Number 10 is Here

Arianna Lauren Clark 8/31/2010

Arianna Lauren Clark, was born this morning about 9:30 and weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces.  She is our tenth grandchild.  She looks every bit as good as the rest of them.  Janie is at the hospital right now holding that baby every second she can.  It is going to be hard to get her back onto that airplane knowing she won't hold that baby again for almost a year. 

Their First Family Portrait

Angie and Arianna

We went shopping this morning with the grandkids in tow and then went to the hospital to pick Jason up for lunch. We took the kids to McDonald's and the food there was much better than the food at McDonald's in the states.  We let the kids play for a bit then Jason took us to another store then back to the hospital where we took a bunch of pictures of everybody holding Arianna.  Jason and I took the boys and went to register Micah for school.  We had to park several blocks away and walk through narrow streets to the school.  He was the only one left who had not been taken care of as far as school goes.  We came back to the house to email and blog the news.  We will head back to the hospital in a bit to pick up Janie and Lilia and leave Jason.  God bless you.

Monday in France

One last group picture then off to the hospital

Monday's on vacation should be good and this one was.  I went with Jason and Caleb to three stores to do some shopping.  We bought groceries and fueled up the car (over $6.00 a gallon).  We went back to the house where we ate an assortment of left overs for lunch.  Angie packed and Lilia and I escorted her and Jason to the hospital by way of a couple of stores. Lilia and I waited for them in the waiting room and then Jason came and took us to her room.  We got her settled in and then Lilia and I drove back to the house.  I had no problems at all driving in France.  The signs are easy to read since you don't have to read them they are mostly pictures.  The GPS also gave me much confidence.  Janie and I fixed the kids supper, hot dogs, and then took them for a walk up the hill in front of the house.  We are letting them watch a little TV before heading them to bed.  We are going to the hospital tomorrow about 1:30, when the visiting hours start.

The Hospital room.

I got a phone call that one of our church members had died.  His funeral arrangements will be made tomorrow.  I wish I could be there but it is just not practical at all and hugely expensive.  I suggested to the family that they might get one of our former pastors to do the service.
You know you are a grandparent when you want to go to bed the same time the grandkids do.  Janie and I are going to head for bed now that the kids are in bed. Looking forward to tomorrow and Arianna's birthday.  God bless you.

Sunday in France

Sunday morning services at Carcassonne

I had my usual breakfast this morning even though I am on vacation in France.  One half of a peanut butter sandwich and I was ready to go.  The service this morning was outstanding.  There were at least 50 people there in a room no larger than the room where we have our ladies Bible study at the parsonage in Hillsboro.  The singing was amazing and though I could not understand the words, the French language is beautiful to hear both spoken and sung.  Jason sat between Janie and I and whispered the English translation of the sermon.  A preacher from England was the guest speaker and he did a great job preaching the word.  I told the preacher afterward that Jason either preached me a good sermon or he translated one for me.  The people in this church are truly joyful and a pleasure to be around.  They had some first time visitors besides us.  It was just wonderful to worship with them.  Next Sunday I will be given time to address them and thank them for being such a tremendous help to Jason and his work in France.
I was able to hear and see our services at Walnut Street on Skype.  Bro. Slocomb did a really good job.  Our music director also did a great job filling in for me doing the announcements.  We went for a walk this afternoon and it was a beautiful day, clear and cool about 75 degrees.  Supper smells really good, I better go see what it is.  God bless you.

We Made IT

We left Dallas after 4:00 Friday afternoon and got almost no sleep arriving at Frankfort, Germany a little after 9:00 local time.  Our flight to Barcelona, Spain was good and we found Jason waiting for us.  It was a 3 hour drive to his house and we are now here.  It is a beautiful place and I am anxious to do some hiking and some sight seeing.  Its to bed early early tonight and off to church tomorrow.  I will blog more details later when I can keep my eyes open.  God bless you.

