Praise the Lord, hallelujah, go to church.....

Track is OVER!!! Barrett qualified to go the Amarillo Relays in the 2400 (mile & a half) and the 1600 (mile). They tried to have the meet about a week ago, when it was in the 40's and raining/sleeting, but ended up having to cancel it. But unfortunately for Barrett, they cancelled it AFTER he ran the mile & a half in that miserable weather. I have never felt so sorry for a kid (all of them actually) by the end of it he was dripping wet & shivering. He said he couldn't even hold his head up when he was running against the north wind and the sleet. Miserable. But, on the day they finished it up, last Tuesday, the weather was gorgeous, thank God! He ran the mile in 6 min. flat, which I thought was really fast, but he probably got about 10th or 11th place, I'm not sure. But i do know he didn't get last, there were 4 or 5 kids after him. The winner (from Bowie) ran a 5.18. There are some speedy kids in Amarillo. But I was so proud of him, especially considering he didn't get any genes for long distance running from either his mom or dad! :-) He told me on the way home he was so happy because that was the last track meet he would ever have to run in......AMEN brother!
The last couple of weekends we have been "kidless" and it has been kind of weird. Weekend before last, both of them went on a youth trip w/ the church. So, being on our own, Lon & I started out the weekend by sleeping in (well actually only I got to sleep in, Lon had to take the kids to the church by 7am!) anyway, we went to lunch at one of our favorite spots....Basil Doc's. Their pizza is to die for, not to mention the basil bread w/ olive tapenade. We decided to try one of their "white pizzas" that is drizzled w/ olive oil instead of tomato sauce. I never dreamed Lon would go for something like that, but he informed me he is becoming a "man of the world" and trying new things......:-) OK--whatever. Anyway, the pizza was delicious! We got the Pinnarello, which had fresh basil, sun-dried tomato, mushrooms and cheese. (Notice, not any meat...again, very unusual for Lon....maybe he IS becoming a man of the world :-) Then we went to what has become one of our favorite activities-----a Tascosa baseball game. We absolutely love watching them play, and the son of a friend of ours plays 2nd base. Plus, they are pretty good this year, even beating Amarillo High once. Tascosa easily has the nicest, most beautifully groomed field in this area, no one else even comes close. They mow the grass in a pattern, just like the big leagues. It is something the Tascosa dads take alot of pride in, as they should, it is gorgeous. Baseball is such a fun game to watch at the high school/college level. Lon's love of the game has rubbed off on me, he has taught me so much about it. It is sooo much more complicated than I thought, which makes it so fun to watch. Finally, we rounded out the day with more Italian food at Carino's, which included drinks and dessert! It was so nice to just leisurely enjoy the day together, we even managed to get a nap in!!
This past weekend, we ended having a few hours to ourselves when Barrett went golfing w/ his buddies and Gracen went to Brush w/ Art with a friend. It was a miracle that they didn't have games, but barrett's baseball team was off this weekend and gracen finished up w/ volleyball a couple weeks ago. So..... I was able to talk Lon into going to the mall w/ me, you know, being a man of the world and everything, he ought to enjoy the mall. Well, he was patient for a little while, but I knew I was pushing my luck, so we didn't stay too long. But, it dawned on us that we are not that far away from the kids totally doing their own thing on the weekends, which is bittersweet. On one hand, it will give us more time to spend together, which we look forward to. But, on the other hand, it means they are growing up and it won't be too long before they are gone from home, which makes me sad. Just last thursday night, it was Wonderland Night for our school, and for the first time ever, they both went w/ friends and Lon & I didn't go at all. Which was GREAT, don't get me wrong, just different. The last few years, they totally hang w/ their friends and only talk to us if they need money :-), but at least we were there. Not this year, they were totally on their own.....well, for the most part, they still needed a ride home! That night as they were getting ready to head out, barrett said "Momma, remember when we would go to Wonderland, just me, you, daddy & gracen and we would stay together and not go with our friends?" Yeah, I do remember it, for me it seems like it was only a couple years ago. In fact, our very first "Wonderland Night", when barrett was in kindergarten @ Paramount Terrace, I got talked into riding the Rattle Snake River Ride (I have a personal rule not to ever ride water rides....gross!) and sure enough one of those water cannons exploded right when i was in front of it, soaking me from head to toe! Everyone in the family thought that was just the most hilarious thing. Not me. Needless to say, Wonderland Night ground to an ugly and screeching halt after that! And to this day, you will never, EVER, catch me on the Rattlesnake River Ride. I just smile & wave as those morons go splashing by. Even considering that, it is still a precious memory that seems like happened only yesterday......Now, kind of like track, we only have one year left of "Wonderland Night" then we'll be done for good. High school kids don't have Wonderland Night....*sigh*

A reminder.....

