Advent is Here

When my brother was very young, my parents set out to make Christmas about more than presents and Santa Claus. They wanted to make sure their children knew that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, the hope He brings, and the peace we enjoy because of Him. They also wanted to do something that would bring the family together each day. The Lord gave them a great idea that sprang from the season of Advent. Simply put, Advent is the four weeks leading up to, preparing for, and celebrating the birth of Christ. Each week, one candle (then two, then three, and so on) is lit in the Advent wreath. Week one is the the Prophecy candle, and the week's focus is planning. Week two is the Bethlehem candle, with a focus on planning. Week three is the Shepherds' candle, focusing on sharing. And week four is the Angels' candle, with the focus on joy. The idea the Lord gave mom and dad was that of an Advent Box. It works much like an Advent calendar, just on a larger scale. Each evening of Advent, we open one door in the box, behind which something is hidden. The night's event might as simple as a quick devotion, or it might be something more complex like eating outside by a fire like the shepherds did. This tradition continues still, and it is the best part of our Christmas. It literally guides our celebration. When the tree is in the box, we put up the tree. When the tiny laundry bag is in the box, we read Mickey's Christmas Carol. When the matchbox is in the box, we read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. When the present (a block of wood still in its original 30ish year old wrapping paper) is in the box on Christmas Eve, we open presents.

Today is the first day of this Advent season. When I got home this evening, I saw that someone had left a sack on my door handle. Inside the sack were three smaller Christmas bags. A note was left on each sack..."Advent Sunday Day #1," "Day #2," and "Day#3." I opened Day #1 to find a pretty little bell, along with a note that said, "Well of course it's a bell! The sound of the bell rings in this first week of Advent which is symbolic of prophecy and the hope we have in Christ. Smile as you ring it and usher in this most exciting time of the year!"

A couple years ago, my family decided to share our tradition with others and wrote a book. About two months ago, I gave one of our books to my good friend Lesleigh. She read it in one afternoon, loved the idea, and said they wanted to do something during Advent season this year. When I saw my bag of Advent surprises, I immediately suspected Lesleigh. It couldn't have come from just anyone. It had to have come from someone who had read the book and understood that a bell is always in the box on the first day of Advent. Plus, the "Of course it's a bell" line was a direct quote from my contribution to the book. And Lesleigh is one of the very, very few people who live here and have read the book. I rang the bell with a smile, and called to thank her.

The Lord is so good. He really knows what I need. He knows that sometimes I have a hard time, especially during the holidays, with not having a family of my own. He knows that I want someone to understand a little of my family's tradition in more than just casual way. Today He showed me that He understands. And He showed me this by using my dear friend, knowing how close friends are to my heart. All my life, the Lord has blessed me with absolutely amazing friends.

Thank You, Lord, for loving me so intimately. Thank You for the friends who are really family. And thank you, Lesleigh, for my Advent surprises! You're the sweetest!!

61-41

What a great Bedlam game. As much as I would have loved for it to be a blow-out, it really was a pretty good game. I can say that now that I know the outcome. At the time it was pretty rough...I couldn't even sit down most of the second half. I tried, but it just wasn't working for me. And when Sam went flying through the air - - - Ohhhh, man. I lost my heartbeat for about three seconds. More records were broken, OU's case was made for getting to the Big 12 game, and most important...it was a Sooner victory.

Boomer Sooner!

Jack is Back!

Back-to-Back Champs

Saturday was our (second ever) Homecoming. It was also our preview day for prospective students and the first week of enrollment. What were we thinking?!?

As part of Homecoming, there is a campus-wide decorating contest between departments. Last year, the winning department was promised a "tasty treat." As it turned out, we did get the tasty treat, but then so did everyone else who participated. We also received a Spirit Stick. This Spirit Stick lived in our window for one full year minus a week. Here's what it was: a dowel rod that had one end painted blue, one end painted red. Where they met in the middle, there were a few unpainted spots. On one end, in black Sharpee, the name of our office was written. It was the saddest Spirit Stick in the history of Spirit Sticks. About one week ago, we decided that, if we were going to have to pass the stick off to another office, we should bling it up a little bit. So a couple ladies took it and turned it into the most incredible Spirit Stick!

This year, as defending champions, our competitiveness was kicked up a notch. So we put our heads together and came up with a pretty fun idea. Here are some pictures...




The basketball was surprisingly difficult. But with some wire, knowledge of how to braid, two plastic table cloths, a black marker, 30 balloons, fishing line, one nail, one stapler acting as a hammer, some crawling on the floor and standing on the desk, four 20-something girls, several hours, and a lot of desperation, it happened. It's about 6 feet in diameter.



I made the Locker Room signs. Catrina and Chelley made the Rosters.



I made these. By hand. From construction paper. Pretty good, huh?




One hallway was the women's locker room. The other hallway was the men's.




