We are in Boise, Idaho

Dear Friends,

I missed my "Southern California" update as I mentioned in our final blog from Alaska. Let me say the handful of days we were home were very fast...and good. We found ourselves driving to Idaho to visit our son Wesley, along with Cynthia and their four children, before we knew it!

Our days here have been full- children's school Christmas program, (the kids attend a private Christian school,) along with basketball games and generally, living life!

I should also say we took a three day side trip since being here in Boise to visit my mother, sister and brother-in-law in Redmond, Oregon. But if you have been following the weather in the northwest it has been cold, snowy and in some parts rain mixed with lots of snow. For example Spokane, Portland, sections of Interstates and many other places in the Northwest have been shut down because of the weather! We did have a great visit though.

Back to us. What are we going to be doing in this next chapter of our lives? Once again we do not have the definitive answer yet. To be very up front, with Christmas activities rolling in on us (and all of you) we have not be working as hard listening, talking and sifting through the various
possibilities. Once again we trust the God who speeded this whole process up for us to be in total control of what the future. Consequently we are no anxious.

Now to the story of Christmas. This is the first year in all of our past years of ministry that we are not involved in Christmas productions and Christmas Eve services. You might think "ah, what a relief for Judy and Graydon!" But if the truth were to be known we miss the preparations, the planning and ultimately, the presentations. We are planning on taking in as much as possible here in Boise when it comes to Christmas programs and Christmas Eve services. This is such a special time of the year. I hope you take advantage of everything you can wherever you might be living so that the Christmas story burns brightly within your hear.

Having said all of that we are going to be involved in a very special Christmas Day meal. Our children here, Wesley, Cynthia and children, have invited a refugee family from Bhutan to eat that special lunch with us. Two adults with preschool children along with a grandmother will be eating Christmas dinner with all of us. Only the father speaks English. What a fun opportunity to demonstrate positive Christian hospitality to a refugee family- something Mary and Joseph did not receive that night long ago in Bethlehem.

Judy and I wish and pray for all of you a Christmas that is full of meaning and memories.

With love and prayers,

Graydon and Judy from Boise, Idaho, Christmas 2008

Final installment from Alaska, December 2008

Dear Friends,

We leave this little retreat spot and the incredibly beautiful state of Alaska and return to our home and incredibly beautiful Southern California. Judy and I have truly enjoyed this little break from the regular responsibilities of life. This is the first time in 46 years that we have been afforded this kind of opportunity and we want to acknowledge our kids here, Jody and Carolyn, for the use of their four wheel drive vehicle...for seven weeks! We also want to say a tremendous thanks to Ron and Carol for the opportunity to "housesit" their beautiful home while they were out of the State.

So, "what have we learned...or heard...or decided," in terms of the next chapter of our lives? As I told Judy early on, "I would not commit to anything until after January 1, 2009." So we do have a little more time. But let me highlight some very important points:

• We have been able to rest!
• We have been able to connect and reconnect with our Alaskan Family: Jody, Carolyn and their three wonderful children- out grandchildren!
• We have been able to visit with a number of friends from our years in Alaska.
• We were able to "reconnect" with the land- the unusual beauty of this unusual place!
• We were able to keep our self imposed schedule.
• We prayed together.
• We talked together.
• I was able to read the entire Bible during these seven weeks.
• Judy was able to spend quality time in about three Biblical books.
• And as I mentioned in earlier entries, we have a sense of the direction we are to head...and that is a good thing.
• All in all, we both believe that these seven weeks have been exactly what we needed at this stage in our lives.

My next entry will be from Southern California, even though we are home only for a few days. We will keep you posted in our spiritual journey. We thank you for your interest, your prayers and your support as we seek God's Heart in this next season of our lives.

With Thanksgiving,

Graydon and Judy from Twin Lakes just outside of Wasilla, Alaska!

Thanksgiving Week 2008

To all of our Friends who are following this blog!

Well, I missed my dateline by two days. In my last blog I said, "I will be adding to this blog Monday, November 24th." "My bad," as the kids would say.

