Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Good things

Some of my favorite quotations over the years:

Too much of a good thing is wonderful. Mae West

Never eat more than you can lift. Miss Piggy

Life is made up of marble and mud. Nathaniel Hawthorne

People who never get carried way should be. Malcolm Forbes

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. Mark Twain

Children sing the song they hear from their mother and father.
Old African proverb

Christ died to take away your sins, not your mind. Anon.

If you don't believe in ghosts, you have never been to a family reunion. Ashley Brilliant

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Apples of Gold

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Prov. 25:11

For the past 20 years, I have kept journals of quotations. Looking back at them, the quotations are almost an outline of my life. The early ones deal with child rearing. Then as I became a librarian, there were hundreds of quotes about books and reading. When I began to teach workshops on poetry,writing and teaching the gifted, there are appropriate quotations. As a teacher of children's literature in a university setting, I collected quotes about the various genres and writers. Now that I am in retirement and still teaching writing in different settings, I find myself collecting quotes again on writing and also on getting older.

What makes a quote worth saving? A clever turn of phrase, a striking use of language, a crystallization of a universal truth or an insightful statement--in short, words aptly spoken.

Father, thank you for your words to me. I treasure them in my heart.

Monday, June 28, 2004

Loaf of bread

"The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are 3 million to one."
Erma Bombeck

Riding my bike to Simpson's store a few blocks away for a loaf of bread was one of my chores every Monday in the summer. My blue bike with silver wheel covers and cardboards on the wheel spokes sped down Avenue C efficiently. My basket held the bread delicately. It was one of my favorite chores.

I had only enough money to buy bread. It was tied up in the end of a handkerchief stuffed in my pocket. That didn't keep me from looking longingly at the Cracker Jacks, JoBoy candy bars, Double Bubble bubble gum and Dr Peppers near the check-out register.

Perhaps that is why today I can't pass a check-out counter without adding to my grocery total.

Thank you Lord for having enough change left today to buy Big Red Gum and a bottle of water.

Sunday, June 27, 2004

When the swallows come back

One morning last week, I found my swallow nest empty. The night before, all five baby swallows were lined up for food as usual. I wondered if some bird rapture that LaHaye had failed to chronicle had occurred overnight.

Then about 8:30 in the evening, they all started flying back. They played a darting, pecking, swooping king-of-the-hill game until all five were stacked in layered on top of each other with tails and beaks hanging out.

Each day now they fly out on forays for their own food always returning to the nest for night sanctuary. I know that soon
they will fly away and not return.

Bye, bye birdies....

Saturday, June 26, 2004

What the mirror saw

A simple old three-drawer oak dresser sits in my entry. Above it is a mirror with flecked glass. It is the survivor of a fire that destroyed all the other antiques in my husband's family--a remnant of days long ago along a railroad track in Groesbeck, Texas.

What would the mirror say it had seen, if it could talk? It saw "Back" and Granny (Sam's grandparents)getting ready for church--adjusting hats, high collars, petticoats, suspenders.
It saw Big Pa (Sam's father) lying dead drunk in the bed across the room. Sitting beside the bed was Mow (Sam's mother), the ultimate enabler, patting his hand and guarding him. It saw Sam as a tiny boy with big brown eyes and curly hair putting on his short pants for church. It probably saw him and his brother teasing their sister by pulling her hair and wrinkling her dress.

Everyone who ever used the dresser and mirror (except Aunt Ruby who is 92) are dead now. The mirror now reflects the people who come and go out of my house. It is where we all go to check our hair and clothes before we go to church--Brandon, Sheryl, Maddie and Ella (when they are here) and I.

"Remember the days of old, consider the generations long past....Deut. 32:7

Friday, June 25, 2004

Men fit for the times

On his way to the Constitutional Convention in January, 1776, John Adams wrote in his journal, "We have not men fit for the times. We are deficient in genius, education, in travel, fortune--in everything. I feel unutterable anxiety." Six months later, those men published to the world one of the blockbusters of history beginning "When in the Course of human events...."

As I read newsmagazines and watch the news on TV, I begin to think, "We have not men or women fit for these times." That's when I call up Col. 1:16-17: "For by him were all things created:....thrones, powers, rulers and authorities....and in him all things hold together."

Father, give us courage to face the day knowing you are the ruler of all.

