Picture of the day from Aunt Dawn...

I love this photo of my dad! thanks so much Aunt Dawn (I love the freckles too :)

I think my dad looks a lot like Eden here. Eden loved her Uncle Kit.

We all miss you very much daddy...it's just not the same here without you. Can't wait to step through that door someday and say hello to you again!!!!

Run For Hope 2009

click on the photo if you want to make the poster larger and read the details of this run:

ONE MONTH

Well, it's been one month without our precious Kit Lauer. God has been carrying us all. Although my dad battled AML for a little over a year, and we may have "prepared" a bit, his death still stings us.

In the last month or so, my dad had the idea that he wanted to write a book. Sadly, he didn't get very far but I wanted to share the few paragraphs that he did write:

Have you ever watched a delicate, individually patterned snowflakes fall upon your little red booties? Probably not, but that happened to be my very first memory in life. There I was, standing in the snow, looking up at someone very big, most likely my mother and finding myself already in awe of life. I was born September 14th, 1947 in Kokomo Indiana. You might be saying, “you're kidding, Kokomo?...is that a real place?” Yes it is! and that’s where I am from, well, at least I was born there and lived there for about 3 years and then my family moved to Los Angeles the city of Angels, although it is getting tougher and tougher to find any actual angels there now-a-days!

I even remember the airplane trip. Everyone kept stuffing gum in my mouth, they said it would help with adjusting the ear pressure. I think I had about 16 pieces in there by the time I was choking on the gum(they had no Heimlich maneuver in those days) so a good flip upside down and whack on the back caused the slippery mass to dislodge. Needless to say I was happy to be in LA alive.

We moved into a cute little house in La Crescenta CA with pretty shear curtains and a brick walkway and steps, even a circular planter made of bricks around a beautiful tree of some kind. I liked it…other than the fact that the little girl next door tried to literally scratch my eyes out one day, grandpa tied to push my brother all the way over the entire swing set when he kept saying higher, higher grandpa (an early start to his gymnastics career I suppose) and my pet turtle slipped under the fence and off into oblivion…just a few childhood set backs, but over-all good memories of La Crescenta.

I love that we have these beautiful words and memories from my dad. I treasure them.

much love to everyone and have a blessed day!

Maisha

Mikey and Shae's "Turtle Life" Tattoos for Dad...

Shae's lovely little turtle tattoo in honor of my dad :)

Mikey's tattoo on the arm to honor his pops. It means "turtle life" in Greek...Mikey and I are one quarter Greek.

you can go back to May 9, 2008 on the blog to read about the significance of "turtle life"

http://kit-blog1.blogspot.com/2008/05/hello-everyone-wow.html

Song Written by Mikey

Papa you and me
Digging our toes into the sand

Papa you and me
Walking along shore holding my little hand

Riding on your shoulders
Humming and singing love sweet love

Papa you and me
Making life so easy

What do I do
When you have to go
Where do I go
When you have to leave me here

Mikey, let me tell you about heaven

Dad, isn’t that where the turtles are

So I let Jesus through my door

Now I know what to do
When my daddy has to go

I got to have peace, we got to have peace
I got to have faith, we got to have faith
Love everyone around, everyone

Now your lookin down at me

Such a lucky boy to have had you

I’ll remember everything

Till the day we meet again, in heaven

Papa you and me

Letter from Maisha

Daddy…I love you so much. Thank you for being such an amazing father to me. I felt your love every second of every minute of every hour of every day. I have been so blessed to call you dad.

You were my biggest cheerleader and the greatest fan of my life. You were always my best advice giver and I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss that.

There’s so much I wish I could say but words don’t even express the gratitude that I feel for the role you have played in my life. You have been the most excellent example of how to love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul…even through suffering. You have so beautifully modeled how to love others, even when sometimes it meant that you would get little in return.

You praised Jesus up until your last breath and I am so thankful that I got to be at your bedside to witness that. In your last hours, through the greatest suffering that you had ever been through, you cried out that you would never forsake Jesus…I will always remember that. My last words to you were that you are the best man that I have ever known. I pray you heard me because it is true. So very true.

