An Hour Sermon

Generally my sermons are about half an hour long. I figure that the attention span of most people is stretched to the limit after that length of time. In college I took classes that lasted for an hour and a half. The teacher was not interested in the length of my attention span. He never observed me sleeping or day dreaming in class. He was there to teach me what I had paid him to teach me. If I wanted my money's worth I would increase my attention span and stay focused for the whole 90 minutes. People are suppose to come to church to worship the Lord and to learn from the Bible the things they need to be good disciples of Jesus Christ. Whatever time that takes they should be willing to spend even if it means having to buckle down and stay focused during the services. I may well strain their endurance this Sunday. I preached the sermon while taking my daily walk and I tried to cut out as much as possible to keep it short and with it trimmed to the bone it is still an hour long. I feel strongly that it needs to be preached in one setting so will do the best I can to finish as quickly as possible. The people who listen to our broadcast will not get the whole sermon this time.

We had a good visit with my niece and her family. Her husband is preaching for us tomorrow night. I took them out to eat at a mexican food place for supper. I ordered enchalada's made with flour tortillas and the brought me corn to which I am very allergic. I took a bite and did not realize that it was corn until after I had swallowed it. They came and got my plate and returned with flour tortillas and I watched the clock to see if I was going to break out or not. If I break out in hives within 10 minutes I have to rush to the hospital. I did not break out at all. I was amazed. It use to be the least bit of corn flour or corn meal would send me to the hospital. I thank the Lord for sparing me once again. I may take a benedril tonight just to be on the safe side.

Janie just read me a skit she wrote for the upcoming ladies auxillary meeting. It was real good. I think she should write a book of skits to share with other churches. We are going to be pressed for time on that day for we will need to leave the service by noon to make it to my son-in-law's ordination service.

I will be going back over to Henderson again on Monday to take my dad to the doctor's office. I want to ask him some questions about my dad's health and make sure I understand what needs to be done to help his pain. He sure was sick these past few days. I wanted to mow their yard but my mother put her foot down and said no. She hid the key to the lawn mower on me so I could not mow it. She probably knew what was best for me for the day before I had gotten too hot and had a headache all night. I am better today though and am sure looking forward to the services tomorrow. The picture is of Janie holding what was then our 2 youngest grandchildren, Hannah and Andrew. God bless you.

Hot

This picture, of Janie and I with my parents, was taken at my parents 60th wedding anniversary 2 years ago.

It was hot today. The thermometer in my car said it was 100 when I left my nieces house this afternoon. My brother-in-law and I worked out in the hot sun for several hours to get a trailer house hooked up to electricity. We got the job done and though I tried to drink plenty of water and sit in the shade to cool off I still got too hot. I still have a headache but am feeling better now that I have had a shower and eaten supper. It took longer than we expected mostly because of the four foot deep hole 12 inches in diameter that we had to dig. The auger was not as fast as I had expected it to be. Janie and I will head back to Hillsboro in the morning and I will spend the afternoon putting the finishing touches on the sermon for Sunday. I will be preaching on the subject "A people of Faith." It is about the people who have been saved and will be saved. Our text will be taken from my favorite passage of scripture. I have studied the Sunday School lesson already and it will be a good one. Sunday night we will have a visiting preacher who is my brother's son-in-law. I am looking forward to hearing him preach. I feel sure that the people at church will like him.

I am going to take my headache to bed now. God bless you.

Been a while

I have not bloged in a few days, just too busy. We are in Henderson right now helping the folks over here. My Dad is very sick and though it went well at the doctor's office he was not feeling any better. They do not know what is causing his pain. He will be going to his regular doctor Monday and I expect they will try to give him some pain medicine to help him out.

I am going to help my niece hook up her trailer house tomorrow and also mow my dad's lawn. Tomorrow is my grandson's birthday. He will be turning 10 years old. I want to go hiking with him again this fall.

We had good services Wednesday night. The picture was taken this past Wednesday night. There was a visitor who was riding a bicycle across America. He was a homeless man and wanted us to put him up in hotel for the night. I told him that we would not do that except for cases of emergency. He is homeless by choice and it was a beautiful night out that night and I am sure he found a grassy spot somewhere to bed down for the night. When my brother and I hike we sleep on the ground with a make-shift pillow. We do so by choice and this man was crossing America by choice. I felt our benevolence fund would be better spent on those who were truly in need. Had the man been hungry and without money I would have fed him but a motel room in his case was not a need.

