April 12, 2009

Resurrection Sunday in Conroe, Texas

Another home school mom shared the recipe for Resurrection Rolls. So on Good Friday we went ahead and had school but took extra time on the subject of Good Friday and Easter and what it's all about. Making the resurrection rolls was a great illustration for the kids and we even got to share one (and it's meaning) with a neighborhood boy who stopped by Papaw and Mamaw's house with his parents to purchase a lawn mower. Just as coloring eggs for Easter was a tradition in our home when I was growing up, I think making Resurrection Rolls may be the tradition for my own children.

I was so glad that time allowed us to take the children to the Easter Egg Hunt at Faith Assembly on Saturday morning which is where Bob & Tena attend. It was a much smaller crowd than what they're used to hence the competition wasn't as great. I don't suppose it was sin to watch them hiding the Easter Eggs, since Bob & Tena live behind the church, do you?

We left Texarkana right after the big “hunt” and headed toward Houston again. This time going only as far as The Woodlands to our hotel for both Saturday and Sunday nights. My cousin, Shannon, who lives in Houston, graced us with her presence Saturday evening and the kids fell in love with her. We had soup for dinner in our hotel room and a fun visit. Shannon works for a local news station in Houston as a field reporter. She's traveled all over the world and just has a fun and easy going personality. She's just plain fun to be around.

The following morning was Resurrection Sunday and we made a return visit with our friends at Whispering Pines Baptist Church in Conroe, Texas. We sang here on Labor Day Weekend in 2008 to a very small but enthusiastic crowd and they were gracious enough to invite us back. Not only was it a holiday weekend but a major hurricane was coming and people were getting out of Dodge, so to speak. Not even the pastor and his family attended that evening last year because his entire family was sick. So Felicia, the worship leader and Peggy, the church secretary, two of the few at the concert last year, delighted us when they welcomed us once again and this time for Easter Sunday services.

I enjoyed a great visit with Pastor Dewayne Wolfe's wife, Denise, who home schools her 5 children. She has worked so diligently with them that her two oldest, who are only 16 and 18 are now in college. Her 16 year old actually started last year but had to do her studies on-line because she wasn't old enough to be on campus. Now that her older children are “on their own,” and her middle child is just beginning to work independently, she can now give her youngest two the attention they need. Her youngest who is 7, is a little behind in her reading but Denise is calm and confident that as she spends more of her time with her in the next couple of years she will quickly catch up and excel in her studies.

Bobby sang for about 30 minutes and then Pastor Dewayne had a very simple and direct sermon Sunday morning laying out the plan of salvation for the non-attenders and visitors. Most of them came back that evening and we had a fun concert with refreshments following.

We drove back to Texarkana on Monday morning for reasons that I can't reveal just now. 'Tell ya later!!! We're excited about being home again by Tuesday evening and getting to go to Cornerstone Wednesday night!