The Bird's Nest, Water Cube AND Egg

"The Bird's Nest"... the National Stadium. It's the place where

people globally gathered for the opening and closing of the

Beijing Olympics. We love gathering and nesting here on

Sparrow!

"The Water Cube"... the National Aquatics Centre. In Chinese

culture, water creates a calming atmosphere and inspires

happiness. Living in Texas, "watercubing" has become a way

of life. I love my "bird bath."

"The Egg"... the Grand Theater. A first class art palace.

Opposite the Forbidden City, one of China's architectural

marvels and the country's most revered landmark.

God is The Master Craftsman who has made each one

of us a work of art. We are his masterpiece.

REALife Egg Babies

Remember "egg babies?"

I recall having to carry

around hard boiled eggs

for my high school sophomore

health class. Fortunately

I was paired up with a guy

who loved football and he

was very excited to be paired up with a girl who did too.

So we decided on "twins": Baby Fencik #45 and Baby

Plank #46 of the Chicago Bears. They travelled to youth

group and every place we ventured without getting

damaged or "egg-napped". We were excellent "parents!"

It was only after the project was over someone

grabbed the shoe box nursery in the hallway at school,

removed the eggs and threw Fencik and Plank against

the wall into retirement.

Last year we challenged our young marrieds REALife

group to multiply since we were up to 24 people plus

some kiddos. They took us very seriously. Not only did

the birdies fly the nest to create another group, they are

populating their own: Six babies - 4 of them coming in

December! AND two foster kids. WOW. Coming soon:

Baby Scouten 8/1; Baby Thorpe 12/8; Baby Scharfe

12/15; Baby Gaither 12/19; Baby Marek 12/19; Baby

DeKay 1/15. And "Munchkins on Loan" Babies

Whitson joined our new group in March. After a sad

loss of one of their own in February, our young

marrieds would discover the very next month God was

at work hand-crafting little blessings of new life. Wow.

Helping and Healing Hands

I love painted ponies. I picked this up several years ago

after a trip to Durango, Colorado. I was looking for

something Cherokee since Eric is 1/4 American Indian

and something that represented our ministry to families

over the past couple of decades.

I am grateful to 4 people this

year whose helping and healing

hands have helped me

tremendously: my aquatics

instructor, my yoga teacher, my

chiropractor and my masseuse.

I've had this photo for years.

Only recently did I realize it is a

picture of a baby in the womb

being operated on for

spina bifida. My recent back

x-ray showed in addition to

the scoliosis I've had since birth I had some degenerative

disks in my neck and the mildest form of spina bifida,

occulta. Wow. I am so grateful for people who are

"putting me back together again."

Our newest "baby"... Eric will be moving over to be the

Singles Pastor here in Austin at our church,

Hill Country Bible Church - Northwest, in July (yes,

we can stay married!) Please pray for us and the singles

in the Austin area as we adjust to his new role and leave

behind the ministries we've invested in here for the past

3 years. We are excited about our new adventure!

By the way, Hoehn translates to "chicken farmer." How

appropriate.

"Without God's touch in our lives - His work in us to

will and to do His good pleasure - there is no sparkle

or scant joy. But when we allow Him to work within

us - when we feel His hand upon us - we are no

longer hidden treasures; we become sparkling jewels

that beautify His Kingdom." - from Devotions for a

Sensational Life

more about sparkling jewels later...