Pastor's Blog

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Miss Ann Collins passed from this life yesterday morning.  Arrangements are pending.  Pray for the family as they walk through this valley.

The visitation with the Victoria Collier family takes place today from 11:00AM until the 1:00PM service time.  Both take place at First Baptist Bayou La Batre.  Pray for the family and the service.

Steve Morris is scheduled to have surgery in the morning.  Pray that all goes as planned.

Keep praying for Larry Whitehurst.  Four more radiation treatments to go.

Regular schedule this morning and evening.

Made an early morning airport run today.  Daphne is flying down to Guatemala.  Audrey will celebrate her fourth birthday on Saturday, 9/22.  Neither Lisa or I can be there this year so Aunt Daphne stepped up and said she would go be with Audrey on her special day.  I appreciate Daphne doing this and the girls will be happy campers.

Ok, so I was in Lowe’s this past Saturday morning.  I saw one of our female church members whom I will let remain anonymous.  I hollered from a couple of aisles over and went my merry way.  When I got to the check out counter she had just finished checking out.  I said, “why are you in Lowes?”  Her reply, “my husband sent me to get some wood screws.”  My reply, “did you find them?”  Her reply, “no, they do not have any wooden screws here.  All of theirs are metal!”  True story! (More or less)

I am not a Braves fan.  Never have been.  Leslie Hacker is all about the Braves.  I wanted the Braves to win last night because it would help the Dodgers (best franchise in MLB!) but “no!” the Braves got blown out!  Killing me!

Lord willing, I will travel to Tuscaloosa this Saturday to watch the Bama game.  I would love to see Bama hang another fifty plus points but really just want to see them win.  Auburn will bounce back nicely against the Razorbacks.  Mississippi may hang one hundred on Kent State.

I pray that you will have a great Wednesday with Jesus.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

I remind you again of the virus attached to any e-mails you receive from kittie@friendshipfamily.net that appear to be from me.  Do not open them!

Here are the arrangements for Victoria Collier – A Celebration of Victoria’s life will be held on Wednesday September 19, 2018 at First Baptist Church of Bayou la Batre located at 13500 Wintzell Avenue, Bayou la Batre Alabama. Viewing will begin for family and friends at 11:00AM and the funeral services will begin at 1:00PM. Interment will follow at Oddfellows Cemetary.  Keep praying for the family during this most difficult time.

Talked to Larry Whitehurst yesterday and he is doing well.  Had already received yesterday’s treatment so he is now down to five as he will receive two on Thursday.  Keep praying for Larry.

Steve Morris is scheduled to have surgery this Thursday morning.  Pray that all will go well.

I have communicated with the folks from First Baptist Wilmington, North Carolina.  They are in the early stages of the recovery from Hurricane Florence.  Still do not have electricity.  The Baptist Men’s relief will begin serving meals today and plans are to serve three thousand meals per day.  I have offered our assistance if needed.  Pray for these folks.

We will be on a regular schedule tomorrow morning and evening.

Already looking forward to the college football weekend.

I pray that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus.

I have been contacted by three or four folks who received an e-mail from me.  Problem is it was not from me.  One mentioned Bro. Robbie, one mentioned flowers in the church, et cetera.

The account listed as kittie@friendshipfamily.net has been infected by a virus.   The messages appear to come from me.  Please do not open such messages.

By the way, Miss Kittie does not use that address.

So, this is merely a FYI.  Take note.  Blessings!

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

You ever have one of those mornings where you think you have posted a blog entry and then it dawns on you that you have not?  Welcome to my world this morning!  Sorry for the late entry.

Happy forty second wedding anniversary to me older brother, Eddie, and his wife, Sue.  The thing I remember about their wedding ceremony is the closing prayer which was prayed by Curtis Stroup.  Longest closing prayer in the history of weddings.  Longer than the actual ceremony.  I had a high football game to get to so it was killing me!  LOL!  Anyway, happy anniversary Eddie & Sue!

What can I say about our services yesterday?  Well, the best thing would simply be “to God be the glory!”  Dr. Mike & Miss Dottie were a huge blessing to us in the morning services.  Thank you for supporting them with your prayers, attendance and financially. We were blessed with a good morning!

Our evening service was special!  It was one of those “you had to be there” to understand.  I believe God showed up and He showed out.  Immediately after the service I had three men come individually and embrace me while expressing their thankfulness for the service.  Others came to say “thank you” too.  E-mails and iMessages continued after I got home and through the night.  Again, to God be the glory.  I appreciate Jeanette Bates, Randall Broome and Brad Hutto for being so flexible.  Thanks to Levi Seymour for stepping up to the plate.  James Mareno once again had that “whatever it takes” attitude to help coordinate the service.  Raymond too.  I am a blessed pastor!

