Birthday

Last Saturday we celebrated my beautiful wife's birthday (I'm not telling her age, even though she is 6 weeks older than me), and per Lee household custom, the celebration will last at least one week.  When I announced to Mary that we were going shopping for mommy's birthday, she was totally excited.  In her mind, she started the details of how this was going to go down.  She wanted a birthday cake, actually she wanted to bake it at home, but we really did not have time for all that, so she settled for a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.  She announced to the DQ staff the occasion for the cake, and started to peer through the cases for the right one.  In my mind, I was looking for a small cake since there were only 3 of us going to eat this, but I was overruled by the midget.  She just HAD to have the 3 princesses on the cake, and they would only fit on the large cake.  See where this is going????  So after carefully negotiating, I chose to listen to Mary with her choice of this cake.  And Mary was right, Lisa LOVED having the cake decorated with Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella.  (Yes, I know my princesses, you would too after watching those movies a zillion times, but I loved every moment of it!)

It does look very nice, and Mary selected all the color scheme's.  Plus, we have ALL enjoyed eating this treasure throughout the week.  Wait, I believe there is still a little left in the freezer.  Note to self: check freezer after tonight's supper.

Mary also enjoyed shopping for presents.  We visited a jewelry story where Mary selected several pieces (within our budget) to brighten mommy's day.  Then we made our way to Hallmark to obtain a card (musical of course) to express love.  Mary chose a card with themed music from "Sleeping Beauty" that was a hit with mommy.  We were also to score two movies that Lisa loves: "Enchanted" and "Secretariat."  They are excellent flicks that are worthy of owning to view many times.

All in all, it was a great celebration.  Speaking of that, we will continue that tonight with more food, laughter, and movies.  This was a "post" celebration pic since we failed to light candles the first time.  As you can tell...the smiles were plenty.

More Laughs...

UNANSWERED PRAYER

The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked him why. "Well, Honey," he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages. "I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon." She asked, "How come He doesn't answer it?"

BEING THANKFUL

A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, "So your mother says your prayers for you each night? That's very commendable. What does she say?" The little boy replied, "Thank God he's in bed!"

These were some funnies passed along to me by a close friend, and I thought they were too good not to share.  It seems that in the Lee household laughter is heard most often...a close second is Lisa saying, "That is not funny!"  Aimed at Mary and me for our jokes on mommy.  BUT we do think they ARE funny.

I do hope that you will be able to exercise your smiling and laughter and giggles during the week.  Numerous studies have been done on the wondrous effects on those who laugh often, but it does bear repeating: laugh.  Laugh often and much.

Here is video for your enjoyment...take care!

Un-Decorating

Yep, it's that time of year...taking down all the Christmas decorations.  I love to get out the decorations for Christmas: the tree (artificial), lights, ornaments, nick knacks, but no tinsel.  (Tinsel has a way to "cling" onto other things in and around the house that seem to appear year round.  Therefore, no tinsel!)  We were able to take down most of our stuff last weekend, but we finally completed the task Saturday.  Everything was placed back into the attic where it will wait until the next adventure.  Granted, it's not near as much fun as getting it all out while listening to your favorite Christmas music selections, but it's necessary. 

I hope that you celebrated a wonderful Christmas time with family and friends, and are eager to achieving some goals for 2012.  One goal I would like to offer for you: read through Bible.  There are three plans to choose from that will help you.  Check out our church website or you can surf the web to find one just for you.  Remember the main goal: reading through the Bible to give clarity of God's message to you.

God desires to communicate with us, and the main message He has given is the Bible.  Carve out some time and read His Word.  I've never heard anyone say that it never helped, or it hurt them.  Rather, I've heard from several folk who learned from God an important lesson in life in how to live.  So it was a positive experience that is worth passing along to others to enjoy. 

So take my encouragement and read the Bible.  Get in touch with God so He can communicate with you about important issues.  You will be a better person for it, and that is always a good thing no matter what year it is.

Working and NOT Watching

This year I'm coaching young girls in Upward Basketball.  First time with 7 little princesses, but it has been a joy even though I was a little nervous at first.  The main obstacle, at least for me, is getting them to hustle to the ball and not just WATCH the ball.  Most are perfectly content to observe the action, but this is not necessarily a good thing in playing basketball.

A spiritual connection is that we often watch from the sidelines rather than becoming an active participant.  For some, attendance once a week is all they want, but God demands greater: participation.  We should be committed to a life of: prayer, worship, sharing faith, discipleship, and stewardship.  These are mandated in Scripture, and hence are not optional.

