The F Word.

Photo Cred: My Spouse. 

While watching a movie, I heard a word that caused me to cringe and look at my girls. You know. I wanted to see if they'd heard the word.
They did.
And they know how I feel about it.

"What did he say?", I asked.
"Nothing.", the Little Sister responded.
"What did he say?"
"The F word."
"What was it? Why won't you say it?" I was grinning. I knew she wouldn't say it.
She struggles with it a little bit.
If I'm honest, I do, too. I struggle with the thought of it paralyzing my girls.
But, we pray against it.

The quote?

"Fear will be your enemy."

-Pabble in Disney's Frozen.

The F word: Fear.
Fear, specifically being frozen by it,  is a major theme of that movie.

I don't know if "fear will be your enemy" but it is certainly of your enemy.
Fear is also a major theme of many of our lives.
I see too many people living in fear and they don't even know it.

Honestly, we don't have to look far to find something to fear:

Heights
The ocean
Spiders
Dogs
Snakes
Driving in the rain
Driving on the interstate
Flying

Then there are those social fears, the ones on another level:

Change
Isolation
Missing out
Our kids getting hurt
Not measuring up
What other people think
Not being enough
Embarrassment
Our kids failing
Our kids hating us

I'm pretty sure I have a fear of my kids having a fear.
Is there a name for that? I want to feel justified in this one, though?
Is that allowed?

Here's why I'm justified:
Fear is contagious.
Parents, we can pass that junk right on to our kids.
We have to get that.
We can pass our fear of snakes on to our kids.
We can pass our fear of dogs on to our kids.
We can pass fear of embarrassment on to our kids.

If we aren't guarding against it, we can leave an eye color, a few quirks, and a heritage of fear.

Listen. For a while, I had this thing about horses. I could reason through it, it hadn't reached the irrational point, but I was so super nervous around horses. I just knew I was going to be kicked. I'd not had an episode that I know of or anything like that. I just had this fear I was going to get kicked square in the ribs by a horse. So, ya know what I did? I put my girls in horse lessons. I had to sit in the car for the grooming & care part of the lesson, because Meghan would get right up in a horse's private business. Wrecked my nerves. I couldn't be in the barn with my child nose to business-end of that 1500 pound animal. I had to sit in the car. One time, I happened to be in the barn while a horse was on the cross-ties and reared back and came down full-force on Maddy's 7 year-old foot, then kicked her instructor in the head. No joke.
After knowing Maddy and teacher were okay, I told them,
"I have to go now or I'm going to snatch my kids out of here and never come back."
And, for whatever reason, that was the end of it.
Victory in Jesus.
I've since been nose to business-end of a horse and been just fine-- after a shower. Because gross. We've gone on many rides as a family and I'm totally good. Win.

<<Side story that is so true and indicative of my exponential crazy level: When my girls were little, I wouldn't let them watch Veggie Tales: Where's God When I'm Scared?. I swear to Cher. They had never been afraid of the dark?! I didn't want them to get it in their heads that was even a thing! End of crazy-but-true story.>>

That being said, where other people would never have a second thought about their kids on a horse, I've never had a second thought about my kids and the water. I die a little when I see "big kids"- whatever that even means- wearing flotation devices in the pool. Or when I hear people talk to a child under 36 inches about not going to the "deep end". Good grief! At that size, it's all the deep end! I don't think a thing about my girls on the paddle boards or scuba diving or snorkeling. Meghan got to see her first shark on her check out dive when she finished her scuba certification! It was the coolest!

This week, we made a major decision to allow Meghan to come back to homeschooling after beginning the year at a local (wonderful) Christian high school. She had enough school to know that home's cool. Heh. She was succeeding in all the ways, academically and otherwise. She lettered in Varsity Swim. Still, she was able to recognize how efficient she could be at home, leaving her free to pursue her interests. Once she made the final decision, she was steadfast. She owned it, telling her little friends, some of her teachers and administration. She never wavered. Fearless. And, I don't fear for her future. God's got her back more than I do. And His is the power in her. She's gonna be alright. She's gonna be more than alright. Victorious.


