O Blog, Have I Forsaken Thee? Nay!

Wow ... I was posting a comment on (In)Courage just now. Yes, yes, I know it's a place for the new hearts of women. But I was reading an entry from one of my favorite authors. And I mean favorite, as in I know her!

Well, I don't "know her" in the biblical sense, mind you. But I can walk up and hug her without getting slapped. You should get acquainted with her, too. She's up and coming ... will eventually BE Oprah's list. You heard it here. But I knew her first. So get in line. Annie Downs ... remember that name.

Anyhoo ... when you post a comment on a blog, there's a field for your website. Auughh! My blog! I have one of those! I felt compelled to come and give it some attention since I was calling it out. Good thing, too. So much has happened in the last few months. Here's the highlights.

Big headline ... we are in a new church. In that awkward "first-day-of-school-and-you-don't- really-know-anybody" phase. Why leave a church after ten years of blessing? Because God speaks to those willing to listen. I heard Him. And we're trying to be obedient. We spent a "summer of discovery" visiting churches in the area. And it was strange. And challenging. And difficult. But it is bearing fruit.

You see, even when something like changing churches throws almost every emotion in the book at you, as long as God is in the lead, you'll be blessed for it. Seriously. Read on ...

On our first visit to Burnt Hickory Baptist Church (to be referred to as BHBC going forward for the love of my fingers), I picked up a daily devotional for adults. It was perfect. Half a page per day. What a great way to get back into the Word and to reacquaint myself with some God time. Baby steps, folks. I'm still a work in progress.

On a repeat visit to BHBC, I picked up a copy of Keys for Kids, a daily devotional for children. How cool was this going to be? I started "His Royal Court" as an alternative to bedtime stories, and Veda and I use this devotional to "hold court" on our bed, inviting Prince Chaz and Princess Amy of His Kingdom. We have our devotion, one opens in prayer and one closes, and then we adjourn court. Fun stuff! (And good practice for the wiggly one to learn how to sit still for ten minutes!)

Amy (as you recall, our six-year-old) has been talking about wanting to be a Christian for about a year now. This is the result of wonderful leaders and mentors in The Garden at our former church, and we are so thankful for that.

Well, on July 21, the lesson was called "Choice of a Lifetime" and it talked about the importance of choosing Jesus, much like choosing when to pull into traffic. In the wrapup, it gave an overview of the ABCs of the prayer of salvation (accept, believe, & confess). We talked about the Book of Life and all of the good stuff that comes with salvation.

Out of the blue, and totally unexpected ... Amy said "I want to pray that. I want God in my heart."

"Veda! Veda! You better get up here, please!" (Well, I didn't want her to miss this!)

Now mind you, Amy is only six. We have always been concerned with our children and having the appropriate age of accountability for this step. But when Amy started praying ... started weeping as she admitted to having sinned in her short life (e.g., yelling at Chaz, etc.), we knew God was good with it.

Praise the Lord ... two down, and one more to go! What a wonderful gift to help lead your child to Christ! THAT'S what parenting is about first. Then all the other stuff.

So ... new church. New Christian. Yay. But here comes some of the "other stuff."

Leah started public school yesterday. Oh yeah, other stuff. I went there.

We felt it wise to let her experience public school in the eighth grade first, so she's be more prepared for public high school. It went well, despite the fact that some football player hit on her in homeroom.

Sheesh, guy! Give the girl some breathing room ... it's only day one!

And I'm watching you. I know the ten rules for dating my daughter. You obviously don't. 'Cuz the prologue to the rules is ... she's not dating yet!

He kept prodding and eventually said they should exchange numbers. Leah balked ... said her Mom didn't allow her to call guys.

"Atta girl! You're darn right! Back off, jack!" She didn't give him her number either. Rejected!

Later, one of Leah's friends told her that he was a "nobody." Well now, no need to be THAT rejecting. I have a microscopic portion of grace for the guy for trying. And Leah is certainly a catch! There are many "nobodies" that eventually become big-time "somebodies." Just not with my daughter on "day one" of school.

Bind up those hormones, dude. Bind 'em up. Be a real "somebody" and learn how to pace yourself.

I'm sure there will be more sagas along the way. But for now, this should get me back on track. Did I forget anything? I'm sure I did. You'll just have to wait for the next chapter.