Gratitude, Who Needs It?

Scripture

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

~I Thessalonians 5:18, KJV

Quote

“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.”

~John Henry Jowett

Without gratitude, you will live a miserable life. An ungrateful spirit will foul up everything. You will never be content; always wanting more. Your hope will lack perception and your faith will lack passion. You will limp through life without joy or celebration. If will even vex you when others celebrate. You will record all transgressions; keep track of every debt and be offended every time you are not recognized for your devotion and service. You will never know the joy of resting in His grace.

For those who have seen the holiness of God and the wretched depravity of the human heart, every thing is grace. We even learn to celebrate our weakness like Paul… His grace is sufficient for us and His power is perfected in our weakness. Most gladly, therefore, we will rejoice in our weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in us. {JEV} Paul said, “In every think give thanks.” It is God’s will for you to be thankful no matter what the circumstances. Paul said “In” everything not for everything.

• Ronnie Earley {Amy Penney’s dad} is battling three serious health problems. He has prostate cancer, colon cancer and needs heart surgery which at this time, they are not able to do. Please pray for Ronnie and Family. Joe David talked with him yesterday. He says Ronnie has a great attitude.
• Very good report from Bessemer today: Thank YOU Jesus!
• Two Celebration of Life Services today: Ida Hughes–Visitation from 11:00-1:00 and service at 1:00 at Peck. This is Willard’s aunt, his mother {Jackie} sister. Also Judy Blackwood’s mom, Beatrice Freeze service at 3:00.
• THE GATHERING at 6:30 with the best praise and worship in the country. I may be a little prejudice but I put our guys up against any and they make great music on Wednesday night. I think they are more laid back.
• Don’t forget those ROSES FOR MAMA on Mother’s Day. Sunday is your last day.
• Looking ahead: May 8th–Kenny Evans [Pigeon Forge], May 15th–Ken Blackwood, May 22nd–Baccalaureate, May 29th–LCBS Party Night. Vacation Bible School–June 13-17.

Our Two Seniors have less than a month

Giving, Giving, Giving

Scripture

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

~Luke 6:38, NLT

Quote

Only by giving can one increase their capacity for receiving.

~Anonymous

A recent survey concluded that 97% of professing Christians in American do not believe the above verse or quote. It is probably safe to say, 85% or more of Baptist don’t believe the above verse and quote.

A man was complaining to his pastor, “It’s getting to be one continuous give, give, give.” I’m sure he was making reference to the pastor’s sermons, the mission offerings and such. The pastor had a brilliant come back: “You know,” the pastor said, “You just gave me the best definition of a Christian that I’ve ever heard.” I wasn’t there, but I imagine the old tight wad grunted and then walked away.

Father, grant us the spirit of Christ. Teach us the joy of giving. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

• Pat Halbrooks was promoted yesterday around noon I think. This is Mandy and Nicki’s father [the girls that ran Pig Stand]. He ask Joe David a few weeks back not to pray for him to live. He said, “I am ready to go home.” Thank you Lord for hearing Pat’s prayer and thank You that his bags were packed. Bless the family.
• I know some of you, like Michael Penney, did not have as good of a Christmas as you had hoped for: I think his clinic flooded. I have a heart for those who were hurting or suffered misfortune yesterday but I was so relieved when I got word that Gary Garner was better. It made my day better. I love good news.
• I remember July 4th 2013 so well. I was under a shed smoking chickens. It rained for 3-4 hours hard and Ray’s pasture flooded over Rocky Ford road and was a couple of inches deep across the Lawrence County Speed Way [also known as Ironman Road]. I never dreamed it could happen again and on CHRISTMAS to boot. I love rain and if I had been 20 years younger I would have floated a creek. Unfortunately, what I enjoyed is going to be a problem to some. It has already been a problem to some. We will not be able to use the bathrooms at Gregg’s grocery [Holiday Inn South is what Bobby Sandlin called it]for a month and ours will be a close second.
• I want to thank Ken Blackwood for reposting a thought from the blog. Doesn’t happen much but I always appreciate it when it does.
• The Electronic CHRISTMAS CARDS are fantastic. The Bailey’s would have done one had we thought about. I think it is a great idea. I loved them all. It’s the wave of the future. The Post Office will pass away with the Baby Boomers.

A Holly Jolly Christmas

Scripture

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

~Luke 2:10, NKJV

Quote

“Oh by golly, have a holly jolly Christmas this year.”

