In the beginning...

Before I jump in here, I have to confess that I am making up the rules as I go along. In my previous post I said I would post about what I feel God is revealing to me when I study the verses that our pastor talks about. That is still the plan, but I also want to share key points that our pastor spells out for us so that any readers that don't go to our church may also benefit from his knowledge and understanding. I invite any readers that do go to HCC to leave a comment and share any key points that I miss because I will surely miss many and I believe we can all gain something from learning more about the messages that God has for us. So here we go...

Genesis 1:1

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Our church believes in creationism. If you don't, our pastor recommends the book, Darwin on Trial by Phillip Johnson, a law professor at UC-Berkeley. Have any of you read it? What did you think?

Genesis 1:31

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.


From these two verses we learn that God created our beautiful planet and it pleased him.

Genesis 1:27

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

God created us in his image and I think because this is so, we are able to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of our glorious planet. Think about it: When was the last time you saw a dog stopped in his tracks to admire a sunset, a field of wild flowers, a rainbow... Whenever I see a mass of blue morning glories, my natural reaction is to pray and thank God. I have had this reaction for years, even when I wasn't pursuing a relationship with my heavenly father. Where did that reaction come from? I think the above verses answer that question. So, I thank my loving God for creating this planet full of amazing beauty and wonders and for my ability to enjoy it.

I would love to know...what in God's creation stops you in your tracks and causes you to give praise?

This is so exciting!

Today at church our pastor began a 12 week series called TXT MSG. It will be a study of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation featuring particular messages, from each book, that God has for us. Being new to Bible study, I am really excited about this. Our pastor is so good at laying things out in a way that brings clarity and encourages application.

Abigail and I are doing a Bible study together and the other night we learned that God uses the Bible to speak to us. Through this amazing book, He encourages, comforts, instructs and makes promises to us. I can't wait to hear all that He has to say to me.

So this is my goal: I want to study the verses that our pastor speaks about and then post about any aha moments or things that God reveals to me personally. In order for this to work, I will have to push aside my perfectionist nature because time will not allow me to spend hours on each post. So bear with me if my upcoming posts seem even more random, unorganized or chaotic than normal. Still, I welcome any and all input. Let me know what you are thinking or what God is revealing to you when you read His word.

Finally, I want to leave you with this: During the month of April, in our Sunday school class, we have been teaching our preschoolers that Jesus loves them and wants to be their best friend forever. Today we learned that Jesus wants us to share this with everyone we know. So...

Jesus loves you and He wants to be your best friend forever!

Isn't that awesome?!?!?

Where is your heart?

At this time last year I was training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon. I had just run my first half marathon 4 months ago in Dallas and was looking forward to the OKC Half. On the drive back to Amarillo, after the race, the girls that I run with and I were already talking about running it again in 2009. When it came time to start training again, I just could not get motivated. 10 mile training runs are hard for me when I am motivated, but they are excruciating when I'm not. I was having a conversation with my dad and I told him that my heart just wasn't in it. He asked what my heart is in.

Right now my heart is in being Abigail and Rebecca's mom. I am so painfully aware of just how fast they are growing up and I want to make the most of these precious years when they want to spend time with their mom/mommy.

My heart is also in developing my relationship with God. You see, we weren't created to just believe in God. He wants us to get to know Him, learn His ways and love what He loves. I feel like I have recently made some significant strides in that direction, but I still have a very long way to go. So I guess you could say that my heart is not in running long distances right now, but in walking...
walking with my God.

Spring Break Fun

On Monday, Zfam loaded up the car and headed to San Antonio. I was a little worried about the 10 hour car ride, but it was surprisingly painless. We stopped a couple of times along the way for potty breaks, necessities (candy, jerky, cokes etc.) and just to stretch our legs. We made it to our hotel around 7pm, which was an hour earlier than we had expected. The girls only watched one DVD and there was no complaining, whining or too many "Are we there yets".

On Tuesday, we headed into town. We happened upon a St. Patrick's Day ceremony at the Alamo. The weather was absolutely perfect...so springy. We found an empty park bench and had our picnic lunch. After lunch, we went down to the River Walk. It was really gorgeous and not too crowded, as I would have expected it to be during Spring Break on St. Patrick's Day.


Wednesday was the big day...Sea World. My best friend from college and her 7 year old daughter drove down from Austin to go with us. Although the girls had not seen each other since they were barely 3, they instantly bonded and acted like best friends. We were at the park when it opened and it's probably a good thing because it was soooo crowded. The Shamu show was standing room only, which disappointed Abigail because she had hoped to sit in the splash zone. Abigail doesn't remember this, but we sat in that area last time we went, 5 years ago, and she did NOT like it. That water is so COLD. We did make it to the dolphin/beluga whale show in time for Abigail and Chloe to snag seats in the splash zone, but I guess dolphins and belugas don't splash as much as great big orkas that have been trained to splash, because they stayed bone dry. I think the highlight for Rebecca was the penguins and for Abigail it would probably be a tie between getting to spend the day with Chole and getting to pet a dolphin.





