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Walking in cream

One of the most poignant laments in the Bible is Job's account of the "good old days" in Job 29:1-6. He speaks of the months gone by when he was in his prime and his children were around him and -(my favorite!)-when his path was drenched with cream.

Some people my age and older lament the passage of "the good old days." Perhaps they have forgotten outdoor toilets, box fans in the summer and space heaters in the winter, washing clothes in a tub and hanging them outside on a line, and reading by "drop lights" (one weak light bulb dropped from the center of the ceiling).

Not me! No, my good old days are here. I am walking in cream today. Thank you Lord!

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Savoring

Savor: to delight in, to relish

Last Sunday in class, we talked about savoring as part of a rich life.

Here are some of the things I savor:

watching my grandchildren play on my living room floor
The thousands of crepe myrtles blooming in Abilene today
finding a really good children's book with really good
illustrations
old family pictures and stories
snow falling in my back yard
the cherry in the bottom of a Sonic cherry limeade
the table brimming with food on Thanksgiving
a worship service where everything comes together to the
honor of God and the works of the Spirit are evident
the taste of buttered popcorn at the movies
the West Wing
Turning to the first/last page of a good book
standing in my favorite Abilene museum and watching kids learn about the illustrations in children's books
Turning everything off in my house and sitting in silence
listening to Zoe Worship
drinking a latte with whipped cream on top
the communion service when everyone comes to the front of the
church
"Sam Thomas stories"
meeting with Trilogy, my spiritual formation group
memories of Sam and Brandon playing
the days I spent at ACU teaching teachers-and-parents-to-be
about good children's books
being with my kids in Nashville
hearing Mike Cope preach
remembering my mother's fresh coconut cake
the smell of fresh rain
the almost-daily phone call from my son
the times at church when a change is made, and the walls don't
fall down
reading a fresh copy of Time Magazine or Christianity Today
hearing Adam Hester read the Bible at church
Lingering at the table with lively conversation
my best friends and keepers Ronnie and Darla Lorenz
fall, spring, and winter days which require a little fire in
the fireplace
my grandmother's quilt
my life in retirement

and so many other blessings--Thank you God!

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Courtly gentlemen

In many of the reports aboout Ronald Reagan, commentators often mentioned that he was "a courtly gentleman of the old school."

Since when did being a gentleman become "old school"? When did it stop? I suppose it was in the l960's when we all tried to see how uncivil we could be.

I do yearn for a smidgen of courtliness when young men give me
"the finger" for driving too slowly as they zoom around me. I yearn for a bit of gentlemanly behavior as I am jostled in a long line at the airport, while I am trying to manage my purse, my carry on bag, and take off my jacket and my shoes.
The baleful stare from the male x-ray attendant tells me I am taking too much of his valuable time.

No, I don't want every door opened nor Boy Scouts to help me across the street--I just want a little civility.

Father, help us all to see the persons we can assist as Jesus saw the crowd that followed him.

Monday, June 21, 2004

Global warming

Jesus was not a member of Greenpeace or the Sierra Club. He did, however, talk about the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, grapes, figs, weeds, planting and harvests.He did acknowledge his environment.

I saw The Day After Tomorrow last week. It was chilling in more ways than one. The implications of global warming have been batted around for decades. I never thought much about it until I saw this movie about the changes of our climate brought on by global warming, the melting of the polar ice cap and the attendant changes in the ocean currents. Although the movie has been denigrated as a typical disaster movie, it does give one pause to think, "What am I doing to this beautiful world created by God "who has made everything beautiful in its own time". Ecc. 3:11. What am I doing to preserve it for my grandchildren?"

Dear Father, help us to appreciate and treasure the beauty of the earth whether we live in West Texas or the mountains of Colorado.

Sunday, June 20, 2004

He Was a Carpenter

My father was illiterate. I suppose that would seem ironic to those who know I was a university English teacher before I retired.

My grandfather died in the difficult days of the Depression, and his children had to go to work so the family could eat. So my father lost out on most of his education. My mom taught Dad how to read after they married. His handwriting remained a mystery to most who tried to read it.

I used to dream about what life would be like if my father were a banker or a businessman. All he could manage was sharecrop farming, sacking groceries and driving trucks. During World War II, my dad learned how to carpenter while building the barracks at Camp Barkley in Abilene.

He then managed to clothe and feed three children, rebuild an old house for our residence, and he always had a waiting list of people who needed his skill.

