Glory to God in the Hightest

To all of you, from the depth of our hearts, Sandy and I want to wish you the merriest of Christmases, and an absolutely blessed new year.

What a tremendous year God gave us in '09. It has long been our prayer that He do things that only He can receive credit and praise for. He has proven Himself over and over again and we give Him glory!

Trusting Him to do it again, in 2010!

Adapting to change

Change on any level or any degree can be difficult at best. Especially when it is unsuspected. A sudden illness, an accident, or a decision that is made, can, and usually does bring about change. It may be that someone is pressed into action, or has to take on duties that they are uncomfortable with; or maybe they have to adapt to a different lifestyle, one that is completely foriegn to them. Sometimes those changes are temporary, and sometimes they are permanent. Some changes are for the better and some are not.

Recently there have been some changes in my life. An operation that resulted in a small stroke, (if there is such a thing as a small stroke), has left my mother in law with only limited use of her right hand. Certainly that effects her, but it also effects those of us around her. I mean afterall, she has cut my hair for almost 20 years now, and I don't feel real comfortable with her snipping close to my ear with a very sharp pair of scissors. I'm only kidding! She hasn't been released to drive yet, she can't write her own checks, and eating left handed does have it's drawbacks. Through all of it she has kept her sanity. Can't say much for the rest of us though. Kidding again!

Other changes effect us and those around us as well. For instance, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians that if anyone is in Christ, they become a new creation, old things are passed away and everything becomes new. To the one that is changed, it is a great and wonderful change, but some others don't seem to understand. We don't talk the way we used to; we don't go where we used to go; food tastes better, which in turn can lead to some physical changes like weight gain, but we don't want to go there. Our friends scratch their heads and think we have lost our minds.

Still, there is another change that awaits those of us who have found that new life in Christ. It's one that will effect us in ways we can't even imagine. That right hand of my mother in law will work perfectly again. I may not even need a hair cut. We'll have a glorious body fashioned after the body of the One that began the new work in us. What a day that will be. As for me, I'm anxiously awaiting that change.

Oh, and by the way, if you haven't experienced the change that Christ brings, when He returns, your life will be effected by that change.

To borrow a phrase from Wolf Brand Chili, "How long has it been since ...?...well that's too long!"
That is how I feel about this blog spot. Time has simply gotten away from me. Thanks to all of you who have faithfully checked on my unfaithfulness to update our blog spot.

So much has happened, I don't know where to begin. I have spent most of the time since just before WILD WEEK, hopping around like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. (Another phrase I have borrowed from ...I don't remember who.) Anyway, things are returning somewhat to normal. I can't believe I said that. I can't recall any semblance of normal, ever!

Anyway, We have had an awesome summer. Our youth "Mission to Mission" was nothing less than fantastic. Through, VBS, Church services, and door to door food distribution and witnessing, 81 people came to know Christ as Savior. To Him be the glory!

On a different note, I know that most of you have been praying for Reba Burns. There will be a benefit concert on September 19th @ 6:00pm to help offset the enormous medical bills that resulted from her accident at camp. I hope that all of you will make plans to attend. There will be a tremendous time of praise and worship, and an opportunity to help out our sister in Christ. I hope to see you there.

How long has it been since you you prayed for someone who is lost; out of fellowship; sick; or thanked God for someone who isn't? "Well, that's too long!"

Did I hear someone say CAMP?

Well get ready! T's are in, (they will be passed out this Wednesday...that's tomorrow).

In case you've forgotten, our team color is red, so red up! t-shirts, bandanas, hair dye (be sure to get permission first), flags, caps, anything to show your spirit.

The BIG BUS will leave the Church parking lot at 10:00 am, Tuesday, July 7th. Don't be late!

It will be good to see some of our old friends again, (like Kacy & "Grandpa" Ken) and meet some new ones.

I AM EXCITED!!!

Where has it gone?

This past weekend our "son", whom Sandy and I have tried to raise in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, walked across the stage and received his high school diploma. As I watched, as best I could through tear clouded eyes, a young man that once occupied a vast majority of our lives, began a new phase of his.

Amidst the swelling of the chest to button popping proportions, and quiet, but very noticeable tears, I realized, again, that not only was his life about to change, but ours was as well.