Fuel prices are high and I am driving way more than I want to drive. It is not so much a matter of money as it is of principle. I feel I am being taken advantage of and wish I could do more to stop it. My grandfather dipped snuff most of his life and when he reached 80 years old or so he quit dipping. He did this when the price of snuff hit something like $1.00 a bottle. He said he just wasn't going to pay that. He could afford it but it was the principle. I don't have to drive. I could just say I am going to walk or ride a bike where ever I go. I certainly would save a ton of money. But I like to visit with family and I like to go places in comfort and be protected from the weather while traveling and so for this luxury I must pay.

I am working on a project right now that will save me a lot of work in the future. If I am elected as the camp registrar for next year I want churches going to camp to register online. If this works out ok I want to set up the same thing for churches to register online for the MBA of Texas. In each case it will take a user name and password to access the site. All I will have to do is run the reports as I need them. It is a lot of work up front to save me a lot of work in the years to come.

Well I better go for now. God bless you.

Good message

Janie and I went to the nursing home for a visit and to help in the worship services there. I led the singing and a lady from First Baptist brought a lesson from the book of Acts. Her message was real good. Afterward we help the people line up for the elevator and a lady said to me "I really enjoyed our message today." I did not want to confuse her so I just said "I'm so glad that you did." Another lady we visited, who is over 90 years old and confined to bed, said she was just talking to her mother and asked if we knew that "This place" is going to burn up. I told her that I was glad she had spoken to her mother and that I knew for sure that "This place" is going to burn up. (2 Peter 3:10) One might say that she was out of her mind when she said she had just been talking with her mother but I am not so sure.

We will be going over to Henderson Wednesday night. I will be taking my father to a doctor's appointment Thursday morning. He is going to get the results of the tests they ran on him last Friday. Janie plans to take her mother to the beauty shop Friday morning and we will return home Friday night. My nieces husband will be preaching at our church this Sunday night and I am looking forward to that. We will be in Waco for a Bible study there tomorrow night and I plan to go down early enough to donate blood and to do a little shopping. The picture is of my wife and me with our two older children and my mother. God bless you.

Home

It is so good to be home. We had excellent services today and we had a long talk with our son and his wife in France. I thank God for SKYPE. Monday will be a busy day as will the whole week. We will help in the nursing home service and then off to the Post Office and Bank. I want to wash the car Monday and mow the yard. I need to get "From The Pastor" done also and then get started on Sunday's sermon. I plan to go back to the book of John unless the Holy Spirit leads me to something else. I will need to go to Henderson Thursday and Friday to check on my parents and Janie's. Tuesday night we will have Bible study with the church in Waco and we always enjoy that visit. I need to get the registration done for Pine Springs camp and get that off in the mail. I need to get my lessons ready for camp also and will start that process tomorrow. The picture is of my daughter and her husband the night that he came to preach for us at Walnut Street. He did a great job and I expect that he, as well as my son and other son-in-law will do great things in the service of the Lord. God has truly blessed Janie and me beyond measure. God bless you.

All is Well

We are headed home now and are currently in Belgrade, Montana. We have stopped here for the night. We will be spending tomorrow night at my sister's house in Denver. Saturday will be a long day of driving and we should be home late Saturday night. The meeting went very well. The resolution to force churches to send 20% of their missionary's salary to the ABA office failed. It was not even allowed to be taken from the table. Another change to the wording was proposed and sounded good but a motion to have it tabled until next year passed. They voted today to go up on the price of Sunday School literature by 10%. A motion to print the amount of money each church gives to the ABA that has a missionary receiving money from the ABA failed. I believe it is not right to publish this information. I can see no constructive purpose for it. The picture is of a group of people talking to Jason on SKYPE. People were amazed that they could see and talk to him live from France. The booth had a lot of visitors and Jason and Angie are known by a lot of people.

Sunday I will be preaching from the book of Acts on the subject "Who art Thou, LORD?" I plan to give a brief report on the ABA meeting Sunday night. All things considered I liked the way things went at the meeting and feel really good about it. Thank you for your prayers for our safe travel. We have made it fine so far. We will drive 11 hours tomorrow and about 14 on Saturday. God bless you.

A Dull Moment.

