The Remnants of My Faith

Three years ago today, we gathered at The Hills for her funeral. Three years.... It feels like the time to stop counting it by months. Now its been three years. Three years since the angels swooped down and took our precious Jenny to heaven.

I am thinking it is time for me to start writing some things down. Maybe not for you but for me. I don't know.  The last three years our family has been open about our pain, open about our grief, open about our heartbreak. My comfort level is steady when sharing it eye-to-eye. I can read your eyes to see if you 'get it', if you understand my heart. Yesterday, I felt compelled to attempt to write it - not my comfort zone. I can't see your eyes. Please be gentle with me if you choose to read these words.

In September, 2011, I was driving to west Texas to speak at a Women's Retreat for a precious church in Snyder. As I was nearing Abilene, a patch of land to my right caught my eye. My heart felt like a magnet to this gray dust. It was surrounded by green, but right there in the middle, it looked like a bomb had gone off. There were deep crevices in this patch of earth, no life, just parched dirt. I wanted to turn around and go sit by it for a moment. I wanted to take a picture of it. I wanted to walk on it. But I was almost out of gas and I knew exactly how far it was to the nearest Love's. As soon as I passed it, I called Rick to tell him I had seen a piece of earth that looked exactly like my heart felt. At the Love's, I wrote the following quote:

Death has created for me a spiritual earthquake and left me sifting through the rubble to find the remnants of my faith. 

Oh friends, you've seen it. At least once, you've been watching the news as they reported the fire. There's the family walking through the charred remains of their belongings, looking hard for anything that looks familiar - anything that once was a cherished treasure, absolutely anything that reminds them of their history.

After Jenny died, it felt like a bomb had gone off in my heart, spiritually speaking. It left me searching through the things I choose to believe as Truth, looking for what I could cling to with all my might. (Even as I type these words, I am having to stop so I can clinch my fist to show you how I am clinging. Can you see it?) I was clinging to the pieces of my history that I could dust off and hold.

So that's what I want to share with you for the next season of my life. I want to share some of those remnants. I invite you to join me as I dig through the rubble, to 'dig down deep' (that's what Jesus called it in Luke 6:48). The 'dig' is what empowers us to stand, my friends.

For years I have taught: "You must prepare in the Light for what you will do when darkness comes." I was sharing this recently with a group of close friends when one of them, Connie, handed me an index card: "When you prepare in the Light, you are preparing maybe not for your own dark time, but maybe so you're ready when you encounter someone in darkness. If we don't prepare,who will fight when no one else is strong enough either? Maybe we go through darkness or maybe we run into it to pull someone else out. Being ready isn't expecting darkness to come your way... it's just strong."

Sweet friends, you do not prepare for darkness by obsessing about the darkness. We prepare for darkness by becoming absolutely obsessed with Light. I've heard the story told that at the mint (the place that makes dollar bills) there is a room to teach people how to recognize counterfeit bills. They teach them to notice a fake by giving them time to obsess with the 'real'. Take time, brothers and sisters, take time to allow the eyes of your heart to obsess with the Light.

Over the next season, I want to share some things from my history that are my remnants, my preparation for this dark road. It has been a dark road but there is a Light..., a Light that has caught my eye, a Light that has attracted my heart.

"I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." Isaiah 45:3

No Clue

I've never been a very faithful blogger but last April, I decided to take a very, very long sabbatical. I did not know if I would ever return. My whole life had been ripped and broken - I have continued to journal, but very privately. My own thoughts don't make sense to me a lot of the time. I absolutely have lost my courage to write them for others to view. I can verbalize them face-to-face because then I can tell from my audience's eyes if I am going places too painful for them to bear. I have learned in the last year to 'give myself permission' to go at my own pace and do what I need to do at that moment to quiet my soul.
Well, tonight, I want to write so... I give myself permission to return to my blog. Be easy with me.

We have had 3 snow days in a row. Before last February 22, I would have jokingly said that the Lord gave these three days to me so I could sit in stillness and enjoy His presence. Now I'm not so sure God is as concerned about what conditions extrinsically quiet my heart but He has used these days as a gift for my reflection.

Here we are - February 3, 2011. This date last year, it was a Wednesday, my life was so rich, so sweet, so delightful. I wore a necklace daily that says, 'Blessed'. I didn't wear it that day and haven't worn it since. I will again, but not right now.

