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This April  16th at The Barnwell Center in Shreveport, LA, people from every walk of life will gather for a free, common meal and with one simple purpose; to celebrate caring in our community.

Community Renewal International renamed its annual event for Maggie Lee when they witnessed what good deeds were done in our community on Maggie Lee for Good Day 2009.

There will be face painting, a great spread for lunch, free pet pictures benefitting Robinson’s Rescue low-cost animal clinic, music and a coloring contest. You can print off this picture, color and mail or fax it back to be a part (if you are 8 yrs old or under:)

We are excited and would LOVE to see you there!  https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106968539385583

 On Saturday, The Shreveport Little League 11-12-year-olds held a MLFG Classic; a pre-season scrimmage, picnic and canned food drive. The weather was beautiful and we had an amazing time!

The trunkful of food donations went to Noel Methodist Food Pantry.

It did my heart good to see little girls running around in MLFG T-shirts. Her favorite part of baseball season was playing with the younger siblings of baseball players who were just as thrilled to be at the ball park as she was.

Thanks to all who made this an incredible event.  Maggie Lee for Good!

For more pics, click here:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=283388&id=696587065&saved#!/album.php?aid=283388&id=696587065&fbid=10150116219457066

How cool is THIS? Jack’s Shreveport Baseball Team, The Dodgers, as well as three other 11-12 year old baseball teams joined together for a pre-season scrimmage they’re calling  the Maggie Lee for Good Classic this Saturday.

An awesome Red Sox Mom, Amanda Arnold, organized the T-shirts and we will also have a cook-out after the 11 o’clock games are played. As many hours as Maggie Lee clocked at the Shreveport Little League Fields watching Jack play, I know she would be honored!

The Community Renewal Maggie Lee Henson Celebration of Caring is set for Saturday, April 16th from 10 am-2pm at The Barnwell Center.  It is a free picnic which celebrates acts of caring which bind our community together.  There will be a pet-photographer-fundraiser benefitting Robinson’s Rescue as well as costumes, jazz bands, barbecue and ballerinas! http://communityrenewal.us/ for more information on Community Renewal International.

The Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier is highlighting what amazing things have taken place through the establishment of The Maggie Lee Henson Fund. Anonymous donors began the fund which has so far been designated  to build a Haitian Home for a family currently living under a tarp supported by sticks, drill a well in Malawi, Africa, and provide clothes and school supplies for some of Shreveport’s wonderful children.  As the fund grows, so does the excitement about how God is using this and thousands of other good deeds for His Glory.

Maggie Lee for Good!!!

To register, go to www.maggieleeforgood.org

I am so glad that since my husband is a preacher that he is good at it.  I mean, it would be a pretty miserable gig to have to sit through a lifetime of bad sermons and not ever be able to change churches. I guess your only option would be to change husbands.  Bummer.

There are some thing that John does not do well. Unlike his wife,  he is not perfect. I remember walking into our first apartment and seeing him bang dough repeatedly on the counter for a shepherd’s pie. The Play dough at Kinderplatz Fine Arts Preschool where I worked, I am sure tasted better.

You don’t want the guy ANYWHERE near electricity. When he installed his first ceiling fan, I stood by with a 2 x 4 in case an I had to smack him to disconnect him from an electrical current. Thankfully, my pummeling skills were unneccessary that day.

But one thing I must admit is that he inspires me every Sunday. I love to speak at Women’s events but could never write a sermon on a weekly basis (or, as in the case of this week, write 2 sermons.)

From our “salad years,” ministering in Gatesville, Texas, to pastoring a church of hundreds, John has taken the responsibility of rightly dividing God’s word incredibly seriously.   I have attached a link to sermon he preached today.  I am truly inspired. Just don’t ask for him to cook dinner.

http://preachingrhythm.com/2011/03/16/spirit-word-and-angels-lenten-lunch-1/

When we listen to our lives and the beat of the world around us, we catch a rhythm. Dictated by circumstances, we hum a happy tune if we tick off our to-do’s with few interruptions and everyone in our home has clean underwear and a decent attitude that day.  If we get a pink slip, a last-minute request for 2 dozen cookies or a call from the principal, that tune is the blues. 

Because we are human, we will always have emotional reactions to events, but, God’s rhythm is totally different from the knee-jerk cacophony of our unchecked lives. God’s beat of love, peace and joy transcends anything that could ever happen to us in this life and continues on beautifully to the next

I have found that there are a few distractions which clang loudly and drown out God’s peaceful beat in my life. The first is over commitment.

The world moves to the frenetic speed of over commitment; a plague in our society. We have esteemed activity over rest. That misguided feeling that unless our children get into the right preschool and have a calendar booked with extracurricular activities each day that they will fall behind.