If fear is allowed to grow, we could live defeated.
Paralyzed.
Frozen.

We would still be loved and cherished.

Loved and cherished and defeated.
Loved and cherished and paralyzed.
Loved and cherished and frozen.

Let's not do that.

I'm going for 
loved and cherished and victorious.

Another Spouse photo.

**This is an updated post.**

On Doing a New Thing or Three

Hello? Hello? *tap, tap*

Testing. 1, 2, 3.

Oh, yay. You're there. Thank you for your patience. 

I contemplated telling you we've been experiencing technical difficulties, but then I might as well put accelerant right in the yoga pants I'm wearing.  

So, I'm glad you're here. 

I've got a few things to bring you up to speed on. I know it isn't gonna happen in one post, so I'll just tell you a few *new* things I did these past few weeks. Doing new things is something I mostly love. I mean, not the new thing of a mammogram, but meeting new people, going new places...you get the idea. 

Honeymoon Island.
The End.

A New Thing

Since we moved back to Florida, an EXACT YEAR AGO, (For the love of Jack Johnson, I can not believe it's been a year!) Spouse and I have really enjoyed Instagramming our little town and the beachy loveliness all around us. Through social media hashtags and our photog friend, Stephanie, I connected with a group of creatives through the Cleargram community. This past week, there was a "meet up" in my little downtown. So fun! So, I went! It was so fun walking around, chatting with an amazingly diverse group of people, and getting creative tips.
The evening began and ended at a fun little local spot with my Spouse, excellent wings, a drum circle and great strangers I "met" online, and I only got one great picture. Just one. (Like that's not good enough.) That's what the group is about!
Of course, Spouse got a cool one, too. Whatever. Anyway.
Talk about a new thing. Strangers from the inter webs.
And a few of them, I would have taken home in a heart beat. For sure. Love.

Dennis.

Another New Thing. 

In a total impulsive move, I bought a treadmill on Craigslist last month. It had rained for 40 days and 40 nights here (OK, maybe like 3 weeks, but whatever) and I needed something. So, I bought a treadmill for $85. Then, a few weeks later, I remembered that I don't really love a treadmill. Plus, I really would love a foosball table for my downstairs big room. So I listed it back on Craigslist. For $125. And I got it. Ha! I Googled the potential buyer, and found him on Linked In. I determined he wasn't a WhackaDoo and gave him my cell. Plus, my sweet neighbors agreed to be my Security Team. They came over and secured me and fixed the treadmill I thought I broke. I made $40 on a Craiglist purchase. Total new thing! Yay me! And yay! Spouse for driving me to pick it up to begin with! Hashtag marriage.

The two in the front here are my neighbors
that I wish the whole world could meet. 

The Biggest New Thing

Well. This is a dadgum doozie. I went to my first high school orientation as a parent. Well, not exactly. We had a little unconventional adoption back in '98 that I'll have to tell you about at another time. This was my first high school orientation as a parent of a biologically born child. We have homeschooled since 2009. 

'"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."'
Numbers 6:24-26

Tomorrow TOMORROW!!! will be our first First Day of School in 7 years. (We started January '09.) We love homeschooling. No doubt. But, ya know what? We loved our public school! LOVED IT! There was not a single reason to leave except for a specific calling from Jesus. We knew it. And I was scared/sad/excited/ etc. I loved my little community of that elementary school and I left it! And we have loved homeschooling. Loved it. Home education is not broken in our home. Know that, precious reader. Not broken. We might do it again. But, for the Big Sister, attending a local Christian High School is a new adventure. It is something that we have prayed over  and decided for her and WITH her for this season. It may be a year or two or four. We don't know. 

I just need you people to understand one thing:

MY CHILD IS GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL TOMORROW!

