White Out or Wipe Out?

Yesterday, Baylor got into the "White Out" craze...even though our colors are Green and Gold. We filled the Ferrell Center with 9200+ screaming fans and every fan had a white t-shirt on their seat. The idea is to look united in support of your team. The Lady Bears had a good game against the Lady Aggies, but could not pull it out at the end. This dashed their hopes of a conference championship for 2007. They will still get a bye in the Big 12 tournament and go on to the NCAA tournament - which is quite a huge accomplishment in that there are only two seniors and five true freshmen! (this pic was taken with my camera phone... so it is not the highest quality...but you get the idea) Sic 'em Bears!

Twins!

College Sports! It's game day! This picture was taken at the Baylor Men's Basketball game last weekend where the bears dropped a heartbreaker to texas by one point in the last 11.3 seconds. Coach Scott Drew is so close to putting the Bears on the map...maybe tonight is the breakthrough game...timing would be perfect with the Big 12 Tournament two weeks away. The next day, our Lady Bears whipped up on arch-enemy number one: the texas women. The Lady Bears are tied for the conference lead and are exceeding all expectations with 10 on the roster and five being true freshmen! Sic 'em Bears!

Even though college sports provides us with "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" there is a far greater thrill in life...which is that of FRIENDS. Our lives are filled with touchpoints created by our need for meaningful human contact. Friendship meets a need for connection with others. It is modeled throughout the Bible: Ruth and Naomi as well as David and Jonathan in the Old Testament and of course Jesus and the disciples along with Paul and Timothy and Barnabas in the New Testament. We would be miserable if we didn't have friends.

I have been blessed beyond all measure in my lifetime to have a steady stream of friends whose lives I can share in through the times of joy and the times of sorrow. In fact, I believe that especially for believers, our deep desire to connect with Christ Himself is met many times through friends. These two friends, Rachael Johnson (left) and Elizabeth Williams (right) are often asked if they are sisters because they look so much alike...when in reality they should answer "yes" because they both belong to the Family of God.

Two are better than one...for if one falls, the other will lift him up...a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Eccl. 4:9-12) We are all better because of our friends. We share experiences along with our hearts and walk through life together; on a journey toward the same destination...Thank God for friends who serve as His hand extended in our lives.

True Friends - Queen Esther

Over the past week I have watched two of my dearest couple friends endure painful moments as their dreams and hearts have been crushed under the weight of political posturing and the advancement of personal agendas. Both of them have an eternal vantage point and still have their marriages, families, friends, and each other. They have weathered undeserved criticism and smiled in the face of adversity. Losing your job has to be a very painful ordeal but it is truly when you find out who your friends are.


Today in Sunday School, we started studying about Queen Esther. She was orphaned at an early age and adopted by her uncle, Mordecai. Under Mordecai's Godly influence, Esther developed courage and Godliness and through her bold actions with King Xerxes, saved the nation of Israel. In the meantime, one of the King's ungodly captains, Haaman, plots to kill Mordecai. The plot fails and Haaman is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai. I was reminded that when you "let your light shine" (1) those who are open to the things of the Lord are drawn to you - because they want more of Christ. Those who are threatened by the light of those who "follow hard" after Christ many times try to play the power card or exercise their own agendas. It is in those times that you learn who your friends are...are they happy for you? Do they cry with you? Are they on their knees for you? Do they stand by you? Do they want the best for you? The Bible says "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for they will inheirit the Kingdom of God." (2) So, dear friends who are struggling under the weight of the world's pressures, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (3) ..... This momentary light affliction will produce for you an eternal weight of glory." (4)

(1) Matthew 5:16
(2) Matthew 5:10
(3) John 16:33
(4) 2 Corinthians 4:17

Allergies & Family

The past two weeks have been quite revealing to me personally. It all began with a new round of allergy testing. There are two methods of testing, one is a simple blood test and the other is a series of 48 pricks with antigen that cause reactions. This is the preferred method of my Allergist which precludes the immunotherapy (weekly shots). Here you see one of my arms after the test.

Now I have had allergies all of my life but this test revealed some allergies that I either developed recently or never knew I had. Food allergies! It was such a shock to hear that I was allergic to wheat, eggs, peanuts, citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit) and tomatos. So for the past week I have been ridding my panty of these things...I never knew how healthly I had gotten with all of the wheat/whole grain products (bagels, bread, spaghetti, noodles, etc.).

My other high allergies were mold and dust mites. They recommend that you wash and dry your sheets and all bedding once per week in the highest heat possible. So, I took that to mean that I needed to replace my 10 year old quilt and get a new one. This is the updated look of my log bed.

One last little note. Several of my friends are incredibly creative. I look at magazines and can tell what I like but rarely can do anything remotely resembling the project I liked. Here is a very primative attempt at displaying a family memory.


This is a picture of my paternal grandparents, Cecil and Eloise Scott. The background is one if my grandmother's handkerchefs. I am not sure how I ended up with them; but I am glad I did. I framed one and overlaid a picture and gave this to my brother for his birthday. Maybe one day, I will try this again with all the proper tools. I have the heart but I lack the patience or foreplanning to do it how it should be done. But maybe you can get inspired to display some old family memory.

"Show-Me Friendly"

Trish is from Missouri (the "show-me" state) and I am from Texas (the "friendly" state). We have been friends for 12+ years. We met while working together at Kanakuk in the mid-90's and our friendship has weathered distance, missed meetings, misunderstandings, and just the changes in life. We see each other a couple of times a year, but I think we both know that if the other "whistled" we would each "come running" to help however we can.

These pictures are from her last visit to Waco...we were eating at McAlister's. As we walked in, she turned to me and said, "this place reminds me of EJ" who is a much loved mutual friend of ours. The strong pull of relational connections is both evident and Biblical. God did not create us to walk this journey alone. He created friends to share the joys and triumphs, to share memorable moments and funny times. There is the verse in Eccl. that states that "two are better than one for if one falls the other is there to help him up; and a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." There is also the beautiful picture of friendship between Jonathan and David in 1 Samuel.

Friends: what are your thoughts on friends? Do you have enough? Are they in there for the long haul or just come running in times of crisis? Do they lift you up or drag you down? Do they get in your face and have your back all at the same time? What kind of friends do you have?

We can learn alot about friendship from our dogs...
who are appropriately dubbed
"man's best friend."

Yes, Brady sleeps in funny positions. She has to stay out in the cold or heat all day long (doing her own thing) while I am at work...but every day - every single day...when I come home from work, I give a whistle and she comes running. She is happy to see me every time - without exception. We take walks together, we go swimming together, we nap and eat - she even watches TV with me. She is loving and protective. She is affectionate and always wants to be close. Dogs are great examples of a friend...they forgive and forget and act as if the injustices or misunderstandings never happened. Not one time has Brady ever brought back up some time that I forgot to feed her or that I didn't go for a walk with her. How I would like to be like her...except of course in the all-exposed sleeping position.