Happy New Year

This is my prayer for 2011.

What a faithful God we have! As another year draws to a close, I remember all He's done for me this year. I look forward to this new year for a fresh start, but eternally grateful that each day I get a new start with the Lord (His mercies are new each morning, great is His faithfulness [Lamentations 3:22-24]!)

All Hail Buc-ees!

Off of I-45, there is a place called Buc-ees. It's hard to describe unless you've been there, but I guess you could call it a truck-stop/gas station/texas store/restuarant extrodinaire. They advertise this place all the way from Dallas (180+ miles away). They are known for their clean restrooms--seriously!

Buc-ees has its share of Beaver/Buc-ees merchandise of course, including "all I want for Christmas is my two buck teeth" t-shirts, etc., etc., etc., etc. It's really fun to walk around. They have tacky gifts but also very nice, beautiful Texas-made gifts like crosses and plaques and books and candles, etc. There is a large selection of preserves and every kind of candy you can think of (and probably more).

It's DEFINITELY a Southern/Texan type destination/pit stop. No high society here! It's a great place to stop, though, and I just had to share! So if you find yourself on I-45 near Madisonville, plan to stop by Buc-ees! :)

Merry Christ-mas

If you aren't familiar with the Christmas story (the real one), please read it here. I don't know who reads this blog and I further don't know what your relationship is with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I do know that He longs to be your Savior and your Redeemer if you will come to Him, confess your sins and place your full faith and trust in Him for your salvation.

If you aren't a believer, please take a moment today and ponder the true meaning of this day. We celebrate Christ-mas (literally, birth of Christ) because Almighty God sent His Son Jesus to earth as a helpless baby. This baby was born to a virgin named Mary with her fiance Joseph. His birth was not regal as it should have been (He is the King of Kings). Rather, he was born in a stable and placed in a manger for His bed. He lived a very humble, simple life, learning the trade of His earthly father Joseph (carpentry) and then around the age of 30 began His ministry on earth, helping and healing people and pointing them towards God the Father. A few years later, He paid the ultimate price for our sins by dying on the cross. You see, everyone sins (Romans 3:23) and our sins demand payment of death (Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ died in our place and if we trust in Him and Him only to save us, we will have the gift of God, which is eternal life in Heaven forever with Him.

So today, the day we set aside to celebrate His birth, is the beginning of the wonderful truth of Emmanuel, God with us. As much as I love the sights and sounds and traditions and stories of Christmas, we mustn't forget the Reason we celebrate is Him, our Infant Savior King. It truly is a miracle that the Creator of the universe, Almighty God, would humble Himself and come to earth to save us. I'm so eternally grateful He did, and while we should celebrate this everyday, especially today, let's remember the true meaning of this very special day.

Merry CHRIST-mas, everyone!

Madison's Christmas Miracle

I got the wonderful news earlier today that Madison is going home! Her family will be re-united, this Christmas Eve-Eve! I want to thank each and every one of you that prayed or thought of Madison and her family, especially since you haven't ever met them in real life. God has quite a story of faithfulness in Madison & this sweet family's life, and we know that He has something amazing in store for this precious little girl. My heart is full of praise to the Lord for once again reaching down His healing hand and sparing Madison's life and giving her healing! He is still in the miracle business!

"Praise God, everybody! Applaud God, all people! His love has taken over our lives; God's faithful ways are eternal. Hallelujah!"--Psalm 117, The Message

Madison's Christmas wish-update

There is a significant chance that Madison might go home tomorrow! There are some issues that need to be resolved before that happens, so please pray these will be resolved so the family can spend Christmas together at home. Thank you!

Madison's Christmas wish

Well, sweet Madison is doing pretty well. She still has a way to go with regards to eating and then some lung issues that have cropped up. However, it is apparently not out of the realm of possibility for her to gome home in a couple days.

Would you pray with me that Madison and her Mom will be home for Christmas to spend with her Dad and 2 brothers? What a great gift that would be. Our God is able. Thanks for your prayers.

Furry Friends

Because Madison is doing well, I feel like I have the freedom to post about something frivolous. I dog-sat for a co-worker the past 4 days. My charges were 7 year old Rat Terrier Annie (aka "cranky old lady"), Chili 2.5 year old HUGE Brittany Spaniel (aka "bull-in-a-china-shop") and Maggie, a 4-month old Toy Sheltie (aka "the baby").


It was quite an adventure. Prior to this, I had only pet-sat for a lady that had 1 dog and 1 cat. Since I'm not a cat person, I enjoyed the 3 dogs this time much more, even though it was considerably more work. You have to feed them in a certain order, let them out in a certain order, etc. In many ways, they are like kids. Trying to get away with things like stealing and "playing" with Christmas decorations, being defiant and standing on forbidden furniture, not listening/obeying, etc. But who can resist the sweetness of a furry one who puts his head in your lap while you're on the computer? And any fellow dog-lovers/owners out there can tell you that this is one of the most expressive parts of our furry friends:




I'm so glad that God created dogs. They make me happy, because they are happy to see you (evidence: rapidly waving tail) no matter if it's been 5 seconds, 5 minutes or 5 hours since they last saw you. They don't care if you are overweight or don't have makeup on or whatever-their love is almost unconditional (I have a theory that they love us because they are smart enough to know where their food comes from!) One of the things they're best at is keeping you company--they want to be where you are. And when you have a dog, you have live-in constant entertainment. Annie, Maggie & Chili were quite comical during my stay with them. Each of them has his/her own personality and quirks (just like people!)


I'm thankful for this "doggie fix" (as well as a little bit of spending money) that I received. Someday, Lord-willing, I'll have one or two of these delightful critters of mine own. But until then, I enjoy being able to spend time with them from time to time. :)