~Burl Ives

In spite of all the sad things that have happened on and around Christmas, I still believe it is the best time of the year. My grandmother [Halbrooks] was promoted on Christmas Day 1972. Mama, as we called her, embodied the spirit of Christmas; thus Christmas has not been the same since. Then Daddy departed this world on July 5th 1995 and although he tried to play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge at Christmas: we discovered rather quickly that he was the glue that kept our family together. Then my brother in 2009 and Mother in 2010. In my time alone, I grieve their passing. I miss them more every year which I don’t understand: you would think it would get easier. In the presence of my children and grand children, I am jolly. I don’t want a single grandchild left with the memory that their Granddad was a wet blanket at Christmas.

This week has been a strange week. I have met at least one new family each day. With each new acquaintance, there is a story. I’m going to put yesterday’s story in parable form to protect the innocent.

A certain young man who came from a good family got married and began making a home and family. He was very particular; his goal was to be independent. He didn’t want to be indebted to anyone not even his parents. In took great pride in being debt free and saving money. When a caring family member questions his core values, he said, “I have enough money to get what I want, I don’t owe anyone and I don’t need anyone’s help.” Yet this young man was miserable and worked to make everyone around him miserable. Even on Christmas, he refused to let his children go visit their grandparents. No pictures, no cards, no parties and no family get to gathers. How would you like to be his child or wife?

Please, for the sake of your children and grandchildren, give your misery a break during the holidays. Don’t be guilty of imposing your misery upon a child. For Pete’s sake, let them enjoy their childhood.

• I was so tired when I got home last night, that there was no EXTRA but I want to wash some feet tonight. First of all, I commend you for all that you have done this Christmas to help children. I’m not sure, but I think you sponsored 13 children and they all got a whale of a Christmas. Jason’s class did more than one and so did Charles’ class. We had four women who did the others. THANK YOU FOLKS–YOU MAKE ME PROUD [in a good way].
• LORD willing, Shohn and I work to noon today but this has been a crazy week. My back, for some strange reason is much better. The problem now, is not overdoing it. I don’t understand but it began getting better Saturday evening. I bet someone has been praying for me and so I am going to give the LORD the credit for my improvement.
• Remember, no service tonight but we do have CHRISTMAS EVE COMMUNION tomorrow night at 6:00.
• There were 4 different unspoken request on the prayer sheets this week and I can add a couple to the list. I don’t know what they are but I will guess: [1] Substance Abuse, [2] Domestic Conflict, [3]Ungrateful adult children, [4] Irresponsible Adults [folks who keep blaming others for everything that goes wrong in their life], [5]Family Conflict, [6] Financial Bondage and [7] Spiritual Indifference. So pick out a number and pray for that mountain to fall.
• I am so thankful for Buford’s baptism on the 13th. Buford is tired; he has very little energy. I am fairly certain that Buford is packing, taking care on all details, in view of his promotion. I told him yesterday how much he has inspired me. I love Buford and his family. The entire family has the gift of hospitality.
• Seth is home {PTL} but his is disabled for three months and he is not happy about it. On the other hand, we are very happy that they saved his toe and that it was not worse. He has a very good boss [which is good] and between him and his mama, a lot of friends. He had to go 9 hours without eating [before the surgery]. Dr. Gomez wrote on his post opt orders…”Feed the boy.” He said he had never written those orders before.
• When the grand mother told me her story yesterday [about not getting to have all her grandchildren at Christmas], I got stirred up. I am an advocate for children. I don’t remember who it was or where, but some one told me in the last few days about a good divorce…he said concerning someone else, “She is happy now and he is happy now.” My knee jerk reaction, “How happy are the children?” [two children involved]. He said, “Your right, I hadn’t thought about from their perspective.” Neither have their parents! How can any parent be happy when their own selfishness has destroyed their child’s sense of security and threatened their peace of mind and happiness?

Christmas Joy

Scripture

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12, NIV

Quote

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”

~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I saw the above verse on a Guidepost calendar today. It seemed so fresh, it was like I had never seen it before. It took me a few minutes to find out what translation it was from. It is the NIV and I love it. Notice the phrase, “Be joyful in hope.”  Joy is most definitely a CHRISTMAS WORD.

• Matthew 2:10– When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
• Luke 1:44–When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
• Luke 2:10– “Don’t be afraid!” the Angel said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”
• Luke 2:34–“This child {Jesus} is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him.”

