Hi Janel!

My sweet friend Janel and her husband, David, just moved to Spain and we miss them terribly! But I just discovered the coolest thing. On the right side of my blog page I have a cluster map. Whenever someone clicks on my blog, a red dot is placed in the region where the blogger is from. And now, I have a red dot in Spain! It's Janel! Hey Janel-I can see you!!! It's just the coolest thing! Isn't it amazing...the technology that God has created to help us stay in touch with those we love, even when they're halfway around the world?!!

Love you, Janel!

Couch to 5K

I am not and have never been much of a runner. I have always wanted to, but just don't think I'm cut out for it. But Byron and I have started something new and I am loving it! It's a podcast that I stumbled upon, put together by a guy that had a desire to get in shape by running. The podcast is taken from a book called "Couch to 5K" and it's a 9 week program built to ease you from the couch to running a 5K. The podcast is set to music and Robert, the coach, tells you when to run and when to walk...almost like a personal trainer. Each week Robert increases your running time and decreases your resting time until finally, by week 9, you are able to run, run, run. I am on week 4 and I can't believe I've made it this far. It is so much fun and even though Robert, the guy talking in my ear, can't see me, I am still obedient as if he can. If I get tired, I don't quit. And I actually look forward to it because it's been fun to see the progress. I'm very results-oriented. If I don't see improvement, I give up easily. With this program, I have built up my endurance and each week I see a difference...and I love that! So if you're looking for a change in your workout, let me introduce you to Robert. You'll have to let me know how you do!

Couch to 5K Podcasts

Minor Miracle

I have to tell you a hokey story about myself but I need to preface it with this little bit of trivia. About so many years ago, I had the most amazing opportunity. It was one of those things that only God could do, because I certainly wasn't experienced or qualified for it. The owner of a record company came to our church where my friend Joni and I were a part of the worship team. (Lesson #1: The most amazing opportunities come when you serve in your local church!) Long story short, he offered us a record deal and we began the journey of putting an album together. When it was time to lay the tracks down, we met our producer that would be working with us on the project. Because I was a die-hard Christian Music fan from a very early age, what was happening before my very eyes seemed surreal. Our producer, a legend in the music industry, was Jonathan Brown, producer for Petra! When we met, I could hardly speak...in fact, I don't think I did. So he leaned in to shake my hand and said, "Maybe we should start with prayer." I replayed that moment for weeks, wishing I could've handled it with a little more "coolness", but it didn't take him long to figure out that I was pretty goofy! We did the project...Minor Miracle. I had some incredible experiences during that season of my life and I grew as a musician like never before. I don't know how many times I heard in the studio, "DeeDee, you're just a hair flat." It took much patience on Jonathan's part and a few tears on mine, to finally learn what a "hair flat" was. I knew that he could tune my vocals digitally and I would say, "Jonathan, please just fix me". To which he always replied, "I refuse. Sing it again." I still tend to sing a "hair flat", but God has taught me so much through people who are better than me and people who make me better. So I share with you my fifteen minutes of fame, to tell you that a few weeks ago, I found out that Minor Miracle is on itunes and Yahoo Music. A project that I thought was extinct is now in cyberspace and here's the hokey part...I downloaded every song to my ipod! My friends Mandy and Daniel laughed at me because yes, I do have a CD somewhere around here and yes, I could've copied it to my computer and downloaded it for free. But no, I paid to hear myself sing on my own ipod! I hadn't heard those songs in so long and man, it took me back to a time that God showed himself so strong on my behalf. Scripture says that we build our faith by remembering the things God has done in our lives. As I remember this, just one of many great things God has done in my life, I know that there is nothing that is impossible for Him. The dreams I have are just a drop in the bucket for Him and when I recount the mighty works that He has done, my faith is strengthened and I am inspired to believe Him for more. I love living a life of adventure and wondering what could possibly be around the next corner. He never ceases to amaze or surprise me. I'm so glad that I am on this journey with Him!

The music is not so hip anymore, but it is a great testimony to the power of God and His delight to give His children the desires of their hearts. Have a listen and be inspired to believe God for Big Crazy Dreams! P.S. "Sweet Escape" is my favorite...

Minor Miracle

I Know...I Know...

it's been way too long since my last post! Any significant thing in my life that I have achieved has been because someone pushed me or stayed on me to get it done. So, this is for Leslie. Thanks for the push!

It's not that I don't have anything to share with you guys. In fact, it's just the opposite. But it's so overwhelming to try and squeeze it into a couple of paragraphs.

God has blessed me more than I can possibly describe to you. I know it's Father's Day, so I'll start there. I have the most amazing husband who has been the most amazing dad. When we got married, we dedicated our lives to living out God's plan no matter what that meant. We had no idea the joy that would come from that commitment. It doesn't seem that long ago, but the sweetest gift that God gave us was our two boys, Byron and Brennan. Big B and I grew up in pretty disfunctional homes when we were young, so there were some things that we knew from the get-go that we wanted to do differently. One of those "different" things is that our home would be filled with peace. Because of the example and the expectation that Big B set for our boys, I can't think of a time that my children were rude or disrespectful to me. I don't remember them ever raising their voice at me. (Except when Brennan had a brain injury from football and he didn't know what he was saying! I forgave him for that.) I kept waiting for the rebellious years and they never came. (Knock on wood) Byron and Bren are not perfect, so don't think we haven't had stuff to work through. But the relationship I have with my guys is so dear to me and I just can't believe how blessed I am to be their mother.

We moved Brennan to College Station a couple of weeks ago to attend Blinn. It's hard to believe, but he's starting his second year of school and now he's 4 hours from home...and loving it. His goal is to transfer to A&M by next summer. My goal is to pray him into a good job! The boy has got to have a job! He has my personality to a fault. It's the "if I really need it, Jesus (or Mom and Dad) will provide it" philosophy. Ambition was never my strong point. (See first paragraph) When Brennan left, he told us that college kids who live away from home get care packages in the mail. We asked him if he knew what a care package was. He said, "Yeah, it's a box...with money in it". That's my boy! I sent an email to our friends and family letting them know that Brennan would be expecting "care packages" soon! Here are some pics of Bren's new home...


Byron is about 8 weeks away from marrying his high school sweetheart. She is the girl of MY dreams and we love her more than she'll ever know. Meg and Byron have been dating about 4 years and I couldn't have picked a more perfect mate for Byron if I had done it myself. She is precious and I am crazy about her! When they graduated from high school, Meg's church had a senior recognition day and they included Byron since he had been hanging out with them so much...obviously, he was hanging out with Meg! But anyway, Big B and I went to the service and we had the sweetest surprise. At some point in the service I see Byron walk over to the grand piano, sit down and start to play. Then Meg joins him and the two begin singing...together. Yes, I cried. And I do believe this wedding ceremony is just going to be one big boohoo fest! I am so proud of Byron. He has worked hard to make sure that he is prepared to take on the responsibility of being a husband to Meg. I know God has great things in store for those two and I can't wait to see how they live out their lives for their Creator. It is my prayer that my children grow to realize that the most important thing in life is to "know HIM more deeply and intimately, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of HIS person more strongly and more clearly..." Phil. 3:10
Here are some pics of Megan's first wedding shower...such fun!


So this is just a peek into what we've been up to. I'll try to keep you updated more than just once a season! Happy Father's Day...