Things are busy here at the ABA meeting. The committee meeting was very heated. There was much discussion about the standing committee and its power. There were some bad things said about one or two of the missionaries and they were left off the list of recommended missionaries. Lets just say there has not been a dull moment yet. I expect the main meeting will be very exciting. Right now there is a preacher defending his ministry. I know him and have seen him work. He is a good man and the accusations against him are unfounded. I expect He will be recommended, and he was overwhelmingly. We got the booth set up and ready. We ate lunch in the car cause we needed the energy to hall all the display stuff to the exhibit hall. It was a long walk and next time I will bring a dolly. There were some things done and said at the meeting that raised my ire. Churches were called by name and the amount they sent to missions was given. This was done to imply that they were taking advantage of the ABA. These churches received more from the ABA in help for their missionaries than they give to the ABA. Telling this information was not right and should not have been done. It served no good purpose. God hates the act of sewing discord among brethren. And as far as I can tell that is all that this did. I will pray for these brethren that they will repent.

Tomorrow will be the big session. A lot of business will take place and 2 of the amendments I will oppose. They want to force churches to send to the ABA the 20 percent or else their missionary will not receive support. This is not right and I hope it will be voted down. We shall see. God bless you.

Made it to Spokane

We made it. 1951 miles from the parsonage in Hillsboro to our hotel in Sokane. We ate supper here in the room and then went out on the town. By out on the town I mean we went to Wal-mart and got a few things and filled up the car. Fuel was $4.89 and we got 43 mpg on this last tank. It must have been all the mountain climbing that cause the drop in mileage. The other times we filled up we got 46 mpg. We will rise early and head over to the meeting after having breakfast here in our room. It will cost $5.00 to park at the convention center and we will do that tomorrow so we can carry the booth display over and get it set up. We will walk over to the convention center the rest of our stay until Thursday when we will need the car there to load the display back up. The meeting starts at 10:00 and we set the booth up at 12:00. We plan to eat our lunch at the display booth each day. We will make ourselves some sandwiches to eat at the booth. We plan to return to the room for supper each evening and stay at the booth until they close at 10:30 pm. That will put us to bed late each night and we have to be back at the meeting the next morning at 9:00. I will keep you posted on the events at the meeting so check back here. The picture is of me getting ready to take our stuff back down to the car to head for Spokane. It was a good work out lugging our stuff up and down the stairs. God bless you.

Cheyenne to Billings

We have made it to Billings, Mt. and we are still getting 46 mpg. We went to church this morning in Cheyenne, Wy. The picture is of Janie standing out in front of the church. It was a really good service. The pastor taught the Sunday School class and led the singing. There was another preacher and his wife there who were headed for the ABA meeting but their car had broken down and it was in the shop for repair. He preached the sermon and it was really good. We left after church and filled up with fuel and Janie made us some sandwiches (you guessed it Spam). Wyoming is a lot like west Texas, there was miles and miles of nothing but wilderness. We did not run the A/C all day for it never got out of the 70's. There was a lot of pretty landscape to see and it was our first time to ever be in Wyoming and Montana. We got to Billings and went out to eat and then went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. We have about 540 miles to go to reach our hotel in Spokane. It will be a long day of driving. My son-in-law Scott was the first one to call and wish me a happy father's day. My son was next and then my youngest daughter. I am very proud of all my children and knowing that they are all God fearing and faithful has made this a truly blessed father's day for me. God bless you.

Driving

At the time of this blog we are south of Denver about 70 miles. All is going well. Janie is driving and I am blogging. I will need to take over and drive the rest of the day for she does not want to drive through Denver. Bro. Miles called to check on things and Sis. Billie Williams called wanting to know if I could preach at the nursing home on Monday. Jason called and is doing fine. We will be attending church in the morning in Cheyenne Wy. and will be spending Sunday night in Billings Montana. Got to drive now. God bless you.

Drafting

We have made it to Dalhart, Texas. I drove most of the way and when I could I drafted an 18 wheeler. I got behind one that was going 60 miles per hour and that was just perfect. When we arrived at the hotel here we had averaged 46 mpg. Janie drove for a couple of hours and I took a short nap. I try not to run the A/C any more than I have to because it cost us about 3 mpg when we do. We had a spam sandwich on the road for lunch and we have brought along some microwaveable meals for supper. The hotel room is nice and has a microwave and a small refrigerator. We drove about 500 miles today and made only 2 stops. One was a brief walk through in Cabela's where I bought a hat. The other was for a milk shake and enjoyed that probably because it was 100 degrees outside. Janie will do some work on the internet and I will do some studying before we retire for the evening. Keep us in your prayers. God bless you.

Enjoyed the Grandkids

I spent some time with my grandkids today and had a blast. I taught them a thing that might be an irritating habbit. I told them to try holding their hands up and flex their bunny ear fingers when they use a quote. We had a big laugh as Hannah would repeat a long sentence that someone had said the whole time holding her little hands out trying to flex any 2 fingers that she could. The picture is of Ruth and Hannah at my daugter's wedding.

We will be going over to see my daughter's new home tomorrow and Friday morning we will head for Spokane. I plan to blog every day of our trip to let you know how the trip is going. I will try to include pictures taken along the way. I want to keep you posted about the business that is transacted at the meeting so check back here for updates. God bless you.

Telephone

This picture is of a very dear friend of mine who past away recently. I miss him very much. Bro. Troy Fred Lewis was an exceptionally good deacon, confidant, and friend.

The Telephone is a great invention. Just think how it has revolutionized and changed our society. A man somewhere in the world found my name and phone number on the internet. He was using a search engine to find out how to become a missionary. He said that my name was the only pastor's name that came up which had a phone number. So he called me wanting to know how to become a missionary. I questioned him at length about his salvation and church affiliation. Upon knowing were he was in his spiritual journey I began to explain how one becomes a missionary and what a missionary is and does. It was a long converstation and I enjoyed sharing what the Bible teaches about this subject. He seemed to have a major problem with christmas trees and a problem with being connected with a church. He was looking for a perfect church and I told him there was none. If as a missionary he started one it would not be perfect to which he agreed. I think I helped him. I believe God sent him to me, that is why I took the time to talk to him. I encouraged him to seek out a local church in his city and I pray that he will.

I was on the phone at length with a pastor who was interested in the church in Hewitt where we will be tonight. I really liked him and think he would be the perfect one for them. He is my age and thinks like I think when it comes to pastoring a church.

I was on the phone with the shop that is working on my truck. It had them puzzled but they think they have found the problem and will have it fixed.

I was on the phone with a faithful brother in Christ who has volunteered to teach at camp. I, as does the Lord, love volunteers. It has truly been a blessed day. God bless you.

Monday Monday

This picture, taken a couple of weeks ago, is of Janie trying to move her mother's chair back into the house. She had some trouble but made it up the ramp just fine.

This has been a typical Monday for me and that is not bad. I am not sure why Monday has such a bad reputation. I enjoyed the nursing home service this morning. Went to the postoffice, bank and the office for a little while. Talked to my son for an hour and a half. Things seem to be going well there in France. While I was talking to him Janie was talking to Angie. He will talk to me again before we leave for the ABA meeting. Our oldest daughter is coming over to our house tonight. Our truck needs some repairs and I will take it to the shop in the morning and hopefully it will be fixed by tomorrow afternoon. It will be good to see the grandkids. We will have a busy Tuesday with Janie having Bible study in the morning and she will be helping one of the ladies of our church with the bulletin at the church in the afternoon. Then about 5:45 we will head to Waco for services there. Wednesday and Thursday we will be packing for the trip and then Friday morning early we will head out for Spokane.

We made it home from Biloxi. We got home at 5:30 Sunday morning and got about 2 hours of sleep before heading for church. Took a good nap Sunday afternoon and slept very well last night. We enjoyed our time in Biloxi and the wedding went well. That black suit I wore is headed for the cleaner for I was standing in the sun and it was about 90 degrees and 100% humidity.

I will try to blog each day while I am away to let you know how we are doing and how the ABA meeting is going. God bless you.

Wedding Rehearsal at Biloxi

We made it to Biloxi safely. The rehearsal went well though it started somewhat late.

The picture, which was taken with my cell phone, is of Janie on the scooner which we went on for the rehearsal dinner. She was afraid of getting sea sick but she did not. It was dark by the time we got back to shore, all in all it was a good time. We will try to sleep late in the morning to be ready for the long drive home Saturday night. There was an older couple waiting for the rehearsal to end so they could fish off the pier. They had been maried for 10 years and their last name was Cook. The road out Ketrina in their home less than a mile from the shore and shrugged it off as if it were no big deal.

