What I've Learned So Far at Orange

Tonight Reggie Joiner spoke. He had a picture of a family: mom & dad & 2 kids, all smiling and hugging. That's the picture we all have of the perfect "church" family. But not every family fits that picture. Some are missing a mom or dad. Some have kids that are NOT smiling or are not even present. Some have an unexpected grandchild suddenly added to the picture. What do we do? We want to turn them into that perfect picture when we can't.

It's not about the picture.

It's about God's big story. Everyone is a part of that story. How can we (as the church) let them know about the story and then take their part in the story, no matter what their picture looks like.

And here's what hit me: What if my picture DOES look like that perfect family? What if I LOOK like the perfect church family, but I'm not telling God's story. What good is the picture if the story isn't there?

It's not about the picture: it's about God's big story. Do you know your part in it and are you telling it?

First Meeting

According to Mr. H, this is the very spot in front of Patterson Hall where we were introduced for the first time (by his roommate, whom I was dating at the time!) I honestly don't remember the introduction. I do remember seeing this guy before I knew who he was.


We were both in the band at State. He was in the sax section and I was in the flute section. It was the Superman show, I think. A line of saxophones marched toward the 50 from the left, turned to the press box side right in front of a line of flutes and sousaphones, and we followed them across the field. The guy that turned directly in front of me was definitely noticeable. I followed him across that field in September of 1979 and, as far as I know, I've been following him ever since.

Saturday at last

As with most Saturdays, we were out the door running errands. First up: retrieve the television from the repair shop. While it has been nice and quiet the past several weeks, we haven't been able to watch movies. It is nice to be able to turn the news on tonight.

After we brought the TV in and hooked it up, we made our weekly trip to Lowe's. Driving across the spillway at Big Creek Lake, we saw this up ahead of us. Tell me when was the last time you saw one of these on the road?


I felt like a stalker, trailing them with my camera. It ran very quietly and had at least 5 people in it. Reminded me of the movie "Cars."

At Lowe's, we bought a new, all glass, storm door. We've been meaning to get one for a while, and finally did it today. The solid door was stained with a gel stain that has not held up well. Last week we bought paint (red-called Burning Bush), but realized that it would be easier to do with the door open, but didn't want the cats escaping or the dog coming in. I think I'll wait until the new paint is on to post a picture of the door.

In hanging the door, Mr. H discovered that the strike plate of the door needed shimming and called for a 2nd trip to Lowe's. Em went with him and I sat on the front porch reading. The basket of flowers at that end of the porch has a nest in it. Actually the other one has a nest with 2 eggs in it now, but the one close to where I was sitting has 4 noisy babies in it. I think the parents are trying to get the babies to fly. I saw lots of flapping among those flowers this afternoon. The mom and the dad kept perching on the chain and the basket hook which made the babies chirp in chorus. I had to move very slowly to get this picture of the mom. The dad was more cautious and I never could get his picture.

I leveled the birdbath this afternoon, too. This bluebird liked the fresh water I added. I keep hoping for an indigo bunting to show up (notice the thistle seed sock hanging next to the bird feeder), but no luck so far.

This last picture is about the extent of my gardening ability. I planted these flowers yesterday in this old pot we had. They are still alive today and that's all I can ask!!

RA Races-2009

It's that time again!!
RA Race night at Agricola Baptist.
The trophies are ready to go to their rightful owners.

The track is in tip top shape.



The racers are putting wheels on and making last minute adjustments. Here is Mr. H putting the wheels on his golden beauty before the race. Notice he brought his box of tools. (Beside him is a CERTAIN nameless racer.)


The cars are all lined up and ready for inspection. (There are CERTAIN PEOPLE who have a flagrant disregard for the rules, but they shall remain nameless!) Mr. H's car is the golden arrow to the right side of the white car with eyes.

Some cars look like they have corporate sponsorship.

This slick red one is gorgeous, but the racer learned that the weight of all that beautiful coverage carries a price when it comes to speed.

The black car with lightening bolts on the right side of this tray was one of the coolest cars at the track. It was built by a gentleman whose name I don't know for Webb Smith to race. Webb is the young man seated under the maroon MSU blanket.

I can't believe that I captured an actual launch with my little camera. The cars are powered by CO2 cartridges and are held on the track by a string that runs through 2 eyes on the underside of the cars. The launch is initiated by computer and each heat is timed and clocked for speed. I believe there was one car that made the trip in under 1 second, but it didn't survive for a 2nd heat. The top speeds were over 40 mph.

Mr. H's Golden Arrow went head to head with Mark's (also golden) Brick, as Mr. H called it. Mark tried a different technique this year: hollowing out the inside of the car from underneath instead of shaping it from the outside. Rather a sneaky move, I thought, but it didn't quite work as well as he had hoped. Mr. H smoked him.

We had a pretty big crowd for the event. Hamburgers and hot dogs, along with drinks and cupcakes were appreciated by all.
I think this dog was waiting for someone to drop something.


All ages were represented in the crowd. Certain age groups were more interested in each other than the racing, though!



I wonder what these guys were talking about...


This bunch had the most fun of any group, I think. They were busy filling their drink bottles with lovely red dirt. I suspect there were several red bathtubs in Agricola last night!

Em's Concert

The Middle School band concert was last night. Em was a busy girl. In the picture below you can just see her white shirt behind the orchestra bells (right side, very back). (You should be able to click on the picture to see a larger version.)

This year the Middle School band is a bit smaller because the 6th graders stayed at the elementary schools. (El's concert was last month. I thought I took pictures, honestly, but I can't find them.)

This next picture was taken while she was playing her solo "Amazing Grace."

And here's another picture of her playing the orchestra bells. She played the gong, too, which is right behind her. She was switching hammers and mallets pretty quickly, so I never actually got a picture of her hitting the gong.

Quicksilver Afternoon

Have you ever been driving on a rainy afternoon, and then the sun comes out?

The air is full of water and the sun is shining on all of it.
The road is wet and the sun is reflecting off every inch of it.
The sky is light, but not blue: it's rather silver.

The entire adventure is a bit like driving through quicksilver.

What a Great Hat!

Mr. H has a hat he got in Arizona several years ago. It is a crushable felt cowboy-style hat. He wears it in the winter and when his head might get wet, like yesterday. I took this picture last night, but against the dark night, it rather gets lost. Click here for a better look.


One of the first places we went was the bookstore on campus. Boy, was it crowded! The girls were looking for "cute hoodie sweatshirts" so he went to look around by himself. At some point I spotted him and noticed a squealing bunch of older teen girls headed in his general direction. I was thinking that he was about to be boxed in by this bunch, when I discovered that HE WAS their destination! I saw him have his picture taken with each of them and then the squealing bunch ran off somewhere else.

They were on a scavenger hunt and had to have their picture taken with a man in a cowboy hat and his was the only one I saw all day. It was about 15 seconds of fame!!