I posted about a year ago that track blows goats. Well, I was reminded yesterday that it still does, even more so than I originally thought! If you don't live in Amarillo, allow me to set the scene......45 degrees, overcast, wind/rain blowing about 15 to 20 mph. I just knew they would cancel the whole thing......WRONG!! I got my hopes up when Gracen called me to say all field events had been cancelled (she throws shot & discus) YEA!!! But the track events were going ahead as scheduled.....bummer. So, I took my blanket and headed out to Dick Bivins Stadium. Barrett was running the 2400 (mileand a half--gross) and the 1600 (mile--also gross), but even worse was the 2400 was the very first event, at around 3:30 and the 1600 was almost last at 7:30......for those of you keeping count thats FOUR hours sitting freezing my rear off. But at least I had a blanket, I felt so sorry for those kids, they looked miserable! Oh, and did I mention that the misty rain that was falling caused the hairspray in my hair to cement into a lovely brown football helmet!! (ie--Steel Magnolias) Yeah, I was lookin pretty good when I left there. You know, if my kids enjoyed it, I would sit out there all day and not make a peep. But they both hate it. Last year, Barrett kind of liked it and was pretty successful at it, he really liked those long distances. But, this year he is about 5in taller and probably weighs 20-25 lbs more. He has really gone through a growth spurt in the last year and has filled out alot. Consequently, he's not as aerodynamic as he used to be :-) Still, he finished 5th place in the 2400 out of about 20 kids, not bad. Like I said, Gracen does the shot and discus and shes actually not too bad at it, she just doesn't like it. Totally don't blame her. But, since they go to the smallest middle school in Ama, they really need everyone to participate in track & field. Thank goodness it's almost over and then we'll only have one more year of track. (Which I'm sure will continue to blow goats next year as well!!)

Refining....

A few years ago, the preacher @ our church, who had been there for many years, led a kind of revolt and basically extorted our church for alot of money, saying if we didn't give him what he wanted, he would leave and take a large portion of our congregation w/ him. I was so proud of the leadership at the time because they refused to be manipulated and told him (in as loving a way as possible) to go right ahead. He made good on his threat, leaving and taking a good number of our members with him. The resulting split was devastating to our church and did untold damage to lots of families. I wondered at the time if we could ever recover, it seemed we were wounded beyond repair. But nothing, I found out, is ever wounded beyond repair for God. In fact, in retrospect, I see how God was working in that situation. The old preacher had to be removed as well as some of the members he took w/ him, in order for God's plan to begin to unfold for our church and its mission in downtown amarillo. To actually take the gospel to the hurting people that were literally w/in yards of our church. We were so fortunate that God chose a special man to be the pulpit minister for this new season in our church history. Dan Bouchelle has been our preacher ever since "the split" and God laid on his heart thru the Holy Spirit, the new mission He had planned for our church. I have never EVER heard a preacher like Dan, the HS works thru him in ways I have never experienced before. His sermons cut me to the heart, which is a good thing. If you try to compliment him, though, he totally deflects any praise from himself and gives it to God. Which is as it should be. I thank God for what He is doing thru this man. Dan is so transparent about his struggles and failures, it makes me realize that "Hey, he struggles w/ the same things I do. " So, I try to give all the glory to God and not elevate Dan to an exalted position that he could never possibly live up to. He is a man, that God is speaking thru to reach a hurting world. My point in saying all this is to say you have GOT to listen to his sermon from Sunday, April 6th. It can be found at amarillocentral.org. Well, I don't guess you've GOT to, but it would be well worth your time. It concerns the politics that seem to consume the airwaves these days. It seems like alot of Christians are putting faith in the political system to change our world/country, when the ONLY one who can do that is God Himself, thru Christ Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that we, as Christians don't have the luxury of sitting out the political process. I believe it is my duty to vote, and I do. Too many brave patriots have given their very lives for that right. I don't take it for granted. I also have my opinions about who is the best candidate, which I won't go into here. I also believe it is my duty to pray for our leaders, whatever political party they happen to be. I believe our leaders, especially the President, deserve respect, whether I agree with them politically or not. They deserve not to be ridiculed and called names, i.e.liar, stupid, etc, etc. But, I think that our greatest calling as Christians is to change the world by "being Jesus" to the people we come into contact with every day. Basically, changing the world from the "bottom up", not the other way around. Which is what Dan said yesterday, only much more eloquently. Actually, it's what Jesus said too, only not in those exact words. So...... check it out.
On another note, the book I am reading, Isaac's Storm, is going pretty slow, laying the groundwork for how weather is forecast, kind of dull stuff. But now, about half way through, it is finally getting around to why the Galveston storm in 1900 was a such a surprise with so much loss of life (estimates of 6,000-10,000 lives lost). It addresses the hubris that existed at the turn of the last century concerning man's mastery of weather. Basically the "Titanic Mindset", very interesting. I'll keep you posted.

Great book!!

I just finished a book called---same kind of different as me (ron hall & denver moore) I can't recommend it highly enough. Although, one caveat, bring your kleenex. Don't let that put you off though. It is a fairly short book and a quick read. It is a true story about a Christian couple trying to make a difference in the lives of the homeless in downtown Ft. Worth. It was really meaningful to me, considering Lon's mom spent the last 30 yrs of her life, serving those very people at Faith City Mission in Amarillo. It dispenses with alot of fears and stereotypes people have about homeless people ( probably confirms some too) and (for me at least) made me take a second look at my own biases. Check it out, you won't be sorry. The book I'm about to start now is called Isaac's Storm. It is the story of Isaac Cline, who was one of the early meteorologists with the NWS at the turn of the 20th century in Galveston. It chronicles the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, still the deadliest natural disaster in our nations history. Needless to say, I have very eclectic reading tastes.