Thursday, we packed up to head home, taking a detour through San Marcos so that we could show the girls where Chris and I went to school and so that Chris could meet one of his former professors for lunch. It was yet another beautiful day and I decided it would be fun to take the girls to the river while Chris and Dr. Stutts had lunch. We walked down from Old Main to Sewell Park, played a short game of Pooh sticks off one of the bridges and watched a group of co-eds play sand volleyball. I hadn't thought about the uphill walk back to Old Main, but the girls were troopers despite being over dressed for temps in 80s.

At around 3:00 we got back in the car for the long drive home. This drive wasn't quite as painless as the first, but we made it home around 1:00 am, none too worse for the wear. It was a wonderful family vacation and we are already talking about where we can go this summer. Any ideas?

The Dog Ate My Homework

I wish I could blame it on the dog, but really it's just my tendency to procrastinate and procrastinate I did...Big Time. Several months ago, our pastor gave us a homework assignment. The assignment was to write a letter to the person responsible for bringing us to Jesus.

I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and was baptized when I was in high school. Reflecting on my baptism, I remember a feeling of great love. Not just a love for God , but a love for everyone I laid my eyes on. I didn't, however, grasp the magnitude of the gift I had just received and my baptism did not mark the beginning of a long walk with God, but was treated more like a fait accompli.

When I went away to college, I failed to find a church home or connect myself with a body of believers and without a steady dose of the Truth, my un-nurtured faith really took a pounding. By the time I graduated, my relationship with God was practically nonexistent, at least for my part.

My God never quit loving me. He was patiently waiting for His prodigal daughter to come home and I have my aunt to thank for gently leading me back. So, here is my terribly past due homework assignment:

Dear Niecy,

Thank you for inviting me to come stay with you for a week in July 2000. I really enjoyed the birthday party that you, Cameron and I shared at Thompson Park. I cherish the time I was able to spend with you and Granny. But most of all, I want to thank you for the conversation we had when you were driving me to meet Chris at the halfway point. We talked about how God works everything for the good, even terrible tragedies. And about how you either believe what the Bible says or you don't. You can't pick and choose to suit your preferences. That conversation sparked a lot of thinking and soul searching on my part. All of those years out of church, left me making up my own rules. I finally had to ask myself: "Do you believe in God? Yes. If you believe in the one true God that created the heavens and earth, don't you think He deserves to make the rules, even if those rules seem unfair to your simple little human mind? Well, when you put it that way..." That marked the beginning of my journey back. Thank you.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years. My family had moved to your town and Abigail was 2 1/2 years old. I wanted my daughter to grow up in a church. Nicole and Terry invited me to go with them, but when they moved on, I was left taking Abigail to church by myself. I felt like such an outsider, but I was determined to keep going for her. Then you and I started going together and I actually started enjoying church. Thank you.

And then there was the Sunday morning when it started to sink in: the awesomeness of God's grace. I was overcome by how absolutely undeserving I am and you were there to hand me a tissue. Thank you.

And when I was pregnant with Rebecca and we feared she had microcephaly. I felt like my world was crashing down on my head and you just appeared on my doorstep. There wasn't another person in the whole world I needed more than you at that moment. God used you to give comfort and tell me what I needed to hear. Thank you.

You are the one person I feel comfortable talking to about my spiritual struggles and triumphs. I know I can ask you questions and you won't make me feel stupid or judge me. You patiently allow me to ramble on when I get excited about the truly amazing things God is doing. For all these things, I thank you.

And thank you for the privilege of teaching a Sunday school class with you. This is an answer to a prayer. You are so good with these children and I know I will learn a lot from you, but I pray that I will also be a blessing to you in some way and that you will derive great joy from this experience.

Niecy, there are so many things to thank you for. You do so much and are such a blessing to me and my whole family. I think I could write a never-ending letter, but the most wonderful thing you have done for me is to bring me to Jesus and for that I will be eternally thankful.

I love you. -k

Girl's Movie Night

Chris had to go out of town on business last night. Abigail asked if we could have a movie night, which to her means popcorn for dinner and a movie. I didn't have any better ideas, because I hate to cook when Chris is out of pocket, so I agreed. The problem was finding a movie that appeals to ages 2 thru 3o somethings. Abigail suggested Piglet's Big Movie to which I whole heartily agreed because I'll admit, I love this movie! The little kid movies that I enjoy are few and far between, but I have always liked this one. And the kid's movies that Chris likes are even fewer and further between and he likes this one too. I used to compare it to a G-rated Friends (remember Monica, Chandler, Rachel...) only it's Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger... This movie also features fun music by Carly Simon. If you have little ones, you should check it out.

Sock Hop

Friday night, Zfam went to a spaghetti dinner and sock hop at Abigail's school. For the past month, the students have been learning the various dances (the electric slide, the cupid shuffle and the cha-cha slide, etc.) in their P.E. classes. Abigail has been looking forward to putting what she learned to use for quite a while, but when we got to the school's gym where the dance was being held, she came down with a case of cold feet. After a little while of looking on from the side lines, the music got the best of her and she had to get her groove on.




It took Rebecca a little bit longer, but she was finally overcome and had to shake her bootie as well. It was so cute and oh, how I wished I had my video camera, but all I have are these less than wonderful stills to share.






Before the night was over, Chris and Abigail shared a sweet father-daughter dance. Over all, it was a pretty good way to spend a Friday evening.