My "Various" Life

One of my favorite Mark Twain quotes comes from Huck Finn (I believe) when Huck and Jim don't enter a room because "it looked too various in there". [something like that! Anyway...that's the spirit of it!] That's the way this week feels!

It started with a great youth service at LH, thanks to Josh and Hope (and the youth). After the service Sunday night, Leslie, Lex and I made our way to Saluda, NC, where my sister and her daughter (Michele and Hannah) have rented a cabin for the week. My parents had come up from Rock Hill for the night and Monday....so they could see Lex! On Monday the 4 "girls" went tubing on the Green River [that's not us tubing...but it is the Green River]. Mom/Dad kept Lex on the bank and he got to wade in the river with his water shoes. He thought this hysterical since he's not supposed to get his shoes wet! The trip down river was about 3.5 hours (a bargain at $7!) and had moderate rapids (enough for kayaking) and still water to float in. It was wonderful and great fun! I hadn't tubed in years and loved all of it except drifting into the bank and overhanging spider-y tree limbs! I never fell out but at the very end when we were supposed to "de-river" so we could be picked up by the short bus, I went in over my head! Some guy who was fishing on the shore said it was only about 3 ft. deep there, and I was moving pretty swiftly away from the shore so I jumped out and in over my head! But the Mary Kay make-up stayed in place!! Leslie fell out once and scraped her back but still had a blast!

This morning, Leslie and I headed west to Shelbyville, Tennessee and the Celebration Grounds for the State 4-H Show. She races tomorrow (barrels and poles). She's at the pizza party and dance tonight and then camping out there. Meanwhile, I'm staying in a dorm room with Corky, who is completing his 2 week Fuller D.Miss. cohort at Lipscomb University. Beginning tomorrow night they are hosting the Christian Scholar's Conference with keynote speakers Sen. Bill Frist, Jim Wallis (yes...on the same program!) and lots of other sessions, including presentations by William J. Abraham (Methodist scholar from SMU) and the producer of "Amazing Grace". The theme is "The Christian Faith, Life of the Mind and the Public Square". There will also be a screening of the film.

So who said life is boring or dull? Tiring, yes; dull, never.

Moral Courage

Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.

- Robert F. Kennedy, in a speech in Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966. Today is the 40th anniversary of his assassination. (Source: Wikiquote )

Cecil the Carrot and Lex

Since Corky posted the Lex the Bee I thought I would post a few more pix of Lex of late. I am particularly fond of the Cecil the Carrot pose because of one of our long-time friends from NC, Cecil Chambers, a friend through thick and thin. Lex isn't too sure about the carrot. The "playhouse sessions" photos were taken at the church playground.

I have been quite amused at Corky and I as we've found ourselves just watching Lex run and play, laughing at him and looking at each other in great Adoration of the Grandson. We could do that for hours and be totally content and entertained. We are getting old. And it's all good.

Emma's Home

Emma got home yesterday! She came in bearing gifts, stories and about 500 pictures. From all indications, her trip was a great success. They held medical clinics and worship services in 3 cities in Uruguay and Argentina. No one got sick, always a blessing on a missions trip! The American team (Patrick, Darien and 4 twenty-year olds) were joined by a team from a church in Argentina which included the pastor, some staff and several other 20-year olds. Emma sang and testified, checked vital signs and assisted Dr. Silvina Gonzalez and, it appears, was the life of the party. God is so good...they even came upon an Argentine folk dancing class and Emma joined in the dance!

This morning I am thankful to God that he kept her safe, that he broadened her experience and worldview and I am thankful for my church, the Church of God, without which this experience couldn't have happened. I need to remember that in this Assembly year when it's easy to remember and meditate on a lot of other things about my denomination!

Emma and the Away Team

Finally, this morning, we had news from Emma. Dr. Silvina Gonzalez sent pictures of her assisting with medical work and with the group. Silvina reports that Emma gave her testimony in the service in Artigas and sang with the team. Darien Fox, another former student, also on the trip, reported this morning that Emma is "the life of the party" and sent pictures of her eating to prove it! He also sent the picture here of the whole team. It was great to wake up to news and to hear how well things are going! Keep praying!

Pray for Emma in South America!

Our second-born, Emma, is flying to Uruguay at this moment. Last night she finished her job at the local elementary school where she had been teaching dance in an after-school program. They presented an end-of-the-year program featuring dances from the decades of the 30s through the 90s, ending with the show-stopper, "Party Like It's 1999"!

Today she joins a team of others, led by Dr. Patrick Jensen on a medical missions trip. They will work with Dr. Silvina Gonzalez in Uruguay and Argentina for approximately 2 weeks. Medical treatment will be given during the day and worship/evangelistic services will be held at night. Both Patrick and Silvina are graduates of the seminary and both are gifted worship leaders. Several of the others going are musicians as well. So, this trip is right up her alley! Nursing, singing and worship!

They will return on May 27! Please keep her in your prayers.

Dottie Rambo 1934-2008

My dad sent me an email with the sad news that Dottie Rambo had been killed in an accident in her tour bus early Sunday morning. Dottie was one of the earliest influences on me as a gospel singer. When I was very young, my dad brought the Rambos to Rock Hill, SC (my hometown) for a concert. I was mesmerized by this tiny woman with the huge voice, who could tear up an electric guitar, and, though I didn't recognize it, sang under an anointing of the Holy Ghost[she was UPC]. I do remember her shouting and dancing all over the stage, and shouting as my Dad's group, The Chordsmen, sang. I saw her a number of times in concert after that.

She was a prolific songwriter, writing over 3500 songs, recorded by numerous artists, even outside of gospel music, including Whitney Houston ("I Go to the Rock"). Some of her best-known songs, most of which I've sang at some time or other, are "He Looked Beyond My Fault", "We Shall Behold Him", "I Will Glory in the Cross", "Sheltered in the Arms of God", "If That Isn't Love", "Too Much to Gain to Lose" and "Remind Me, Dear Lord".

Dottie could be categorized as country-gospel, I suppose (her ex-husband, Buck, certainly could be), but Dottie had soul. I didn't like every phase she went through, and by no means, followed everything she did. Actually, I never owned that many of her albums, but her influence on me is undeniable.

Here's Dottie singing "I Will Glory in the Cross" in the early 1980s. I only regret I couldn't find a video of her playing lightening fast guitar as well!