Monday, March 31, 2008

Drive By Blog

1. Sunday Night, we had one awesome Crawfish Boil at the church. It was awesome. We had some great food and great fellowship.

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

Well, my early bracket stunk, but I'm coming on strong now. As of tonight's games, I'm 2 for 2 in predicting the Final Four. You can look at my pre-tournament Final four here.

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

Last Night, we went through our normal routine of getting the girls down to bed. One of us usually goes and reads the Bible and prays with Mady while the other gets Kenzie into bed. Last Night, Sasha put Mady down. After they had read the Bible, they started talking about a phrase that Sasha's family will say. It started with Sasha's great grandmother, Ma. Ma passed away several years before Mady was born. She was 104. So, Mady asked Sasha questions about what happened to Ma. Ma was a believer. So, Sasha told her that she went to Heaven. She got curious and begin to ask questions about Heaven and what would happen to her friends if they were to die. Sasha told her that if they had asked Jesus into their heart to be the Lord of their lives then they would go to heaven.

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

I got an education today. We had our First PrimeTimer's Luncheon today at the church. Several of our Senior Adults gathered for a Potluck Meal. There was some great food.

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!

Tonight was awesome. It was great seeing Justin and Dana again. They were in our student ministry in Chandler. Justin spoke to our students tonight. I enjoyed spending time with them again.

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

Yesterday, I went to the Wesley House. The Wesley House is a Assisted Living Facility for Senior Adults in Atlanta. I took my guitar and sang hymns with a group of Seniors. It was awesome. They were so friendly and appreciative that I would take time out of my day to come and sing for them. I'm on schedule to go back two times a month.

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

What a great weekend! Saturday, we had our Easter EGGstravaganza! We had over 300 people at the park in front of the Texas Department of Transportation. A huge thanks to the Atlanta Office of TXDOT for allowing us to have our EGGstravaganz there.

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

TEAM stands for Together Everyone Accomplishes More. I'm proud of the team at Cornerstone. Tonight, we had 16+ people who came up to the church to stuff eggs, gameplan for Saturday and load the trailer with the equipment.

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

O.K., every year we do a family bracket. I have my picks. Sasha has hers. Mady has picked the last two years.

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

Jessica called a few minutes ago to give me an update. Yesterday, they took him off of the Ventilator. He has done great breathing on his own and everything is going great.

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

We love this time of the year. Sasha is not a huge sports fan. She likes basketball. We both love March Madness. It is a family traditon to complete our brackets. We watch the games and will see who gets the most predictions right. Sasha is the defending champ.

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 was a day to remember. Chuck Swindoll said "Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children." Today, we had a day worth depositing. :)

Really, it started last night. When I got home from work, we had a picnic in the backyard. While Sasha and Mackenzie went to get the food. Mady and I laid on the trampoline and looked at the clouds, the moon and the birds in the trees. It was an awesome night.

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.

While we were there, we went to Build A Bear Workshop. When Mady turned three, we were living in Oklahoma City. It was then that we started a tradition of getting Mady a Build a Bear for her birthday. When we left the city to move to Atlanta, Texas, we knew that this was a tradition we would have to work on to keep. So, today, we took the girls to Build a Bear to get their Birthday bears.


The Girls With Their New Bears!

Mady with her first Bear, "Bananas," and her new Bear, "Pinkalicious!"

Mackenzie hugging her new Bear, "Snuggly Bear!"

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.

We caught a few more shops before coming home. It was a memorable day. I love making memories! :)

Friday, March 14, 2008

Happy Friday!

What a week! We've caught ourselves coming and going this week.

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

The will of God is a funny thing. I reminded someone today that Joseph was in the will of God when he was in the pit. He was in the will of God at Potiphar's House. He was in the will of God when he was in the prison. He was in the will of God when he was in Pharoah's palace.

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

I spoke with Bobby earlier. Peyton is having another test run on his arteries today. They are sticking a camera in his veins to check out what is going on. His lungs still have been filling up and they think he may be getting too much blood to his lungs. Please pray for him today.

It's beginning to look a lot like....

We woke up this morning and opened the window. Falling from the sky was beautiful, wonderful snow. I love the snow....especially after living in Oklahoma! We would get snow several times a year up there. Down in Texas, we don't get very much snow. It is the perfect snow. It is coming down in nice sized pieces and sticking to the ground. The best part is that it is not sticking to the road ways. I'm sure that it'll be gone by this afternoon, but it looks great now.

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

Tonight, we are looking at James 3:1-12 in our Bible Study. The Bible says no man can tame the tongue. That is so true. Have you ever said something and wish you could take it back? I have. The reality is that you never can take back ever word you say.

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?

"Who do I vote for?" That is a question that I have heard many times over the last several months. With a wide open race due to no incumbent, the presidential race will be a hotly contested battle over the next several months.

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...

Never underestimate a positive attitude. As I look out the window today, the rain is pouring down in Atlanta. There are a lot of domestic duties and the dubious task of paying bills awaiting me when I finish with this blog.

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

Thank you to everyone who came and helped at the All Church Work Day! We were able to get a lot accomplished at the church.

Thanks again for everything you do for Cornerstone!