Tippy and Toby

My sister, Terri, is an animal lover.  Well, except for pigs and cats.  They are taken on a case by case basis.  But basically she loves animals and she has an especially soft spot for dogs.  (I will pause here to point out that I tell this story with Terri's full permission.  You know, in case there are those out there afraid to be my friend or hang out with me because you think you'll end up in a blog some day.)  Terri would probably have 78 dogs by now if it wasn't for Tippy. 

(Serious work Tippy on the left....playful happy hour Tippy on the right)

Terri found Tippy limping along the side of the road in Tomball with no collar on a few years ago.  We have a strict rule against picking up dogs without collars and tags because it's hard to find their owners and that's just a good way to end up with extra animals.  Like this guy.

 

Anyone want a Chihuahua?  Let me know!!  :)  Anyhoo.....because the limping was so sad Terri broke the collar rule and brought Tippy home.  After a little rehab and vet care and some failed attempts to find Tippy a home, Tippy became a permanent member of the family.  She is very lovely, sweet and protective, but Tippy does not get along with other animals.  In fact, the only other animal she gets along with is this guy, Toby.

(There is no work/happy hour Toby.  He looks like this all the time.) 

Toby is Terri's other dog.  She adopted him when she was in college.  Toby is some sort of heeler shepherd mix, which pretty much means he can chase a ball for 23 hours straight.  During the one hour he is willing to rest, he will demand your pillow.  Don't try to move him.  He will growl at you.  He's got one brown eye and one crazy blue eye.  He refuses to walk on a leash.  But I guess that works for some gals because Tippy will not attack Toby and only Toby.  As such, Terri has had to stop at just two dogs.  I have had, for many years, a theory about all of this.  I think God saw Terri coming (of course He did!).  I think He knew her heart (of course He did!) and knew where it was headed.  And so He sent Tippy.  Otherwise, like I said, 78 dogs. 

When Moses was getting ready to hand things over to Joshua, Moses reassured Joshua, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" Deuteronomy 30:8.  God knows who we are and who we're meant to be.  His word assures us that as much as He stands beside us today, He also goes before us with plans for us to prosper, to give us a future and a hope; to make the rough places smooth; the crooked ways straight.  The Lord that moved before Joshua and Moses also comforted His disciples, "In my Father's house there are many rooms...I am going there to prepare a place for you" John 14:2.  Our Father's house is one of many rooms indeed.  Enough for 78 or 79 dogs easily.  He knows the best and the worst of each of us and wants us in those rooms anyway.  We praise you, Lord, that as you have stood with us in the past and as stand with us today, you also move before us, in hope and in mercy, to prepare a way for us on earth and a home with you in heaven.  XOXO...Kelly

It's a Beaver.

If you're not from around these parts or even if you are and you've just never stopped at a Buc-ee's you are missing out.  For those not so familiar with the friendly beaver beacon of the highway, Buc-ee's is a chain of convenience stores owned by Arch "Beaver" Aplin III and Don Wasek.  The business partners opened their first store in Lake Jackson in 1982 and have since gone on to open 20 more in Texas (like we needed one more reason to be the most awesome state in the union).  As far as rest stops go they are amazing.  They are well-stocked, well-staffed and freakishly clean.  Their gift section is so amazing that my sister, Terri, plans to do all of her Christmas shopping at Buc-ee's this year.  But the best thing about Buc-ee's....okay, second best since clean bathrooms is a pretty big priority...are the Beaver Nuggets.  Beaver Nuggets are what would happen if a Cheetos puff mated with Crunch-n-Munch and the cheese part didn't make the DNA cut.  As far as snacks go they are amazing.  Every time I buy a bag I eat the whole thing.  Once my sister bought a bag and I ate hers, too.  They are delicious.  And I'm sure loaded with vitamins and fiber.  I don't know.  I'm afraid to read the label.  Anyhooo.....the thing about Beaver Nuggets is that I never mean to eat the whole bag.  I intend to ration it.  But as it sits on the kitchen counter I grab a handful on my way to the laundry room.  And then back to the living room.  And then to the pantry.  And the backyard and so on and so on until, in the matter of a day or two, I have consumed the whole bag.  Sin sort of works the same way.  No one wakes up looking to make a huge mistake, but one misstep here, another there.  One compromise leads to another and before we know it the bag is empty.  Each small handful of actions has turned into a huge collection of problems and God seems very much left out.  Any nutrition professional will tell you that the key to eating healthier is to pay attention to all the little extras that by the end of the day really start to add up.  The same concept applies to our spiritual health.  One explicit lyric here and there may not seem like much but an entire album of them?  An entire season of television shows full of affairs, murder and deceit?  How can we not be affected by all that?  It's a slippery slope to sin (or in this case a crunchy, buttery, sweet slope), but rest assured God will always be waiting at the bottom waiting to tip the decline back up in your favor.  He is the ultimate Alka Seltzer for your bag of Beaver Nuggets (I may have just taken this analogy too far).  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" Philippians 4:8.  Put your mind on all the very good and wonderful things Christ has put before us and work like a beaver on a dam to keep it there.  But should you start to waver (and we always do) know that there is no distance so far for you to travel that God will not and can not pull you back to His side.  It is the gift of grace and it is for each one of us.  XOXO...Kelly

P.S. Terri...I want some Beaver Nuggets for Christmas.    