I'm so excited for her. She is filled with the Spirit of the Living God. I have assurance of that. She is an excellent student. And this will be hard. Hard academically, physically (early mornings!!), and even spiritually (she's gonna be tested a bit). This kid is up for the challenge. And her Jesus is BIG.

There you have it.
A few NEW THINGS I've done.

"The past events have indeed happened.
Now I declare new events;
I announce them to you before they occur."
Isaiah 42:9

Did you do anything new this week?

PS: I'll update more on this high school biz asap. We've celebrated & counted down pretty big. :))

Rainy Days and Littles

This is right now.

Central Florida is on about day 8 (or 100, what's the difference!?) of her Sun Rebellion. 

While there have been moments in which she has teased us with a break in the clouds, it has rained much more than those afternoon showers she's famous for. 

See? A little tease of color?!

If I seem a little blah, it's because I'm Vitamin D deficient. And by deficient, I mean pale. 

Enough about me. 

I'm really thinking about our local moms of Littles right now. 

The ones who have been on lock-down because you just can't see it's worth it to load up in the rain to go anywhere. 

I know you are worried about too much screen time, too much fighting, too many Cheez-Its, and Lord knows there's been too much Candyland. (For you, not them.) You've done that crafts, the dance parties, and read all.the.books.

You don't really want go to Chick-Fil-A playground every day or the mall, because budget. I get it. The free movies are great, but when one needs to go to the bathroom, you have to load everybody up.

I remember. 

This is when the Band of Sisters is so important, and I do pray you have one. Even if you can just go to one another's homes it breaks the monotony. Or go to the free movie together so you can divide and conquer. Maybe swing by and pick up a tweenie or teen to be a "Mother's Helper"? 

(Updated: I just saw this list of indoor activities today on Tampa Bay Moms Blog.)

But, what if that's even too much? 

What if your road is flooded & you couldn't get out if you wanted to?

Throw away screen time rules for a few days. Embrace the movie day. Build a fort. Make it a whole thing. 

Yes, I know you're worried that the violence of the Serengeti cheetah killings will be desensitizing, but it won't, it's educational. Circle of life and whatnot. I know Jeff Corwin drives you bat crazy, but go ahead, press play. Then, give yourself permission to stick an earbud in your phone and watch a little Gilmore Girls on the side. We won't tell. 

By God's great grace, this rain will eventually stop (Soon, please!) and you can hit the pool again, go to the library, and the even the grocery. 

The point is, give yourself a little grace. And maybe a little stash of chocolate wouldn't hurt. 

Praying for special blessings for you today. 

14 Truths on her 14th Birthday.

Another birthday in the house. Big Sister is 14.
I'm so excited for her future. This kid is the real deal.

I'm not the mom that cried at kindergarten or cries as my girls get older,
although all these baby teeth pics are killing me.

I do, however, get a sense of urgency.
I am keenly aware that, while I hope to always be a sounding board, my in-house influential days are numbered. I'll never not be their momma, but ya know. There are so many things I want my girls to leave the nest with: good flossing habits, a healthy body image, a solid foundation of the Word, and knowing that their parents are flawed people in pursuit of Jesus. I want them to know how to cook some basic meals and keep a house and make it a  home. I want them to know how to speak up for themselves, to call "Bull" when necessary, to know their worth, and to write notes. I want them to live well and love well, to value people over things.
So many things. So little time.

I have a general rule about making promises to my kids (I don't love it); I like to keep us all flexible, but for such an occasion, I thought I'd list {updated} fourteen promises she can be sure of today, tomorrow, and most days...
Grinning.

1. The more you know the Truth, the more you'll recognize a lie.
Plaster your memory with the Word. 
How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your Word. 
I will seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 
Psalm 119:9-11

2. The issue that you have the hardest time with today will be the very thing that will bring forth your victory in Jesus.
Your weakness is His strength. It's His specialty. Ask me how I know.
"My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."- Jesus
2 Corinthians 12:9

3. You will never regret being classy.

4. You will not immediately understand every decision I make over these next few years.

5. Most of your regrets will be the things you didn't do, rather than the things you did.
Be brave. Cheer for the underdog. Dance. Go for broke. Big risks yield big rewards.