On February 3, I had no clue - no clue what was coming. Jenny was sick, so sick. We texted some that day. I tried to call but she texted back to say that talking was too painful. I offered, fairly forcefully, to come get her and take her to the doctor again. She refused because it had only been less than 48 hours since she had been to doctor and was diagnosed with the flu. No clue. I went through a normal day at my office - seeing clients. Miriam Cowles, a wonderful counselor from Carrollton, came over to work with me - it was her first day and she has been coming one day a week for this entire year. (God's timing - I'm positively certain!) No clue. I taught our women's class that night, one of the Names of God - I don't even remember which one. It doesn't matter. No clue. I texted Jenny when I got home from church to see how she was. No response, not that unusual. No clue. Before going to sleep, I checked my phone to make sure it wasn't on silent in case Jenny needed me in the night. I prayed and then slept. No clue.

February 3, 2010, was the last 'normal' day of my life. While this has all shocked us, and totally devastated us, it has not shocked or devastated Him. He saw it coming all along. He knew when He knit me together in my mother's womb that I would bury my first-born. (That doesn't roll off my fingers any easier than it rolls off my tongue. Those words still put me on the floor.) How have I survived the last year? Why am I still breathing?

God has called our family to do hard so we do hard. We continue to beg Him for His Light to shine on our path - it still seems so dark.

But His presence is absolutely thick over us!

Now I wear a necklace with my precious daughter's face. I cannot wait until the day I get to kiss her cheek, inhale her aroma and touch her hands, as she welcomes me into the doors of heaven and introduces me to Jesus.

Tomorrow is coming...

Two Months Ago Today

Who would have thought we would still be breathing without our Jenny? I woke up at 4:30 this morning going over all the events of February 22 - one more time. I have spent the day just trying to finish thank you notes - please know how grateful we have been! The Lord has been pouring His love on us through His people. There have been so many sweet moments. Today, we have received precious messages and even a gorgeous spring bouquet from a family in Houston. Spring is normally my favorite season - I love the newness! This arrangement fills me with hope that I will enjoy vibrant colors again.

I am trying to share some on Wednesday nights. I know it is weird but I feel calmer telling my girlfriends that I am sharing - definitely not teaching. I feel too whipped out to have anything to teach - but I feel a calling on my soul to share. I want to talk about Jenny. I want to talk about God. I want to calm the fear I see in people's eyes that seems to come just from my presence these days. I know they love me and hurt so much to see me wearing such heavy pain. I have to wear it though. It is where I am. I believe - oh, how I believe, that authenticity breeds authenticity. I crave realness! so...

I met with my good friend and colleague, Vicki Straughan, a grief therapist, on Tuesday for about 6 hours. We met at Esperanza's because Joe T's was closed at 2:30. Then about 7, we went across the street to Joe's to finish our 'session'. Rick joined us for the enchiladas. I loved our time together. I love that she let me sort out every detail. I love that she wanted to know. I love that she loves me. Vicki says we are handling everything very well. So this is what it feels like to be doing the grief-walk well?

I have never enjoyed reading Job - who does? But lately I have been going through this book from Eugene Peterson's work, The Message. I want to close with a verse from the end of Job 3:

"The worst of my fears has come true,
what I've dreaded most has happened.
My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed.
No rest for me, ever - death has invaded life."

Yes, death has invaded life but so has the Holy Spirit. He is pouring His peace on me and giving me rest - even as I continue to groan. (For those of you who know I have been unable to do anything but groan in my conversation with the Lord, the last few days - I have been able to use a few words.)

Running with Jenny

The precious Lord has used so many precious friends to bless us and to remind us of His love even in this horrific darkness. Some of these friends have joined us in making Malaya's 10th birthday as special as possible. We will be partying all weekend! We are really missing Jenny as we celebrate Malaya's birth. The family is gathered and one face is definitely missing. Oh how we are missing her laugh and her total delight in her nephews and niece.

Some of Jenny's friends have organized a run/walk to raise money to help David with medical bills. Please go to www.runningwithjenny.com for details. KidStand will perform and their be lots of celebrating going on. Please come! There is also a link on this website for awesome jewelry that has been designed in honor of Jenny.

Thank you, sweet friends!

