Virtual Birthday Party

The internet is an amazing thing. (I'm so glad Al Gore invented it!) We have a web cam on our computer so we can see our grandchildren - 2 live in the UK and 1 lives in Florida. Our oldest granddaughter, Cerys, turns 4 tomorrow. She lives in Wales. This will be the first birthday of Cerys' that we have missed. So today we had a virtual birthday party for her. We shipped her presents a couple of weeks ago and today we celebrated over the internet and got to watch her open the gifts we had sent to her. We sang happy birthday to her. She and Bailey entertained us by singing for us. We just sat and watched her play with her new toys. We laughed and clapped and had just the best time. Of course it was not nearly as good as getting to hold the girls in our arms and squeeze and hug and kiss them, but at least we got to be a part of a birthday happening across the ocean far away.

There are days we ache so much to hold them that we can physically feel the ache. There are days Randy and I talk about the girls and tears fill our eyes because we want to be with them so they can crawl up in our laps and cuddle and laugh. While their parents have been called to the highest calling of which we are proud and supportive of, we still deal with the human side of longing so deeply to be close to them but dealing with and accepting the fact they are not. I guess that's where God's grace comes in.

Anyway, we had a great time at Cerys' birthday today....and are so thankful for the virtual reality of the times we are living in!!

Varsity

Tomorrow night is the first Varisty basketball game for Caleb. I am so excited about this game. My camera is in my purse ready to go. Last year as a freshman, Caleb had a very good season and the games were a lot of fun. Of course, winning is always fun. Then during the spring, he tried out for a select team sponsored by Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz. He made the team and had a very busy summer playing in tournaments everywhere from Texas A&M to OU to Las Vegas. They played in tournaments 3 weekends out of every month during the summer. It was an incredible experience for him and us. (He really liked all the traveling and staying in all those hotels!!) Randy and I went to every tournament. In Vegas, we got to go see the USA Olympic Team (made up of Deron Williams, Koby Byrant, and a few other NBA players) play Canada just a couple of days before they left to go to China for the Olympics. Anyway, playing on the Deron Williams Elite basketball team this summer helped improve his game and get him ready for school ball. And now it's here. He made the Varsity team as a sophomore. He is the only sophomore on the team and while I had my concerns about him being accepted by the juniors and seniors on the team, the guys have done an awesome job of treating him as their equal. They have played a couple of tournaments and scrimmages over the last 3 weeks and he was one of the starting five each time. He is in the gym every morning at 6:30am to work on shooting. He locks himself in the gym and he just stands there and shoots until nearly time for school to start at 8:00am. He's been doing that since school started this year. His shooting was so good in the tournaments that after the last game a couple of the seniors asked him if they could come at 6:30 and shoot too. (He was 8 for 10 on his 3 point shots and 100% at the free throw line - just to brag a little!) He still has a lot to learn on the varsity level, he is working on his speed and his defense, varisty is a lot faster than freshman or JV ball, but he is developing nicely. I expect really exciting things from him by the time he is a senior. But, now he starts his Varsity career, now comes the real test, at a real game that counts. He just finished modeling the new team uniform....he's just a little excited too! I'll keep posted on how the games goes.

The Election

I rushed home from work Tuesday, ordered pizza to be delivered, put on my pajamas, found the remote (which is usually pretty challenging - I found it in such places like the restroom, the refrigerator, Randy's pants pocket, his jacket, under the seat cushion of his recliner, to name a few) and got comfy on the sofa. I was settled in for the night to watch the Presidential election results. I don't know why I do that. I always get so upset with all the Networks because they start predicted the winner before the polls have even closed.

As the evening went by and the higher Obama's electoral vote got, the more pizza I ate. Only Caleb and I were home and we ate 2 large pizzas, breadsticks and cinnamonsticks. By the end of the evening, I was feeling sick. I'm not sure if it was the pizza or the deep, deep sense of grief that I felt. Finally by 1:00am, I realized it was over and nothing was going to change. I guess I kept waiting for someone to announce that God had caused a great miracle to happen - like the parting of the Red Sea - except it would be that McCain was the real winner, but that didn't happen.

I really had such a heaviness in my heart for our country. While McCain wasn't my first choice for the Republican candidate, he became my choice on the ballot because he more closely lined up with my Christian beliefs and principles than Obama. And of course Sarah Palin was certainly a welcomed addition to ticket.

