Baseball Brandon

I posted pictures of my two soccer players in earlier posts, so I thought it was time I show you my baseball player! Brandon is playing baseball this spring and really loves it. He's playing with the big boys now in kid-pitch. He's done very well so far and is still learning lots of new things about the game. He had his first game about a week ago, so here are a few pics from that night!

Brandon scored a run for his team!

This picture was too cute not to share. Brenna and her daddy at Brandon's baseball game.

Me and my silly girl, Bethany!

Storms and Rainbows

Every Tuesday morning I get to drive my girls to Wee Ones at our church early for a teacher's devotional that I lead. It has become tradition (a potentially dangerouos one) for me to read my girls one of their library books or a Bible story as we're driving to the church. They love the stories and I love reading them. This morning I pulled out Brenna's "Jonah" movie book that she had checked out. It was too long to read in the fifteen to twenty minutes it takes to drive to the church; so I decided to just tell them the account of Jonah (which is much safer as well!). As I talked about the events from chapter 1 of the book of Jonah, I mentioned how God sent the storm when Jonah was on a ship trying to run away from God. I really tried to emphasize with my girls (Brenna especially) that sometimes God sends storms into our life to get our attention when we mess up, just like He did with Jonah. Without missing a beat, my five-year old Brenna, who is a social butterfly and has an opinion about everything, said, "God sends storms, daddy, and then He sends the rainbows." Sometimes it scares me to think of what might come out of Brenna's mouth; but at other times, like this, she says something that is simplisticly profound. This was one of those times. She got it. I needed it. What a great reminder. For every storm filtered through the hand of God in my life, whether it be financial, familial, relational, spiritual, emotional or otherwise, there's always a rainbow to follow. That was God's promise to Noah; that's His promise to you. When we are faithless, He remains faithful. He always keeps His word. I can trust Him - going into a storm, coming out of one, or in the midst of one. So can you. The rainbow will come. Take it from a five year old. posted by John

Bethany's Funny Faces

I thought I would post these pictures just for fun. While we were at my parent's house, my sister was holding Bethany taking pictures of her. She would have her make a silly face and then take a picture. I thought these were too cute. Enjoy!

Spring Break at Home

Well, after returning from Longview for the first part of spring break (see previous post), we had some company come to visit us at home. After much house cleaning on Wednesday, my sister-in-law, Janie and her family, came to visit on Thursday. They were on their way to Dallas to participate in a BMX race, so they came here to spend the night with us before heading to Dallas. The kids love to spend time with their cousins and we are so glad they came. We can't wait to go and see them race soon! I'm sad to say that I didn't take any pictures to share while they were here. What was I thinking???

Then, on Friday, we spent the entire morning cleaning up the yard. Late that night, my sister, Kimmy and her boyfriend Joe came for a visit. We were excited that they were coming to spend a couple of days with us. Here are a few pictures from their visit here. Again, thanks Kimmy for taking pictures, since I didn't. I was a bit lazy with my picture-taking!

Kimmy and Joe took a stroll down by the capital building in Austin.

John and Kimmy posing for a quick pic!

Kimmy and Brenna in the backyard! "Cheese!!!" (Bradley sneaking in the picture from the trampoline)

We went for a walk Sat. night and the boys rode their scooters. Here's Brandon cruising down the road on his scooter!

Joe pulling Bethany in the wagon!

Spring Break at MawMaw & PawPaw's

The Woods family had a great spring break. It was busy, but lots of fun. It started with a trip to Longview to visit my parents and sister. The kids absolutely love to be at their MawMaw and PawPaw's house. They think it is the greatest place on earth. They also think that their PawPaw has the biggest yard ever. I just love it!! We spent Sat. thru Tues. there in Longview visiting family. We also got to see John's grandparents for a little while. We don't know how much longer they will be with us, so every opportunity we have to spend time with them, we take advantage of it. Enjoy these photos of spring break. Would you believe that I didn't get my camera out the entire time we were there. Thanks to Aunt Kimmy for taking some pictures.