Malaya's Writing

Several times a week, I have been eating lunch with Malaya. Such a special time for us! I love seeing her face light up when she is either coming down the stairs with her class (or rounding the corner when she asks to ride the elevator) and she sees me. She acts surprised even though she has turned in her menu choice the night before - just plain precious!
Last week, her teacher handed me a paper with a poem that Malaya - 9 years old - wrote. The prompt given was 'If...'; all the other words were from Malaya's precious little heart. Last night my grand-daughter gave me permission to post her poem on my blog.
This Sunday, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, I will be thinking also of the resurrection of our precious Jenny. I can't wait to share her daughter's poem with her!

If Imagination Were Real in Different Ways
By Malaya Bazaillion
If angels and spirits could talk . . .
If Mom were here . . .
If clouds were windows and the sun was the entrance to heaven . . .
If no one could leave this earth . . .
If hearts weren't broken . . .
If there were no color . . .
If there were no sin in the world today . . .
If death were defeated . . .
If heaven was earth . . .
If my heart was still full of pride and not broken . . .
If people could keep promises . . .

Yes, she is 9 but she sure expresses the heart of this 53 year old!

Random Thoughts

The Disney cruise was such a welcome distraction from the heaviness of the last few weeks. I loved our long dinner talks and our excursions! I love the beach - the sand, the sound, the sun.
I am so totally thankful for precious sweet friends who continue to allow the Lord to use them to bless us.

As I reflect over the past several weeks, I recognize that I have felt extremely raw and desperate but never alone. God's presence has been very real and profound. Friends who love Him are consistent reminders.

Unbelievable sadness overwhelmed me when the funeral flowers died and the plants had to be watered. Signs that this is real life for us now.

I have never been more thankful for friends who pray. I cherish the daily reminders I get from people telling me they are lifting our family to the Lord. I keep my Bible by the computer to look up the verses you are sending to me. Some are already written on my heart, sweet reminders; some are new to my heart, sweet teachings.

"On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers." 2 Corinthians 1: 10-11

I love the Lord - I will never serve another.

Walking a Dark Road

Five weeks ago today, it felt like Satan took a baseball bat and knocked my knees out from under me, breaking both. For the next 18 days, I was able to occasionally lift my head only to have him kick hard enough to send me smashing my face into the ground. Then, on February 22, the darkness settled over me and I will never be the same. So many questions are swirling in my gut. Such a feeling of desperation – waking up in the middle of night fighting to breathe, like I am trying to help my precious daughter. Oh how my heart breaks!
Oh I hear the cliques about how happy she is in heaven but I cannot wrap my head around her being happy knowing David and Malaya are without her physical presence. I am writing this strictly to deal with my own journey of grief. I am not seeking advice. I have become quite reclusive except for my family.

There are 2 verses that I am soaking write now:

Isaiah 45: 3 – “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”
This verse does not say that God gives the darkness but the treasures that can be found in it. How I never wanted to enter into this 'secret place' - every parent's nightmare.
While sadness is heavy, weighty, I do not feel alone. I know He is covering me, even though, may be in spite of, His silence. Oh I don’t like His silence!

Romans 15: 13 (Jenny’s favorite verse) - “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I trust in You, Precious Lord, even though I have no clue what You are doing!

El Roi

From Elohim, we learn the reason for our existence and the motivation for obedience. From El Elyon, we learn to abandon our analytical nature and fall on our faces in worship.
Oh, but from El Roi, we learn the protection of being seen/known.

The story God chooses to reveal Himself as El Roi is one of the most difficult stories in the Word. It is a confusing story. It is a name revealed to woman - a woman in intense pain, embarrassment, suffering abuse and abandonment.

Reminder: Isaiah 45: 3 "I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places so that you may KNOW that I am the God of Israel who summons you by name."

In Genesis 12, God promises Abram and Sarai a child. They wait ten years. Sarai gets frustrated in the waiting and decides God must have called her to help Him out. She tells Abram to take Hagar, her Egyptian servant, and sleep with her. Sarai's plan appears to be that Hagar would be the first surrogate mother - and we have no reason to believe that Hagar was ever asked to apply for that role.
Verse 4 tells us that when Hagar's eyes fell to the positive pregnancy test, hatred arose in her heart for Sarai. Sarai got the nod from Abram to do 'whatever she thought best' to Hagar.
The NIV said Sarai 'mistreated' Hagar - enough so that she ran out of town.