It's July 4!! Puppies and diamonds for everyone!!!

I will admit I've never had strong feelings about July 4 before.  Well, with two exceptions.  One year we got to bring a puppy home from our annual 4th of July family celebration.  That was awesome!  Kevin also proposed to me on July 4.  That was really awesome!  If he'd given me a puppy along with the proposal that would have been really, really awesome.  But I digress....  Clearly neither of those two events--awesome as they were--had anything to do with the actual spirit behind July 4, which is, of course, to celebrate the independence of this great nation (and it is great!!) and all the blessings thereof.  Then yesterday morning happened.  It had been quite a week for the nation, I think.  Lots of emotions running high after Wednesday's news both in Texas and in DC.  No matter which side of the issues you sit on there is certainly lots to pray about.  So our anthem in church that morning, Heal Our Land, was more than fitting.  And following the anthem (and sermon, etc.) our church also recognized the various individuals and teams serving on mission trips this summer.  The crowd at the altar was overwhelming and, as we prayed over them, I could not help but start to cry.  As a youth director mission trips were part of my job.  I never considered myself particularly passionate about mission work, which is okay.  We all have different spiritual gifts.  But plan them, execute them and serve on them I did.  And I can say with full confidence that I have never, never, never done a mission project, whether a day or a week, that did not change my life in some way.  So while mission trips and July 4 don't seem to go much together either they have everything to do with each other!  What better way do we have to celebrate the freedom and independence of our citizenship than to reach out as God's hands and feet and put healing into action?  We are free to share our faith, to share our resources, to share our lives with one another.  Whatever the issues are, God sits with the people on both sides of them.  I don't know when I'll get the chance to serve on a mission trip again.  The kids are so young right now (and there are so many of them!), but I will get out there again some day.  And if you've never done it or even if it's just been a while find an opportunity and go for it.  We praise you, God, for the freedom from sin we find in you and the freedoms we enjoy in this nation.  Let us not waste the opportunity to exercise those freedoms and step out in faith to be Your Healing in this land.  Amen!  XOXO....Kelly

          

I'm really, really ridiculously goodlooking....

...but I can not sing ooooo's.  You know, where in a song there are no words, just a bunch of oooo's.  I'm like the Derek Zoolander of the music world.  He can't turn left.  I can't sing ooo's.  Ask anyone who has ever had to sit beside me before in a choir.  I can be clipping along, belting out a song with no problem, but as soon as you take the words away it's like I lose all musical balance and completely fall off the bike.  I don't even hum well.  I am nothing without the words.  But isn't this the same for all of us?  Where are any of us without the word of God?  "Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features doesn't mean that we still can't not die in a freak gasoline fight accident."  Or need the word of God with us and behind and before us each day!  "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" Psalm 119:105.  God's word is not just concerned with us here and now, as a personal talisman we can pull a verse from now and again when we want something cool for our letter jackets or a nice quote for our wall.  It is both concerned with who we are ("my feet") and where we are going ("my path").  God's word is our infallible authority, our guide for life, our deed for inheritance, our stability and our strength (from God's Promises, Word Publishing).  "Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not" Mark 13:31.  God wants you in His word.  He wants you to spend time with the Bible, study it, ask questions about it, pray on it, lean on it.  He wants you to know the peace and joy that comes with knowing Him better.  And that's a good thing!!  Otherwise we're all just wandering around indiscriminately singing oooo's with all the wrong notes.  Or just mouthing "ooooo" while everyone else who can find the right notes sings around you.  That's pretty much what I do now.  SO READ YOUR BIBLE!!  And have a very good day.  :)  XOXO...Kelly