My prayer today is that as you catch up with us you really, truly, enjoy a very fulfilling Thanksgiving with your family and your friends. Thanksgivings have always been a very important part of our lives. In fact Judy reminded me that this is the first Thanksgiving she can remember, in our married lives, that she has not prepared the feast! We will be joining our son in law Jody and daughter Carolyn and their family for Thanksgiving and Carolyn will be fixing the meal! So Judy is "amazingly thankful!"

This morning I read the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The story of the miraculous return of Israel back to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity is an incredible display of the gracious hand of the Lord. Throughout the two books the spirit and the display of Thanksgiving to God is manifest over and again. Ezra was thankful. Nehemiah was thankful. The people were thankful. The "thankfulness" of the people was displayed in the reading of the Law of Moses, with singing, with choirs, with tears, with instruments, with praise so loud that people could hear it from afar.

The thankfulness expressed through the two books was essentially around these blessings:

• Thankfulness for the Babylonian Kings who released the captive Jews from Babylon and with blessings and money and protection to rebuild the temple and the walls of the city of Jerusalem sent them back to that ancient city. This act by the Babylonians was a miracle from God!
• Joy and thankfulness in the actual rebuilding of the temple.
• Joy and thankfulness in the actual rebuilding of the gates and walls of the city.
• Joy and thankfulness in the opportunity to offer sacrifices again.
• Joy and thankfulness in the reading of the Law of Moses.
• Joy and thankfulness in the results of repentance.
• Joy and thankfulness to be a nation once again.

All of this "joy and thankfulness" was expressed, essentially, in the face of opposition and difficulty. It was then that I (GJ) began to sense and see what the Lord was saying to me...in this current generation...2008!

Everything in our lives right now is not easy nor clearly defined. There are all sorts of "rumblings" not only in America, (economic, politically, culturally) but also in the nations of the world. Pull up any "news website" and immediately you read of the distress, the posturing, the threats, and yes, the fear, that is all boiling just below the surface of humanity in this "global neighborhood." Truly, our days are not much different, in many respects, from the days of Ezra and Nehemiah!

There were those times in both of the books that Ezra and Nehemiah called a "time out" and sought out God's heart and then gave thanks to God. And they did these acts of thankful worship in the midst of the unknown and of fear. But once refreshed with "thankful worship," they moved forward with confidence and with trust in the God they knew, they worshiped and they loved.

Read the ten chapters of Ezra and the thirteen chapters of Nehemiah. Discover for yourself the gift and spirit of thanksgiving in the midst of your adversity. Rediscover trust in the God of the Universe in your specific situation. Be blessed by the fact that God is still on His Throne- in the economy, in politics and in culture, and that He has not left you nor abandoned you.

Join the Ancients as you walk and live through "the rebuilding of your life and the reconstruction of the protective wall of God around your life and the lives of those you love this Thanksgiving 2008."

"With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: He is good; his love to Israel endures forever." Ezra 3:11 (NIV)

With Thanksgiving Prayers and Thankful Hearts,

Graydon and Judy

The MOST current thinking as of 11.19.08

To One and All,

As you can see we put some pictures up Sunday evening the 16th of November, but no new news! So what's that all about? Let me bring you all up to date. (Enjoy the pictures!)

First, Judy and I are doing well and we are thoroughly enjoying all the expressions of an Alaskan winter- cold, snow, wind, ice, shorter days, clear blue skies with bright sun...but without any warmth, gray skies with NO sun, scraping ice off of car windshields, but as of yet no northern lights!

Second, we continue to be able to support our grandchildren in their various activities. We have attended basketball games in crowded grade school gyms as well as two, four hour gymnastic meets. And we have thoroughly enjoyed it all! Most of all we have been blessed by the expressions of, "Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for coming to my meet or basketball game, or whatever!"

Third, we have been able to connect with many of our Alaskan friends. We have been praying, "Lord, may we meet up with those people we need to meet up with..." and that has really been the case. And we have loved what He has done by surprising us.

Fourth, we have been able to reconnect with the land. Comparing Alaska to Southern California is like comparing apples to bananas: they each are so different but you enjoy them both! Alaska has it's own raw beauty and we have been captured by that "northern beauty" once again.

And finally, we have been able to maintain our self imposed schedule of reading, praying, thinking, listening and talking about "this next chapter in our lives!" Let me give you our most current thinking.