Along the way, by the spring in the desert, she met an angel of the Lord who began to ask her questions - questions he already knew the answers to: "where have you come from, and where are you going?"
At that place is where Hagar called the Lord - El Roi, the God Who sees me.

(Doesn't that remind you of another woman by a well?)

Implications:
*We can know that He "gets us". He knows more about what has happened to us than we have a clue. He knows more about what we have done than we have a clue.
*We know that He can fill the crevices of our heart with Himself.
*We can tattle to Him about our pain and know He sees it all!

El Elyon

God as our Elohim, our Strong Creator, the Source of everything! His instructions for life matter!

I received an electric frying pan as a wedding gift - oh my, 33 years ago. If you were around in the 70's, you remember that harvest gold color every kitchen boasted. That skillet has long been gone - but only after frying up approximately 1,969,234 chicken strips. My family loves chicken strips! After a few years of once-a-week chicken-frying, that skillet had this film on the outside I could not scrub off - no matter how much elbow grease I invested. I desperately wanted to soak that baby in Comet (remember that stuff?) - but there were 3 words on the bottom that prohibited me from that move - boy, did that take self-control. The words: Do Not Immerse were embossed on the underside of my favorite appliance. What?!?! It would look so much better - at least, I know it would make me feel so much better. I had a choice to make. I could soak it, feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment, and never use it to fry those slim strips again. Or I could follow the instructions and continue to use it to delight my family; I could continue to use to do what it was made to do.

That's how it is with God! His instructions for us empower us to do what we were made to do. His instructions for the way to do life free us to worship Him! El Elyon, the Most High God -- the King of kings, the Lord of Lords. The most superlative! He reveals Himself as the Owner, the Possessor of heaven and earth.

El Elyon is the name Satan lusts after.

El Elyon will do whatever it takes in the lives of His creation to humble us and bend our knee to His throne. (read Daniel 4: 34-37)

It is totally impossible to comprehend El Elyon and not worship Him!
I am at a season of life when my best times of worship are when I am totally alone because I have to focus on not distracting other people through my freedom and celebration. It hit me in the 90's while watching my sons play football. I could act like a total maniac because a ball crossed a line in the grass but not on Sundays because my Savior died while hanging on wood - that the tomb they buried Him in is empty! What??? Desire to celebrate - oh my! We have to celebrate!

Wednesday night in class we brainstormed some of the worship language used in the Word: dancing, lifting hands, clapping, bowing, standing, falling on your face, shouting.

I know our hearts can fully worship in total silence, but I sure desire to celebrate everyday in reckless abandonment, to proclaim that I serve El Elyon, the Most High!

May the stones never cry out! (Luke 19: 37-40)
May we bring to Him a "sacrifice of praise"! (Hebrews 13:15)

Someday, when I see Him face to face and know Him as I am known, I will worship in community with other 'crazy mamas'! Can't wait!

Elohim

I love our Wednesday night community of women - we gather to share in relationship with one another, to lift each other in prayer, and to open God's Word and find some passages to marinate through our souls. I have spent three weeks introducing the study I began in 1994 to "find out what pleases the Lord". I desperately want to know Him. I want to "seek Him with all my heart." God set out through the beginning of time to invite us into His heart by introducing Himself.

Genesis 1:1 -- "In the beginning God..." Elohim, the Strong Creator, the source of everything!
In creation, when God spoke, things happened! The key words in the creation story are: God spoke, 'Let...' and 'it was good.'
In Genesis 1, Elohim is used 32 times in reference to the King of my life. Elohim is a plural noun used with a singular verb - oh so interesting!

In Genesis 1: 26 -- "Then God said, Let us make man in our image..."
What are the implications when He says He made us in His image?

A few weeks ago, I had the blessing of going to Memphis where my son and his precious family live. Memphis is one of my favorite places on earth because it is home to Truitt and Noah. Noah is our brand new addition! He is our first grandchild that is a twinkie to one of our own. He looks exactly like Josh, his daddy. Looking into his eyes one night as I was babysitting and feeding him a bottle took me back in time and filled my heart with sweet remembrances. I felt this swell of love for him - he looked like 'us'. Don't you know that is how God feels when He sees us reflect His family well - when we reveal His heart to the hurting, when we love another well. I wonder if He gets that fatherly smile on His precious face and brags to the Son and Spirit: "Look what we made in our image!"


