Life To The Extreme

This morning, I woke up early and took a van load of teenage boys to the departure site for Extreme Camp. Their excitement was contagious as we drove to our church parking lot and loaded duffel bags, sleeping bags, and pillows onto to bus. Zip lines, swimming, and tons of fun await them at Camp Wow in Oklahoma. The boys could hardly wait to get out of the van and onto the bus.

For the next four days, the youth at FBC McKinney shall live life to the extreme.
And while I hope the next four days are everything they imagine, I hope that camp will be so much more than fun memories with friends. In fact I pray they are moved by the Holy Spirit and embrace a life with Christ with the same excitement they are feeling this morning.

Love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
and self-control.
(Galatians 5:22-23 NLT)

These are the building blocks of living life to the extreme. "And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself." (Ephesians 2:20 NLT) So while my son and his posse' take in the great outdoors, I pray they also turn their hearts to their Savior. I pray they dig deep in His Word and come back changed by His grace. For the LORD is "great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all."(1 Chronicles 29:11) In Him, we have life to the extreme.


Jack is somewhere in this sea of blue...have fun, son.


Update: During Extreme Camp, God called out over 100 kids who are feeling called to serve in ministry. Jack was one of them. In addition, 47 kids chose to accept Christ and were baptized at Camp Wow. Praise God!

Jack's Drama Debut

Last night we had the awesome privilege of witnessing Jack's debut as an actor for Dowell Middle School. He starred in all three productions including one play that was written and directed by a fellow student.

Jack had one of the starring roles in the small play titled "The Hand We Are Dealt". It is a play that details that account of one homeless boy's short life and the lessons a more fortunate girl learns after meeting him. Jack plays a sort of time traveler who reveals the two characters different lots in life.




His second performance was starring as the beggar in the play titled the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Marty was joking that after seeing Jack was the only boy in the cast that perhaps Jack had ulterior motives for participating in drama. Ha!



Jack's final performance for the evening was at the dentist in the play titled "Laughing Stock". Unfortunately, my camera battery died before I could snap anymore photos. I was especially bummed that I missed the chance to get a picture of his curtain call. Something tells me there will be many more for our young actor.

After the performances, a woman from the audience came up to Jack and told him that he had extraordinary stage presence and that she truly enjoyed his performance. Jack was supurb and I was amazed by his confidence on the stage. No doubt, Jack has found his niche and I expect big things are ahead of him in drama.

Man Vs. Wild

We postponed Jack's thirteenth birthday party because he wanted an outside camping theme. Since his birthday is in early March, we felt the nights were just too cold for the boys to sleep outside in a tent. Now that spring has sprung in North Texas, it seemed safe to cut the boys loose. Unfortunately, thunderstorms rolled through our area and we were forced to be flexibile with our plans.

Eight of Jack's closest friends arrived a little past 6:00 on Friday evening and the fun continued until 10 o'clock Saturday morning.



Penny enjoyed greeting Jack's guests. She is J-Man's best friend.

Team Man Vs. Wild


During a break in the rain, the boys had an outdoor scavenger hunt. They split into two teams and had 30 minutes to find as many items on the list as possible.


Team Survivorman




The boys had a great time doing "manly" things in the great outdoors.




Marty planned a food tasting contest that separated the men from the boys. He took the boys on an imaginary survival adventure much like Bear Grylls from one of Jack's favorite shows called Man Vs. Wild. His menu included goat eyeballs (peeled grapes), grubs (easy cheese and sourpatch caterpillars), grilled rattlesnake (beef jerkey), seal blubber (Swedish fish), and sea slugs (raisins).

Jack and his friend Eric eating "goat eyeballs"...chock full of vitamins.

The wife of Jack's assistant youth pastor made Jack's cake for him. It was perfect for Jack!









It is crazy to me how much teenage boys are capable of eating. The boys at 4 pizzas, popcorn, and then more popcorn, and birthday cake! The rest of the evening incuded video games and the movie Tron Legacy. Then the boys "camped out" in the office in sleeping bags.

Jack told me "Mom, that was my BEST party ever!" I am so proud of him and happy that he enjoyed his special night.

Third Grade Musical---"Eee-Iii-Eee-Iii-Oops"

She's cute...and she's smart.

Tonight was a night of "barnyard fun" at Glen Oaks Elementary. The third graders presented the musical "Eee-Iii-Eee-Iii-Oops". Lily was a "cute chick".




It was so much fun watching her on stage and she had so much fun with all her "peeps".


Lily and her cute chicks...aren't they just adorable?!


Old McDonald had a farm...Eee-Iii-eee-Iii-Oops.


Lily and her best friend, Brylee, "hammin' it up."


Daddy with BOTH of his "cute chicks".


I LOVE my cute chick!

Jack's Solo Recital

Over the past two Jack has developed into a beautiful French Horn player. Today, he played he solo recital. He was assigned "St. Anthony's Chorale and Rondo" by Haydn. The past few months, Jack has worked hard and practiced many hours to be successful. His hard work paid off tonight.




While he was extremely nervous, he handled the pressure very well. The judge was quite pleased with Jack's performance and awarded him a I rating. We are so proud of our J-Man.

Joy For Japan

During our spring break trip to visit Marty's parents in Arkansas, the kids couldn't help but see troubling images of the devastation in Japan from the tsunami. Lily wanted to make a difference. So, she came up with an idea to raise money for the tsunami victims. She calls it Joy For Japan. Lily decided to collect money in take out boxes from Pei Wei restaurant. She gave each class at her school a box and encouraged kids at her school to give their spare change to benefit those affected in Japan. Today, she collected boxes and counted the money.

Lily counting up the totals today after school.

Lily made $37.02 for the tsunami victims. We are going to donate the proceeds to the Red Cross specifically for tsunami relief. I know God will multiply that offering and it will make a beautiful impact on those who are most in need. I am so proud of Lily for reaching out to make a difference in the world, and I am touched by her amazing heart. Truly, I hope her great love brings Joy for Japan.

Lily made an Animoto to feature her goodwill project and plans to share it at school. You can take a look at it by clicking the "Joy For Japan" link below.

JOY FOR JAPAN




My friend Reiko Unterberger lives in Vienna, Austria and has family in Japan. She left this Lily this message on Facebook. It made Lily's heart smile and mine too.

The Heard Museum...FBC Children's Ministry Night

Jack, Lily, and Sofie at the Heard Wildlife Museum in McKinney, Texas


The FBC Children's Ministry welcomed all volunteers to the children's programs to an evening of family fun at the Heard Museum here in McKinney. Our family loves being outdoors, so this was something I was really looking forward too all week. We all had a great time strolling on the trails and marveling at the amazing exhibits.


The wildflowers were especially beautiful. These are my favorites. I think they are called Indian blanket.


Daddy has a great eye for spotting turtles and the girls loved watching them "pop up".


Lily practiced dance steps as we walked along the trails.


Sofie thought it was cool to read all the "big words" on the information plaques along the side of the trail.



In addition, we took in an interesting presentation about exotic animals while we ate some fantastic burgers in the Heard Ampitheater.





Jack and his buddy Kyle definitely gave the "grub" a big seal of approval.


J-Man Vs. Wild


Jack and Sofie fell in love with the lemurs.


Lily and Sofie loved "digging for dinosaurs".

Our family had a wonderful evening at the Heard Museum and we are definitely planning to return.