It was an amazing trip!  We went to the “Super Shoot” bench rest shooting event near Wadsworth Ohio.

Steve’s Uncle Ferris and Aunt June Pindell were quite influential in his childhood. They practically raised him!  Uncle Ferris has been bench-rest shooting (precision) for 64 years, and this is his favorite shoot. 

He actually invented the PPC cartridge, used by precision shooters everywhere, and he held the World Record in bench rest shooting for a decade. 

Although Uncle Ferris is unable to compete because of his                                                                           age and health, he wanted to attend the shoot, so we were the “chauffers.” 

It was amazing! As we walked around with Ferris and June, it was like escorting royalty!  Shooters from dozens of countries around the world were ecstatic to see him, asking for his autograph, taking photos, and a shooter from India even bowed down in honor of him! 

We met shooters from Canada, France, Germany, Ukraine, Austria, Russia, Dominican Republic, New Zealand, England, Australia, and lots more! It was like traveling the world.

We met a plethora of important people in the shooting world. (See my photo below with Jim Carmichael, editor of Outdoor Sports magazine.)

The scenery, the weather, the people — it was a perfect trip. But the best part of the trip was the smile that was stuck on Uncle Ferris’ face the entire time. 

I just returned from Texas where I’ve been helping my son, Tylor, move to Fort Worth.  What a fabulous time we’ve had!!  I’m thanking God for all His blessings. What a great Mother’s Day!

While there, we attended Fellowship Church in Fort Worth with my brother’s family. Here’s a great idea they did for Mother’s Day:

They set up several photo sites for mothers to have their portrait taken with their family. It was quick and lines were short. The free photos will be available in the atrium the next Sunday. 

Great gift.

     Great family encouragement.

          Great enticement to come back to church next week.

I’d shared a similar idea in my book, Fresh Ideas (B&H 2007) to use for a church’s Fall Festival. You set up a cute photo backdrop, take a quick photo of each costumed child as they arrive, and give the parents a note that they can pick up their free photo on Sunday morning. 

Everybody loves a photo…especially on Mother’s Day!

One thousand, seven hundred and fifty.  1,750.

It’s a big number. That’s how many ministers wives we expect at the Ministers Wives Luncheon during the Southern Baptist Convention on June 10th ! 

Our Indiana Baptist ministers wives have risen to the task - dozens and dozens of them are coming for two workdays in May, stuffing 1,750 gift bags for those important leaders who will attend.  Dozens more are serving as hostesses, or ticket-takers, or ticket-sellers, or just attending the event. 

“How to Love a Leader” is the theme, and the speaker is Gary Chapman, author of Five Love Languages and lots of other books.  We’re expecting a great blessing for each ministers wife.

If you know a ministers’ wife, why don’t you purchase her a ticket?  Details for tickets are at www.olivebaptist.net  or www.sbc.net

Please pray for each minister’s wife who will attend. And pray for these eight ministers wives who are coordinating decorating teams for the luncheon.

 Debbie Bryant - Southwood Baptist, Beech Grove IN

Debbie Davidson - First Baptist, Sellersburg IN

Michelle Eakes - Warren Baptist Indianapolis IN

Karen Lievers - First SBC, Clarksville IN

Amy Rardin - Calvary Baptist, Greenwood IN

Debbie Spurgeon - First Baptist, Rockville IN

Tammy Terry - Fall Creek Baptist, Indianapolis IN

Debbie Whidden - Barrington Ridge Baptist, Hobart IN

1,750.  That’s a big number.

Personal “Mom” stuff -

Isn’t God so good!  We’re had great news that our oldest son, Tylor, is moving to Fort Worth next week, where he’ll be working with my brother and living near family.  We’re praising God for this huge blessing. The whole family is so excited! I’ll catch a plane on Thursday and spend some days in Texas helping him get settled. Pray for Ty as he makes this move — for great new friends and peace and joy. 

Bonus: I’ll get to be with my Mom on Mother’s Day!

And pray for our younger son, Justin, who is in Pau France teaching masters level business classes for a couple of months. He’s also playing on a rugby team - so pray that he lives through it!  Below is a photo of Justin and Steve when we saw him off at the airport.

And pray for Autumn as she continues to serve as a missionary in Sheffield England. She just returned from a fun trip to California to visit her boyfriend’s family, and she’s back hard at work.  Here’s her website: http://www.antiochsheffield.org/youth.html

And I thought I loved those little-kid parenting days…

It’s great being a mom.  Happy Mother’s Day.

I just returned from a women’s event for Florida Baptists. No, I don’t have a tan, but I certainly enjoyed some lovely weather.

