By the Staff & Readers of ninetyandnine.com

December 18, 2006

 
 
Worst Memory--Baltic States Division
My “Worst Memory of 2006” has to have happened on May 10. One day after my birthday, I slipped and fell down a ramp near a street in Riga, Latvia. I lay flat on my back on the sidewalk, dazed from the impact, while strangers babbled around me in Russian and Latvian. A lovely man tried to pick me up by my armpits, but that was so not happening as my ankle was severely broken. Thankfully, my husband appeared just in time to save me from my humiliating scene.

Best Memory—Perfect Medicine Division

Upon review, my “Best Memory of 2006” is a montage of pictures in my head of the many, many times my kids and I have been rendered helpless with laughter at something my husband has said. We have faced many unique challenges this year and Bob has a way of saying the perfect thing to diffuse the moment. Laughter truly is good medicine.

Ellie Neumann would rather laugh with her kids than clean with them.

 

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Best of Fires, Worst of Fires

My worst memory of 2006 is the pre-dawn phone call with the grim news that our church was burning to the ground, and then later walking around the smoldering rubble as the last fire truck pulled away.  My best memory is every Sunday in an elementary school gym where a triumphant congregation of believers worship and praise their way through every service.   Week after week God continues to pour out blessings of miracles, deliverance, and salvation!

Brenda Myers is the busy wife of one remarkable husband, mother of two active pre-schoolers and sympathetic listener/counselor to employees of a doughnut company in the Carolinas.

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Best Memory--Non-Homeowner Division
 

My highlight of 2006 was signing the papers to our first house. Most of the houses we could afford were in major need of repair. I feel God opened the door for us to get this house that was everything we were looking for and fit our budget.

 

Cara Davis is contributor to ninetyandnine.com and lives in Orlando, FL, with her husband, Jeff.

 

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Best Memory—Pastoral Education Division
 

My best memory from 2006 was a week-long course taught by Cindy Miller at Urshan Graduate School.  The “Grief and Trauma Counseling” class and the resulting change in my life will be a sacred memory of mine for years to come.

 

Curtis Fee is the pastor of New Life Church in Davenport, Iowa, the husband of one and the father of three.

 

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Memories to Remember and Forget
 

My Best Memory would have to be of an impromptu worship service in Miletus, Turkey. The diversity (in every sense of the word) of the body was totally unified with Christ as the head. It made me realize what the church could/should be and this, in turn, gave shape to what I want to strive for in life. 

 

My Worst Memory was finding out that someone (a friend) with a very specific call on his/her life has given up the fight and succumbed to the ephemeral pleasures of this world. It grieves me to this day.

 

Marjorie Truman, a recent grad from Urshan Graduate School of Theology, loves great books, good times, and gutsy conversation.

 

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Best and Worst (kind of) Memories of 2006. Okay, It Was a Worst
 

One of my favorite memories of 2006 would be capturing on video a lady receiving the Holy Ghost at the North American Ladies Conference in August, and then getting to post her acknowledgement of her blessing on Collideoscope.

 

My Worst Memory of 2006 was when my Mom had to have two surgeries within eight weeks.  I felt so helpless!  In a drama queen moment, I realized how lonely I would be if she were to die.  I guess that would be considered a good memory too, in a weird way, because I never want to take our relationship for granted again. 

 

Liz Fierge is often called “Mrs. Fridge” by well-meaning telemarketers.

 

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Memories 2006: Show Me Some Money! (Please?)
 

I know it’s poor form to discuss money, but my Worst Memories in 2006 center around an avalanche of unexpected and unpreventable expenses that started with our van engine seizing up one fine January day, then continued apace through May before taking the Summer off before returning for some late autumn lightning strikes (figuratively). God has been both silent and kind at different points, but I’m anxious for a new fiscal year!

 

2006 revealed a number of Best memories via ministry (90&9 hit some readership numbers I never thought we’d attain; I found out we had at least one famous reader.) and family (two separate vacations to California, the former featuring a Wide World of Sports-type tumble while snow skiing for the first time, the latter redefining sensory overload with the prodigy).

