There's a popular worship song that we sing with ZOE called "Be Unto Your Name" by Lynn DeShazo and Gary Sadler (the man). The first verse goes like this...

We are a moment, You are forever
Lord of the ages, God before time
We are a vapor, You are eternal
Love everlasting, reigning on high

Today Sheryl's brother, David, lost his battle with cancer. He died around noon. We got word this afternoon from Sheryl's mom. It's been a hard battle these last couple of months. But, as in all of his life, David did not quit fighting. The doctors said about 6 weeks ago that he wouldn't make it through the week. David fought. We got to see him over Labor Day weekend along with some of Sheryl's other siblings. He looked so tired, so sick, so not himself. Today he is free from cancer.

We are the broken, You are the Healer
Jesus, Redeemer, mighty to save
You are the love song we'll sing forever
Bowing before You, blessing Your name!

Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
Highest praises, honor and glory
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name.

Last night ZOE had rehearsal with The Nashville Choir and Ashley Cleveland for our performance at the new Nashville Symphony center, the Schermerhorn. We're a part of a really cool night coming up on October 15th. ZOE is singing "How Great is Our God" by ourselves, "As the Deer" with the 200 voice Nashville Choir backing us, and leading the entire audience in singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness". There are all kinds of Nashville musicians singing with the choir...folks like Kirk Dearman, Gary Pigg, Mandisa (from American Idol...you know I'm lovin me some Mandisa!) and others. It's been a great experience so far--and challenging!

As I write, Sam has the vacuum hose using it as a trumpet. He sounds hilarious! Maddie and Ella are so cute with him.

It's only supposed to be 68 here today and there are several "harvest festivals" here this weekend. What a great time of year!

Loved the comments yesterday! Thanks for being random with me.

Now, the funniest comments to me were the ones talking about getting dizzy in spin class. I guess the name is sort of confusing. It's not "Sit and Spin" for adults. I would completely barf my lunch up every day if it was...I can't even do the tea cups at Disney without wanting to hurl.

Spin is an awesome aerobic work out. You should all try it. It's 45 minutes of intense biking on a special stationary bike. The bike allows for adjustments to the seat, handle bars, and height. This helps for all the folks who actually race or ride seriously to adjust to make it as close to their own personal bike as possible. There's also a knob that you turn throughout the class making the resistance more or less difficult depending on what the teacher instructs. He or she will take you through sprints, hills, jumps, endurance challenges, and toning exercises. There's loud rockin' music and I never get bored. 45 minutes of great, intense work. It's fun!

OK--one last thing today...this morning when I dropped off Ella her teacher told me something she overheard Tuesday. Apparently, the kids were standing in line waiting to go potty and one of Ella's classmates told her that her father was a pilot of an airplane. Ella chimed in saying, "My daddy knows how to turn on the TV!" Thanks, Ella.

Would you...

1. Buy grapes even if they were more than .99 a lb?

2. Vote for George Clooney for President?

3. Vote for Oprah for President?

4. Go to a U2 concert?

5. Go to a Gaither Homecoming?

6. Buy a new... or used car?

7. If you had to choose, rather lose the ability to hear or see?

8. Try a spin class?

9. Rather eat escargot...or squirrel meat?

10. Rather jump off your house or jump out of a moving car?

Ten random questions for you today...oh, and this blog is dedicated in loving memory to Jack the fish. May he rest in peace (in the sewers in underground Nashville). When Sheryl told Maddie and Ella about Jack, Ella got upset and Maddie just explained to all of us the natural order of things...Fish die first, then snakes (please..let THEM die first), then dogs and THEN people. Just in case you didn't know.

Tuesdays are usually full of meetings for me. It begins at 8:30 and usually goes all day. The one break I usually take is during lunch when I go to my spin class at the Y. Our normal teacher wasn't there today. In place of him was a woman named Deborah. Deborah is like the Tazmanian Devil. She is an ex-military officer and has probably .01% body fat. She likes "fast flats" which means she likes bike sprinting. A lot. I got my tail kicked today by a woman named Deborah.

