Pastor's Blog

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.  Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

Basketball leagues in the CAB beginning at 8:00AM today.

Bus workers meeting begins at 8:30AM in the bus office.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning and evening.

The visitation and celebration of life service for Jack Davie, Brenda Timberlake’s father, takes place from Serenity Funeral Home tomorrow.  Visitation begins at 12:30PM followed by the service at 2:00PM.  Keep praying for the family.

The visitation and celebration for Donald Butler takes place this Monday, 1/6.  I will post that obit on this site.  Pray for Pat and the family.

The forecasters are calling for a low of thirty six degrees tonight – hallelujah!

Do not count the Tigers out of the national championship game on 1/13!  Yes, Tua is staying or going!

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

Jack Davie, age 84, a resident of Grand Bay, Alabama, passed away on Thursday, January 2, 2020. He retired from Chevron Refinery after 40 years. Jack was a man of great faith and a true Christian example to his family. He met the love of his life at age 14 and was married to her for 59 years and 11 months. He was preceded in death by the love of his life, Joyce Grogan Davie; daughter, Lisa Davie Thompson; grandson, Shane Timberlake and parents, Velma Hardy Davie and Forrest Davie. He is survived by his daughter, Brenda Davie (Mark) Timberlake; grandchildren, Shannon (David) Peters, Britnie Young and Drew (Andrea) Timberlake; great grandchildren, Tyler and Dylan Peters, Kate and Andrew Timberlake and Harper Young; brother, Joe (Kay) Davie, nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Funeral service will be held at Serenity Funeral Home on Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 2 pm with visitation from 12:30 pm until service time. Interment in Serenity Memorial Gardens.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.  Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

Jack Davie, Brenda’s dad, passed from this life very peacefully just after 9:30AM yesterday morning.  Brenda, Timber and others were there with him as he was promoted from this life into the presence of Jesus.  Pray for the family as they walk through this time of sorrow.  Arrangements pending.

Those who do social media i.e. everyone except me are probably already aware of the arrangements for the ones mentioned yesterday but I am not as nothing has been posted on the respective funeral homes websites.  I am praying for the families.

Obviously, the situation with Iran is a concern.  We certainly need to pray for our leaders and for our military personnel.

Our basketball leagues resume play in the morning at 8:00AM in the CAB.

Our bus workers will meet in the morning at 8:30AM.  Bro. Abel will be directing this ministry on an interim basis.  There is always a need for additional bus workers.

Regular schedule on our campus this Sunday, 1/5.  Our AWANA ministry begins again at 5:00PM.  Bro. Jerry & Bro. Abel will both be teaching classes during our Discipleship Training.  Lord willing, I will be preaching in all three of our worship services.

In an unusual move, our deacons met last night.  Rick Bradley brought a good word from the Word.  We have some really quality men serving as deacons and I appreciate them.  (Now we have a couple of deacons who. . .   LOL!)

The first of forty different groups who will use the L.G. Camp, Jr. Mission House in Guatemala in 2020 arrived yesterday.  They are from Michigan.  Ross Genzink is flying down today to try and solve a few plumbing issues.  I really appreciate Ross doing this as he is going on his own dime and taking time away from his family and business in order to help us.  Ross is a great friend!

I was awakened by the rain a little before 3:00AM today.  That basically means we are getting a pretty good down pour right now. Supposed to rain all day up until the early evening hours.  I do enjoy the rain.  Would enjoy it even more if the temperatures would be in the forties today.  Pastor, you are weird!  Thank you!

Jayden came over to the house last night and wanted to watch football (true story).  So, we watched the UT vs IU game.  I am not a UT fan but I am a SEC “conference” homer so I was happy that UT rallied for the win.  I think the SEC is now 7 – 2 in this year’s bowl games which is the best mark of the conferences.  SEC, SEC, SEC!

Dylan Moses may not come back to Alabama because of something to do with an insurance policy with Lords of London?  I wonder if that office is anywhere close to the Lloyds of London insurance office?  Just curious!

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

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.  Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

Brenda Timberlake’s father, Jack Davie, is seemingly in the last days of his earthly life.  The medical professionals did not think he would live through last night but he did as I have communicated with Drew this morning.  Pray for Mr. Jack, Brenda, Timber, and the entire family.

Word came to me yesterday morning from Cecil Guidry and Deanna Wetterer that Donald Butler had passed from this life.  I visited with Donald’s wife, Pat, last night.  She and I had a good visit and desires the prayer support of the church.  Arrangements pending.  (I appreciate Cecil & Deanna making sure that I knew about Donald’s passing)

By the way, we are now down to twelve readers of this blog.  Donald was a very faithful reader.  Pat said to me last night, “Donald loved reading your blog!”  That statement leaves Deidra & Daphne simply shaking their head.

