Happy 50th Mom and Dad!!

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Fifty years ago today, my mom and dad were married in Cabool, MO. It is really pretty amazing for a couple to get to 50+ years together. My brother has come into town for a visit and we are planning a really happenin’ party on Saturday for the Mom & Dad?s 50th Anniversary Invitation“classic” couple. Here is a copy of the invitation I made for them. They have a burgundy 57 Chevy that will be on display at the party. They also owned a 57 Chevy a few years into their marriage. . . white on black. . . really sharp. Probably would be worth a ton of money if they would have kept it.

Congratulations Mom & Dad!! Many more years of life together!! I am really blessed to have such wonderful parents!

Oh, Did I mention . . . ?

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Close upOh, did I mention that the St. Louis Cardinals World Series Trophy from 2006 was on display to look at and have your picture taken with?? Well, it was and Taylor and I got our picture taken by the trophy. The Springfield Cardinals really do a great job! They had their staff photographer there to take professional photographs that you could buy on the web. They also had some other staff there to take pictures with individual’s cameras. That dude probably handled 3000 different cameras that night. I will post the professional photo when I get it. But for now, here are a few from the game and the trophy.

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Redbird Roost

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Hammons Field, Springfield, MOWe got a call after work yesterday from Jenny’s brother, Tad. He acquired some Springfield Cardinals tickets and asked Taylor and I to come with he and his son, Andrew. We immediately said “yes” and were off to the game. These weren’t just any tickets, but they were tickets to the “Redbird Roost.” The Redbird Roost is a special deck that has an all you can eat buffet included with your seat. Needless to say. . . it was an AWESOME night of way too much food and minor league baseball. Thanks Tad for the tickets! We had a blast!

No More Dandelions . . . hopefully

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DandelionI am headed out here in a bit to put some week killer down on the lawn. “The Fields are white” . . . not because of wheat harvest, but because of dandelions! I wanted to do all of that stuff at the same time and have been waiting for the right temperature to put the crab grass (pre-emergent) down. Our cold snap last week is in the rear view mirror and at least part of my day off is going to spent out in the yard. Mr Green Thumb–yeah right!

Tuesday Evening Reflections

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This weekend was a real whirlwind of events. Taylor, Papa Bill, and myself went to a model train show on Saturday morning before the party. Taylor really had a pretty good time even though he couldn’t see the layouts real well because of his height. He was also bummed because he had some money burning a hole in his pocket that I kept refusing to let him buy some overpriced model boxcar. We then came home to his constant begging to get out my old layout to get it to run. It is going to need a lot of work to be back to running–not something a 6 year old wants to hear. All that needs to happen is that it runs . . . and fast!!

Saturday evening we had Taylor’s birthday party at Godfather’s Pizza! Read more

Gotta Love the E-file

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I can remember going with my parents to Stockton/Lockwood to their accountant each year as he prepared their taxes.? Our first year of marriage, we had them “handle” our returns through him.? Actually, we had a little issue with the IRS concerning whether Jenny and I were full time residents of MO, which we weren’t.? I can tell you that it is very disconcerting to receive a letter from the IRS.? It could be the nicest letter, but it is the IRS!? He handled the letter and to say the least we were very happy.

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Happy Birthday Taylor Quinn!

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Six years ago today, we were recovering from Easter. It was tax day that year. Jenny was preparing for her school music programs and had just finished a full day of teaching. She had me meet her at the hospital to “just check and see” about some back pain she was having. In a matter of about 30 minutes, we saw Taylor Quinn Stone at 4:33 p.m. and our lives have never been the same since. Brad Daily did some awesome driving along with the grandpas in order to get the cameras from home to the hospital so we could take pictures after the emergency c-section. It was an extremely Happy Tax Day!!

Happy Birthday Taylor!!

Mommy, Daddy, and Tucker love you very much!!

Tuesday Afternoon Reflections

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I have really been enjoying reading about all of the awesome “returns” from churches around the country that had AWESOME Easter weekends! I truly believe that we are all on the same team and that we all win when there are so many people coming to Christ on one day! I know that there are a bunch of churches that were planted on Sunday! How exciting to know that Christ’s bride is growing and reaching more and more people!! Katie Rentfro, former member and MSU grad, is living in Houston, TX and is a part of one of those new church plants that started on Easter Sunday. It is cool to see where God is taking people from even our little place and moving them to be a part of great things. I think the best churches still haven’t been planted yet!
I think something that Mark Batterson said on his blog sums up the weekend for me . . .

One last thought for pastors.

Is it just me or is Easter one of the toughest messages to preach? I think I put a little extra pressure on myself 🙂 And it is so hard to approximate the emotion we ought to feel. I really think the greatest truths are the toughest to put into words! No combination of the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet can adequately praise God for the victory He won over death. That is when you feel most dependent upon the Holy Spirit to do what only the Holy Spirit can do!

I agree wholeheartedly, Mark! I ran into a colleague at the hospital this week and he was talking about how much pressure we put on ourselves on Easter. It really is funny how we put all of our “eggs” (pun intended) in one Easter basket. Around here at CFC, we are a church of young families that go to grandma’s for Easter. History has shown us (and Sunday held true) that we have a lot of visitors on Easter, but they are mainly family members and friends of our people. If history holds true, we will have almost as many people here the next few weeks as we had on Easter. It is really difficult not to get frustrated with this . . . but to trust that it is Resurrection Sunday EVERY WEEK of the year!

I am really excited about the next few weeks as we start our new series called Beyond Limits.

Overcoming Adversity Illustrated

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This past Sunday’s sermon was on “overcoming adversity.” There is no better illustration than the the Nixa Lady Eagles basketball team this season. nixasectionalcelebrate.jpgThere was a really great article in the News-Leader on Tuesday that says it all. The varsity girls started the season with 6 fewer girls than planned, so the “youngsters” had to step up and play on the varsity! And stepped up they have done! They beat my alma mater Kickapoo in Nixa on Friday night to win the District Championship. . . something they were not “supposed” to do!
We took a family road trip to see them play last night in Bolivar and all I can say is “unbelievable!” They have really defied a TON of odds and overcome a TON oflukodrive.jpg adversity to be one step away from going to Columbia to take part in a Final Four! Congratulations to coach Randy Towe and the Nixa Lady Eagles. Good luck on Saturday!

A Great Coach . . . a Great Man

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Jim Pearson, my golf coach, P.E. teacher, and one of my favorite people at Kickapoo High School, died yesterday from a long battle with cancer. He was a great man. A man of high character and integrity! Here is the article in the News-Leader. Read more