Greg Loves Sarah

As long as I can remember, my grandmother (with extremely rare exception) has always answered the phone the same way. Not with a plain “Hello” or a cheery “Good morning!” or a proper “Perkins’ residence. This is Betty.” Nope. Not my grandma. She answers it this way: “Praise the Lord! It’s a beautiful day! What can I do to help you?” Early in the morning, late at night, in the middle of the day…it’s always the same. I actually had that little line put on a t-shirt for her.

This past week, we thought we might lose my grandmother. Well, not lose her – she’s a child of God. But we had a pretty close call. As a result, mom and I came home to LA from Big Sandy on Tuesday night. We are praising that the Lord that my grandmother (who is still in ICU) is recovering well from what turned out to be a burst appendix. God is soooo good.

When I first heard how tough things were for her, my heart was SO heavy and I shed my share of tears. The thought of her being in a hospital and scared made my heart go out to her. And the thought of saying “goodbye” was so…..*sigh*

At the beginning of the week, Melanie and I were talking and decided that since we were going to see one another at the end of the week, it was going to be “The Week of No Goodbyes”. So during the week, we’d end our conversations with “Hello” instead of “bye” I know….we are goofy. I love it though :) Do you know how hard it is to end a conversation with “hello”??? Saying “goodbye” has become such a habit that it just comes out naturally without thinking and, furthermore, to end a conversation with “hello” and then end the call makes a gal feel like she’s hanging up on a friend. Oddness.

So, the Lord had it in His will to allow my grandmother to stay with us. And every once in a while, it crosses my mind: “It was the Week of No Goodbyes”.

This morning finds me happily situated in Spring, TX. I drove over last night (after an unexpected 3day detour to LA to be with my grandmother). Next week (Mon-Wedn) is the Children’s Ministry Workshop put on by Children’s Ministries of Texas (CMT). I have 3 sessions to speak at – I pray that the Lord just uses me as an instrument and that all the words are His own. Then Thurs-Saturday is the THSC Homeschool Conference. CMT is responsible for the children’s program which may have in the neighborhood of 800 little ones. Fun stuff!

So…here I am. In Houston area, expecting a great week.

Y’all…Our God is….so……GOOD.

We haven’t even figured out yet how to define “good” when it comes to the Lord. The word itself is do huge. And our Lord is so amazing.

An added blessing of my unscheduled trip home, was getting to be with my mom and dad and in my own home. Loveliness. :) I also got to spend time with other family members who came through. Seeing Halina, Matthew, and Little Sarah was such a treat…I hadn’t seen them since sometime in May….Ah, I love family…

And I love being a part of the family of God……

What a week it has been! A whirlwind to the glory of God! Little Savannah arrived on Tuesday to the delight of her family. Wow, we love her so much!

Words are not enough to tell you how very dearly I love my sister, my brother-in-law, and my little niece. Seeing them together as a family, Chris’s love and tenderness for Catherine and Savannah, and Savannah’s purity and innocence makes me want to love Jesus SO MUCH MORE.

Seeing Savannah’s teeny fingers, tiny perfectly formed ears, deep blue eyes, little elbows and knees – its all just beautiful and reveals touches of the glory of God.

It’s true….Father only does WONDROUS things! Walking with Jesus is such a glorious thing. Serving Him is an honor that I cannot comprehend.

She came straight from the heart of God – our “Little O”. As she grows, I pray that she sees Jesus in me – that my life is a testimony to her of what a precious, priceless, grand delight it is to serve JESUS CHRIST.

Savannah and her Auntie Sarah

I’M AN AUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See the new momma and daddy’s website for story and pictures!!!! www.chrislovescatherine.com

All is well here, my dear friends, on the Big Sandy homefront! Sun has been shining again after weeks of rain. The ALERT campus is a “hopping” place with lots of activity – people, courses, conferences, fun stuff, work (yes, that too), etc. I really am loving it here. Honestly, I feel great peace – knowing that I am in the center of God’s will.

The old sayings go like this: “There is no place like Home” and “Home is where the heart is.” Well, I have given my heart to Jesus – so whereever He is is “home”. My heart is at rest.

