SEADRIFT — Betty Wolf Keil, 71, passed away on Thursday, January 21, 2021 in Houston, Texas at Hermann Memorial Hospital. She was born on June 20, 1949 in Jacksonville, Texas to the late Delvin and Clara Wolf.

Betty was a loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great grandmother. She loved being on the water and fishing.

She is survived by her husband Dennis Keil; children, Christie Dowden and husband Derrick, Darrel Keil and wife Annie and Yvonne Bowman; sister, Joyce Wolf Booth; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Thoughts and memories may be shared online at www.gracefuneralhome.net.
Arrangements and services under the personal care of Grace Funeral Homes & Cemeteries.

In many parts of the country February is one of the coldest months of the year, not something you usually have to put too much thought into on the Gulf Coast, but for most February is the cold, snowy slog before Spring finally shows up in late March, although in the Midwest in was always a bit later as there have been days I’ve seen eight inches of snow appear on the first day of ‘Spring.’

Of course, before that in the United States, we get Daylight Savings Time in the middle of next month, the extension of daylight a good omen of what is to come in the coming weeks.

Alas, it is not March yet, not even close, so I may be a bit premature, however, after a Winter that was cold for me personally regardless of the temperature outside it makes a welcome daydream to think there are days ahead where the sun heats the earth to a tolerable level and life is renewed once again in the endless circle it travels.

Maybe there is something to be learned from the dark, from the cold, but I’m not sure, mostly as the lessons they teach are as cold as a February wind; they are not the kinds of lessons one would want to undertake, needed at times perhaps or things that cannot be avoided at others but never anyone’s first choice to be sure.

I suppose then when you have walked in the coldest of air possible (although it’s never a good idea to tempt fate with such a declaration), it’s only natural to want to escape that harsh environment and head to a better one, a warmer one, one that does not freeze your bones and make you scamper to hide under shelter.

My ‘cold’ came in droves, like a February blizzard, stacking up against the sides of various internal structures, the howling wind making both drifts of snow almost impossible to climb as well as patches of the ground devoid of even one flake of snow, such are the marvels of nature and life as well.

I suppose the struggle has become so consuming that I had no choice but to express it here in some way and indeed, this is not the first time this space has been filled by an article penned by me where I long for the warmth of Spring, long for the cold to fade the shivering to stop.

I suppose I am already there because the Winter has been quite cruel as was 2020 as a year.

The world cries with me as it was equally stricken by the past three-hundred and sixty-five days that really start in February or March, I am not alone in losing a life, losing my place, and in terms of people losing my own father as well, but I always found the phrase ‘misery loves company’ to be a tired and worn phrase in certain situations.

The next time I will be writing it will indeed be March, it will be close to Spring, and daylight savings may have even started. Hopefully, it can do its job and warm things up…I am starting to feel a bit of numbness in my toes.

Maybe because it is the Valentine season, our hearts turn to red hearts, candy, and flowers for the one of greatest affection. Often what follows is something that can truly be an expression of unselfishness, but too often our total effort at loving is getting what we want — I call that lust, not love! As a pastor, I will hear stories of “him doing all the right things, but leaves me feeling empty!” I will hear about “she was super sweet, but paper thin!”

There is much that all of us can learn about love – and I am still learning! Jesus said that there were two great commandments and both of them had to do with love – love God and love each other. Allow me to briefly approach both.

“Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Notice the number of times “your” and “all” are used? Love is always a very personal thing. It has to become our mission.

The word “all” is far more difficult. Can one love with some of our heart, or most of our heart? Are not our heart, soul, mind, and strength often divided and spent on man things? He knows that when we love Him completely with our affections, our intellect, and inmost being, and with our efforts we find true fulfillment! When we give Him anything less, we are probably only trying to see how much we can get from God, which is lust, and not how much we can give Him!

Once we see how dearly God loves us, then we respond to God’s love – not because He has ordered it, but because His love for us has been demonstrated and thereby evokes from us the strongest passions. Then we will begin to move toward fulfilling what He asks – to truly love Him with our “all”!

“The second commandment is that: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” In effect, Jesus gives us a picture of the cross. The vertical relationship is to love God; the horizontal crossbeam in life is to love others. When we see Jesus’ outstretched arms on the cross, we understand how much He loves us personally.

This second greatest commandment assumes we love ourselves – we can not love another better than we love ourselves. For years I have said to the youth of this community, “He/She who beds you before he’she weds you abuses you!” So many people are proving how little they think of themselves by how loosely they act sexually! Jesus plainly tells us that we will never love others better than we love ourselves, that if we have poor self-love, then that poverty of spirit will impact how we relate to others. This does not mean we have permission to become narcissists or ego-centered, but will possess a healthy self-image!

Most people I see fail to love themselves. Self-love becomes the minimal and threshold standard for loving others as compared to the higher standard of loving others as Christ has loved us.

Look at how Jesus loved. Look at how Jesus talked kindly, lovingly, and encouragingly to people. The only ones He had harsh words for were the religious hypocrites. The words Jesus speaks to us are spirit and life. That is also how we must love others. I trust we are examining our words to insure they are words that bring others encouragement, hope, and good cheer.

