Pre-Christmas Festivities

Wow...it has been for-stinkin-ever since I have posted....so here is the thumbnail sketch update:

November 28-30 - went to Orlando for an Athletic Business Conference - unfortuantely...by myself. Disney is not worth seeing if you can't see it through the eyes of a child and share the experience with others (see previous blog about whose hands you hold).



December 9th - After a month of working on strategic plans and budgets I accomplished one of my life goals...I completed the White Rock Half Marathon in Dallas Texas with two friends: Jennifer Baker and Rachael Johnson. I dressed for the weather...it was supposed to be 60 degrees...but about 2 miles in in started to drizzle and the temperature did not get over 45 degrees...but the three of us completed the 13+ miles for Will Butts and the Scottish Rite Hospital.



December 14-17 - I flew to San Francisco to meet up with some friends to see the city and see the #10 ranked Lady Bears play the #5 ranked Stanford Cardinal. We had a great time in Union Square, China Town, Ghiradelli Square, and Pier 39...the trolley was a bit frosty but dinner at Cheesecake Factory on the 8th floor of Macy's overlooking Union Square was unforgettable.



December 19th - my stubborn dad took a tumble while clearing out some land and split his eyebrow and gave himself a black eye...the most frustrating part was that he refused to go to the doctor...thanks to our community nurse, Elaine Walker for making a house call! Now we all know where the Scott "tuffskin" genes come from! But he's still cute! :)

The Hand You Hold

The only thing more precious than the air you breathe is the hand you hold.

Over the past 10 years, I have been blessed to have many young men and women to share life experiences with both on campus and off. I have been to weddings, seen babies, prayed for work assignments and relocations, and achieved life goals with some of these friends.


Here is a picture of the most recent of these...the wedding of Bailey McKissack to Andrew Heard. It was a beautiful wedding that honored the Lord through commitment and simplicity. You can see His Beauty in Bailey...

One of the best parts of this wedding was to reconnect with students who have graduated and moved on in life. In this picture, are many former spirit squad members who have traveled all over the US together. Dave and Jennifer Burggraaf were the coed coaches. Amanda Mullings is the current coed captain. Halie Baker is on the coed squad now. Amanda and Halie are two of the 10 students I am taking to Africa in May of 2008 (more to come on that). Erin Richardson was on the coes squad with Bailey and Laura Blalock gets married today to Seth McCall...she was Bruiser!!
Robby Mullens and Matt Witt were both on the squad with Bailey. I was the "bus driver."Life goes on and so do friendships that are built on a strong foundation and nurtured over time.


Finally, Morgan Smith is a graduate student that I have known for five years. We have spent alot of time together talking about the mysteries of God. We went to Bailey's wedding together and today we are going to Laura's up in Southlake, Texas. These pictures remind me of that song (that I think I have quoted before): Life is Precious Life is Sweet...I have been blessed to hold the hand of God through these..."friends".

"No longer do I call you students...I have called you friends."

H-Trophys

Ok, so as amazing as this picture is in the sports world...three Heisman Trophys in one room at the University of Nebraska...it can't hold a candle to the miracle of life brought about by our great and good creator God who breathed the whole world into existence and who chooses to use us to accomplish His purpose.

Here is Walker Paul - the newest edition to the Williams family, that is staying at the Ponderosa. He was born just over two weeks ago and I have thought several times about how his very presence seems to put things into proper perspective. I will call him a "human trophy" for alliteration sake but he is one little guy who can stop your heart with one of those little baby gurgles.

I have been a morning person for as long as I can remember so it was only natural for me to volunteer for "the morning shift" with Walker. EJ feeds him about 4:30 or 5:00 and then gives him to me as she tries to catch some sleep before I go to work. He just nuzzles in and finds me to be a good human pillow.

As he begins to realize he hasn't eaten in the last 2-3 hours he begins to make himself known. One morning as I was walking him around and talking to him, assuring him that his needs would not go unmet and that his mother would be right with him and that he was loved...I began to giggle at how upset he was when he didn't get fed at that very moment that he realized he was in need. Then it donned on me that God must giggle too...as we scream about not having our own needs met and about the timing and such...when He has "more than enough" blessing for us and will most assuredly meet our needs - because He knows them better than we do ourselves. I guess about the time I thought I might be feeding on spiritual meat...I realized that I am still a baby in many senses...dependent on the Lord God Almighty for every need - even the ones I don't know I have - and I just need to calm down and let God work in His abundantly wise and methodical ways to meet me where I am and help me grow into who He wants me to be.