We look most like Him when we have the heart to do what He made us to be:

*He wired us for community. God was the originator of the 'team' concept.

*He made us to react quickly when stressed, but He never planned on us living in stress.
Serotonin (the 'peace' hormone) and cortisol (the stress hormone) rival for the same receptors in the brain. When both are elevated, cortisol wins every time because your body responds quickly to protect your life. Today, way too many of us are oozing cortisol - not a healthy way to do life, not the way we are made!

*Elohim wired us for monogamy - one woman, one man forever! I LOVE my job! Current research, not Christian research, validates that this principle leads to much better health in every arena of life!

*God made you to love well! Oxytocin, the 'cuddle' hormone, is what encourages healthy attachment with others. While, oxytocin floods our systems at childbirth, breastfeeding, orgasms, it is also surging through sweet encounters with your partners, children, and friends.

*Our Strong Creator made us to worship Him!

Psalm 46: 10 "Be still and know that I am God (the Strong Creator)."

Isaiah 43: 7 tells us why we were created: "everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

We were created to bring our Elohim glory - to make Him look really, really good! We were created to spotlight Him well!

Quotes from Class #3

Isn't it just the sweetest thing ever that God gives us a whole book filled with His own story told through the lives of broken people so we can know Him and learn to trust Him!?!?

We will glorify Him and enjoy Him in direct proportion to how much we know Him.

We are not going to trust someone we don't know.
We are not going to sell-out to someone we don't know.
We are not going to obey someone we don't know.

The more estranged our relationship with God, the greater our emotional expectations of people. The greater our emotional expectations of people, the more difficult life is; the greater emotional pain we live in, the more difficult we are to live with. (by Rod Pruitt)

May we enter into relationship - a deep and delightful relationship - with the God Who calls our name!

A Few Thoughts from Class Tonight

A.W. Tozer said that “the most important thing about us is what we believe about God.” Amen and amen!

Two scriptures that have proven to be great meditation points for me are Jeremiah 29: 12-13 and Isaiah 30: 15-16, 18, 20-21.

Jeremiah 29 reads:
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

What phrases stand out to you? Where draws the eye of your heart in for a second glance?

“I will listen to you.”
“You will seek me”
“All your heart”
“I will be found”
“Back from captivity”

Don’t you desperately want to dance in freedom…
Through knowing that He hears you?
Through knowing that He passionately wants you to find Him?
Through seeking Him with every inch of your heart?
Through chains being released?

What do we need to pray for the Lord to prune away from us so that we seek Him with all of our energy and strength, focus and purpose?
It doesn’t have to be sin that needs to be stripped. It can be the things that the Lord gave us for good that has become too prominent, too important in our hearts.

Isaiah 30 reads:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
You said, “No, we will flee on horses. Therefore you will flee!
You said, “We will ride off on swift horses.” Therefore your pursuers will be swift!...

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!...

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Let some of those phrases soak in your meditation pool for a bit!

What are the “horses” of today? Could it be they represent anything that gives us perceived power?

Falling in love is only sweet and enjoyed – delightful – when relationship is maintained!

Tozer: The most important thing about us is what we believe about God.

God wants us to know Him and He reveals Himself through giving His people different glimpses into what they could call Him – His names.

Draw us in, precious Lord, to Your heart! May we know You and love You more through the study of Your living breathing Word!

Seeking Him with All My Heart

Sometime during the first session of marriage counseling, I like to ask the couple to share in telling me how they met, then how they fell in love – that first ‘ahah’ moment when you just know there is something jsut really special about another.

I love this question but most of all I love how it transforms faces and hearts. I don’t get to work with marriages when things are going well but more likely when stress and tension are being experienced by one or both people.
Giving voice to our histories helps us relive them. To recall the sweetness of our history empowers us to claim it in our present.

Another question I love asking: Exactly how did you meet the Lord; how did you fall head over heals in love with Him? Oh to relish in the sweetness of those memories! To claim them in my present!

In my own life, I cannot remember a day that I have not known the Him. My parents taught me all about Him!
But, oh how I remember the season I fell in love with Him!