Jesus loves us with actions, always acting to help others. In His own words, Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Do we help to heal the wounds in others? Do we serve the needy? Do others say of us, “You have a helping hand”?

But, Jesus goes far beyond loving with words and actions. He actually lays down His life for us. For whom are we actually dying for? It must not be a physical death, it could involve subordinating or relinquishing our own desires to serve another,

Loving God begins with truly loving ourselves enough to relinquish our goals for His, which we know are far better! Loving others must always begin with loving ourselves enough to retain control to keep the predators away, long enough tor us to find those who have our best interests in their hearts.
Love God and love others and everyday can be a Valentine’s Day!

All “A” Honor Roll

1st Grade:   Mia Blanco; Payton Irvin; Kolton Kendrick; Luna Lopez

2nd Grade: Amara Brown; Brynlen Eure; Helios Ochoa; Jameson Washburn

3rd Grade:  Ana Brown; Kolt Leiker; Isaiah Ochoa; Reid Thomas

4th Grade:  Clara Stryker

5th Grade:  Abygail Gonzales; Audrey Rhoads
“A & B” Honor Roll

1st Grade:  Cora Haschke; Tegan Osborn

2nd Grade: Paxon Crone; Aliza Dean; Grant Gregory;  Charlie O’Shields; Torunn Short

3rd Grade:  Camren Hime

4th Grade:   Marcos Blanco; Madden Guevara; Riley Pagel

5th Grade:     Laela Aranda; Saige Carter; Bradley Eure; Remington Eure; Pryncess Few; Christian Gutierrez

All “A” Honor Roll
First Grade:      Huntley Galloway, Zavien Garcia, Crystalline Garner,  Rylee Vanwinkle
Second Grade:   Janesa Banda, Brooke Franklin, Kole Goode,  Adalyn Heath, Korben Rasmussen
Third Grade:      Sophia Castro, Flynn Franck, Alie Villareal
Fourth Grade:      Phoenix Gordillo, Emalyna Pedrotti, Payten Rivera, Tyler Saylors
Fifth Grade:     Brennan Gregory, Lathan Griggs, Ava Salazar,   Karley Sexton Mohon, Kiley Sexton Mohon.
Sixth Grade:     Clay Brumfield, Aspen Crittenden, Nicholas Ragusin,  Gavin Reyes, Ashton Sternadel
Seventh Grade:     Baylee Bates, Dean Gordillo, Kylee Gray, Caitlyn Griggs, Zoey Henning, Jaxson Key
Eighth Grade:      McKenna Boedeker, Maci Bryan, Briley Christensen,  Brilee Crittenden, Braylyn Galloway, Natalie Hunt,  Rylie Ragusin,  Trevon Ragusin
“A and B” Honor Roll

First Grade:      Fabian Adame, Violet Henson, Maisyn Hernandez, Paisley Pendergrass, Peighton Saylors, Jaxon Treumer, Alice Wooldridge

Second Grade:     Naomi Aguilar, Yarexzia Anzaldua, Landyn Banda,  Keeley Brumfield, Jovian Elsbury, Dakoda Fowler, Brenleigh Green, Haley Hall, Sophia Huerta, Andrea Jaramillo Vazquez, Davian Martinez,
Dominic Rendon, Lucas Resendez Montalvo,  Avalynne Sternadel, Brady Treumer, Izaiah Velazquez             Kambrie Watkins

Third Grade:     Jennifer Barcenas, Daniel Bernal, Graysen Bernal,  Jacob Boots, Paige Davenport, Zane Eastlick, John Glover, Ryan Gohlke, Gilliana Gonzalez, Symone Smith, Memphis Speer

Fourth Grade:      Jaidyn Banda, Isaiah Flint, Dalton Fowler, Brooke Morales, Emma Quintanilla, Aiden Robbins, Brooklyn Russell, Audrey Scroggins, Victoria Spencer,  Asher Wnuck
Fifth Grade:     Jeffrey Allred, Journee Boots, Gaige Cady, Nikolas Clayton, Wyatt Eastlick, Preslei Haden,
Olivia Hunt, Riley Saylors, Kailey Treumer, Mallory Vannoy, Luis Zarate

Sixth Grade:      Marisol Banda, Jai’Lynn Boots, Kayden Garza,  Keegan Goode, Jesus Jaramillo Vazquez,
Gunner Martinez, Hailie Paulton, Zea Quintanilla, Cash Shirhall, Amaya Stringo

Seventh Grade:      Sarah Armbruster, Kingston Cady, Jada Dean,  Angel Galeana, Kyndall Gray, Yuliana Hernandez, Dayz Hinds, Logyn Middaugh, Matthew Morgan, Abigail Sanders

Eighth Grade:      Jasmin Banda, Dwight Beaver, Stephen Bowman, Layton Davenport, Justice Epley, Fischer Franck,  Phong Hoang, Jesus Huerta, Draven Maldonado,  Nevaeh Rangel, Keegan Short