Introductions

Last Sunday at church, I sat by my youngest daughter. My daughter sat beside her friend. She has known this person for a year or more, but recently their friendship has taken on a new dimension. There is a new kind of interest between them. Um hum. Cute grins and pet names testify.

After the service was over we all walked out together, headed for our cars. Before we got to the door, the young man said something to my baby girl, and she passed along to me, "He wants me to meet some of his friends."

I said, "Okay." We parted ways, and I thought, how cute.

The instant the two of them became official, Facebook statuses changed and my little girl has been on a mission to introduce her guy to all her friends and family. She seems to want the whole world to know she has a boyfriend, a new relationship. Apparently he is on the same kind of mission because my kid has already met his father and talked on the phone with his mother, and of course, met the friends at church.

Their eagerness reminded me of a couple of men who were excited about a new relationship--a new friend.
To get the whole story, please read the first chapter of the gospel of John, but for the moment, look at verses 40-46.

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

I don't know about you, but boy do I feel convicted. I sense the Holy Spirit saying, "Jesus Christ is the lover of your soul. Your relationship is special and intimate. So why aren't you eager, as these young ones, to introduce Him to all of your friends?"

I'm seldom without words, but ...(Did I just hear a pin drop?)

Have I gotten so comfortable, familiar, or bored, in my relationship with the only one who loves me enough to die for me, that I don't think to introduce Him to other people? Do I not want the whole world to know Him, and know that I am in an intimate and eternal relationship with Him? When was the last time I told anybody that I have a friend who is also my savior, the love and passion of my life?

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Oh! By the way, if you've never met him, I'd like for you to know my friend. His name is Jesus. There is no other person like him because he is also God. He loves me so much that he died for me--taking the punishment I deserve because of my sins. Jesus rose from the grave conquering death and hell so I can live as a conquer forever!  He loves and cares for me more than anybody else can. Because I believe everything He says about himself, he is building for me a mansion in heaven, and some day he will take me there to live with him for eternity.

All you have to do is believe in Him and you can have the same future. Jesus wants to be your friend too. You may not know it, but Jesus loves you just as much as he does me. He wants to give you every good and perfect gift, including eternal life.

I know the Messiah, come and see!

Waltz Across Texas (Part 3)

What kind of a blog writer leaves her blog to the spiders and crickets for months at a time?
One that is busy, overwhelmed, preoccupied, lazy, discouraged, bumfuzzled, disorganized, depressed, dazed, ... or one that has spent too much time of Facebook perhaps? I won't make a lot of excuses or offer good reasons why my blogging has been neglected. I'll just say I've been a bad blogger, please forgive me, now let's get back to whatever it was we were talking about before I wandered away.

Oh yes, my trip across Texas.

It has been so long ago now I think I may have a hard time recalling details. I do have photos though! (You know you could count on that, right?)

After Big Bend National Park, we visited our kids in San Angelo where I spoiled the granddaughters as much as possible.
And do you blame me? Spoiling is so much fun! Now you can go ahead and tell me how cute they are, and I'll tell you how sweet and perfect they are, and we will all agree that grandchildren are the greatest reward a person can get this side of heaven.
I'm obviously into my grandkids a lot more than I'm into blogging because the past few months are represented by many more pictures of them than blog posts. Again, can you blame me?

From San Angelo we traveled on to Austin to visit some good friends. (Brittney and Terry Crain) And to see some sights and kill some time before the weekend.
If you are ever in the Austin, TX area, be sure to have dinner at The Oasis on Lake Travis. The view at sunset might take your breath away!

Believe it or not, this was my first time to visit my beloved Texas' capitol.A part of me wishes I could have been around when Texas was an independent nation--The Republic Of Texas. I like the sound of it!

From Austin we headed for Houston to visit more of our children.There we attended the Wings Over Houston Airshow. That was a first for me also. All I can say about that is WOW! It was money well spent and even the sunburn I got was worth it.I saw planes flying straight up and straight down and backwards, right side up and right side down and all the directions in between. There were wing walkers and parachute jumpers and mock water rescues. A reenactment of the bombing of Pear Harbor created lots of smoke. I learned that you can actually see the sound barrier quivering around an aircraft as it flies at the speed of sound straight toward you. And then there were the Blue Angels. Oh--My---Goodness!!!

I took WAY too many pictures. Most of them didn't turn out and few of them can do justice to the show. Take my word for it. Wings Over Houston is one of those must see kind of things. Next year it will be held October 23 & 24 and will feature the USAF Thunderbirds . If you can be in the area, don't miss it!