6. Jesus in you will always shine brighter than the lipstick on you.
But, I'm not opposed to lipstick. :)

7. It is possible to love your body and want to improve it.
Be strong, be healthy, and be ready to GO when the Lord calls you!

8. Encouraging others (especially girls) doesn't mean that you are less than,
it means you are strong enough to lift them up.
Be a cheerleader for your people. 

9. The second mile is the best mile.
Go the distance. Even when you don't have to.

Member that time you ran a triathlon!?

10. Your heart will lie to you.
Your gut is usually right. The Word is always right.

11. Confidence is not the same as arrogance.
Confidence is an attractive quality, wear it well.

12. When in doubt, overdress.

Cause, ya know, mud.

13. You can never out love me nor out sin me. 
This is not a challenge. Please don't try.

14. Your best days are coming.
Keep a good pair of shoes handy cause you are going places. 

Happy birthday, Sister. I love you more than strawberries.

13 Ways Home Improvements Are Nothing Like HGTV

Spoiler alert: Our kitchen is finally finished and we love it.
This was a combination of hired in and DIY.

Let me tell you something, HGTV is not reality. It is nothing like real home improvement or renovation projects. I mean, it's similar in that at the end you may have a new room, but one travels a very different road than those shown on the HGTV.

13.  Not one person wore safety glasses.

12.  Not one of the tile or cabinet guys were "television attractive". 

I'm not saying at all that another human is ugly, but you know what I mean.
No Property Brothers or Paige Davis. Which is probably good,
cause that would have been distracting. 

11.  We wore our work clothes. 

There were no hoop earrings or wearing my good jeans.
I mean, really.

10.   Most of the time, there was no more than two people 

working in my house at the same time.
I did not, at any time, have a team of neighborhood volunteers show up to
demo cabinets or rip out tile. I did have a friend show up and help me clean,
though, and that was life-giving.

9.   None of the couples I've seen on HGTV ever seem like they are 

needing a marriage counselor. 

Listen. Two truths: 

My Spouse & I have a solid, happy marriage. 

There were times in this process that murderous glances were exchanged, words were spit out rather than spoken and there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.  

8.   We are spending 100% of our own money. 

There is no going "over budget". We don't have a sponsor.

7.  Major decisions aren't usually left up to an 11 year-old.

By major decisions, I mean she got the final say on how to
cut the corners of the granite, whether or not we were going to cut off part of
the counter, that sort of thing. Maddy is the real deal about designing and decor and whatnot.
So, when the cabinet or granite guys had a question, sometimes I deferred to her.
When the tile guys wanted to know what pattern we wanted the tiles to lay,
I interrupted Spanish for 5 minutes to ask my 6th grader.
Yay for homeschooling, cause I'm not sure that would have been an excused absence.

6.   Our DIY parts are truly DIY. 

There is no one standing over us guiding us along, giving us expert advice. 

We have to consult Youtube for expert advice. :)

5.   The workers on HGTV show up on time.
Enough said. 

4.   HGTV projects almost always finish on time.

3.   When the project manager and the homeowner disagree, 

the homeowner doesn't usually take a "mental health break" at the beach 

to preserve said project manager's life.
This happened. The fact that I'm not writing this post from a
jail cell proves that the beach break was a good call.
No murder charges for me. Yay!

2.   Most homeowners are not living in the project home.
It's awkward having strange men in your house working all day.
We work in our home, so it was just weird. 

The makeshift school room.
I failed to get a picture of the bookshelf with the toaster oven & microwave on it.
Good times.

1.   Our home improvement project is actual reality.
We did not stage it. The photos below are our ACTUAL
new kitchen that I really want to kiss on the mouth.

This was the original kitchen. 

Cabinet construction.

You haven't lived until you get your jelly from the fridge in the living room.

Progress.

We have counters! 