Needless to say, we won the competition! Tomorrow we (and only we) get our tasty treat. We get to keep our Spirit Stick. And we got a framed certificate, as well. We might have to start a Wall of Fame.

Blue vs Orange

My friend, Julie, and I must be crazy. Yesterday we headed out of town at 5:00pm for Stillwater...even though we were listening to weather reports saying there were severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes the whole way. So we drove for about two hours in the rain...And for two more hours in the pouring rain on the way home. With a three-year-old in the back seat. (He was very good, though.)

Why did we do this? For basketball, of course. No, not OSU basketball. Don't you know me at all?!? We went for Hillcat basketball. For the second year in a row, our men's team played OSU in an exhibition game at Gallagher-Iba. I had never been to a "real" game. (And by "real" I mean a big-time-NCAA-D1-basketball-school game.) They do it up right there. I've always heard how loud that arena is and how fun those games are. Last night it was by no means full...far from it. But it was still pretty loud. I can't even imagine what it's like when it's packed!

Because Julie is awesome (and has worked her tail off for the athletes), she's "in" with the athletic department. So Coach Williams called her last week and asked if she wanted two free tickets. I was already planning to go with her to the game, and her husband couldn't go so...I got to sit in floor seats right behind our bench for free. Yay! Thanks, Coach.

Our guys played so hard the entire game. Ended up scoring 75 points, which isn't too bad. The number of points we gave up is pretty bad, though, so I'm not going to publish it. If you really feel the need to know, I'll let you dig that info up yourself. Our guys were getting so frustrated. It seemed like everything they did wasn't working. OSU, on the other hand, could just glance at the basket and the ball, of its own free will, jumped through the hoop. I was really proud of our guys, though, because they never quit playing. It was good for them. Made it obvious what they need to work on as the season gets started and we start playing teams in our conference.

Speaking of our conference, our men are ranked #3. This is remarkable for a couple reasons. One, this is only our second year of competition. And two, our conference is widely regarded as the toughest in the nation. OCU is ranked #1 in the conference, and they are the two-year defending national champs. They are ranked #1 in the NAIA pre-season rankings. OBU is ranked #2 in the conference, and they lost out of the national tourney in the quarter-finals last year. They're ranked #7 in the NAIA pre-season Top 25.

Even more remarkable is this: RSU has been voted #20 in the NAIA pre-season Top 25!

This weekend is Homecoming (our second ever). I wasn't in town last year, so this is my first. Can't wait! If you're in or near town, you should come...It'll be fun!

Go Hillcats!

How long 'til I have to get up?

A couple mornings ago, I was sleeping along very well, when I woke up with something in my throat. I coughed to try to get it out, then looked at the clock. 4:27. OK, I can live with this for another four minutes until my alarm goes off. Back to sleep.

I was sleeping along well, when I woke up with something still in my throat. I coughed to try to get it out, then looked at the clock. 4:42. OK, I can live with this for another four minutes until my alarm goes off. Weird that I still have four minutes of sleep left, because I thought I'd been asleep longer than one minute...But perception of time can be very wrong when sleeping. Back to sleep.

I was sleeping along not quite so well because I was thinking about having something in my throat, when I woke up. I coughed, then looked at the clock. 5:09. OK, well, I can live with this for another five minutes until...wait...Why is it that earlier it was four minutes until my alarm goes off, but now it's five minutes until my alarm goes off? Huh? Oh. Yeah. When the clock reads 4:27 it does not mean I have four minutes and 27 seconds until my alarm goes off. It means that it is 27 minutes past four o'clock in the morning.

Even in your sleep, that's some funny stuff, right there.

#110 at 7:23

As I was standing in line to vote this morning, I had the privilege of seeing someone vote for the first time. She was there with her grandpa and was about 8 years old. I saw them, along with the grandma and another young girl, walk in together, and I thought how cool it was that the girls got to experience first-hand how an election works. As I was standing there, I overheard the granddaughter say, "You're fast." Her grandpa replied, "Yes, it's because I studied hard and know all the answers." What a brilliant answer. Refreshing. Educational.

A short time later, I heard grandpa ask, "Do you want to do the judges?" I couldn't believe it, so I turned around. Sure enough, she had the pen and as he watched over her and pointed to the right lines, she marked his ballot. Was this legal? I have no idea. But I do know that one 8-year-old girl will never forget the day she voted with her grandpa.

And my guess is that when it comes her turn, she will be a fast voter, too.

Kelly's a Blogger

I have my first recruit! My good friend, Kelly, started a blog last night, and I'm so excited. She's definitely on my recommended reading list for those of you who like to read blogs, so check her out.

I was going to post a picture of us, but the only one I could find is actually on her blog...I thought it would be a little too tacky to steal her first-blog thunder by snagging the pic off her page, so you'll have to go there to see it.

Welcome, Kelly!