He was a quiet, proud man who always wore a hat (straw in the summer, felt in the winter). His favorite things were reading the newspaper and watching westerns on television. Ollis Elton Brandon was not a religious man, although he became a Baptist as a child. He was loving, good, hard-working, but not a spiritual leader. I never saw him read the Bible, or heard him lead a prayer, and we did not talk about God. However, I did watch him care for my mother when she was dying from cancer, ill and vomiting from chemotherapy, crying from pain--he was there to the end. He taught me a valuable lesson I needed later when my husband was dying of cancer.

Thank you Lord for my dad. I miss him.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Twinkies

I don't know who said, "sometimes if we don't get the broccoli we need, we go for the Twinkies"--but I think it's a profound statement.

I believe that most of our news, books, entertainment, and indeed our whole culture is made of Twinkies--superficial, full of air, and VERY bad for our spiritual health.

I am tired of seeing and hearing about J-Lo;
I am tired of loud music with obscene lyrics;
I am tired of most advertising which appeals to
materialism;
I am tired of stick-thin models wearing ridiculous
clothes;
I am tired of the reality shows which appeal to our baser
instincts;
I am tired of magazines at the grocery store check-out
which tout the marriages and adulteries of
celebrities, the joys of the gay life, and tales
about enhanced breasts.

Don't you wish you would never hear these words again-- Viagra, botox, terrorist, same-sex marriage,WMD, bombings in Iraq, etc.

Dear Father, help us to be salt and light in this darkening generation.

Friday, June 18, 2004

Swallow update

The baby swallows on my porch are growing fast on their diet of flies and mosquitoes. They are no longer just scrawny necks and wings. Now they perch on the edge of the nest looking like peach-colored feathered frogs with beaks.

Newsflash--I looked in the nest on Wednesday and there were five birds instead of four. I don't know where little Houdini had been hiding, but the nest is now VERY crowded. They are so like children jostling for first place in the lunch line as they wait for their parents to come and deliver.

One of the birds is a daredevil (there is one in every class). He stands precariously on the nest, spreading his wings in the faces of the others, and he looks like he is going to fly away or fall any minute. But when Mama comes, he pops back into the nest ready for his treat.

Father, you know that we sometimes perch precariously in perilous situations. Push us back and hide us under your wings warmed with your overwhelming love.

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Reading the classics

Regi Routeman, a wonderful teacher of the gifted, once wrote,
"It is strange to me that teachers/parents who read every Danielle Steel, Stephen King and People Magazine insist that all children must read classics."

Is this a subtle form of child abuse? Have you tried reading Treasure Island or Hans Brinker lately? It will be interesting
to see how many people read Anna Karenina Oprah's latest classic choice. If such statistics could be gathered, comparison of the number of readers of Oprah's classics and Oprah's former book club choices would be enlightening.

We are all drawn in by the term "classic." I have a friend who joined a classic book of the month club. He was enamored by the "red hand-tooled leather bindings." Almost bankrupted before he could get out of the club, he says the books do look nice on the shelf.

Every age has its classics. One of the definitions of a classic is a book which is still in print and being read after 50 years. Children today should read or have read to them Goodnight Moon, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Where the Wild Things Are, Winnie the Pooh (the original) and Charlotte's Web.

Thank you God for Margaret Wise Brown, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, A. A. Milne and E. B. White who lead us so gently through childhood and for Jesus who leads us gently home.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Condensations

The Friends of the Abilene Public Library recently had their yearly book sale for the benefit of the library. For a reader, there is no more glorious sight than a huge room full of books to buy at a bargain,

I was struck by the number of Readers'Digest Condensations in the sale. We sold them by the yard--$2.00 a yard. They were snapped up by home decorators to set on shelves between potpourri and candles. Some were chosen because they matched the primary colors in the living room drapes.

Although condensations do whet the appetite, Jean Little once wrote, "Condensed versions are like people who read a road map and think they have been on a journey." I prefer the full book myself with all the plot twists, the difficult words and the innumerable characters.

Haven't you wished as I that the gospels were not condensations? But if they were not, it would be as John says,
"all the world would not hold all the books...."

Father, thank you for the short stories, pithy parables and memorable quotations you have given us. We yearn for the day when all those plots will be filled in, and we can see you face to face.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Summer afternoons

Summer afternoons the week school is out. Favorite words in my 13th year.