I suppose Matthew 2:10 in the NKJV says it best...When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. In other words, they were completely overwhelmed by joy. The joy in the wise men erupted like an artesian well and it was overwhelming: they were captured, enraptured and dominated by joy. It took control of their emotions, they mind and their body. Their joy was visible and vibrant. It could not be covered or denied.

Do we see that kind of JOY in our worship? Most Baptist look miserable in worship. Their expression says…Do I have to be here?…This is painful… I am bored…I’m not interested, so shut up and let us go home.

Isn’t it sad that most professed believers do not understand that Joy is the serious business of heaven. I borrowed that last thought from Jack, {Clive Staples Lewis} who’s nick name was Jack. If I had a name like Clive Staples, it would be a joy to be called Jack. Amen!

• Gary Garner has already had his 5th treatment. I thought they were going to give him the holidays off but they didn’t. He will not be able to have company this weekend. In three weeks, he will have his 6th and final treatment we pray.
• Buford Burgess had one bad night and day this week but he was feeling a tad bit better yesterday. I made a new friend, Buford’s great grand son Elijah. He did some stand up comedy for me. I got a chuckle but I don’t think his grandmother or great grandmother were that entertained. Kids didn’t make Christmas but it was made for them. I would never want a Christmas without kids. Someone gave Buford a singing Turkey. The bird is hilarious.
• Our readership has been down for a while; for some reason, I cannot post it to Tweeter and Facebook with the one click as I was able to do for some years. It’s time consuming to do them one at a time and I just don’t go to the trouble. I know those who really want to read the devotion will find it. It is simple to find. I think this is one factor, there are probably others. It takes more time than I have to produce a good devotion. We have about 35 solid readers and I appreciate everyone of them. I’ve thought seriously about giving it up lately but it has nothing to do with the drop in readers. Sometimes, a lot lately, I feel overwhelmed by my own sins and transgressions and I fell unqualified to write a blog. I just want you to know I appreciate you and I wish I knew more about computers. I am horrible about responding to comments.
• I got to ranting last night so I will try to keep this one short but I am going to share with you and email from Bobby Stork and dedicate it to our Marine grand son [Jonathan Seth Fagan].

TWO TERRIORIST AND ONE MARINE

Two Terrorists boarded a flight out of London. One took a window seat and the other sat next to him in the middle seat. Just before takeoff, a U.S. Marine sat down in the aisle seat. He took it upon himself to make sure these two did not become a problem. After takeoff the Marine unlaced his boots and kicked them off, he wiggled his toes and was settling in for some serious rest when the terrorist in the window seat said “I need to get up and get a coke.” “Don’t get up,” said the Marine, “stay in your seat. ‘I’m in the aisle seat, I’ll get it for you.” As soon as he left one of the terrorist picked up the Marines boot and spat in it and mumbles ‘stupid infidel.’ When the Marine returned with the coke, the other terrorist said, “That looks good.  I’d really like one too.” Again, the Marine said, “don’t get up, I will get it for you,” and he gets the second terrorist a coke. While he was gone the other terrorist picked up the Marines other boot and spat in it saying, “Dumb American swine.” When the Marine returned, he sat back and enjoyed the flight. As the plane was landing the Marine slipped his feet into his boots and knew immediately what had happened. He leaned over and asked his Muslim neighbors,  “Why does it have to be this way? How long must this go on? This fighting between our nations…This hatred…This  animosity… This spitting in shoes and urinating in cokes?”  

• THE  FEW. THE PROUD. THE CHOSEN.

• Simper Fi

The Fruit of The Spirit

SCRIPTURE

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

~Galatians 5:22-23, NRSV

QUOTE

The difference between want and need is self-control.

~Anonymous

Study the fruit of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, etc. Is there anything on this list that is unattractive to you? Honestly, there is nothing on the list that I do not admire and covet. What moron would not want love, joy and peace? The last thing on the list is self-control but it is actually the key to all the others. If we would deny self and give preference to others, the other fruit would emerge without our effort. We always begin with love because it is first on the list and probably the most coveted fruit but the key is self-control. In terms of importance, it is first.

