Mt. Lebanon: A Picture of Love

I took a picture 32 years ago of a little girl sitting on her daddy's lap. It wasn't posed, it was just something I noticed happening. They knew I was there with my camera but they were paying attention to each other, not to me. And in that moment, I tried to capture an image of their love for each other.

Last week I found out it worked.....

It's summertime so I've been thinking about Mt. Lebanon lately. That's a Baptist camp south of Dallas where I worked every summer during my college years. It's also where I took that picture 32 years ago. Most recreation staffers for the Dallas Baptist Association youth and preteen camps worked only one or two summers. I think I may have set a record with my five. Now I can't help but think of Mt Lebanon when schools let out for summer and the temperatures rise above 90 degrees.

I've posted a few Mt. Lebanon photos on Facebook and some of the kids I met there all those years ago have found me there. I am honored that they remember me and surprised at all the stories that come tumbling out of us as we talk about our time there.

This past week I took the time to tag some of my Mt. Lebanon photos with the names of some people I've found on Facebook and that started a conversation with Gary and Valleta Lanier and their daughter, Leah. Gary was my youth minister at the First Baptist Church of Oak Cliff in Dallas when I was a teenager. Valleta was my Sunday School teacher and friend and Leah was a cute little kid who loved running around with all of us teenagers, frequently getting passed from lap to lap at all of our parties and retreats. We were delighted to find each other and started sharing memories of Mt. Lebanon where Gary had frequently served as Music Director, bringing Valleta and Leah along with him.

While we were chatting I posted the photo of that little girl sitting on her daddy's lap. Here it is, along with some of the Lanier family's comments:

Leah: Awe....I'm crying! I'm such a daddys girl! Thank you Donna!... I remember this....I remember my little shirt and I remember the wonderful staff @ camp who made a name tag for me so I could be just like them! ;)

Gary: That sure is a cute little girl.

Leah: She's a Daddys Girl all the way! Was then and still is!....These are all such beautiful memories for me...absolutely beautiful!! And I am still pretty much that same little girl!!!! :) Thank you all for sharing all of this, so very much!!!!!!!!!!! Love and blessings to all of you!!!!

Gary: What fun days in Cedar Hill at Mt. Lebanon. My youth has been renewed.

Valleta: I am OVERWHELMED... so many emotions. She LOVES her daddy and has followed in his footsteps with her incredible voice and songwriting gift... this is an incredible picture. Thank you for posting it....You will NEVER know how precious they are to us.... They love each other so much. This picture is beyond words to all of us. Thank you.

For 32 years that photo stayed in a box, shuffled from closet to attic to basement. Why did it take me so long to share it?

Why did it take years to recognize that the ability to see and capture that moment is a gift, meant to be exercised and shared?

I have so many stories and photos of my experiences, places I've been, people I've learned from. I've been keeping them to myself. It's time to share them, so I've started writing a book. Hopefully, they will touch hearts, spread hope and open eyes to new possibilities.

What are you keeping hidden away that could be a blessing to someone?

Isn't it time you shared?

You never know what kind of blessing you may receive in return. To see what I mean, just listen to this song, by the little girl in that picture, Leah Lanier. Thank you, Leah!

Tagged Again!

I've been tagged once before, but this time I was tagged by three different people: CozyMoments, TPDesigns, and mooretaste.

So, now I'll list eight things about myself. I got a combination of eight or six items mentioned by my three taggers, so I figured I'd go ahead and do eight.

It took me a little while to think up more things about myself I could list this time around, but here goes.

1. I've been a songwriter.... I wrote about a dozen songs when I was in college, singing and playing my guitar frequently at a summer camp and for the Baptist Student Union on my campus. Mind you, I didn't say they were good songs, but my friends seemed to enjoy them. One was about the camp where I worked one summer and the kids even gave me a standing ovation! But they were kids...what did they know?!

2. I've been a published writer.... I wrote for a couple of years for the Womens Missionary Union. I had a blast doing it, learned a lot, and met some fascinating people. But one day I had to set aside an article I was working on because I'd gotten a call-back from a missionary in Thailand to interview her for another article. I had to park the phone on my shoulder to talk to her while my hands were busy changing my daughter's diaper and it suddenly occurred to me ...perhaps I should wait a few years before taking on that many deadlines!

3. I've been a published photographer.... Some of my photos appeared in the WMU publications I also wrote for, some in other Baptist publications, and quite a few in the alumni magazine of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas where I worked with the PR Department for about three years. It's always a kick to see your name in print!

4. I've been a cartoonist.... Okay, don't get excited. I just doodled some cartoons for my junior high school paper. No autographs, please!

5. I've been a crafts teacher. I worked five summers in a row at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill, Texas. Four of those years I was director of the crafts program. Give me a little plastic lacing and I can make a lanyard in my sleep!

6. I've been a guitar teacher.... Besides giving tips to beginning guitar players here and there, I've actually been paid to give guitar lessons a couple of times. I also taught a couple of guitar classes during Music Week at my church. Just me vs. seventeen beginning guitar students in one class...the biggest challenge was keeping the guitars all tuned up!

7. I've been on TV a couple of times.... Again, don't get too excited. I worked as a production assistant for two shows on the old ACTS (America Christian Television System) Network, which later was sold or merged with something else. But it was a great experience since part of my job was scheduling guests for talk shows and hosting them while they were in our studios. Another job where I met some fascinating people! A couple of times, they needed me to appear on the show. Once they had someone on who was evaluating colors, you know, figuring out if you were a "winter", or "spring", etc. I agree with my Aunt Becky who has always said her color was red...as in Red Tag Special! Turns out I'm one of the rare people who can be just about any season of the year, so I posed a challenge to our guest for that show! Another time they were doing a feature about parenting preschoolers, and since I was the parent of a preschooler at the time, my preschooler and I appeared for a brief interview. We took a picture of my daughter getting her make-up done for TV to add to her scrapbook!

8. I've been there, done that, and will never grow my hair long again!






Now here's who I'm tagging...each of you have to list eight things about yourself and tag eight others:

sjcreations
EmmagailCreations
madebymelissa
happydaystudio
PhonyArt
CatherineGrace
Messie
SimplySilly