Dad

Father's Day always reminds me of the verse from Genesis, "so God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him."  Because that's pretty much where it starts for us as Christians....to be the image of Christ in this big, troublesome world.  I have a father very much in the image of God.  He might have driven the wrong way in the carpool drop-off lane (on purpose and EVERY DAY), run over our Barbie set-up's with his remote controlled army tank and made us watch movies like Lonesome Dove and Jeremiah Johnson, but there was never a question in my mind as to who my savior was and where my heart belonged.  My dad lives firmly convicted of right and wrong, good and evil, but full of mercy and compassion.  He is just, he is loving, he is funny, he is hard working.  I married a man just like him.  My heart is grateful daily that my sons will see the image of God before them just as I did growing up, just as Kevin did with his dad.  It's a hefty task to show Christ to the world, but oh so important!!  A few years ago I was leading a Bible study on God as our Abba Father and was shocked at how many youth in the room did not see God as a loving guardian.  What was missing from their image of God directly related to what was missing in their relationship with their own fathers.  Those with close, supportive parent relationships had no trouble seeing God as loving and caring while those with strained relationships had a harder time believing this about His character.  Is it any wonder we struggle so much as a human race?  God's image starts at home and has never been more important to the people around us than it is right now.  Whether you are a father or grandfather, mother or grandmother, uncle, aunt, sister, brother, friend, coworker, neighbor or the person listening to my exterminator talk about squirrel dumplings for dinner (that happen to anyone else this week?...no?...no one?...really??) make sure the people around you know who God is!!  Especially the little ones....do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.  I am grateful to be surrounded by so many strong and wonderful men of God and full of praise that He has entrusted Kevin and I with the blessing of raising up four more.  God has indeed created us in His image, friends, and all that is loving and just, merciful and forgiving, trustworthy and unfailing about it.  Happy Father's Day.  XOXO...Kelly

 

Don't give the devil a foothold.

So before you read this you have to promise not to stop being my friend just because I'm crazy.  I, like many people, get anxious.  One of the ways I attempt to cope with feelings of anxiety is to think through the worst case scenario of any given situation.  Like if Kevin is out of town traveling I make a mental plan of how to get all four boys out of our burning house in the middle of the night by myself, where we will live after and how I'd like the laundry room rebuilt should we have to renovate following the fire.  On some level I believe if I think all the way through a possible disaster it will somehow make the actual event, should it ever come to pass, more endurable.  One time I got so far through one of these worst case scenarios that I was actually planning a person's eulogy.  (Please don't stop being my friend!!)  The fact is that fear, anxiety and worry grips each of us at some time or another and the Bible has much to say about its uselessness.  I was driving last week to College Station to see my sister.  It was late in the evening and the sun had already set.  The stretch between Hempstead and Navasota has no lights and if there is no traffic--as there was not late on that weekday evening--it is dark, dark, dark on the road!  As I drove along and a familiar feeling of fear started to creep in--how will they find me if I crash the car out here by myself? will wolves eat my body?--
so also did part of this verse from Ephesians..."do not give the devil a foothold."  Paul is writing to the Ephesians here about anger, warning them that when we get carried away in anger we give Satan a chance to come in and move us in the wrong direction.  Fear works in the same way and it is NOT what God wants for us.  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).  Fear is useless, unfruitful and distracts us from the confidence we need to spread God's joy in this world (and, frankly, drive a vehicle safely!).  And worst of all it allows the devil to creep in and place doubt where God intends trust to be!  If you're anxious about something, full of worry, full of fear shut it down!!  Hand that worry over to God and do not give Satan the chance to get his foot in the door.  Turn on the radio while you're driving in the dark (not too loud as to be distracting) and avoid the crazy place where you're planning funerals and escape routes because that's not where God needs you to be.  God needs you here, now, today where He can show you hope and give you joy.  You deserve that.  And, crazy or not, so do I.  XOXO....Kelly

     

Ready or not....

Anyone else get emotional on the last day of school?  The first day I can handle, no problem, but the last day gets me every time.  I welcome the freedom of summer for sure (ask me again how I'm feeling about it in August), but the last day just reminds me that changes are coming even if the change is nothing more than moving up to the next grade in school.  Earlier today, as I was walking Michael home from his last-day-class-party, I was praying hard for God to help me not cry.  Why?  Because you look like a goober when you're sobbing your way down the sidewalk.  People stare at you.  So as I'm praying Michael starts to talk about our deceased dog, Mr. Rocky Balboa Long, who went to be with the Lord this past March.  If you're thinking that sounds like a strange way for God to answer a prayer you are right.  Meeting the last-day-of-school sadness with dead dog sadness doesn't seem to make much sense.  But as Michael spoke about dog heaven (where, according to Michael, you can pee and poop anywhere you want and then even eat the poop if the dog wants to) he also talked about how God makes rain and tornados and sunshine, etc. and I suddenly realized God was reminding me, through my sweet six year old kindergarten graduate, of His awesome sovereignty.  "God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'...Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:6,8).  To accept change is to accept the possibility for growth and to lean on God's constant love for us.  The more we change the more we see that He does not.  How good it is to dwell in that!  So summer, whether I am ready for you or not you are here.  Help me, God, to use this time like all moments to your glory, to relax and enjoy the time with my sweet family (again, check back with me in August on that one).  Thank you for the school year behind us and the possibilities ahead.  Thank you for your sameness, the reliability of your Spirit no matter what else is going on.  If you're in the area, friends, we love visitors.  Please be aware, however, that we sometimes we express our love for visitors by shooting at them with Nerf bullets.  We hope you'll stop by anyway.  :)  XOXO....Kelly