It is a Lewis family tradition.  Almost every week, we head to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants to “break bread” together (or most precisely, to “break chips and dip” together) after the last Sunday morning service.  It is a wonderful time to reflect, relax, and regroup as a family.   Some of us order the same thing week after week, while others vary their menu, but for years we have all been adamant about one thing- “no guacamole please.”   I have just never been able to get past the color and texture of the stuff.  It looks like something that has been…well, you get the picture.  But all of that changed for me a couple of months ago.  I now love guacamole. I now crave guacamole. I now not only eat mine, but the rest of the family’s.  Why this change of heart?  Why this change of taste?  Why this change of tradition?  It is really quite simple.  Almost on a whim one day, I decided to actually try guacamole.  The rest is culinary history.  I went from being “dead set” to “heart set” on something, all because I gave it a try.  Think about it.  What are you biased against today that you haven’t even tried?

Did you know that we have a Prayer Tower?  We do.  It is located on the southwest corner of the building on the second floor.  Did you know that we use the Prayer Tower for prayer?  We do.  A group of men gather in the Tower on Tuesday mornings from 8-9am to pray specifically for one another and the needs of DeSoto Hills.  Several weeks ago when we gathered to pray, our numbers were down.  As I walked into the prayer tower and looked out the window, I got a bird’s eye view as to why.  Two of our regulars had been involved in an accident right in front of the church.  They were headed south on Getwell turning into the parking lot, when someone headed north decided to use the turn lane for a regular lane and the rest is junk yard history.  Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.  It was a reminder that “it rains on the just and the unjust.”  Our guys were coming to church to do a “good thing”, but that did not prevent them from having a “bad morning”.  There is also a lesson here about patience.  Traffic can get pretty backed up in front of the church during the morning rush hour as people try to get to work and school.  I suspect that the driver was late and was attempting to find a short cut.  However, his judgment, or lack there of, caused him to be much later than he planned.  His impatience came with a cost.  Both cars had to be towed away.  James 5:7 reminds us to “Be patient….” The accident further reminds us that our actions can have a damaging, if not deadly, effect on others.  Although one of our men was transported to the hospital by ambulance, everything checked out all right and he was later released.  But the accident caused a lot of folks to be late that morning.  Your impulsive actions can have major consequences for others.

For years now we have watched the landscape around our home at 4833 Henry Drive change pretty drastically.  When we moved in 10 years ago, we had cows grazing in the field behind our house.  The roads were mostly two-lane and the traffic was minimal.  What a difference a decade can make.  The cows and pasture been replaced by a subdivision.  There has been one house that particularly concerned us because of its close proximity to our backyard - where we stay a lot.  It is the house directly behind us.   This new home has been on the market for almost two years.  It is a wonderful house that has had lots of lookers, but no takers.  We had often discussed that one problem with the house was the almost non-existent backyard.   The house sold recently and suddenly I am looking at that non-existent yard in a whole new light.  You see, my kids have bought the house.  Jami is headed this way to do her residency at LeBonheur. Rodney has been offered a position in the DeSoto County school system. They have sold their house in Brandon and are headed this way.  Bingo!  Now I am clearing away brush that I’ve let grow to hide the house.  With the expert help of Spence, Kathy’s brother who is a landscape architect, a plan is developing to make that non-existent yard something useful.  The following tips can probably transform a life, not to mention a yard.

• MOTIVATION I have never been motivated to clean that area out until my soon to be new neighbor said,  “it looks a little “snakey” down there.”  Now I want my new neighbors to have a clear and safe path to my house.
• INSPIRATION Spence came and within minutes, a vision began to form of what could be.  Vision is critical.
• CALCULATION We measured the patio, we measured the elevation fall, we measured the distance from the house to the trees, and oh, yes, we measured the cost. A plan is taking place.
• PERSPIRATION There is no way around it.  It has and will continue to involve some good old fashioned perspiration to get that little yard where it needs to be.