I don't know that name.

The convention has been really good so far, but I've had little time to rest and talk with my husband like I had hoped. The exciting news is that my dad got elected as President of the convention today so that was cause for a celebration! Now we are skipping the afternoon session and vegging in the hotel room for awhile. I came up to the room right after lunch while Josh talked with some family friends who had come down for the voting.

I was sitting here, typing away as I submitted invoices, assigned articles, and sorted out incoming orders. Then she walked in. The housekeeper came in and immediately apologized for barging in on me. She didn't realize anyone was in here and she thought I would be angry. I reassured her and her tiny frame stopped shaking and she slowly came back into the room. She was middle aged and spoke broken English. She looked frail and a little sad. I immediately felt prompted to talk to her, to learn her name and her story.

As soon as she realized I was going to be kind to her, she came over and placed her hands on both sides of my face and said, "You so beautiful. You American and so beautiful. I love your face. So beautiful. Beautiful, oh beautiful." And she bowed to me. I was speechless. I thanked her graciously and tried to get her to quit bowing. I started talking to her and learned she had just moved here from Vietnam with her daughter. Her husband had died ten years ago and so she brought her daughter to America to start over. She just started working here at the hotel. We chatted as best we could, as she tried to think of English words and I wished desperately that I knew Vietnamese so I could talk to her more.

As I watched her place clean towels in the bathroom, I knew I needed to ask her if she knew Jesus. I wasn't sure how to ask or if she would understand my English. So I started by asking if she went to church.

"Mai, do you go to church anywhere?" I asked softly.

"Oh, umm... church, church? I do not understand what church be."

She stood confused, trying to figure out what church was. So I decided to take another direct approach.

"Mai, do you know God? Do you believe in Jesus?

Her face was totally blank. She looked at me like I had four heads and said these words...

"Jesus? I don't know that name."

She said she just didn't understand and though I tried, she just had no clue what I was talking about. I couldn't tell her about how much Jesus loved her because she did not know His name.

You know, I'm here in a hotel with literally thousands of believers, most of them are pastors in fact. Yet there are still those around every corner that do not know His name. And as I've sat here and thought about Mai for the past hour, I can't help but think that the only way it will change is if we start to speak His name more.

Instead of assuming that people have heard it before, we need to say it. We need to speak it in the elevator, in the grocery store, at the playground, in the church parking lot, at Target, we need to speak His name.

Jesus.

I want them to know His name. His powerful, Holy name.

Jesus.

Will you pray that Mai will learn His name? We are going to try to find a Vietnamese translation of the Bible for her... pray for her, please. And also, for the sake of those like Mai who will one day face eternity, will you speak His name today?

Say it with me...

Jesus.

Posting is more fun than packing

I should be packing, but instead I'm posting. That's more fun anyway, right?

Tomorrow morning, we will take the kids to my in-laws for a few days and then head to the Baptist State Convention. I've never been to the convention before, but this particular one is important because my dad is being voted in as president! Cool, huh? Some of the Lifeway folks will be around, so I'm hoping to snag the new Karen Kingsbury book while I'm there. I'm also secretly (now publicly) hoping that my dad can hook me up to meet Beth Moore once he is president. In reality, he might be able to give me her email address or something, but I doubt I'll get face to face contact. It's probably for the best since I would probably pass out cold in her presence. I mean, her hair is so big, ya'll. And she is like my hero. And well, I want to be Beth Moore when I grow up. But okay, I digress. I'm rambling, aren't I?

Anyway, the whoel point is that I should be packing. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to a few days away with the Rev. We both could use a breather and some time to just unwind. While we will be in meetings a lot, we will also have a little time to sit and talk and remember what that feels like! :) I'll have internet access while I'm there, so perhaps I'll give you a sneak peak at our little trip. It's always an adventure with the Rev. I mean, there was this one time in China when he actually ate a duck's head. I. Know. It was cooked though... not that the knowledge of that kept me from gagging in the mean time. But yes, he REALLY did eat it. I heard the eyeballs pop.

What? You're never going to read my blog again because I grossed you out? Okay, I promise not post pictures of the Rev eating a duck's head. But I will take along my camera in case he decides to do something amusing.

Also, would you pray for my little pal, Baby Z? He's staying with a great-grandparent for a few days while we are out of town. His mom is staying with a friend, outside the home until she gets into rehab. They are hoping to take her to a program this week that will last for 2-4 weeks. From there, she will go to a Christian rehab in another state that is longer term and will last nearly 3 months. There's a long wait to get a spot in that program, so she will go to the short term facility first.

She is supposedly staying clean right now, taking nothing for the past 4 or 5 days. I've not seen her for myself, so I'm skeptical, but I pray that the family is right in assuming that she is indeed staying clean. She is usually good to attend church if she isn't strung out, but she hasn't been there, so I just don't know for sure. I'm already itching to get Baby Z back here. He was so sweet in church tonight, humming along as we sang. I cuddled with him throught he whole service.

Want to see a couple pictures of my tiny friend? Meet Baby Z.

I guess I really better stop posting and start packing now. I hope ya'll had a blessed Sunday!

Beautiful North Carolina in the Fall

There's nothing like being a Carolina girl in the Fall. I took these photos at the pumpkin patch just 5 miles from our house. This is the beauty I'm blessed with everyday!

For all you city slickers, that is what we like to call a John Deere tractor. Every boy 6 months and older can spot one a mile away in these parts.

That's a look at the corn maze from far away.

See those gorgeous mountains in the distance?

Beautiful leaves!



Here are some family photos from our trip to the pumpkin patch, which is actually a big farm with inflatable jumpers, a corn maze, a petting zoo, and lots of other fun things to explore.

On the hayride...

The corn maze was the most fun!

Ally led the way and I took a gazillion pictures because it was just so beautiful! Don't you think?

Ally was so proud that we were following her. It took a while, but she found the way out and it was a pretty big maze! I was totally lost, but she figured it out.

This picture is one of my favorites.

We visited the apple orchard and chose a big shiny apple to eat on the hayride.

And of course, we picked a pumpkin to take home.

Happy fall ya'll!