Memorial Day Weekend

Above, Taylor, Rick and Collin relax at the cabin while the steaks grill. 

The boys celebrated Fathers Day earlier this week with Rick. Taylor had a couple days off work, and is between semesters in Denton, so he graced us with his presence. We had a great evening grilling steaks and hanging out. I can't believe how time has flown. 

In the picture below, the boys are celebrating Fathers Day 2003. They are so cute and little!

 

Ok, I don't have much to write about...Yesterday, I took a day off from life. The only thing I accomplished was mowing the backyard and faxing an interment order to a funeral home. Other than that, I parked it on the couch with the remote, my book, and the dog. It was a wonderful day!

After church today is Tiffany's baby shower for Skyla Brooke. It's not the best weekend to try and pull of a baby shower, given the holiday, so I hope we have a good turnout.

We're on the countdown for our Honduras trip. Leave in  9 days... Collin is going with us this time, just like Taylor did a couple of years ago. I'm a little anxious about being gone for 10 days with no communication back to the office. Given all the water problems we've encountered lately, it's a bit scary. So I'm praying that all the water problems are behind us now. 

Above  is my favorite picture from our last trip. I wonder if those girls are still there? Netti, in the pink dress had the best laugh in the world.  She was mischievious, and you could just tell by her laugh. AnaMaria, in the middle, was a sweetheart, and Umana, on my left - she was so quiet, but always by my side. She wanted attention so bad! 

I guess I better get on with my day.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all of you. Let us not forget to pause and remember those who have sacrificed for our great country.

Kairos - I can't explain it.

I haven't written since returning from Kairos because, well, it's just hard to summarize an experience that changes your life.

In the picture above, Rick and I are outside one of the Kairos trailers. It reads "God's Special Time." Don't you love our huge name tags?

Rick and I have both spent the last week synthesizing what we learned, saw, felt and experienced. We have talked non-stop about the 42 men in white, our team, and the miracle of what happened within the walls of a maximum security prison - Beto Unit.

It is simply impossible to summarize it for you, so you'll just have to trust me when I say that God was there. He was already there when we arrived, and he was there when we left. Some of the hardest of the hard, the big bad guys, let their guard down long enough to realize that they are not un-redeemable. They are precious children of God. They are not alone.

You may not agree with me. Perhaps your life has been altered because of a crime, or you have lost someone dear because of a senseless act of violence. I have not been in your shoes, so I don't know how I would feel. I can only imagine the anger and hurt.  

So I can only speak for myself. For me, I was humbled. Serving someone else did that to me. When I was able to leave behind the questions of "if they deserve it" or "I wonder what they did?" the serving became true and pure. That's what it was about for me.

I want to thank each of you that prayed for us, baked cookies, gave money, or attended the Closing Service. Your participation made this weekend what it was. Honestly, it would not have happened without everyone's participation.

If you are interested, even in the slightest, about Kairos, PLEASE consider attending the next Closing Service in November. Rick and I are going to serve again, and for those of you that know my mother, she will be joining us this time as well!

Momma and her kiddos

The picture above was taken at an event with Laura Bush. My fabulous sister-in-law, Carolyn, brought her to Arts & Letters Live (a program of the Dallas Museum of Art.)   We found Craig there, which was a fun surprise since we weren't sure he would be attending. (They don't let just ANYONE into these programs!)

The coolest thing about the evening was that Carolyn had the honor or introducing President Bush! She is always incredibly graceful in word and deed, and we were so proud of her that night!  She greeted the President to the stage, where he was welcomed with a long, rousing standing ovation. He then proceeded to introduce Laura, weaving a bit of humor and wit along with his short, introductory speech.

Laura was the real guest of honor, as her book tour is well under way. I'm just a few chapters into the book, but I'm hooked already. On this evening, Laura spoke of her journey growing up in West Texas, how her early years formed her into the person she is today. She gave a bit of insight into the White House years, but really only as a teaser for us to read her book.

An interesting Q&A followed. The audience had submitted questions on note-cards for her aides to pre-screen. (Who knows... maybe the only ones she answered were carefully placed by her aides to begin with.) She did NOT choose my question... asking if there was an author, past or present, that she would like the opportunity to interview. Nor did she give a shout out to me in the audience, which I informed her about on my note-card, ever so delicately.  HEY LAURA, I'M A BUSH FROM ATHENS TEXAS!  

Soooo, she didn't answer my question. And she didn't recognize me. But that's ok, I had MY mother next to me, another famous author from Texas. And I was proud to be related to her!

** For FUMC Newsletter Readers **

**For FUMC Newsletter Readers**
As you may know, Rick and I are part of a larger team serving 42 inmates at Beto Unit next weekend. 

Last week, I printed out some copies of my previous blog posting to mail to our out-of-town friends and to hand to some friends at church.

The piece I printed inadvertently ended up being included in our church newsletter (hence, you found your way to this blog.) And while the facts included in the article are accurate, it was not written with the intent of the newsletter publication.

I wrote it from my personal perspective, about Rick and me participating in Kairos, and it was "exclusive" to the Browns.

The piece that WAS intended for the newsletter would have listed all of the team-members, and was much more "inclusive" of the entire team experience and our church support of this ministry.

The other team members from FUMC Mabank are:
Sharon & Kenny Underriner, Sherry Nash, Debbie Wrinkle, Tyson Johnson, and Bonnie Turner. 

Kenny and Sharon have been the heartbeat of Kairos at FUMC. They have poured their time, resources, and leadership into this particular ministry because they feel called to serve in this way.

Sherry, Debbie, Tyson and Bonnie are also integral to the team, and each of them are so very important to me!  They each feel passionately about sharing God's love with these men and I am honored to serve with them.

I have shed tears over this. I did not intend for it to happen....and I sincerely hope that my fellow team-mates do not feel slighted in any way. I will speak with them in private, but wanted my church family to know my heart in this matter. 

Thank you for understanding,
Kristen