Late

We had a good day today. There were several of our people out but we had several visitors so we ended up with our usual crowd. I spoke with Clint's dad this morning and he says that Clint is doing well. The therapy is very tiring and painful for him. One of his first cousins got to go in and see him and they said it caused him to be more alert than usual. The picture is of Clint's brother, Chris. He gets a birds eye view of our Sunday morning services as our sound tech at the church. His wife is one of our Sunday School teachers and also teaches in our mid-week Bible school. They are expecting their first child in September.

We had a quite afternoon and I got busy working on my laptop and let the time get away from me. Janie was taking a nap and came into the room about 5:30 and called the time to my attention. We rushed to get ready and headed out the door and arrived a little later than we like to. We had good services this evening. Our regular music director was absent today and the substitute did a fine job. I preached from Acts chapter 10. We got home and had scrambled egg sandwiches for supper, they were very good and really hit the spot.

I will preach at the nursing home in the morning and Janie will play the piano. We really enjoy the services there. Tuesday morning we will leave about 4:00 to head down to Waco for a surgery there then Tuesday night we will return to Waco for services with the Faith church where we will meet at the nursing home of one of their members. I will try again to call Bro. Davis and see if I can get a visit in with him this week.

We talked to Jason and Angie this afternoon and they are doing well. They have permission to stay in France until June of next year. There visa runs out in February. They are still contemplating a trip to the states in December. Money is the hold up. It cost a lot to fly a family of 6 round trip from France to Texas. If they can not come over until June of next year then Janie and I may plan a trip to Limoux. It will cost us $1400.00 where it would cost them 3 times that much. Angie's family and the rest of Jason's family would sure love to see them and the kids so we are hoping for their sakes that they can come to the states in December. God bless you.

Our son-in-law, Justin, is going to build some new kitchen cabinets for Janie's parents. This first picture is of Janie and her mother at Lowes in Henderson looking at the kitchen counters and cabinets. Sarah wants Justin to build her some sort of hutch out of the old kitchen cabinets for sentimental reasons. There are several remodeling items they want Justin to do and he plans to get started on them Monday. I have seen some of his work and he is really good.

We did not get to attend the TBI graduation on Saturday but I did get my prospectus turned in. I had a good visit with the President of TBI on Friday and then went over to visit with my mother. She is doing very well. My brother, Steve, and I got the tractor cranked and its flat tire fixed. He mowed with it and the place looks really nice.

On our way back to Hillsboro we went by and visited with Justin and Sarah in Elkhart. They took us out to see their cows and give us a tour of their pasture land. They have 2 gardens and both look really good. This picture is of them standing in the garden they have over at his grandparent's house. We enjoyed the visit and it is good to be back home. Tomorrow is Church and I am anxious for it to get here. The sermon will be taken from Numbers chapter 11 entitled "Doubting God." Here are the main points:

1. Doubting God's Plan. verses 4-6

2. Doubting God's Providence. verses 11-15

3. Doubting God's Power. verses 21-23

4. Doubting God's Position. verse 26

5. Doubting God's Process. verses 28-30

I have not heard from Clint in a few days but will check on him tomorrow. I expect that no news is good news. Please continue to pray for him. God bless you.

Prospectus Done

Prospectus is done!!!!! I will bind it and turn it in on Friday. I have gone over and over it and it seems to be grammatically correct and correctly punctuated. It definitely says what I wanted it to say. And I think it very effectively conveys my enthusiasm for the subject. If it is accepted by the faculty at TBI then in August I will begin in earnest my research. I am sure that from time to time I will post here the progress of my research. I will post my prospectus on http://www.baptistville.org/ if your are interested in reading it.

We will head for Henderson in the morning around 11:00. I have a meeting in Corsicana at noon tomorrow with my fellow committee men. We are attempting to rework the articles of agreement of our local Baptist Association one article at a time. I hope to get in at least a short visit with my mentor Bro. Harold Davis.

The two pictures posted here are of our Junior Choir. The first is of them singing on Easter Sunday and the second was them at practice. They are very cute and very sweet kids.

Clint had surgery today and all went well. He is making good progress. Please continue to pray for him. God bless you.

