No Name...

On my walk this am, I passed the lady that walks her great dane and her chihuahua. As some of you may recall, I have written about her before.
Our first and only conversation went something like this...
Me: "Hi, I live right here and see you walking all the time. What are your dog's names?"
Her: "Seriously? I refuse to name my dogs."
Me: Silence....nervous grin.
Her: Gone.

Clearly the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship.

Anywhoski...when I see her now, it makes me sad that her dogs don't have a name.

I had just heard about the passing of Dan Peek, lead singer of 70's band America.
Yes, you do know who they are.
They sing/sang: "Daisy Jane" "Sister Golden Hair" "Ventura Highway" and....

“A Horse With No Name.” See, told you, you knew some of their songs.

So, let's review what we have here, as of this morning's walk.
One horse.
Two dogs
Zero names.

I asked God, what was the message in it for me? For you?
I got a quick and clear answer. (Love when He does that!)

I'll tell you who does have a name. You.

I'll also tell you Who knows it. Me.

“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My Hands." ~Isaiah 49:16

God, Thank You for knowing each and every one of us by name.

In His Dust,
DCC

Sense of the Senseless...

Senseless murders in Oslo, Norway...

Senseless arguing over the debt ceiling...

Senseless brutal murder of an innocent Jewish boy...

Senseless death and addiction...

Doesn't make any sense.
Not one morsel of it.
Yet, we spend our moments, hours and days trying to decipher why and how these things are allowed to happen.

As I write- I hear two things.
Sirens in the background, contrasted with Chris Tomlin singing "Our God" on my iPod.

"Water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind
there's no one like you none like You!
Into the darkness you shine, out of the ashes we rise
there's no one like you none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against us."

As much as I love the song and appreciate the reminder. The Words are straight out of Scripture.

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us." ~Romans 8:31

God, Thank You for the reminder that You will make sense out of the senseless.

In His Dust,
DCC

Comb Overs...

"Acting like we have more faith than we have is like pretending we have more hair than we have. No more comb overs" -Bob Goff

The rare "comb over." It's like a train wreck...you can't not look at it.(much less stare, which I assume is the opposite of what they are going for??)

So, what do we know about the comb over? Two things...sham and shame.

We may not all have bald spots that we are trying to cover up with hair...but certainly we have things that we are trying to cover up?

You know people who appear extremely confident, some of their lives are falling apart. Their lives are a "comb over."

You know the "gorgeous people" that always look put together and perfect? Some of them feel hideous- their lives are a type of "comb over"

You know the really wealthy people who have everything? Some of them have nothing. Their lives are a "comb over"

Bottom line-maybe the comb over isn't so rare after all.

God, Thank You for loving us and seeing beyond the covering.

In His Dust,
DCC

Weekend at Brady...

"Six days you shall do your work,
but on the seventh day you shall rest."

~Exodus 23:12

"In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." ~Job 12:10

"Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. In His Hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." ~Job 12:7-10

"Praise the Lord from the earth, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds." ~Psalm 148:7-10

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." ~Isaiah 55:12

"By his breath the skies become fair.... and these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him!" ~Job 26:13b,14b

"Through Him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made." -John 1:3

God, Thank You for reminding me through a weekend in Brady, that You are revealing Yourself to each of us, at every turn and in every face.

In His Dust,
DCC

I Win...

When the San Antonio Firedawgs left the country a month ago they were
"just another adult co-ed softball team for people with intellectual disabilities."

At San Antonio International Airport, on July 6th, they had a new name,

Team USA, Olympic Gold Medalists!

I hugged and congratulated this precious guy.
He looked me square in the eye, and said, "I win!"

There was a huge and loud crowd of greeters for the team. It consisted of family, friends and complete strangers. They were holding signs, balloons and American flags

It was hard to tell that these Gold Medal Winners just arrived from a 36-hour plane flight, all the way from Athens, Greece.

Rather than tired kids with disabilities, I saw victors, conquerors, overcomers and champions.

The San Antonio Firedawgs represented America, yes, of thee which I sing,

in the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

One of the mother's of the athletes said,

“It's an ‘in-your-face' to the doctors who said he would never do all the things he can do.
Doctors who diagnosed him with cerebral palsy had predicted that he would never walk, talk or see. Now he comes home with the gold medal. It's huge."

There they stood, proving all doubters wrong,

each athlete with a gold medal dangling from his or her necks.

As we were leaving, I noticed the back of this shirt....and was quickly reminded....

"For nothing is impossible with God." ~Luke 1:37

God, Thank You for showing Yourself to each of us, through each other.

In His Dust,
DCC

Left Behind...

There they went......

I waved goodbye to a busload of Godchildren, as they departed for Camp Longhorn yesterday. It was interesting to watch the difference in the way each of them approached it.

It was a mere 800 degrees, with 400% humidity, as we stood on black pavement. The air conditioned buses helped coax the kids on to the buses, as well as the smell of hundreds of boxes of fried chicken.

Some waved goodbye to their parents from the bus-
and had to be told to get off, for a goodbye hug.

Others wanted to hang on until the very last minute.....
Some got real quiet and a clingy...

Some found a new appreciation for a sibling...

Some tried to look cool, while holding back crocodile tears in their eyes....
Susan Glover said it best, "Now I cry. Not because they are gone and about to have the time of their life, but because of those precious faces, yet, awkward smiles. Young enough to love us, but getting older and trying so hard not to need us."

then there were some....
that were left behind.My prayer for them is this....

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them;
for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you.

He will not leave you nor forsake you." -Deuteronomy 31:6

God, Thank You for going before us, with us and absolutely never leaving us behind.

In His Dust,
DCC

Authority...

"Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. "-Romans 13:1,2

I have been wrestling with God over this all summer. Not The Scripture itself, but the principle behind it.

God has placed all kinds of authority in our lives. Our government, our offices and our families. I don't like being told what to do or how to do it...not sure of anyone that does. Respecting and submitting to authority is far from easy.

When authority figures make a decision I don't like, or don't handle a situation exactly like I would....usually, I criticize. Respect is the last thing on my mind.

God is pointing out to me, that criticizing those He has placed in authority over me, is essentially criticizing Him.

I am not called to agree with all decisions of my authority figures, but I am called to show respect for those that makes them.

God, Thank You for Your Patience in this lesson.

In His Dust,
DCC