My Lucky Number 238

My Mom turned 65 on Saturday! She is an absolutely amazing woman of God, an incredible Mother, and THE glue that has kept our family seeking Jesus! She has a blog called String A Pearl. Last week she was reflecting on her life thus far and I thought you would be blessed by her writing. Enjoy…

My Lucky Number 238

I’m coming up on my 65th birthday this week. Funny, when I started dreaming of life I never actually dreamed of this moment in time. Thanks to Medicare and all the mailings that arrive for this mile stone moment in life I’ve been thinking of this for months. Feeling a slight disconnect to my youth as our grandchildren gaze upon family photos from the 70's & 80's and recognize everyone but grandma and the dog. The dog died people but that’s me and I’m still here. I gathered photos of myself at all ages. Laying them side by side it’s rather startling. I wound up selecting a few from my childhood then adding one from each decade. Suddenly life was pretty short. If, in a perfect world, one had 10 decades to live I’ve already used 6½ of them. It’s too late for a do over and frankly I don’t have the energy. It just might be prudent to enjoy what God has given me and stop fighting so hard to improve it. How did those 900 year old people in Biblical days deal with the crinkled, brown speckled, parched skin look? Oh, pardon me, I digress.

This is about my lucky number 238. Odd I know but it happens to be my address from when I was a kid. I use to think of the bad things that happened to me when I was a kid and feel sorry for myself. Poor little thing I would think. A couple of decades ago a pastor friend encouraged me to see my pain through God’s eyes. I began to realize all the trials and any suffering was in fact my strength. Endurance and perseverance built into me by God. Only God can see a whole life and only God can build a ship that will survive the stormy seas of life. God built me after he created me in my mother’s womb. So now I look back at my start in life and see the goodness of the Lord. I see the numbers on my house and it reads 238 – pretty lucky huh? I have a Scripture verse that reveals the truth of my lucky number and a fun little story to showcase that truth.

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services when she was startled by an intruder. She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled,”STOP! Acts 2:38!"

The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly called the
police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell Scripture at you." "Scripture?" replied the burglar. "She said she had an Ax and Two 38's!"

A pearl to string: Remember knowing Scripture can save your life in more ways than one!!! Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:38 Turn your love away from the wiles of this world and……

Turn your heart toward Jesus,
He’s got a gift for you.
Lyndi

Father's Day

What images come to mind when you think of a Father? Are they good or bad? Or maybe a mixture of both? When you think of a Father - do you think about your own Dad or do you think of God? If you are a Dad, do you ever think about the kind of Father you want to be?

For me, when I think of a Father the images are both of my Dad and my God. I think of the power that a Father has on his children. In so many ways, like it or not, we are like our Father's. In so many ways, like it or not, we want to be like our Father's.

I recently read an article about the 25th anniversary of my Dad's hiring as the Coach at CU. (Click here and page down 3 or 4 times to read the article - it's called "Q&A with a Buff") This brought back many great memories of my Dad as a football coach. There is even a link to a video someone made about his first few years as at CU. I loved my Dad's job and our involvement with college football. And I did grow up wanting to be like my Dad, but not just because he was a coach. My Dad gave our family a vision for something much larger than football.

A Father sets a vision for his family. A Father is the leader of his family. Almighty God is our ultimate Father and He has given us our ultimate vision. I am blessed beyond measure, because my Dad made it his life's goal to love our Father God with all of his heart. My Dad is far from perfect, but he passed onto our family a vision to live our lives wholehearted for Jesus Christ. My Dad is my hero and on my very best days, I am a little bit like him. I could say so much more about my Dad, but I'll leave you with this - I don't know anyone else in the world who loves Jesus more than my Dad. That's the kind of man he is and the kind of man I want to be.

My Wife is Amazing

It's Robin's Birthday today! As a way to describe who Robin is and what she means to me, I thought I would post this poem I wrote about her. Please know that anything good from this poem is because of the person it is about and anything bad is because of the amateur who wrote it...

Beautiful One

When you enter a room my soul leaps for joy
I am still amazed that you have chosen me

I love everything about you:
Your smile, your eyes, your beauty, your grace, your dignity, your work ethic, your friendship, and your love for the glory of God
You are the definition of a lady in every sense

It’s amazing how many people look up to you and covet your wisdom
So many women at our Church pattern their decisions after yours
You are a spiritual leader and the definition of a friend

I am so thankful that we have daughters because I want them to be just like you
You keep a beautiful home - you always know just what to do
My greatest moments are the ones when you are happy and full of joy because you light me up

My respect for you is greater than the depths of the ocean
My love for you is higher than the sky

Your love for me is impossible to describe
You give of yourself in every way, never seeking your own

I love you not only for what you are
But for what I am when I am with you

Final Soccer Game

Today is the final Soccer game for The Fusion. We had the genius idea of putting Macy & Mallory on the same soccer team even though Mallory is three years younger than almost everyone else in the league. That way our family doesn't have to split up for practice or games - we are always together.

Our girls definitely have different views of soccer...

Mallory (red bow) loves the social aspect of the game

Macy (red bow) likes to play defense

We're starting the Baylor Bow Head thing early.

McCartney Family