I was zoning this morning a little during staff meeting thinking about the lists of things that need to happen before this time next week when ZOE stuff will be kicking into high gear. I felt my blood pressure rising and my anxiety levels beginning to bubble over. Then Doug told us about a 20 year old woman he's helping who has 5 kids. She can't read or write and they live in a car when they can't find a place to stay. I immediately snapped out of it. The more I hear about families in crisis like that the more I feel burdened by the things we spend so much time and energy on that are only marginally helpful to those truly hurting. I thought about Larry James today of Central Dallas Ministries and how patient he is in online discussions where people pontificate on social justice (like me) while he's out there in the trenches.

Sometimes it's good to be snapped back into reality. Today 2 women did that for me. One whose name I don't know but whose story moved me. And another named Deborah who showed me how it feels to want to pass out on a bike.

Sam is growing fast! Sheryl snapped this over the weekend. Like the furry slipper on his hand? (Thanks Howells!!)


Here's a pic of my buddy, Nate, and me taken last week. Nathan used to (and still does sometimes) sing with ZOE.

Ella and I had a "Daddy date" today. She wanted to go play on the playground inside Cool Springs Mall. One of the other younger girls had an unfortunate accident all over the plastic boat. Ella was so kind with her and helped her. (and I watched in pity thinking...I know exactly how that feels!!) :)

I hope your weekend was great. The weather here was wonderful. Yesterday we borrowed some friends' power washer and went to work on the outside of our house and fence. Wow...love the power washer!!!

Last night...Jeanne Sandella brought a delicious meal over with John and the kids. We enjoyed our time together and the meal was incredible! Thanks, guys!

This morning we talked about covenant. It was a great morning and very encouraging personally. It was also wonderful to have my mom back and sitting on the front row! We had an emotional send off for TJ and Holly at the end of service. They are back from language school and off to the Dominican to begin their work there.

This afternoon we had a rehearsal for the Schermerhorn Symphony Center concert in 2 weeks. I am so excited that we get to be a part of that. There are some tickets left but they are the $50 and up tickets. Let me know if you're interested.

Life group tonight was really wonderful...we had a great time of worship and shared communion together. I continue to be so thankful for our life group family.

It's not supposed to be above the mid 70s here this week. Wooo-hooo! Have a great Monday everyone!

First things first...
We had dinner at Phillip and Mary Alice Duncan's house last night. Mary Alice is the queen of lasagna. WOW! I think I had 5 helpings. How humiliating! And then we had this awesome Oreo pie (at first I thought she said Oriental pie, then I heard burrito pie...both of which were scaring me a bit.) The Oreo pie was also out of this world! Mary Alice, you ROCK!!! Such sweet friends!

I pulled into work this morning and there were hundreds of people in the parking lot. Apparently it's Brentwood High School's homecoming and the parade begins from our parking lot. There were floats, cheerleaders, the band, cars with homecoming queen nominees, etc. It reminded me of the ACU homecoming parade.

We LOVE getting to go back for ACU homecoming. The parade is always AWESOME! The floats are always so cool! The kids always love watching. I'm sad that we won't be there this year. But...next year is a reunion year for me so I will be there.

I remember Gamma Sig Homecoming breakfasts at ACU. Having to wake up at 3:30 or 4:00 am as a pledge to get things ready. Having to wake up at 5:30 as a member and even now to attend. (I promised myself I wouldn't go back...if I want to throw biscuits at someone I can do that at home. For free.) I noticed in the ACU Homecoming program that the Knights are having a reunion meal at 10:30am or something. Now THAT'S what I'm talkin about. Maybe if the time changed I'd reconsider going. Gamma Sigs...maybe next year?

It made me think about homecoming stuff from high school too. Mums...such a bizarre Texas thing. I remember girls wearing mums that basically took over their bodies like a giant spider. Mums with cow bells, mums with gold footballs hanging, mums with teddy bears, mums with cheerleader dolls, mums with megaphones, mums with just about anything you can imagine. I think some of them had to actually be strapped on or they'd have ripped the shirt they were pinned to. Then...the guys started. Garters. Garters with footballs, garters with numerous other symbols.

It also reminded me of Junior High (which is what it was back in my day...not "middle school"). Remember paying 50 cents for a "ribbon"? They had the slogan of the week and the colors. I still have some.

All that to say, fall is certainly here. It brings a nice spell of cool weather (it was in the lower 50's here last night). It also brings nice fall colors and lots of memories. Hope you enjoy your weekend. Friday night football, anyone?

