Stuck in Springtime

One of my favorite memories is of a day in the spring, a few years ago, when both of my daughters were at home. It began to pour rain - a quick spring shower - with no lightning or wind. We all looked at each other and with hardly a word, quickly took off our shoes and ran out into the front yard. We made a dash for the ditch across the street and put our feet in the muddy, swift flowing stream it had quickly become. Not long after, as the rain slowed down and the sun reappeared, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. For me, it was bliss.

Today was one of those memory making days - only this time, I was on my own. It poured buckets full of rain. I have been trying to walk every day - even though I hate to walk - I know it is good for me - I just hate to do it, but not today. Everything was so fresh and alive. The trees were full of singing, happy birds, the ditches were full of rushing water which turned them into babbling brooks, and the scent of honey suckle in the air was delicious. Every sense in my body was standing at attention. I stopped and listened to the water as it gushed up on the rocks in a miniature imitation of a giant wave smashing against a seaside cliff. I walked slowly some times looking straight up to behold the clouds breaking up, revealing the blue sky and escaping sunbeams. As I walked by a pasture full of horses, even though I don't like horses, I stopped to watch a mother corral her colt, on wobbly legs, and head it in the right direction. Three daises were growing on the roadside by the fence, and I thought about picking them but decided to leave them. It just seemed that I didn't want to disturb anything and mess up the moment. As I rounded a corner, the sweetest aroma caught my attention. It reminded me immediately of something from the past. A rabbit bolted and hopped away. It was honey suckle - and not just a little of it. I don't know if the rain had beaten on it and released the abundant aroma or what, but I stopped, closed my eyes and just enjoyed it's fragrance for a little while. My mouth watered as I remembered plucking honey suckle, ever so long ago, and biting off the end hoping to catch a few drops of the sweet juice on the end of my tongue. How tempted I was to recreate that childhood memory. About that time I heard a familiar "plop" in the water that stood between the vine and me. I knew it was a happy frog, but something about the possibility of a snake crossed my mind and I decided to move on. After walking through puddle after puddle on the hard pavement, I coaxed myself to return to my apartment and give my tired feet a rest. What a glorious few minutes I had spent. Sometimes I would just like to get stuck in springtime!

Favorite blog sites

Some of my favorite blogs (I can't figure out how to add them to my links - maybe some other day)

www.laceyinasia.blogspot.com
www.chasemoore.blogspot.com
www.kellyjonesmusic.com/baby
www.markmclendon.blogspot.com
www.sirrom.blogspot.com
www.teacherlearner.blogspot.com
www.joshash.blogspot.com
www.thoughtsgonecrazy.blogspot.com

I chase some others down through links from these. Let me know if you decide to join the ranks of bloggers so I can keep up with you.

What is not to love?

Thirty years ago...

April 17, 1976 is a great historical day. On that day, thirty years ago, Mickey and I had our first date. People think I am crazy when I say this, but it is true. I knew that day that I was going to marry him. Now, I wasn't in love with him, necessarily - we just fit. It was like a hand in glove. He had all of the character traits that I desired in a life long partner and friend. He complimented me. We both were already complete in Christ and so we were not looking for being "whole", just for someone with whom to walk the journey. That doesn't sound very romantic, I know - but we were not lacking in that department either. Some day I will write about the first time we said, "I love you" to each other. (Something to do with a leaf falling from a tree at just the right moment - I still have the leaf!) I honestly thought he was perfect. I couldn't find anything that I didn't like about him. Thirty years later, I know he is not perfect but I still don't find much that I don't like about him. On our first date, we went to a movie and then to my house. Pete and Jeannie Whitener were there, too. Mickey juggled oranges for me and accidentally made a perfect hoop through one of Mom's lamp shades. I was attracted to his ability to do or try to do almost anything. I met his family very soon. His father treated his mother like a queen. I knew he would do the same for me. What can I say? He still twangs my buds, like no other!

