Touchdowns & Kisses

Floyd Casey Stadium. Photo credit: My Spouse!

Spouse and I recently learned of a Texas A&M football tradition that is way better than any drinking game you can learn on any number of typical college campuses.

Last weekend, we went to the Baylor University homecoming game with some of our closest, sweetest friends. Joe is a Baylor alumnus, so we all decided to meet up in Waco for the weekend's festivities. Baylor had scored maybe their second touchdown when Joe let us know their football tradition that they had carried on from our other friends and former pastor & wife, Michael & Liliana.

Evidently, Michael & Liliana kiss each time their team scores at a football game.
We adopted this little tradition faster than you can say, "Gig Em!".

<<I realize in Bear Country, they say "Sic Em Bears!" and I did. Happily. But, I learned that this sweet little kissy tradition came from Aggie Nation. My friends lived in Austin for several years, and apparently caught this vision and brought it to Plant City, Florida! I love it. The point is the "game", not the origin.

So, "Whoop!" or "Gig Em!" or "Sic Em" Whichever! This is a great Tex-tradition! >>

This sweet couple just took a cool college tradition and turned it into a marriage game.

Husbands & Wives, this is brilliant on so many levels.

It's fun. Football games & sporting events in general are fun. Little traditions like this just add to it. Marriage is not a burden to us, my Spouse is not a burden. We enjoy being together and an appropriate little smooch just expresses it. Listen. You can High-Five anybody, even strangers on the row behind you, but kissing at every 'score' (See what I did there?) takes that celebration to a whole 'nother level with your spouse! (That last prepositional phrase is there for a reason, Kids.) (I have a lot of younger readers.) (I'm not saying all kisses have to happen within marriage, but it wouldn't hurt.)

It's unifying. I hope that's a real word. There's not red squiggly underneath it, so I'm going with it. During that whole game, Debra and I were chatting away and solving all the world's problems. But, when Baylor scored, we turned and kissed our husbands! Heyyyy! It was just a little trigger to bring our attention back to our men for just a brief second. Don't you know they loved that junk!?

It edifies marriage. Our culture is not pro marriage. As Christians, we have to be counter-cultural in every way we can, and this accomplishes that in a non-confrontational way. As much as depends on you, be pro marriage! (You do not have to be married to be pro marriage.)

It's a good example. My kids watch our marriage intently. If we've done nothing else right, these girls see that their parents are into each other. Being affectionate (appropriately) in front of the kids is healthy. Then, lock the door.

It honors God. I just have to believe that God is thrilled every time Michael & Liliana share a little marital moment at football games. He designed marriage. He created us for physical intimacy and He created us to enjoy life. When all these things come together, the Lord smiles. I just know it.

Incidentally, the final score was 71-7, Baylor. That's a good start to this newly adopted tradition.

Do you have any fun little traditions like this?

Climb to the 'summit' of Enchanted Rock? Kissies!

PS- Listen. I'm pretty sure I just made up that every time a husband and wife share a kiss, a pegasus gets its wings. Do you really want to be responsible for wingless pegasi (also made up) running around?

Together: Five Minute Friday

It's time for another Five Minute Friday! 

It's a Lisa Jo Baker thing, and it's a good one.

Here are the rules.

If you have a blog--you should so do it. If you don't have a blog, you should do it anyway. Just sayin'.

It's Five Minutes of pure blog adrenaline.

Five minutes of writing on a one word prompt. Period. No editing. No nothing. No pressure. No stress.

This week's prompt is Together.

Ready? Set.

Go.

"...a house divided against itself cannot stand..." Matthew 12:25

One of my constant prayers for our family is that we remain in unity. When decisions are to be made, some bigger, some smaller, my first prayer is that we are of one accord. I full well understand that Spouse and I are the parents, so this isn't always the case, but I pray that our family is moving toward Jesus in a unified fashion. 

It is my understanding that Jesus spoke the words above while driving out demons. Isn't that what we are doing? Driving out demons? Protecting our children, families, marriages, & homes from evil influences? This is a real battle.

I have known for a good, long while that 1) we have a real enemy, 2) he comes to steal, kill, & destroy, and 3) his modus operandi is 'divide and conquer'. 

So, here we are: trying to follow Jesus while an enemy tries to divide us and conquer us. 

We cannot take this battle lightly. 

We cannot do it alone.

Families, as much as depends on you, we have to stick together. Mom, Dad, Kids...

Church, we have to work together. Baptist, Methodist, Reformed, Charismatic, Bapticostal...

We have to present a united front. 

We have to BE a united front.

Together. 

                     "...a house divided against itself cannot stand..." Matthew 12:25

Stop.

Oh, man. I really need more than five minutes on that one, Lisa Jo! :)

TEXploration Dos: Enchanted Rock.

Welcome to Episode Two of TEXploration!  :)

The first picture of the blog post becomes the thumbnail.
It was either this one or the one below.
You're welcome.

The first night of camping, Spouse was getting ready to fire up the grill when we realized I didn't bring any seasoning for the burgers. Not even salt & pepper. Awesome. I remembered only cheddar cheese, but not American. We also didn't have a spatula. 

But, I remembered the pickles. Cause I've got priorities, People.

I made a quick run to the campground store, and made it work.

This is Maverick during while grilling was happening. 

We headed over to Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock. Fredericksburg is a cutesy little town with a German Pioneer heritage. Enchanted Rock is about 30 minutes or so just north of Fredericksburg and well worth it.

                                      

It's evidently only 425 feet in elevation (still Texas, just Hill Country, not Mountain Country!) but it really is beautiful. It's about a .6 mile walk up to the top of the dome. Really cool.

We are laughing cause Spouse was whispering marital inappropriateness. 

Maverick made the trek, too! He was the cutest little pup on that Rock!

Big Sister.

Downtown Fredericksburg.

Little Sister got to ring the church bell.

This is what I thought all of Texas looked like. Glad I got to see it.

We are on the road now to Waco for the Baylor Homecoming game with some of our favorite people on the planet. And, of course, we are considering this a college scouting trip. :)

Thanks for indulging me a few posts of scrap-blogging!

What are y'all up to this weekend?!