Homecoming

EK in her cheerleading outfit
The Websters
Me and MB
The whole clan of migrating Forresters mixing with Sudans

EK and her doll. She would not put it down.

EK and her Mom

EK going down the otter slide. She loved it!

Jason, Jimmy, Cathy, Luana

Every year during Baylor Homecoming there is a migration of our good friends from Houston, the Forresters. This has been documented for over 20 years and National Geographic is planning on doing an article on this particular species. At first there was only the northern migration from the Houston area. Lately there have been reports of Forresters migrating down from Dallas.
It has been a fun tradition and every year we do the same things - fiesta dinner on Friday night, followed by the bonfire (though this year we opted for the Rangers game), then the parade Sat. morning, lunch at McAllisters (though we changed to Schmaltz's this year), then the football game and finally relaxing back at the house telling stories on each other. I love that our kids all get along so well and all love each other.
This year we missed Larry, and on our side Blake and Christy and Jordan and their family. An added benefit was that we got to see Luana's sister and husband who were here as their daughter, Anna Lee goes to Baylor. Amy and Mary Beth came early so we got to take in the zoo before it all started. The game was great as Baylor won and became bowl eligible. There was a big thunderstorm and we all got soaked, but those who endured to the end got to go on to the field to celebrate.

Family time

The weekend before last we went up to Dallas to see all of our kids and grandkids and for Jayden's soccer match (if you can call it that) as well as Campbell's dedication. It was a great time spent watching the above mentioned things as well as the Rangers and Baylor football. We also went to the dallas arboretum which was beautiful though crowded. We got some good pumpkin pics. I got to play tennis with Jason, run, do a lot of eating (Christy made a delicious meal of fajitas and as usual was decorated right out of Martha Stewart (though I am told it was mostly done by Mary Beth who may resent that comment). We are so blessed to be so close to our kids and that they still enjoy being with us.

Anniversary

Last weekend Luana took advantage of the beautiful weather to finally complete my anniversary gift to Luana (May 21st)and travelled to Fredricksburg. It was the first time for us to get away by ourselves and it was great. We did some shopping down main street for several hours, but I was a little disappointed in her. I expected her to go all the way to the store closings. She just doesn't have it like she used to. Maybe she is getting a little old!!! Then we went to the wildseed farm which was a fun little side trip. Afterwards we went to Pedernales Falls state park and had a nice time in the river. The next day we went to climb up Enchanted Rock which was also nice. We topped it off by visiting Luana's sister and brother-in-law in Austin before heading home. The backroads of the Texas hill country is very pretty and well worth visiting. There are also some good local eating that we could share with you if you are interested. The only problem was that I forgot my camera and had to use my cell phone camera.

Rest in peace

It has been four months since my mother passed away, making her the third in our family (after my dad and older brother Clint. Since we had the other two cremated and had never done anything with the ashes, we decided to put them in the coffin with my mother so that they would all be buried together. This last week they finally got the memorial put in place and Luana and I got out to the cemetary to see it and got a picture.

Things were happening so fast at the time of her death (we were going to Uganda in a week)that I never really got a chance to reflect on her passing. Now that I have more time, there are a few things that jump out. The first is that with her death, a generation has passed. Not only because both of our parents have died but also because she was the only surviving child out of ten in her family. It is really sobering to think that we are now the oldest generation in our line.

Secondly it is interesting how fragile bloodlines can be (I'm sure Henry VIII can relate). Now Jason and Robin are the only two left who can carry on the Sudan name from our line. I am in no way trying to put any pressure on them but only making a point.

Thirdly it makes one wonder about your own life and what impact you will leave behind. Certainly money and possessions won't matter except for some squabbling. But how will people remember me or will they even remember me? Am I making any kind of lasting impact on the lives of my family and the people around me? This second half of our lives has most us us transitioning from success to significance. It is no longer worthwhile just being busy doing things, even things for the Kingdom. I want to make sure that my time is spent on things of lasting value.

Lastly I find that now I do not hold on so tightly to this world and find myself looking a little more longingly at the next life (especially after my surgery and Luana's condition). No I am not ready to check out and I am not depressed. I still have a host of grandkids that I need to make sure grow up well and learn how to pitch and shoot baskets.

