Busy...Busy...Busy

The last few weeks have been really busy for us. First of all, I DIDN'T have to do the jury duty thingy, which was a good thing. Usually I don't mind. In fact, I find it all kind of interesting. But the timing just wasn't good this time!

We have had quite a few activities at church...get-togethers and we went Christmas caroling one night. That was fun. We had church services as usual on Christmas Eve. A group of us from church went to see the movie The Nativity Story. The kids had to be accompanied by a parent, just in case there was some kind of doctrinal error that needed to be talked about. There wasn't. The only things that stood out for me were the usual: the 3 wise men (we don't know how many wise men there actually were, the Bible doesn't say), and their visit to the baby Jesus in the stable laying in the manger (Jesus is actually referred to as a "child" in the Bible and the wise men visited him in a house.)

It was a beautifully made story that brought to life how Mary and Joseph must have felt with what they experienced, and how God spoke to them and how He worked in their lives. And the gift He was giving to ALL of us, the gift of his son Jesus.

Mom is still down. She will be going to church with us tonight, then we will be taking her over to my niece's house after church because we will be leaving early tomorrow morning to go up to Hartselle for a night, and then on to Anniston for a night. Then back home on Saturday because John doesn't have another Sunday he can take off this year. So it'll be a quick trip.

Oh yeah...we will be going up to Burlington on January 12th so John can try out for the job. Please pray that everything will work out and we will be able to move up there! I'm sure the weather will will quite different than what we have been experiencing here in Florida. But I can't wait to go!!! It's going to be an exciting year next year!!!

Things just keep moving along

Things are looking pretty good right now regarding our possible move to Burlington. John and I will be flying up for a weekend in the middle of January. This way, they can meet us and see if they are still interested in hiring John as their new preacher. On the other hand, John can meet them and see if he's still interested as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers going that it will all work out and that in June we will be moving up there! So far everything has worked out so well that this is really going to happen! I'm starting to get excited about it now, but I have to hold back a little just in case it doesn't work out because I will be SO disappointed!

Mom and my brother Danny are supposed to be arriving sometime today. They will be here until December 29th. Mom will be staying here most of the time, but she'll probably spend some time with my brother Gary and with Danny's girls as well. I guess I'll share her!

I had it all arranged. Monday was supposed to be my last day to work until after January 1st. Mom's coming down...I was going to spend as much time as possible with her...and then John asked me what I did with my JURY SUMMONS! I'm like, what jury summons??? Apparently I got one in the mail a while back and didn't find out about it until Thursday evening. I was frantically looking for it around the house, hoping there wasn't a warrant out for my arrest or something for failing to show up. Anyway, I found it, and I have to show up on Monday, the 18th! It's too late to try to get out of it now. Maybe I won't get picked this time though.

Why is it that some people seem to get summoned more often than others? This will be the 3rd time in 6 years for me, and I was picked to be on the jury both times before! Usually I think the whole process is pretty interesting, but this time I think I'd rather just step aside and let someone else take a turn!

It's Fall Ya'll!

What a beautiful day we are having today. Just a little cool,clear and sunny. Absolutely perfect! I was sitting out on the deck, just enjoying the weather and the view. Guess SOMEONE needs to get out there and rake up some leaves???

Krispy Kreme Temporarily Unavailable

In the Sunday Pensacola News Journal there was an article about our Krispy Kreme Donuts. It seems the building that has been at the same spot for 40 something years is going to be razed and a brand spanking new building will be there. A bigger and better place for cooking up those one-of-a-kind donuts that you just can't get enough of once you've tried them.

The article was really great, describing exactly how I feel about these tasty treats. I'm just not a good writer, so I'll let him describe my feelings exactly!

Don't Bogart that donut, hand it over to me by Carl Wernicke

I fear an ominous rumor as much as anyone -- especially when it threatens our very way of life.

So rumblings that the Krispy Kreme outlet on Ninth Avenue in Pensacola is never going to reopen after its closing for renovation have to be taken seriously.

