Team Conversion

Many of you know that God called a great man home last week, Brad Wims. He had been battling cancer for the last 2 years. He was an inspiration and true example of what it is to be a Christian and even in his darkest hour, remained faithful. His reward, I know is great in Heaven.

I have always been a Longhorn fan, even before I was a Texan. It also has helped that my nephew desires to go to OU, UT rivals, so it has made for some fun family rivalry. But after the last few months, my heart wants to "Whoop".

Let me tell you why... Brad was an Aggie through and through. I didn't know much about what programs were available for Christians at A&M, but I know now. There is a group called AFC (Aggies For Christ) and I am just in awe of all that they have done for Brad. They have supported Brad and his wife Jenny financially, and spiritually through this long and trying process. They had a beautiful event in his honor last year where the acappella singing almost blew the roof of SECOC off! The church in College Station has collected and provided for the Wims family. It is just amazing.

I attended the Celebration of Life for Brad on Saturday, and can not remember a time that I was so moved, partly because of the man we were celebrating, the stories being told about him, but some of it was because of the love there. I have never known someone so loved before. I felt the love from our congregation at SECOC for them, and of course, my own love for the family, but when you experience the love of people who had seen Brad in his best days and at his worst and they just want to do nothing except honor him and take care of his family, I just want to let out a big "Whoop".

You know the Church of Christ community is really a small world. It is a world I grew up in, but now that I am older and have lived all over the country, I am amazed how many of us are connected through one other Christian. What an awesome support system we have through our Christian brothers and sisters. I am so blessed by that. God bless all of you with hearts bigger than your pockets and your abilities, but who have sacrificed so brothers and sisters in dire need are set at ease and taken care of. Dr. Michael Harbour hit the nail on the head when he said that is what God had in mind for church. I am completely inspired by that and am seriously considering a team conversion.

Happy Texas Day

For those of you who are not familiar with how Texas works, we are unlike any other state. Not only are we the biggest in mass and have more large cities than any other state, Texas is the only state that used to be it's own country. Therefore, we tend to run a little different than other states in the U.S. Our children are taught about our great state in school. The last couple of weeks, Kaden's kindergarten class has been learning about Texas. So, today was Texas day. And when you think of Texas, you think cowboy. So here is our little Texas cowboy Kaden.

I tried to get him to make a "mean cowboy" face, but it didn't work. I had to result, once again, to mooning him to get a smile. Otherwise, all the pictures would be of him whining and looking down. He has become rather shy when the attention is centered on him. I just hope that the full moons aren't screwing him up (ha).

While we are on the subject of our precious boy, I wanted to tell everyone that Kaden has now read 17/18 books required for him this year. At first, it was sight words and picture association, but as he got the the later books in the series, he was actually sounding out words he didn't know and READING! How exciting.

Have a great day, I know it will be great here where we are going into the 80's again for wonderful weather. God bless Texas!

GO WILDCATS!

Kailyn and Cami are experiencing their first basketball season on the same team. Their team is the Wildcats, which makes me want to break out into a High School Musical song (the team on the movies are the Wildcats). Kenzie loves watching and cheering, so we are going to make her a cheerleader outfit. Then she can use it to play HSM too!

Kai has never played basketball before and is in a league where many of these girls have played for 4 to 6 years. She is holding her own. She is a great defender and has made a few points. She is becoming more confident in her skills and will make a name for herself in the sport, I am sure.

Cami has never played a team contact sport before. She has only done cheer leading. So this is a whole new ball game for her. She is one of the tallest players for sure. Although she was rather timid and a little lost the first game, she has come a long way. She is rebounding more and has made a couple of points too. I know once she becomes more comfortable, her aggression will be unstoppable.

The Wildcats are one of the better teams in the league, from what I have seen. They are 3-1 so far this season. Oh yeah, I love to watch them play. We are proud parents you know, so we have to brag, just a little.

Father-Daughter Banquet

Kevin was honored when Karis asked him to speak at the annual Father-Daughter Banquet at Southeast Church of Christ, where we were members until we moved. We knew for over 6 months, but never told the girls we were going. I just generously bought them new outfits and told them we had "special" plans. They were rather upset when they saw that Kaden didn't have to dress up and of course, thought that it must be because he is our favorite. We traveled back to our beloved Houston and the girls were excited and surprised! Kaden and I went to dinner with friends while the girls and Kevin stayed at the banquet. I must say that I am so proud of what Kevin said that I would like to brag and share his "speech" with you.
" Good evening. As you knwo tonight's theme is 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. Being the annual Father-Daughter banquet, I would like to take a few moments to tie these two things together.

The Lord has blessed me by allowing me to not only be here tonight fellow shipping with you all, but to have my 3 daughters in my company. There are many gifts in life that are worthwhile to talk about, but tonight is all about our little 'sweethearts'.

The instant they came into my life, I knew there was a special bond between us. From their small fingers and toes to their warm smiles and glowing eyes, and not to mention that little baby smell, they were special. Psalm 144:12 says 'Then our sons in their youth will be like well nurtured plants and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace'. Isn't that so true? When we look at our daughters we can see so many beautiful things about them. Not only physical but mental and emotional as well. it doesn't matter that each of then look different from each other, like different things, talk different, or act different. With our 'daddy' vision we see a beauty in each and every one of them. In times of good or bad, that beauty is still there, that's the 'Crazy little thing called Love'.

As fathers it is our duty to care and protect our daughters in every aspect possible and ensure to direct them down the right path of life. Proverbs 22:6 'Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it'. If we care about our daughters we will guide and teach them about the path of the Lord and it will be an everlasting seed. What greater love for them could we have than to teach them of eternal life? Every child will stray at times, but if the roots we plant are deep enough they will always have access to the water of life. What's hardest for me is that I can't plant my knowledge of past mistakes into them and they understand. As free souls they will make choices that might disappoint a parent, but whatever it may be it will never stop that ' Crazy little thing called Love'.

We all think about worldly things in our life that we enjoy and appreciate. Houses, cars, TVs...but what about our daughters? They bring that special spark to our eyes and our hearts fill with pride over some of the smallest things. Proverbs 17:6 starts by saying 'Children's children are crown to the aged'. Our legacy lives on through our daughters and we hope that the seed of faith we planted in them can be passed on to others. Having a daughter is a treasure for a dad, a crown that will last. I would like to think that 50 years down the road if my daughters were asked why they are the way they are, they might reply 'Because of a crazy little thing called Love."

WHAT A GREAT DAD MY CHILDREN ARE BLESSED WITH.