This was my only decision I made that I went against Maddy. She chose the backsplash on the left.
She didn't hate the blue, it just wasn't the "safest" choice, so she was leaning toward the neutral.
I took a chance a went with the more coastal looking blue. 

We wanted to do as much of the work ourselves as we could,
and since my Spouse can do anything, he put the backsplash up.
This is pre-grout.

Here it is!

Pretty snazzy.

We went coastal with the napkin rings, too. 

I love the kitchen. Love it. This townhouse is still a work in progress, but we are progressing! 

So far, we've had ceilings retextured & painted, all painting done (every square inch), the kitchen & dining, new blinds throughout...There's more odds & ends, but I can't think of them right now. :) 

The girls' bathroom is nearly finished. I'll get y'all some pics of that when I can. 

For now, I'm enjoying this kitchen!

Thanks for stopping by!

Moving Stories & the Absurdity of Grace.

Hello, Friends! 

So, remember a few weeks ago, we left Houston bound for our Florida home once again?

Well, we made it. 

We closed on a townhouse in a town we had only ever been to a handful of times, 

starting about 6 weeks ago. Seriously.

We were sold on this cutesy little coastal town and these sunsets:

I mean.

Talk about 'fire in the sky'. 

We are absolutely loving our new town. It is small (population of about 35k), 

and the Main Street ends at the marina. It definitely suits us. 

The Lord is so good to us in the most ridiculous ways. Listen. We have made near 'bout every financial, marital, and life mistake you can think of and the God who painted that sunset let us move here and be salt and light in a place with this SALT AND LIGHT! 

It's the absurdity of grace. 

Moving to this dream-like little community comes with some real 

first world problems and stories.

Actually, it's me.

I come to this little community with first world problems and stories. 

Bless these people. I hope they are ready for this crew.

We bought this place with the intention of getting some updates taken care of as soon as possible. 

It's definitely "outdated" by all home-fashion-decor-whatever-standards. This is so foreign to me. 

I mean, I go in beautifully decorated homes and I love it. I appreciate the work it takes to do it.

I admire it and I'm proud of the owners for making a house a home. 

But, I don't want to do it. I want it done. I just don't want to do it, 

nor do I want to spend what it takes to do the extra things. 

Makes sense, right? *I'm shaking my head at myself*

So, first things to be done are popcorn ceiling removal and painting every single square inch of this place. And I mean every square inch. I don't care to have popcorn ceilings removed, but they had to be painted anyway, so down with the popcorn! We decided to "rough it" on air mattresses until we got this part done. We knew it would be much easier with out the furniture. 

Blessing #EleventyFive is that Spouse's relocation package includes up to 

sixty days of storage for our belongings. 

This is amazing. 

Not too bad, right?

Well, in true Melissa fashion, there was a mishap. The second night of sleeping on the air mattress, somewhere around the midnight hour, Spouse turned over to hear and FEEL "SSSSSSHHHHH" right in the face. I'm guessing I over-inflated our bed? Anyway, the air blowing out of the hole was causing the pup to lose his furry freakin' mind. He was going bazooka bat crazy and 

Spouse and I were cracking up. 

The bed was deflating under us and our tortilla-flat pillows and 

we were cackling uncontrollably. I even snorted. 

Also, girls with ample birthing hips are not made for sleeping on hard floors, kids. 

That mattress was promptly replaced.

Spouse spent last weekend prepping walls and doing as much as he could possibly get done in the house before painters showed up on Tuesday. He also was working as fast as he could, since he had to leave town last week. Awesome. 

So, on Tuesday, when the popcorn was being removed and 

our house looked like this, he never saw it:

Our house looked like a scene from Dexter. Think less blood and more paint and drywall. Also, it smelled like an ashtray. The previous owners smoked, and although the house had been thoroughly rid of the smoke smell, scraping that ceiling down just aggravated it. Yuckafornia.

In the midst of all this crazy, my girls had their first day of homeschool classes.

