Magnificent NYC

Marilyn, Greg, Chad, Jenna, and I are going to NYC next week. Marilyn and I were there Christmas 2008. Chad has also been, but this will be the first time for Jenna and Greg. We are all getting excited!

I am happy, too, for Justin and Keelie; they are going back for another visit there in December for their 10th anniversary. (Wow...that's hard to believe it's almost been 10!)

E.X.C.I.T.E.D.!!!

To Rick

Weekend Stuff

Easter weekend was packed. Packed with everything we love and enjoy......

~~a great church service
~~time with our family
~~an Easter meal (or two!)
~~egg hunt for Jonah and Glory
~~camera fun

Rick was personally pretty busy, too. He went to the church "youth lock in" on Friday night for several hours, and then he went back Saturday morning for several more. Youth is not his ministry area, but the sound booth is! Because they had special music, they needed him in there to operate this.

Hope your weekend was full of everything you wanted. Have a great week!

Happy Easter

One Less Person in Cambodia

Jerry has been home from Cambodia now for a week. He will be here another three weeks before he begins his next journey. He has spent five years in China and two in Cambodia. His plans are to head for Lima, Peru. He's ready for a change; that should do it!

We've been doing some eating, some work, some eating.....This is pretty standard when he is here.

I've been trying to make sure he gets his favorite foods while he's here. Marilyn and Keelie have also cooked great meals. (Keelie, that was some amazing chicken fried steak!)

Have a great Monday.

P.S. Remember Texas firefighters and families as they are battling to save lives, homes, and property because of wildfires around the State. Here is what's going on.

Accepting Our Assignment

This morning just a few thoughts from “Jonah”  (week #1)...........

Are you being given a Nineveh assignment—something God wants you to do that you do not necessarily want to do? Why not?

This “thing” our sovereign God has chosen you to do over someone else means He has literally singled you out for this particular purpose!

Will you accept this....... 

challenge AND privilege to write a story of significance for eternity?

Made it to Victory Lane

Yep, that's right. We had a winner.

Justin, Jenna, and I took Jonah back to the Children's Ministry Area again this year at Texas Motor Speedway. He decorated another pinewood derby car on Friday morning, and we were told to come back to watch the "races" on Saturday at 10:30. I was determined to get him back over there, because last year he missed that portion of the fun.

We were delighted his car made it through some heats. Then we realized his car had made it to the finals.    His little car kept winning, and he ended up getting 3rd place. They did a ceremony and awarded the top three cars lots of prizes!

Several side notes:

*Jonah plays with all of his dad's pinewood derby cars from his youth at the house that I have saved.

*This is a great outreach ministry run by Christian volunteers from all over the country. Some of them literally go from race site to race site.

*Another major highlight.....while Jonah was decorating his car on Friday one of the ministry guys was passing out "Proud to be an American" stickers. I told the man Jonah had been reciting the pledge for a long time. Jonah proceeded to recite it for the man as he listened intently; the man then gave Jonah a BIG high five. Brought tears to this Nanna's eyes!

Ramblings About the Upcoming Weekend

It's that time again. Packing up for the weekend to head to..............

We had such a good time back in November and have been looking forward to another fun weekend with family and friends at the races. This year NASCAR fans seem to be so excited that the big race will be Saturday night "under the lights".

Papa surprised Jonah with his own tickets this year.

Also Jerry's coming in from Cambodia.  Will be so glad to get him back on U.S. soil (at least for a few weeks)!

I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Words from Charon on "Jonah" (by Priscilla Shires)......

First, let me say that I am ill-equipped to do JONAH justice in one blog post!  This, by far, was my favorite Bible study in years!  I'll admit when I first saw the title I thought "what on earth is there to know about Jonah and the whale?"  A LOT.  That's what!  Girls--if you're about to start Jonah, know that you will be BLESSED!

This Bible study will change the way you look at life's circumstances, or, as noted in the Bible study, interruptions.  Jonah certainly was interrupted when he was directed by God to go to Ninevah!  Not only did Jonah run, but he was interrupted AGAIN when he was swallowed by a whale!

We've all had interruptions--good and/or bad.  Some shake us to our very core, some are challenging, and some interruptions are exciting.  A few of my personal interruptions are

-My brother's Naval ship being bombed overseas and us not knowing if he was alive for 2 or 3 days
-My Mom dying at 44 years young; I was 20.  This happened only 7 months after my brother's ship being bombed.
-Having my children "planned" out.  I thought I would have 2; one boy and one girl.  2 rowdy, rambunctious boys later, "why 2 boys Lord" was on my mind all the time.  (I know many women suffer from infertility and this in no way is meant to offend you--it simply goes to show that OUR plans are not HIS plans.)  A necessary and somewhat emergency hysterectomy when I was 27 years old would make me thankful to have children period.  (though I still have days when I yearn for baby dolls and tea parties rather than super heroes and hot wheels, ha-ha).

Our yielding to God during life's interruptions is what is important.  As Priscilla notes in the study, the interrupted life is the privileged life.  We are such a privileged people that our God lives AND speaks to us!  (although I'm guilty of running just like Jonah when God does speak).

While God's call to you might seem like an interruption to you at first, you will find through the JONAH Bible study that this call is actually DIVINE INTERVENTION.

May you be blessed as you venture into JONAH!


Thank you, Charon!! Hugs to you.

Charon is doing a "Guest Post!"

This past week I posted about my new bible study that will begin Wednesday night -- "Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted." (Previous Post)

My first comment came from a special blogging friend.

Charon graciously agreed to do a guest post for me. We have been blogging friends for a long time. She loves and enjoys so many things that I do -- God, her family, sweet tea, Diet Coke, and even Paula Deen!

So be sure and come back to see how "Jonah" touched her!

Easter Photo Op

This afternoon I took Glory to a friend's house. This friend had her Easter yard decorations out and had invited friends to bring their little ones out for pictures. The family has their own live petting zoo around their place (goats, sheep, bunnies).

The Easter bunnies were our favorite!

My "CAR" Time--Part I

I had to drive into Richardson, Texas yesterday for a meeting. (This is not a routine thing for me.) When you drive the route I had to go, you never know if it will take an hour or four to get there with the crazy traffic. I left early and made it in what I would consider an "OK" commute time. I don't know if you do this or not but I usually go prepared with things to do in the car once I get where I'm going.

I couldn't resist taking this pic as I looked around after I parked. It is highly representative of the things I usually enjoy while killing time in the car. So for the next hour and a half, I enjoyed catching up on my daily bible reading, a brand new slick magazine, and a Diet Coke. I would have included my iPhone (Words w/ Friends), but then I was taking this pic with it!

Simple pleasures to me..........

To be continued.......