Twins!

College Sports! It's game day! This picture was taken at the Baylor Men's Basketball game last weekend where the bears dropped a heartbreaker to texas by one point in the last 11.3 seconds. Coach Scott Drew is so close to putting the Bears on the map...maybe tonight is the breakthrough game...timing would be perfect with the Big 12 Tournament two weeks away. The next day, our Lady Bears whipped up on arch-enemy number one: the texas women. The Lady Bears are tied for the conference lead and are exceeding all expectations with 10 on the roster and five being true freshmen! Sic 'em Bears!

Even though college sports provides us with "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" there is a far greater thrill in life...which is that of FRIENDS. Our lives are filled with touchpoints created by our need for meaningful human contact. Friendship meets a need for connection with others. It is modeled throughout the Bible: Ruth and Naomi as well as David and Jonathan in the Old Testament and of course Jesus and the disciples along with Paul and Timothy and Barnabas in the New Testament. We would be miserable if we didn't have friends.

I have been blessed beyond all measure in my lifetime to have a steady stream of friends whose lives I can share in through the times of joy and the times of sorrow. In fact, I believe that especially for believers, our deep desire to connect with Christ Himself is met many times through friends. These two friends, Rachael Johnson (left) and Elizabeth Williams (right) are often asked if they are sisters because they look so much alike...when in reality they should answer "yes" because they both belong to the Family of God.

Two are better than one...for if one falls, the other will lift him up...a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Eccl. 4:9-12) We are all better because of our friends. We share experiences along with our hearts and walk through life together; on a journey toward the same destination...Thank God for friends who serve as His hand extended in our lives.

True Friends - Queen Esther

Over the past week I have watched two of my dearest couple friends endure painful moments as their dreams and hearts have been crushed under the weight of political posturing and the advancement of personal agendas. Both of them have an eternal vantage point and still have their marriages, families, friends, and each other. They have weathered undeserved criticism and smiled in the face of adversity. Losing your job has to be a very painful ordeal but it is truly when you find out who your friends are.


Today in Sunday School, we started studying about Queen Esther. She was orphaned at an early age and adopted by her uncle, Mordecai. Under Mordecai's Godly influence, Esther developed courage and Godliness and through her bold actions with King Xerxes, saved the nation of Israel. In the meantime, one of the King's ungodly captains, Haaman, plots to kill Mordecai. The plot fails and Haaman is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai. I was reminded that when you "let your light shine" (1) those who are open to the things of the Lord are drawn to you - because they want more of Christ. Those who are threatened by the light of those who "follow hard" after Christ many times try to play the power card or exercise their own agendas. It is in those times that you learn who your friends are...are they happy for you? Do they cry with you? Are they on their knees for you? Do they stand by you? Do they want the best for you? The Bible says "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for they will inheirit the Kingdom of God." (2) So, dear friends who are struggling under the weight of the world's pressures, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (3) ..... This momentary light affliction will produce for you an eternal weight of glory." (4)

(1) Matthew 5:16
(2) Matthew 5:10
(3) John 16:33
(4) 2 Corinthians 4:17

Allergies & Family

The past two weeks have been quite revealing to me personally. It all began with a new round of allergy testing. There are two methods of testing, one is a simple blood test and the other is a series of 48 pricks with antigen that cause reactions. This is the preferred method of my Allergist which precludes the immunotherapy (weekly shots). Here you see one of my arms after the test.

Now I have had allergies all of my life but this test revealed some allergies that I either developed recently or never knew I had. Food allergies! It was such a shock to hear that I was allergic to wheat, eggs, peanuts, citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit) and tomatos. So for the past week I have been ridding my panty of these things...I never knew how healthly I had gotten with all of the wheat/whole grain products (bagels, bread, spaghetti, noodles, etc.).

My other high allergies were mold and dust mites. They recommend that you wash and dry your sheets and all bedding once per week in the highest heat possible. So, I took that to mean that I needed to replace my 10 year old quilt and get a new one. This is the updated look of my log bed.

One last little note. Several of my friends are incredibly creative. I look at magazines and can tell what I like but rarely can do anything remotely resembling the project I liked. Here is a very primative attempt at displaying a family memory.


This is a picture of my paternal grandparents, Cecil and Eloise Scott. The background is one if my grandmother's handkerchefs. I am not sure how I ended up with them; but I am glad I did. I framed one and overlaid a picture and gave this to my brother for his birthday. Maybe one day, I will try this again with all the proper tools. I have the heart but I lack the patience or foreplanning to do it how it should be done. But maybe you can get inspired to display some old family memory.

"Show-Me Friendly"

Trish is from Missouri (the "show-me" state) and I am from Texas (the "friendly" state). We have been friends for 12+ years. We met while working together at Kanakuk in the mid-90's and our friendship has weathered distance, missed meetings, misunderstandings, and just the changes in life. We see each other a couple of times a year, but I think we both know that if the other "whistled" we would each "come running" to help however we can.