Eric Wyse and I are working on a hymns project for Family Christian Bookstores. (Some of them with the Prague Symphony...absolutely breathtaking.) It's 150 of America's top hymns...6 CDs worth plus a book of hymn stories. CRAZY! Do you have any idea how many that really is? Sheryl and I were going through some masters last night and working on the project. 150. I kept thinking...wow, we've got a lot here and would count them up--90 or so. 150. Yep. What are your favorite hymns? I'll bet they're on there.

Here are just a few of mine...
--O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
--This is My Father's World (my dad's favorite)
--Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
--Beneath the Cross of Jesus
--O Sacred Head
--Father of Mercies
--Father and Friend, Thy Light Thy Love

ZOE rehearsal went well last night. We're getting ready for the conference. Please be in prayer for Philip and Amy Organ. (Philip sang bass on the recording this year and will be singing at the conference.) Amy's mom has cancer and it's not good. Please pray for healing and peace for that family.

In the news...

Mike summed up some world events brilliantly by saying... "Several fundamentalist Muslims, angered by the Pope's statements that some parts of Islam are violent, have responded in violent retaliation. Thankfully, many moderates of their faith are pointing out the tiny inconsistency in their objections."

This whole thing is so bizarre to me.

In family news, my mom is still in Abilene. Maddie got to talk to her on the phone this morning. The kids are missing her a lot. Sam is really trying to start walking. He is basically willing himself not to at this point. Sheryl and I are getting geared up for the ZOE weekend coming up in a couple of weeks. We're looking forward to seeing you all.

This year we will take the conference on the road to the West Coast as always but we're adding Lubbock, TX in March and Orlando, FL in June. We hope to see all of you in one of those spots!

I appreciated Pegc's comment yesterday and thought I'd just take it online for some discussion from all of us.

She asked... "What do you believe causes one to be able to "worship" and get the "feelings" you are describing? It seems that sometimes music does it, but even according to you, not all the time. So what do you think is the "secret" to drawing one into worship?"

I would begin by saying that nothing can draw us into worship except the Holy Spirit and a willing heart to go there.

Having said that, there are certain things that are important for the worshipper to bring...an open heart, yes, but also a sense of expectation. Sometimes we don't feel like entering in. There is a biblical notion of bringing the sacrifice of praise. David said it. Instead of burnt offerings...He desires our heart. So, even when I don't feel like it (write that ten times and see how ridiculous you feel), God still deserves it, so we offer a sacrifice of praise!

Now, all that aside, there are certain things that help me more than others. Typically, it's the leading that either helps or hinders. Sometimes the happy-clappy, foot stompy types of things are great--when, WHEN, there's a clear object of that excitement--being God and not the person leading worship. Sometimes the mellow, contemplative style does it for me...again, when the leader(s) are helping me see God's face by continually pointing to him.

Obviously, part of it is personality. But, I firmly believe that we can and should be able to worship no matter what the circumstance because God is certainly worthy. We all have things that speak to us a little more deeply. I think for me Sunday night it was a mixture. Taye added some older hymns to the collection and would go back and forth between those and the new ones. He also seemed to really be sensitive to where the Spirit was leading and a couple of times we just parked on a chorus for a few minutes to let it sink in. Honestly, that was the trigger point for me that night. Not just blowing through them, but taking the time to really connect with the lyric. Taking the time to really let it sink into my heart.

Ultimately, the "secret" is the Holy Spirit and our own individual decision to allow him to move in our hearts during worship. Deciding to "go there" if you will. Sometimes it's as easy as that. But I certainly do appreciate leaders who have a shepherding heart in worship--who see the goal and help the church get there--realizing that true worship isn't about the volume, the use or non use of an instrument, the coolness factor of the songs, or anything else besides encouraging the heart to recognize the majesty of Jesus and bow before Him.

Thanks for asking Peg! I'm not always the best at doing the things I've written about here, but since worship is one of my favorite things, I love to talk about it from a worshipper's perspective. Thanks for giving me the open door!

OK--now you guys--what are some things that help you in worship?

In a year or more, I haven't had a worship experience like I had last night. The guys from Sanctuary (the college worship time on Th nights) led our monthly worship night called Celebration. There's just a difference with them. It wasn't about musicianship, though they were all great musicians. It wasn't about self glorification, though they were all extremely talented. There was just a spirit of worship. Taye, the leader, exudes that spirit, but he's not the only one. All those on stage had that spirit. Sometimes when I hear worship bands lead, it's as if the worship leader is the only one even attempting to lead worship while the players are seem checked out--at best. (True sometimes with praise teams too.)

