Profoundly Jadoosh

Today your Grandpa Anthony Walter Zimanek is 75 years old!  Your Daddy thinks it's pretty cool that Grandpa, he and Ayla are all exactly 25 years apart. Which is interesting cause that means so are Grandpa Lauritzen, me and Ayla all 25 years apart. Daddy said Ayla needs to keep that tradition going and have a baby exactly nine months after the wedding (to which Ayla responded " Um, no.")

Next Sunday the Iowa and Illinois Zimaneks will be getting together to celebrate Jadoosh's 75th. We will get to celebrate with him when he comes to visit next weekend with cousin Ron Grygiel (who celebrated his birthday yesterday!) From the guy who always said, "I have nothing profound to say, but only that I love you," Grandpa always has something to say ... some piece of advice, some new joke, some testimony about the Lord, some old story to share. So that being said, I asked Daddy to share what he has learned about life and marriage from his father. This is what he had to say.

• Grandpa has always set goals for himself for self-improvement. Hanging right there above the toilet in the basement, a new list would be posted at New Years. 
• He loves the Lord and there was no question worship was always important. He didn't miss a Sunday or holiday for worship.
• He's an amazing cook - especially with meat. Best steak I (Mom) ever had was one (okay, two in a row) he made. And we all know how amazing his meatloaf is. 
• He plans everything. Gotta have a plan. Your Daddy got that honest.
• He is always on time ... early even. Promptness is very important. 
• He planned separate special trips with each of his boys. Daddy recalled them going to a boxing match together, and Uncle Scott and Grandpa biked from Sturgeon Bay to Giles Rock in Door County. Daddy enjoyed this special one-on-one time with him.
• He's very healthy. He wasn't always that way. He has shared that he was a sickly little child when the family lived in Chicago, which is part of the reason why Great Grandpa Anton and Great-Grandma Veronica moved to the Wisconsin farm of her parents to get him in some fresh air and outdoors. And there was a time when Daddy was young that Jadoosh went in for surgery that kept him out of commission and work for several months. Daddy said he grew up instantly during that time and Busha then had to work full time to support the family. But today he is very healthy. He does exercises every day and his muscles are hard as rocks. He looks into ways to keep himself healthy and applies it.
• He is the great delegator. Working in supervision at Oscar Meyer for years, that was his forte, and he's excellent at divvying up the jobs and making sure things get done.
• He works his butt off and expects others around him to do the same. He's renowned for his work ethic at Walmart in his retirement years. Daddy said he insisted his sons not make mistakes to avoid having to repeat the job over.
• He loves sex (this is your Daddy talking). And he has only ever been with one woman. It was his public displays of affection that started your very private Busha saying, "To-nee."
• Speaking of Busha, Jadoosh weeps when he speaks about his love for his wife. There is no doubt how much he loves and appreciates the amazing wife he married nearly 54 years ago.

Ayla and Anton - you come from good stock. Praying you can incorporate the good qualities of your grandparents into your lives and marriages. Happy 75th Birthday, Jadoosh! We don't have anything profound to say, but only that we love you.

Discussion: Share a memory you have of Grandpa Z. What are something things above you can learn from?

Prayer: Dear Father God, we thank you for Anthony Walter and his years of serving You. We pray for his continued health and lots more profound things to say. In Jesus, Amen.

22!

 You know how much Daddy loves the number 22. Today's date is pretty much the reason for that. Feb. 22 is Great Grandpa Anton Zimanek's birthday. Today he would have been 101 years old. Daddy didn't just like 22 because it was his grandfather's birthday, although that would have been enough. He also liked it because Great-Grandpa Anton shot a .22. "It was the first gun I shot," Daddy says. From childhood on, your Daddy would always choose #22 for his jersey in baseball, basketball and football when he would play. It was a tribute to this man who your father respected more than any other man ... and deservedly so.

Grandpa was a pretty cool guy. What your Daddy said he felt from his Grandpa was unconditional love. "I felt it from him immediately. Don't get me wrong, he was strict. You worked hard when you were with him, but I loved it, cause it was fun. I would do anything with him," he said. He explains that one of the best days of his life was when he was 6 years old and had worked all day with Grandpa grinding corn, collecting eggs, feeding the cows and picking apples. Grandpa then took him to Mary Nelson's country store and gave him a dollar, where your Daddy bought the 1971 NFL preseason magazine with John Brodie, quarterback for the 49ers, on the cover. "I still have it," Daddy says. "It signifies hard work and love."

