Mandisa's in the house

Ok, I'm sitting here on the couch, chilling after a great day off...spent all day with my beautiful little girl, Faith. (Nana & Aunt Melody, we loooove the stroller!) She is cuter than ever, and I actually wish she would just stay the size she is right now for a long time. She is so cuddly and perfect size for my arms. Jaime was able to come home for lunch today, which was awesome (she started back to work this week, part-time), and then she was home for good at 3:15 pm. So we got to spend some good time together as well. Faith's taking a quick snooze, and Jaime ran up to the store for some scrapbook supplies...and the only other thing on the couch is my Nilla wafers...

When all of a sudden, Mandisa, on American Idol, busts out with a TESTIMONY to God's power in her life with a song "I wanna praise you" by Mary, Mary. INCREDIBLE! The song was great, for what it is, and she's clearly a person of great faith and bubbly energy & vitality. But what's incredible is her ability to sing that song on a show like Idol, to go completely against the grain of Hollywood and boldly share her faith. Clearly, it wasn't what celebrity judges Randy & Simon were looking for (not surprisingly). Paula blurted out that a bunch a people are now converting to the church of Mandisa, to which Mandisa quickly shook her head (of which I was proud). It's safe to say that none of them really got it.

Ok, for the 1st time this season, I'm texting in a vote...and I'm voting for Mandisa. To this point, I was pulling for Chris D, who I still believe will win, but I'm so proud of Mandisa, and I know the Lord will bless her for her boldness. And I think Simon was dead wrong on Chris, Idol needs to be a lot less Pop-ish, and Chris' rock style is a welcome relief from popurbia.

Psalm 73:28 says "But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." Mandisa stood up and proclaimed God's goodness tonight, and it moved me.

My prediction: Bucky's going home. And Mandisa has a huge career ahead of her in gospel music.

Dallas Trip, Round 2

Here I am with all my cousins....it's fun being the only girl!
This is my cousin Bennett....he's so wonderful to me!
Here's my Granddad. He sings to me and reads me Bible stories.
This is my new friend Kennedy. She was a flower girl in my parents wedding.
This is my Aunt Darla. She bought me this cute outfit for my 1st trip to the park.
This is my Daddy with my Uncle Michael (don't they look alike!!) and cousins Stone and Sterling
Sterling is ready to hit the track with my Daddy.
My Uncle Brad is the greatest. He gave me that really cute pink cowgirl hat.
My Nana and Briggs (Aunt Mel & Bennett) all greeted me at the airport.
These are the WONDERFUL ladies my Mommy used to work with at The Shelton Speech Clinic.

Cool new book on Fatherhood / Faith's 3 mo pic

To all of my "new father" friends, I highly recommend Stephen James & David Thomas' new book, Becoming a Dad: A Spiritual, Emotional and Practical Guide.

Here's a great quote:

"Fatherhood calls us to acknowledge our heart and embrace the truth that lives within us all. Becoming a joy-filled father is about embracing the hope that relationships really can be good, full and rich. It is about entering into and leading our children toward an abundant life replete with pain and mystery. The priorities of joy-filled fathering must never be about doing more, learning more, acquiring more skills. Rather, our focus as godly men must remain about discovering a life of authenticity and abundance based in the person of Christ. It is about stepping into the mystery of being and living truthfully out of how we are uniquely and wonderfully made."

As Faith develops her little personality & begins to be more & more interactive, it's getting harder to leave her in the mornings! Say a prayer for Jaime, and all of us, as she prepares to head back to work part-time next week...Lord willing, she'll get to stay home for good once the school year is out.

Mocha Marble Macchiatos and Musings on Worship

It's Friday, thanks to a friend I've got a steaming Mocha Marble Macchiato (new at Starbucks) sitting by my computer, and life is good.

Here's a thought-provoking quote about worship from one of my favorite authors:

"It is absolutely essential that the church keep God as the subject of worship since to be Christian means to believe that the God revealed in Jesus Christ is everything to us - Creator, Provider, and Sustainer; Deliverer, Redeemer and Lord; Sanctifier, Inspirer and Empowerer.Friendship, instruction, and other aspects of the gathered community are important, but we lose our reason for being if we do not constantly remember that God has called us to be his people and our ability to respond to that call in worship and life is totally the gift of God's grace." Amen!

I like this quote because at various times we all forget what we're coming for week after week, and we sometimes turn into consumers..."I want this!" or "I want more of that!" And thankfully, with great relief, it's nice to know...it's not about us. Thank you Marva Dawn, for your marvelous book "Reaching Out without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn of the Century Culture".

and a little more about the meaning of the word...

"The word worship comes from the Old English roots weorth, meaning "honor" and "worthiness," and scipe, signifying "to create.""

Have a great weekend, and if you want EXTRA worship, join us at the ARLINGTON Church of Christ for a night of praise, beginning tomorrow night at 6:30 pm. www.acocfamily.org

Pics from our Trip to Dallas

Firsts For Faith

We returned around midnight last night from a wonderful 5 day trip to Dallas, TX to see friends & family. No surprise, Faith was the big hit. It was quite a weekend for us all...here are a few firsts for our little girl:

Her 1st time on an airplane...
Her 1st time to a surprise birthday party...(my bro turned 40 - Casino theme...no, not real $$$)
Her 1st time to a not-surprise birthday party...(my nephew turned 5 - Nascar theme)
Her 1st trip to Texas...
Her 1st time to experience 83 degree weather...
Her 1st sighting of tulips and daffodils and spring flora and fauna...
Her 1st time to meet her cousins Bennett & Briggs, and Uncle Brad...
Her 1st extended walk in a stroller outside...
Her 1st time to wear outfits without sleeves!
Her 1st night in her crib...(when we got home last night, she did great!)
Her 1st roller hockey game...
Her 1st Thai meal...(the same exact restaurant of mommy & daddy's 1st date)
Her 1st Texas BBQ meal...(Sonny Bryan's for our Texas friends, not the best, but right up there)
Her 1st time to eat at Blue Mesa, the restaurant to beat for southwestern mexican food.
Her 1st visit to the Preston Road C of C, where mommy & daddy met & fell in love.

As you can imagine, this week I'll be showing you lots of pictures.

And thanks to all of our friends & family for all of the meals, hospitality and good times.

Visit from Uncle Michael, Aunt Darla and Cousins Stone & Sterling

I had soooooooo much fun with my cousins Stone & Sterling. Also, Uncle Michael & Aunt Darla are pretty cool, too. I wish they would come more often!

The 1st pic is my first wrestling match with Stone, which he won, but on the 2nd match (not pictured here), I had him pinned in a flash.

The 2nd pic above is when Sterling first saw me...I pretended I was choking so a responsible adult would pick me up. All in all, Sterling's a great guy, but I wasn't sure at first.

The bottom pic is when they first walked in the door and saw me for the 1st time. Based on his expression, you can tell my uncle Michael was speechless, which doesn't happen very often.

Thanks for the visit, Grandman & Mimi!

Thanks for the visit, Grandman & Mimi! I had a great time with you, and thanks for helping mommy & daddy so much. They REALLY APPRECIATE your visit, and your help around the casa. (They are already teaching me spanish.)

And to my dear cousins Stone & Sterling, I haven't forgotten about your memorable visit. I will post those pics soon! Love, Faith.

To my FXCC family...get ready! www.fxcc.org/40days