first base

So sorry it has been so long since you had an update! Life is crazy with company in town.

Below you will find some pictures of my recent trip to the Ballpark in Arlington. The first is a pic of me and my dad. The picture was actually taken by a guy we randomly ran into that went to school with my stepsiblings back in Tennessee. Small world!!

The second picture is of Mark Teixeira who plays first base and the second picture is of one of my favorite Rangers, Hank Blalock. This picture was taken just before Blalock hit the first of two homeruns for the evening.

As for the weekend itself…things went fabulously! Chris and my dad did meet and they hit it off immediately (and I knew they would). They had so much fun telling stories and chatting it up. We went to eat at Pappasito’s on Saturday night….SO GOOD! We had many more meals together and lots and lots of fun.

It was a great visit all in all.

Well, there is your update!

scoreboard

And it's on....

Setting: Fleming, gathered around Manna Donuts
Date: 27 June 2005

Chit chat between co-workers…..

Mr. Blue: Do you like the zoo?
Collective response from co-workers: Yeah….
Mr. Blue: It is a good zoo, but it makes me sad.

Who is saddened by the zoo? Come on!

Daddy's little girl

So, my dad is coming into town! Wahoo I am so excited. My dad and I are so much alike in so many ways. I gained my love of sports from my dad. He was my sole caregiver since the age of ten and he instilled in me many things, but one of the most important is that Sportscenter comes before everything else!!

I am able to share this really special experience with some wonderful people, Chris in particular. My dad and Chris are going to meet on Saturday night and I know that they will hit it off immediately.

I am also very anxious for dad to meet my friends. My friends are like my family and I am very excited for dad to meet the very special friends that God has brought into my life this past year. Things for me are so much different this year than they were last year when dad came and I am anxious for him to see all the new things that have happened in my world.

Of course there will be much eating! We plan on eating Mexican, bar-b-que, Chik-fil-A, and many other cuisines. Dad is a big movie-goer, so we have a movie date planned for Sunday. Then, of course we will be making a trip to Ameriquest field to watch the Rangers play the Angels. He leaves on Wednesday morning, so it seems as though his visit is rather short, but that is the way that it has to be.

So, my excitement is hardly containable. I hope that you Fort Worth peeps get a chance to meet my dad.

Peace out and have a great weekend!!

Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine

Below you will find a picture of my George Foreman. We have been together for four years now. I use George just about every day. He is an immense help to my single life as I usually cook for one. George has seen an array of foods: chicken, hamburgers, sandwiches, sausage, hot dogs (didn’t work too well), bread, bacon, and more chicken. George is always there for me and he heats up really quickly. He never fails me and he is really easy to clean. The one food that George hasn’t seen yet but he will see soon is steak. I am a little too poor to eat steak right now, but one day I will introduce a big fat juicy steak to him. If you do not have a George, I would highly advise you to invest in one. If you have room for a grill, then by all means go the right way and use that, but if you are spatially challenged like me, then getcha a George.

Here is to many more grilled cheese and ham and cheese sandwiches!!!

I have heard that it is hard to capture lightning in a picture, so I have come to find out that it is equally hard to capture fireworks in a picture. I have tried time and time again to take pictures of fireworks. I will display some below….though they aren’t great, they are the best that I can do.

These fireworks are from Ameriquest field after the Rangers game on Saturday night. I feel like this ballpark is a part of me because I have been there so many times. The Rangers played the Nationals and gave them a whoopin!! They stomped them! I will have to say that I did cheer for the Rangers on this night as I felt it was my duty because I had no allegiance to the Nationals.

So, my Saturday was filled with errands, leftovers, Sonic, lemon chill, and a fun parking experience at the Ballpark. Friday was eventful as always. Emily and I did some master shopping and then went to dinner with some peeps from Priority. We used to go out every Friday or Saturday night with Priority, so this was a good time had by all at La Playa Maya.

The next two weeks will be action packed with friends and loved ones coming into town. Stay tuned for exciting adventures…..