The Miracle of Life

Helloooooooooooo Blog Nation.

Wow! It has been forever since I felt like I had anything worthy of blogging. But Saturday night, I was at the lackluster Baylor game when I got a call from Forrest saying that Elizabeth's water had been broken and she was admitted into Labor and Delivery with an epidural waiting.



F & EJ have been living at the cabin since June and her due date is October 20th. She got up Saturday and said that she thought she was having contractions....fast forward.....I leave the BU game and head to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center just in time to visit with EJ for about an hour before they decided "it is time to start pushing." That was at 7:35 pm. By 8:23 pm Walker had arrived and I was headed back to see the new family.


Walker Paul Williams
8 pounds and 11 ounces
20.5 inches long




It has been six years since I have visited the hospital to see the Miracle of Life. It was Heather having Mia, Erica having Caden, and Gretchen having Bailey. Little people with little features and little systems...all in place ad functioning...wow, what struck me is that our great big God is also
the Creator and Sustainer of life and He says
"before you were in your mother's womb...I KNEW YOU"
that is ... the Miracle of Life...

I passed Elizabeth's test on diaper changing, holding, burping, cleaning, and rocking so I guess I may be helpful when they bring him home from the hospital today. It will probably be later this evening...between 7 and 8:00 pm (just in time to see his first Cowboys game on MNF). The adventure begins....thank you God and thank you Forrest and Eliazbeth for letting be experienced the Miracle of Life through the Family of God!

Suite Prayer

I am away...here in Nebraska for a "Big 12 & Friends" regional conference. As I sit through seminars and dinners I am reminded, and saddened, that I am not "at home." I live in Texas which is in the Bible Belt. The Bible Belt is an informal term for an area of the United States of America in which socially conservative Christian Evangelical Protestantism is a dominant part of the culture.

Although I am surrounded by good people doing good work on campuses across the region, and even nation. They do not live for the same thing I do. I hope this does not come across as judgemental, but rather an observation. I need to be reminded that life is not always as it seems.

However, I am staying at the Embassy Suites. I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of the Bible (not the Koran or Book of Mormon or nothing) in the bedside table and this prayer sitting on my pillow the first night:

In ancient times there was a prayer for "The Strangers Within our Gates"

Because this hotel is a human institution to serve people, and not solely a money-making organization, we hope that God will grant you peace and rest while you are under our roof.

May this suite and hotel be your "second" home. May those you love be near you in thoughts and dreams. Even though we may not get to know you, we hope that you will be comfortable and happy as if you were in your own house.
May the business that brought you our way prosper. May every call you make and every message you receive add to your joy. When you leave, may your journey be safe.

We are all travelers. From "birth till death" we travel between the eternities. May these days be pleasant for you, profitable for society, helpful for those you meet, and a joy to those who know and love you best.

How refreshing it is to know that there are some who will go against the flow and say what they mean and have what they say mean something.

FLYING HIGHER

I just wanted to give you a quick look at my staff. This is a picture of most of my staff - professional, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The week before school started, they came over to my house and we had a picnic and took a staff photo...which we will make into a poster entitled

CAMPUS RECREATION FLYING HIGHER in 2007

Readin' Writin' and 'rithmatic

Wow...what a whirlwind last few weeks...two major projects that originate in Campus Recreation have occurred with several smaller sidebars.....

On August 15th and 16th we moved in over 3000 incoming students. We started with about 1000 on Wednesday and had the big Freshmen Halls on Thursday. Over 2500 volunteers helped direct traffic, carry boxes, clothes, and "stuff" into dorm rooms that are barely over 150 sq ft. This annual event, affectionately called MOVE IN, grew this year into two days after last year being a 5:00 am - 4:00 pm ordeal in 106 degree temperatures.

School started on Monday, August 20th and we held our annual Late Night at the SLC on Friday. This year we had over 100 organizations with booths set up all over the SLC and over 150 dodgeball teams in the kickoff intramural event of the year. We have been touted as having the "largest collegiate dodgeball tournament in the nation" which I have always disputed because actually, no one measures. But this year, that became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our new IM Coordinator had wide eyes and a GREAT Late Night!