Busy Days

I have not blogged for many days. Just too busy. I took this picture of my father-in-law last Friday while he was taking one of his cancer treatments. I had a good day with him and he seemed to be feeling good.

Sunday was great and Monday was really good. I spent several hours in my office at the church on Monday getting some studying done. I walked over to the church taking the long route. I walk down to the hospital and then over one block and went under the freeway. I crossed over the hill on top of which is Hill College. It was 80 degrees and sunny. It took me 45 minutes to get there. I really enjoyed the study time and have the sermon for this next Sunday about ready to go. I will finish typing it up tomorrow. I plan to be finished with the prospectus tomorrow and will print it out and put it in a binder for turning in on Friday. It will not have been proof read as extensively as I would have liked but I am up against a wall so will go with what I have.

We had the Ladies Bible study at the parsonage this morning and thoroughly enjoy it. We are going over what the Bible says about end time events and it is thrilling to think that the Lord may be coming soon. I plan to preach on this subject some more this summer so stay tuned.

I have discovered today that the ABA national meeting falls on the day I have jury duty. We may have to miss the first day of the meeting which is the best day to miss for most of the important business is taken care of on Wednesday.

We just got back from the services in Waco and had a good time there. One of the ladies gave us some produce out of her garden and we will sure enjoy those fresh veggies. They are still looking for a pastor and I pray God will send them a good one.

I am going to work on the church bulletin now and then head for bed. The lady who has been publishing our bulletin for the past year has resigned and someone else has stepped up to take her place. Thursday I have a meeting in Corsicana to go over the articles of agreement for our Local Baptist association with the other committee members. After that meeting we will head to Henderson to help out there. I hope to spend Friday afternoon with Bro. Davis but so far I have not been able to reach him by phone. May have to try for next week. While I have been blogging here it has been raining cats and dogs. There was some hail mixed with it and a lot of thunder. God bless you.

We Are There

Well my sister is back in Denver and we are back in Hillsboro. We went by to see Clint and Janie and I both dressed up and went into the burn ICU. He was sitting up, though asleep, he looked real good. His vital signs were all good and they were about to put him back to bed. He had been sitting up for 3 hours.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I am looking forward to the sermon and the services. I will be preaching from Daniel 9:24-27 and Matthew 24. As far as Matthew 24:12 is concerned I think we are there.

So far next week looks like a quiet one so I should be able to turn in that prospectus Friday.

My first time to serve on a grand jury went well. We started at 8:30 and finished at 4:00. It was an interesting experience. Two of our church members also served on the jury with me. I had a bad cough and almost lost my voice. My voice is better and should be just fine by sermon time tomorrow. The picture is of my oldest sister, mother, oldest brother, and me taken at my mother's house on our place in Henderson. God bless you.

Email

I am trying to blog via email. So this is a test to see if this works. There would normally be no reason to blog by email for if I have internet access for email I should be able to go directly to the blog and post. But there may be a use for this so here goes. I have not heard from Clint today. I sent an text message to his brother but have not gotten any response. I spent today with my father-in-law at the doctor's office. He had lab work and then saw the doctor. His PSA is 1.9 which is great. He is doing well. He had a Zomata treatment today and then we had lunch together with Janie and her mother (Pictured). Well here goes my first blog by email. God bless you.

Cough

I coughed a lot last night and have not felt 100% today. My voice is very low and I led the singing in our services tonight. I sang 2 octaves low. I have not heard from Clint today so assume that things went well. Got some work done on the prospectus today and though I have not had it proof read yet I plan to turn it in next week.

I am curious about serving on a Grand Jury. Tomorrow I will let you know how it goes. I am going to preach from Daniel 9:25-27 this Sunday. Friday will find us in Henderson and Saturday at Love Field and Parkland Hospital. The picture is of hands that have seen over 84 years of life and 62 years of marriage. Staying close to the Author of the book on which these hands are resting makes the journey worthwhile. God bless you.