Janie's Frankfurter in Frankfurt Germany

At The Gate

Janie, Sarah, Justin DFW airport

Janie and I waiting to check our bags 8/27/2010

We have made it to the airport and are at our gate.  We had lunch at Mcdonald's in the airport and the price was not as bad as I had remembered.  We stopped at one to the little shops in the airport and got a few things.  Janie got a new Sudoku puzzle book and I got one of brain teasers.  We are excited about our trip and looking forward to seeing Jason and family. We have seats together and by ourselves on this long flight.  I don't expect to sleep at all on the plane but I sure will when I get to Jason's house.  God bless you.

Packed

Our son and his family in 2003

We are packed and ready to go.  There a few things we can not pack until in the morning but other than those we are packed.  We have four suitcases and will have pay for the extra two.  One has been paid for by Angie's parents and we will cover the other one.  Jason called this morning wanting to add cereal bowls for the kids.  We have found some but not exactly the colors they wanted.  Sarah and Justin should be here any minute to spend the night with us and take us to the airport in the morning. I was going to print our boarding passes out but there was a catch.  You can not check in online until 23 hours before your connecting flight.  That means I have to wait until after 6:00 in the morning.  I will give it a try then.  God bless you.

Vaction time is Here

Me at a graveside service 8/25/2010

The funeral this morning went well.  It was a very small group of people.  I saw there great love and compassion which thrilled my heart and filled me with joy.  The mother of the one who died has lost all three of her children yet she is like that bear over their on the back of our couch.  Though life has dealt her the heaviest of burdens she was able to smile and say like Job "the LORD gave and the LORD hath taken away. BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD."  It was 73 degrees at this service which was a lot better than the 104 at the last one. 
Our services at church were very good.  We had an unusually large attendance for a Wednesday night service.  I am going to miss our people while we are away but 2 weeks will go by all too quickly.

Thursday of each week is my official day off.  So I am going to start my vacation now.  I have my suitcase all packed and ready to go.  Half of my suitcase space is taken up by things for Jason and Angie. The other half is mine. I meticulously rolled my clothes up like firewood and laid them in place.  It is a work of art. I should take a picture. There is not one, NOT ONE, item in Janie's suitcase as yet. Now don't get me wrong she has been busy and I could not have mine packed if she had not gotten my clothes all ready to go.  I am going to try to print out our boarding passes tomorrow night to see if we can get good seats.  Our standards for good are low we just want seats together and not on the last two rows of the plane.  If I am not successful we should be getting there early enough to get good seats.  I am already praying for the person that sits next to us.  God will bring into that 10 hours of our life whom ever He deems best.  It may be that we sit next to a person who is even now praying for us.  Wow, what a thought. Well I have much to do.  God bless you.

Two More Days

Bear crushed by a box

I was in one of the spare bedrooms here at the house looking for something when Janie pointed to this toy bear with his head sticking out from under a box.  I laughed when I saw it and just had to snap this picture.   Sometimes I feel like that bear.  Its like something huge has landed on my back and pinned me to the ground.  A little prayer time and seeking God's face and the burden is lifted.  I noticed that the bear had the same silly, goofy smile on his face as if it did not matter whether he was burdened or not.  When I took him out from under the load he was just as happy as when the box was on his back.  That sounds like the very definition of patience to me.  To remain the same under every condition.  To be content in good times and bad.  I am going to put this little bear on the back of our couch where I can see his little smiling face and let him serve as a reminder of what I should be.
We went to a funeral this morning and it was not as hot as yesterday.  We also had a good rain that cooled things off.  All in all it was a good day.  At one point I was talking to four women at the same time.  I had one on the phone, one in the room and two on Instant Messenger.  I thought my head was going to explode.  I have a one track mind and was trying to carry on four conversations at the same time. Janie said she started to call Jason and have him call me on Skype to see if I could handle five.

Bear, My New Smiling Friend

Janie has been working on getting a new website up and running.  It is going slowly but surely.  I have helped her some but with all these funerals this week I could not help her much.  Maybe when we get back from vacation I can lend her a hand.
I have just received a call that one of my church members is not expected to live but a few weeks.  Hospice is going to come and make him as comfortable as they can.  Unless the Lord intervenes it looks like I will be preaching another funeral when I get back.
Two more days to go then Vacation.  I am really looking forward to it.  God bless you.