Miss Ann Collins is in the hospital and the medical folks are saying her time on earth is limited.  Pray for Miss Ann and her family.

Larry Whitehurst begins his last week of radiation treatments today.  Hallelujah!  Pray all goes well this week.  (He has already sent me a message asking if I can help with a little gas money in order to get home!  LOL!)

Leslie Hacker’s Braves are going to win the NL East.  I am not going to mention my favorite MLB team for fear of jinxing them!

I enjoyed the college football weekend.  Bill Kendrick was a realist going into the weekend and his predictions were spot on.  If I ever need someone to predict the outcome of games for me then I am going to use Pastor Joe David Bailey as my source.  He basically nailed the Alabama score last Monday.

I pray that you will have a great rest of your Monday with Jesus.

First, some sad news.  Victoria Collier passed from this life early this afternoon.  Pray for her family.  I appreciate Raymond Wilkinson keeping me up to date today.

Now for some good news.  The medical folks apparently misdiagnosed Heather Baria.  They are now saying that she does not have a malignancy.  Heather and family are very much relieved.  Thank you for praying.  Keep praying as they try to determine her problem.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

As I am writing this entry, Hurricane Florence is making landfall in North Carolina.  Thankfully she did not come in as strong as original predicted but the storm surge seems to be pretty high.  Pray for all those being affected.  Luke Green is somewhere in that area with the Coast Guard so pray for him too.

Linda Green’s granddaughter, Victoria Collier, is in a Birmingham hospital fighting for her life.  I have not gotten an update this morning but it is literally touch and go with her.  Pray for Victoria and her family.

Joe Sheffield, brother-in-law, to Rita Boutwell & Diane Trotti, passed from this life last Saturday night.  The visitation with his wife, Margie, and family takes place today from noon until the 2:00PM service.  Everything will be at Serenity Funeral Home in Theodore.  Pray for the family.

Rita shared with us in our service this past Wednesday morning that her husband, Greg, will have a procedure done on his lower legs next Friday.  It is my understanding this will take place in the doctor’s office.  Join me in praying that this works as it could greatly change Greg’s life.

Dr. Mike & Miss Dottie Clark will be with us this Sunday morning in both services.  Dr. Mike will be preaching.  I encourage the members of the Friendship family to be in attendance.  Lord willing, I will be in the pulpit on Sunday evening.  Translated – you want to hear good preaching then come Sunday morning!

Normal Friday for me as Lisa has already given me a punch list of things to do.  I have mowed every day this week and today will be no different.  Simply waiting on the break of day to get started.

Have to try and get finished with all of Lisa’s “demands” today as I want to watch college football tomorrow afternoon and evening.

Speaking of yesterday, it marked an anniversary for Lisa.  Wedding?  Nope.  It was one year ago yesterday that Lisa took a fall and broke both of her wrists.  Please do not remind me!  I just want to remind the owner of the gym that the statue of limitations has not gone into effect yet so do not be surprised to receive a phone call from Alexander!  Just saying!

I am about to have Lisa open a “pound cake” shop.  She had three orders yesterday for her cakes with folks offering to pay good money to get them.  A strawberry cake at Edgar’s is twenty seven dollars.  Lisa’s pound cakes are better than those strawberry cakes.  So, I set a cash price of thirty five dollars!  We can ship too but you have to cover the cost of shipping plus a handling fee.  Wait, if you call within in the next fifteen minutes we will add a second cake for a total of only seventy five dollars plus shipping and handling.  The girl can flat out cook a pound cake!  (Yes, I am biased but it is what it is!)

Coach Eric Collier and his Bobcats travel to Fairhope tonight.  Tough game.  Another shutout for the Bobcats?  I am going to say “no” but I do think the Bobcats will win a tight one.

I pray that you will have a great Friday with Jesus.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Really good day in our services yesterday.  God is good!

In our evening service Heather Baria shared that she has been diagnosed with a malignancy.  Not sure the type or the exact location but Heather needs our prayer support during this time.

Larry Whitehurst should received two radiation treatments today.  After today, he will only need seven more to complete this series of treatments.

Steve Morris’ surgery has been scheduled for one week from today.  Pray for Steve as he readies for this surgery.

Yesterday, Decker Terry sent me an encouraging update on Randy Alcorn’s wife.  Randy has written numerous books.  His wife is currently undergoing treatment for a malignancy.