• I stand amazed. What a Thursday night response! Linda and Dian were hear and waiting on the arrival of the goods. Within 30 minutes, the FORTE looked like an ant hill. This doesn’t mean we are through but we are off to a great start.
• We will be here all day today. Our focus today will be the Grace Barn and tonight we may do some more sitting up. I’m not sure about the Saturday Schedule: Mandy has that but I will post it tomorrow.

An Encouraging Word!

SCRIPTURE

When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

~2 Corinthians 7:5-6, NLT

QUOTE

“Encouragement is awesome. It can actually change the course of another person’s day, week, or life.”

~Chuck Swindoll

Paul uses the word encourage six times in 2 Corinthians 7 and the word discourage once. Paul is a super-hero of faith and we tend to put him on a larger than life pedestal but he was very human. He got discouraged and was filled with anxiety. He was worried about the church at Corinth. He had written them a harsh letter and had heard nothing. I think he was doing a lot of second guessing and perhaps some regretting. Bottom line, he was anxious, afraid and discouraged. Fear always leads to discouragement.

What did it take to cheer Paul up? Titus showed up with news for Corinth and his presence and the good news he brought filled Paul’s heart with joy. Isn’t that something? Paul was down and a visit cheered him up.

Ray gives me a magazine each month called ISRAEL MY GLORY and I read a story in last months issue about a Jewish man who was dying in a hospital in Israel. This man’s entire family had been killed by Muslims when he was a teenager. Somehow he got involved with drug smugglers and then got addicted to morphine. He was arrested and imprisoned several times but he never changed his life style. He spent a total of 19 years in British prisons; now he was dying and no one cared. A Christian handy man was working on something in his room when he noticed the man’s despair. He sat down by his bed and ask him if he was prepared to die and did he know Jesus. The man shared his life story and then ask if there was any hope that Christ would forgive him. Long story short, the handy man with the word of God convinced him and he trusted Christ as his Savior. When the handy man left his room late that evening, he said, “I am ready to go be with my Savior.” He was promoted that same night.

• Another GREAT DAY at DBC. Is God good or what!
• The Count-down is zero. June is doing some last minute packing and I am on the computer. Thank YOU church for making this possible. You are very special and dear to our hearts. Remember the YOUTH are leaving today also and PTL we did not have to rent a second van because God gave us one out of the clear blue.
• This may be the last blog for a while but I will be using TWITTER to tweet pics and small messages. We get on the ship on the 24th and I’m not sure I will be able to communicate from the ship. Don’t forget to look for us August 2 on the blog. During my sickness and no blogs, I lost a lot of readers and I don’t want that to happen. A business man told me a couple of weeks ago, “I read your blog everyday.” I said, “Then, I shall continue to blog.” I don’t have many readers but I have quality readers. June says I am addicted but I am not going to worry about the blog, plus I am packing light.

Joy Is An Attitude

SCRIPTURE

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

~Philippians 2:5-6, NLT

QUOTE

They say attitude determines altitude: think about, the higher you fly, the thinner the air, less turbulence. You fly above the storms.

~Ya’akov [adapted]

Jonathan Edwards, not to be confused with Jonathan Winters [although they resemble], was monotone and manuscript preacher with a keen intellect and a power with words. He served as the president of Princeton University. He was a prolific writer and is most famous for his role in the First Great Awakening in the 1700’s. He also pastored the same church for 23 years but he ruffled some feathers and they fired him. The people in his town watched to see what his reaction would be. They thought he would be bitter and lash out but to the contrary, he was like a bird out of a cage. His joy was beyond the reach of his enemies and people noticed.

Since Jesus was God, He had Divine rights but He did not cling to them; He did not claim them. In preference to others, He did not live to please Himself. If we live as He lived, folks will notice.

TODAY WE PRAY FOR TEACHERS

• I will be at the office today but if you need me, call my cell because I will be alone. Mandy is traveling home. Joe David is in New Orleans for the week. He has classes from 9:00 am until 9:00 pm. They may be others traveling: pray that they all get home safely. June and I went to Athens Saturday and the traffic was awful.
• VBS and VBX June-12. T-Shirts are now on Sale. They are the best we’ve had in my opinion. $10 for regular sizes and $12 for 2X and 3X.
• YOUTH MISSION TRIP next week, June 1-5.
• A word of THANKS for all the kind words about the MEMORIAL DAY EVE service and the phone calls. We lost several slides and it was my fault. It would have been a train wreck if David and Rebecca had not helped me. Hugh’s was missing and so were 4-5 more. I plan to put even more time into next year. I know what I did wrong and I can do better.