HOT HOT HOT

The day started off hot and progressed to hotter.  I went to the funeral home this morning at 10:00 and visited with the family of the man whose funeral I would preach at noon.  I stayed and visited various ones until the service started at noon.  One of this man's cousins told me that when he was young he loved cats and had about 2 dozen as pets.  They did not have enough table scraps to feed them all so he would go bird hunting with his bb gun and bring back a sack of dead birds to feed his cats.  His love for cats never faded. 
I was wearing a black suit with a black tie on what must have been the hottest day yet this year.  The forecast called for 104 but it was much hotter than that.  The picture is of the bank sign down town Hillsboro this afternoon and the other I took just before it of my car's thermometer.  If you notice the clouds that tells you it was also humid. I have no idea what the heat index was but it made me want to stay in doors.  I kept the graveside service very short for most of the people had to stand out in the sun during the service. 
Janie and I went to a family visitation tonight which is connected to the funeral we will attend in the morning.  It is suppose to be cooler tomorrow they say only 100. 
Janie is working and I have been packing and helping to sort clothes for washing.  I run all clothes washing questions by Janie and she rises from her work and takes charge.  She is right to not trust me with the clothes washing.

The funeral I was to preach tomorrow has been postponed for now.  I am looking forward to Friday and vacation time. I plan to take pictures everyday while on vacation and post the chosen ones here on my blog.  I am expecting this to be a great vacation.  God bless you.

Funerals

Janie a few weeks ago about to visit at the hospital

Our services went well this morning.  I got a call on my cell phone while I was preaching. Thankfully I had remembered to put it on vibrate.  I usually leave my cell phone at home on Sundays but this time I took it with me.  It was the funeral home calling.  They knew I would be unable to answer but wanted to leave me a message.  I will preach the funeral of a man who was just a year older than me and is the son of one of our church members.  It will be a grave side service at noon on Tuesday.  So let me keep this strait. I have a funeral in the morning from 10:00 until about 1:30.  Monday night we have a family visitation at the funeral home from 6:00 to 8:00.  Then Tuesday morning a family visitation at 9:00 then a graveside service at 10:00 then another graveside service at 12:00.  At 5:00 its off to Lorena for services there and hopefully Wednesday will be a little quieter.

The food at the fellowship was really good and I ate way too much.  We had services at the nursing home this afternoon and though not many attended it was good.  I have spent this afternoon working on the two funeral sermons I will preach this week.  So I have 2 sermons down and 5 more to go before vacation.  It would seem I am getting my preaching fix before I have a 2 week preaching fast.
Well its off to church for our evening services.  God bless you.

Good and Loud

Janie and I on the way home

Janie about to head for Curves

We arrived home from Henderson safely this afternoon. Janie worked for Sullivan Supply all the way home while I drove (I took this first picture with my cell phone while driving, a thing I would not recommend doing).  I went by and turned the A/C on at the church for the Teen Concert. Afterward Janie went to Curves (2nd picture) and I went for a three mile walk.
The group that came to sing, "Awaited Return" http://www.myspace.com/awaitedreturn  were very good.  They sing contemporary christian music and it was loud.  The words to the songs were projected upon the screen and the words to the songs were very good.  The kids like it loud and I like it scriptural so I put ear plugs in and we were both happy.  We had an attendance of 50 at the concert. The third picture is one I took from where I was sitting during the concert. 
It is past midnight now as I write this blog and later on today we will go to the hospital to visit one of our church members there.  We also need to pick up some groceries that we need for the fellowship on Sunday.  I have composed my thank you notes and need to pick up a box tomorrow and get those in the mail.