The night culminated for me in a repeating of a David Crowder chorus, "God Reigns" going right into "How Great is Our God". I wasn't even able to sing the last part of it because I had been so moved. I needed that so much. THANK YOU to all the Sanctuary folks for coming and blessing us so richly. I can't remember the last time I felt so powerfully led into worship!

(R-L) Cole Young, Randy Gill, BST, Ken Young, and Keith Lancaster

Yesterday, thanks to Randy's organization, we had a reunion lunch of some of the Nashville worship guys. We don't see each other nearly enough. I emailed Cole yesterday and asked him to join us too. It had been too long since I'd seen him. It was fun catching up. We talked about our churches, our ministries, our ever-changing families, and our dreams for the future. It was fun to be with those guys and catch up a bit. Ella joined me and sat between Cole and me. I think she might have a new crush.

This morning has been filled with house cleaning, playing ball, and enjoying family. I love the weekend! Meanwhile my mom is having a blast at her 50th high school reunion back in TX. Hearing about it is making me homesick. Howdy to all y'all back in the great STATE! Have a great weekend!

Last night Sheryl and I got to do something really cool. There's a violinist who is pretty popular in other circles (she does stuff at Crystal Cathedral, with Benny Hinn, and plays to 10s of thousands in Europe). She did a worship record with the Prague National Symphony (Eric Wyse is producing). David Thornton, Sheryl and I got to add vocals to the record last night. It was a long night, but amazing. The orchestrations are unreal. Parts of it sounded like John Williams. At one point during Here I Am to Worship, the oboe cried in this beautiful woodwind sound. Hearing songs like that one along with In Christ Alone, All Creatures of Our God and King, Praise to the Lord the Almighty, etc just made my spirit stir. 5 1/2 hours of singing over beautiful symphonic sounds...such a wonderful, wonderful treat!

There's a reason to celebrate today! I found out last night that the Playground CD is doing really well! It's the #2 overall seller in Parable bookstores and #1 as far as recordings. YEA!! Click here to order your copy Online ordering of Playground CD

One last funny today...Vicki Atnip, our good friend and also fellow Otter staff member, told me that she was really into watching LOST this season. She said, and I quote, "It's the first reality TV show I've ever watched!"

Eric Noah-Wilson and I made it back in last night without any trouble. In fact, we had a hilarious flight attendant who laughed with us the entire way back from Florida. Turns out she knew my old buddy and former intern, Jay Duty. She regaled us with tales of near terrorist attacks on flights she's worked...the perfect bookend to a thought provoking couple of days.

Thanks for the great comments yesterday. I hope it was clear that I wasn't drawing conclusions...just asking questions and making some observations, mainly about me. You guys all raised some good questions. My friend, Eric Ebeling, wrote me with some more. I'm so thankful for friendship and community. (And grateful for the steak dinner you're offering me, Eric. Don't think for a minute I'm not taking a raincheck.)

There is a crispness to the air here today. Fall is definitely coming. Maddie and Ella had school pictures, football is in full swing, and every grocery and convenience store has Halloween candy stocked and ready. I even wore a long-sleeved shirt today.

Have a great Wednesday, blog family!

I'm sitting here on a lay-over in Miami blogging at the Admiral's Club and feeling extremely sleeeeepy. Eric Noah Wilson and I are meeting with the folks in Orlando today about the ZOE conference there next summer. We fly back tonight.

So, last night I watched the conclusion of the special dramatization of the 9.11 events and then some news coverage that followed on ABC. Knowing I was hopping on an airplane at 6am the next morning, I needed about 10 Lexapro tablets when it was all said and done. FOR THE LOVE. If the Taliban wanted to create terror, they could have just skipped the bombing and gone straight to Charles Gibson and the 20/20 team. I am not under any misguided notions that we are safe from attack. In fact, I believe it's likely that they are always planning some new attack. But, there was no shortage of sensationalism in their reports last night.

The sad thing is...flying, living post 9.11 causes me to look with different eyes. It makes me more paranoid, more suspicious, more prone to profiling. I hate that.

