New Life'n

Is there something you're good at, but nobody knows it (not even you)?

Check out the look on Simon's face when he suddenly realizes he's not needed.  (From Britain's Got Talent -- the guy eventually won)

That poem Ruth Graham wrote about the man she hadn't met yet

It's from this book -- which is probably in the "Ruth's Attic" bookstore at the new Billy Graham Library.  She's supposed to have written it two years before they met.  Think God answered her prayer?

Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid
(as we're inclined to do)
I do not need a handsome man
but let him be like you;
I do not need one big and strong
nor yet so very tall,
nor need he be some genius
or wealthy, Lord, at all;
but let his head be high, dear God,
and let his eye be clear,
his shoulders straight,
whate'er his state,
whate'er his earthly sphere;
and let his face have character,
a ruggedness of soul,
and let his whole life show,
dear God,
a singleness of goal;
then when he comes
(as he will come)
with quiet eyes aglow
I'll understand that he's the man
I prayed for long ago."

I choose us

Here's how it hit me the first time I saw it.  It's not supposed to be a Father's Day movie -- it's set around Christmas, which is when I first watched it on TV a couple of years ago.  But it made me crazy with appreciation that I'm a husband to Brenda and a dad to Myquillyn and Emily.  It's PG-13, so there may be some stuff in there that wasn't on the TV version.  Here's the climactic scene:

She was the world's most famous stay-at-home mom

From the Charlotte Observer story on Ruth Graham's death:

"We live in a world where, if you're not touching lots and lots of people, you're not important. If everybody would do what Ruth has done, this would be a better place. She cared about her neighbor."

Her father, Dr. Nelson Bell, gave up a promising career as a baseball pitcher to become a doctor and move to China as chief surgeon...her mother, Virginia, tutored her in their home....missionaries were seen as the enemy by some.

She returned to the United States in 1941 to attend Wheaton College...One date with a tall, thin farmer's boy from Charlotte turned her head and changed her life.

A timid Billy Graham got up the nerve to take her to a Sunday afternoon production of Handel's "Messiah" -- the first step of a romance...he didn't dare hold her hand on that first date.

With the $75 he saved for the honeymoon, they traveled to nearby Blowing Rock.Their union began a partnership that endured worldwide evangelism, adulation, politics and, perhaps most challenging of all, distance.

He would crisscross the world for Christ; she'd remain at home in Montreat, raising what grew to be a family of five children...It wasn't easy...she reminisced about sleeping with Billy's tweed jacket during the nights he was off saving souls.

The familiar story told by various Grahams is how Ruth Graham had had it up to here one day trying to discipline born-to-be-wild Franklin -- so she locked him in the trunk of her car as they went through the fast-food window in Asheville.

Franklin Graham, who now runs the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, recalled: "The waitress was shocked when she saw Mama open the trunk and hand me my food."

Another story HERE.

Randoms 7

The Thomas the Tank Engine toys that are recalled are HERE.  It may affect Thomas stuff you've bought since January 2005.  More details HERE and HERE.

Save money on your summer road trip -- how to find hotels, eats, and places to go

"There is something about being far from home that I think gets people out of their rut, but I think you can do that without traveling thousands of miles,.."

Smart packing tips -- rolling, folding and bundling

But, DON'T go to these beaches.

Some books dad might like -- Presidents, bombs, real pirates, and more...

And, find out what the Bible says about...

A little apology

If you're a regular reader here, you've noticed a couple of big gaps in the usual pace of posting.  Can you pick the right reason? --

1. A lot of (good) family things that have kept Brenda away from home (and from me) -- I get less done when she's gone, not more
2. A chance to preach several times over a 6-week period, each time requiring about 10+ hours of preparation.
3. An increase in responsibilities at the radio station.
4. A commitment to making personal time with God a priority, even if it means things I'm convinced He wants me to do go undone (He'll have to figure that one out -- I don't get it).
5. The Rogaine treatments worked and I'm moonlighting as a hair model.
6. All of the above, except #5

Right -- it's #6!  It's definitely not laziness or low interest -- just a season of higher priorities and a refusal to stay up to midnight.  I want you to continue to have the expectation that you can consistently find something here that's helpful or encouraging or maybe a little entertaining -- thanks for your grace.

Her single mom life

She sold her engagement ring to buy beds for the kids.  That was six years ago, when she first became a single mom.  One of her tricks to beat loneliness and depression is to go to bed early.  She's also learned where real hope and encouragement are.  Angela Thomas' new book is "My Single Mom Life" -- find out more about it HERE.