I asked your Daddy what he learned about marriage from his Grandpa. He said Grandma and Grandpa held hands all the time and kissed a lot. "They were never afraid of public displays of affection," he says. Great Grandpa always thought his wife was his beautiful bride. "This is even after 60+ years of marriage," Daddy says. "You can't make that up. You felt it when you were with him. I mean, they fought, yeah, but he would do anything for her." When they did fight, Grandpa would go take a walk saying he didn't want to say anything he'd later regret. I remember how precious they were together. Lot's of giggling between them.

Brad said a year before Grandpa died, they were sitting under a tree on a hill overlooking the Big Rock when he said to your Daddy, "Have sex as often as you can, because there will come a day when you can't and you wish you could." I personally remember him talking about Grandma's "fluffy pillows" when referring to her, ahem, chest.

Of course the first thing we always think about Grandpa is him singing "How Great Thou Art." He sang it every day with his dog Scottie as they walked a trail on his Sobieski, WI property. And I'm pretty sure both Ayla and Anton remember hearing him sing it. Your Daddy still tears up when he sings it. Great Grandpa loved the Lord. Your Daddy says he remembers seeing Grandpa get excited on Easter morning about going to worship the Risen Christ.

Your Daddy thought enough of Great Grandpa to name our son after him. It is the highest honor we could pay him and honestly a perfect namesake as one to emulate for Anton.

So Grandpa's marriage advice ... show love often, have fun, love passionately, work hard, take care of each other and love your Lord. We look forward to visiting in Heaven with him and Grandma one day to play a game of pinochle. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Discussion: What do you remember about Great Grandpa Anton? Of his advice, what is something you would want to apply to your marriage?

Prayer: We thank you, Lord, for the life of Anthony "Anton" Walter Zimanek, Sr. He loved you, Lord, and set an example to follow in worship of you. We thank you for all our journey's in life and the lives that intersect with ours. In Jesus, Amen.

Munificent

Today your Grandpa Lauritzen is 75 years old. Three-quarters of a century! What a reason to celebrate! And we will! He has lived a long and eventful life, filled with crazy experiences (from a bit-off tongue to a frozen esophagus). He is witty, generous, logical (almost to a Spock standpoint), a perfectionist, can repair just about anything and out eat just about any human being while maintaining his slender build. When he laughs, he does so heartily. When he is concentrating on something, I dare you to break it. He's a sesquipedalian so when he speaks, keep a dictionary nearby so you can look up the big words. When he drives, he takes chances no one else would dare and somehow comes out unscathed. He loves his Lord passionately and never ceases to study the Word. He seeks mission opportunities that utilize his many skills. He has his Tom-isms, like "Expect the best and prepare for the worst," and "Who ever said life's fair?" And he gives the best hugs ever ... ask anyone.

That is your grandpa. Oh there is so much more to him, but if there is anything I would want you as a couple to take from him it would be his selflessness and generosity. I don't know where he learned both, but if I had to guess it was probably his maternal grandfather. He speaks of his Grandpa Holmes with much respect. I believe this man had the greatest influence on your grandpa, and I look forward to meeting him one day in Paradise. Regardless, your grandfather will certainly put your needs and wants before his own. It is something to emulate. One of my favorite stories to share about him is his love of Snicker bars, but not so much the love of them as the sharing of them. I remember many times seeing that candy bar sitting before him, my mouth watering, and him saying before taking a bite to help myself. Were I in the same position, I am just not sure I could be so generous with chocolate. It spoke volumes to me. I think, like him, we need to look at what we have as never really being ours in the first place, but rather the Lord's, and therefore share it. That doesn't just mean things or money, but even our talents. What is ours is ours to give and share.

Your grandfather is also a poet. I found this in a treasure box of mine. He wrote it to/for me Aug. 21, 1979. It says: 

A Prayer For Daughter

Thanks, Lord, for being with me yesterday

As my daughter did sincerely pray

My daughter understands, I guess

That prayers are always answered; blest,

What's really important to me however,

Is that my daughter knows forever

You will be constantly at her side

If only You she will let abide

I pray her happiness, unending;

Peace and joy beyond comprehending.

But, most of all, Lord, I pray she'll love.

We know tis the best gift from above!

Go faith, hope and love, these three her way

I pray ... and, Lord, mostly love, always.

                                                     Amen. 

 We pray this for you both as well. Happy Birthday, Dad.

Discussion: Do you have specific memories of your Grandpa? What are some traits above you see in yourself? How can you be generous with what you have?

Prayer: Father, thank you for the life and health of Thomas Phillip Lauritzen. Thank you for his example, wisdom and love. We pray for blessings for him on this his birthday. In Jesus name, Amen.