Teen Concert at Walnut Street MBC

Next week is going to be a really busy one. I preach at the nursing home Sunday afternoon, go to the nursing home on Monday morning for a visit, go to a family visitation at the funeral home Monday night, attend the funeral on Tuesday morning, go to Lorena for services Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday pack suitcases and get things ready for our trip.  Friday morning its off to the airport.  We are really excited about our trip. I will be taking my laptop computer with me and will try to blog each day so stay tuned.  God bless you.

It Shouldn't Be

I took our car to the dealer today for them to fix the windshield wipers.  When they replaced the motor they got it all out of adjustment.  I waited for one hour and then they came saying it was ready to go.  I got to my car and the blades were parked about 2 inches higher than normal.  I got in tried them out and they were worse than before.  I went back in and complained and one of the employees came out to take a look and agreed immediately that they were not right.  I waited another hour and this time they had them fixed.  I met Janie and her mother at the beauty shop where Janie took the car back to Henderson to take care of her dad while I went with her mother to the doctor's office.   Afterward we stopped for gas and some groceries.

Janie and I took a long walk this afternoon.  It was very humid but only about 85 degrees.  Is it unusual for a 57 year old man who looks up and sees his wife of 37 years walking down the road toward him as pictured above for his heart to leap and joy to fill his mind?  It shouldn't be.

We will head home in the morning and attend a concert at our church tomorrow night.  I have begun to pack for our vacation and will continue that process Saturday.  We have to prepare food for the fellowship at our church Sunday so I will go to the store and get what we will need for that.  57 plus one day has been good.  God bless you.

1953

I was born on a Tuesday a little after 3:00 AM the same year that: Color TV's went on sale, Dr. Jonas Salk discovered a vaccine for Polio, Dow Chem. invented Saran wrap, Kraft introduced Cheez-Wiz, unemployment was at 2.9%, instant ice tea was invented, John F. Kennedy got married, "From Here to Eternity" won best picture, Kelloggs introduced Sugar Smacks, and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest.  It was a busy year.  I have seen a lot of new gadgets in my 57 years. Microwave ovens, Satellite TV and Radio, PC's, Cell phones, and Internet.  We sure live in a changing world. 

God has blessed me through these years way above what I deserve.  I came into the world with nothing and will leave it with nothing.  Everything in between the LORD gave to me.  He gave me good parents, brothers and sisters, a wife, 3 kids, 10 grand-kids (pictured all but one), great friends, a wonderful church family, skills, knowledge, the call to preach, two houses, land, a car, furniture, clothes, computers, and the list goes on and on.  I am truly blessed of God! God bless you.

Happy B-Day

The ladies at our ladies Bible study surprised me with a birthday cake and present today.  The cake was a chocolate cake with a layer of ice cream in the middle of it.  It was very good.  They sang Happy Birthday to me and we dug into the cake.  The table lacked one chair being full. We had cake first then the Bible study began.  There were lots of questions and good discussion.  It really is a fun time.

I went to visit with one of our shut in's this afternoon and had a good visit. We went to a meeting at Sullivan Supply and that went well.  We went down to Lorena and had excellent services there with an attendance of 12.  They gave Janie and I a special love offering for our trip to France.  Our son called us during the services and I returned his call afterward.  It was after midnight there and he just wanted to be the first to wish me a happy birthday.  Janie had bought me several things from Amazon.com that I had on my wish list but tonight she surprised me with a new electric razor.  I have had a happy birthday already and it is not even here yet.   God bless you.

Make My Day

This picture was taken when we visited with my mother the other day.  She is showing Janie her leg that is healing nicely.  We had a good visit.  In the left of the picture you can see my shoe.  It is a sandal that I bought at Wal-Mart.  They are very very comfortable.  I may go hiking with them they are that good. 

We went to the nursing home this morning for the services there and to visit with our friends.  One man told me "You make my day when you come to visit."  I suppose that that expression could be taken in different ways.  I might have made his day miserable or really worth living. The phrase is used in the since of the best thing that has happened to you that day.  What a feeling it is to make someones day.  Janie often makes my day. Prayer and Bible study often make my day. Visiting people who are shut in often makes my day.  Tomorrow I plan to make a couple of visits between the morning ladies Bible study and the church services in Lorena.