It was 1994-1995 – my precious friend, Sharmon Ramsey, had just died from a massive brain aneurysm. I knew there had to be more to life – more to life with Jesus – than I had been experiencing. I began to cry out to the Lord to teach me, to show me, how to know Him more, how to love Him more, how to want Him more.

That is when I found the words in Jeremiah 29: 12-14:

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

Those words continue to be my heartcry: Teach me, Father, what it means to seek You with all my heart. I want to continue to find more and more of You. Thank You, Precious Lord, for releasing me from the enemy’s captivity. May I dance in the freedom of Your love and grace and mercy as long as my feet walk on dirt!

Weekly, on Wednesday nights, I will be sharing thoughts from the personal journey that I went through in 1994-1995 – the study that led me to fall totally and delightfully in love with the Love of my life! It is a study of the ‘names’ of God.

If I handed you a piece of paper today and ask you to write out how you met Him, how you fell in love, some of you could fill the page with details. Some would have blank pages. Oh, sweet friends, don’t let your page set blank. Let’s fall deeply, head-over-hills in love with the Creator of our souls! If your page is full, I am praying right now that you will recognize ways to share your story in the days to come!

To His Name be ALL praise and glory!

First Day of My "Days of Sacrifice"

Ok, Ok - I know I haven't written in forever. No one is probably reading this site anymore but today I am writing down a few thoughts to help me think! In 2003, I practiced Lent for the very first time and I will never not do it again (is that enough negatives for you?). I LOVE Easter! I love that the tomb is empty! I love preparing for the celebration of it. I like sacrificing something for this season that will draw my mind into His presence a bit more than normal. This year, I am focusing not only the gospel story, but I am reading Philippians 2: 5-11 many times a day. I can't quote it - I am sad about that. I want to write those words on my heart. I am begging the Lord to remover my prideful off-shoots. I am begging Him to prune me softer than I pruned my rosebushes last week but also more thoroughly. Is it possible for a pruning to be soft and thorough? Ok - I chose thorough - I want to choose thorough - I pray I will want to choose thorough. Do you hear my wrestle?

This is it - on my way to Israel

Tomorrow we leave for (drum roll, please) Israel! I can't believe it! Robert and Sue Isham have given us this unbelievable gift! We are packed with camera batteries charging! I am taking my video camera too - the one reserved for capturing grandchildren moments. I want our special ones to feel like they are with me.
Please pray for my mom while I am gone. I know she will be lonely. If you are from Decatur, please call her or stop in for a visit while I am gone. I would really appreciate it!
Please join us in praying that the Lord will give us photographic memories for the next 11 days.
We are excited to make new friends and to get to know the six special buddies travelling with us even better.
He reigns!

Extreme Makeover: Girls' Edition

I can't believe it has been over a month since I have written! What about my new commitment to write more??? Oh, well --
ACU went well - not enough time - but a blast to share for an hour and then spend a whole lot of time seeing sweet friends and hanging with my fam!

I did a ladies' day for King's Crossing Church in Corpus Christi - I LOVED it! I met some precious people and made so many new friends! I spent the night with Brenda Goforth and got to hang out with Janet Griffith - what a blessed woman I am!

Jenny, Malaya, and Rick went with me to the State Fair! What a total blast! It was on October 13 and I still feel full! I loved the friend avocado chunks and the chicken-fried bacon! Of course we had our traditional tator tornadoes, corn dogs, and Tom's lemonade! YUM! YUM!

Sunday, before the Natalie Grant concert (which was totally awesome), Wise Choices Pregnancy Resource Center held an event for young women, ages 12-14. Jeffrey Dean spoke on sexual purity! He did a terrific job! I was super proud to get to M.C. the event!

(Drum roll please!) Saturday - I cleaned out my closet!!!!! I can actually now walk in my walk-in closet! It feels great! Now if I can just decide what to do with all my 'stuff'! There is definitely a spiritual implication there. I have spent the last year looking for ways to simplify life so I can focus more clearly on glorifying the Lord. The more clutter I get rid of - the more clutter I see. Hmmmmm!