Here is one of Bethany's favorite people in the world, "Aunt Kimmy"!

Brandon taking Brenna for a spin in the go-cart! Everyone Look Out!!!

Bethany spent some time bouncing on the trampoline!

MawMaw & PawPaw surprised the kids with a Wii. We all had fun playing games! It was great to have since the weather was chilly and wet the first 2 days we were there. A big

"THANK YOU" to MawMaw and PawPaw for getting the Wii. We had a blast! This picture is of Brandon and Bradley playing tennis (i think)!

Daddy taking his girls for a spin in the go-cart. They would both say "1-2-3 GO!!" and then John would take off really fast. They loved it. I think John liked it too!

Awana Grand Prix

Three Sundays ago, we had our Awana grand prix at church. John and I have prepared for and run many grand prix's, but this was our first year to have children who were old enough to race a car in the grand prix. So, not only were we trying to plan the grand prix, get all our leaders in place, and set up for the race, we also had two race cars to build. For those of you who are not familiar with the Awana grand prix, is is much like the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. So, John and I ordered a "how-to" book to help us build these cars. I talked with many people who had done this before. We knew everything to do, but when it came down to getting it done, it was much harder than it looked. We quickly found out that we didn't have the right tools, or the know-how to get the job done. So, I'm so thankful that God provides people in our lives to help us accomplish certain tasks. Different people helped us cut wood, drill holes, etc. We actually did the sanding and painting all ourselves. Our boys enjoyed the race! Their cars were pretty fast, but there were several others that were much faster. They were a bit disappointed that they didn't get a medal, but we learned alot of things that we will do differently next year. Brandon has already begun to plan his car design for next year. Here a couple of pictures of them with their grand prix cars.

Brandon smiling about half way through his races.

Bradley had to force this smile. He was disappointed that his car didn't win.

1st Soccer Games

Bradley and Brenna had their first soccer games a few weeks ago. This is Brenna's 2nd season to play soccer and she really likes it. She is playing with two of her friends that were on her last team, and she also has the same coach this season. Watching their team is so fun. I get so tickled at them as they learn to play soccer. I'm also glad for the good exercise Brenna is getting from playing this sport. She's doing great and I'm very proud of her. Here are a few photos from her first game.

Brenna had the first kick-off of the game!

Cute Brenna giving Mommy a "cheesey" grin after the game.

Bradley is having lots of fun playing soccer again. He played when he was in Kindergarten for one season, and now decided that he wanted to play again. I think soccer is Bradley's sport. He is doing so well and seems to love every minute of it. His daddy is doing a great job coaching his team. He is so patient with all the boys and seems to be enjoying himself. Bradley likes the fact that his dad is his coack. I like it too! Enjoy these photos from Bradley's first game.

Stopping briefly to smile for Mom!

As you can see from this photo, Bradley goes 90 miles an hour the entire game. He plays with everything he's got. He never wants to come out of the game and take a break. I love watching this kid play ball and I'm very proud of him.

Just a thought...

"My worth to God in public is what I am in private." - Oswald Chambers (posted by John)