A friend and I, barefoot, pigtailed, and free of lessons, would sit on my front porch and draw floor plans of houses we wanted in later life. 10 bedrooms, 10 baths, winding staircases, living AND dining rooms, huge kitchens and room-sized closets with a beautiful pool outside. All furnished like the ads we saw on TV and in magazines.

Now 53 years later, summer afternoons mean staying inside my air-conditioned bungalow. Blessed beyond my wildest dreams, I am totally happy with 2 bedrooms and a study, 2 baths, no stairs, a cluttered garage with room for one car and a bird bath. Someone told me recently that my house looked like a magazine layout. Maybe it was all those years sitting on the porch that gave me an eye for color (mostly red).

Thank you God for giving me "way more" than most people in the world and for the sunshine of your love.

Monday, June 14, 2004

The White Glove Tradition

I asked my mother as she approached death what she would have done differently in her life. She replied, "I would have dusted less and played more." What a confession from a woman who followed faithfully the "white glove" tradition of her mother!

I can't really say I have followed the tradition--I usually clean house when I know I am having company. If someone comes unexpectedly, low lights and candles forgive sins of omission and commission. I have a friend who quoted an aunt, "If you are coming to see me, come anytime. If you are coming to see my house, give me three days." That is a great philosophy.

Guilt sometimes brings cleaning frenzies. During those times, the smell of Windex and furniture polish are elixirs. I don't like to clean. I like to HAVE cleaned.

Although I know that reading a book is so much better for my soul, I am still having trouble getting the "Martha" out of my genes.

Lord, help me know what is truly important.

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Hiding place

One of the delights of my listening time recently has been the new cd by Selah Hiding Place. I have been in love with this group since I heard their work on their first album
Be Still My Soul. The trio has such tight harmony--they could go a cappella very easily. Their accompaniment is always very
subdued and non-obstrusive.

Todd and Nicole Smith grew up in Congo, Africa, and each album they have done has an African hymn. Hiding Place has a recording made in 1948 of a baptismal service in which their grandfather baptised over 1,000 people.What a treasure to share with Selah's listeners! The new cd begins with a rendition of Josh Groban's very popular "You Raise Me Up."

My favorite hymn on the recording is "O The Deep Deep Love of Jesus." The group has a third cd of last year called Press On, and a Christmas recording The Rose of Bethleham.

After Zoe Worship, this is my favorite group. Third comes
Fernando Ortega--but I will talk about him later.
Pat Conroy wrote, "Without music, life is like a journey through the desert." My life would certainly be the dryest desert without it! Thank you Lord.

Saturday, June 12, 2004

The gift of awareness

I am teaching a class on spiritual journaling this month of Sundays. Journaling is about discovey, and I am hoping we will all discover a richer, fuller knowledge of God working in us every minute of the day. We must sense the work of the Spirit in ourselves daily and also in the lives of others we encounter.

Writing regularly (whether a blog or a journal) "enables us to be 'watchers' of our behavior and attitudes. Journal keeping is a way of processing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives," says Frederic Brussat. Arthur Gordon calls the process "a gift of awareness."

I want my students to get the idea that God bumps into us more often than we think. You remember those golden moments when you knew you had done and said something absolutely right....Those moments when a mystery was posed and you knew the answer immediately....Those moments when someone said something so astounding you could hardly absorb it....Those moments when God invited you into the lives of others without notice.

There is not a moment of the day that God couldn't make better if we allow him to break into our self-absorbed, busy lives.

Father, help us to consciously yield our moments and our days to you.

Friday, June 11, 2004

Karen Hughes

I am reading 10 Minutes from Normal by Karen Hughes. She is one in a line of Texas women politicians I admire: Ladybird Johnson (for her work with wildflowers in our state and her endurance of LBJ), Ann Richards (she brought pizzazz and humor to the governorship) and Carol Keeton Strayhorn (who had the temerity to stand up to Governor "Goodhair" Perry). If they were politicians rather than journalists, I would certainly add Liz Carpenter and Molly Ivins to my list.

I think Hughes should run for president. After all before she left DC, she was seen as the real power behind President Bush's throne. She is pragmatic and doesn't have DC stardust in her eyes. When her son became unhappy in Washington, she left all its perks and moved back to Austin. Since she left, President Bush has had a series of serious mis-steps.