My Hero

My Hero
I want to write about my hero. My dad is 83 years old and I'm crazy about him. He was the first man to sit and talk with me in the wee hours of the night, the first man to tell me how beautiful I was, and the first man to bring me hand picked flowers. When I was very young, he tailored his precious hedge around our yard and left a gap so that me and my friend could always slip through and he made sure to keep the stray branches cut from my "hiding spot" in the tree so I would have a perfect place to sit. As a teenager, he always had an extra $5 to hand me on the weekend and gave up the keys to the car without flinching. He grew a mustache and parted his hair in the middle to look more "hip" in the 70's and listened to the top 40 on his car radio to help stay in touch with my brother and me. My dad is funny and fun. He is progressive and open to new ideas. A couple of years ago he got a computer and right now he is taking a college level course on missions so he can learn more about Lacey's heart beat. On Sunday, he gave his testimony for tithing. It was so beautiful and inspiring. He loves my Jesus and he taught me to love Him, too. Our church has purchased about fifteen acres of land to which we plan to move as the Lord leads. He has been so excited and working on the fund raising committee diligently. Even though many of our senior adults are opposed to this effort, he has stood firmly in his support of it. In an effort to utilize the land as it is now, our youth have been working on a prayer garden. He has been with them every step of the way, using his God given talent of gardening. I will forever have a mental picture of him with a shovel in hand, digging into the chat and moving it to polish off the look of a stepping stone at the entry. It was quite a picture to see him doing this with a backdrop of teenagers raking and planting. He has since then carried his sprinkler and hose out and spent three hours watering and tenderly caring for the prayer garden to insure the plants survive and it is a showy success for our Easter morning sunrise service. How blessed I am, just to have known him and called him dad.

Church Planting

The town I live in has a church on every corner - almost. Really. I was surprised, however, to find out a couple of years ago that my county is actually about eighty percent unchurched. That puzzled me. I did some quick and very unscientific math in my head and realized that it was probably true, though. Here in a relatively cultured small southern town in Arkansas right in the middle of the Bible belt, there are lots of unchurched people. Why? Just recently, I began taking a hard look at that question. When challenged with the question of where I would go if I wanted something different than First Baptist offered in the way of style of worship, I was dumbfounded. I realized that WE (churches) are ALL ALIKE. I know that some of us have different theology and denominational differences, but essentially we are all steeped in the same century old tradition. Now, don't go dogging me about tradition. I am really ok with it. And I don't think tradition is necessarily a bad thing. I just know that by the statistic that I am familiar with concerning my county, what we are doing is not reaching the unreached. What we are doing is reaching the already reached and just shuffling them around a little bit on occasion. Could we be be a little creative? Could we find a way to plant some churches that are relevant to the presently unchurched masses of people in our area? I don't know what that would look like, but I know that we must do it. I don't know who will be called to reach the subcultures of our community by stepping out of the box and thinking a new way. It is my prayer that our established "traditional" churches will have their eyes opened and be willing to lead in new endeavours to reach the unreached of our local community, the nation and the world by supporting an alternative church planting movement.

Daily Random Experiences

Sometimes life is just random. Things pop up from nowhere and sometimes they send you reeling and sometimes they make you jump up and down. I have had several random experiences in the last couple of days. One was an extreme irritation, one was an expected mixed-feeling surprise, and one was a delight. The irritation involved one person taking things too far. (How does climbing a building and shooting off fireworks equal the punishment of 60 hours of community service, a hundred dollar fine and campus suspension in a real world?) Now I'm not saying that no correction was deserved, just that it was over the top. This authority has gone over the top before, and there doesn't seem to be any thought of restoration as a part of the discipline - actually because it isn't discipline. It is punishment. THAT is what irritates me. The second random thing was an expected surprise. Now I know that is an oxymoron but it describes the experience. A friend is preparing to leave and pursue a different life. It was expected because nothing in life remains the same (except Jesus). It was a surprise because of the stepped up intensity in plans. I hate it when people leave my everyday life - but I love it when people pursue life with a passion. The last thing was the delight someone brought me. It was the reconnection with some old friends. Because of email, blogs and taking a shot in the dark, we were able to reconnect. Even though our lives have been separate for a long time, God has brought them back together in His time. Both of our children are in the same area of the world doing the same work. They will actually be in the same city in just a couple of weeks and probably - they will connect. So much emotion in so little time. Can't wait to see what today brings!

Link to Kelly and Aaron's sense of humor

For a good time see www.kellyjonesmusic.com/baby I have always known my family is a little whacked so I don't know why it surprises me when I find things like this. If you want to hear about the details of my grand baby, then read it all. If not, may I recommend the two stories that accompany pictures of Kelly and Aaron with "women of the NWA women's clinic". It will make you wonder about their sanity and how much free time they have on their hands. Should I really trust these two with my new grandchild? Comments on their questionable state of mind are welcome.

Hello...cyber world!

I am going to be so excited if I did everything right. I decided on my own today that I would join the ranks of other folks who like to tell stories, spout wisdom, and share memories. I enjoyed surfing other blogger's sites when I was checking out Lacey's new site. I found many old friends there and I know there are more to explore. Right now, I don't have any neat new pictures to share and don't even have a good story to relate. If you find me - check me out in a few days. If this really works, I am sure that I will have something worthwhile to read and maybe an awesome picture to view!