Another Surgery

Clint had another skin graft surgery today and he came through it just fine. His father called me this morning as he was headed for the hospital. He called me again after the surgery was over. I feel for him and for his wife as this whole experience has shaken their whole world. This picture is one I took of me baby sitting at the blood drive. This little girl's grand parents were in the chairs giving blood at the time and she kept me company.

Janie and I did not try to go up to Dallas for the surgery but went ahead with our plans for the day. We had Bible study here at the parsonage and then went down to Waco to pick up the driver's seat of the bus. It is the last seat to be recovered and it looks great. I felt like it would be good to take a break so after picking up the bus seat we went out to eat and saw a movie. We have dropped the seat off at the bus and are now back home. I have grand jury duty Thursday and after I am dismissed we will go to Henderson to help out there and Saturday morning we will take my sister back to the airport. We plan to stop by Parkland Hospital while we are in Dallas Saturday to check on Clint.

I am planning to preach a sermon Sunday on the great tribulation. We will be in the book of Second John this Wednesday night. I would encourage everyone to begin reading and studying what the Bible tells us about the future. The time of Jacob's trouble is drawing near. Please make sure you are ready. God bless you.

Blood Drive

We had a good crowd at church today and a huge crowd at the blood drive. There were way over 100 people who showed up for the blood drive and the nurses from Carter Blood Center were overwhelmed by the response. It was a really big success. The picture is of our fellowship hall during the blood drive. We had to wait a couple hours but the company was good and I got some Bible reading done. Clint sat up in a medical chair for three hours today. He nodded his head and even smiled. He had a really good day. He will be amazed when he sees the photos of the blood drive. He has lots of friends and loved ones who care about him. I thank everyone who made this blood drive the huge success that it was.

On Saturday there was a birthday party for one of our church members (pictured). She turned 95 and there was a good crowd there to celebrate with her. She is a really sweet lady and we enjoy visiting with her at the nursing home on Monday mornings.

We have enjoyed visiting with my mother and sister. We went by the church to let them see the bus. They were very impressed. This last picture is of the three of us sitting on the bus. God bless you.

Home again

We are back home and tomorrow morning I will drive over to Love Field in Dallas to pick up my sister Jean. I have not heard from Clint today but I have prayed for him. They say no news is good news so I expect that was the case today. Based on the phone calls I have received the blood drive is going to be a big event. There will be tons of food and drinks for those who come to donate.

The picture was taken this morning while we were out walking with the grand kids. It was a beautiful day. God bless you.

Clay Fite

Yesterday we visited the hospital to check on Clint. He is doing well and came through his surgery yesterday ok. We had a good visit with Clay Fite's mother and dad. Clay is 5 years old and was burned, I believe, over 60% of his body. He has been in the burn ICU for 90 days. They started a blog about Clay's experiences and I am now following that blog. I would encourage you to go there and read his story: http://www.claydavidfite.blogspot.com/ The Bible says that it is better to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting. It will lift your spirits and put your life into proper perspective when you read about the faith of others as they go through the storms of life.

We are in Henderson and I have worked this morning on my doctoral prospectus. I hope to get some more done tonight and then work on it again tomorrow morning. I really need to get it done and am pushing myself to do so. I have not gotten the sermon ready for Sunday night as yet and plan to work on that this afternoon.

I talked to Jason and Angie on Skype today and they are doing well. Got to speak with the grand kids and that was fun. The picture is one I took the other day when we were talking to them on skype. God bless you.

Saw

This picture is of the back of our house in Ayer, Massachusetts. You can see the firewood pile in this picture, it was here that my father introduced me and my brothers to a 2 man cross cut saw. At the time we thought it was fun but it did not take long for the fun to wear off.

I will be preaching about prayer this Sunday. Prayer is powerful. Clint is doing well and will have surgery tomorrow morning. Janie and I plan go over in the morning to check on him. The blood drive will be Sunday at our church and the preparations are well under way. I expect it to be a huge success.


We had a really good Bible study this morning and I hated to have to stop but we ran out of time. We are studying about the end time events and it is an exciting subject. We had good services this evening in Waco and am looking forward to our Wednesday night services where we will be in the book of 1st John. We plan to drive about 350 miles tomorrow so I had better head for bed. God bless you.

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.