The Bush family hearts LOST.
Archive for January, 2008
The wind was blowing at a steady 40 mph around here on Tuesday. It was amazing. I saw a lady carrying a bag of groceries trying to get to her car. She was literally doing a Smooth Criminal lean (start at 00:18) into the wind. It was awesome. Street signs where hitting the ground. Birds were flying backwards. Heck, even ginormous trees were succumbing to the wind. No kidding. Look! It’s kind of like a really tall Michael Jackson!
Here’s a shot of my amazingly hot wife holding Fabian. Fabian and his mom just came by the Promise House on their way to a new chapter in their lives. They seem to be doing well. But, back to my wife. Wow! Look at her! She’s gorgeous! And that’s just the outside. If you think that’s beautiful, you should see the inside. Dang! I’m one lucky guy.
Fabian was born Monday evening at 6:08pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz. He is 22 in long! Both he and mom are doing well. they should be discharged from the hospital today. To see all our grandkids go here.
From day to day sometimes we wonder if we are really doing any good at all. Then, we get a message on facebook from a girl who left our care a few months ago:
Subject: God
“I miss you talking to me about God everyday and saying the bible verses… I never really do anything like that here… I stopped going to church for a while to but now I go every sunday and wednesday!! But yeah… I miss it.”
By the way, I’m a grandpa again! Fabian arrived yesterday evening and weighed in at 8 lbs. Also, he is 22 inches long.
Melissa Faye Green relates this story as she began her journey of orphan rescue in Ethiopia. Thought I’d share it.
A happy little girl caught my eye: she flounced about barefoot in gray sweatpants under a frilly, puffy pink dress and, on top of the dress, a too small boy’s winter coat. I watched her seat herself upon a flat stone with pride of ownership and was reaching around as best she could in her winter parka to smooth the stiff tulle. I saw her cast her soft eyes around to see if anyone was noticing how pretty she was today.
I noticed. I stepped over and stroked her warm little head, her hard dry little braids, and murmured an incomprehensible compliment in English. I startled her, but then she understood: her lips turned down in a pleased, flustered smile.
I didn’t know who took care of this little girl in pink — maybe a grandparent, maybe a not-much-older sister or brother — but I saw that she remembered being mothered. A longtime orphan would not expect anyone to compliment her pretty dress.
Mellisa Faye Green, There is No Me Without You, p. 32.
Picnik is a good name for it because it is really a lot of fun. Here is some fun I had with the Mercado Fresco pic.
One of the girls in our care right now is from Mexico. Like, Mexico Mexico. The real Mexico. Old Mexico. She didn’t get a visit today (today is family visit day for the girls) so I took her and another girl to Mercado Fresco. It’s huge! I had no idea anything like this existed in Little Rock! I mean, I’ve seen the little Mexican stores, but this thing is like Wal-Mart. Just look!
It’s ginormous!
Nothing like shopping for frijoles under the watchful eye of Mary.
Dang! I look good in that sombrero!!
Chicken feet. It’s what’s for dinner.
Apparently, los mexicanos are serious about their peppers. This is about half of the different varieties they had.
I’m a dad now. And questions about sheltering and protecting and maturity are things with which we now struggle. Should Sophia play with Barbies (no)? Can she watch The Simpsons (no)? Should she be able to listen to Johnny Cash (depends)?
Anyway, the Krusty Sage, over at “Letters from Kamp Krusty” pretty much nailed it. Here’s a sample. Follow the link to read the post in its entirety.
It’s your job to shelter, pops. And if you think the mindless entertainment/consumption lifestyle is somehow “the real world”, the Krusty Sage is going to get out of his big, awesome, wooden chair and hit you with it.
Interested? Read it here.
Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. Colossians 1:3-5
Hey! I noticed you visit my blog. That’s cool. I thought I’d return the favor by visiting you (cyper-spacially speaking). Here are a few tidbits about you that you might not know.
La Vergne, Tennessee: Hey there Rocky Top. Besides having a very cool name and being the fastest growing community in Tennessee, you also have a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement! Sounds like you are on a roll! Carry on, La Vergne. Carry on.
