The Old Wahoo to the Brand New

My sweet husband was a man of many skills and talents. His artistry and craftsmanship were recognized in the many homes, churches, and furniture he built with such attention to the details. He was a perfectionist. He was never satisfied with "good enough”. He was a Master Craftsman with a capital "C". He was also a woodcarver and could make such beauty out of a simple piece of wood.

Five years ago, I saw a woodcarver carving game boards. It reminded me of the round Wahoo board game my husband carved for our family when our kids were young. I don't remember what happened to that beautiful board, but I do remember the hours and hours of fun we had playing with it. I know that I wanted my grown children and their families to experience that fun game like we had. So, I had three Wahoo wood board games made and presented them as a special family Christmas gift for my three families: The Wallace's, The Wuerch's and The Anderson's (my godson’s family). The words pictured here are what I attached to each game board at Christmas of 2015. I seized moments that represented more than memories.....it represented today's joys and tomorrow's. It has blessed me, over the years, when each family sends me photos of their children playing the game. But, last week, while in Austin, the game was taken to a whole new level.

A welcome surprise came during quarantine. My grandson’s girlfriend’s family also play the game but with their new rules for strategizing – unlike the usual, only-win-by-luck game we played before. This photo explains the new rules of having partners and using two decks of cards instead of dice and playing as a single. Oh, what fun we had playing by the new rules and even more so, filling this heart of mine with all the sweet family time playing with the “old” and making it “brand new”.

There’s something to be said for making the old, brand new. Many of us really take off on DIY projects that make the old, brand new. My old piano bench was made new by adding an upholstered cushion to it. Outdoor furniture was made new by spraying on a new coat of paint. Homes are made new when we update them with fresh paint, adding more space or taking out walls to make larger rooms.

God is in the business of making the old, brand new, too! I love Bill and Gloria Gaither’s old song that went like this: “Something beautiful, something good / All my confusion He understood / All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife / But He made something beautiful of my life.”

And those song lyrics tell my story of God’s amazing grace. When I asked Christ to forgive me of my “old girl” past of regret, mistakes, failures, sins – He forgave me and took it all and threw it into His Sea of Forgetfulness. “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19) My “old” became “new” – new outlook, new heart-look, new attitude, and new awareness of my need for Him every day. Like the new Wahoo game strategies, now my new life strategies – partner with His strategies and everyday is brand new in Him. Maybe you’d like to play our new Wahoo rules and new God’s ways, too!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I Am a Promise and a Possibility!

I directed a Children’s Choir many years ago, and I’ll never forget the joy of teaching them songs that not only spoke of God’s love for them but those that caused them, when they sang the words, to be speaking great affirmations over themselves. My own two children, at ages around 10 and 8, were in that choir. Not only did we sing in church, but we were invited to sing for community events. I like to think we were THAT GOOD, but more than likely, we were a novelty – adorable kids singing their little hearts out about God and His love.

One of my favorites and the crowd’s favorite was the fun, cheery and affirming children’s song, “I Am a Promise.” With that catchy tune and lyrics, we just couldn’t go wrong – especially with the cuteness of children – waving at their moms and dads, swaying and twisting and using hand gestures as they sang. "I am a promise/I am a possibility/I am a promise with a capital P/I am a great big bundle of potentiality/And I am learning to hear God’s voice/And I am trying to make the right choices/I’m a promise to be/Anything He wants me to be……./I can go anywhere that He wants me to go/I can be anything that He wants me to be/I can climb the high mountains/I can cross the wide sea/I’m a great big promise, you see!”

As those sweet kids belted out those lyrics about how they can do anything, they were feeding their little souls and spirits with words that ignited a flame inside them. I just know it. Today those kids are in their 40s and 50s. I suspect that most of those kids have kids of their own, and I also suspect that they may be teaching that song to their kids -- at least I hope, and if it's not that song, other songs and words about how they have so much potential to accomplish anything they set their hearts to.

My children, as well as many friends of mine, pray for their children’s future spouses from an early age. Is that a waste of time and effort – after all, they may be very young children? Or is it the absolute, most ROCK-solid thing to be doing -- instilling faith into our kids and guaranteeing that our children's choices will be God's choices?

It's a new school year and it is our responsibility as parents and grandparents to input potential and possibility into our children as they embark on another year of being influenced by other children, teachers, and others who catch their eyes and hearts.
Throughout life, they will encounter people who will tell our kids AND us that we can’t do things. Many folks have grown so bitter and disappointed through the years, and they have lost their hope and vision, so they want us to lose ours as well. They don’t feel like a bundle of potentiality, so they don’t want anyone else to feel like one either!

This post today is to inspire you “Don’t listen to naysayers. Listen to God. If He has called you to climb a mountain, cross a sea, teach a class, sing a song, make a speech, build a bridge, write a book, fly a plane, land a plane and even jump out of a plane -- then JUST DO IT. Make this your personal slogan: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. Be “I CAN” and “YOU CAN” do anything kind-of-parents and grandparents and friends. After all, we are all “great big bundles of potentiality”!

God Loves to Talk to Boys While They Are Fishin'

Before I went to bed on Sunday night while in Frisco, TX, my grandson, Payton Wallace, pleaded with me to get up early on Monday to go fishing with him. I had to leave by 9:30 am for traveling on to Austin, so my first inclination was to tell him, "I'll go with you when I travel back through!" No sooner did I say that, I heard the little voice "Live with no regrets!" Immediately, I recalled those words, and said, "Get me some fishing clothes to put on in the morning and I'll be there with you!" Thus the stylish outfit and hairdo I have on in this photo! LOL!

And, as a matter of fact, the morning was so special. Payton, with his backpack which included all the fishing gear he needed, including his sister's Barbie fishing pole, His Mom and ME headed to his favorite fishing hole....actually a creek not far away, but loaded with fish. And, that Barbie pole -- has caught a lot of fish over the years -- and it's the perfect size for his backpack. His first cast -- brought in a nice-sized perch, than bass. Doesn't matter the kind or size -- reeling in the fish is all that matters!

Honestly, fishing is in his blood. I think his Papa gave him a double portion of his love for fishing. After all, it was Papa that taught him everything he knows about fishing from baiting the hook, taking the fish off the hook, cleaning the fish and fileting it. He's a Master fisherman, and he can't help himself.....if there's a lake or creek nearby, he's on it.

Staci read us devotion while we captured the moments -- following Payton going up the creek, casting all along the way. She and I were singing a song by Bill & Gloria Gaither, that she and Ryan sang when they were kids.

"God loves to talk to boys while they are fishin’

That seems to be the times boys listen best

It’s the only quiet time there is for wishin’

It’s the only time when God and boys can rest.

God loves to talk to boys while they are fishin’

That seems to be the time boys listen best

There’s something about a boy who’s good at fishin’

God knows he’ll make a very special friend

A boy who learns to listen while he’s fishin’

Can hear God when it’s time to fish for man.

We made more memories. We'll make more, because it's not the big stuff that matters. It's the few minutes here and there that say "Your love is my love. You matter and what matters to you, matters to me!" Stay tuned for Payton's 16th birthday celebration at Marvel Trout Camp in June. Fishing to his heart's content!