One breakout class I led was about my upcoming book, Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry.  A question was asked that intrigued me:  “How can we encourage women to participate in hands-on ministry?”

Now, you KNOW I loved that question because that’s what it’s all about. Oh, yes, we’re to be students of His Word, but we must also be doers of His Word. 

Take a look at this wonderful endorsement written by someone I respect greatly:

“Years ago Diana was called personally to minister to women. Since that time she has served effectively as the women’s ministry leader of several churches (more…)

Click here to read article from the Florida Baptist about upcoming conference. I’m looking forward to helping with this.

(more…)

Great sermons were preached by Darin Garton, Johnny Hunt, Chuch Lawless, Ed Setzer, Charles Wilson, Steve Davis and Bobby Welch. 

The entire conference was fabulous, but a simple Q&A time during the pastors luncheon was the most challenging and inspiring event I’ve attended. (more…)

The annual meeting for Southern Baptist State Executive Directors was in Hawaii! 

This group of state leaders and their wives are amazing. The friendships are wonderful, and we found plenty of time for being “tourists” between meetings–exploring the island of Kawaii, snorkeling, whalewatching, beachcombing, and even ziplining! 

Can’t help but be amazed at every view of God’s beautiful creation.

Below: Ready to zipline at Jurassic Park filming site - Steve and Diana along with Thane and Susan Barnes (executive director, Nevada)

Traveling in the U.K. is phenomenal! 

Our 4-day trip to Scotland had its difficult moments:

- towed car

- lost in Edinborough

- parking ticket

- Accidentally ate haggis (don’t!)

But the pleasures far outweighed the challenges.

We saw gorgeous views for hours–hills and flowers and sheep and castles and cathedrals.  We saw the Beatrix Potter museum and an Alpaca farm and more sheep. The weather was perfect.

We spent a day in the Lakes District of England (could have spent a month there!) Ever heard of the Keswick Convention, an annual Christian conference there? Years ago we had some speakers in our church who were part of that, and it was fun to see the darling town of Keswick. 

We drove up to St. Andrews golf course so Steve could see the British golf museum and the famous course.  We stopped in skate parks for Autumn to try out her new skateboarding skills.  We watched lawn bowling, ate lunch in a church kitchen, toured the John Knox house and the Princes Street Gardens.  We climbed up a really big hill to see the Edinburgh castle (That shop owner who gave us directions is still laughing I’m sure. There’s an easier way.) We enjoyed the Royal Mile and even the taxi ride to the tow storage.   

On the way back to Sheffield, we stayed at a darling bed and breakfast in a border city, Carlisle, and enjoyed its museum and castle and beauty.  We drove to the coast of the Irish Sea and saw Ireland just across the way. 

(This is like looking at someone’s vacation slide show, isn’t it? Sorry!)  I just can’t convey the beauty of this place.

And the fun of driving on the left side of the road.

Love it. But can’t wait to get back to Indiana!

We have planned the trip to visit our daughter in Sheffield England almost a year ago, but the days before the trip were almost a blur.

Steve had meetings all across the state, and a state directors meeting in Ohio and a deacon training in North Carolina. 

I had a book deadline, several magazine deadlines, some volunteer days at the Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, and a conference to lead. 

My father-in-law had major survery and stayed a few days at our home. (He’s doing well. Thanks for your prayers.)

We were at New Life Baptist in Greencastle and Highland Baptist in Georgetown, plus a quick trip to Dallas for our son’s PhD ceremony. 

We spent three days in Crown Point IN for the Crossroads Academy, then drove straight home to Indy and jumped on the plane for England. WHEW! And somewhere in there, we packed.

So you can imagine our relief at actually being off to visit Autumn in England. Each of our flights en route were delayed, and each time we were “running through airports,” barely making our connections.

The good news: we actually made it to London Heath Row airport. The bad news: Autumn was nowhere to be found! After several hours, we discovered that she was waiting in downtown London at the Victoria Station Burger King while we were waiting for her at the airport. Her schedule had been as hectic as ours, and we had failed to communicate.

Can you imagine being lost in London? Looking through 7 million people, trying to find the right one? 

Can you imagine the lost feeling of people who don’t know the Way?  So many wrong answers all around them…trying to find the One and Only?

Well, we’ve found Autumn now, and we’re loving our time together.  We spent three days in London before coming to her home in Sheffield. We’ve met lots of her teenagers and adult friends, and attended her church on Sunday.

Our flat is above West avenue in the bar district of Sheffield. As I stand looking out the window, watching the masses of people — wandering, lost — I pray that Autumn and her missionary team will find a way to communicate with them. To help them find the One.