I met William Lott many years ago when his son, Buddy, began playing basketball with one of our Royal Ambassador teams.  William had played college basketball and would play on our men’s team for a number of years.  He has been battling cancer for a couple of years now and he passed from this life early yesterday morning.  Pray for Deborah, Buddy, Sissy and the family as they walk through this valley.

My dad was discharged from the hospital yesterday.  His oncologist said again that this cancer is “curable” and he believes that can take place by the end of 2020.  Dad has been very confused for the past few days.  Let me say again that my brother, Eddie, has really stepped up to the plate in giving care to our parents.  His wife, Sue, has done likewise.  I am very grateful.

We are apparently going to have rain today and tomorrow.  However, Sunday is forecast to be a great day!  They are even calling for a low of thirty eight Saturday night.  I love the cooler temperatures.

Friendship family, the Finance Committee will present the proposed budget on Sunday, 1/12, instead of this Sunday.  They are doing this at my request.  Just FYI.

Yes, I did watch the Alabama game yesterday.  I was busy doing some other things but actually listened to Eli Gold and then turned to the television if something happened that I wanted to see.  (The radio broadcast was like ten seconds ahead of the television feed)  Tua staying or going?  He will announce his decision this coming Monday, 1/6.  The answer is “yes!”  Write it down!

I did not like the fact that Auburn lost their game yesterday as I am a SEC “conference” homer.  Was glad to see that UGA won their game last night.  I am telling you to not count the Tigers out of the championship game on 1/13!  Just saying!

We have some really sharp readers of this blog.  One of the sharpest of the group messaged me yesterday afternoon to let me know that yesterday’s entry only had a title and no body.  Brilliant observation!  I was simply saying, “Happy New Year!”   (I am not going to call that person out as she blogs like once a quarter and lives in another country so I will let her remain anonymous)  You just cannot get anything pass this group of readers!

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

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

My dad remains hospitalized.  His numbers were not good yesterday.  However, I spoke to him on the phone yesterday afternoon and he was feeling some better.  They “may” give him some blood at some point following more tests.  The hospitalist and the infectious disease doctor are concerned about a spot of pneumonia in one of his lungs.  My brother, Eddie, has done a great job of keeping me updated step by step and I am very grateful for that graciousness.  Thank you for your prayers for my dad.

The church office is open normal hours today which means 8:00AM until noon and then 1:00PM until 4:30PM.

Nothing on our campus tomorrow morning or evening.  The church office will be closed too.

One of my weather sources says it is forty two degrees right now (4:00AM) while the other says it is forty three so let’s go with forty two and one half degrees.  Today should be a carbon copy of yesterday which will be great.  We are forecast to see seventy five degrees on Thursday with an eighty percent chance of rain and then more rain on Friday.

I was a bit surprised to hear that Dylan Moses is planning on coming back to play college football next year.  That should prove to be good news for his team.  Is Tua leaving or staying?  Yes.

By the way, do not count the Tigers out of the national championship game.  Just saying!

I pray that you will have a great New Year’s Eve with Jesus.

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

Only having the one service was very different for me.  However, it is a good thing for our bus workers to have an entire weekend off to just enjoy coming to church with their respective families as that only happened twice in 2019.  I am sure some of our Sunday School workers also enjoyed just coming to worship.  We had a good service which was a blessing.

I did my best to put us back on a regular schedule this Wednesday.  Not so fast my friend!  It is New Year’s Day and there will be nothing taking place on our campus which includes the church office being closed.  The office will be open today, tomorrow and Thursday.  So, next Sunday, 1/5, we resume a normal schedule which will remain true until Easter Sunday 2020 barring some unforeseen happening.

It was good seeing Gloria Whitmore in our service yesterday.  She is doing well in her recovery from her hip replacement surgery. Keep praying for Gloria.

I had several folks ask me about my dad yesterday and I told them he was doing really good.  Again, not so fast my friend.  He was admitted to the hospital last night because of running an elevated temperature and a very low white blood cell count.  He was also very confused yesterday.  My brother thinks he has another UTI and I think he is right.  We shall see.  Prayers appreciated.

I have had a couple of folks ask about year end giving to the Lord through the church.  You can bring a gift to the church office today or tomorrow.  You can mail in your offering as long as the envelope is dated no later than 12/31/19.  You can give online at any time between now and 11:59PM on 12/31/19.  Thank you for giving to the Lord.

I would ask that you join me in praying for the school construction in Guatemala.  It is now crunch time and there is much to be done.  Soy & Deidra have been going pretty hard since getting back there on Friday night.  First day of school is Wednesday, 1/8/20.

Wow, LSU looked really good this past Saturday afternoon.  Clemson just wins which is all that matters in the end.  Should be a good game on 1/13.  New Orleans will be a crazier place!  I am still saying do not count Clemson out!  I am pulling for LSU as I am a SEC “conference” homer.