1. Our specific direction is not absolutely clear yet. Once again, we are not anxious about this. We know that in the timing of the Lord it will become obvious what this next chapter will look like.
2. Even though the direction is not "specific" yet, there is a general "drift" towards what we think the Lord might be saying to us.
3. Once again, we are totally aware that "it" might not even look like what we think we might be "drifting" towards right now.
4. The "list" we had a couple of months ago included five possibilities plus a #6 which was "none of the above."
5. We still have that #6 (See #3 above) with adjustments in the original "five" and some others added.

Maybe you are asking yourself (or perhaps "muttering" to yourself) "how can they do this? They need to make up their minds. The seven weeks in Alaska is coming to a close. They HAVE to know something!" Remember what I have said all along: "I would not commit to anything until after January 1, 2009." The time spent here has been so helpful. There are things I (GJ) have learned about myself that I would have never learned nor heard if I had not stopped the train and spent this time being real quiet, real "unbusy," real deliberate in reading the Word- without thinking "how can I develop this passage for my next sermon!" I had been so preoccupied with fixing meals (sermons/lessons/articles) for everyone else for the past 46 years, (which was a good thing) that I had not taken time to consistently sit down at the table and eat well balanced meals for myself (which would be the 'best" thing!) In these past five weeks I have almost read the entire Bible- purely for the joy of hearing from the Lord without any agenda of sermon preparation. I will have read all 66 books before Thanksgiving Day! It has been refreshing, rejuvenating, revealing and very convicting to once again read, see, sense and hear, the heart of God as revealed in His Word!

Here is the most current plan: I will update this blog, Monday, November 24th. We'll see what the Lord has in store for us on that date!

With love and prayers,

Graydon and Judy from Twin Lakes, with an incredible view of Matanuska Peak!

Surprise...we have pictures!

Surprise! We have pictures! A friend (Jackie Evans) showed me how to do this! Simply amazing. So what is this picture all about? This is the view from the front room of the house we are living in for these few weeks we are here in Alaska. In the foreground is the lake, looking over the trees to the Chugach Mountains. Enjoy!

Guess what? Once again I have been duly instructed in how to put pictures in the blog! How modern is that? This is a picture Judy and I took of Mt McKinley just a couple of weeks ago!

Judy and I did a little moving around. We went with our friends, Bub and Bonnie Nelson down on the Kenai Peninsula. Here we are on Cook Inlet looking across to the Alaskan Range.

Just a few days ago we had a fresh snow. We wanted to show you the contrast (between Graydon and the tree -:D)

Election Day 2008

Dear Friends,

What an historic day in the history of the United States of America. I trust you have voted!

Part of my story has been the opportunities I have had to travel world wide. I have been in 44 different countries! In many of the countries I have had to travel anonymously. Citizens of those restrictive countries have not had the right to vote, to be a part of the process of governance. Many of those friends have spoken with me about the privileges we take for granted in the United States. Be sure and vote! You'll be glad you did!

As you know I have been reading the Bible intently. It has been an extraordinary journey. When you systematically read between 26-30 chapters per day, from the different categories of the bible, (Law, History, Poets, Prophets, Gospels, Acts, Pauline Epistles, General Epistles) you begin to catch the heart of God! I know as I have been reading that I ponder afresh the changing unpredictability of humanity in relationship to the Father, and the longsuffering of God Himself as He relates to His created beings- us! What an amazing love affair from God to us. Actually it is one I do not fully comprehend or even pretend to fully understand. But, it is a relationship I desperately desire- not only for myself, but for others also. Consequently, that is essentially what this short "rest period" in Alaska is all about: "Lord, how can we be used to the fullest extent of our present giftedness in the ministry and business of your Kingdom in this next chapter of our lives? How can we come alongside others to help them in their relationship to You?"

A brand new offer for us to consider has landed on the table. Essentially, one of the original five has been removed and then this new one has been added. You are wondering, "OK, where do we stand then?" Give me a little more time and I will be released to discuss the options in more detail. And in all of this we continue to keep "option #6" open, which is, "none of the above!" In the meantime though, we continue to faithfully watch and pray. We consider ourselves so blessed to be able to spend this quality time reading, praying, listening and talking. It has been so good.

