Monday, March 31, 2008
Drive By Blog
2. Sasha correctly predicted all 4 Final Four teams. I got 3 of the 4. Texas let me down. :)
3. I'm reading a great book called "Just Walk Across The Room" by Bill Hybels.
4. I'm not Bobby Flay. Tonight, I cooked and made Taco Salads. So, I thought I'd do what I'd seen done on Food Network and make a special sauce/dressing.....sort of Southwestern Ranch. Well, let's just say.....it was NASTY. I put some ranch dressing, spices, Roasted Red Peppers (like I've seen Guy Fieri use on Food Network), Green Chiles and some Sour Cream. I think the mistake was that I used the Red Peppers and the Chiles and too much Ranch. Oh well, I may never have a show on Food Network, but I love to cook. BTW, the sauce/dressing never made it to the table.
5. 3 months are gone in 2008. How are you doing on the One Year Bible Challenge? I've completed all 3 months in the New Living Translation and the Message. It is my goal to read the entire Bible through in two different translations as my personal devotions in 2008. I challenge you to start today. Start with April 1 and read the rest of the way with us and then pick up the first three months in 2009.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
NCAA Tournament Update
So, UNC and UCLA make it in. Kansas should be Davidson. Texas and Memphis should be a good game. I still like Texas playing in their home state. It's possible that I can go 4 for 4.
Sasha has won the family bracket. We count up a point for every game. Some people do a point for the first round, 2 for the second, 3 for the sweet sixteen, etc. We just give every game a point. Either way, she has me beat. So far, she has called 47 of the 59 games. I have called only 35 of the 59 games. So, much props to Sasha. Her bracket has been one of the most dominant brackets that I have ever seen. For the record, she has Memphis and Kansas in the Final Four with North Carolina playing UCLA in the final and UNC winning it all.
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Night I've Been Waiting For
We have not wanted to push Mady to pray a "sinner's prayer." We've always wanted it to be something she WANTED to do...not something she was FORCED to do.
The conversation continued and Mady said "Mama, I want to do that." She asked Sasha if she could pray and ask Jesus into her heart. Sasha called me in for this special moment. After I went in, I watched as Sasha led Mady in a prayer inviting Jesus to be the Lord of her life.
March 27, 2008 is Mady's spiritual birthday. I have never been more proud of her in all my life.
The Best Is Yet To Come
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Education
However, what I enjoyed most was hearing the stories from their childhood.
The things I learned from being with our Senior Adults Today.
1) I was reminded that I really am fortunate to have grown up in the generation that I did. These guys grew up in a time with no running water, no A/C, no heat, etc. The lesson learned was one of gratitude.
2) The second lesson was one of contentment. They didn't know any better. So, they were content to take their baths in a creek or hoe the yard to get rid of the grass.
3) The third lesson is always maintain a positive attitude. They laughed when telling the stories of yester year.
4) I learned how to make Whiskey. LOL! (This is a joke.) You never know what to expect when you talk with people.
I had a wonderful time and am looking forward to when I can be with the PrimeTimers again.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
God is Awesome!
We talked in our adult Bible Study about giving God the praise for things. God is so awesome. There is no way that we could've pulled off the Easter EGGstravaganza without him. The Local newspaper ran a piece on our Egg Hunt. Here is a link from today's edition.....it is a twice a week paper.
Atlanta Citizens Journal Page 1
Atlanta Citizens Journal Page 2
Without God, we can do nothing. He makes it all possible. Thank you God!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Random Thoughts
I spoke with Jessica, Peyton's Mom, last night. He is still breathing fine. The doctors are concerned about his air passage. So, they are going to put the "button" in to feed him through for a little while. She is going to let me know today when the procedure will be. They said the actual procedure only takes about 20 minutes.
Sasha is winning the Family Brackets for the NCAA tournamnet. There is no way I can catch her. Duke exiting early hurt me as well as Vanderbilt and Baylor. All of my Final Four teams are still in it.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter Weekend
On Sunday, we had 107 people worshipping with us. That was great considering we had several of our regulars who were out with family. :) It was the biggest attendance that we have had since I came to Cornerstone.
I love being back close to family. When living in OKC, we missed out on a lot of the family gatherings. We went to my grandparents in Texarkana after service for lunch. Mady hunted Easter Eggs with her cousin, Brooke. Then, after they found them all, they had us rehide the eggs. It was funny watching Mady pick up Eggs from the same places that I used to pick the Eggs up when I was her age.
After getting back from Texarkana, we spent some time working in the yard. Sasha planted some flowers while I raked leaves in the backyard. Our backyard is one of the favorite things about our house. The girls love running and playing back there.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Team
I'm proud of everyone's hard work. We have distributed flyers, put ads in the paper, been on the radio and sent out e-invitations. I'm looking forward to this weekend.
Here are the ads we ran in the paper for Easter Sunday Morning and for the Easter EGGstravaganza. If you're in the Atlanta area, be sure and come out to both events. :)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
My NCAA Picks
Here are my picks for the the Final Four.