After all, the phrase "Closed for remodeling" has been the epitaph for more businesses than I can count. It is far more deadly than the dreaded "vote of confidence" coaches of failing teams get from management just before they are fired (or go ask Don Rusmfeld, who might have gotten the quickest post-vote-of-confidence boot in history).

The company's stock has been pummeled, and falling sales of Krispy Kreme's coma-inducing sugar bombs have been blamed on the erroneous belief that if you eat only healthy foods, you will never die.

Of course, that fits in with today's "I want it now, and I want it all" mentality, but not even the fitness-obsessed baby boomers -- the most spoiled generation in history (unless you count their kids) -- will be able to escape the final breakdown.

Company officials counter the rumors with plans not for a renovation, but a complete tear-down and rebuild, with a reopening scheduled in four short months.

OK.

But it had better happen, that's all I can say.

I was first acquainted with Kripsy Kreme's famous glazed doughnuts as a Boy Scout. We bought them by the boxed dozen for a quarter, and raised money by selling them for 50 cents.

It was never that hard selling the doughnuts. I pitied the kids who had to hawk magazine subscriptions or weird stuff from catalogues. I once sold my grandmother these clever little colored plastic balls filled with water; you'd freeze them for use in place of ice cubes, and give your next party that festive air so lacking in more humdrum homes. The first time she did, several people got sick when the balls leaked tainted water into the drinks.

She demanded her money back, which was a setback to a little kid, even if the balls were a disappointment. Of course, today her guests would probably sue me.

I went back to selling Kripsy Kremes, which I knew people really wanted.

And why not? In those days, it was a no-brainer: a dozen fresh sugar bombs delivered to your door on Saturday, sometimes still warm, for 50 cents.

Let's eat two, as Ernie Banks used to say.

Naturally, we'd order some doughnuts for ourselves (and I'm talking glazed -- any other doughnut, even a Krispy Kreme, was an affectation; don't even talk to me about cake doughnuts, which sit as heavily on a Southerner's stomach as the defeat at Gettysburg, leaving no room for fried chicken).

Anyway, you'd dig into the box and pull out a couple of glazed delights -- if still warm, they threatened to melt on your fingers and pull apart as you drew them out. You'd already have a big glass of cold milk poured, and the doughnut would simply dissolve in your mouth; you didn't even have to chew a hot one.

Within minutes, the world would haze over and something would happen to your body. Your brain would start humming, your heartbeat quicken ... and everything and everyone else would slow down. The only way for them to catch up was to eat a couple themselves and dose their own bloodstream with the potent chemical load baked into every round little food-nuke. (Is a Krispy Kreme actually food? I don't know, and don't care.)

I do know that if I want to be the most popular guy in the newsroom I stop by the Krispy Kreme, stand in line with the other sleepyheads, and order several dozen "hot doughnuts now" to go.

Once in the newsroom, I put out an "all" message: Doughnuts in the coffee room.

Soon, there's nothing but a couple of empty boxes, with latecomers reduced to shamelessly scraping the congealed sugar off the cardboard like some desperate junkie working the bottom of his stash.

What I'm saying here is I had better not see a fried chicken place or convenience store rise up where Krispy Kreme now sits. The world is getting crazier, and I feel the need coming on to slow it down.

Family Pics

Telephone Inverview

John had an interview over the phone with the elders in Burlington yesterday afternoon. It lasted about 30-40 minutes. After it was over, he said he thought it went really well. Of course, we're no closer to knowing whether or not they will offer him the position, but he's gotten this far in the process anyway without a door being closed. Because I am a believer that God really and truly cares about all aspects of our lives. And if we pray about it, and really put God's will first regarding this issue, then things will work out the way they are supposed to.