They handled the chaos like pros. Only Jesus.

Let me explain this. I had to be out of the house each day, all day last week while this work was being done. And, I had to take my dog. It's boiling hot out. There's only so much I can do all day. A friend let me come hang out at her house and do my laundry one day (another blessing from the Lord!). 

I picked the girls up from school that first day and we walked in to this mess:

This was nutty. My kids were talking to me but I couldn't hear them.
All I was hearing was the voice in my head:
My Spouse is in Denver and going to sleep in a comfy bed and we are supposed to sleep in this house!? We can't even breath deeply in here! There is no freakin' way. I'm not wanting to spend a lot of money. Well,  get over it. Get out of here. Just go.

Plus, Spouse was feeling guilty so he insisted on it. *Grin*
We took ourselves down to the awesome hotel at the marina 2 miles
down from my house that has pet-friendly rooms and this right here:

Boom. Two nights right here, kids.

I can't believe I get to live here and I'm not even 65! 

So freakin' cool!

Oh. Check this out. Read this story and stay with me. 

I couldn't get my key to work in my mailbox. My cool neighbor came to help me and he couldn't get it to work, either. The girls and I drove to the post office (which my Spouse thinks should be disband all together) to see if they could help me. 

While waiting in the long line, I heard patrons call the employees by their first names. 

"So good to see you, Frank! Thanks, Jim!" Seriously. 

I'm all giddy cause the town-folk are on a first-name basis with their postal crew!? What!? 

(Our mail person at our other house is less than desirable.) 

Anyway, I watched Frank help two people at a time to keep one guy from having to wait in line unnecessarily. So efficient! Not at all typical of any post office I've ever been in. 

Sorry. No offense, y'all. 

So, this lady came out and said, "Does anybody need help with forwarding or pick up 

or anything that is NOT mailing a package?" Hey! Yes! That's me! I walked up, 

tell her I just moved and showed her my key to my box I can't get in. 

She asked for my address and said she'd be right back. 

When she emerged from the back, she said, "Can you go home?"

I'm confused.

"Yes. I can go home. But, then what?"

Are y'all ready for this?

"I'll meet you over there."

"What?! You're gonna go to my house?"

"Yah, I'll meet you over there in a few minutes. I'll go straight there."

Oh. My.

Do you know what this means!?

People who live at the beach are happy people! 

These are happy, helpful people and I LOVE THEM ALL!

She came to my house in 99° heat with her spray lubricant and some tools and dern if she didn't get my mailbox working properly and retrieved the Big Sister's Apologia Science book! 

Yay for the Coastal Postal Service!

Such absurd grace, I tell you!

Amazing, right?!

Now this. This right here is stressing my junk out.

I want my kitchen to look nice and I want it to be inexpensive. 

Not cheap. Just inexpensive. 

And I don't want it to take too long, either. 

I don't have the attention span to drag this jazz out too long.

And, there's the issue of my not caring enough about it.

My struggle is that I'm trying to be forward-thinking and consider re-sale value and 

long-term cost effectiveness. While being a good steward, I also want to be eternally 

minded and guard against the excess trap, ya know?

So difficult.

So, there's a few scenes from our grace-filled past two weeks.

Popcorn is removed. Rooms are painted. Remodeling bids are in progress.

My Spouse has painted so much since flying back in to town late Friday night. This dude works.

I'm watching him roll walls this very second while parked in a camping chair writing these words. 

He is grace.

I've scheduled the movers to deliver on Tuesday, bless their souls.

You know what y'all should do?! Follow us on Instagram @Spouseisms for more goodness.

You know what else you should do? Tell me your stories of absurd grace?! I know you have some!

Love!
Melissa

How Houston Changed Us.

Well. That’s it. We’ve packed it up. The moving company is en route with my crock pot and we are on the road headed East. We are pumped to be bonafide, Salt-Life wearing, Life Is Good sportin’, paddleboarding Floridians again. I’m looking forward palm trees, key lime pie, & Publix. Oh, sweet Publix.