 

Kent d Curry is an Executive Editor of ninetyandnine.com.

 

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Best Memory—Independence Day Division
 

My favorite memory of 2006 is..... 4th of July by the St Louis Arch. The Arch is my favorite American Landmark, I am just mesmerized by it! It was amazing to spend my first 4th of July in St Louis right under it. The fireworks were beautiful. I will forever remember the great fun I had with my friends that day.

 

Summer Ratcliff works at Reuters America and is an active member of New Life Center in Bridgeton, MO.

 

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Best Memory—Italy is for Lovers Division
 

My Best Memory of 2006 was the romantic ride with my husband in the gondolas as we traveled down the canals in Venice, Italy. The sun was setting, the water was glistening and our gondolier was softly serenading us in Italian. It was just the way I had dreamed of celebrating 10 years of being married happily ever-after.  

 

Kimberly Sciscoe is the wife of Rev. Jason Sciscoe and mother to her little sweetheart, Julianna Cheri.

 

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Memories of 2006—High Highs and Low Lows Division
 

Best Memory: Getting a dozen roses, a box of chocolates, and a balloon delivered to my job on Valentine’s Day by a secret admirer!

 

Worst Memory: A wheelchair-bound and sickly member of the church congregation dying unexpectedly, and my feeling that I didn’t do enough to reach out to her.

 

Chantell Smith is an Elementary and Middle School Spanish teacher in Montgomery, AL.

 

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Best Memories--No Pattern At All Division

For me it was marrying my best friend and a tie between the expectation of twins coming and my beloved Cardinals winning a World Series for the first time since 1982:)

 

LaMont Jones is a soon-to-be proud papa of twins, who each will be first-round picks in the NBA and WNBA so that their parents will never have to work another day in their lives :)

 

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Best & Worst From a Future Lawyer
 

Best memory: one year with my girlfriend, Janna (!) and having Justice Scalia sign my copy of The Federalist Papers.

Worst memory: law school exams

Eric Morley spends his time learning the law and also volunteers on the IQ Forum Planning Committee.

 

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Some Best Memories of 2006
 

• Travel fun with family and friends.
• Taking my quiz teams to the NABQT in Overland Park, Kansas to compete and finding a free night to drive to Omaha, Nebraska for dinner.  As it turned out Omaha was further than I thought, but made for lots of fun at the restaurant and most likely the only time any of us will be in Omaha in our lifetime. 
• Thanksgiving at my house with my parents, brother, aunt from Nashville, and uncle and aunt from Toronto. 
• Fun times in Hot Springs, AR with the Becton family reunion:  Popsy fishing and Momsy at the historic bathhouse were highlights. 
• The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway in NYC with Sharenda and Keisha. 

 

Alicia Becton can’t stop praisin’ His name.

 

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Best & Worst Memories: “They’re Probably Related” Division
 

My best memory of 2006 was the birth of our son, Dawson. What a blessing!

 

The worst thing about 2006 is that it went by so fast! It seems like just yesterday we were talking about “Y2K” and now the decade is more than half over.

David Bunch will spend the last days of 2006 dreaming big about the opportunities of 2007.

 

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Best Memory of 2006

The greatest memory of 2006 has been watching my son transform from an infant to a vocal and mobile toddler.  Being able to walk across the street holding his hand or hear him tell his version of David & Goliath will always be special to me.

Josh Lewis is a proud father and husband. 

 

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Best Memory--Personal Azusa Division
 

Best Memory of 2006: Going to New Brunswick, Canada, and standing on the foundation of the church where my great-grandfather received the Holy Ghost before moving to Detroit and starting a church in Pontiac.  Huge moment for me!

Worst Memory of 2006: Funny, I can’t really remember any!

Sarah Holland is an associate editor for ninetyandnine.com when she’s not writing graduate papers or dealing with ninth graders. 

 

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Worst Memory--Helpless Pawn of Fate Division
 

My Worst Memory of 2006 was waiting outside the room where five professors were deciding the fate of my dissertation defense.

Shirley McDonald is glad to finally be completely and forever finished with academic classes--at least where she is the student!

 
 
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