From Houston we drove back to Amarillo--home--where daughter #3 keeps a candle in the window for us. She's a good kid and I don't know what we would do with out her. Here she is with Michael W. Smith. I sure hope he doesn't mind my posting this picture of him on my blog, but it is the only picture I could find of my kid!(Michael was in concert at Trinity Fellowship Church in November. That was another WOW experience. If you ever have the chance to hear him in person, don't miss it!)

Whewww! That was quite a trip!
Almost everywhere we go (outside our home state) people comment about how "PROUD" Texans are. That, I can't deny. Yes, I am proud of my state and my heritage as a Texan. I won't apologize for believing that Texas is the best state in the union! (If you don't believe me, ask any other Texan and he'll tell you the same thing!)

We Texans have a lot to be proud of! We live in a beautiful state with beaches, mountains, rolling hills and flat plains. We are a strong group of people who (for the majority of us) believe in small government and freedom and independence for the people. We are friendly and hospitable. Texas...there's no place quite like it!

The Faith of Hanna

The last few days my sweet husband has been checking my blog to see what wonderful wit, wisdom, or wild thoughts I might have posted. So last night he told me it was about time I put something new here.

I've stayed away from my blog because I've been overwhelmed. Not with the normal overwhelming things like work, or illness, or business, etc. I've been internally overwhelmed. Those of you who are mothers, especially mothers of adult children, know the feeling. Sometimes your heart is so heavy for your children that you simply can't find the strength to lift yourself up and pursue your own interests. That's where I've been.

All my kids have their individual sets of circumstances, trials, hardships, decisions, challenges... And this mother's heart feels their pain, knows their frustrations, understands their longings, hopes for them, fears for them, wants for them, rejoices with them, cries for them...and prays for them.

A young mother of three girls once said to me, "I guess parenting is not as intense for you now that your girls are older." Boy, did she have it all wrong! Broken toys and boo boos were easy fixes. Lost jobs, financial stress, career choices, time investments, influence of friends, life lessons, disappointments--now you're talkin' intense parenting!

As I've poured my heart out to the Lord on behalf of my children, a voice in the back of my mind (or in my heart) keeps telling me I need the faith of Hanna.

You remember Hanna. She was the one that went with her husband every year to worship and offer sacrifices to the Lord. And every year her husband's other wife would tease her, make fun of her, and talk trash to her because she didn't have children. Finally Hanna had all she could take--"And she, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she made a vow..." (See I Samuel 1: 10&11) Remember? She asked God to give her a son. She prayed so hard that Eli, the priest, thought that she had had one too many sips of the hard grape juice?

Oh no! I know what you're thinking! Don't worry! I may need the faith of Hanna, but God has blessed me with lots of common sense. This old gal knows that she's past her prime and I'm not crazy enough to ask God for more kids. (Grandkids? Yes! Kids, no!) You'd KNOW I had one too many at that point!

The faith of Hanna that I need is found in I Samuel 1:19-2:11--the keeping of the vow.

When I was a little kid I was taught the story of Hanna in Sunday school. Secretly I thought she was a pretty lousy mother. What kind of a mother could just take her kid to church, drop him off, and leave him there. Didn't she love him? How terrible! I remember one teacher I had trying to reassure me that it was okay because Hanna could go visit Samuel every year when she went up for her annual worship service. Humph! I still didn't like the woman!

But now, I respect her. She knew she was simply a vessel belonging to God, put here on this earth for God's purpose and glory. She knew, even before Samuel was in her womb, that he belonged to God too. She simply wanted the privilege of bringing Samuel into the world so that she could give him back to God--a gift of love and gratitude.

Hanna knew that God was a good parent--the best parent--a better parent than she. Her faith was in a God who could care for, provide for, guide, and teach her little boy like no other parent could. Not even...well, you know.

I think of Hanna now and how she might have wished she had not made that vow to God. I'm sure she cried long and hard every time she left the temple, and her baby boy. Did she hug him until he couldn't breath? Did she hold on to his hand until both their arms were stretched out tight as she walked away? Did she wish for the days when he was a tiny baby and she could cuddle him and hold on to him? And when she was back home, was her heart so heavy with thoughts of her son that she could hardly pull herself up to pursue her own interests? Maybe so.

Yet her faith in a God of all hope and possibilities caused her to make a vow, and that same faith enabled her to keep that vow. She gave her son back to the Lord for His service. I need the faith of Hanna.

The most intense part of parenting? Letting go.