Pastor's Blog

Miss Lillian Brinkman is having hip replacement surgery this morning so please remember to pray for her.  Vera Bosarge e-mailed me during the night to say that Karla’s dad, Mr. Teasley, wa taken by ambulance early this morning to a local hospital as he is having difficulty breathing.  Pray for these two situations.

Sam Schjott also sent me an e-mail during the night asking for prayer as he has a meeting today in Mobile that could directly impact his getting a job in the future.  Presently, he is working on his Master’s degree at the University of Florida.  Pray for Sam regarding this meeting and that he can get out of Florida soon! 

The visitation with the Ralph Williams family takes place tonight from 5:00 until 8:00PM at Serenity Funeral Home.  Pray for Edwin, his mother, his sisters, and the entire family as they deal with this loss.  The funeral service will take place in the morning at 11:00AM from Union Baptist Church. 

Congratulations are in order to Gene & Gena Davis as the Texas Longhorns rallied to beat the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl last night.  I watched the game and would have been satisfied if both teams would have . . .

Speaking of football, I am standing by my pick of the Sooners over the Gators in the NC game Thursday night.  However, the OU defensive back who mouthed off about Tebow’s inabilities may regret those remarks.  While I am predicting a Sooners win, I will be (gulp) pulling for Tebow and the Gators.  (Is there a way for the team to win and Urban Meyer lose?) 

Pray for the situation in the Middle East.  Add cough syrup, children’s & adult’s, to the list of medicines needed for our upcoming GRACE trip.  Pray about joining Lottie’s Legion at Friendship!  January is the time to sign up for the November ’09 GRACE trip.  We will not be doing the March work trip! 

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

The visitation with the Williams family will take place Tuesday, 1/6, from 5:00 – 8:00PM at Serenity Funeral Home in Theodore. 

A Wednesday, 1/7, visitation will take place from 10:00AM until the service time at 11:00AM.  This visitation and service will take place at the Union Baptist Church. 

2009 – are you kidding me?  Where did 2008 go?  Mama always said that “time flies when you are having fun” so the older I get the more I must be having!  Obviously, I haven’t posted since 12/26/08 and I did have one person, Vera Bosarge, tell me she missed my posts.  So, it appears my blog readership is now down to one which leads me to have a new year’s resolution to get that number back up to five!

I attended the funeral service for Mark Mast’s grandfather, Andrew Boeve, last Monday, 12/29.  Mark did a good job preaching that service.  Mike Blaylock, Nate’s dad, passed away and his service was Friday, 1/2.  I did not make it home in time to attend that service but did speak to Nate via the phone.  Pray for these families. 

Edwin Williams’ father, Ralph Williams, entered heaven around 7:00PM last night.  Of course, Ed’s sister, Arlene Weaver, was a member of the Friendship family before moving to Georgia.  Pray for this family as they walk through this valley. 

Terri Emmons, 32, passed away and they will have a visitation for the next two nights and a funeral service on Wednesday morning.  Terri used to ride a bus to church at Friendship and I helped preach her mother’s funeral service back in the 80’s.  Pray for her dad, Roger, and the family during this time. 

Lillian Brinkman will have surgery tomorrow morning, 1/6, and Brittan Gillespie will have surgery on 1/21. