Sing

I led the singing at the nursing home service today and each time I do it gives me a renewed appreciation for our song director. The picture is of our new music director and one of his sons. He plays the piano very well and sings even better. His other son is hiding behind the banister.

Clint is doing better today than he was over the weekend. His heart rate was elevated and he had a fever. Both are under control as of the last report. He will be having surgery tomorrow to graft some of his own skin onto his leg. Please keep him in your prayers.

Tomorrow morning we have Bible study here at the parsonage with the ladies Bible study group. Tomorrow night we will have services with Faith MBC of Hewitt, Texas. I have finished the sermon for Sunday and will need to work on the sermon for Sunday night and the lesson for Wednesday night tomorrow afternoon. My Mother will be returning with us to Hillsboro on Friday. We will pick up my sister at the airport on Saturday. We are looking forward to their visit with us. We plan to go to Dallas on Wednesday morning to visit Clint and then on Thursday we will go to Henderson and return on Friday. God bless you.

Happy Mother's Day

Nothing new to report on Clint today. He is still holding his own. We had a great Mother's Day. Our three children each called to wish Janie a happy Mother's Day and that made here day. I called my mother and Janie called hers.

The picture is of my mother back in the 1960's at our home in Ayer, Massachusetts. It is when I remember days like the one pictured that I am so glad I moved to Texas. Of course Janie is, by far, the main reason I am glad I moved to Texas.

I tell everyone over and over that when I moved to Texas I had a VW Beatle and everything I owned was in it along with my younger brother and everything he owned. Now I have a wife, 3 kids, 8 grandkids, 2 houses, 7 1/2 acres of land, and the list goes on and on of all the things with which God has blessed me. What makes me feel bad is that I have not deserved the least of His blessings. God bless you.

Twas the Night Before Mother's Day....

I talked with Clint's mother this morning and she said he was doing well. She would love to have him wake up tomorrow morning and tell her "Happy Mother's Day." Keep them in your prayers.

Made 2 hospital visits and 1 nursing home visit today. Did some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and ran into 2 church members there. Mother's day is tomorrow and Janie's flowers sent from our son arrived today. We had a long visit with Jason and Angie on skype and enjoyed it. It is almost like having them sitting in our living room, almost. My mother will be spending next weekend with us here in Hillsboro. We shall celebrate Mother's day with her one week late. I finished the sermon for Sunday night this morning and picked up the flowers we will hand out to the mothers in our services tomorrow. Should be a good service the sermon is entitled "What a Good Mother Teaches Her Children." The picture is of my first car in Ayer Mass. I could not drive a standard shift when I bought this car and could not get it out of the drive way because it was so steep. My father had to come out and drive it up onto the street. Once on flat ground I could do ok. God bless you.

I'm Back

I have been very busy the past few days and have not had time to fish, play golf, hike, or even to blog but now I'm back. The picture is of me back in the 60's holding a fish I caught in my grandfather's pond in Gary, Texas. It is the biggest fish I have caught in my whole life. Which does not say much when you consider I can count on my fingers and toes the number of times I have done any serious fishing.

Clint is holding his own and making some progress little by little. I have not been to see Clint this week and wish that I could have worked it in but he has been in my prayers each day and I hope he has been in yours as well. I know this must be hard on Clint's mother for she has stayed daily by his side and has her life on hold. I believe she would tell you that her life is not on hold for her life is her family. She will spend her mother's day doing what mother's do best, loving their children.

Another of our church members has had a heart attack and is in ICU. Another has been injured in a fall and is in the hospital. I have gathered all the materials the IRS has requested and will mail them off on Monday. The sermon for Mother's Day is ready to go but the sermon for Sunday night is not. I repaired the lawn mower and mowed the yard today. I need to get to bed early tonight for I have much to do tomorrow. Have a great Mother's Day. God bless you.

Freedom Fence

One of the things I like about Hill County Texas is the absence of fences. There is a feeling of freedom when there is nothing between you and the horizon but an open field, a very common sight here. We pass a sign on our trips to Henderson that says "Freedom Fence Co." It just seems like an oxymoron "Freedom Fence".

Clint is still on his long road to recovery. Nothing new to report today. Please continue to pray for him. Tomorrow is the national day of prayer and though I have heard that our executive branch will not participate I know that many will be praying for our country. We will have a special prayer service at our church at 5:00 pm tomorrow.

I will spend most of my day at the office tomorrow. I got a letter from the IRS today announcing that they are auditing my 2006 tax return. I have excellent records and am not concerned what so ever. It is just a lot of trouble to have to make and send them copies of all my receipts. I would rather meet with them in person but I guess I will do it their way. The picture is of Clint Rogers pulling a trailer by hand to line it up with the combine. God bless you.