We are watching the winter shadows on the mountains change almost daily. As the sun moves further south in it's southerly journey towards December 21st, it casts new shadow arrangements on the unchanging mountains! It is a great picture of the "changing culture" in which we live, in comparison and relationship to the "unchanging nature of an Eternal God!"

We send our love and prayers, not only for you but also for our nation on this historic day!

Graydon and Judy

One Week Before Election of 2008

To all of our friends!

As I sit here looking out from this warm home, and I see the cold, the clear blue sky and the wind (as it moves through the trees and blows snow skiffs across the frozen lake) I am reminded once again of my utter dependance upon God. We have enjoyed a string of "brilliant days" here on Twin Lakes just outside of Wasilla, Alaska. If you have never experienced this kind of weather you might have a difficult time painting the picture in your mind.

• First, get a sky absolutely blue and without a single cloud- in your mind.
• Next, at ground level place a "woods" of White Birch, Cottonwoods and Ash- with absolutely no leaves on the trees. Intersperse throughout those trees a type of Spruce tree with the green boughs.
• Outside our windows- six huge picture windows, paint a lake- maybe the size of the parking lots at Anaheim Stadium. This lake is now frozen. You cannot walk on it yet, but soon we will be able to.
• Now in your picture paint three sides with Mountains- rugged mountains with jagged peaks covered with snow.
• You now have a sense of what we are looking at and living in!

Sometimes people who have never seen this kind of thing wonder what this might all be about! One of the quickest ways I know how to describe it is for you to open up the freezer part of your kitchen refrigerator and take a look inside. See the ice maker and the frost clinging to the sides of the freezer? Feel the solid block of meat, frozen hard. That is what the entire world is like here- frozen, very solid and below 32 dgrees- like right now it is 19 degrees outside with the sun shining brilliantly! And...it is all beautiful!

In the middle of all of this we are maintaing our daily schedule. The Scripture reading, the prayer time, the listening- all are part of this current journey. Once again, thank you so much for your interest in us and for your prayers!

Blessings, all sent wrapped up with prayer,

Graydon and Judy on a cold October morning from Twin Lakes just outside Wasilla, Alaska!

Monday, October 20, 2008 The beginning of the Second Week

To All of our Many Friends!

Thank you for your prayers, your thoughts, your emails. We begin week #2 of this little journey. Some of our opportunities are beginning to take a little shape! You ask, "How are you listening and sensing?" Or another way to ask it is, "What is your grid for determining what you should be doing in the future?"

Both are excellent questions. Here is a simple grid we put our thoughts through:

• We need to make sure we have some sort of income as in reality we cannot NOT have any source of some sort of income at this stage in our lives. It doesn't have to be much, but it does need to be something. So we keep that thought in front of us.
• Are doors closing on/in certain opportunities? Or, are opportunities changing, to the degree that we would not be challenged and/or able to do the particular ministry where the opportunities are changing?
• How does what we are sensing and seeing fit in to what we understand to be the overall plan of God, not only for our lives, but also for the larger context of the Kingdom of God?

Now I could say more, but I think this gives you a sense of the direction on the opportunities over which Judy and I are watching and praying.

As a result of the grid above, we see one door as slowly closing. A door we thought had "potential" is shutting as we sense and see that others are taking up the mantle and are charging ahead with this ministry and without us. (And by the way, that is perfectly OK with us!) It is one of the "famous four" I listed for Eastside Church and one that Judy and I have been praying about and discussing. Others are stepping up to the proverbial plate of leadership in this particular ministry. And even though we will probably not be "leading" this ministry as such, we will still continue to be involved in one way or another...just not in a specific leadership role.

Is that helpful? I hope it is. So we say, "Thank You Lord," as we see doors closing and others opening. That is what we are here for and truly this is what we are NOT anxious about. The Lord will reveal Himself strong and mighty in the right place at the right time for what we are to be doing in this next chapter of our lives! Remember what I have said: "This ministry could be any one of the four or five we are considering, and it also could be 'none of the above!'" The Lord might have something radically different for us! By God's Grace...we are open to those "radical differences!"

By the way, the reading of the Scripture as I set out in an earlier blog has just been excellent!