Fear tried to grip me as I lay in bed Tuesday night. Everything I have heard and read about Obama is cause for concern. Having read the "Left Behind" series a few years ago, I can almost envision the anti-christ. How quickly will the new president lead us into horrific situations on the world scene? How quickly will Christian voices be silenced? How quickly will the Islam religion have greater rights than Christians will have? Not to mention his philosophies on abortion and withholding medical treatment to babies who survive a botched abortion. So many more babies will lose their lives because it will be so much easier for their mothers to decide even in late term that their baby will be an inconvenince to them. And my money! My "wealth is already spread around" by bill collectors. I work hard for my salary to pay our bills and provide for our family. I don't mind helping others less fortunate than me and we do give for that purpose, but I do mind the government deciding that a huge chunk of my salary should be given to those that....well...I'll just say what I think....to those that don't work, to those that want free handouts. I DO MIND!!! And I don't want to live is socialistic country.

I realize every generation has thought theirs would see the return of Jesus. But we are so much closer to that event now than ever. Biblical Prophecy seems to be more fulfilled every day. Now, I don't know that we are ushering in the days before the Tribulation, but if we're not, I know the ground work is being laid by this election to set the stage for the anti-christ. I think of my precious grandchildren and wonder what the world will be like as they grow up. I am afraid for them.

But, I must remember that God is still control no matter who is in the White House. I must remain faithful to Him. I must respect the office and pray for the man. I want him to not be all that I fear. I want God to minister to him and his family, I want God to show him that He is the Way and the Truth. I want God to keep him and his family safe. I pray that some stupid white supremist skinhead doesn't do harm him.

I know the end times are coming and I know I will spend eternity in heaven. I am secure in that fact. But I don't want to go yet.

The Amazing Race

I just got home from a youth event at our church called the Amazing Race. We sign up as teams (there were 8 of us on my team), get our first clue and the time begins. We run (literally) jump in the car and we're off to figure out the location of the next clue. Sometimes the clues are fairly simple while others, if not thought completely through, can lead you to nowhere ticking minutes off the clock. Each team tries to collect 10 clues and complete 10 tasks and race back to the church. The team who does this in the least amount of time wins. Each clue is printed on an envelope which is sealed. If you just can't figure out the answer, you can open the envelope to get the answer but an opened envelope will add 10 minutes to your time. All ten envelopes are turned in at finish. Oh, my team is made up 10th grade girls.

Our clues took us from Plano to Carrollton to Frisco & back to Plano. One clue read, "Go to a well known intersection in Plano where farm animals are kept, distuished men gather to read and the potter can be found." First of all, do you know how many "well known intersections" there are in Plano? There are quite a few actually! The answers to the clue were loudly debated ranging from a housing division with the word Ranch in it, to a library or bookstore. The answer: Barnes & Noble at Preston Rd and Park. Farm animals are kept in a barn (Barnes), distinuished (Noble) men would read in reading rooms, and the potter (Harry Potter) can be found (in the children's section). Once we got there, part of the team charged into Barnes & Noble to the children's area where an Amazing Race person was waiting, a task was given and completed, the next clue received then race back to the car where I was waiting with motor running, doors open, ready to race away. Some tasks were physical like kicking a football through the goal posts at a particular high school, singing a certain song or answering questions, etc. At a fire station, we ALL had to get out of the car and "Stop, Drop and Roll". I only had trouble on the "getting up part" after I rolled!

The race began at 1:00pm and we had to be back at the church by 3:00pm even if we had not found all the clues. We finished with all 10 clues completed at 2:48pm. We felt pretty good about that!! We won't know until next Sunday who the winner is. But no matter what place we finished, we were excited that we finished!

I am reminded of the spiritual application of a race and how we are in the most Amazing Race of all, the race of life. We are to finish the race strong, completing the tasks God has set for each of us. He has given us the clues to this race throughout His Word and He has equipped us to run. The clues tell us how to be prepared and how to run this race all the way to the finish line... the clues also tell us not just how to finish, but how to enjoy the race itself. And today as the girls worked together to figure out the clues, there was A LOT of discussion, but there was no arguing or fighting. They worked as a team with support and encouragement. They cheered each other on as tasks were attempted. They were one today. No one better than the other, all hurt feelings laid aside, no drama (now that's HUGE!), they were a team, they enjoyed every minute of the race-even when they got a clue wrong, and they finished strong together. Isn't that how we as Christians should be conducting ourselves during THE race? Working together, supporting, encouraging, cheering each other on? We could run harder and farther with the encouragement of each other, feel lifted up when discouraged, enjoy the race so much more and finish victoriously strong, together, cheering!