Kudos to Katie Murphy. She is a pioneer. She went where no one has gone before. She entered...the chat room. *dun, dun, dunnnnn! *(scary music) What did she do in the chat room? She talked. To herself.

Apparently, it didn't go too well. It seems that she was all alone in the chat room, a virtual wallflower waiting for someone, anyone to say something to her. No one came to her aid. Don't you guys feel bad for leaving Katie to shrivel up in cyberspace? She was desperate to talk...with someone, anyone.

After a few lonely minutes, Katie signed off. It seemed that she couldn't find someone, anyone to chat with. She exited defeated, dejected, and somewhat scared...after all, aren't chat rooms creepy meeting places for online singles?

Kudos to Katie Murphy. She did what I asked. And may never be the same again. What do you guys have to say for yourselves? Someone, anyone?  

Hey guys...the last time I offered a gift card, nobody wanted it. How do I know nobody wanted it? Well, no one responded to my challenge. Amendment: someone did respond. Allie called me, frantically repeating the word over and over again. The only problem was that she did not know what the word meant. And that was the only requirement for winning the giftcard. Next time, if you are old school, get out the dictionary or do it online at www.dictionary.com. Just a hint, you might want to brush up on your vocabulary for Sunday.

For this contest, the first person to leave a comment after one of my blogs will receive a $15 Sonic card. If you leave a funny post, I'll make it $20.

Game on!

When you were little, did you ever ask a question only to be told, "That's on a need to know basis"? Usually the person who spoke these words to you was a cold, harsh, unfeeling adult. And they only spoke the words when you didn't need to know. The other line that I heard alot growing up was, "little ears in the corn patch." This was puzzling because (a) I didn't have small ears, and (b) I have never been in a corn patch. Nevertheless, I got the message loud and clear - "Information is power...and you can't have any!"

Well, guess what? Every week in Sunday School, you get information. And not just any kind of information, Top Secret information. The kind that is available only to the little ears in the cornpatch. So when you're not there, you miss out! Make sure you get there early to get your own copy of Top Secret. Believe me, this is stuff you need to know!

Maurie

If you read my previous blog, you heard me singing the praises of a delightful treat known as Teddy Bear Trailmix. This is a top secret recipe that was formulated by Secret Agent Deb Lynch years ago. It is the stuff legends are made of. And I am going to disclose the recipe to my faithful readers...which by my calculations is about 3 people.

Here it is...
Teddy Bear Trailmix

1 box Honey Grahams
1 box Chocolate Grahams
1 bag PB chips
1 bag M&Ms
Mix. Eat. Be Happy.

This blog will self-destruct in 5 seconds.

Saturday's MIA Visitation was a great success. We met at 01100 (is that a real time?) and had enough concerned SS members to make two teams - a high school team and a jr. high team. Marky Brakey, Anna, Berk, Emily, and Robbie set off to make a few visits, but were caught by Maurie, Allie, Kelsey, and Reagan at
7-11. Oddly enough, that was not a sanctioned stop. They tried to give a sad story about needing directions, but the armloads of chocolate, caffeine, and sports drinks told me there were other reasons for the stop.

We didn't find many people at home, but had plenty of funny moments...

• giving a bag of Teddy Bear Trailmix to a 6 yr. old at an apt. complex in Midland - remember when kids were taught not to take candy from strangers? Well, when you are the stranger and the candy is a bag full of Teddy Grahams etc., the rules change!
• walking under a tree up to a door, only to hear a small voice coming from 5 branches up...yet another 6 yr. old! Another bag of Teddy Bear Trailmix, another heart to heart with a 1st grader.
• Anna's new BFF, Caleb's overly excitable dog, Rambo.

We finished the day with lunch at Rosa's in Midland with Kelsey's mom, Sandra. I learned one very important thing over lunch:don't move to Omaha!

Thank you guys for coming out and helping!

Maurie

I was so excited yesterday because I was going to change the world through jury duty. Most people dread this, which should have been my first clue. But because I have always been exempt from jury duty b/c I was a full-time student, yesterday was a new experience that I welcomed with open arms. In fact, I so desired to serve on a jury that I even prayed that I would get summoned. I can assure you, that is one thing I am permanently scratching from the prayer list.