Does God want us to move up there? We're still waiting for the answer to that question. If it's His will, the door will be opened. If not, He'll close it. Now I know I'm saying this at the risk that we won't get the opportunity to move up there, which would disappoint me terribly. But I have to believe and trust that God can see the bigger picture and He knows what is best for us. (That's so hard to do when you want something to happen so strongly!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a beautiful day in Florida today. About 75 degrees, warm and clear. I had to work for part of the day, but this afternoon we went out to the beach for a little while, just walked around and spent some time. The water was cold, but even so, there were a few brave souls actually getting into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Jared and Daniel tossed the ball around, while Abby and Tiffany looked for seashells. It was a nice time.

We plan to have our "real" Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow because of work today. I got a lot of it done today though, and ham is pretty simple to make. We had a turkey breast today. Gotta have turkey on Thanksgiving!

Anyway, hope everyone had a blessed day!

Satsuma Trees

We have had some absolutely beautiful weather down here in Florida the last several days...until today! I had to work Monday and Tuesday (when it was so nice), and today it is stormy and rainy! Oh well...I like the rain too! A good day to be home, curled up on the couch under my comforter and reading a book or watching something good on t.v. (if I can find something good that is!)

On Sunday after church I took a few pictures of our Satsuma trees in our back yard before I picked most of the oranges. Well...I think they'd be classified as oranges. They're really more like a tangerine because they can be peeled so easily, and they have hardly any seeds in them. We have 2 of them, and they produce plenty of oranges for our family and for us to share with some of our friends from church.

I really love the idea of going out in my back yard and plucking an orange off the tree and eating the sweet fruit right off the tree! We also have blueberries (in the summer) that are really good. If we move to Washington, I'll have to get some apple and plum trees, and the blueberries grow very well there also (and yummy raspberries!)

Well, it's started to rain very hard and the wind is blowing. Guess I'll be lazy and try to finish that book I started. I'm reading "At First Sight" by Nicholas Sparks.

Just Stuff

I just realized that I started this blog a year ago already. It was right around Veterans Day, and before the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm not sure just how things will go this year for Thanksgiving. I know Daniel and Tiffany and Abby will be down, but looks like I'll have to work. The schedule I'm on now has me working 12 hour shifts, and I work every Thursday to boot. So...guess they may be eating turkey at Cracker Barrel this year, and maybe even without me! Guess it's too early to worry about all that right now.

It hasn't been the best of weeks for me :( John is out of town this week at a Preachers Retreat in Columbia, Tennessee. I've been working, but have had a migraine headache for the last couple of days. Pretty frustrating, I can tell you! I've had these things for the last 30 years. I thought they were supposed to eventually just go away, but that hasn't been my experience. I still get em.

Jared and his girlfriend have broken up since Halloween. They'd been going together for about 9 or 10 months. I think Jared is handling things pretty well under the circumstances. He's handling it all right, though he often says how much he misses her . It's fascinating to me that he would consider taking her back, even though she already has another boyfriend. I like her, she's a nice girl, but they are both so young. I just know that if it was me, I'd not even consider taking someone back who didn't want to be with me and left me to be with someone else. Maybe I'm just too hard on people...I don't know???

John is starting to get a little more aggressive about looking for a new job. Once Jared graduates from high school at the end of May, he'll be moving to Tennessee and going off to college. We plan to move next June or so ourselves. He found a church that's looking for a preacher in Burlington, Washington. That's just outside of Mount Vernon, Washington and not that far from Bellingham and Vancouver Canada. I would absolutely love to move up there. I'd be pretty close to Angie and her family, and even closer to David. I'm keeping the prayers and supplications going and I'm learning a pretty good lesson in patience. Of course the most important thing is if that's the door God wants to open for us. Is that where HE wants us to go??? I hope. I hope. And pray.

Finally Done

We have finally finished enclosing our screened-in back porch. I now have a new office space. And we now have another bedroom available should we need one. (That used to be the office).I'm posting some before and after pics. Sorry, I have better before pics, but couldn't find them! This one is from a church activity we had at our home (a care group meeting I think???)