Now, that said, I miss my mom and dad. I miss our sunny big porch, the hammock under the oak trees, my garden, my room, the stairs going up to my room, my dad, our sofas, my mom, our cozy little kitchen, going to the mailbox, my dad, Peanut (our constantly shedding sweet and cute dog), the sunlight that streams through the windows in my room, my mom, our squeaky, wooden floors, our garage – And did I mention that I miss my mom and dad. I miss it ALL. *sigh*

Now, that said, I really really really love it here. No question about that. :-) I would love to be in two places at once though…Maybe if I click my heels together, close my eyes real tight and say “There’s no place like……” But then again, I don’t have any ruby slippers. :-(

My department here at ALERT is so great…We are a just right mix of personalities and temperments. I think our little corner of the administration building must be one of the cheeriest, craziest places on campus. We have so much fun. I sure like it that way :-) ….. OH yeah, and we work hard too. :-)

Things have been really busy here lately – but it’s all good stuff! A couple of weeks ago (or is it 3 already, Malloo?), I had the surprise of a lifetime! I came to Cat and Chris’s on a Friday evening after work (they asked me to spend the weekend with them),walked in the front door, round the corner – and then, THEN, THEEEEEEEEEEEN. I saw her. My dearest Melanie had driven all the way up from Spring, TX as a weekend surprise!!!!!! I was SO floored and delighted and thrilled that there were no words or emotions to express it. I pinched Melanie to make sure she was REAL. She was. She pinched back. I love that gal!

We had a GREAT weekend – shopping, swimming, movie-watching, BEING. Twas GRAND!!! Our Heavenly Father shows His love in such precious ways – like sending a friend. It’s like a hug from Heaven and from the heart of God to little-ole-cherished me. *humbled, grateful sigh*

Here’s us gals out at the Lake…remember I mentioned at the top of this post about the rain? Well, I was serious…Lake is so high – has been for WEEKS! When me and Mel and Cat went swimming, we could walk on the DOCK and the water was halfway up my KNEE!!! Craziness. The diving board, life guard stand, and slide look like they are just floating above the water :-) But, we sure had a great time!!!!!!!! :-)

The 4th of July was fun! We went to the park in Big Sandy for a good, small town fireworks show. Chris (being fire chief) was in charge of the fireworks! I was SOOOOO impressed! This was no dinky lil “pow and fizzle” demo…It was a grand celebration! I loved the small-town feel and the BIG BANGS! Chris’s mom and aunt were in town and came with us – fun stuff! :-)

And NOW for an OFFICIAL update on the upcoming arrival of my dear little niece!!!!!!!!!!!

She is officially due on July 23! And we are eagerly awaiting her arrival! Catherine and Chris are ready! The nursery is looking adorable! And “little O’s” aunt is looking forward to holding her!

For those of you who haven’t discovered it yet – Catherine and Chris now have their own website too! It’s www.chrislovescatherine.com. Kudos to our dear friend Josh for another great design and token of thoughtfulness!

Well, just so you all know, I love ya and thank God for you! I hope our paths cross soon and often ~ face-to-face and here at my e-home!

May our Lord be the delight of your heart! Be encouraged. Our Lord is sovereign and faithful. He never sleeps.

Edit:

One more little note for my sympathetic friends: Yesterday, I was weeding in front of Cadet Hall. It was in a period of about 3 minutes (a total guess-timate) that I (yes, innocent me) was attacked by nature. About 7 ant bites on my right foot and a wasp sting on my right wrist. :-( That’s a lot of activity for about 3 minutes – even for me! *sigh* No worries – I am recovering nicely. :-) Here’s a picture of me (taken today) to show that the incident hasn’t adversely affected me ;)

Alrighty, Friends! At long last, I am FINALLY ready to post pics from our family reunion crawfish boil. Twas SO GOOD being with family!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I managed to get away without getting pictures of everybody – very sad. :-( BUT here are a few :-)

…my cousin [and treasured little buddy] Matthew

….My beautiful, wonderful, and precious MOM

…Me and my counterpart (Little Sarah)

…..My Uncle Billy, the crawfish farmer

…..Austin – Ready for dinner!

…..My DAD!!!!!!!!! I love that guy!

…..Chris – My FAVORITE brother-in-law EVER!!!!!!!!!!

…My aunt Halina and Me! Oh and a crawfish!

…John and John – my cousins :-)

…..Little Sarah….A well-trained South Louisianian

…Little Olivia – A real CUTIE!!!!!!

…Olivia’s Mom! My dear cousin Terrie :)

…My Grandmother Perkins and Catherine! And “Little O” too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

….Uh…Dinner. :-D

Alright! Thar ya go! I love being a Louisiana Gal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laters!