Tribute to Nana

Tribute To My Nana

Ann Tappan, who myself and my brothers affectionately called Nana, recently passed away.  She was my mom’s mom, my grandmother.  Bethany and I flew back to NH to support the family during her passing and to reflect on her life.  It was a moving funeral in which Bethany beautifully sang “I Will Rise” by Chris Tomlin.  The service was encouraging because during the music, sharing and afterwards God strongly spoke to my heart that He had saved my Nana and she was home with Him.  What more could you ask for in a funeral?  The bridge of this song is a picture of the believer coming home to heaven to meet Jesus Christ in His glory.  Bethany sang:

I hear the voice of many angels sing, “Worthy is the Lamb”.  I hear the cry of every longing heart, “Worthy is the Lamb!”

I knew in this moment that Jesus Christ was the one who had brought her home.  Christ paid the blood sacrifice for my Nana’s sins on the cross and my Nana had entrusted her life to him.  Jesus Christ snatched her up and changed her forever. 

Nana’s love for Jesus was evident in how she lived.  She is one of those people who loved us so fiercely in our childhood that I know it changed us.  She showed us a deep picture of her love for us flowing out of Christ’s love for her.  Sometimes you don’t stop and realize how dearly someone loves you until they are gone.    

After the service we formed a greeting line for friends and family to come offer their condolences to us as the remainder of her family.  This greeting line served to be a thread of stories about God’s grace and work in my Nana’s life.  What a blessing to hear more about God’s miraculous and saving work in her life from those lives she touched! 

I did not get to say goodbye to my Nana but a friend of hers shared with me in the greeting line how he had been with Nana in some of her last few moments.  Nana had asked to read Psalm 23 with him and he described to me how she read the last line with confidence and tears in her eyes, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”  

My Nana was able to say those words with confidence because she knew God’s goodness and love all the days of her life.  She knew her only chance of being brought home to heaven was Jesus Christ’s atoning work on the cross for her sin.  You had a beautiful life, Nana and I know you wanted to go home to Jesus.  I look forward to singing “Worthy Is the Lamb” with you someday in the presence of the Lamb who has saved us.  To Him be the glory for your beautiful life!  

Fun with Friends in February

When Eric and I count our blessings, high on the list are the relationships that we have with friends and family near and far.   Although we wish we could live in close proximity to everyone that we love, God has currently placed us in Tucson, AZ and given us many couples to grow and build with, all of whom have become very dear to us.  On a weekly basis we meet with friends at care group to share our hearts and give counsel to each other but we also have made many memories with these friends through hiking, celebrating their children, attending conferences together and fellowshipping over meals and shared interests. 

Two of the highlights of the month of February include time spent with some of our beloved friends here in Tucson.  The weekend after Valentine’s Day we traveled to Phoenix with Geoffrey and Heather to hear Mark Driscoll preach on the subject of marriage.  Between Friday evening and Saturday morning we heard 4 teachings that gave us wisdom and insight on how to make our marriages even better and more honoring to God.  If you have a chance to attend one of his conferences in your area, it is well worth the time and money spent.  We also enjoyed our time hanging out with Geoffrey and Heather and sharing those two days of learning together.  

One particular highlight of the conference for me was Driscoll’s sensitivity to the Spirit which led him to preach the Gospel and invite anyone down on stage with him who was ready to give their lives to Christ.  A handful of men walked down the aisles and stood with him on the stage as we all clapped and welcomed them to the family of God!  Only God could do such a work of humbling anyone to the point of walking down an aisle in front of a thousand people they don’t know so they can stand on stage and admit they are a sinner who needs Jesus Christ.  Praise Jesus! 

This past weekend we enjoyed another outing with Justin and Kerrie and Kyle and Kelsey when Major League Soccer came to Tucson to play a tournament.  I got Eric tickets for Valentine’s Day and the tickets included seeing two games.  Eric, Kerrie and Kelsey are all soccer players so they were able to appreciate the skill demonstrated in front of us and I had a great time sitting outside watching a live sporting event with friends.  

 The first game was the L.A. Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake and if you are like me and are totally ignorant about soccer, Landon Donovan and David Beckham play for the Galaxy which is kind of a big deal.  We didn’t get to see Donovan play but Beckham played the second half of the game and everyone cheered when he went on the field.  The second game was the New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bull and of course Eric and I were somewhat vested in this game hoping for some revenge after the tragic outcome of the Super Bowl.  We were very pleased when the Revolution scored two goals and kept the Red Bulls from scoring at all!  It was a great night to enjoy our friendships and some great soccer!   