Finding Fault

Why is it so easy to see the fault in others and so hard to admit our own faults?

Letters 1971 - 1998

You asked me how I gave my heart to Christ,
I do not know;
There came a yearning for Him in my soul
S0 long ago;
I found earth's flowers would fade and die,
I wept for something that would satisfy
And then, and then, somehow I seemed to dare,
To lift my broken heart to God in prayer;
I do not know, I cannot tell you how;
I only know He is my Saviour now

Author Unknown

When I was helping mom pack some of her things to get ready for her move I found a box of letters. These letters were written by me to her and dad from the time I was 15 years of age, until I was 43 years of age. It was like finding a diary of my life. Many things I'd forgotten about. In other instances it brought back vividly many precious memories: When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, Those first years after my son was born, and then my daughter. How I felt when I went through a miscarriage at 5 months of my pregnancy...so many things.

It was such a surprise to find those letters, and such a gift! The above poem I found within that stack of letters that I had written and sent to them.

Classic Movie

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Mom Has Moved To Texas

My mom is 82 years old. She has changed a lot, especially in the last year. My oldest brother lives in Texas. He comes down to visit with us and his 2 daughters several times a year. He has been trying to get mom to move in with him and his wife for a couple of years. Everytime he has come down during this last year especially, he has seen a big change in mom. I've noticed it as well, but it hasn't been as obvious to me since I see her often. He wouldn't see her for 3 or 4 months, and so would really notice the subtle changes that I didn't see. He was concerned that she wasn't taking her medicine the way she should. Or that she wasn't eating right (which was my concern as well).

She finally agreed to move, which surprised me a little. She's always been so adamant that she was going to stay in her own little apartment. I guess she knew that she really needed to be with someone. Danny isn't working, so he can be with her during the day and make sure she's taken care of. Once it was decided, Danny didn't waste any time! They left yesterday, and I already miss her! The weekend was a busy one - moving the furniture she decided to keep onto the truck, finishing up with packing all her things. Everybody worked hard, but we got it all done.We considered her wishes through it all.

I would have loved to have her move in with John and Jared and me, but we're gone so much of the time with work and school and church activities! And, in all liklihood, we will be moving next summer. Jared will be going off to college (Freed-Hardeman in Tennessee). We will be moving somewhere, depending on where John finds a job. He's been here 15 years and is ready for a change.

My brother Gary stopped by with his grandaughter Autumn. I was fortunate enough to get a picture of mom and her 3 remaining children. Dad is gone, and my sister Merlea. This may be the last time we'll all be together for a while.

What Happened To July?

Being a person who has never suffered any kind of serious illness, I can now say I am MUCH more understanding to those who do and have. This last month has been an experience I will never forget, though I would love to! Basically, this is what happened:

July 5th - I worked, but just didn't feel very well. By the end of the day, my whole body ached, my stomach was upset and I had a fever of 101.

July 6th-9th - I called in sick on Thursday (6th). I knew I had the next 3 days off, so thought that'd be plenty of time to "get over it" whatever "it" was.

July 10th - Monday morning. Still sick. Still running a fever of 101 and 102. Can't eat or drink. So I decided to go to the Urgent Care Clinic. They examined me and sent me on to the Emergency Room. Told me not to eat or drink anything because they would probably be doing some abdominal scans to figure out what was going on. Waited for either 4 or 5 hours before they got around to seeing me. Had a temperature of 102. Was MISDIAGNOSED! They told me I was dehydrated so they started an IV to rehydrate me. They gave me some phenergan for my nausea, which basically put me to sleep. They told me I had viral gastroenteritis and to go home and "get over it".

July 17th - Monday morning. Experienced a week of misery. Continued fever off and on during that week, abdominal pain, nausea, and other things I won't mention. But I figured I HAD to get back to work, even though I still didn't feel very well. So, I went back to work. Worked my 9 hours.