Perhaps she will consider running when her son goes to college.
I will look forward to that.

Dear God, lift up the men and women we need in these perilous times. And help us to remember that all our days are in your hands.

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Just call me "grandma"

In reference to the earlier "barn swallow" blog, I am now the "grandmother" of 4 baby swallows in that dirty mud nest on my front porch. Since the nest is only three feet from my window, I can see every little beak and neck. The furry birds are very crowded and in danger of either falling or being pushed out. All mouths and necks, they drape over the edge of the nest waiting for a dropped insect from Mom and Pop.

I wish my Maddie and Ella were here to watch the birds being fed. When a parent flies in, necks pop up and mouths open in unison, even though only one bird is fed at a time. Mom and Pop are busy scouring the countryside for delicacies which they provide to the babies every other minute. Talk about a feeding schedule!

The bucolic family scene makes me homesick for my "real" grandchildren. So watch for me girls--I'll be flying in soon with delicacies (Shrek M and M's).

Thank you Lord for the wonder of life on all levels. May we never stop being overwhelmed by your creations!

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Beauty Deeper Than Skin

I said goodbye yesterday to a friend who died much too early. Cynthia Kay Miller was extraordinarily beautiful all her life.

More importantly, her life was beautiful too. Faithful elder's wife, loving mother and grandmother, a first-grade teacher for 22 years, Bible school teacher, author of Bible-school curriculum, friend to the hundreds of people who came to say goodbye, Cynthia lived a rich life for God. Her illness showed in the lines of her face, but so did the peace which passes all understanding.

Dear God, help us to thank the beautiful, godly people in our lives for their love, gifts and grace before they die.

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Open doors

In the 50's, my hometown church was open on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and Tuesday morning for Ladies'
Bible Class.

I now attend a church where the doors are open most of the day and late into the night for Boys'and Girls'Club, 12 Step meetings, Mom's Meals (in which meals are prepared for AIDS victims and their families), Quilting class, community dinners (where we invite families from our immediate church area for a free meal), Beth Moore classes, Crown Financial classes, MOPS (mothers of toddlers)meetings, and singles gatherings. There is an excellent pre-school in the building, Oasis (in which the whole church eats together on Wednesday night before the service), mission meetings (we plan to send hundreds of members on short-term mission trips in 2005), our
"walkers" meet there to pray before going to walk the streets of our neighborhood asking only for prayer requests, men's breakfasts, and ladies' retreats (Why do the men eat breakfast and the women retreat? The prayer room in the building is always open for prayer and meditation, those in the Colonial Hills ministry meet and plan their next venture into the drug-ridden apartments down the street, the worship committee meets to plan Sunday worship, praise teams meet to practice, counselors counsel there, and I am sure there are many other meetings I am not aware of.

We are getting serious about the term "missional" and about using our building to its greatest capacity.

Dear God, thank you for the bricks and mortar you have given your church. Help us to meet the needs of others there with cups of cold water and grace.

Monday, June 07, 2004

Bas Bleu

All those who have a wholesome addiction to books as I do should know about the quirky little book catalog called Bas Bleu. Fiction, non-fiction, and children's books are offered with wonderfully written reviews.

It is a "blue-stocking" list which does not include hot best sellers, but rather books with provocative titles like Famous Last Words: Fond Farewells, Deathbed Diatribes and Exclamations upon Expiration, Age Doesn't Count Unless You're a Cheese(a personal favorite!), and The
Quotable Saint: Words of Wisdom from Thomas Aquinas to Zita
(whoever that is). Word games, note cards and reading accessories are included. I feel very New Yorkish when I get the frequent mailings and have thoroughly enjoyed every book I have ordered.

Order from www.basbleu.com or 1-800-433-1155.

Dear Lord, thank you for creating us with intelligence, wit and
curiosity. Thank you for writers, illustrators, books, Bas Bleu and Amazon.

Saturday, June 05, 2004

Barn Swallows

My porch is pristine white, neat and tidy. I didn't want that dirty nest in the corner. I knocked it down with a stick, shot it down with a stream of water, and sprayed it with Raid. Still the barn swallows persisted in building the rough, saucer-sized mud nest in the corner of my porch. The male and female traded out flying in with mud and straw in their beaks. I finally tired and gave up.

