Ben's 6 months old!+

Not only is he cute, but there's beginning to be that glint that means trouble! 

Bottle in a toilet line

The mineral water bottle (upper right) was what the plumber found in the sewer line in the guest bath of our new home! He used the tongs to fish it out. We knew there was some problem, and when the auger didn't clear the line, he removed the commode and found the bottle. I asked if this type of thing were common place, and he indicated that it wasn't, and that in fact, it had to be placed there intentionally...

Made for an interesting Saturday morning for both of us.

This needs a salute!

Here's a photo of Ben on July 4. The flag is one flown in Iraq and brought back by one of his three uncles who have served there... 

A Holy Moment

Monday, while doing one of my visits at M.D. Anderson, I experienced one of those "holy moments."  Actually it lasted over an hour.
After gently knocking on the closed door and slowly pushing it open, I could see that there was an attractive young woman sitting in the chair, and that everything was packed ready to leave the hospital and go home.  I introduced myself as a volunteer from Lifeline Chaplaincy and asked if it was a good time to visit, which was met with a big smile.  She told me her name, and after asking, I took a seat on the empty bed.
Not sure whether she was the patient or a family member, I asked, "So what's going on here?"
She replied, "I have metastatic cancer, I'm terminal, and we're on our way home.  My husband has gone down to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions."  As she explained a little more about her disease and it's history, she was smiling and quite upbeat.  I commented, "You seem to be doing quite well will all this."
"It's all due to the prayers of the righteous.  I am at peace with what is happening, and have joy.  I can see the hand of God in every turn in my life."  And I could tell from the way she said it, that it was absolutely true.  For the next hour we talked about her spiritual journey to this place.  Several times during the conversation, she would begin quoting scripture, and sometimes I would join in vocalizing the familiar passages with her.  Once she sang me a verse from "This World is Not My Home," and I just listened appreciatively.  At one point I paraphrased from something Randy Becton wrote, "Cancer is not strong enough to defeat God's plan for you."  She wrote that down, along with my comment, "You are spiritually victorious!"  I was glad that I could add something to the conversation that had meaning in the midst of her saying so many things that were so profound.
I asked how her husband was doing, and she talked about him lovingly, showing me his photo.  She talked about her Mom and Grandmother.  She talked about her church.  But mostly she talked about God and how good He was and how she saw His hand in her life, giving me example after example.
We prayed together and I was trying to leave the room because I could see that she was tiring, though she was still wanting to talk. She said that if I was ever in her city, to look them up.  I said, "That not likely, but when I get to heaven, please look me up because I'd like to continue our conversation."
For that hour, I was in a holy place with a holy person.  And I resolved to be more vigilant in seeing God's hand in my own life.