In my last post, I shared a little bit of my childhood with you. Thank you for the kind comments that some of you left me. I mentioned my wonderful Mom and Dad, but I didn’t tell you about the great brother and sister God gave me! My brother, Kevin, Pastors First Baptist Church of Ocoee, Florida – right outside of Orlando. He has four great kids and a sweet wife, Kathy. I had the blessing of having Kevin as my school Principal when I was in 5th -7th grade in the Christian school I attended. Every morning from 8:30 to 8:45ish he held devotions for the whole school. Only in Heaven will he know how those devotions impacted me. I remember several of them vividly! Though I wasn’t saved then, I was trying to live the Christian life, mostly because I wanted to be like Kevin and Melanie.

Speaking of Melanie…. she was 9 when I was born and has loved me unconditionally since the day she heard “It’s a girl”. She prayed for a little sister and God answered her prayer -she just forgot to ask for a little sister who wouldn’t be a stinker!! 🙂 She lives in beautiful North Carolina now with her three precious boys. I asked the Lord to put us in a church in NC, but I was asking so I could “consume it upon my own lust” so the Lord didn’t answer! It would be great to be physically close to a sister who seems only a whisper away to my heart. We have remained very close over the years, despite the thousand plus miles that separate us.

Kevin and Melanie are both extremely good…and it comes so naturally! I have to really work at things like thoughtfulness, compassion, willingness to help others, saying the right thing, and on and on and on!! It all comes so easily to them. They have, and always will be, an example of sincere Christians. What you see on Sunday with Kevin and Melanie, is what you’ll see any day of the week if you dropped in on them at their homes. They are genuine people. I don’t know why God placed someone like me in such a wonderful home. Though not perfect, they are always giving me a goal to reach up to in my Christian life. As a child I thought I was adopted! As a teen I thought I was “switched at birth”. As an adult I realize that God just decided to have mercy on me.

On the third anniversary of my Dad’s homegoing, my mom flew all of us kids home to be together for four days. The photos here are from that brief, but wonderful, trip home. I’m sorry I don’t have a photo of my Dad to show you. I only had my digital camera a short time before he died, so I didn’t get any of him on it. My brother -in-law may be able to e mail me some photos from his camera(Thanks, Walter!), if so, I’ll be posting them later. So stay tuned!

Me (and Laci), Kevin, Melanie, and Mom enjoying the food and fellowship of my aunts and uncles in Batesville, AR