I falsely reported in my last blog that Andrew turned 3 he turned 2. Time goes by fast enough with me trying to rush things. Well I had best get some sleep for tomorrow will be a very long day. God bless you.

Bible reading day

Today was my grandson's birthday. The picture is of him opening a present was bought with some money one of the ladies from University M.B.C. had sent to him. He turned 3 years old but when asked still says he is 2.

I spent ever spare minute today reading the Bible. I bounced back and forth between Old and New Testament. I may well finish the Bible tomorrow or at least by Saturday. Then I will turn around and start back in Genesis again. I spent a few hours with Bro. Davis today and enjoyed it very much. I fixed a computer problem he was having and loaded a Bible software program on his computer. He got to see the blog I created for him for the first time. It is http://broharolddavis.blogspot.com/

We are at my wife's parents house now and will leave early in the morning to head for Biloxi. We will take turns driving and should get there mid-afternoon. The rehursal dinner is going to be on board a ship. Janie is unsure about eating on board a ship while it is out to sea due to the possibility of sea sickness. I do not expect any problems. The wedding is going to be held on a peer which is a very public place. It will be a unique experience for sure. Bro. Kent if you are reading this I want you to know I love the songs you have picked out for Sunday. Janie and I were going over them today.

Pray for us as we travel and God bless you.

Through the Bible

I am reading through the Bible and am way behind schedule. I should have finished it this month but I will really have to get busy if I am going to make it. I am in the book of Micah and will finish the Old Testament this week for sure. I have already read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts so will try to get the rest of the New Testament done in the next few weeks. My Brother, Steve, just finished reading through the Bible alphabetically and I might try that some time. He is the one who started me to reading the Bible through 2 times a year. I could not do that during my school years but am back to doing it now. I would recommend this practice to everyone. It takes about 30 minutes a day and is well worth the time.

We will be heading over to Henderson tomorrow and then to Biloxi on Friday. It will be a long drive home Saturday night so keep us in your prayers. I will be less than my best Sunday but I have an exciting sermon and am so looking forward to it. This picture is of my niece at my daughter's wedding. She is the one whose wedding ceremony I will be officiating in Biloxi.

God bless you.

The LORD Reigns

It is Tuesday and I have just arrived at my office. It was windy outside but a nice mile and a half walk anyway. I passed one of my neighbors walking her dog and told her I was protesting the oil company's high prices by walking to work to which she replied "so their high prices are making you healthier." Often times things that seem really bad turn out for the best. If gas prices reach $7 a gallon like they have in France maybe we will all be healthier. When someone is in front of me driving slowly in a no passing zone I use to get all frustrated but now I count it a blessing. When things are going badly maybe that is when things are going good. The Apostle Paul said "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." The sermon I will preach next Sunday, Lord willing, is entitled "The Lord Reigns." Child of God, you have a peace that passes understanding when you know this unchangeable, indisputable fact "THE LORD REIGNS!"

This picture is of my wife, Janie, standing in a wheat field that is ready to be harvested. The wheat harvest is just about over now here in Hill county. The farmers say it was a good year for wheat. What you sow is what you reap. It is a tough fact of life. Remember this fact each day of your life.

I said in an earlier blog post that we were going to Hewitt tonight but I was wrong that is next week. God bless you.

The Lord's Day

We had good services this morning though our attendance was down our spirits were up. My oldest daughter called and said they had 25 in services today and they were excited about this increase in attendance. Hopefully they will continue to grow.

Janie and I will help with the nursing home services Monday morning and are scheduled to meet with one of the ladies of our church to show her how to publish our church bulletin. Tuesday night we will meet with the church in Hewitt for midweek services which were postponed from last week due to a storm. Thursday we head for Biloxi for my niece's wedding on Saturday. It will be a long drive back to Hillsboro Saturday night and we should arrive back home about 4:00 Sunday morning. Then the following Thursday we will pack for our trip to Spokane. We will bring food for our breakfasts and lunches and will try to eat out for supper so we can have some veggies to round out our diet. I dread this trip but believe it is of God that we go.

The picture is of Joshua, my grandson, on the trail. I believe that the hiking poles were more of a nuisance to him than a help. I expect we may leave those at home next time. This picture was taken about a quarter of a mile from the start of the trail. God bless you.