Janie is at the ladies auxiliary meeting and I am going to watch some news and then do some Bible reading.  I am really looking forward to our vacation in the South of France. God bless you.

Eli

We had great services yesterday and business meeting went well last night.  I worked all afternoon on the bulletins for the next four Sundays.  I finished three of them and finished the fourth last night before heading to bed.  I am taking an idea from Dr. A. J. Kirkland who was the man who started the Baptist Monitor publication.  He had a cartoon in his paper called "Funs a Popin."  This character gave Dr. Kirkland a tool for giving words of wisdom in an interesting and pithy way.  I have created a cartoon character for our church bulletin called Eli.  He and his pet lamb will brings words of wisdom and truth to light in a humorous way.  I am not an artist as you can tell.  I drew Eli but the lamb was drawn by a real artist. 
Janie and I are headed for the nursing home service and then to the post office and bank.  We have a package that Jason needs right away so that will be our first order of business.  My son-in-law will preach his first funeral today and I have been praying for him that all will go well.  I am confident he will do a great job.  We have a busy week as usual with Nursing home, Hospital visit, Dorcas Circle, Ladies Bible study, Church at Lorena, Wednesday night, Thursday doctor appointments for Janie's parents, Friday concert at the church, and the list goes on.  God bless you. 

Saturday

Slept late this morning after going to bed at midnight.  Made a visit at the hospital to see a church member there and then went to the bank and post office.  I did a little cleaning out of the closet in the bedroom and thought it would be a good time to stop and blog.  I have a lot of work to do before we leave for vacation.  I will have to get three church bulletins ready to go and those will take a good while.  I want to have some sermons ready in the event I need them over in France and I want to have my Sunday sermons ready for when we return.  I figure I will be to tired to work on them when we get back on that Friday.  We have choir practice tonight, actually its Christmas in August where we get introduced to the music we will be practicing for the next several months.  I am going to try to knock out a bulletin before we have to leave.  Jason is on the phone so I better speak to him and then get on that bulletin. The picture is of me relaxing on my in-law's front porch. God bless you.

New Sermon

I just finished working on the sermon for Sunday.  I was going to preach from Genesis chapter 1 but will be in Isaiah chapter 45 instead.  Janie and her mother are on their way back from Tyler and should be here soon.  We will eat lunch with them and head for home.  I am anxious to get home and back to a normal routine, what ever that may be. I took this picture at the home where we ate supper right before the revival services on Wednesday.  I had never seen Janie playing pool before and she was doing a good job of it.  Well lunch is here so I am off. God bless you.

Swimming

The revival services have ended.  This picture is one Janie took with my cell phone at the revival.
Janie and I went swimming this morning and had a lot of fun.  It was the same spot where we had our first date on July 21, 1973.  We took a ride afterward to see my grandparents old home place in Gary.  It was 102 degrees outside so we did not swim long.  We are going to go get some lunch now and stay cool this afternoon.  God bless you.

Headache

Adam invented a lot of things when he ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Headache is one I could live without.  I was going to go to the opening day at TBI but I woke with a headache, the kind that makes me nauseated.  I had to get some work done so I did that and then took a pill and went back to bed. 

Janie and I visited yesterday at the place where she use to work in Henderson.  The picture is of Janie and the lady with whom she worked for so many years. We had a great visit catching up on what all has happened since our last visit. 
The Revival services have been really good.  They have been well attended.  Tonight I plan to preach on the subject of "Bad Things About Heaven."  This will close out the revival tonight and tomorrow I will take the day off and relax and spend some time away from it all with Janie.  We plan to go swimming.  The only time I go swimming these days is at camp with the boys.  I like to swim and probably should do more of it for it is good exercise and easy on the joints.  We are also going to do some sight seeing and take a walk down memory lane to a time 37 years ago when we first dated. Its back to Hillsboro on Friday and I miss home.  We have Christmas in August Saturday with the choir and I can't wait.  Choir is so much fun!  Well I am going to work on the sermon for Sunday but first its time for another pill the head is starting to pound again.  God bless you.