ACU Summit

This has been a super exciting month! After the big San Antonio celebration, I headed to Casper, Wyoming to be with a precious group of believers. I was actually in Wyoming approximately 24 hours but made some amazing new friends! The scenery was amazing but the hearts of those women were even more beautiful. I loved my time there! What an encouragement to my heart!

Then the next weekend, Rick and I drove to Memphis to see Josh and Kayci's new place. I loved being there with them! I loved celebrating Josh's 28th birthday! One precious sister made a delicious breakfast casserole for us! What a sweet idea and blessing! Then, as we were leaving town, we ate lunch with the Alexanders, one of the shepherds at Sycamore View - wish we had more time with them! It was great to meet some Memphis folks!
Kayci and I shopped while Josh and Rick golfed! Truitt was a fabulous shopper but I know he can't wait to go golf with the guys. We went that night to eat at Rendevous - great place for ribs. We walked around downtown - stopping to eat in the Peabody Hotel and then to eat delicious cheesecake! I LOVE downtown Memphis!

Ike was hitting Houston while we were in Memphis so when we got home, Jonathan, Jennifer, Jed, and Jocelyn were at our house - our precious 'evacuees'. On Sunday Michael joined us, then came some of their other friends - the Millers. We had such a great week - such a sweet serendipity out of the tragedy of Ike. (Jonathan and Michael left Thursday to go check out the damage in Houston. Jenn and the kids left just after noon today to head to Odessa for a couple of days.)

Kayci and Truitt flew in yesterday to ride to Abilene with us tomorrow. I am speaking on Monday morning and Kayci is speaking on Wednesday morning.
I have studied so hard for this presentation - how we as communities of faith can better protect and nurture the marriages in our churches. We have to let Jesus make more of difference in our marriages because He lives in our hearts! Please pray that I am able to articulate these thoughts well.

Girls' Trip to San Antonio

There were five (four adults and one very small baby) of us that converged on San Antonio, Texas, last Thursday to celebrate Jenny's 30th birthday. We had a total blast doing 'girl' things like eating and eating and eating, spending hours just sitting around talking after each meal, long naps, late movies, eating tons of chocolate!, sharing stories and dreams, encouraging each other in faith, and bonding in Jesus. We loved celebrating Jenny! We did only her favorite things! Jenny, Jessie, and I stopped at a fabulous chocolate store in Hico to buy a healing treat (chocolate bandaids) for our stressed out Jennifer. Jen was trying to leave Houston when she discovered that she had lost her wallet. BooHoo! A little chocolate helps any girlfriend feel better! (She did find her wallet within hours after she got home.)
Jocelyn seemed to thoroughly enjoy her first 'girl trip'! She never hurt for attention.

We were all there to meet her every need. She is a fabulous baby!

First night, we ate at Mi Tierra. Before we even ate dinner, we stopped at the bakery for our late night snacks. YUM! Mi Tierra has always been a family favorite for us! We sat on the patio and enjoyed the evening immensely!
This is Friday afternoon - we all layed around eating chocolate. These two slept, while Jen, Jocelyn and I were on the other bed whispering and laughing.
Here we are enjoying our Friday night walk on the River. So fun!

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

Thanks, Jennifer, Jocelyn, and Jessie for joining our celebration!

Our Day at the American Girl Store

Last Friday, to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of third grade, Jenny, Malaya, and I took Nicki (the doll) to the American Girl store at the Galleria. We have wanted to do this all summer. I wished my camera had been on Malaya when we walked in the door.

Her eyes were HUGE - priceless.
Nicki got her hair done. Malaya chose exactly how she wanted it to look - ribbons and all!
Here are the two girls at lunch. You can see Nicki's menu. Aren't they beautiful????
Here is our table at lunch. It was just beautiful - all pink - with napkin rings you could keep. They each had a character trait engraved on them.Jenny and Malaya with Nicki. Malaya asked if this could be our new tradition-- going to the American Girl store on the Friday before the first day of school. Sounds good to me! I had a blast! Thanks, girls!

Truitt was here!

What a precious! Truitt was here for about 10 days

but it didn't seem long enough to get all the sugar we wanted.

Check out those eyes!
Cousin Malaya couldn't get enough of him either.

She is so so sweet with the little ones in our family.

They played so hard!

He loved to play outside in the water!

Here is in checking himself out in the mirrored window in our church.

Truitt, Grammy and Grampy miss you so much! Please come back soon!