Sunday

This past Sunday we were privileged to have Evangelist Ken & Julie Cook with us again. The services were wonderful, and God used Bro. Cook to minister to the church. We are really looking forward to an extended time with them in March.

Sunday night after service, instead of going to a restaurant, we had pizza and salad at the house. Then... we boxed on the Wii. It was hilarious and so much fun!! These are a few pictures of the night.

Kassie & Priscilla were hilarious! (you should see the video! LOL!)

Bro. Cook knocked-out Gene!

Sis. Cook knocked me out!

Y'all just wait, though! When you come back in March, we're going to be ready for a rematch!! LOL!

Anyway... you owe it to yourself to either buy a Nintendo Wii System or go to a friends house and play. It's a lot of fun (thanks Dad & Mom!!)!

More fun...

Dad's birthday at Cheddar's.

Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa's.

A trip to Chickasha, OK to see the Festival of Lights with friends...

And so it was...

The annual Christmas paper fight!

They are still trying to cover up these big old bodies of theirs with paper.  It is getting harder each year!  The presents get smaller and the guys get bigger.

Then, we must try the gifts out.... whew!  Looking nice!

The Wii kept them busy!

I'm sure the guys will be sore this morning from all the yoga, exercise training, boxing, golf, and everything else they did until 3am!  

Christmas is now officially over and we have no decorations to take down!  That is a great side effect of all your belongings being in another city.  Christmas is where your family is, no matter what house you are in or if you have twinkling lights surrounding you.  It was a good one.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas...

May this day be a great time for you and yours.
We send love to all our friends and family!
You bring joy to our everyday lives.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Here my Dad is after spending the day working on our Youth Center in Pflugerville earlier this year. In fact, I have caused quite a few of these work days in his life, but I have never heard him complain about it! We finished the Youth Center the week before we moved to Wichita Falls. Immediately upon arriving we began remodeling here. We finished my office and started on the house we just purchased. He said that we would not be building another house, but he didn't say we wouldn't remodel!! So, that's what we are in the middle of right now! What a blessing he has been to me. Not just for the work, but the life lessons.

Thanks Dad for the wonderful life I have had the opportunity to build on top of your shoulders. I would never have had the blessings I have without you building a strong foundation for our family. May you have a blessed and wonderful year. I love you and my family does as well! They think you hung the moon... you may not have, but you certainly would be willing to help figure it out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

What will you bring?

On the way to church, this beautiful sky signaled the end of another wonderful day. We had to pull over and get a picture. God sure knows how to paint a beautiful picture! Last night we enjoyed a special time for our church family. I wish everyone could have been there - it was so much fun. In the middle of the platform was a Christmas tree with gifts beneath it.

I had several bring wrapped "gifts" to the Lord and place them under the tree. These gifts represented what they would want to bring to Jesus this Christmas. We know that God gave to us, we have already opened His awesome gift - the Holy Ghost! But what will you bring to Him?

Karla was on the platform with me and opened each gift. Inside them were all kinds of things! There were keys from Veronica Eddie representing her new home that the Lord has provided for her. She gave it back to the Lord for His use - that souls could come to know the Lord and God's people could enjoy fellowship together.

A battery and mickey mouse watch was brought by Chris Isom. He and his wife, Christina, explained that they wanted to give more time and energy to the Lord. They were joined by their beautiful family on stage.

Cameron had wrapped a power cord and screwdriver to represent his talents. Not his building talents, but that he could be used as tools in the hands of the Master! He had a great thought... to be that connection between the ultimate power above and the powerless souls that surround us here on Earth.

A pair of "bling" red shoes was wrapped by Angela Deaver. She spoke about giving her worship and praise to the King who deserves it, breaking her alabaster box for His enjoyment. She had it acted out by her girls and a couple others! Karla felt to step up and sing the chorus "...You weren't there the night He found me, you did not feel what I felt when He wrapped His arms around me, and you don't know the cost of the oil in my alabaster box..." The presence of the Lord was so strong!

Art Zuniga wrapped his checkbook and explained his desire to give his finances to the Lord. He wonderfully told of how God had become so real in his life this year. Art has such a servant's heart and beautiful spirit.

Wrapped beautifully were pictures of a beautiful family - the family of Rebecca Warren. She emotionally told of her desire for her family to know Jesus like she does while showing their Christmas picture.

It was ended up by Joe Navarro and his two gorgeous girls. He broke and began to cry as he explained that he had wrapped his video camera to give to the Lord. It represented memories that he wanted his girls to have that he never had. He grew up on the streets of Chicago with nothing. Yet, here he stands with his kids and wife in church, owning a home and making memories. His life is the Lord's.

We had fun opening the gifts and acting goofy - but mixed in was the beautiful Spirit of God reminding us that in this Christmas season we have much that we can give to Him. It is so wonderful to be able to enjoy these special times together with your church family!

What is the meaning.... ?

(Robert Stephens—on right—and his son, Terry )

Today we attended the funeral of a dear man. He was a member of the church we pastored in Pflugerville... and was a HUGE Dallas Cowboy fan!

We listened to the Cowboys game while driving home
and to the end of the game after we got home.
They lost.
This doesn't make me happy
(and makes several people close to me extremely mad! LOL!),
but what does it really mean?