The love of a child

The love of a child is so pure. As I sit in an office and do ‘grown up’ things, I reminisce on my college days when I was a nanny. I babysat for several different families while I was in college and that was my major source of income. I was also a nanny for a family back home in between graduating from Auburn and coming here to start seminary. So….I have had quite extensive experience with children. I do absolutely love them and I haven’t been able to have much opportunity to spend time with children lately…until today! I am so excited to be able to give a gift to a special couple by keeping their children while they go and spend some time together. I hope this is a treat for them, but it is one for me as well!! I love to be around children, but they require so much energy, so I know that I will be exhausted afterwards (my hats off to Emily who does this for a living).

There is something really special about a child crawling up in your lap and laying their head on your shoulder. That will make the hard-hearted instantly melt.

I am a Harrison Ford fan, so I ordered some of his movies from Netflix this week. As I was watching Patriot Games, a line from the movie jumped out at me and has stuck with me all week. Harrison Ford’s character was asked, “In life, what do you know for certain?” to which he replied, “The love of my daughter”

There is just something about the purity of a child’s love that will bring you to your knees.

Go and make a difference in a child’s life today.

Still here

I am still here, do not fear. My computer at home is sick, so I have to blog from work, which means no pictures yet.

So, I hope everyone enjoyed the heckling on my blog between the Braves fans and the ONE Rangers fan. Yes, the Rangers did win the three-game series against the Braves this week, but we just wanted to let yall catch up because we have spanked yall so many times before. Emily, you go right ahead and be a Rangers fan if you feel the need, we will still continue to pray for you. Speaking of fans….have you decided what ‘Texas’ college football team you want to cheer for. I was told that you weren’t going to cheer for Auburn. That is a sad, sad choice my friend....you will regret it I am certain.

Well, I have nothing really important to say…so I will sign off for now!

War Eagle!

What a wonderful weekend!!

I had an absolutely fabulous date on Friday. The evening was filled with laughs, fireworks, cheesecake, and lightning bugs. I was able to experience a very enjoyable concert in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The gardens host different concerts every weekend and I had the privilege of hearing world famous pianists play the most beautiful classical music. The evening was wonderful.

My motto for Saturday was to do nothing and to do it well and I was successful in that feat. I laid by the pool with my homie, Emily, until she had to make an unplanned trip to Dallas. So, she left me to bake alone.

Sunday was wonderful as always. Chris Owens blessed us all with his lesson on apologetics during Sunday school. The worship service was great as usual. Our church has started a new lecture series on Sunday afternoons and it is very enjoyable. Dr. Scott Swain spoke on Christology this week and it was amazing watching him explain ideas and concepts that are so complex in such a manner that even children could understand. He is truly one of the most extraordinary scholars that I have ever come in contact with.

Tonight will be so much fun. We are going to see the Braves play!! Wahoo….so excited! Stay tuned for pics from the game.

Bumper Stickers

I do not hold the opinion of all of the ideas that these bumper stickers insinuate, they are just hear for chuckles.

Caution: I drive like you do!

Strangers have the best candy

Save the Earth, it's the only planet with Chocolate

My mind works like lightning, one brilliant flash and it's gone

I didn't ask to be a princess but if the crown fits...

I brake for scholars, priests, and no apparent reason

Stupidity is not a crime so you’re free to go

" Watch out for the idiot behind me!"

Moooooove, I'm trying to speed!

There are 2 types of pedestrians, the quick and the dead.

He who laughs last thinks slowest.

Very funny Scotty; now beam down my clothes

Saw it, wanted it, threw a fit, Got It!!

If you're rich, I’m single!

IF THIS STICKER IS GETTING SMALLER, THE LIGHT IS PROBABLY GREEN

YOUR TURN SIGNAL IS STILL ON

IT'S IMPOLITE TO STARE

My Nae

Whew!! It is after four PM and I feel like I am just now breathing for the first time today. I had some major tasks to get done at work, but with the Lord’s help, I completed them all successfully! Wahoo!

