A Lake Outing!

I took this after Becky came back from getting her "back to school" haircut...so cute! I am very proud of Becky. She has always had a "heart" for the hurting. Her mission trips showed that. She would have brought several of the children home from Haiti if she was allowed. I know her family, Matthew and his family, will be better for she and Jason taking him into their home and hearts. We all need to pray daily for Matthew to grow up with love in his heart and for Austin to know they did this out of love. A lot about love...that's the sermon Jon preached last night! Sermon notes at the bottom of this blog.

If you happen to have checked out my blog since Tues., you will have noticed no new entries! Well, I lost my camera....tragic for me. I take it with me everywhere I go. It's not an expensive one, but I have taken photos since Jason and Becky were babies. I even made my own version of a scrapbook (wish I had used the "right" type of paper, tape, and added cute "add ons" and I would be rich by now! I did have all their teachers, through elementary school, sign it and pasted their photos on each page. It was good recently going through and reading notes about their life as they grew up.

Anyway, back to my camera...it was lost and now it's found!!! I couldn't remember where I placed it, but (now that Clyde found it) I remember putting it in the center compartment of the Avalon. I even recall (now!) that I thought to myself "self (that's what Austin would say) don't forget you are putting it in here!" Well, I forgot. So, today, as we are heading out for Cumberland Lake with the Wiley's (this goes way back, but it's been a LONG time since we've went boating) he found it in the car!! Yeah. I will take photos today and post them tomorrow.
I always write a note to my kids as I leave town, usually not for a one day trip, however. But I AM going out on a boat after all and I AM 55 years old (don't laugh, I know this isn't like doing something courageous, but it is big for me). So, I will say, I love you guys....Austin, you're Nana's little man. When we leave each other, one of us will call out "I love YOU more....from the grass to the sky", or something silly like that. This was before Maggie and Matthew came along and could understand the words! We don't mean "I love you more than mommy or daddy, or I love you more than Maggie or Matthew", just I love YOU more than YOU love me! So, saying all that, I love all of you more. Be safe, see you there. You are family, don't forget each other.

We have the best parents any family could have...we all love them dearly.

Last night we went to church so we could get on the road early for the lake. My thoughts on the sermon....number 3 for our "IT" series. We walked in with Fred and Michelle and he noticed pretty quickly there were no musicians on the stage, no mics, no keyboards. Just one old looking sofa. There were no bulletins either. Just back to the basics. Soon (no singing) Jon came on the large screen and spoke. The message was

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love"...Gal. 5:6

It is a radical commitment to a radical generosity.

Be the church, go into our city and serve. Do radical ACTS of love. We're on a mission to radically love this city...Go do it, go make someones day. Be the person Jesus loved and died for today...you won't ever regret loving another person. These were the points I recall from Jon's sermon.