July 18th - Tuesday morning. Woke up with a low grade fever of 100.6. Didn't feel well. But...went on in to work (I know, I really shouldn't have!) As the day progressed, I felt worse and worse. I was on a Continuous Care case, so when the RN stopped by to check on the patient, I told her I was going to have to leave because I was not feeling well at all. My husband got on the phone to my doctor and told her I REALLY NEEDED to see a doctor. The soonest she could see me was the 20th (Thursday).

July 20th - Thursday morning. Saw my doctor, who sets up an ultrasound to be done Saturday morning at the hospital(the 22nd).

July 22nd - Saturday morning. Ultrasound done of my abdomen. Ahhh...it appears my gallbladder has been acting up. So about 2-3 hours later, they did emergency surgery to get that gallbladder out!

I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating my experience with the health community has been...especially that ER visit. What people have to go through to get seen in the emergency room is a joke! But the killer is, you wait for hours to get back through the doors and on one of those beds (which in itself is a blessing because all you want to do is just lay down on their cold, dirty floor after waiting so many hours!) I understand they're busy. But they don't seem to take the time to really listen to what you are saying. If they had done that ultrasound on the 10th I wouldn't have had to suffer and go through all that I did.

Having said that, I have now been able to vent my frustration, and now I am so thankful they were able to figure out what was wrong and do what needed to be done. I feel so much better and will soon be back 100 percent!

Happy Birthday John

Today is John's (53rd) birthday. He says everybody celebrates his birthday every year! My brother is down from Texas to visit with my nieces and with mom. They came by and had some birthday cake with us. John also has to have watermelon every year on his birthday. I couldn't let him down. The gift...he picked out for himself one of those MP3 players. He can download books off the library internet and listen to them on his new toy!

Have A Happy 4TH

Evangelism University

If you want to hear some beautiful Christian accupella music, click here and then click on audio. It'll make your day!

Backwoods Christian Camp

This morning some of our youth group left for Backwoods Christian Camp. There were about 25 leaving, including one of our elders and 3 other adults. We have a church bus that we use to drive them there. Because we had more people than would fit in the church bus that wanted to go, we also drove a mini-van. What a GREAT problem, right????

We've had several of our young people come back from their week at camp who had been baptized. Everyone comes back tired, but rejuvenated. It's a week of singing, and fun, and learning. Fellowship and meeting new people. They love it!

You can check out Backwoods here.

Regarding Open Minded

I am a person that has strong religious beliefs. Yet I base those beliefs, not on what others have told me I should believe, but on the conclusions to which I have come because of my own study of God's Word, the Bible. Yet I know that there is so much more for me to learn. I am always open to knowing and learning to be the way God wants me to be.

I have used that same Bible to form my opinions about other issues, such as homosexuality or abortion to name a couple. Because God says it is wrong, I feel it is wrong as well. The society in which we live in today would not say such things. Just because it's legal to have an abortion, is it the right thing to do? Just because many in our society say homosexuality is okay, that does not mean it is right. We have to look to the Bible as our standard to determine what is right and wrong. That's not a very popular position to take sometimes.

Now that's no excuse to treat someone who is a homosexual in an unloving way. Nor should you look down on a person who felt she had to have an abortion because of the circumstances of her life at the time. We just need to show love to everyone, because we were all made in the image of God. And we try to build a relationship of genuine caring with all people. Then we try to show them what God says about what is right and wrong, by directing them to the Bible.

We are all human. We all make mistakes. We are all guilty of sin. We all need a savior. That Savior is Jesus Christ. He has already provided the way of forgiveness for our sins through his precious blood. If we would only listen and obey.

How Open Minded Are You?

You Are 36% Open Minded

You aren't exactly open minded, but you have been known to occasionally change your mind. You're tolerant enough to get along with others who are very different... But you may be quietly judgmental of things or people you think are wrong. You take your own values pretty seriously, and it would take a lot to change them.

How Open Minded Are You?