It seems that Hurricane Florence is not going to be as powerful when she makes landfall as it was once thought.  However, she is still a very dangerous storm with the potential of huge storm surge.  Looks like she will linger either just offshore or slightly onshore which will cause plenty of water related problems.  Pray for the folks in the storm’s path.

Dr. Mike & Miss Dottie Clark will be our guests this Sunday, 9/16, in both of our morning services.  I pray that the members of the Friendship family will be faithful to attend.

I pray that you will have a great Thursday with Jesus.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

We are on a regular schedule today – morning and evening.  I pray that the members of the Friendship family will be faithful to attend our services, classes, choirs, Bible studies, et cetera.

First Baptist Church of Wilmington, NC has been sending teams to stay in the L.G. Camp, Jr mission house on GRACE Mountain for years.  As a matter of fact, they send two teams annually.  Wilmington is one of those towns that is in the direct path of Hurricane Florence.  I have contacted the leader of the First Baptist mission teams and assured them of our prayer support and also told him that we are ready and willing to help beyond that, if needed.  So, join me in praying for all of those who will be affected by this hurricane.  By the way, I suspect the President is going to get blamed for this storm in some kind of way.

Dr. Mike & Dottie Clark will be our guests this Sunday morning in our two services.  I have asked Dr. Mike to preach to us.  I think we will also have a baptism in our 10:30AM service.  If so, it will be one of the men who attends our Hispanic service each Sunday.

I have never watched Mike Rowe on his television show “Dirty Jobs” (I think that is it).  I really know nothing about him.  However, I came across what he posted on social media yesterday and found myself agreeing with him.  So, I have copied and pasted that conversation.

“We’re Going to Do Something.”
You’ve been very quiet about the Kaepernick PR disaster at Nike. Any thoughts? – Sam Wilder

Hi Sam. Nike’s free to celebrate whomever they wish, and Kaepernick is entitled to his opinion – kneeling, standing, or lying down. But if I was going to put someone’s face on a billboard – someone who epitomized bravery and sacrifice – I might have gone another way, especially this time of year. I might have gone with this guy – Tom Burnett.

Tom’s last act on earth was one of the most courageous things imaginable. And his last words to his wife, Deena, are among the most inspiring I’ve ever heard. Those exact words are at the top of this page, and the bottom. They were spoken seventeen years ago, under conditions I hope to never experience. I’ll never forget Tom’s last words. I hope you won’t either.

Transcript of Tom’s Last Calls to Deena
6:27 a.m.( pacific time) First cell phone call from Tom to Deena
Deena: Hello
Tom: Deena
Deena: Tom, are you O.K.?
Tom: No, I’m not. I’m on an airplane that has been hijacked.
Deena: Hijacked?
Tom: Yes, They just knifed a guy.
Deena: A passenger?
Tom: Yes.
Deena: Where are you? Are you in the air?
Tom: Yes, yes, just listen. Our airplane has been hijacked. It’s United Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco. We are in the air. The hijackers have already knifed a guy, one of them has a gun, they are telling us there is a bomb on board, please call the authorities. He hung up.
6:31 Deena calls 911

6:34 The phone rang in on call waiting, Tom’s second cell phone call.
Deena: Hello
Tom: They’re in the cockpit. The guy they knifed is dead.
Deena: He’s dead?
Tom: Yes. I tried to help him, but I couldn’t get a pulse.
Deena: Tom, they are hijacking planes all up and down the east coast. They are taking them and hitting designated targets. They’ve already hit both towers of the World Trade Center.
Tom: They’re talking about crashing this plane. (a pause) Oh my God. It’s a suicide mission…(he then tells people sitting around him)
Deena: Who are you talking to?
Tom: My seatmate. Do you know which airline is involved?
Deena: No, they don’t know if they’re commercial airlines or not. The newsreporters are speculating cargo planes, private planes and commercial. No one knows.
Tom: How many planes are there?
Deena: They’re not sure, at least three. Maybe more.
Tom: O.K….O.K….Do you know who is involved?
Deena: No.
Tom: We’re turning back toward New York. We’re going back to the World Trade Center. No, wait, we’re turning back the other way. We’re going south.
Deena: What do you see?
Tom: Just a minute, I’m looking. I don’t see anything, we’re over a rural area. It’s just fields. I’ve gotta go.