I was cruising some Christian news sites and came across this info about Salvation Army.  Check out this site about Joe the Turk.  It's a great read and very interesting character.  Hope you enjoy!


http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-dynamic-index/FD47275D57159E43852574420041FAB0?Opendocument

Joyous Occasion

On behalf of the Lee family, I would like to extend to you a very, Merry Christmas and a wondrous New Year.  Please consider taking the challenge to read through the Bible in 2012.  You can find three reading options on the main page for Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, so find one that is to your liking and get ready to have fun reading the Word of God.  I will preach one sermon each month that coincides with the reading schedule to aid in your efforts.  By the way...for the first time in a very long time, I've already scheduled my sermons for 2012.  At least for the second worship service, hopefully next week I'll be able to tackle the early service schedule.  Hopefully. 


I trust that you had a great time with family and friends during this holy season.  Blessings to you all...
Jack

Busy Day

Yesterday (December 18) was an absolutely, fantastic, wonderful, AND busy day!  Our Christmas Choir presented the musical "Hope Is Born...Emmanuel" (created by Randy Vader and Jay Rouse) at the morning service (again at 5 p.m.), and it was by far the BEST I've heard from them.  Tremendously well presented and well done.  All components were clicking as they led us in worship (twice) that did not disappoint at any level.  A HUGE thank you to all involved.  Mucho hard work went into preparation, and it paid off huge dividends!

Our next family adventure involved a quick lunch then a birthday party.  Lilly turned 6 yesterday, and she celebrated with a party at the local bowling center.  FUN!  FUN!  FUN!  Seeing around 15 young children bowl was vastly entertaining.  Plus there are some future bowlers...several of them hit 100 or came very close.  After cake, ice cream, opening presents (we all get excited about opening presents...adults too), a few arcade-type games, it was time to go back home to change clothes (again) for the second service at church.  After the second service, we shared fellowship (code word for eating) that also involved great conversations and laughter until time to go yet another gathering.  We finally left the church at 7:30 to drive just down the road to Edie's house.  Every year she opens her home to friends, family, community, and church folk where we fellowship (eating) again.  This is always, and I mean ALWAYS a festive time where we meet/make new friends (see old ones too) and usually hearing laughter echoing through the rooms that provoke one to join. 

Mary was enjoying more this year since other children came and explored Edie's home and scared her precious cat.  This year the cat was smarter as she found a great hiding place to avoid many small hands trying to pet/hold her.  We finally left Edie's around 9 p.m. only to hear Mary exclaim "I'm hungry and thirsty!"  Seems she was more interested in playing than partaking of the goodies.  Then the other children still there also shared the same sentiment.  Thus two more families were helping make small plates of food/drink so we could exit Edie's home before the welcome wore out, but we were witnessing more people come in to see Edie and extol a Merry Christmas to all.

We finally made it home, very tired, but home.  Today should be a slower pace, but I'm sure Mary will find strength to join me in shopping for mommy.  That will be another story to share.  Blessings to all!

Memories

It seems the longer I live the more I rely on memories.  This is a cause for concern since I'm plagued by the "male" gene of remembrance.  Sounds like this...
        "Honey, have you seen the remote control?"  (Her answer: right beside you.)
        "Lisa, where are the batteries?"  (Her answer: right where you left them.)
As you can tell, I'm not very good at remembering, but memories are VERY important in our life.  God uses our memories to remind us of His promises and His watchful eye.  God will point to the crossroads of our lives and show us how He protected us and showed us the right path to choose.  Memories also provide a frame point of time in telling significant times.  We often remember where we were at during the 9-11 attacks.  We often remember what we were doing on anniversary dates or birth dates.  Significant milestones related to careers, relationships, or events help shape and sharpen our memories.

I can recall childhood events with great clarity, but often fail to remember last nights supper.  For the record, I had the bestest childhood ever!  No, we did not possess lots of wealth or material goods, but we had lots of love and attention.  Never a dull moment since we had family and creativity.  One such memory is playing tennis with my brother, cousin, and aunt for what seemed like hours, and I was just a small child, but to be included in "chasing" tennis balls all over the court was a highlight.

However, now I must help create new memories for my wife and daughter.  It helps to be in the 21st century with the use of a camera,  but we still must be creative in making the most of a moment.  What will you plan this month in creating a memory?  Nothing is too big or too small, just go out and do it.

A recent pic of the family at Disney on Ice