The Dentist

Well, looks like I've finally put it off long enough. I went to the dentist Friday. I'm probably going to have to have a root canal done on one of my teeth! Just the smell that greets me when I walk into the dentist's office is enough to make me turn around and walk right back out! Then when I hear that drill sound you always hear when you're sitting there in the waiting room brings a cold sweat out on me. I'm such a big baby when it comes to going to the dentist. But I guess the very REAL pain of having a bad tooth is a little bit worse than the PSYCHOLOGICAL pain of going!

I get to go back next Friday! Pray for me!

A.C.T.S.

Tonight we had a get together with some of the folks at church. I always seem to come away from those little meetings feeling kind of bad about things. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the fellowship. We got together and went out to eat. Then we went back to the church building for a bit of brain storming. ACTS is an acronym for Active Christians in Today's Society. I hope the number that showed up tonight isn't a true count of how many active Christians we have in our congregation. We only had 15 show up. And isn't it always the same handful of people that are willing to show up for something outside of their normal Sunday morning and Wednesday night?

We are great about coming up with some good ideas. I've heard all kinds of great and wonderful ideas in my years attending here. But our problem is the follow up; following through with all those great ideas. And as great as they are, I'm not sure any of them will actually cause the numbers to increase. One problem I see with a small congregation (we're about 130 members) is that we just don't have all the activities that so many people are looking for when they start looking for a church. Especially when they have children. But how do you build up your class sizes and your youth group when they won't stay? We have a pretty decent teenage group because all our children are growing up!

So, how do you get a congregation to grow? How do you get the members you already have to get involved? It seems to me that's the key to growth...having members who care and who are willing to be involved. Because it's not about the numbers. It's about each one of us sharing our hope in Christ with others. It's not the preacher's job, or the elder's job; it's something we should all be doing.

Choices

My cousin owns about 175 acres in Arkansas. She and her family have been raising birds for years now that eventually get to our local pet stores, such as Petco. They also raise guinea pigs, rabbits, a snake or two.

They work really hard too, because they do it right. They make sure their animals are healthy, and clean and well cared for, and they expect anyone that buys their animals to treat them the same way! They have a beautiful home, and their children live close by and also work with the animals. The Lord has blessed them.

It was so nice and peaceful out there. If you sit out on the patio, early in the morning and again in the evening you can watch the deer as they walk across the yard. And when it gets dark you can actually see hundreds of stars because you don't have all the lights around that dull the brightness of the starlight. I loved it!

That's what I want for myself. To be able to slow life down a little bit. I think it's still possible to get a little land somewhere (maybe...say 5 acres, I won't be greedy!) and have a little house, a garden. Sit out on my porch and enjoy God's creation. We just don't take the time to do that anymore. I know I don't.

We brought home a cockateil. They hand feed their birds, so he's pretty tame and used to being handled. I'm hoping to be able to teach him to talk. I had a cockateil once before who had so much personality and was really sweet. Supposedly the males are easier to teach. Guess we'll see. I don't know what to name him though!

Family Reunion

We just returned today from a family reunion in Arkansas. I'm not sure how many more of these we'll be able to have. Mom and all her siblings are getting older and their health is declining. Marvin is 84, Mom is 82, Faye will be 80 next month, Bonnie is 76, and Mattie is 72. They have always been a very close family, though they live in different states (Florida, Arkansas, Texas and North Carolina.)

Mom and Dad

Pics of Mom and Dad. Dad died in 1990 at 80 years of age.

Me

Pics of me. I'm the youngest of the four.

My Brother Gary

My brother Gary. He's almost 2 years older than me.

My brother Danny. He's 10 years older than I am. Picture of him and our mom.

My Sister Merlea

These pictures are of my sister Merlea. She was 12 years older than me. She died in 2000 at 56 years of lung cancer.

Da Vinci Code

The last two Sunday mornings John has preached about the controversy of the "Da Vinci Code" that everybody's talking about. I thought I'd pass on a couple of points that came from these sermons.