The Happy Man

SCRIPTURE

Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud.

~Psalms 40:4, NRSV

QUOTE

Any faith in Him, however small, is better than any belief about Him, however great.

~George McDonald

I like Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the above verse, “Blessed in the man who gives himself over to God and turns his back on the world’s ‘Sure Thing.'” When I read this, I thought of Moses. You talk about a sure thing, Moses was an adopted Prince. All he had to do to live a life of wealth and luxury was placate his Egyptians parents. He had been adopted into one of the richest families on the face of the planet but he gave it all up to serve a bunch of ungrateful slaves.

The writer of Hebrews says of Moses. “He chose rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward.”

I can’t really identify with Moses. I was a 19 years old working my way through Junior College when I surrendered to the gospel ministry. I didn’t walk away from a sure thing. I dreamed of being a coach or a farmer and even then, poor folks didn’t have a chance in farming without some help. I do agree with David, you cannot go wrong by trusting the LORD. He definitely knows what is best and it is for certain, He is the only ONE who can make us happy.

• Supper tonight at 5:30 with AWANA at 6:15 and the GATHERING at 6:30…. I do plan to be there and share a message. 
• Today we pray for the WORLD.
• Sunday is a big day with our offering of OCC Christmas Boxes. I am praying for 200 plus. Remember Holly will be in the Sanctuary from 9:00-9:15 in case you want a pic with your children or grands with a shoe box. June does one for all the grand kids and Mylee did one also which will give us 10. To cap the morning service off, we have a celebration of Baptism. The Children will be with us in the service and they will sing. No Deacon’s meeting this Sunday.
• I walked for the second day but it was cold. I got started late and my thoughts as I came in before dark were: “I’m sure glad I am not homeless.” June and I love our land lord and the cottage he provides. It has been a blessing.
• We clicked over the 100 thousand mark last night: thank you readers one and all. We average 115 hits per day which is up slightly from a year ago. A year ago it was around 75 per day. I love doing them and just glad there is someone to read them. By the grace of God we have posted 1,916 blogs in just over 5 years. I can’t remember what my life was like before the blog.

 Can A Muslim Be a Good American?

First: you need to read this from start to finish. Muslims, even those who profess to be peaceful never denounce the atrocities perpetrated by other Muslims upon Christian and Jews; have you ever wondered why? 

This question was forwarded to a friend of mine who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years. The following is his reply:

Theologically— they cannot speak out because of their allegiance is to Allah, The moon god of Arabia.

Religiously— they cannot speak out because no other religion other than Islam is acceptable. It is Islam, the sword or slavery; you take your choice. Freedom of religion does not exist in the world of Islam.v(Quran,2:256)(Koran)

Scripturally— they cannot speak against the Quran which encourages violence against Christians and Jews.

Socially— they do not speak out because their allegiance to Islam forbids them from making friends with Christians or Jews. 

Politically — they do not speak out because they must live in submission to their mullahs [spiritual leaders] who teach the annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan.

Intellectually— they cannot speak about anything. Before you can speak intellectually, you have to have intellect. Trust me, no Muslim, peaceful or otherwise is going to uphold or honor the constitution of the United States of America. In this way, they are a kin to democrats.

Philosophically— they will not speak out because Islam does not allow freedom of expression for individual muslims. Again, like a loyal democrat, they have to hold to the party line whether they believe it or not. Freedom and Islam are antithetical, they cannot co-exist together. Every Muslim nation is under dictatorship. No exceptions!

Spiritually— they will not speak out because when we declare ourselves ‘one nation under God,’ and that is offensive to them. Their god allah is not a god of love and he is not a father. Yahweh is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as father, nor is he ever called love in the Quran’s 99 excellent names.

Therefore, after much study and deliberation…Perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL  MUSLIMS in this  country. They obviously cannot be both  ‘good’ Muslims  and ‘good’ Americans. Call it what you wish but in reality, Islam is a threat to freedom and peace. There are no good muslims or bad muslims, just muslims. No peaceful muslims or belligerent muslims, just muslims. The sooner we get this through our thick heads, the better off we will be. 

