Tabby Woo

Tabby Woo is my nick name for our oldest daughter Tabitha. She turned 18 on October 7th. It is starting to sink in a bit at a time and tonight is a big bit. Tonight she will march in her last high school football game. I cannot believe it.

It seems like an hour ago that she was in beginner band and I was working with her on basic rudiments. She has blossomed into the section leader for the bass drum line. She is part of a drum line that has gone undefeated since her first high school competition. I am so very proud of that.

More than that I am proud of the young Christian woman she has become. Who could ask for more than that? I am so excited for her future even though it is so hard to see her grow up.

I told her today that it is the beginning of many "lasts" for this year and years to come for me and her mother. She has three siblings right behind her. At the same time I am hopeful for the future. She has plans to go into nursing. I pray that she will succeed.

Thanks for allowing me to just pour out some thoughts about my firstborn. And for those of you who have gone through it, I solicit your prayers and thoughts on how to help us deal with this whole "child-trying-to-leave-the-nest" syndrome. It ain't no fun (to put it in the southern style of speaking).

Praying In The Spirit

Ellen and I were discussing some things tonight pertaining to what I call "faith" matters. You know the things you can't see. The stuff that is hard for us consumer-minded Americans to grasp. Hebrews 11:1 says that "Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see." That is really tough for us I think. Especially when we're taught from childhood things like, "we can know ALL the truth simply by reading our Bible," and "God is rational and logical and predictable." I'm sorry, but I think that a God who can cause donkeys to talk and kings eat grass for years is not very rational, at least in our sense of the word.

So, I said all that to pick the minds of the great scholars who read this BLOG, which by the way, I am very grateful for the things you folks say. I also enjoy reading your thoughts.

Here's my question, What does it mean to "pray in the Spirit?" Look at Ephesians 6:18 and Jude 20. I'm wide open and listening in!

Creekside Carnival

Today was our annual Creekside Carnival. At our carnival we have "blow up" rides like the big slide and the moon-walk. There is the sea of balls and velcro wall. We have games like the ring toss and plinko. There are horseback rides and a hay ride as well.

The carnival is a way for us to give back to the community in a small way. There are people who come each year as though they were going to the State Fair. One gentleman said today that this was their 6th year in a row to be there. Each year we make pictures for the kids who ride the horses. He said that he had one for each of the past 5 years on the refridgerator at home.

We have people from all walks of life attend. There are the middle class families who want their kids to come to a safe place to have fun. There are people from many races and religious backgrounds. Then there are the people who are the poor of our community who came and eat as much food as they can because they don't get to eat that well always.

One of the most amazing reactions that we get every year from people is when they find out that the carnival is free. One little twelve year old boy today asked Ellen who was serving nachos and cheese, "How much are those?" She answered, "They are free, do you want some?" He replied, "Yes, I've never had anyone give me free food in my whole life!"

It astounds me how we put a price tag on everything. People are looking for the strings that are attached to everything we do--even in the church. Do you ever think that people wonder, "Are they trying to get something out of me?" Do they ever hear our language concerning the lost. You know, we call the "prospects." It's like they were a sale we needed to make for quota or something.

Please don't hear me say that Creekside has got all the answers and don't hear me tooting our horn. But people need to be served. Then they will see Jesus. We need not try and "convert" them. The love of Jesus will do that if we will just learn to be the legs and arms of Jesus.

I pray that the Creekside Carnival and all the works that God is doing in our world will somehow show people that we are here to serve and let Jesus do the saving!

Carnival At Creekside

Every year at this time is our Creekside Carnival. We host this for our community. There are big "blow up" rides like the slide and and moon walk. We have all kinds of games like the ring toss and plinko. There are horseback rides and a hay ride as well. We serve hot dogs, cotton candy, chips and cheese dip and drinks.

It is amazing all of the people who come out for this event. There are people from all walks of life. There are people who bring their grandchildren who are middle class families. There are people of all races and religions. And then there are the people in the community from poor families who will come and eat as much as they can possibly eat. They continue to come each year.

One of the most amazed looks we get from people is a look of surprise. It always comes up. People never fail to ask like one young man about twelve years old asked Ellen today. He asked, "How much are the nachos and cheese?" She answered, "They are free, do you want some?" He replied, "I sure do, I have never had anyone give me free food in my whole life!"

They are most amazed that there is no cost to the event. The rides, the food, the drinks, the prizes they get when they play the games--it's all free.

I don't say this to toot our horn. I say this because I see through this event each year that people are not expectant of anyone else serving them with no strings attached. We live in a society that sees a price tag on everything. And if there are no strings attached, they don't see it as something important or worth their time.

I hope that in some small way our carnival, and other things that God is doing in other parts of our world, can touch someone's life and people can begin to see that we are not out to "convert" them, but out to serve them. We need not see people as "prospects," but as people needing Jesus just like we do. After all, Jesus loves us, in spite of who we are. He makes us who we ought to be in His grace.