6:45 a.m. Third cell phone call from Tom to Deena
Tom: Deena
Deena: Tom, you’re O.K. (I thought at this point he had just survived the Pentagon plane crash).
Tom: No, I’m not.
Deena: They just hit the Pentagon.
Tom: (tells people sitting around him “They just hit the Pentagon.”)
Tom: O.K….O.K. What else can you tell me?
Deena: They think five airplanes have been hijacked. One is still on the ground. They believe all of them are commercial planes. I haven’t heard them say which airline, but all of them have originated on the east coast.
Tom: Do you know who is involved?
Deena: No
Tom: What is the probability of their having a bomb on board? I don’t think they have one. I think they’re just telling us that for crowd control.
Deena: A plane can survive a bomb if it’s in the right place.
Tom: Did you call the authorities?
Deena: Yes, they didn’t know anything about your plane.
Tom: They’re talking about crashing this plane into the ground. We have to do something. I’m putting a plan together.
Deena: Who’s helping you?
Tom: Different people. Several people. There’s a group of us. Don’t worry. I’ll call you back.

6:54 a.m. Fourth cell phone call to Tom to Deena
Deena: Tom?
Tom: Hi. Anything new?
Deena: No
Tom: Where are the kids?
Deena: They’re fine. They’re sitting at the table having breakfast. They’re asking to talk to you.
Tom: Tell them I’ll talk to them later.
Deena: I called your parents. They know your plane has been hijacked.
Tom: Oh…you shouldn’t have worried them. How are they doing?
Deena: They’re O.K.. Mary and Martha are with them.
Tom: Good.

(a long quiet pause)

Tom: We’re waiting until we’re over a rural area. We’re going to take back the airplane.
Deena: No! Sit down, be still, be quiet, and don’t draw attention to yourself! (The exact words taught to me by Delta Airlines Flight Attendant Training).
Tom: Deena! If they’re going to crash this plane into the ground, we’re going to have do something!
Deena: What about the authorities?
Tom: We can’t wait for the authorities. I don’t know what they could do anyway.
It’s up to us. I think we can do it.
Deena: What do you want me to do?
Tom: Pray, Deena, just pray.

(after a long pause)

Deena: I love you.
Tom: Don’t worry, we’re going to do something…

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Obviously, today marks the anniversary of a very sad day in the history of the United States of America.  I vividly remember Lisa calling me to tell me to go find a television because something “bad” was happening in New York.  I then watched in disbelief  as did millions of other folks as the events of that morning continued to unfold.  Two thousand nine hundred and seventy seven innocent people lost their lives as a result of those attacks that day.  That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the trade towers and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.

So today I plan to stop at 7:45AM (North Tower), 8:03AM (South Tower), 8:45AM (Pentagon) & 9:10AM (field in PA) to prayerfully remember those who died in the attacks and the family members they left behind.

Larry Whitehurst is now down to eleven radiation treatments.  If all goes as scheduled, he will finish on Friday, 9/21.  He is doing well.  Keep praying for Larry.

Phil Sims has yet to gain his correct eyesight following his surgeries.  Things at a distance are simply not clear to him.  Pray that the doctors can find the reason and correct the problem.

We have had several of our young ladies who have been very kind to help in a needy situation.  They know who they are and what they have done and are doing.  I just want them to know that I appreciate each of them and their kindnesses.  Folks, it is never wrong to be kind.  John Wesley is credited with saying, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”  I say “amen” and add that doing good involves being kind!  (Please note that doing good will not get one to Heaven!  Only a personal relationship with Jesus can do that!  Jesus is the only way to the Father!)

Speaking of kindness, I want to say a belated “thank you” to Drew Timberlake for his recent kindness to me.  He knows what that means and I am grateful.  Drew is a fine young man.

I have enjoyed the first two weekends of the college football season.  Auburn (LSU) and Alabama (Mississippi) both have big conference openers this Saturday.  LSU is probably playing better than expected and Mississippi is lighting the scoreboard up in a big way.  So, I hope to settle in at 2:30PM this Saturday and remain settled until around 9:30PM watching those two games on television.

I am of the opinion that Bobby & the boys are not going to get it done this season.  I am pretty much convinced of the same for the Dodgers.  Pastor Wes Bates’ beloved Cubbies are going to make the playoffs but the Brewers are really charging in the NL Central.

Coach Eric Collier and his Bobcats put on a show this past Friday night – wow!  Fifty one to zero!  That is a combined score of seventy five to zero over the past two games.  The Bobcats travel to Fairhope this Friday night to take on the 2 – 1 Pirates.  Go Bobcats!  (I am of the opinion that Elizabeth Martin is the real reason they are winning!  She is cheering with a broken hand!)