Oswald Chambers once said, “The great enemy in the life of faith in God is not sin, but the good which is not good enough.” Likewise, it is not our involvement in bad activities, but rather too many good ones which prevents us from hearing God’s rhythm. This Ash Wednesday,  consider what you can purge from your life today to begin to untangle the web of over commitment. It will help you cut the noise pollution and make way for God’s rhythm.

Today John, Jack and I woke up and got our pancaking on early. Out the door by 8 am, we arrived at First Baptist Church School for the 2nd annual Ryan Harner Memorial Family Fun Run.

Marcie Harner was in her 30’s with triplet 5-yr-olds when her high school sweetheart, Ryan, died two years ago. I remember distinctly the day it happened. Maggie Lee was so upset because she loved Marcie.  As the school counselor, Marcie tested the kids when they came to First Baptist Church School in 2006.

In fact, one of Maggie Lee’s best, “blonde moments,” was a result from her entrance exam. The question was, “What comes from the sea and is sprinkled on food?” Instead of the correct answer, “salt,” my honor-roll student replied, “shrimp.” Thankfully, Marcie never held that against her.

In 2009, our community was shocked when a man so young and vibrant with three small kids and a precious wife died suddenly from a bizarre heart issue.  Friends and strangers from church, school and community rushed in to show their encouragement to The Harners then and continued that show of support by the hundreds today, as evidenced by the mass of excited participants.

Having been on the receiving end of human kindness, I have discovered an unexpected truth; despite the hard knocks people are randomly dealt, we consistently want good to have the last say.  Even with all of our faults and foibles, I fervently believe that there is an innate desire in the human soul have for right to win out, for kindness to trump tragedy and for grace to conquer the grave. We are never more like Jesus than when we roll up our sleeves, take the resources at hand and bless those who need a dose of God’s love.

Case in point; my friend, Shaun, brought four family members to run the 5K today. She has never even met Marcie but was touched by her story and thought it would be a great thing to do. As simple an act of kindness as rallying her family to run a 5K is, it is proof that where there is unimaginable grief, there is unbelievable grace . Even though nothing can ever replace those we have lost,  loving acts from those around us somehow weave a net  for us in our weakest hours that support us and beckon us to at least consider going on.

If you have ever sent a sympathy card, baked a condolence casserole or sent flowers to a family suddenly one member shy, you have been Christ’s hands and feet. If you have ever read an email or Caring Bridge Site and been moved to pray, you are The Spirit’s very means of encouragement. If you have ever seen someone in need and been moved to action, you are in that moment God’s Earthly provision for them.

Marcie is brave and beautiful and her children are phenomenal. I was tickled by the throngs of friends, family and strangers alike who joined the community-wide effort to wear shirts bearing Ryan’s name and bless The Harners today. While there is still so much wrong with our world and ourselves, today was a beautiful picture of God’s prevailing grace.

Jack and I went to Mimi’s in Houston for Winter Break. We caught the Rice vs. Stanford Baseball game and The Aeros Hockey game.  Although Jack and his cousin, Brinkley, were bummed that there was no blood shed on the Toyota Center Ice, their spirits were lifted by a brief appearance on the Jumbo tron. We also hit and the Apple Store whose numerous employees remind me of antsy Chihuahuas primed to bust out in a flash dance.  By the way, don’t ask the guy at the door when the I-Phone 5 is coming out.  He will cut. You.

On our way back to Shreveport, we visited one of my Baylor roommates, Jen, and her yoga studio; Express Hot Yoga of The Woodlands. The studio is a  gorgeous, relaxing place and Jen has never looked better. She made us gourmet coffee drinks in her fabulous Ikea-red kitchen and fed us Quiche to boot.  As we sat there taking in the hospitable Zen of Jen, I was struck by how different all of our lives had turned out from what we imagined, as college seniors, they would be.

There at The Elite Cafe in Waco circa 1992 with our spiral perms, shoulder pads and puffy bangs, roommates Jen, Gina, Andrea and I tried to pen  fitting futures for ourselves. With graduation looming large, we took our vivid imaginations and the back of a menu and tried our best to predict just where we would be at the ripe old age of 27.  As fate would have it, my roommates and I proved pretty poor prognosticators

Jen was heavily involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. We predicted that Jen would work for CCC, live in California and have a slew of kids. After graduating from Baylor and getting her CPA, she left the corporate Accounting world to open a yoga studio near Houston with her husband. They decided on feline children and she serves on the board of The Pangea Network which empowers and educates Kenyan business women.