In the grand scheme of life, who really won today?
Did the Baltimore Ravens have the greatest victory against the Cowboys,
or did Robert Stephens gain the greatest of victories in life?
He has gained Heaven! What else is there, really?Honestly, anyone who knows me at all knows I don't try to over-spiritualize anything - especially not a Cowboys game!! But as I sat here completely frustrated with what was happening, I started thinking.
I asked someone how the outcome of this game would effect their future.
How should this game effect the way I worship tomorrow?
How should this game effect the responsibilities I have to God and to my church tomorrow? How should this game effect the way I live my life?
The simple answer is, IT SHOULDN'T!!

How many times do we let the insignificant things of life effect all aspects of our lives?
So you can't find the "perfect" gift for someone?
Maybe you didn't complete the goals you made for yourself this year?
What if "your team" doesn't make it to the play offs?

Tomorrow is Sunday.
There are many people who need to know God is ALWAYS the same,
and He loves them.
We are in the midst of the most wonderful celebration of the year -
the day God came to earth to redeem us from our sin.
These are the things that REALLY matter!!

God is still God!!

The football players will still make their millions -
whether they played like children tonight or not.

I am on THE winning team. My future is set!
That's the true meaning of all that we do.

Have a great Sunday!!

African Children's Choir

On Wednesday, I drove to Dallas to see the African Children's Choir at Peace Ministries in Mesquite. Ginger, my sister-in-law, is the Music Minister there and had invited me to come. I'm so glad she did!!! They were incredible! As you watch the children and hear more about their lives, something gets ahold of your heart. There is such joy - not just in their smiles - but all the way into their eyes. They have been given the opportunity through this organization to make something more of themselves, and they are genuinely enjoying what they do. Many of the children who come through the African Children's Choir go on to be nurses, doctors, musicians, lawyers, and much more. Two of the men who were with them were members of the choir when they were children. They told of how the choir gave them the chance to see their dreams come true --- they both have a Master's Degree - one in music, one in psychology. Just amazing!!

Since I was going to Mesquite, I took the opportunity to stop and see Andrew, Mandy, Alayna and Ashlyn. It was REALLY good to see them and spend a few minutes getting hugs and kisses from the girls and catching up with Andrew & Mandy.

Wednesday was also Ginger's birthday, so Ryan (my nephew) was at the concert with her. It was SOOOO good to see him - it's been a long time!

I was also able to see many lifelong friends I haven't seen in quite a while. That was a lot of fun.

After the service was over, we went to Chili's to spend some extra time together just visiting and enjoying family. Andrew met us there (Mandy had to get the girls in bed).

I am so thankful to be taking advantage of the opportunities to spend time with family. Too many times we let our busy schedules dictate what we can and cannot do. I hope to make more memories in the next year like I've been able to do in the past few weeks.

House Update

We are in the middle of having the drywall completed.  The ceilings have been scraped of the "popcorn" and the walls/doors we have moved or filled in are taped and bedded.  Tomorrow morning they will be spraying the texture.  The fireplace above had some old looking marble around it, so it has been taken off and new concrete board put in it's place.  We will be putting new tile around it.  It looks like the living room, hallways, bathrooms and utility room will be tiled with our big shag rug being used over it in the living room.  

The big square column is removed and we will put a decorative round one in its place (we think!)  All we know is that it looks much more open without that huge square one.  But it probably needs something to make a division between the dining room and living area.

Tell me this color won't wake you up in the morning!  We will be toning it down a little.  The ceilings already look 100% better and cleaner without the popcorn.

We closed in a door between a nursery/office and the master bedroom.  We also closed in a bifold door opening to allow for more shelving.  We also opened the master bath door to be a double snap door.  It was a 2 foot door.  Standing in the door, I touched both sides!  That was NOT happening! :-/

This is the hall bath.  You can't tell much in photos, but it is probably the room with the most work in it!  We removed a hall closet and closed in a bedroom door to allow the bath to be expanded.  It will now have two sinks and a wider door as well.  It makes it seems so much bigger and allows the guys to have their own sink area.  We will cover this blue SOON!

Well, there you go!  It looks like a mess, but it is progress.

Fiesta de Navidad, Wichita Falls Symphony, Ministers Party, Etc.

Last Saturday evening we had a Christmas fellowship with Tabernaculo de Vida. There was such a great turnout with many visitors and lots of good food. We even had a visit from "Pancho Claus!" LOL! Everyone had a great time and left feeling quite full and refreshed.

After leaving the fiesta, we headed downtown to the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra Christmas performance. The three high school ACAP choirs joined together and sang several songs in the second half. Cameron (as mentioned in a previous post) is a member of the Rider High School ACAP choir. We enjoyed the performance. I always love watching what instruments make the different sounds.

On Monday evening we enjoyed a time of fellowship with the ministers of Section One. Wendell & Linda were there, so that made it extra special. Trevon Norman (our Youth Minister) was the entertainment for the evening. He is always incredibly funny!!

Tonight, Gene & I had done some shopping for flooring in our new house then some Christmas shopping. Cameron had a party with the choir, so we picked up Chad and headed to On-the-Border for dinner. While there, we ran into Sue. I had my camera, so we took this picture for Tracie. Sue is a very sweet lady and is keeping up with all of us through our blogs. Hope to see you again soon, Sue!!