So, no blog entry since last Thursday, 9/6 – what is up with that?  Well, first I do not always post an entry on the weekends so not having one Saturday & Sunday was not so out of the ordinary.  Yesterday I had some issues that caused me to not get an entry posted.  Ok, what about Friday, 9/7?  Well, I had a wonderful few days with Deidra and the girls.  Great memories and got a lot of ministry stuff done with Deidra.  However, I evidently left Soy out and he got his feelings hurt (I hate it when men act like women!)  He came to me on Thursday night and asked if I would spend Friday morning with him?  I was like, “are you serious?”  I had a driver lined up to take me to the airport Friday morning but cancelled that when Soy said he wanted to drive me to the airport.  He asked me to give him my undivided attention which included not taking time to blog.  So, I honored Soy’s request.  We stopped at Pollo Campero on the way to the airport.   That was weird but if it makes Soy happy then I am good (I guess)!  I did draw the line when he tried to give me a hug as I headed into the airport terminal!  So, now you know!

The pastor gave us homework this past Sunday night so I cannot speak negative.  I will simply say this – if you ever need someone to pick you up from the airport in a timely manner you may not want to have Eddie Albritton be that person unless you are good with standing on the sidewalk for over an hour.  Not being negative.  Just saying!

I pray that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Once again, “good morning from GRACE Mountain!”  It is very early in the morning as I am writing this entry and the rains have been coming off and on all night.  It is so very important for Guatemala to receive rain during this season and they have not been having as much rain as normal.  Guatemala basically has two seasons – rainy and dry.  Now is the rainy season and it should last until some point in November.  So, pray for rain!

I was unaware until yesterday afternoon that the church office had received damage during the storm.  Thank you to Bro. Benny McGath for getting word to me through Julie and Lisa.  A tree (limb?) fell on the power line and pulled the service box from the wall and also did some damage to the roof.  We had a group of guys work to replace/repair the box and repair the roof damage.  I am not going to mention names for fear of leaving someone off the list.  Just know that I am thankful to those men for their help.  Also, I am very thankful to the workers from Alabama Power for getting the electricity restored last night.

So, the church office is open today from 8:00AM until 12:00PM and from 1:00PM until 5:00PM.

I was also unaware yesterday morning that there were folks in Grand Bay who were without electricity in their homes.  I pray that everyone has had their power restored by now.  I sure do like electricity!

No updates on those for whom we have been praying.  Just pray for those God brings to your mind.

I was only involved in two meetings yesterday and they only totaled around three hours.  It took over a hour to drive to and from the first meeting so I had about four hours total in the process.  Easy day!

Today I will have the privilege of going to watch Lizzi in her rehearsal for some type of Independence Day (9/15) ceremony which will take place late tomorrow afternoon.  She is excited that I am here and wants me to see this production.  I am sure it will be awesome!

My day begins with an early morning meeting, Lizzi’s rehearsal and then another meeting.  After the second meeting I am going to get a haircut, Lord willing.  I will then be in full grandfather mode and will spend the afternoon with Lizzi, Sydney & Audrey – we have plans!

Perhaps the biggest blessing of being here this week has been the privilege of spending a good deal of personal time with Deidra.  Yes, it has been nice seeing the granddaughters but being with Deidra has been nice.  What has not been so nice has been riding in the vehicle with her being the driver!  I have literally seen my life flash in front of my eyes more than one time over the past three days – help me Jesus!  FYI, zero monster cookies have been baked this week!  Zero as in none!  The Queen has taught Deidra well! Where is Monster Miles when you need her?

I only have two or three garments with the name of “that” company on them.  Needless to say I will not be wearing any of those garments from this point forward.  I am a “stand for the national anthem” guy!  I sure wish Alabama athletics had a different sponsor!  I can only hope there is a clause in their contract that allows UA to opt out – that would be nice!  Folks, corporate America understands dollars.  If the products do not sell then the company will change their position!  I hope the television ratings for the professional league is lower this season than the last one.  Ok, enough soap box talk!

Speaking of the storm, there was damage in South Mobile County.  Financial help is needed!  I am calling on folks like Eddie Turrentine, Ross Genzink, Jason Bowling, David Wood, Tom Compagner, Pastor Joe Bailey, Anthony Shaneyfelt, Rex Looney, Dean Kapenga, Derek Draft, Pastor Bob Harvey, Pastor BJ Parson, Pastor Jordan Lollar, and others to send cash to me so I can help meet these needs!  Just saying!

I pray that you will have a great Thursday with Jesus.