Gina was the consummate Southern Belle complete with antebellum Night Gowns. She called everyone, “Sugar,” and fended off weekly marriage proposals.  Her dentist scolded her for over flossing. We predicted that she would own a bakery in Georgia and be married with 2 children (the only part that we got right.) These days, she’s in Austin, TX, ministering on a church staff as a Christian Counselor.  A career for which her roommate thoroughly prepared her.

Andrea was the model; 6 feet tall, razor-thin, smart and surprisingly funny. Our predictions for her came close. We guessed that she would be a college recruiter in Texas, (rah, rah, TCU,) and be the first one to have children (sorry, I beat you there, Stork,)  She has two daughters and a husband and has retired from collegiate recruitment. She is passionate about mothering,  has to be the hottest Presbyterian Elder EVER  and is a huge cheerleader for Cook’s Children’s Hospital.

I guess the prediction for me; married, doing comedy, “total mom / total career,” has been fulfilled but certainly in no predictable manner.  I am still happily married, love being a  mom and I am still doing comedy.  I don’t know what being a “total mom with a total career,” looks like other than putting my family first as I pursue dreams which have obviously changed in the past 18 months.

As for me and my roomies, we no longer have big hair and augmented shoulders. We no longer pop out the second-floor window screen and invite Scott Phegley over to play the guitar on the roof. We no longer have cookie parties and invite 30 guys and no other girls to help out our odds. And while we may have made miserable fortune tellers, we have made enduring friends.

Jack and I were in Dick’s Sporting Goods looking for fun a few weeks ago.  After we tried our hand at the Biggest Bertha golf drivers on the miniature range, we bounded to the hockey section. Between the Susan G. Komen Pink Lacrosse accessories and the survival aisle (hand warmers, beef jerky and weaponry), we tested out the sticks with a street hockey ball. Definitely something I recommend. The store was empty and the carpet, indestructible. It was awesome.

Public Frolicking is nothing new to my son and me. When crowds in the store permit, we play the LeBron James Grocery Game whereby Jack tries to launch an item into my basket as I fast break down the aisle. I assign Jack a grocery selection which he finds. If I hear Jack’s announcer / crowd voice and know that there’s something incoming.  It makes the whole experience more fun. So, hungry for fun and my try before you buy attitude, we shot away.

Minutes later, an employee who heard our cackling commotion and assumed Jack was an unaccompanied minor came out of nowhere to ask him to put the stick down. When I emerged from fetching the ball in my skirt and hockey stick, the startled employee said, “Oh. I didn’t know an adult was with him. Uh, go right ahead. Hey, that’s cool. Eh-huh-huh.” That was my exit cue.

When we arrived home, Jack found simple street hockey far too pedestrian. Always the innovator, he had to take it up a notch: street hockey played while skating on a Rip Stick. Rip Sticks are aerodynamic skate boards with only two wheels located in the board’s center. They are engineered to make you fall off in one rapidly awkward movement, much like surfing on a marble.

New concept firmly in mind, my son needed a name to rally around. A brainstorm led him to the moniker, “Shockey.” Needing something to aim for, we painted 2 plywood goals. We outlined the large logo box (no use inventing a future Olympic sport without a logo) with a darker black zone. I moved the trampoline to enlarge the Shockey Court on the driveway and Jack let it rip.

After an hour it was time for the Shockey Jockey to go to his friend’s Daniel’s house. Asking for one last shot, I agreed and unfortunately stuck around to watch, directly behind him. Jack took a back swing, neither one of us realizing my proximity to him. He followed through like his eternal fate hinged on making the goal and struck me squarely on my chin.  I clutched my face, which was now squirting like a Julia Childs’ Saturday Night Live sketch, and stumbled into the house. I then grabbed a towel and tried to alert John that we were on the way.

My plan was to drop Jack at the church with his Dad so that he didn’t have to wait with me as the doctors reattached my chin flap. When John came out of church and saw my splayed-open Shockey-face, he blurted out, “You can’t drive yourself!” closed up church and chauffeured us to the Quickie-Care.

Once inside, John checked me in and attempted to explain my accident. Ever-sympathetic, he asked the nurses to make sure not to leave the hockey puck in there. Sweet guy. After a wait, I went back to get my chin super glued back together. The Dr. told me that in 6 months or so, I should not have much of a recognizable scar.

After the mishap, several friends asked if I was going to see a plastic surgeon. I found this very funny. As much as I’m sure a doctor would love to perform an extreme makeover upon me, I have to pass. Just like my Crisco-sunscreen wrinkles and deep laugh lines, my rugged chin is evidence of life played hard with exuberance and great enjoyment.

And, anyway, I needed a little something from my son to match my left eye scar: a gift from Maggie Lee and her tennis racket. These are my most beautiful features of all.