These pictures are from her last visit to Waco...we were eating at McAlister's. As we walked in, she turned to me and said, "this place reminds me of EJ" who is a much loved mutual friend of ours. The strong pull of relational connections is both evident and Biblical. God did not create us to walk this journey alone. He created friends to share the joys and triumphs, to share memorable moments and funny times. There is the verse in Eccl. that states that "two are better than one for if one falls the other is there to help him up; and a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." There is also the beautiful picture of friendship between Jonathan and David in 1 Samuel.

Friends: what are your thoughts on friends? Do you have enough? Are they in there for the long haul or just come running in times of crisis? Do they lift you up or drag you down? Do they get in your face and have your back all at the same time? What kind of friends do you have?

We can learn alot about friendship from our dogs...
who are appropriately dubbed
"man's best friend."

Yes, Brady sleeps in funny positions. She has to stay out in the cold or heat all day long (doing her own thing) while I am at work...but every day - every single day...when I come home from work, I give a whistle and she comes running. She is happy to see me every time - without exception. We take walks together, we go swimming together, we nap and eat - she even watches TV with me. She is loving and protective. She is affectionate and always wants to be close. Dogs are great examples of a friend...they forgive and forget and act as if the injustices or misunderstandings never happened. Not one time has Brady ever brought back up some time that I forgot to feed her or that I didn't go for a walk with her. How I would like to be like her...except of course in the all-exposed sleeping position.

Brrr...Little House on the Prairie

If you have kept up with the weather, a winter storm has been hovering over Texas for the past 48 hours. Over 300 flights were canceled, roads were sanded, the wind howled, and there was no electricity or water when frozen limbs fell on electric lines. Utilities were out for about 10 hours and literally, living in a log cabin, I felt like Laura in Little House on the Prairie. I got up to no heat and went out to gather wood and build a fire. Honestly, it was refreshing to read by the light of the sun and build a fire and not be bombarded with noise from the TV or Computer. I wish I had more days like this to simply enjoy life. However, I will admit, when my cell phone went dead, I went out to start my car and left it running to de-ice it and charge my cell phone. :) I met up with my nieces and parents around lunch to have an inside weinie roast - yep: hot dogs and smores. You forget how much electricity is part of our everyday lives. I enjoyed the challenge for the day but prefer to live in the 21st century.

0007 ZooLoo Whiskey

I have rarely been known to do things spontaneously; however, I tried to "just do it" this Christmas. Here you can see the Cabin at Christmas with my girl Brady. Two days later I hitched a ride on this Diamond Star with Brenner Campbell over to Alabama to see my good friends Elizabeth and Forrest Williams (and his parents, and his grandma, and his uncle, and his cousin and his sister and her family)...their philosophy was "the more the merrier." Brenner is a pilot and was going to go to West Point for some racoon hunting with Forrest. I volunteered to be his co-pilot. Here is his plane with us ready to go. It only took a little over 2 hours to get there. It was so fun to be in a fully loaded (GPS system, auto-pilot - see top picture) plane with an excellent pilot. After we got to West Point the family time began. Honestly, that is the way holidays should be - laid back and inclusive of family and friends.

It was fun to be there and to experience Christmas the William's way. Some serious gifts, some thoughtful gifts, some funny gifts - all were meaningful gifts. Here's one little example of a sign given to "granny williams" whose real name is Joel. I can't show Sylvia's gift from Arbelle because it might be used to incriminate the innocent. And I would show you Elizabeth's gift...she got for the Clement's Athletic Banquet - for one whole dollar - but you know how it is...family secrets must stay in the family.

The one thing I thought over the course of this little southeastern adventure are actually the words to an old gospel song: "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God; I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood. Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. ~~ You will notice we say brother and sister around here; it's because we're a family and these folks are so dear. When one has a heartache we all share the tears and rejoice in each victory in this family so dear."

Take the 405 from Huntington to Westwood

Happy New Year! I finally found my camera cord - you know, it was in that safe place, right where I put it when I had to stash the junkie stuff when it was party time. Over the holidays, between December 14th and December 19th I flew (commercially) to California to see my family. The day I got to Huntington Beach, we piled into my uncle's "Duffy" to take a self-guided tour of the Huntington Harbor. Each year those who live on the water light up their boats and bayside homes and they hold a parade of lights. Here are two pictures from our tour.

Later that week, I got on "the 405" and headed up to the University of California at Los Angeles to watch the Lady Bears take on the UCLA Bruins at the famous Pauley Pavillion on Wooden Court. Such basketball history was made here by legendary Coach John Wooden. His "Pyramid of Success" is well-known to coaches and administrators alike. It was amazing to see the banners and experience this storied court (at this time the UCLA men are ranked #1 in the country) and of course to watch the Lady Bears take control of the Bruins - a good time was had by all.