As he left Sunday afternoon for his new job at a youth camp, I walked into his now vacant room, and wondered if I had done the job that God entrusted to me years ago. It seemed like it was only yesterday that he was taking his first steps, and blowing out a single candle on a birthday cake.

It's in these times that our minds race with thoughts, not of wondering if our children are going to disappoint us, but have we disappointed them? Have we done all we could do to prepare them for what God has in store? Have we missed some important teaching opportunity? Will they be able to face this ever changing world with confidence and purpose?

Then I think of the many students in our youth group, and wonder the same things about them. What will they take with them into the coming years?

As I say so long to a fantastic group of graduates, wondering where the time has gone, I say hello to another group of kids who are wide with expectations, and excitement of becoming a part of our youth group.

It's with these thoughts spinning in my head, that I find both comfort and challenge in the timeless truth of God's Word, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

But still, I don't know where the time went and if the lessons were adequate. So I will simply, "Trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not unto my own understanding and in all my ways acknowledge Him and He will direct mine and their paths."

Asset or Liability?

In a world where many people see teen-agers as a liability, I can only direct your attention to Lake Fork Baptist Church. It is there, that on any given Wednesday night, you will find between 55 and 70 "youth" praising and worshipping the God of their salvation.

In that crowd you will also find 14 students who are giving up a portion of their summer vacation to serve on mission teams that will carry the Gospel to: the Rio Grande Valley, Israel, Kazakhstan (Russia), and Tasmania, Australia.

I join God in viewing these, and all other teens, as an asset. I give Him praise for allowing me to be in the presence of a group of "Souled Out" youth.

Rambo or Barney Fife

Some will remember two completely different characters that bring to mind two completely different characters. Rambo (Sly Stallone) was a perfect picture of a perfect physical specimen, while Barney Fife (Don Knotts) was the exact opposite. One feared nothing, while the other was scared of his own shadow.

Some years ago I traveled to Ontario Canada on a hunting trip. Bear hunting! (How stupid is that?) The "bush" was thicker than "The Big Thicket" in east Texas. Small trails led deep into the woods. Upon arrival at the camp, my hunting guide, who was a bear of a man himself, led me down one of those trails approximately 3/4 of a mile into the bush. He showed me a stand in a tree about 15 feet off the ground. Boards nailed to the tree trunk were to be used as a ladder to climb up the tree.Once in the tree, the stand was a piece of plywood approximately 2 feet by 3 feet. That was where I was to sit and wait for a bear to come along the same trail that I had just walked to get to the tree. We then returned to camp to get dressed for the hunt.

With so much camo on that I would never be found in the woods if I were to get lost; my back pack full of everything I could possibly need if I did get lost; my rifle, knives, ammunition, and tons of other stuff, in case I got lost; I climbed in the back of a pick up and headed out... to the woods. My guide stopped the truck about 1/2 mile from the small trail that I was supposed to walk down to get to my tree stand. As I watched him drive away, reality set in! I looked like Rambo, but I felt like Barney Fife.

On the outside I looked fearless, but on the inside, well, that 's a different story. I don't think my senses had ever been as keen as they were that late afternoon. Every sound turned my head. The light breeze sounded like gale force winds. The crackling of a branch under my feet sounded like a giant tree crashing to the ground. My heart was in my throat. The sound of my pulse thumped in my ears like a bass drum. I was alive and I knew it.

I recall another time when, walking down an alley on the south side of Chicago, the Rambo, Barney Fife thing occurred. Only this time the opposite was true. I looked like Barney Fife, but I felt like Rambo. My mission was to share the Gospel with some kids who were drug addicts. I had met their parents, and/or siblings in a drug rehab center where I held weekly Bible studies. My senses were alive; my walk was with purpose; lives were in the balance. Being obedient to the great commission carries with it a boldness and power that is unmatched in any activity, on any level. Knowing that the God of all creation is walking with you, dispels all fear. As I look back, I was more alive then than I was in the woods of Canada.

By the way, I did bag a bear. But greater still...some drug addicted kids gave their hearts to Christ.

Because He is, I am, ALIVE!

Proverbs 28:1 says "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."