We praise God for His continued faithfulness to us and want to highlight these moments as ways that He demonstrates His love and goodness to us.  Although we daily fail to perfectly live out His commands, He pours out blessings on us anyway including the blessing of friendship.  We also praise Him for the friendship that He has given us in each other.  Through the encouragement of Mark Driscoll, we are seeking new ways to be thoughtful good friends to each other and have already enjoyed the fruit of that pursuit.

We also praise and thank God because on March 1st Eric passed his A+ certification exams and received a raise at work for being certified!    

We do ask for your continued prayers in the upcoming month of March as you think of us.  On March 7^th we will meet with the male fertility doctor to get more insight into our infertility.  Please pray for our hearts to rest in God’s love and faithfulness as we continue to wait for our family to grow.  We also still have a car with a check engine light that is always on and we hope by the end of March to be able to tell you that it is fixed and it was cheap! 

We would love to hear stories of how God has been faithful to you because that encourages our faith.  Drop us a note in the comments or send us an email!

A Time of Testing

I’ve never met anyone who enjoys having their faith tested in the time of tribulation and us Tucson Reinholds can be counted among those who would tend to pick a smooth and easy ride over a trial. Trials, however, come to us anyway and as James says, they produce steadfastness in us. Our 2012 has started off with trials large and small and as God tests our faith in Him, He has proven to be trustworthy and good to us while we face the weighty circumstances of our lives.

It feels like our trials started even before Christmas when Eric came down with a fever that lasted for 3 weeks and then turned into a cold. At the same time, my car failed emissions inspection and needed $1500 to be deemed road-worthy by the state. Despite its 4 visits to various mechanics, the check engine light continues to come on, even though it thankfully stayed off long enough to finally pass emissions. As for Eric’s fever, it is gone now but as he was getting ready to meet me in New Hampshire, he broke out in a rash from head to toe during his flight. He stayed in a hotel by himself that night because he was too sick to travel. Through the many prayers of our friends, he woke up completely clear of the rash and fever free and we give all the credit to God for healing Him. That small test of our faith produced steadfastness to keep trusting Him for the next trials.


One of the blessings of our trip home for Christmas was that I was able to visit with my Memom Kemp (maternal grandmother) who had been in and out of the hospital with COPD for a year. Her kidneys also had failed due to an aneurism surgery in April that put a lot of stress on her body. I was able to visit with her for a morning while I was home and am thankful to have had that time with her. On Thursday morning, January 19th, I got the call that she had passed away and went to be with Jesus. Just two weeks after returning to Tucson, I boarded another plane and headed back to western NY to celebrate her life with my family and share music at her memorial service. God was faithful to provide a cheap last minute plane ticket for me and I am certainly thankful that I was able to be there with the rest of my family.


Just one day before my Memom passed away we entered into what will probably be one of the longer times of testing we have experienced in married life. We began the fertility testing process which starts with an analysis of Eric. The results certainly explain why we have had trouble getting pregnant but we are still discouraged to find out that all of his numbers are very low. He will see a urologist in March to determine if anything can be done to improve his numbers. Although one of our questions has been answered, a whole new set of questions has been raised.


Despite Eric’s illness, my broken car, the death of my grandmother and the sobering news that it will be difficult for us to get pregnant, God has asked us to continue to trust His goodness and loving kindness towards us. We have raised many Ebenezer’s in our lives to remind us that He has never left our side and promises never to do so. We know that He is the great reverser of circumstances and that just as He healed Eric overnight of his rash and fever, He can also cause us to be pregnant no matter what kinds of numbers come back from the lab. We also know, however, that as much as He loves to give us good gifts, He also wants to produce steadfastness in our faith. We believe each of these circumstances has been masterfully created by His hand to sanctify us and ultimately draw us into a closer love relationship with Jesus Christ.


We are excited to share what God does with us and for us this year and also ask for your prayers. We would love for you to pray for us to have a baby, but we also ask that you pray for patience and wisdom as we wait and make decisions. We will keep you posted as God continues to work in our lives. May all the glory belong to Him!