Remembering Kelly

It was the year 2ooo. Jennifer and I were in our pursuit of having children, but struggling. We were knee deep in debt and numerous trips to the fertility clinic in Shreveport, and then little 3 year-old Kelly walked into our lives. Actually, her aunt Barbara was a part of our life already. She worked for the chiropractor we went to, and she knew of our plight and desperate desire to have children. Her sister was Kelly's mom - a 28 year-old drug addict who had lived a rough life filled with numerous bad choices and had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her dad - a deadbeat deluxe named Dennis with the same type of lifestyle. Kelly's Aunt Barbara started talking to us about giving Kelly a home. At the time we knew little to nothing about foster care or adoption or the legalities of either. We were elated and simply desperate beyond belief to have a child to call our own. We were also naive and vulnerable but willing to take the risk. Sometime in late February Kelly's mom died. And so we took the risk.
March 10 rolled around. It was a Friday. I was the Children & Youth Pastor at a church in Longview. Our Disciple Now weekend started that night. It was overshadowed by the entrance of beautiful little three year-old Kelly. She was the child we had hoped for, dreamed of, and wanted. And she was ours for a brief two and a half months; and then she was gone. Our hearts were broken and dreams were shattered. To say we were devestated would put it mildly. She was given back to her deadbeat dad by a crazy Upshur County court. We saw her on June 12 when she turned 4 to celebrate her birthday at her Aunt Barbara's. I was leaving for a mission trip to Australia when I saw her for the last time on Tuesday, July 4. It was a bittersweet time. I cried like a baby as I left the country and Kelly left our life.
Now as I sit in my home some nine years later to the day that Kelly came to live in our home, I remember. And I wonder. I wonder about Kelly. And I pray for Kelly. She is 11 years old now. I pray that she is safe. I pray that she is in a home with loving, caring parents. I pray that she has encountered Christ in a personal way. I pray that God will use her in a mighty way to change her world and the world for His glory. And I pray that somehow, someway God will take the investments we made in the short three months of our experience with Kelly and bring those young seeds to fruition and growth. And I wonder. And remember. Remember Kelly. And smile. posted by John

The Struggle

I was downstairs folding clothes when one of our favorite shows was coming on - CSI Miami. We watch it religiously. However as I watched the opening scene this evening, I was convicted. Let me explain. The opening scene was a wedding ceremony scene, but there was only one person - the bride. The ceremony was in reality a mock wedding ceremony that was celebrating her freedom from the man she had been married to. In other words, it was celebrating her divorce. The mock minister went through vows that included something like do you solemnly swear to live your life to the fullest, free from this man. It made me ill. It was convicting. I decided to come upstairs, finish folding and hanging up clothes, and forego watching one of my favorite shows. Now I'm writing this post. And the struggle is this: I enjoy watching CSI and CSI Miami. I enjoy it a lot - ashamedly I must admit I sometimes enjoy it more than I enjoy pleasing God. And as I watched the opening scene tonight, God really spoke to my heart. I was convicted. He brought Philippians 4:8 to mind, which says, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." Another translation ends the verse by saying "...think about such things." What things? Whatever is right, true, noble, just, pure, noble, pleasing to God, in harmony with His Word. What about things that don't fit the criteria? What about things that are wrong, false, untrue, dirty, of bad report or reputation, evil, unjust, yada, yada, yada? What do I do with that which promotes such an unhealthy diet of thoughts? According to this verse (and many others), I should avoid it like the plague. The show tonight made a mockery of something God loves and established - marriage. It also glamorized and justified as the norm something that is sinful and hated by God - divorce. No, it is not the unforgiveable sin; but it is sin nonetheless. And God just doesn't hate divorce, He hates all sin. We have just grown so callous to so many sins that are commonplace - at least I have in many respects. And I certainly have when it comes to what I watch. I have to ask myself the question: When I've watched CSI Miami or other shows like it in the past, why haven't I been as convicted as I was tonight? Good question. It's not like this or any other number of shows I watch haven't promoted this that are ungodly or displeasing to God. They do. And the struggle is that I still enjoy watching the shows for the sake of entertainment. And all too often, I'm afraid, I justify it by making it out to be not a big deal. It should be a big deal, and most of the time its not. I've got such a long way to go.
Does it mean I'll never watch again? Not necessarily. Its not about being rigid. It is about being honest. And the honest truth is that I do think it is a wake-up call for me to again make priority the things that should be and must be that will bring life change to me each day, and that is personal time with God - not anything else. Everything else is a poor substitute and leaves me, for the most part, unchanged or callous or justifying. God help me. Help me to renew myself to carry out Matthew 6:33 each day, which says, "Seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." posted by John