Ronneby, Sweden: Ronneby, you are ghost on Google! I can’t find anything on you except that in the 19th century you were a much frequented spa. Also, if you’d like to call Dr. Jan-Olof Gustavsson at the Blekinge Institute of Technology, the number is: [+46] (0)457-385725. Tell her/him I said ‘Hi’.
Gainesville, Virginia: Hey. You are made up of 2,162 males and 2,220 females. That’s a difference of 58 more females. That’s interesting because 58 is the seventeenth discrete bi-prime. Coincidence? I think not.
San Lorenzo, California: Did you know you were one of the nation’s first entirely planned communities? That’s right. Back in 1944, a guy by the name of David Bohannon planned it all out . . . complete with shopping center.
Amarillo, Texas: Home of the Big Texan Steak Ranch! Amarillo, you and I go back a long way. I’ve passed through you dozens of times on my way to Taos, NM (where my Mom is from). One of my most memorable childhood moments happened on your hallowed grounds at the Big Texan. I happened to be there during feeding time for that huge rattlesnake. Yup. I watched two little rodents being placed in it’s big glass aquarium. The 6-footer paralyzed them with one strike and then proceeded to slowly unhinge his jaws and swallow them whole. I can still see the last rat’s tail slithering into the old rattler’s mouth. Steak anyone?
That’s my girl!
I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God’s master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours! Colossians 1:1-2
I’m working on Colossians, one of my resolutions. I started thinking about “Everything good” and created this visual to give it some legs.
This is my little brother, Ethan. He rocks the house as you can see. And, usually, he’s rockin’ it with a mandolin.
Hey, you . . . thanks for visiting! Here are a few facts about your homeland you probably didn’t know.
Karlsruhe, Germany: Guttentag! You have the largest City Wiki in the world! It’s called Stadtwike Karlsruhe. Don’t know what a City Wiki is?? Me neither. But you can read about it here.
Swannanoa, North Carolina: I think you might be my sister (is that you Jessica?), but I’m not sure. At any rate. Did you know that you have an average family size of 2.86? That’s not even one kid per household! Unless, of course, you round up, but that would be cheating. Listen, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Let’s see if we can get that number up a tad.
North Little Rock, Arkansas: Hey! I can almost see you from here! Actually, I was just over there the other day via the Big Dam Bridge. Did you know that you were known simply as “opposite Little Rock” until the Civil War? Wow. Talk about degrading. You sure have come a long way.
Carstairs, Canada: Did you know you have a big cow emblazoned across your town flag? I’m guessing either you are Buddhist or you know how to grill one killer steak.
Edmond, Oklahoma: I like you Edmond. Why? Because I saw one of my favorite bands with you. My wife and I drove to you to watch Delirious rock the house at Lifechurch.tv back in 2004. We also ate at your On The Border. The chips were a bit salty, but everything else was delish!
Hey, you. Thanks for visiting. Here’s a little factoid about your homeland that you might not know:
Overland Park, Kansas: Your largest employer is Sprint Nextel Corporation. Also, you are the headquarters for Applebees. I can, then, only assume that you have enjoyed some killer Applebees riblets.
Wylie, Texas: You were originally called Nickelville. Yep. That’s right. The name was changed when a coyote with a box of acme rockets arrived in Nickelville and set up a basecamp for his roadrunner extermination efforts.
Yamagata, Japan: You have 50 Wi-Fi locations. That’s a nice even number. Did you do that on purpose?
Urbana, Illinois: You produced the 2003 Miss America. But, did you know she was born in 1980? That’s the same year I was born! Now that’s what I call a connection.
Glendale, California: You have 5 sister cities: Kapan, Armenia; Higashiosaka, Japan; Hiroshima, Japan; Tlaquepaque, Mexico; Rosarito Beach, Mexico. That’s quite a diverse family you’ve got there.
More factoids to come. Stay tuned for your homeland . . .