Last but not least, on a more meaningful note, I have read several books the latter part of the summer. Non-fiction, I have read The Gospel According to Starbucks (Leonard Sweet) and From the Heart, Seven Rules to Live By (Robin Roberts) and Same Kind of Different As Me (Ron Hall and Denver Moore). I have also read several fiction books like The Last Sin Eater (Francine Rivers), Plain Truth (Jodi Picoult), and am almost finished with The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini). Each of them has taught me something and led me to think about things beyond my life here on earth. I recommend all of these books and will leave you with a little prayer of prose from Robin Roberts' family:

The LIGHT of God Surrounds Me,
The LOVE of God Enfolds Me,
The POWER of God Protects Me,
The PRESENCE of God Watches Over Me,
WHEREVER I AM, GOD IS.

California Girls

I wish they all could be CALIFORNIA GIRLS....here is a pic of my favorite California girls. My 1st cousin Trina and her daughter Ashley, then "Gaby" then me and Dee Dee and Aunt Sue. If I ever left the Great State of Texas I would become a card-carrying CA girl for sure.


This weekend started out on Friday night at the Huntington Beach around a fire pit. We roasted hot dogs and smores and had about 5 family members and about 20 friends. The Pacific Ocean was warm enough even in the evening to go it (some of the guys went in at 9:30 just before closing).
It was a great time of relaxing by the fire and it was the first time in my life that I donned a jacket in the month of August.

Saturday, I went over to pick up my 90 year old grandmother "Gaby" to take her to get an IN n OUT Burger and to pick up some "bridge mix" at See's Candy Shop. It was a good time to get her out and for us to visit since I didn't make it out in May for her b-day party. She is a bit forgetful these days but her laugh is contagious.



Finally, Sunday after church, we all went to my Aunt Sue and Uncle Don's condo for a family celebration of Ron's birthday. It is on Huntington Harbor. The weather was unbelievably nice and being with family is beyond words. I am grateful for the fellowship and true kindred spirits we share and treasure each time we are together.

Summer Pics

A few quick summer pics

Bella (EJ & Forest's American Bulldog) poses by my new friend
on the front porch of the Ponderosa


Mia practicing surfing with her CA cousins in town...goggles and all!


McKenna and Brady enjoying an afternoon at the pool.
This is a typical summer day.
Brady LOVES to swim.


Lake Waco at the peak of the flooding rains.
Our lake rose over 23 feet.
Here you can see the pavillion almost totally submerged.

They Surf - We Shoot!

It seems that I cannot keep up with the "current events" here at Scottwood but better late than never. You may or may not know that my mother grew up in Southern California. My dad was stationed in the navy in Long Beach and met her and the rest is history. So, half my family is still in SO.CAL. I have been out there recruiting for Baylor for the past 8 years and I put enough bugs in my cousins ears (and enough shirts on their backs) that Shane (class of 2009) decided to seriously consider Baylor as a college option. So my cousin DeeDee and Ron, Shane (17) and Austin (15) came for a Sic'em Day on campus. After the official recruiting tour, I gave them the real tour. Here you can see some of the time we spent together.

My nieces, McKenna and Mia met Shane and Austin in the pool and immediately formed the "crush." The boys were really sweet and cute in how they played with the girls.

My dad took the guys to shoot pistols and then later skeet. They loved it. I don't know if Baylor sold them or my way cool dad who let them shoot guns but I think the trip was a hit.

One little serious thought: Because we did not grow up together, without making the effort, we would have never really known them other than brief holiday visits. Some of my family, like DeeDee and Ron's family, are believers that are experiencing the "abundant life" that Christ has designed for them. Many of my family out there are not. It really brings many things in to perspective when you have family members that you love and care about who do not know him. It highlights the scripture "they will know we are Christians by the way that we love one another" which causes me to ask the familiar question, "how then should I live?"
Do I live like I love them? Can they tell a difference?
Besides the fact that they surf and we shoot?

POTTER-Mania

It is hard for me to believe all the hype over the Harry Potter book release. Parties at midnight, pre-sales, dressing up like the characters. Men, Women, Children alike have been taken captive by this fiction writing. What is hard for me to believe is that there is a book that has been out for centuries, it has been on the best-seller list for as long as it has existed. It comes in most every language spoken. It is not fiction, but rather chronicles tales of the great adventure of history through the eyes of heroes and villians. It tells the story of redeeming love, supreme sacrifice...it shows the power and majesty of the Creator of the Universe and His desire to be in relation with those He loves and has created in His own image. The Bible tells the story of Truth. Yet very few get excited about the Bible. Very few celebrate the telling of The Story (HIStory). Very few will buy-in early and even fewer will "dress themselves" like the main character. They will know we are Christians by the way that we love one another...so "PUT ON love." Colossians 3:14

Here you can see a little Muslim lady in a little village in Morocco. She is a potter. She has no spinning wheel, she has no kiln, she has no electricity or running water. But from May of 2004 when I visited until today, she has had many encounters with vessels. Our church has taken on Morocco as one of our "people-groups" and have made numerous visits to this little family and their village. Pray that those of us who call ourselves vessels, created by the Master's hand, will pour out love on this family and one day they would meet THE POTTER.

