Marty and Jerry: My dad with my brothers and I at Cave Creek Cemetery:

The family of James and Florence Mines:

My dad's cousin, Shirley, picking oranges and lemons at Grandpa's house: Dad and I: You've heard of "Find Waldo"... but can you find Jim and Doug?? Picking oranges in Grandpa's tree... one more time.

We love you Grandpa and we look forward to the day when we see you again!

Decisions

Life is a series of lessons. Each day, we are faced with decisions and each decision leads us down a path, connecting us yet to another decison to make. This would seem like an entertaining way to spend life, except for the fact that one decision made will inevitably drastically alter the course of our life. Some look back at relationships, others consider career choices or decisions made about their health and the it never fails, the ugly "what if" sticks its head out bringing us questions that will be of no benefit to anyone, simply because there are no answers to go with them.

The only way to ensure you are making the right decisions is to align your heart with God's. If every decision you make is done with God's Word on your heart, then you know that you are doing what is right. God gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us. Sometimes we have spend time in quiet solitude and prayer to recognize what the Holy Spirit is leading us towards. Othertimes, it may be a sudden tugging on your heart that you don't understand but feel you need to follow. Each time I glimpse into the past, the decisions I regret are ones I made when I was focused on things apart from God.

I have heard it said that "The most important decision you make in this life, is what you decide about Jesus Christ". How can we make the right choices in life about anything, if we are walking aimlessly on our own? Can a ship find it's way to safety in a dark storm without a beacon to guide it? You can't go halfway. You can't decide that lighthouse is a nice 'guide'... and keep heading in your set direction, away from it. You are either set on its course or you aren't.