Our prayers and love,

Graydon and Judy

graydon.jessup@gmail.com

graydonandjudy.blogspot.com

It's Wednesday!

October 15, 2008 High clouds and fresh snow!

To all of our many Friends!
I'll learn eventually, how to do a picture for this blog. I just wish you could see what we are seeing as we look into God's creation in this October/Winter scene from Twin Lakes, just a couple of miles outside of Wasilla, AK. Everyday the skies and the weather have been different...sort of like walking with the Lord! Every day with Him is different and new!

David "got me" in my reading this morning. "The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." Psalms 14:2

What a great word to think through and meditate on for today. "Do I understand?" "Am I seeking God...truly?" I could keep running on what I have known all of my life but that wouldn't be "seeking" that would be "coasting!" In these days in my life I want to fully and completely understand that the Lord loves those who "seek Him!" So what that means is I (we) will seek the Lord...purposefully and with great diligence!

Prayers as you also seek Him!
Graydon and Judy

Tuesday, October 14th

October 14, 2008, Tuesday, 2:08 PM, 32 degrees and snowing

To ALL of our many, many friends!
The "trip" of reading, waiting, listening and "checking" has officially started. I thought it would take us a day to get settled in...but in actuality it took three days...simply because of the weekend and the weather! "Weather, in Alaska?" Monday morning we woke up to fresh snow and it was absolutely beautiful. But the snow also made for some pretty treacherous driving. Through a series of events to long to explain here, I was able to be a Grandfather and make sure our three Alaskan Grandchildren made it to school over the icy and snowy roads. Sure brought back many, many memories!

As I wrote to one person, "We are here not only to discover the God of the heart, but also to fully discover the Heart of God!" We believe that this is critical for this next chapter of our lives. Consequently we have put ourselves on a loose, but defined, daily schedule. This includes reading the Scripture, praying, discussing the options currently on the table before us and also making sure our hearts are open to whatever the Lord might have for us in the future- that "whatever" possibly being something(s) completely out of our current view and understanding.

It is my purpose to read the entire Bible while here in Alaska. If I have added them up correctly that means reading all 1,189 chapters of the Bible. So I am reading 26 chapters daily. This time in reading the Bible I am not reading it "cover to cover" as good as that might be. Rather I am reading according to the natural divisions of the OT and the NT. So here is the daily reading schedule:

• Law 4 Chapters
• History 5 Chapters
• Psalms 3 Chapters
• Other Poetry 4 Chapters
• Major Prophets 4 Chapters
• Minor Prophets 2 Chapters
• Gospels 2 Chapters
• Acts/Revelation 1 Chapter
• Pauline 2 Chapters
• General Epistles 1 Chapter

That adds up to 26 chapters per day. I have been especially drawn to the readings from Job, Isaiah, Hosea and Romans. All of the other reading has been good, but these four especially are speaking to me. When Hosea writes, "I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien" (Hosea 8:12) I could not help but think of our very current situation. "Many things" of the Word of the Lord are considered to be "alien" to our "modern" culture!

Well, these are some things we are thinking and doing in the very, very early stages of this portion of our '"Chronicles!" May God's peace be on you all!

Graydon and Judy from Twin Lakes in Alaska

We are on our way!

October 10, 2008
Dear Family, Friends and ALL who are interested in what is happening with Graydon and Judy-

I say "good morning" this October 10th. This morning we are heading out to LAX and we will begin the air journey part of our trip to Anchorage. Once we arrive and settle in (the "settling" ought to be done by tomorrow the 11th) we will set ourselves a "loose" daily schedule so that we purosefully accomplish what we have set out to do these next 49 days. Here is the "49 Day Mission Statement:"
Judy and I plan to pray, read, listen, rest, and exercise daily. We want to hear the Lord and His Heart for us in this next chapter of our lives. Part of these 49 days will be to connect with our grandchildren in Alaska as well as with long term Alaskan friends. And finally, part of this journey will be to reconnect with Alaska..."the Last Frontier!"
So, there you have it in a nutshell. At present we are praying over five different ministry possibilities and we always add a sixth possibility which is, "none of the above!" We think (at least that is what we keep saying to ourselves -:)) we are entirely open to #6 but we also know how human we are. Saying it and then living it are really two different things!
Once again, Judy and I cannot thank all of you enough for your emails, your cards, your thanks, your expressions of love.