GWC, Backpacks & Crosses

Today I got a big shot of empathy. I wouldn't say it is my number one strength (thank goodness for the difference that Jesus makes!). I leave in just under a week to go backpacking, rock climbing, and whitewater rafting in Colorado with 40 incoming Baylor freshmen. Do I have a great job or what? To prepare my legs and cardiovascular system, I have been walking a few miles five times a week and last week I started carrying a backpack with 10 pounds in it.

For three days, I stayed at 10 lbs. Then two days at 20 lbs. Today I added another 10 lbs to total 30. As I started walking, it donned on me that I was carrying the same amount of weight on my back that Elizabeth, my good friend and sister in Christ, is carrying in front as she is GWC (Great With Child - 25 weeks great!). Within the first 100 yards I could feel the difference in my knees and ankles. I have a whole new appreciation for what she is going through as her body changes and "Baby Walker" grows.

I am reminded that we all have burdens to bear. Some are like pregnancy and have a blessing beyond the pain. Some are like backpacks and we load stuff in and carry it around until we hand it over to the Lord to carry for us. Some are like crosses that we are asked to carry "for our good and His glory." In each of those situations, we will come to the point of thinking that our load is unbearable only to realize that it was made just for us - He designed it to fit who He designed us to be. When Jesus says in Matthew 11: 28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." As I put the backpack on, I realize that it "fits me" just like the yoke Christ asks us to carry. Because it "fits us" it will seem easy and light. So whatever your cross, backpack, or burden...just know that He chose you and you will never walk alone.

Sparklers

The 4th of JULY is my favorite holiday. It highlights FREEDOM in every sense of the word...we are free to go where we want, to think what we want, to worship the Lord God Almighty as we choose, even express ourselves as we desire. Freedom gets many people in trouble because they have no filter or discipline but it should not be taken for granted. Many men and women gave their lives so that we might live in freedom each day. Christ Jesus gave His life so that we might be free from sin's power and penalty.

Here you can see our safe celebration of the 4th of July with sparklers. Both McKenna and Mia enjoyed lighting up and drawing in the air with the sparklers.

The Newsboys have a song that is appropriate for the day: I AM FREE.
I am free to run, I am free to dance; I am free to live for you, I am free.....through you the Kingdom comes, through you the battle's won, through you I am not afraid, through you the price is paid, through you there's victory, because of you my heart sings...who the son sets free is free indeed...

Rain Rain Go Away

Rain has been in the forecast and on the ground for the past few months. This is the wettest spring/summer we have had in years....like over 15 years since the rivers and lakes have been this high. By now the normal Texas summer climate is called the "dog days of summer" because it is usually over 100 degrees...last year we went 31 consecutive days over the century mark.

Ok so here are some shots of my dad and his new (Father's Day) John Deere Gator Utility Vehicle...he loves it and has used it over and over again. He checks the Middle Bosque which runs about a mile behind our houses...but as you can see, the river has overrun its banks and has started up the road. Brady is doing as a Golden Retriever does...swimming. She loves the water be it pool or river or lake or sprinkler.

One good thing that happens when it rains...the indigenous plants take a hearty drink and bloom like never before. Here you see a native plant - the evergreen, purple blooming Texas Sage. This one is enjoyed by few because of its location behind the SLC on the BU campus.

Wilds Wedding in the Forrest

I mentioned last blog that I went to a wedding in Asheville, NC. Actually, it was in the Pisgah National Forrest. Dathan proposed to my friend Regan (whom I met at Kanakuk over 10 years ago) there and they decided to get married there. He went out the night before and built a small alter. We all walked about a mile down a hiking trail to a waterfall. The weather was threatening but was dry ... until the wedding was almost over then, God Himself being in attendance, rained down "showers of blessing" on Mr. and Mrs. Wilds.



After a little shower, we carpooled to a place close to downtown Asheville called Homewood. It was built in 1927 and is located in the Historic Montford neighborhood. It was a beautiful place to celebrate with all the friends of the bride and groom.

Regan works at Grace Community Church as a counselor and Dathan is going to school at UNC Asheville. Congratulations Regan and Dathan Wilds...it was a beautiful, yet wet, wedding and a reception that celebrated your UNION.
Happy Honeymoon!