North Carolina vs. Kansas
Texas vs. UCLA
Championship Game: North Carolina vs. Texas
Champion: North Carolina
UNC is tough. Texas comes out of their side of the bracket. Memphis is overrated. They play in a weak conference. Next to the Big East and ACC, the Big 12 has the best basketball in the country. Six Big 12 teams are in the tournament. Kansas and Texas were both top 10 teams. That is why I have Texas coming out.
The Madness begins. :)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Peyton Update
They told them last week that his air way was collapsing. If he struggled breathing after they took him off the vent, then they were going to have to put a trach in.
The great news is that now he is doing great. Keep praying. She said he was not fussy at all and was just laying their quietly watching t.v.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Going Dancing
I am pumped. My two favorite teams are in the Big Dance. Baylor is in for the first time in 20 years. I have been a Bears fan since we moved to Waco in 1984. Before that, I grew up cheering for the Longhorns and still pull for the Horns in every game...except when they play the Bears.
I may not should do this for the humiliation factor, but I'm going to update my blog after each weekend's game and let you know where we stand in the family brackets.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
On The Boardwalk
Today, we got up and drove to Shreveport/Bossier City. We have heard about the Louisiana Boardwalk, but have never been. It is an awesome place with outlets and great restaurants located in Bossier City on the Red River.
Mackenzie kissing "Snuggly Bear"
Mady checking "Pinkalicious" to make sure she has enough stuffing!
While we were standing in line to get the bears stuffed, we heard this girl scream "Oh my, look who we are standing next to." I turned to see what famous person was in the room. To my surprise, she was talking about me. It was a girl who had been in our Youth Ministry in Nacogdoches. We have not seen her in probably seven or eight years. It was great seeing the Gaudettes again.
After Build A Bear, we had lunch at San Francisco Oven, shopped at the outlets, retraced our steps several times to look for Kenzie's sippy cup and other lost items, got ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery and looked at the huge fish in the aquarium at Bass Pro Shops.
After spending five hours on the Boardwalk, we left and found an incredible area of Shreveport. We needed a Target to purchase some diapers. So, after some searching on my Palm, we found a Super Target on the south side of Shreveport off of Youree. When we drove up to the area, we found some great restaurants and lots of great shopping.
When we were pulling up to the Super Target, we noticed a great surprise directly across the street. It was one of our favorite restaurants, Moe's Southwest Grill. Since it was almost six when we finished at Target, we made our way across the street for some sweet tea, tacos and queso. Since I wasn't real hungry, I broke with the tradition of getting the "Homewrecker." Instead, I tried the John Coctostan (Moe's tribute to Fletch). The Johnny C. is a great quesadilla.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Happy Friday!
We had a great time Tuesday Night at the Rotary Club Spelling Bee and Shrimp Boil. The team from Sasha's school won. We had some great food and a great time hanging out with friends.
This Sunday, we conclude the series on the Prayers of Jesus. Don't miss the message about the prayers Jesus prayed on the cross. I can't wait for Sunday.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The will of God
That's hard for some of us to grasp. If things are not going like we think they should, then we wonder how God could be in that. He is. He may be leading and guiding you to the place that will eventually be your "palace." Even though it is no fun to be in the pit, a servant in Potiphar's house or in prison, there is a purpose for that time.
Joseph's experiences in the pit, Potiphar's house and in prison prepared him for his time in the palace.
Joseph lived his dream and I'm living mine. It's great to be in God's will. :)
Friday, March 7, 2008
Peyton Update
It's beginning to look a lot like....
What is it about snow that brings out the kid in us? During one of our Oklahoma snows, I was in my office and my friend Greg came in. Greg challenged me to a snowball fight. So, we went outside and threw chunks of ice......mmmmm snow at each other. It was fun. I must confess that I threw a very small snowball at Sasha this morning. :)
I love the snow!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Taming The Tongue
No man can tame the tongue. However, one of the Fruits of the Spirit is Self Control. We need to pray that God's Spirit would be so evident in our life that the fruit of Self Control will be seen in us.
God, we pray for your Spirit to be in our lives. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our heart be pleasing in your sight. Please help us to have self control and through your spirit give us the ability to control our tongue. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Who do I vote for?
So, who do you vote for? I will tell you what I will do. I will pray and ask the Lord who he wants me to vote for. At the present time, I don't have a clear cut direction of who that person will be. When the time comes, I will punch the card or fill in the circle for the person that I feel God wants me to vote for regardless of party affliation.
Today, in Texas, is voting day for the Primaries. I encourage you to vote. If you are not registered to vote, then get out today and go register. So, you can vote in November. Then, let us all pray for God' will concerning all the elections.
Monday, March 3, 2008
I'm looking forward to this week...
The point is we can look at the negative or we can choose to see God working in our world. For me, I'm looking forward to this week. Great things are going to happen.
Have a great week!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Work Day
Thanks again for everything you do for Cornerstone!