One Person Makes a Difference

This morning we celebrated the life of an amazing man at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church. Bryan Clark was 19 years old when he stormed the beach at Iwo Jima as a marine. He was there when five marines raised the flag over Iwo Jima, a moment that was later memorialized forever. Bryan was one of 3 men from his unit who returned uninjured from Iwo Jima. There were 165 marines in Bryan's unit, 80 were killed. Nearly 7,000 Americans and 20,000 Japanese soldiers died at Iwo Jima.

Another amazing thing about Bryan is that he served as a volunteer with Methodist Hospital's Auxiliary for 24 years. Every Thursday for 24 years he and his wife Reba would run the gift shop at Methodist Hospital.

I knew Bryan at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church as the friendliest greeter ever. He greeted me the first time that I attended the church and later when I served as an Intern he served as my Intern Committee Chair. He encouraged me, supported me, and helped to make me a better pastor. Bryan taught me that one person can make a difference because he made a difference in so many people's lives. There are so many people who attribute their membership at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church to Bryan Clark. He made people feel at home and he noticed when you were gone. He made everyone feel welcome.

After the celebration of Bryan's life this morning, I took Madeleine to her basketball game. Madeleine's team was down 0-12 and in 2 quarters only one shot had been made towards the basket by her team. I was feeling pretty hopeless for Madeleine's team when their star player came racing into the gym. She had been at another event. This one player propelled Madeleine's team forward so that by the end of the game they were ahead 17-12. One person can make a difference.

As I listened to the words that were said about Bryan this morning I looked around at the congregation, filled with people who had become a part of the church because of Bryan. One person had made the difference in welcoming them so that they wanted to become a part of the church.

One person can make a difference.

#41 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Storytime at Northpark Mall with "The Real Santa." Seriously, this Santa is amazing. Storytime is everyday at 10:30 am and is wonderful. "The Real Santa" has a degree in child psychology and is incredibly engaging.
Here is our annual picture with Santa, previous pictures can be found in last year's blog post found here,
http://leeandkerry.blogspot.com/2010/12/pictures-with-santa.html

Madeleine at 7 1/2, Everett at 4. December 2011

#40 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Lowe's Build and Grow Kid's Clinic. I wrote about the Home Depot clinic as my #19 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids, but they are on different Saturdays so it is worth mentioning both! My kids love these events! You have to preregister and arrive right on time (10 am). This is a wonderful free kid activity!

#39 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Attend Tuba Christmas. This event is held throughout the world, you can find one close to you here. I found out about Tuba Christmas last year after Christmas and since it was on Christmas Eve here in Dallas last year I thought it would be on Christmas Eve again. Unfortunately, since Christmas Eve was on Saturday, it was on Friday! So, I missed it. But I will be ready for it next Christmas at Thanksgiving Square downtown! You can watch the 2007 Tuba Christmas in Dallas on youtube here.

#38 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Visit Santa's Village in Richardson. This free event is awesome, though I have not yet figured out the time to go when it is not busy...

This year the kids (mine and my sister's) loved the sleigh rides! These wonderful volunteers ran them up and down the sidewalk in this sleigh. The kids did this 3 times!

Cousin picture with a Christmas... duck???

And the girls wrote letters to Santa. The photo above is the letter from my niece, it says, "Dear Santa, I want my two front teeth for Christmas. P.S. Are you really real?"

#37 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Ride the Polar Express train. We had such a good time! My mom bought tickets for my family and my sister's family and after a 2 hour drive to Palestine, Texas, we boarded the polar express train for the north pole. The kids were all dressed in their pajamas like in the story and we were all treated to hot chocolate and a sugar cookie on the 30 minute ride. While we journeyed to the north pole we heard the polar express story through the speaker system of the train while the train staff walked up and down the aisle showing us the pictures from the book. Then we were at the north pole! As we drove by we saw Santa and the elves. As the train turned around to head back home we learned that Santa was on the train! Santa walked by and delivered our bell from the reindeer's sleigh and we loudly sang Christmas songs and danced on our 30 minute ride back. It was such fun!

We are ready!

The kids were more ready!

There were a lot of us on that train!

Madeleine and Lee

#36 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Visit the Neiman Marcus window display at Christmastime. Here is a video of them installing them this year. The kids can crawl in them and have a blast. Make sure that you go when they are open, times can be found here.

The kids loved exploring.

Some happy kids.


They were above us!