Family

Okay so I know I am spoiled. Luana and I am blessed with 4 wonderful kids who love the Lord and each other. We love our sons-in-laws and our daughter-in-law and they are outstanding people. We have four grandchilren (with one more in the oven). And the really great thing is that all of them live in Dallas and all about 1 mile from each other. Last August we were able to get them all together for a trip to Washington State. This year it was not so ambitious, but we managed to all get together at our lakehouse on Cedar Creek. We had a great time except for a little illness and it reminded me just how blessed we were. I wanted to share some pics with you. Some also are from the week before as the grandkids were down in Waco and we took them to the park.

Life and Death

Campbell Isabel Ogden (Double bell or double B)


With her mom

The family of five

Campbell with "Coach"

In all of her glory

This past Monday, July 26th, my oldest daughter gave birth to her third child and first girl named Campbell Isabella Ogden. While it was an incredible time and I was overwhelmed as I always am with the miracle of new life, this birth was tempered by tragedy elsewhere. You see my good friend's daughter was also pregnant (with twins) and the day before Campbell's birth we found out she had lost both of them. There are no words to describe the pain she and her husband felt as well as both sides of the extended family. And likewise there are no answers.

Now I am not going to approach this philosophically or theologically. There are those who do that and need to do so, but this is up close and personal and I am going to treat it a such. Before you read further, don't expect to get all of the answers because I do not have them. I am only giving my thoughts based on my life experiences and my relationship with my friend and his daughter. First let me say that I am so proud of all of them for the grace and dignity with which they have handled this heartache. Fortunately they are all believers and they have pressed in to God during this time for peace and comfort. And from what I hear from the family, they have received just that. When people experience personal tragedy, they can either be angry with God and turn away from Him or they can press further into Him and experience a richness of relationship they had never experienced before. Two years ago I would have said the same thing but it would have all been theory, though based on Scripture. And two years ago I would have felt guilty that my daughter had a healthy child while my friend did not. But all of that changed last year as I went through the darkness of suffering (for those of you who do not know, read past blogs). I was able to see firsthand that God really does meet us in our time of need. He is there to comfort and He brings us peace even in the midst of it. But even moreso He brings more of Himself, a deepening of our relationship with Him and an increased sense of His presence.

Death is a different and deeper kind of suffering. It is so final. In I Cor. 15 Paul asks the rhetorical question "O death where is your sting?" and many have tried to use this to comfort people in mourning. But he is talking about the end times where death has finally been defeated. Right now death does sting and it constantly reminds us of the fallenness of this world. Having just experienced the death of my 88 year old mother a few weeks ago, I am well aware of the cycle of life. The joy of a new birth takes a little bit of the sting out of a recent death. But the death of an elderly mother who had lived a beautiful and full life is much different than the death of a child, an infant or a preborn. Thus the cycle of life makes the death of a preborn so much more difficult to handle. Where is the joy in exchange for the death? As I said, I do not have all of the answers. I only know in Whom the answers lie. In situations like this I often think that when I get to heaven I will ask God the whys, and that may yet happen. But the deeper I grow in my own relationship with Jesus the more I realize that when I get there and see Him that all of my questions will be moot.

That then brings me to the other side of the coin which is life. It is something that is sacred and should be highly valued. It is the very breath of God which He has breathed into us and is a gift from Him. Our culture has been on a relentless course of devaluing life through such things as abortion, euthanasia and some of our laws. We should never take life for granted because it is so precious and can be taken from us at any time. I never realized that as much as I did last year when I had my bypass surgery. With three 99% blockages I could easily have died during any one of many runs or tennis matches, and it was only by the grace of God that I am still alive. But at the same time we should not hold on to life too tightly. As precious as it is, it is only a foreshadowing of what is to come and this is not our true home. Paul has a good handle on this in his famous passage in Phil. chapter 1 where he says "to live is Christ and to die is gain". If we hold on to life too tightly, it can become an entrapment and essentially an idol pulling us away from God.

So in conclusion, life is special and new life is beautiful, but death is real and it can be very ugly. Our job which is a slippery prospect, is to value the former without holding on too tight while acknowledging the reality of the latter but not being fearful or like those without hope.