We have been in Houston for just over two years. If you’ve been here since the beginning, you know it was only supposed to be three months. But, we loved it. When it was nearing time to leave, we knew there was unfinished business there. We didn’t know what it was, we just knew there was something more in Houston for us and something more in us for Houston. I do hope we impacted the city a little, because Houston sure impacted us.

We are changed because of our time here. How could we not be? We left a town of 35k people to a city of about 5 million. There is a lot to love about our little country hometown of Plant City, Florida. I like to tell people it’s the “Southern-most point of the Bible-Belt”. (I made that up, PC. You heard it here first.)

Then, the Bayou City happened to us. Yes, I know Houston didn’t “happen to us”. The Lord used our time in Houston to change us. And, as hard as some of it was, I’m grateful.

We know what it’s like to be the visitors at church. When the pastor says “Greet the people around you”, we see it differently now.

We have become Tex-Mex snobs. We loved fajitas before and were looking forward to the amazing fajitas we would get when we got here. And, for the love of tortillas, we have gotten snobby about them.  What’s your favorite Tex-Mex dish? Where do you get it?

We have become the city mice. We lived fairly rurally in Florida and went straight to downtown Houston. We eventually made it to the burbs, but I’ve not been more than 3 miles from a Target or a Chick-Fil-A in over two years. There's that.

We learned what it’s like to have to pay for water usage. Ugh. For the first time in my entire life, I didn’t have well water. We got our first water bill. Welcome to the city.  We love it, right?!

We learned what it’s like to have to plug in to groups. We had to be so intentional about meeting people and finding our places to serve.  And, then sometimes it didn’t work out. Which brings me to…

We were reminded that sometimes, you just aren’t gonna be everybody’s cup of tea. This was fun. Except not at all. But, there were times when I just had to come to grips with the fact that some people just didn’t care for me. That is all I have to say about that.

We know why Texas pride is different. It’s contagious. Like the good kind. The traditions, like those homecoming mums, are crazy awesome. No one really knows where it came from, but it is so over-the-top Texas that you can’t help but love it. I am equally perplexed and amazed by it. You have the Aggie traditions and Go Texan Day, a bunch of stuff. Anyway, I have long since loved my palm tree stuff, so I’m gonna have to step that up a notch or seven in order to adequately represent.

We are officially a Blue Bell people. We knew of Blue Bell Ice Cream before, and I had heard people go on about it. But, once I visited the creamery in Brenham the first of SIX times (!!), I was sold. And, it really is better.
Also, I’m sorry, Texas Fam, I am a one of a kind, and so is Dr. Pepper, I just don’t love it. I went to the museum, had a float and it was so cute.
I’m not drinking the DP juice.

We view grief differently. One of our pastors at Bayou City Fellowship, Vernon, speaks of pain and suffering like no body’s business. Learning to let people grieve for as long as it takes is counter-cultural. Even counter-church cultural, in some  ways. I was definitely a “get it together, press on!” kind of Christian. Even in my self-talk. So, when I would experience a season of depression or blues or doubt, I would beat myself up over it, rather than allowing for sadness and lament to the Lord. No more. Dude. “Sadness is not a sin” is so very liberating to the Christian who has been told to “Find the Joy!” all the dern time. Which brings me to…

We have been a part of a church plant. Our church was a baby church of six months when we got to Houston. It was a breath of fresh air we didn’t even know we needed! Totally different from anything we had ever been a part of : simple, bare-bones approach to worship services and gatherings; taking the same approach to programs, our calendars have not been filled with “church” activities to do more things “at church” than in the community. I don’t even know how to fully explain it, but it’s been a great experience for us.
We are so sad to leave it. 

We are changed because Jesus didn't waste one minute of time we spent in Texas. Not one. He grew us in ways too deep for a blog.

Mostly, we are changed because we have been loved. These Texans (both born in and brought in) have loved on us in the sweetest ways. 

Houston, We love you back.