God is going to have to pick up the pieces of my shattered heart and fill the huge, gaping hole I now have. But, I know He can do it. I’m putting my trust in God’s provision through Jesus and I know that I will see you again…and this time, we won’t have to ever say goodbye!

One of your favorite verses has always been John 14:2. “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” I’m clinging to that verse for the rest of my days here on earth until I finally make it home.

I can’t wait to wrap my arms around your neck and tell you how much I’ve missed you; I pray that I will make you proud. I pray that I will learn to love the way you loved and that your wonderful attributes and traits will be passed on through me and Mikey.

Bye for now my daddy,
Forever your “pink push up girl”

Run For Hope - June 2009

We will begin registration for the “Run for Hope 2009”, this Friday night the 8th of May. There will be a registration and information table after each service beginning this weekend up until the night before the race on Saturday, June 20th.

We Love You Kit ...

Life Lesson from Kit
(written by Karen Johnson)

1.Share the Love Boldly --Kit cared about what mattered to others and every person was a potential friend no matter where they were at in life, he could always find a connecting point; even while he was getting chemo he was making friends.

2. Weep with the Weeping --Kit had an innate empathy that few men have, and he could communicate that compassion through a hug, a word of insight or encouragement...and he would follow-up later to see how you were doing with that. He was able to go to the depths with people, and give them hope in the valley of shadows.

3. Go, Go, Go for the Gusto --whether it was running, biking, singing, preaching, or teaching apologetics, Kit did it with passion and dedication. He was a man of live action. He had many interests and careers. He reinvented himself over and over again. There were few wasted moments in his exuberant life.

4. Fail Out Loud --Kit would openly share with us his failures, missteps and foolish choices. He could laugh at himself, and also model how to back up and change the course of your life when you've taken a wrong turn.

5. Kiss Your Wife and Kids --I always loved hearing him talk about his kids, or should I say "rave" about his kids. He adored them without reservation or shyness, and the feeling is mutual. No adolescent anger here, these kids were well-loved and loved their dad right back. His loyalty and appreciation for Shelly was also inspiring. You never doubted Kit's love or faithfulness to her.

6. Be God's Best PR Person --I never met anyone who was so bold at communicating the Heavenly Father's deep and unconditional love for his children. Not a hell-fire or judgement-preaching pastor, Kit opened the book of love for us. Kit's message, repeated over and over again, was this: "Your Heavenly Father loves you so much, He accepts you, He yearns for you, His arms are open wide to you, open yours to Him."

7. Tie Yourself to the Mast and Ride the Storm --Kit was able to weather the storm of cancer, never wavering in his confidence in God's goodness, because he had spent so much time in the Word. His testimony was even more powerful because, as he lay weak and in pain, he would confidently assert that God loved him, that Heaven was held for him, and that whatever God wanted was good enough for him.

Thank you, Kit, for being such a shining example of an overcoming faith and a successful life. You leave a legacy by the way you lived and I am going to try to follow in your footsteps. We love you and miss you.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Scattering of Ashes, Continuing to Celebrate Kit's LIfe ...

This Saturday, May 2nd at Sidewalks Entrance of Keawakapu Beach we will be celebrating Kit’s eternal life by the scattering of his ashes at 8:00 AM. Everyone is invited to come.

Please note that only loose flowers can be released in the ocean.

Verses ...

It was a very beautiful Celebration of Life last night at Hope Chapel. I am very thankful that Hope Chapel did a live stream feed here online, that family and friends around the world were able to celebrate with us.

I would like to post a couple of verses that have inspired me during the celebration of Kit's life. As these are verses that Kit applied in his life as he lived fully for Christ, may these verses also inspire us to keep living a life worth living, to the glory of God...

A verse that would always remind us of Kit:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." - 2 Timothy 4:7

A verse to keep us all going:

" But those who trust in the Lord will find their strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31