Vacation Pics

We returned home yesterday from our trip to Hot Springs Village, AR. The weather was cool, mild and comfortable. It even rained for two days straight! Most people would consider rain on their vacation a bad thing, but we welcomed the rain wholeheartedly. After 14 strait days of 100+ temps in Dallas, rain and 70 degree weather was a refreshing change.

The best part of the vacation for me was going to the Steven Curtis Chapman concert! I thought the concert was going to be emotional, but it turned out to be very inspirational. I'm sure most of you know about the tragedy of the Chapman's losing their youngest daughter this past May. He spoke of the accident and how their family is coping through their grief. He also shared many memories about Maria prior to the accident. One story in particular brought me to tears. Not tears of sadness but one of hope and joy.

Steven shared about Maria asking her Mom (in February of this year, 3 months before the accident) if God really has a big house in Heaven. Mary Beth Chapman said, "Yes. The Bible says God is preparing a house for all His children." Maria then asked if it was true that there would be lots and lots of rooms in this house. Mary Beth answered, "Yes." Maria then replied, "Good! Then I could have a really big sleepover with all my friends!"

Maria then asked her Mom, "Is it true that there is a very large table with lots of food?" At this point Mary Beth realized that Maria must of learned at preschool the song written by Audio Adrenaline, whom Steven had toured with several years prior. So Mary Beth added to Maria's line of questions, "And there's a great big yard, where you can play football!" Steven then shared that Maria's face instantly looked at her Mom in amazement and asked, "How did you know?"

Maria then asked Mary Beth how people get to Heaven and whether or not she was going to go there?. At this point Mary Beth went and got Steven and the two of them shared the Gospel with Maria. They went through several verses in the Bible to explain salvation to her. When they were finished sharing Maria said, "I want to go to Heaven!" and asked her parents to pray with her. They prayed with Maria while she sat on the kitchen counter. After Maria prayed, Steven shared that she was excited about the fact that she knew she was going to go to Heaven. WOW! What a testimony!

He shared so much more, but I feel like I would be gossiping by writing it all down. The concert felt incredibly intimate, hearing him lay it all down before God (and in front of us). His two sons Caleb and Will were there. They are apart of Steven's band. He praised and spoke fondly of both of them throughout the concert and about his other children as well.

Here are some pictures we took at the concert, although not too many. Shortly before the show started, it began to rain. It rained throughout the entire concert. We didn't see anyone get up to leave, nor did anyone complain (including our kids!). Amanda actually enjoyed the rain. I had brought a towel for her to lay down on in case she got tired, and used it to try and shield the rain from falling down on her. She kept on pulling the towel away and soon enough I just let the rain fall down on her. She was all smiles and kept leaning her head back, with her mouth wide open trying to catch raindrops on her tongue. Not too many 21 month old babies would tolerate rain, let alone sitting in it for 2 hours during a concert, and try to catch rain on their tongue without being prompted to do so. She such a complete joy to our family!







While in Hot Springs we went to the Magic Springs & Crystal Falls Amusement/Water Park, Mid America Science Museum, searched for diamonds (which we did not find any) at Crater of Diamonds State Park. We also fished, the boys went golfing, we did a little hiking and walked around historic Hot Springs' bath house row. We passed on bathing at any of the bath houses, but enjoyed touring inside them. Micah enjoyed the waterfall area where 143 degree water came seeping out of the rocks. It was pretty cool!

Now whether or not we would ever return to Hot Springs, AR again... I would say most likely not. Why? Let's just say our family was not very welcomed by a lot of the locals there. We were given many dirty looks and received many racist comments (said to our face) about our family make-up. There were confederate flags hung just about everywhere, even on people's boats and golf carts. Etched or written on trees and walls were many racist words/phrases as well as KKK was written just about everywhere. The scariest moment for me was when we drove out to a scenic overlook in a remote part of Hot Springs National Park. There was a large covered, wooden deck that stretched out over the cliff. The views were spectacular, yet there was graffiti sprayed all over the deck and the gazebo top with words of hate and violence.

At first all of this angered me to the core. Then that anger quickly changed to sorrow, because I grieved the fact that people can be filled with so much hate, (mostly hate that has been passed down from generation to generation). Many people stick there head in the sand and refuse to believe that this kind of stuff still exists in our nation. If you're one of them, it's time to wipe the sand out of your eyes, because it does. God did not create racism, man did. It's a selfish, superior mindset, that separates one from God.

With that said, I leave you with the song Yours, by Steven Curtis Chapman. We are all God's children, regardless of race.