93

Janie's uncle Trenton turned 93 today.  The picture is one I took of him with his sister.  I took my mother-in-law over to his house after lunch so she could see him on his birthday.  We gave him gifts and cards and my brother-in-law baked him a cake.  I did some measuring to make a ramp so that my mother-in-law can get into his house with greater ease.  She has a time of it, trying to get up the steps to his house.  The next time I am here with my tools I will build the ramp and take her over to try it out.  He is not willing and really not able to leave his house except when he has to go to the doctor or the hospital. 

Sarah and Justin came over to attend the services and Janie's sister and her husband came to the services tonight.  Bro. Culley, my Doctoral thesis faculty advisor, came to their services tonight.  There was a big crowd there and excellent singing.   Justin and Sarah are going to spend the night here tonight and head home tomorrow.  God bless you.

Revival

This picture was taken at camp of our grandkids sitting on the nurses golf cart.  Camp is like revival to me.  I think it would be good to take a whole church to camp for revival.  Have all the members of the church stay there for a whole week with out any worldly influences like TV, radio, mp3, and  Internet.  You could have three worship services a day and good fellowship.

The church for whom I am preaching revival services is about the same size as the church that I pastor.  Their auditorium is the same basic design as ours only much smaller.  The singing has been outstanding.  They have a good choir that sang in both the morning and evening services.   Last night a quartet composed of members of the church sang three songs and they were really good.  I really enjoyed the services yesterday. A couple that I use to pastor at Gum Springs visited the morning services.  Sunday night a young woman who I also use to pastor came to visit the services.  They had a fellowship after the evening services and we stayed a long time visiting with the folks.  I am looking forward to this evening's service.  The pastor of the church is going to take us out to eat for supper.  He is a good pastor and a very close friend with our son, Jason. 

Today is Janie's uncle's birthday.  He turned 93 today.  He is doing well for 93 and they plan to have a birthday party for him at noon today.  I plan to call Hillsboro today and see how things went Sunday at the services there and see how our sick ones are doing.  Wednesday is visitors day at TBI and I plan to be one of the visitors though I am technically a student.  God bless you.

A Visit With Mother

Today I got up fairly early and did some Bible study.  The Holy Spirit of God led me to read the first 3 chapters of Genesis.  I am not sure why He wanted me to read that but I did.  There are several things that puzzle me about the creation story.  I am now bound and determined to figure these things out.  I believe that He wants me to preach from this text so when I return to Hillsboro next week after the revival I am going to dig into this text and preach some sermons from it. 

Janie and I talked with Jason and his kids today.  They are doing well.  We are really looking forward to seeing them in just 3 weeks.  I told Janie that we ought to stay up all night the Wednesday night before we leave and then go to bed about 4:00 in the afternoon on Thursday, sleep till 1:00 AM Friday morning.  The idea is to have the jet lag over with before we get to France.  It is odd to me that on the way home from our trip we will leave Frankfort, Germany at 10:00 in the morning and arrive the same day in Dallas at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Janie and I went into Henderson to do some shopping before heading over to my mother's for a visit.  Janie bought some clothes and a shower gift for a friend's child who has just married.  We also picked up some cards.  We went out to eat and had a very light lunch.  The visit with my mother went well.  She is doing good and Janie's sister, (mother's home health care nurse), still comes once a day to check the sore on her leg.  It is healing nicely.  She says it does not hurt at all and the swelling is all gone.  Mother has been making baby blankets.  She has one in the works now that is covered with yellow baby ducks.  She is selling them as it turns out and they seem to be selling fast. 
We took a walk this morning Janie went in after 1 mile and I walked another 2 miles without her.  This afternoon we got a good rain and it cooled things off.  Janie and I have just gotten back from another 1 mile walk.  I am going to review my sermons for tomorrow and then head for bed.  The picture is of me and my son-in-law waiting for the services to begin last Wednesday night.  God bless you.