Some Assembly Required

We picked up my brother last night at the train station. The train was an hour late and so we got home at 3:00 in the morning. The Ladies Bible study went well and the chocolate pies which sister Thelma made were excellent.

Clint came through his surgery well. They have grafted some of his own skin onto his chest. His fever is under control and he seems to be doing well. Please continue to pray for him.

We took my brother home to Henderson this afternoon and are now at my in-law's house. She had another cabinet for us to assemble and put in place (see the pictures). We went by and visited with my mother and next week she will be going with us back to Hillsboro. My sister is coming in from Colorado and will drive my mother back to Henderson the Sunday we have the blood drive for Clint.

We will be back in Hillsboro tomorrow. I have a visit to make at one of the nursing homes and then will work on the sermon for Wednesday night. I have not chosen a text for Sunday morning but I have 2 in mind. I will make that choice tomorrow and get started on that sermon. We have a special service at our church Thursday afternoon at 5:00 for the national day of prayer. Friday should find me finishing up my prospectus finally. Once it is proof read and corrected I will turn it in. God bless you.

Joy

Clint is being prayed for by a huge number of people. His fever is down some today and he is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. They are going to graft his own skin onto his chest. Thank you all for your prayers. We had planned to go up to Dallas to see Clint this morning but the nursing home was not closed due to illness as it had been so we went to the services there. We could still have made the trip to Dallas but my allergies are terrible. I just could not stop blowing my nose and my eyes have been watering terribly. I took some medicine and it made me drowsy so I took a nap.
We had a good visit with my daughter and son-in-law Sunday. I took this picture of them Saturday evening. They have been married for one year. I am very proud of the both of them.
God has truly blessed me with two really good Son-in-laws and an outstanding daughter-in-law.

We are about to head to the train station in San Antonio to pick up my brother. We will have the ladies Bible study in the morning. I had a good visit with one of the other pastors in our town. He was having a computer problem and I went to his office to fix it for him. It was an easy fix and while their we had an excellent Bible discussion. He preached to me and I preached to him. We were both blessed. It was a joy to fellowship with him over the Word of God. I have finished reading the Bible through and have started over again. I still plan to read the entire Bible three times through this year. I invite you to read the text which I preached Sunday and see if you fit that description. The text was Psalm 119:161-168. Enjoy, God bless you.

And They're Off

First and update on Clint: He is breathing on his own now but he has a fever. This will be a constant battle for him to fight off infection. Please keep him in your prayers. The words of the doctor in charge of the burn unit still ring in my ears "If he has more good days than bad he will make it." So far he has had more good days than bad praise the Lord. We are concerned about the fever it seems to be lingering.

This is looking like another busy week. We plan to go to Dallas in the morning to check on Clint and then we are going to drive down to San Antonio to pick up my brother at the train station. He had trouble with blisters on his feet from hiking and had to come off the trail sooner than he expected. After our Tuesday morning Bible study we will take him home. The national day of prayer is Thursday and we have a special service that evening at our church. Friday is finish the prospectus day (hopefully). The picture is the flowers at the end of my mother's front porch. God bless you.

Delegate

It helps children when adults delegate. We needed to trim some limbs off of a tree and I got the ladder out and as I was setting it up my grandson asked enthusiastically "Can I help?" to which I replied "Yes you can and I am glad to hear such enthusiasm in your voice." I had him to climb the ladder and start sawing. He was going very slowly and was getting discouraged with his progress. I asked him if he could see any saw dust and he affirmed that he could. As long as you see saw dust your making progress. I finally stepped in and helped him out and down came the limbs. I gave the saw back to him and he cut the limb into smaller pieces while his sister dragged them off. The pictures are of Joshua and Ruth at work on the limbs.

Clint had a pretty good day today. They are going to try to let him breath on his own and we are hoping that will go well. Keep praying for him and please don't forget for he has many obstacles ahead of him on his way to recovery. Don't forget the blood drive May 17th at Walnut Street Baptist Church from noon to 6.

We are in Henderson and will head back to Hillsboro on Saturday morning. There are some projects that we need to take care of here in Henderson before we go home. This last picture is of my grand daughter Hannah and grandson Jonathan. Right before I took this picture he was patting on the bench and saying "Papa Papa" over and over. I had to stop the work that I was doing and have a seat. I would not have done this for my children but as a grandfather I feel compelled to drink in every precious moment with my grand children. God bless you.