First, you are herded into a room filled with unhappy people. They are unhappy because they know what jury duty is all about. You wait. You get sworn in. You wait. You get a break. You fight for empty seats. You drink coffee. You wait. Then, my moment came. I was sent to a courtroom with 60 others, none of whom were as eager as I was.

Two hours later, my eagerness had waned and my hunger had intensified. It was 12:45 when they decided to give us another break. There were still 60 people waiting. With only 12 jurors to be selected, the candidates were 59 reluctant citizens and me. One bright spot was a small Puerto Rican man named Mr. Fuentez who talked for 15 minutes about the dangers of drinking CocaCola. After more waiting, they called us back in only to call out 12 names. Mine was not among them.

I entered the courthouse that morning, an optimistic citizen. I left feeling dejected, defeated, and ravenously hungry. But the day was not a complete loss. I earned $6 for my service and obtained important info about the great Coke conspiracy.

Keep Odessa Beautiful was another smashing success. The girls came out in full force, proving that they are not afraid of getting dirty. I had to parcel some of my team out to other captains who did not have enough man power, but I got to collect trash withAllie, Courtney, Tiffany, and my co-captain Misty. We had a great time. Among our finds were: an Elmo beach towel (now the prized possession of our aging dauschand), a couple dozen pastel roses now adorning a wreath hanging in our youth room, and the token dirty diaper. Also present was the crew that created their own trash team rap - Anna, Berkely, Emily, and Katie. Dwyane Dobbs may never be the same.

I do want to extend an honorable mention to Robbie, Esser, and Art who, although not a part of our team, did selflessly take on the nastiest piece of land we had to clean up. It was a dark and dangerous task which lead them to find illegal paraphenalia. We salute you boys for your laying your health on the line to keep Odessa beautiful.

Last weekend, I was in Houston for the wedding of my dear friends Steven & Emmalie. It was one of the sweetest and most beautiful weddings that I have ever attended. Sure the location was amazing, the weather was nice, and the dress was fabulous (that's what you girls really wanted to know!), but that's not what made it so special. It was special because they did it right. They gave themseves to the Lord a long time ago and entrusted their futures to Him. When He brought them together in their early 20's, there were no compromises, which meant that when Emmalie walked down the aisle to Steven, there were no regrets. Isn't that incredible?

We need to see more of these unions. Unions that honor purity, committment, and love. Unions that bring glory to God.  He created marriage to be a picture of the "great mystery" of Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32). That's why it's so important to Him!

I hope each of you gets to attend a wedding that is about more than the dresses or the cake or the party. I hope you get to go to one where the beauty is in the lives of the couple. It's hard to live a life of godliness and purity. But I'm sure Steven and Emmalie would tell you it's worth it.   

 Emmalie and her dad walking down the aisle.

                                                The new Mr. & Mrs.

 Me and Lindsey, one of my kids that's all grown-up now!

The first person to come up to me and use the word "excrescence" in a sentence will receive a $20 gift card to heaven on earth aka Chick-fil-A.

Yes, the rumors are true. Keep Odessa Beautiful is here again! I know that you have all been dying to get up early on Saturday, walk up and down the highway, and pick up dirty diapers, fast food containers, and various other trash particles. Well, good news - this Saturday (4/5) is your day! I have been "promoted" to the enviable position of trash captain and this means that I get to rule over my very own trash team, but first I must recruit them. So, I stayed up all night combing through my planner, looking through my Facebook & MySpace friends and I decided I want...you. ALL OF YOU!!!

We always have a lot of fun on these days, as crazy as that sounds. You just never know what you are going to find on the side of the road. So come to the church at 8:00 A.M. and we will feed you, then outfit you in your very own orange saftey vest and give you official Keep Odessa Beautiful trash bags. Does it get any better than that?

I think not.

P.S. For all of you over-achievers :), you may earn Texas Scholar hours for this event!!!

See you there -

Maurie