RIP Gary Minton

RIP Papa Bear!  My best friend's dad passed away last Friday afternoon.  He had pneumonia and just didn't recover from it.  His tragic death was a shock to all.  I pray that God sends his comforting peace to my best friend Misty and her family.  I met Misty when I was 16, we both worked at Schnuck's, and we've been best friends every since.  For quite a few years, we were inseparable.  Wherever one was, you could always find the other.  And if we weren't at each other's house, we were on the phone with each other.  I spent lots of time at Misty's and became really close with her family.  Her dad was such a comedian and was always doing things to make us laugh.  I remember one of the first times I was over there, they were eating dinner and I was sitting in the living room.  The next thing I knew, a chicken leg went flying across the living room. 

Misty's brother Micah was the officiant that did Gary's funeral and he did an AMAZING job with it.  Every story that was told, I remembered and it brought back such great memories.  Gary was a true Christian and led many to the Lord.  He will be greatly missed, but I know today he is where he has lived his life to be; dancing on the streets of gold in Glory! 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Gary Lynn Minton, 58, of Evansville, Indiana, passed away Friday, March 18, 2011 at Deaconess Hospital.

Gary was born in Evansville, Ind., on December 11, 1952. Gary graduated from Bosse High School in 1970. He worked for Allstate Insurance Company as an agent, for 20 years. Gary gave his life to the Lord at the young age of 19, and shared his faith with others throughout his life. He attended Northwoods Church. Gary was a loving father, husband, grandfather and friend. With a wonderful sense of humor that was contagious, Gary spread laughter and happiness. He enjoyed watching the horse races at Ellis Park and Indiana Downs.

Gary is survived by his wife of 36 years, Hazel Darlene (Gilmore) Minton, of Evansville, Ind.; daughter, Misty Dawn (Scott) Harris, of Evansville, Ind.; son, Micah Shawn (Amanda), Minton of Evansville, Ind.; his father, Edward Theo Minton (Ruth), of Evansville, Ind.; brother, Daniel Minton (Mary), of Fort Myers, Fla.; brother-in-law, Tom Gilmore, of Evansville, Ind.; grandchildren, Isaac Minton, Hannah Minton, Eli Minton; nephews, Brian Minton and Tim Minton; and niece, Danielle Minton.

Gary is preceded in death by his mother, Myrl Maxine (Price) Minton.

Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at Browning Funeral Home, 738 Diamond Ave., with Gary's son, Micah, officiating. Burial will be held at Park Lawn Cemetery.

Friends may visit from 2 until 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at Browning Funeral Home and from noon until service time Wednesday.

Memorial contributions may be made to Oak Hill Christian Center in care of Vision Youth, 4901 Oak Hill Rd. Evansville, IN 47711.

Condolences may be made online at www.browningfuneral.com.

GOD IS SO GOOD!

This past Sunday evening at church, Shawn and I received a blessing of the Lord.  We've been struggling the past couple of weeks with our finances.  To us it's struggling, to others, it may not be.  Shawn's been having smaller paychecks and I've probably been spending more than I should.  Regardless, money has been tight and we have no money in savings right now to fall back on.  If Shawn paid the cell phone bill, it would of put the checkbook into the negative, so he decided just to pay it late so we would have a little cash in the checking account should we need it before he gets paid on Friday. 

Sunday evening at church, right before the offering was taken up, our Pastor told us that the church was struggling to pay some bills and encouraged people to pay their tithes and give in their offerings.  I didn't have any money at all to give.  Then I remembered that I had $6 in my purse that was from Angie for me to give to Ede to pay for her Avon.  I thought about giving that, but decided I better not since it wasn't my money.  But I had a stirring in my heart so I decided to give the $6 and would just pay Ede back on Friday when Shawn got paid; I knew she wouldn't mind.  So I gave the $6 and thought nothing else about it. 

During the message that night, the Pastor talked about blessing from heaven and picked up a box of Kleenex's and began pulling them out one by one and giving them to people who had their hands out to receive a blessing.  Of course the main blessing that I have been asking of God is to heal me of infertility and to allow me to get pregnant so Shawn and I can start a family.  That's always my prayer and my heart's desire.  So as he's giving me my "blessings", I'm praying and worshipping God and continue to have my hand out to receive God's blessings until there are no more.  Well a powerful move of God moved the church and before I knew it, boxes and boxes of Kleenex's, one Kleenex at a time, had been put in my hand.  People gathered around Shawn and I and prayed for us and with us and kept blessing up. I felt "blessing's" being put on my head and then I heard our Pastor say that people had ran out of Kleenex's and were now pulling out money to bless us.  I was in awe.  I never dreamed of praying for financial blessing.  All in all, after it was all over with, Shawn and I were blessing with $170.95.  It was just enough to pay the tithe, the cell phone bill, a lunch at work I owed, the Girl Scout cookie money I owed, put gas in my car, and to pay Ede back the $6 I put in the offering plate.  We were given a white trash bag full of the Kleenex's that were used for our blessing.  They are sitting on the table and every time I see them, I think about the blessings we ARE going to receive.  I plan on buying a couple of clear containers to put our blessings in to remind us how great our God is.  It's also a constant reminder that I will have total faith in God and will not doubt that God can and will bless us!