Editor’s note:

Our political correct politicians and media are dupes. Muslims operate like ancient Eastern Monarchs, the first thing they do when they get power is eliminate the opposition and they will not make a distinction between democrat or republican. Obama showed David Green and Hobby Lobby no mercy, yet he made exceptions for all Muslim owned companies. You see there are two things that Christians and Muslims agree on: Abortion and homosexuality are sins. Obama did not make the Muslim companies enforce the mandate for companies to provide the day after pill due to their religious beliefs but he showed Green no such mercy. Some people believe that he is Muslim Communist: one thing is certain, he sympathizes with Muslims more than he does Christians. I’m talking about real Christians.

 

Joy

SCRIPTURE

Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice!

~Philippians 4:4, The VOICE

QUOTE

“Joy is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can’t see and doesn’t know anything about.”

~Dwight L. Moody

We are all wired differently. Some people are prone to show emotion while others do not. Sylaina talked about this in her testimony Sunday night. Some people are serious and quiet by nature, they are not the cheerleader type while others are just the opposite. If Susan is happy, we all know it but with Frankie it is not as obvious and they have the same parents. Joy is not necessarily exuberance although joy can be exuberant. Joy is anchored in Christ who is seated by the right hand of the Father far above the circumstances of this life. As long as we abide in Christ, there is no chance of us losing our joy.

I speak these things by faith because I have never been surrounded by horrible circumstance like Job for instance but I do know joy is not the absence of problems or conflicts: joy is the presence of Jesus. Happiness depends on what happens but joy comes from Christ the Eternal fountain of joy. I do believe the song writer was inspired who wrote these words, “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Everyday with Jesus, I love Him more and More. Jesus saves and keeps me and He’s the ONE I’m living for: every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.”

EXTRA

• Had the blog ready to post, hit the button and it vanished into cyberspace. So here we go again.
• Adam Glenn’s mom, Margaret, was promoted early yesterday morning [August 11]. Joe David and I are going down for the service tomorrow so we are making some adjustments in our schedule.
• There is a chance that the church office will be closed until Thursday: Closed today for sure. I intended to take off yesterday but it didn’t work out: I ended up with a 12 hour day. The good news is that all the remnants of the Block Party are gone. Everything was picked up or returned yesterday. Who ever picked up the trash did a good job, you can’t tell we had a party.
• Whereas the outside has been restored: the inside is still like it was Saturday night. We will get on that Thursday.
• Cyndi Wydner’s aunt {Annette, Maudean’s sister} passed away after a long battle with cancer. Visitation tomorrow night at 1st Baptist Haleyville and service Wednesday at 2:00 at same.
• Just got home from another long and exhausting Executive Committee Meeting of the MBA. Trust me, you don’t pay me enough to attend these meetings.

When Anguish Gives Way To Joy

SCRIPTURE

It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.

~John 16:21, NLT

QUOTE

A woman on time is one in nine.

~Lori Jenay

A couple of Saturdays ago, Mylee was helping me in the back yard and she asked me a series of questions; one of those questions seemed rather odd…She said, “Grand daddy, are you glad you are a boy?” You can imagine what I said, “Sure honey, I am perfectly content to be a boy.” I should have finished the sentence by saying, “I would be perfectly content had God made me a girl” but I could not bring myself to say it. Don’t get me wrong, I like females; I just don’t want to be one. It chills my blood to think about having to dry my hair every time I shower, wear make up, dresses…yuck, I’m about to make myself sick. Then I read John 16:21 yesterday and I realized that no man knows the joy of giving birth to a child. We carry the seed but we can’t carry the baby. Actually, there are lots of advantages to being female but in this case I don’t mind being at a disadvantage. Women are better looking, more sensitive, more courageous, more intuitive, and more intelligent in their naïve kind of way. I know some lug headed men out there who disagree but she picked you out bud…you didn’t pick her. She is three steps ahead of you and you don’t know it…you big dummy. She knows if your life insurance is paid up to date and she probably has your funeral arranged. If you don’t believe me, ask her! The fact that she married you doesn’t mean she is dumb,  just  that she made a mistake. {Kidding of course}

 

• Working on the BLOCK PARTY and the VISITATION next Wednesday, a week from today. We are going to need at least 30 teams. That is 30 vehicles, 30 drivers and 60 door knockers. If you want to prove that you are not ashamed of Jesus, this is your chance.
• GOLDEN GIRLS Saturday at Cracker Barrel at 9:00 a.m.
• Sunday is PAPER DAY and Sunday week is rest day.

Bob’s Pics

Victoria Falls, Africa