First of all, The DaVinci Code is fiction. It's a suspense novel, howbeit a sacrilegious novel. It's not true. The only problem is, Dan Brown claims he believes it is based on fact.

Brown claims that Jesus and Mary Magnalene were married and had children. The truth is, the Bible mentions Mary Magdalene only a few times: (1) Jesus cast seven demons out of her(Mark 16:9). (2) She was present while Jesus was dying on the cross(Matthew 27: 55-56). (3) She was present when Jesus was buried (Matthew 27: 60-61). (4) She went to the tomb early on the first day of the week (Matthew28:1). (5) She told Peter and John about the empty tomb (John 20:1-2). (6) Jesus appeared to her after His resurrection (Mark 16:9) and told her that He had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). Mary reported to the disciples what Jesus had said to her (John 20:18). The Bible never hints of any kind of romantic relationship between Jesus and Mary. It doesn't teach that they married and had children. The scriptures present Mary as a devoted follower of Jesus.

Brown claims that Christians worshiped on the Sabbath until emperor Constantine changed it to Sunday. "Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration day of the sun. To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute - Sunday." (pp232-233) The truth is, the New Testament church met on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:2; Acts 20:7) If the churches in Corinth and Troas were meeting on Sunday (the first day of the week) back in the middle of the first century, the time of worship could not have been changed by Constantine in the early years of the fourth century as he claims.

Brown claims that the Bible is a product of man...not God. "The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven... The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times and it has evolved through countless translations, additions and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book" (p 231) The truth is, the Bible gives a different explanation for its origin. 2 Peter 1:21 says "For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Timothy 3:16 says "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." If Brown's view is correct, the Bible ought to be a mishmash of confusing and contradictory stories. Instead it is a single, unfolding story of sin and redemption.

Even knowing this book is a work of fiction, I still find it upsetting and an attack on the beliefs I find so very important to me. Christians will recognize this for what it is; a book full of lies about Christ and the Bible. In order to minimize the potential damage to people's faith in Christ and in the Bible, look for opportunities to share the TRUTH about Christ and God's word.

Mothers Day 2006

Mom and I on MothersDay, May 14, 2006.

Groaner of the day

Did you hear what the mother hen, who was recently widowed, said to her rebellious chick? "If only your father could see you now. He'd turn over in his gravy!"

groan groan

A Florida Biker and His Babe

This is for anyone who dares to think we don't know how to "live it up" here in the good ole south!

A Taste of Heaven

Wow, what a great sermon we had today! John preached about Heaven. I guess because I work with people who are very ill, I was sitting there listening to him and thinking how encouraging it would be for some of them to hear what he was saying. I also have worked with a lot of elderly people, and I know what a comfort his words would be to them as well. He read from Revelation 21, where John wrote the following; "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." I have especially found comfort in the words of Jesus from John 14 which states; "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Jesus died for every one of us. One day, this journey we call life will come to an end. The end of our journey will lead us to either heaven or to hell. Those who reject Christ will not be saved. Apart from His cross, there is no other possible way of salvation.

In each of our lives there will be sorrow and there will also be much joy. When we lose a loved one in death, it is a time of sorrow and sadness. But if that loved one was a faithful Christian, there is also joy to know that they have finished the race and are now in the presence of the Savior. It is such a bitter sweet time.

Heaven should not only be our destination, but our motivation in this life.

We sang one of my favorite songs today:
Why Did My Savior Come to Earth?

Why did my Savior come to earth, And to the humble go?
Why did He choose a lowly birth? Because He loved me so!

Why did He drink the bitter cup, Of sorrow, pain and woe?
Why on the cross be lifted up? Because he loved me so!

Til Jesus comes I'll sing His praise, And then to glory go,
And reign with Him thro' endless days, Because he loved me so!

He loved me so. He loved me so.
He gave His precious life for me, for me. Because He loved me so!

Just Beautiful!!!!!!!!