She is Well

Janie is well this morning.  Her fever broke in the middle of the night and she feels much better this morning. I went over to see her uncle Trenton and he is doing well.  I noticed a lot of  leaves falling from the trees.  The leaves are beginning to turn yellow which seems a little early for fall.  It may the hot dry weather.  Trenton has a lady that stays with him during the day time.  She cooks and cleans for him.   When I arrived she was making potato salad.  She had a peach cobbler in the oven.  When I left she was frying Spam for his lunch.  Fried Spam and and homemade potato salad wow!!!  He is doing great.  At this rate he is going to have to get a new wardrobe.

I plan to take Janie's mother for her hair appointment and let Janie relax here at the house with her dad.  I worked yesterday reviewing the sermons for the revival and praying.  I took a short 1 mile walk yesterday, (it was 101 degrees outside), and will take another longer walk again today, (suppose to be 100 today).  I preached the sermon I will do Sunday morning to the trees as I walked yesterday and in 20 minutes I was less than half way through the sermon so may have to trim that one a bit.  The picture above was taken earlier this year from a window in our living room.  I thought it would make me feel better about the walk I will take later.  God bless you.

Janie's Feeling a little Better

Judging from this picture you would never think that this was a cure for a problem with your hand.  I discovered that when I sit in my chair to work on my laptop computer that I rest my elbows on the arms of the chair while I type.  This was causing part of my hand to go numb. I stacked enough seat cushions in my chair to make sure that my elbows don't touch the arms of the chair and it sure seems to help.  I looks kind of funny though. 
Janie slept good last night.  She has eaten a small bowl of chicken noodle soup and has gone to lay down again.  I think she still has a little fever.  So far I feel fine.  I am hopeful that I will not come down with what ever it is she has.  I will be starting revival services Sunday and need to be well for that.

I am blogging while my mother-in-law is making buttermilk pie.  I helped her with the peas, cornbread, sourcrout and wieners.  When the cornbread comes out of the oven we will ask the blessing and dig in.  My Father-in-law's doctor's appointment went ok.  He really did not feel up to going and thought about canceling it.  Some of the hoops they wanted him to jump through he just could not do so they took it easy on him.  Well the corn bread is done and the pie is in the oven now so lets eat.  God bless you.

Janie's Sick

Janie is sick.  She had a temperature of 100.9 when we left Palestine.  I told her to stay in bed this morning but she did not.  After we got back from getting the car repaired she took a short nap and still did not feel any better.  She has not eaten anything today.  She got up from her nap and I told her to just stay while I went to Palestine but she insisted on going.  When we got there she went strait to bed at Sarah's house and we went to church. The service went well.  I set up the booth and gave a report on France missions.  I preached a sermon and afterward they had a covered dish supper.  The food was good and when it was over we went back to the house, checked Janie's temperature and got in the car to head for Henderson.  She lay down in the back seat and I took her strait to her parents house.  She wanted me to stop and pick up some things for her mother at Wal-mart but I said no.  She is in bed now not feeling well at all.  Pray for her.  I am not use to her being sick.  It has been a rare thing for her to get sick.  The picture above is of Janie at the church on Sunday getting ready to play for the Junior choir practice. 
Tomorrow I will take my Father-in-law for his doctor's appointment and then pick up the things they need from the store.  I will try to get Janie to stay in bed if she is not feeling better by in the morning.  She needs to catch up on her sleep since she got little to none during camp. 

My son invited me to join a thing on face book where you commit to staying married and faithful to your spouse no matter what.  I did not understand the reasoning until my oldest daughter explained it to me.  I told my son on his facebook page that I did not need to commit nor vow to be faithful and stay married to my spouse no matter what because I did that almost 37 years ago and that commitment still stands.  In sickness and in health until death do us part was my vow and I have never ever considered leaving my wife.  I told my daughter that to recommit would seem to say to others that I had considered breaking my vows. If you did not mean it when you got married what would make anyone believe you mean it now?  My daughter did a good job explaining the need for such and I see it now.  I was just looking at it from a different perspective. 
This last picture here was taken this evening by our daughter, Sarah.  It is of me answering questions at the booth about France Missions.  Well I am off to check on Janie.  God bless you.