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

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

Our campus should be totally quiet today as there are no basketball games, no bus worker’s meeting, et cetera.

We will have one worship service tomorrow and that will begin at 10:30AM.  Nothing else on our campus tomorrow morning or evening.

End of the year giving can be done this Sunday in our service, by bringing your offering to the church office Monday or Tuesday or by giving online at any point between now and 11:59PM on 12/31/19.

What day of the week is it?  This has been a most unusual week for me with down time for four consecutive days.  I will admit that it has been extremely nice just staying here on the hill.  I have only ventured out two brief times.

Forecast calls for seventies today and tomorrow with a forty percent chance of rain today and a sixty percent chance tomorrow.  We then dry out and will have sixties for highs and get some forties for lows.  I prefer fifties for highs and thirties for lows but God knows.

I am a Jalen Hurts fan.  Just know that.  However, I see LSU and Clemson winning their respective games today/tonight.  I am a SEC “conference’ homer so I will be pulling for LSU over Clemson but fully expect the Tigers to win it all again.  It really does not matter who wins because Alabama is going to claim their eighteenth national championship anyway – LOL!

I pray that you will have a great Saturday with Jesus!

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

Soy & Deidra leave this morning driving to Atlanta where they will take an evening flight to Guatemala City.  They have been in the States since November 20 but just slightly more than half of that time has been spent in Grand Bay.  The remainder of the time has been spent visiting supporting churches in Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina along with family in Tennessee & North Alabama.  Pray for them to have safe travels on the road as well as in the air today and tonight.  We are thankful for the time they have been able to spend here.  God is good!

Only one worship service on our campus this Sunday, 12/29, and that begins at 10:30AM.  I am in hopes that we will fill the house!  If you are a member of the Friendship family and are in town this Sunday, please join us.  If you are not a member of the Friendship family and do not have a local church home then please come join us too!  We would love to have you worship with us!

Still praying for folks to sponsor the teachers at Colegio JET in Guatemala.  Five thousand dollars per year.  Contact me if you are interested.  Your contribution can remain anonymous if you so desire.

I owe Shawn Felps and Eddie Albritton.  Shawn ordered rotors and pads for one of our vehicles and Eddie Albritton put them on yesterday afternoon.  Shawn gave me a good deal on the parts.  Eddie only charged one hundred dollars per wheel for the installation.  I thought that was a bit high until he told me the going rate is two hundred dollars per wheel.  So, I felt blessed!

I also need to give a shout out to Will Reynolds aka Mr. UPS!  I ordered something online on Monday.  Called Will on Tuesday morning and asked if he could get it delivered that day.  Had it by noon!  Is that service or what!  Will is the UPS man!

We are forecast to have high temperatures in the seventies for the next three days.  We then drop into the sixties for daytime highs and some forties at night.  It is not exactly my idea of Winter but God knows and I trust Him.

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

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

This entry is late.  Courtney Cavin told me at our Christmas Eve service that she would post for me today and that would be her Christmas gift to me.  I told her it had to be posted no later than 6:00AM and she assured me it would.  Well, it is almost 7:30AM and no entry!  I am ok with that because she told me that if she did not follow through on her pledge then her daughter, Blakeley, would say “Roll Tide” the next time I see her at church – sweet!

The church office is closed today and, as normal, will be closed on Friday.  However, I am in town and available, if needed.  FYI, the office will only be closed on Wednesday of next week which means it will be on regular hours Monday, Tuesday & Thursday.  There will be no activities on our campus New Year’s Day.

This Sunday, 12/29, we will only have one service on our campus and that will begin at 10:30AM.  The buses will not be running their routes, no early service, no Sunday School, no Discipleship Training, and no evening service.  I am in hopes of having a packed house for that one service.

I want to remind folks to consider, if necessary, to check your giving record to the Lord through the church for 2019.  It is very common for some folks to use the last few days of a calendar year to make significant financial contributions.  Remember, you can give online at any time.  Obviously, we will receive an offering in our service this Sunday.

Also, we are still in hopes of having the salaries for all fourteen teachers/administrators in Colegio JET covered for 2020.  The base salary is five thousand dollars for the entire year.  If you want to use this as a tax deduction in 2019 then your check must be dated no later than 12/31/19 or your online gift must be given by 12/31/19.  Need more information on this?  Contact Deidra or me personally.

Speaking of Deidra, she and Soy will leave in the morning driving to Atlanta for their return flight to Guatemala.  The girls will stay here until January 6, 2020.  It has certainly been good having Deidra and the girls here.  They will be greatly missed!

Christmas Day 2019 on the hill consisted of two family meals and lots of fellowship.  It was a good day.

A quick look at the ten day weather forecast shows us getting no cold weather – not what I wanted to see!

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