A Slave

I am a slave.  I am owned by a very benevolent master.  Since the time I was bought by Him from my old master He has been nothing but good to me.  He had a female slave that He gave to me to be my wife.  She is owned by him as well.  We have three children, two girls and a boy, and they belong to our master as well.  We spend our days working for the master.  He provides for us everything we need and everything we own belongs to Him. 
My old master was cruel,  hateful, and mean.  I was so glad to be set free from his bondage.  It was a very high price, an incredible price, that was paid to set me free from that harsh master and to bring me into the ownership and household of my new master.  So joyous was that moment when those chains of my old master were broken that each year the first Sunday after the full moon which happens upon, or next after the 21st day of March I celebrate for that was the day the price was paid and accepted for my redemption.  Thank You my LORD and MASTER, for saving me from such cruel bondage!  Thank you for making me Your bond servant.  May I never forget the price you paid to set me free!  God bless you.

28,000 Words

My mother-in-law, Janie, and Connie putting new flowers out

I have not been blogging because of my doctoral thesis work.  I am presently a little over 28,000 words of the minimum 50,000 words the thesis must contain.  Actually the count it not important at all for my thesis will easily be over 50,000 words.  I also have to site 80 sources and that too will not be a problem.
The services Sunday were great with a visiting missionary who preached both services.  I love to preach but I also love to hear good preaching and the missionary, Bro. Teer, did an outstanding job.  Our attendance was up and things are going well.  The church got hit with an electric bill of over $10,000.00 which caused me much concern however there was a huge sum of money given to our church by the estate of one of our members that passed away several months ago which was a great blessing.  The estate also left a very large sum of money to the American Baptist Association and the Missionary Baptist Association of Texas. 
Okay, its back to the thesis, God bless you.

Me Too

On Monday of this week Janie and I went down to Waco and bought 6 sheets of plywood. Tuesday afternoon I worked on making a 3 tier bunk bed for our grandkids. While I was working in the garage the birds were singing away outside. I began to notice that one of the birds sounded just like it was saying "Me too, me too." I called Janie as a witness and she agreed that it did sound just like the bird was saying "me too."
I had dreamed up this bunk bed design in my head and having spent some time working as a draftsman I got to work drawing up the plans. It was fun working on this project and seeing my vision become a reality. I got all the pieces sawed out by Wednesday afternoon and loaded it on to the truck and after services we headed to Henderson. My mother-in-law had a computer problem so we took the bed over to her house and after I got her problem taken care of I set out to router the edges and sand the bunk bed.
I had the sanding all done before the grandkids arrived. After supper we assembled the bed and let the kids climb all over it. They enjoyed that.
Today we stained and painted the bunk bed and after it dried we loaded it onto a trailer for them to hall it to their house.
This bunk bed is put together like a jigsaw puzzle. There are no bolts or screws holding it together. It stacks very neatly in the bed of pickup truck. I will post pictures below of this project.
Janie and I have a double date with a couple we have known for years but have not seen in a long time. We will be meeting them for lunch and then will be heading back to Hillsboro by way of Kilgore to see my mother. Enjoy the pictures. God bless you.

Scott and the grandkids

Elijah's 2nd birthday present

Hannah's 7th birthday present

Enjoying spring at the cottage

"Middle Son"

My mother on Thursday

Mother was doing very well on Thursday.  She was working on a jigsaw puzzle when her "middle son" arrived for a visit.  She was wearing a necklace that her sister had given her.  Laying on the table beside her bed was a stack of crocheted squares.  She has no plans for them; She just did them to have something to do.  "Middle son" had to take care of some financial business for her but was not able to do so due to an early closing of the office at the nursing home.  That business will just have to wait until next week.

Steve, the oldest son of Clyde and Juanita Clark, camping

"Oldest son" and "middle son" went camping at a state park on Friday.  It was cool and damp upon arrival at the park and rained just a little bit.  "Oldest" started a camp fire and it sure felt good as the temperature dropped with the sun.  "Middle" had agreed to camp out so he could try out some new hiking gear.  The new balloon bed was very comfortable but the new balloon pillow did not work out at all.  So it is back to the drawing board for that idea.  The bed needs some small adjustments so the prototype will be thrown out and replaced with the finished model.  "Middle" tossed and turned a lot during the night but over all slept really well in a 20 degree down sleeping bag atop a home made balloon mattress.  6:00 AM arrived quickly which is a sure sign that the sleep was good.  Hated are the nights when it seems like forever before the morning comes. 

Naomi smiling

"Middle" and his wife "Janie" (also a "middle") went back to Hillsboro by way of Naomi Bachman's house.  They found her being sweet as ever.  She permitted them to hold her as long as they fed her something.  When that something ran out it was back to her mama.  "Little Mexico" is Naomi's grandfather's favorite restaurant in Palestine and he seems to be unable to pass through that town without stopping in there for a bite to eat.  The place put Naomi to sleep so while she napped everyone else ate.
"Middle" is now blogging and needs to push those clocks forward and get to bed.  He is looking forward to the services tomorrow.  Its back to the Song of Songs and a very interesting text indeed.  Sunday night's sermon is not decided upon yet but whichever one it ends up being it will be from God's Holy Word.  God bless you.

6:00AM breakfast at camp, oatmeal and grits with Hot Chocolate

Alcohol stove boils 2 cups of water in a mater of minutes

The Vargo "Hex" wood stove is a keeper

The campfire is the best part of winter camping

DNOW

The Wizard of Oz, staring Robbie M.

Monday morning found us in Waco were one of the young ladies of our church had surgery.  We went to see the Wizard of Oz Monday night.  The elementary students did an outstanding job performing.  One of the kids from our church was the Wizard.  It was two hours of really good fun.  I think that I would rather see elementary students in a play than go to a movie. 
The services Sunday were good.  We had a good crowd including a couple from Minnesota who were passing through.  I did not have near enough time to get the whole sermon in.  I skipped major portions of the text in order to finish in a reasonable time.  I plan to cover that which I skipped in our adult class on Wednesday night.  People keep asking me how my thesis is coming and I wish I could say it is on schedule but it is not.  There is no way I can have it finished by May so I am now shooting for November.

Janie's new cabinet

This past weekend we served as a host home for the teenage boys from our church who participated in the Disciple Now weekend.  There turned out to be just one boy who stayed Friday and Saturday night in our home.  He was not a member of our church but a guest invited by one of the other kids who attend our youth group activities.  The young man was really polite and an excellent guest.  We shared the Gospel of Christ with him and he professed Christ as his savior.  It was a wonderful time.  The preacher they had chosen did an excellent job preaching to the young people.  If they do his next year I want them to count us in. 

Carrie, our Youth Director, at DNOW

We went to Canton on Thursday last week.  Janie bought a cabinet which was on sale for half price.  We made a run over to Henderson to pick up a few things we thought we would need for the DNOW weekend but as it turned out we did not need them.  I did not have time to go by and see mother but I plan to see her on Thursday this week.
My brother, Steve, called me today and invited me to join him for a camp out at the lake on Friday night.  It is suppose to rain but I agreed to join him.  We are planning a hiking trip and I am sure we will discuss that at length while we are testing our gear.  I have a new sleeping pad and want to try it out.  I also want to try a new backpack for comfort.  I suspect we may do a little fishing as well.  God bless you.

Robert and David, deacons helping with DNOW in our home

Martha, Sherry, and Shelley serving at DNOW

Mike, our newest deacon, had signs made for our church doors

DNOW, All you can eat spaghetti

Naomi is still a sweety