Get a glimpse of my day. Count’em. 31 times she says ‘más’. Más is ‘more’ in Spanish. She really really really wants some more grapes. Talk about persistence!
She’s definitely not scared of heights. In fact, she’s really not scared of anything (except her Jack in the Box), which kind of scares us. We’ve got to rethink our apartment. A couple times of walking in to this scene is enough to freak any parent out.
Want to do something amazing? Go here. You’re just a few clicks away from making Jesus smile. No, really. Helping lift kids out of poverty is probably in the top 5 of Jesus’ “What I Want My Followers To Do Today” list. Heck! Maybe top 3! Compassion International is the bridge between you and those kids. It’s a great organization. I know first hand. I’ve visited 2 Compassion projects in Lima, Peru multiple times. We sponsor a little girl in Lima and have seen with our own eyes the incredible impact $32 dollars a month has had on her and her family. Need more reasons? Here are a few:
- You will fall in love.
- You will change a child’s life forever.
- Tax deduction.
- The thrill of sacrifice.
- You’ll be obeying the two most important commands. (Mk. 12:29)
- You will make a new friend (I have a notebook full of letters our compassion kids have sent us).
- You will learn about a new culture.
- You will teach your kids (or roommate or whoever) to love God by loving people.
- One less kid will go to bed hungry tonite.
And if that’s not enough, maybe a picture of our beautiful girl in Lima will do the trick . . . Actually, I’m just a proud sponsor who wants to show off his kid.
Do you sponsor a kid?
So far, so good on the new year’s resolutions. I know, I know. I’m only two weeks into the year, but so far I’m feeling pretty good about the way things are going.
I fasted one day this month. I chose the traditional style of going without food. It was good. I mean, it was terrible, but it was good in that I learned some stuff. But, dang!, I got so hungry and irritable. I guess I’m a wuss when it comes to missing a meal.
I’ve been sending out (via the famous index card) sentences from the Bible. Maybe you got one?
Blogging I am. No problems there.
Also, we are working on adding at least one member to the Bush family this year. We’ll keep you updated on that!
Resolutions I need to get to work on: marathon, memorizing colossians, getting to know a family member.
How are yours going?
This guy decided to change his name. I’m just upset I didn’t think of it first.
Kylee, the 2-month-old daughter of one of our girls, just couldn’t keep it together during the service this morning at Geyer Springs. It was a little embarrassing really. I mean, to lay out on the pew and fall asleep . . . sound asleep. That’s just not the Baptist way. We Baptists fall asleep sitting up, with our Bibles open so it looks like we’re reading and/or praying.
It happened yesterday on the way to Wal-Mart with virtually no warning. I did hear a faint honk from behind, but in a 15 passenger van with 6 teenage girls chatting away and a 1-month-old getting her two cents in it can be kind of hard to hear.
Anyway, the next thing I know a guy with a gotee pulls up and locks eyes with me. Then it happened. He lifted his fist and raised the flag . . . flew the bird . . . gave me the 1 finger salute. I was just hoping he wasn’t going to lower the flag and decide to use his fist for other things, like breaking my face.
I’m not sure what I did. Maybe I unknowingly cut him off. Or maybe he’s not cool with big vans full of pregnant teens. At any rate, I’m OK in case you were worried about me.
Here is a list of things that I believed at one time or another about God and myself. Some are of more consequence than others.
What about you? Share some of your busted myths in the comments.
- God isn’t cool with having fun.
- God expects me to get dressed up for church.
- Knowledge of the Bible equals a relationship with God.
- I should say ‘bless you’ after someone sneezes because ‘That’s what Jesus would do.’
- I can be good enough.
- If I don’t capitalize the word ‘God’ I will be smote.
- If I don’t read the Bible and pray everyday, God gets mad.
- I have to earn God’s acceptance and love.
YouVersion
Check out YouVersion. I just discovered it today. It’s basically an interactive, ongoing, communal commentary on the scriptures. It’s still in Beta, so we’re sure to see some bells and whistles come along, but it’s pretty dadgum cool already. Give it a looksee. Share your wisdom.