A "Chronicle" sent with prayer and in love,
Graydon and Judy
P.S. If you click on to the link at the top of the original Chronicle you will see a picture of our family, which also includes Carole, Curtis's wife. This picture was taken at our final Eastside weekend when all of our children were able to be there with us.

soccer 037.jpg - Gmail

soccer 037.jpg - Gmail

What a Celebration! September 27/28, 2008

To all who might read this blog!
This past weekend (September 27/28, 2008) was OVER THE TOP! Eastside Christian Church simply "outdid herself!" Judy and I were honored, in our opinion, in a way we could only describe as AWESOME! From the music in the worship, the video stories, the hugs, tears, words of encouragement and endearment, the prayers, the ovations and the final song "FRIENDS" were handled with such grace and power! But that was not the end of the story!

Eastside, under the leadership of Arty VanGeloof and his Brew Crew (along with so many others) put together a lunch and program all held in the West Parking lot of the church AFTER the Sunday morning services. Todd and Kelly Roberts donated a covered awning arrangement so that the 1500 people or so were essentially sitting under shade! Officials from the City of Fullerton, from Hope International University, and two local Pastors, Dale Burke from EVFree Fullerton and Matthew Cork from Yorba Linda Friends (Church on the Hill) came to give brief words of congratulations. Judy spoke and our daughter Carolyn spoke for the four children! My brother Wes, and his wife, Nancy were with us. There were various Staff MC's and we heard from Tim Bond, Chairman of the Elders of Eastside.

A very special and significant presentation was the gift of a picture taken during one of our Communion Services on Good Friday. The picture captures our ministry here. Surrounding the picture are Sermon Themes I had preached here at Eastside over the years. (We will have a picture of this gift in another blog!)

Judy and I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and kindnesses. People were given the opportunity to write short notes- it has taken us the better part of two days to read all of the cards! We are a blessed couple, indeed!

All four of our children were able to be with us for this event: Curtis (and Carole) from Fullerton, California; Carolyn from Wasilla/Palmer, Alaska; Wesley from Boise,Idaho; Melanie (and baby Stella) from Boulder, Colorado. The three children came by themselves leaving their spouses to care for our Grandchildren in their respective homes. (Many thanks to those three wonderful spouses for making sure our adult children were able to get here!)
I know, I know- not all of the blogs will be like this. But I would be less than honest if I did not say that Judy and I were totally overwhelmed by the outpouring of love!

All we can say is "Thank You All and We Love You!" Graydon and Judy

Let me bring one and all up to date this 09.24.08.

We are quickly coming to a close of this ministry at Eastside Christian Church. Judy and I have been hosted at a number of parties and social events. We cannot express our deepest appreciation for all everyone has done on our behalf. Thank you so much.

This weekend, September 27/28 will bring everything to a close.

• We have a Friday night Three Year Celebration with Celebrate Recovery
• The weekend concludes with our four, normally scheduled worship services. You can catch those times on the church website: http://www.eastside.com/
• Sunday will conclude with a celebration in the West Parking lot of the church building facility at 2505 Yorba Linda Blvd. It will be over the top!
• All four of our children will be here to celebrate this huge event with us. Their spouses and all of the grandchildren are cheering for us from afar. We love them all!

Thanks so much ahead of time. I will catch up with this blog after September 28th!

Love and prayers,

Graydon and Judy

Welcome to the Journey of Graydon and Judy Jessup

Welcome to the "Graydon and Judy Chronicles!"

This blog is up and running. We invite your participation. As our journey unfolds we will be adding daily/weekly blogs. We promise not to overpower anyone...just keep you all informed so that you will know what we are doing, where we are going and how you can pray for us.

If you want to contact either Judy or myself you can do so at these email addresses:
Graydon at graydon.jessup@gmail.com
Judy at judy_jessup@yahoo.com

Remember that "underscore" for Judy!

Our final weekend at Eastside Christian Church will be September 27/28, 2008. We will keep you posted how events transpire. Thanks for your support, your prayers and your love.

Graydon and Judy for the Graydon and Judy Chronicles