Baby its Hot Outside

The tabernacle at camp was cold each morning. The picture is of Joshua holding Jonathan who was all wrapped up in his dad's coat.  We could have used some of that cold here today.  We had a good Bible Study with the ladies, a good meeting with the lady from Meals on Wheels making her aware of a few problems, the church letter forms and reminder for our local Baptist Association are in the mail, the yard is mowed and the hedges trimmed, our clothes  are packed and soon we will be off to Henderson.  I am blogging while Janie prepares Jason's monthly report so we can drop those off before we leave town.  I only lack loading the car with the luggage and the France missions booth. 

We are going to have the car repaired in the morning and then head down to Palestine where we will present the France Mission work to Grace Baptist Church.  I plan to blog daily and there are several things I want to do while over in Henderson this next week such as duplicate our first date, go see a movie, take a long walk, and catch up on some sleep.  I do not plan to work on my thesis this next week giving my fullest attention to the revival services.  When I return from France the thesis will be on the front burner again.  God bless you.

Hospital Day

With this picture I am telling on myself.  As you can see I am doing about 50 miles per hour while taking a picture of my dashboard.  Pulling stunts like this could have me in the hospital rather than visiting there.  It was 107 degrees and it felt like it.  It reached 103 here today. 

Two of our church members are in the hospital.  I visited there once on Sunday and two times today.  I will check on them again in the morning to see if they have been released, hopefully they will be.  Janie and I will head over to Henderson tomorrow night after services in Lorena.  Our car has an appointment with the dealer at 8:00 to have the windshield wiper motor replaced.  We also have an appointment Wednesday night to share our France Mission work with a church in Palestine, Texas.  I have been blessed to have a couple of men in our church that can stand in for me at a moments notice for Sunday nights, Wednesday nights and Sunday School.  I had to call on one of them yesterday and, as usual, he was eager to help. The other man upon whom I so often call (pictured below standing with me) is filling for me while I am on Vacation in France. Bro. Roy Culley will be preaching in my place this Sunday morning and I believe the people are really going to like his message.  Bro. Jim Slocumb will be preaching the two Sunday mornings I will be on vacation.  I will listen to their recordings when I return from vacation. 

We will spend a week in Henderson with Janie's parents so we can be close for the revival services.  I am looking forward to the services and have looked through many sermons allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me in choosing what would be best for the people there.  I have much work to do so had better stop this blogging and get back to it.  This second picture was taken two years ago at our local Baptist Association meeting.  God bless you.

Back From Camp

We had a really great time at camp last week. Two girls that came with us to camp were saved. We made it home on the bus without any problems.  It was not as hot as I had expected that it would be.  The bus made the round trip on 3/4 of a tank of fuel. When I fill it up I will calculate the mileage for I am curious to know how many MPG it gets.  The picture was taken on Friday morning right before we left camp to head back to Hillsboro.

Our daughter, Sarah, called us Friday after we got home and told us Justin and her were coming over for a visit and to spend the night.  We took a short nap before they arrived.  We always enjoy their visit.  Saturday morning we got up and went with them to Canton trades day.  When we got home Justin put a new battery on our old pickup truck and drove it back to their house with Sarah following close behind in their pickup truck.  We gave them the title to the truck and hope they can get some good use out of it.  It has been setting in our yard without being used for over a year.  It was a shame for it not to be put to use.  We will drop the insurance on it Monday.  I am sure that in a few years we will buy us another pickup truck for they are a handy thing to have. 

We are about to head to church this Sunday morning.  It is suppose to reach 104 today.  I will be preaching from Matthew chapter 19 this morning and from Psalm 101 tonight.  Tomorrow I preach at the nursing home and Tuesday down in Lorena.  Next Sunday I will be preaching revival services in Kilgore, Texas.  God bless you.