March Madness Hits Home

Oh yes, there has been a little bit of celebrating going on in the Williams household. We have been following the March Madness on-line and couldn't be more excited about seeing our UCLA Bruins and the Memphis Tigers advance to the Elite Eight.Many of you have already seen this photo ... it was taken this time last year when UCLA and Memphis faced each other in the tournament. Time to pull out those uniforms again (and their UCLA paraphanalia, too, of course). Yes, we're a split household when it comes to NCAA basketball.

It's always fun to root for your alma mater (Once a Bruin, Always a Bruin) and encouraging when your teams perform well.

But here are a few other things that we have really been cheering about...

1. Spring is here!
The spring holiday is a huge deal here and it feels like the country has shut down this week as they celebrate. Living in California, it was harder to tell when the seasons changed (and California only had 2 seasons anyhow: warm and really warm). So after our cold (and at times, snowy) winter, it's nice to see the blossoms on the trees and signs of warmer weather ahead.

2. You are praying for us!
We've received e-mails from many of you saying that you're praying for us - some in very creative ways! One person said she prays on the way to work, taking time at the red lights to pray for us. Kathy Carnine just wrote that when she heard Annalise was ill, she went to our family photo on her fridge and touched Annalise's photo as she prayed. We know there are a few Bible studies that meet on Thursdays who say they have prayed for us. And today, I found a postcard from an anonymous person in Florida that said she was praying for us. Thank you for praying - it encourages us more than you know!

3. Recent reading
I have been so encouraged by Randy Alcorn's book, In Light of Eternity, and have started another book by the same author, Heaven. David was very encouraged by reading John Ortberg's book, The Life You've Always Wanted, and felt that its message was timely. He's on to reading How Should We Then Live (Francis A. Schaeffer), Sub-Merge - Living Deep in a Shallow World: Service, Justice and Contemplation Among the World's Poor (John B. Hayes) and Ali & Nino (Kurban Said).

4. Easter is around the corner
What a great reminder that being here is worth it. We hope you all have a wonderful week getting ready for Easter!