As I watched last night it occurred to me again what a crazy upside down kingdom we belong to in Jesus. Jesus...the guy who chose not to wage war. Jesus, the guy who asks me to turn my cheek. Jesus, the Son of God who gave His life for us so that we wouldn't have to die. Now that...that is crazy, upside down, hard to comprehend, self-less love. And then he asks us to love our enemies? What could that possibly mean? Surely he didn't mean for us to follow His example. Surely. hmmmm. Really, Lord?

Something else occurred to me last night watching this movie. These men and women (terrorists, Taliban, etc) who become martyrs...they do it out of love for God...love for God and hatred for those who oppose their view. (does that sound like anyone else to you?) There was a line in the movie last night saying, "Christians teach that we should turn the other cheek. We will give our God more love than that. We will wage war for our God."

I realize that this is a very sensitive issue, but doesn't it seem like we sort of live somewhere between those two points of view? We have not fully embraced Jesus in his admonition to love our enemies and turn the other cheek. Neither have we decided to wage a holy war. But our culture certainly seems to be caught in this weird place of picking and choosing as we walk around with WWJD wrist bands. It makes me uncomfortable. I do it too.

The longer I live, the more I realize just how much Jesus is really calling me to. Some days I'm ready, other days I struggle. I'm just so incredibly grateful for his love that is transforming all of us. Thank you, God! You don't leave us like You found us! Please, Lord, continue your healing, transformative power in my heart. I desperately need it.

9/11. I remember exactly when we learned...watching the Today show as Sheryl nursed baby Maddie. It's hard to believe 5 years have passed. My thoughts are with those families today.

We had a great weekend! Saturday night my mom took us to see Big River--one of my all time favorite musicals. It was an awesome production! It brought back lots of memories of my senior year at ACU when I was in Big River. I was remembering all the fun people in that cast--Donjalea, Mark Reeves, Kimberly (Meador) Condor, Jennifer Money and Brad Crisp, Jim Brown, Kyle Dickson, Bethany Brooks, Charlci Conatser, Dawn Swearingin, The Neblit, T. Clark Miller, Jennifer Langford, and so many more! It was a blast! (Sorry for mutilating the spelling of names...I know I did.)

Sunday morning we had some men from our mission in Kenya--Made in the Streets--visiting with us. They led us in communion thoughts. It was a cool morning.

The Glory Bugles were last night. It was a huge success! We had a packed house and collected a lot of money for our inner-city Wayne Reed center. The Bugles were hilarious! It was fun seeing the whole thing in context. A couple of my favorite songs..."Heaven Yes, HELL NO", and "Have You Heard From Peter's Rooster?"

Disney Channel...mornings..the Doodle Bops. Is anyone else frightened by them? It's like going back to my theme park days. But worse. The blue guy gives me nightmares.

just a few more weeks til ZOE!! If you haven't yet, go register! You can also order the new ZOE CD... click here to register... ZOE Conference registration and information

Have you seen Greater Tuna? Love it. Have you seen Waiting for Guffman? Well, if you like those spoofy types of things, you'll LOVE the Glory Bugles. These guys are hilarious...most are professional actors or singers (Bonnie Keen formerly of First Call, Nan Gurley famous Nashville actress--and ACU alum--her husband Wayne and Steve Pipkin, music producer, etc). These 4 ARE the Glory Bugles and they will be doing a show at Otter Creek Sunday night. The Tennessean raves about them, and they have quite a following. Brian Mason spent an hour interviewing them and laughing with them last Sunday morning on his radio show.

Admission is free and there's free nursery care for kids under 2yrs old. Come---come and bring your friends. It will be a blast! According to one Glory Bugle, they put the "FUN" in fundamental. One of my favorite songs they sing says something like this... If the King James version was good enough for John the Baptist, it's good enough for me.

6pm Sunday night September 10 at Otter Creek Church, Nashville, TN. Join us!

OK...as an intro to this posting, I should tell you that Maddie is one of the most pure hearted people I know. Sometimes she doesn't even get potty jokes. So, that makes things she actually says accidentally even funnier.

Maddie loves descriptive words. In the last year she began adding an "er" to the ends of words to make them more descriptive. One day I was choosing her clothes and we were in a hurry. (The girl has an opinion--always. If I'm choosing her clothes what I've learned to do no is give her at least 2 options and if I don't she'll actually say, "Give me some options.") I chose her outfit and told her to get dressed quickly. She was a little cranky that morning and was throwing a little fit. I kept thinking...what's the big deal? Finally, in a tormented cry she said, "YOU'RE SUCH A PICKER!!" (it sounded like "pecker") I about lost my teeth.

