Brace Face!

Shelter

I have been an Okie all my life and spent a good amount of spring afternoons and evenings with one on the weather coverage and one on my fraidy hole of choice. I think I've actually taken cover a total of 4-5 times in my years. However, with the recent horrific images of Alabama and Missouri and our local meterologists acting like Harold Camping, I have to admit, I got a little nervous during this last round. As we saw the tornados roaring down I-44, we packed up the kids and the dog plus my camera (shows you what's important to me!) and drove to our other home, ORU. It seems like it would be sturdier than our little closet underneath the stairwell.

In the picture below, the storm's arolling in....

Rain has started; kids are enjoying the view.

And the big concrete walkway that goes in a circle? A little boy's dream.

Here comes it's full fury. Look closely and you will see a poor soul waiting the storm out at the bus stop.

Rain's coming down in fierce blasts, but thank God, no tornado.

Gosh, we should come here for entertainment every night!

The clearing has begun. Prayers of thankfulness said, and prayers for those who are hurting in Alabama and Missouri.

Unashamed

There is a boy in Luke's class who is his reading buddy.
LJ gets to spend time each day reading to and with him and
yesterday, Luke shared the entire gospel of Christ with his friend.

Those of you who have read this blog over the years may understand the enormity of this moment for me. He is a kid with tremendous gusto. And so we have prayed desperately that his gusto would be used in his life for good, for God. Because at times we wonder where his DRIVE, his FOCUS, his STUBBORNESS would take him.

Yesterday, those characteristics led him to this conversation:

They were reading a book about the milky way and started talking about heaven....

Luke: Hey, J, do you know who God is?

J: No....

Luke: Well, a long, long time ago, there lived a man named Jesus. But he was also God. And people were mad at him because they said he thought he was the King of the Jews. And they were terribly mean to him and tied him to a whipping post and whipped him until his back was bloody. And then they hung him on a cross. He died on that cross. And then his body was put into a tomb and they rolled a big rock across the front of it and it was a very sad day.

Luke: (talking quietly, looking into J's eyes) ... and then guess what happened?

J: I don't know!

Luke: (with amazement) He came back to live after 3 days!

J: Wow!

Luke: And when he died on the cross, he died for our sins. Mine and yours. And all you have to do is believe in Him. And He will be in your heart.

And Luke summed up the conversation by telling me, "And now he believes in God." Please pray that may be so, and that the seed planted in J will be an eternal one!

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes!!!!

(Thank you Victory Christian for your production of Risen, which brought history to life for my little impressionable guy)

Not for the Faint of Heart

I grew up a farm girl, thus have a love/intrigue for all things nature.

So this weekend, out at Nana and Papa's farm, when a Diamondback snake swam up to me with an enormous Catfish in its jaws, I did what any country girl with a Canon Rebel around her neck would do... snapped a buncha pictures.... and did not shriek one time. Even when I realized that my seven year old son was in a low rider paddle boat just feet from this sight.... I held it all together.

The Pioneer Woman ain't got nothing on me!

My Little ....... Reader?

There are a lot of words I could use to describe Luke, but I never dreamed that it would be "reader." But the last couple of weeks, he has been getting in the car and, (amazing) getting out his book to (yes) read. Ok, for many of you, this is just a normal routine for your kids. But for mine (his kindergarten teacher told me he'd be a person who would probably have to read on the treadmill), it is nothing short of a reading miracle. What's got him hooked? The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He's on book 2 and loves the potty humor and boyish antics of Greg Heffley. What to do when the five book series is over? I'm thinking Captain Underpants!

You're Doing Fine Oklahoma!

I am holding on with claws to the last days of my baby girl's elementary years. In our district, elementary ends at 4th grade! She'll do some growing up in the Intermediate school next year where they have lockers and four different teachers and some pretty un-elementary expectations.

Last week, we had Oklahoma Heritage Day, a beautiful day made to sit back and bask in the history of our state. Formerly the Land Run Day, it was changed to incorporate more people groups, specifically Native Americans!

There was sheep sheering, line dancing, animal petting, and a slew of other fun stuff to enjoy. Plus my litle Indian girl who I love so much!

Perfect Pairings - Romans 12:2

As Kami was inducted into NJHS, I was certainly proud of her. But my real desire and hope for her is below....

Romans 12:2 (The Message)

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Egg-Stra Easter Pics