Baptist Dog

This is Mike - We adopted him from the animal shelter.

Thought this was too funny. Just sharing a couple of correspondences from an e-mail my husband shared with me. I know it's a joke, but it does show a little about how people are watching when we profess to be Christians!

Ever mindful of the congregation, the Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog, and knew that the dog also had to be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs.
Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted.
The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife.
"Fetch the Bible," he commanded.
The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner.

"Now find Psalm 23," he commanded.
The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw.

The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog.
That evening, a group of church members came to visit.
The pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses.
The visitors were very impressed.

One man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?"

"I haven't tried yet," the pastor replied. He pointed his finger at the dog. "HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor's forehead and began to howl.

The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "Oh no! He's Pentecostal!"

Your post makes me feel that I've been really amiss in that when my wife and I adopted a dog from the pound a couple of years ago, we didn't even give a thought to his religious affiliation. After discussing it, though, we have decided that we lucked out . . . he is definitely a "church of Christ dog." Not only does he not heel (er, heal), but while he occasionally sings (barks), he has never yet been known to play an instrument to accompany his singing.


I heard someone mention on one occassion that they had a dog that had gotten into some mischief of some sort. She then described how one gracious member took her aside to explain to her, a preacher's wife, that the dog of a minister of church of Christ ought not to act that way. Can you imagine? It would be hard not to facetiously encourage the sister to start a new dog convert's class!
So, not only are preachers, preacher's wives, and PKs, held under the microscope, but also preacher's pets!

Krispy Kreme Donuts

I grew up just a couple of blocks from where Krispy Kreme donuts were made. I knew even before the "hot donuts now" sign started flashing, that there were some fresh donuts just coming out of the oven. The smell was wonderful! They've always been my favorite (I like the glazed vanilla cream filled ones the best!) One of the neat things about our trip was that we got to see how the donuts were made! (It doesn't take a lot to get me excited!) Anyway, Thought I'd share a few of the pictures to show you how they make them.

Me In Tallahassee

This picture was taken inside the state capitol in Tallahassee, April 15, 2006.

Our Trip

Well, we had a pretty nice time on our "mini" trip/anniversary. We drove along the coast, then up to Tallahassee. It was a georgous day! The beaches were absolutely beautiful, and not too crowded. We stopped at Panama City for a walk on the beach. It was kind of hot though. Not too crowded. I wouldn't have wanted to be there during spring break though!

This picture is of John on the beach in Panama City, April 14, 2006.

Judge Not

Who's in Heaven ?

I was shocked, confused bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
By the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves,the liars,the sinners,
The alcoholics,the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

She,who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus,
"What's the deal?
I would love to hear your take.
How'd all these sinners get uphere?
God must've made a mistake.

And why's everyone so quiet,
So somber?
Give me a clue."
"Hush child," said He.
"They're all in shock.
No one thought they'd see you!"

Just something I got in an email I wanted to share. Now we know that thieves, liars and sinners will not be in heaven. But isn't it great to know that there is forgiveness for our sins through the cross? I don't know about you, but I haven't met a perfect person yet!

He Is Risen

We had a lot of visitors at church this morning. Not surprising, we expected it. It seems that people will go to church on Christmas and Easter, even if they won't go any other time of the year. John preached a good sermon about the teacher Jesus. He traveled around Palestine for about 3 1/2 years - working miracles, teaching the truth of His purpose, His fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and preparing them to continue teaching others these great truths.

He did mention about the risen Christ. But he emphasized that Christ's ressurrection should be preached any time of the year, not just on some special day of the year. 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." Jesus wasn't the first person to be raised from the dead (Lazarus and others were), but He was the first to never die again! Because of His great sacrifice, we have that same promise. Not that we'll never die (we will, unless the Lord returns before then), but He has assured us that on that day we will also experience the resurrection of our bodies and we will have eternal life.

Happy Easter to you all!

2005

My daughter Angie at 25 years of age.