I said, "EXCUSE ME??" And she responded, "You're such a PICKER! You ALWAYS like to pick what I wear." Oooooohhh...piiiiicker. Got it. (Didn't like the tone...but got it.)

Then in Chattanooga visiting Paul and Jill, it was Ella's turn to ride in the car with Mack. Maddie was furious (and tired after a long day and little sleep). She cried and I asked her what was wrong. "Ella's such a rider." And, actually, she was right. Ella was a rider.

Last night, Ella was being hilarious. She kept making funny jokes in bed and the girls were laughing at each other. I kept sprinkling pretend salt on Ella's arm and pretending to eat it like corn on the cob. Maddie was just rolling on her bed belly laughing. Then she said..."Ella, you're such a CRACKER!" I about died. Seriously. I wanted to fall on the floor. Ella said in her wee smoky voice, "I'm not a craaackerrr!" Then Maddie said, "You always crack me up! You're a CRACKER!"

So, in case anyone was wondering, in my opinion, both of these girls are crackers. They constantly crack me up. WHAT FUN!

PS: Had an AWESOME breakfast today with Chris Seidman and Grant Boone. Oh my goodness. (Ty..be afraid. Be very afraid.) It was so fun to laugh with those guys and then get to talk serious heart stuff. Old friends are such a treasure.

Several updates...

We made it home safely. PRAISE GOD! We even got to see our friend Lauren last night. The kids were excited to see her and we were too.

We're getting ready to move into our offices after 8 months of living out of boxes. That should be fun. We haven't all been together on the same hall in years. I am looking forward to being closer to everyone.

Regarding the post a couple of days ago about "peace"...one funny I forgot to mention was that the girls apparently decided to use this huge bowl of lemon drops as the communion bread. It seems that they passed it back and forth enough times to actually consume the entire bowl between the two of them. They were very lemony-fresh.

The Playground CD hit shelves on September first. If you don't have a Parable bookstore in your neck of the woods, you can click here to order one (and it's a better deal online anyway). Online ordering of Playground CD

Don't forget to register for ZOE... ZOE Conference registration and information

Tonight we begin Vespers again at OC. Fall is officially here!

Have you registered for the ZOE conference yet? Don't wait! It's not far now...

click here to register... ZOE Conference registration and information

COME! We want to see you!

This morning at Sheryl's parents house Maddie and Ella were playing "church" (worship service). Maddie had her Paw-Paw's guitar and Ella was beating on a stool like a bongo drum. Maddie was making up lyrics and playing the guitar singing, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! We thank you, God!" etc.

Then Maddie led a prayer that went like this, "Thank you God for everything, thank you for our family and for all the animals." At the end of the prayer, Ella announced, "OK everyone, listen up. It's time for 'Peace'." (They call communion "peace". I think it's because we've talked to them about the peace of Christ and also Sheryl has offered them a "little piece" before. So, they've always called it "peace".) Maddie put down the guitar and Ella began to organize the taking of "peace". It was all so fun to watch.

I thought about how cool it would be for them to get to partner in sometihng like that. Maybe one day. I recently heard someone say that women are given their leadership titles and freedoms by men. Seems to me that it's more likely that God instills that in people and that the Holy Spirit guides each of us into the roles God has for us. Hopefully, one day Maddie and Ella will walk in freedom and use all the gifts the Lord has given them to serve the Body.

We made the trek to Arkansas Friday to see Sheryl's brother, David. He's still in really bad shape. Along the way we got to stay in Jackson with our friends Jeff, Melissa, Bailey, and Meg. The girls had a blast with them and we stayed up laughing with Jeff and Melissa.

Once we actually got to Arkansas, we met family. Four of the 8 kids in Sheryl's family are here. It's fun seeing them. Kevin, Billy and Cindy (and Haley and Chelsea) all drove up from the Houston area and we're all here in Cherokee Village, AR. We took up a whole row this morning at church and afterwards had some pretty good catfish.

I am always reminded what a great family Sheryl comes from after being with them. We are blessed to both have a heritage of love to pass on to our children. Hope you're all doing well out there in Blog world. Thanks for your continued prayers for David.