Not much is new in Bonnie’s world. I do want to give a shout out to my fellow Bodacious member, Jackalicious! She is leaving for Paris tomorrow and I want her to know that you will be in my prayers and we cannot wait to hear all about what God did in you and through you.

So, every time I get a chance to take a second and read a blog today, I see that fellow bloggers are bragging on their friends, so I think I will join the ranks and do the same.

I would like to feature a very special person in my life that I don’t get to talk to or see nearly enough as my heart would desire. The special person is Eran Denae Johnson (aka my sister). This very special woman is the ripe young age of twenty and yet she is able to connect with people of all ages. Denae is very gifted in working with children because she is willing to get on the floor and roll around with them and not think a second thing of it. One of the qualities that stands out the most and that I admire the most in Denae is her ability to lack all forms of prejudice. She sees everyone equally. This is not always easy for me to do and she is good for me because she shows me how I can be wrong sometimes in this area. Denae will talk to anyone that will talk back to her. She will give you her time and show you the upmost respect no matter who you are, who yo’ daddy is, or what your title is. She is also very creative. She made me a Christmas present this last year that I will cherish for years and years to come. Denae and I dream together. We know deep down in our hearts that we will probably never live in the same town again, but we like to dream about what it would be like to raise our children together and to live in the same neighborhood as we grow old.

I met Denae before she even started high school. She was just a little runt in the youth group and I TRIED to befriend her, but she would have nothing to do with me. Finally, four years later, she was the top dog of the youth group and she allowed me into her life. God brought a trying, miraculous, and amazing situation into our lives so that we could be friends. Our hearts have been blended together ever since then.

Now, my little sister is in love. I cannot believe it! I cannot even imagine what it is going to be like for her to be married. I know that she is in God’s hands and that this is a decision that she would not enter into lightly, but it is hard for me to “let” her go. Denae, you are precious to me and you will always be my little sister even though you are obviously so grown up.

The fun times were amazing and the memories bring me tears and laughter all at the same time. I hope that we will have many more chances to make those lasting memories. You are a part of who I am and I thank you for that. I am a better person because of you.

I hope that all of you will have the blessed chance to meet this amazing woman one day.

Wahoo!

Yay! I changed my blog site. Thanks to my good friend Thomas, I didnt lose any valuable informaiton on my site. Thomas is the Blog King!

So, I love pink....could ya tell. I know this site might look a little too girly, but HEY, its my site punk! Woah, sorry about that, got a little defensive about my new site. I love it and I hope it is not too pepto bismol colored for you to immediately turn away!

Stay tuned for more fun girly stuff!

Idols

This morning I was reminded of an interesting experience I had a couple of summers ago. Some of you may recall that I traveled to a land that will remain nameless that summer and God really changed my life during that time. Though I had many wonderful and amazing adventures and encounters, the Lord brought back a specific encounter that I and two of my friends had one afternoon.

It was a beautiful sunshiny day and our group traveled a long way from what we called “home” to a new city. This was a very civilized city but right on the outskirts of the city was an area where people from that land came to worship. The spiritual darkness in this area was overwhelming. My friends and I ventured around the grounds of this new and different setting that we found ourselves in and we ended up in a temple. There was a “guard” at the entrance of the temple and we walked right by him like he didn’t even see us. We went inside and I immediately became nauseated by the paintings on the wall. There were images that seemed so evil painted on the wall and there were haunting statues all around us and yet people travel hundreds and thousands of miles to come and worship these images. My friends and I noticed that the guard left his post and as soon as he did, we pulled out our WORD and started sending praises to the ONE TRUE GOD in the midst of this evil place.

The Lord brought me this morning to this scripture that we read in that temple and He truly blessed me through it. I am reminded that even though that evil place is thousands of miles away from me now, there are still people who go to worship those images there, and more than that, there are people in this country (including yours truly) that worship images that don’t look so evil on the outside but they are graven on the inside.

Please take a moment to be blessed by the Word of the Lord.

Psalm 97
1 The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols—
worship him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, O LORD.
9 For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is shed upon the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.