After the nest was finished, I got up late in the night and turned on the porch light. There in the corner, I saw the two birds perched on either side of the nest, feathers fluffed, guarding their special creation in their sleep.

I teared up as I remembered how Sam and I fought determinedly to have our son through seven years of marriage. And how God answered our prayers with the red-haired screamer. (Neighbors from the end of our road would often come up to see "if everything was all right.")He screamed from the moment he hit the West Texas air; he screamed while playing, while running, while riding his gocart, while riding his horse, while swimming, etc. Sam and I often perched on either side of him, guarding our treasure through life's woes--toddling and falling, playground accidents, middle-school teasing, numerous girl friend episodes and so on.

That night I asked God for forgiveness for my destructive bent toward one of his creatures and thanked him for another life lesson learned from a dirty mud nest.



Friday, June 04, 2004

The observers

Why do you suppose Jesus chose 12 traveling companions? There were times when the journey would have been easier without them. There may be deep theological prophetical reasons why he did, but these are my thoughts on the subject:

He wanted them to see God up close. He wanted them to see God holding a child, to see God talking to women, to see God touching a leper, to see God sleeping in a boat. He wanted them to see God feasting with sinners and partying at a wedding, to see God dividing fish and bread for a crowd, to see God marveling at the beauty of a flower and cursing an unfruitful fig tree. He wanted them to be witnesses to his resurrection and to write and tell the very truth about what they saw and heard.

Of course with some of the men, the observances didn't "take."
With some, realization came later. Isn't that how it works with our observances of Jesus?

Lord, help us to observe the simple things Jesus did and to go and do likewise.

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Grand dreams

After yesterday's confession about not reading the Old Testament, I must say that Nehemiah is fast becoming one of my favorite books of the Bible. It is a book full of grand dreams, accomplished goals and the faithfulness of God.

After reading Nehemiah, I begin to ask myself, do churches in my fellowship have grand dreams anymore? Or are we just trying to tread water in this secular culture? Where are those dreamers who predicted we would evangelize the world by 2000? Where are those visionaries who broke new territory in theology and practice in the 1800's? Where are those writers capable of writing books which inspire us rather than lull us into a mindless Never Never Land where nothing ever changes?

Oh, I know there a few scattered souls who look FORWARD and who also ask us to "revision" like John Mark Hicks, Jeff Childers, Max Lucado, Mike Cope, Leonard Allen and Rubel Shelly. That is, when they are not spending their time defending themselves against heresy charges.

Lord, I long to be part of a fellowship buoyed up by hope, enthusiastic about the future--a fellowship which is successfully cross-cultural and inclusive. Give us strong hearts, courageous voices and incisive pens to lead others to your grace.

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

The Levitical Brick Wall

True confession:

I have never read the Bible straight through. Beginning with
good intentions each January, I always run into the brick wall of Leviticus and skip on the the Psalms and the New Testament.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "The Word of God should never stop sounding in your ears and working in you all day long." I realize that a large portion of the Word has not had the
occasion to work on me.

There is really no excuse. I remember Rick Atchley saying in a
sermon, "When Obadiah comes up to you in heaven and says, 'How did you like my book? what will you say?" I will just say,
"Sorry, Obadiah, all those threats....and sorry, Moses all those sacrifices, all those laws, all those numbers..."

Lord, help me in my quest to read all of your Word and, more importantly, to have it sounding in my ears and working on my heart each day.

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

When the music fades

Over 30 years ago, the little red-haired boy sang "Twinkle, twinkle little star" into the tape recorder and repeated
"Let me hold it"(the mike), "Let me hold it" after every phrase of the song.

Today Brandon Scott Thomas and Zoe Worship have their new cd released in the national Christian music market. When the Music Fades is marketed by the Creative Trust Workshop label
(a division of Provident). The cd will hopefully be available in most Christian bookstores and from www.Zoegroup.faithsite.com This live worship experience was recorded in the historic Paramount Theatre in Abilene in February. An unabashed Zoe groupie, I am enormously proud of Brandon, Sheryl, Melissa, Lea, Amy, Karin, J. V. David, Peter, Brian,and Jason for this accomplishment.

Thanks to all who encouraged and led Brandon to his ministry of song--there are so many--but especially Harold and Jeanette Lipford, Mike Cope and Doug Smith.

Thank you Lord for your gift of music. May we use it to praise your holy name forever!