Truth be told...

Alrighty. I have a big announcement to make. Darryl and I are the proud parents of a brand new young girl.

 

Her name is Saralyn, she is 12 years old from the community Napaod in the Philippines.  Truth be told I have to stop going to Christian concerts or we will be parents of an entire country.  Actually truth be told we don’t adopt to make us feel better, but because God commands us to care for the orphans and widows in their distress. We adopt because Jesus says that to whom much has been given, much will be required.  And finally…adoption is at the heart of God. I am so thankful.

Truth be told, the entire night was a night to remember. My original plan was to go alone, because I didn’t want to drag my two biological children to yet another event they didn’t want to attend. Everyone else I knew would be at Bible Study or Church; but then, I got a text from my big sis asking me if I wanted to go the Three in One tour. YES! Next thing I know I am surrounded by good friends and an 8 year old boy doing an interpretative dance the entire concert and in a Baptist church!

Truth be told, I love to dance and I wanted to join the boy in my own interpretative dance. Actually, I wanted to be the blonde on stage who danced alongside Mandisa. Since she wasn’t singing, I thought I could do that. So far, my dream hasn’t materialized, except for in my front room with the Xbox 360 Just Dance 4 Kinect.

 

Truth be told, my big sis was adding her own lyrics to Brandon Heath’s “The Light in Me” The light, You put the light in me JESUS…You put the light, the light, You put the light in me JESUS… You put the light, the light, You put the light in me JESUS… You put the light, the light, You put the light in me JESUS…but you can’t go wrong adding the name of JESUS to anything.

Truth be told, I was mesmerized by the lady in front of me that had the rhythm to clap her hands on beat and do a pop and lock with her head and shoulders. I wanted to ask her can you teach me that, but I am pretty sure despite being a Christian, she would have given me the look. You know the look you give your kids when you want them to stop or leave you alone.

Truth be told, you are never too old to photo bomb or push your friend to photo bomb. The hand to the left of the lady was the photo bomb bully, but the photo bomb lady was a nice photo bomber as she smiled. I can hear her friend now, "If you don’t photo bomb this picture you are walking home!" Then there is me with what I will call “the under conviction face”. That is because God was telling me to raise my hand and get a card to adopt another child, but I didn’t. It’s an ugly face and place to be, I know.

But after the concert, I did, I got a card with a beautiful young girl and God willing we will meet her one day. Plus, I could not imagine walking around with my face stuck like that forever. And BONUS, we received Mandisa's new CD.

 

Finally, truth be told, after the concert we had dinner at Louie’s and had a great time of catching up. A night to remember for sure.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:

to look after orphans and widows in their distress…" James 1:27 (NIV)

Inside Out - Celebrating 25 Years of Feminar - Part One

As I lay in bed this past Thursday night and anticipated my annual trek to Longview, Texas to attend the Feminar, which is a Christian seminar for females. I found myself with eyes shut and a big smile on my face praying for a Spirit-filled, Word-drenched, life-transforming, God’s-will-be-done weekend getaway. It was all of that plus lots of laughter, some shopping and of course La Hacienda.



Racing through IKEA, see the action of the soles of those shoes running?

I LOVED and wanted this LIGHT fixture! I would be perfect for my bedroom!

But instead I came home with some items for my Scrapbook Room,

a meat mallet and chip clips.

Annual lunch at La Hacienda. No manna on the menu!

However, the famous Beef Fajitas were the popular menu item at our table.

Gaye's Lunch - Poblano Al Carbon
Mesquite-grilled poblano pepper stuffed with grilled chicken and cheese.

Cammey's Lunch - Spicy Chicken Verde with a Puff Taco, that's the round thing
and it was empty...like the tomb of Jesus.

Am I making you hungry yet? My lunch - The Hacienda Ranch Chicken
Wood roasted grilled chicken breast topped with sour cream sauce, Monterey Jack,
grilled onions and mushrooms. Served with grilled vegetables and Spanish rice.



Started out with some Phillips, Craig & Dean "Here I am to Worship"



Bob & Janet White being honored for their vision of starting Feminar 25 years ago.

Some more Phillips, Craig & Dean "Mercy Came a Running"

Somehow I missed getting a picture of the comedian Jeff Allen,
so instead we bring you our tribute. Jeff's best advice, "Happy wife = Happy life"

Lysa TerKeurst (Proverbs 31 Ministries)

I loved Lysa's black and white top, but I loved her message she delivered even more. I don't know if you have ever heard her story, but you can go here to read her story or visit her blog to see how and what she is doing now. The short of it is God told her to adopt two Liberia orphan boys from the Liberian Boys Acapella Choir. She said yes and from her act of faith and obedience 14 other families in her community has adopted 31 more children from that orphanage. Her story has been on Oprah and she announced at the Feminar that Dreamworks is making the story into a motion picture and it is being turned into a Broadway Musical. Plus, her friends and her won a cruise getaway because they designed the winning t-shirt. It said, "We left our 57 children at home with their dads". Blessings do indeed follow obedience! Her scripture focus for this first session was, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

During this first session, Lysa shared a cute story about her “new” family, which consist of three biological daughters and two adopted Liberian boys. A lady had come up to her and her children, pointing back and forth between the children and said, "Oh I get it...two different dads." One of her little girls with hands on hips replied, "Let me susplain it to you...when my mom was pregnant wit my bruthers she drank chocolate milk."

She closed this session with challenging us to allow the Messiah Jesus Christ to mess with us. The first four letters of Messiah is Mess, so if we will allow him to mess with us, to interrupt our lives, to disrupt our comfort so He can change the world through us.

Caught a glimpse of the Sandra's! Some how through the droves of women
I missed catching up with Michelle Rosson
I think she may have been seeking out bridesmaids dresses.

Found these girls hanging out in the balcony.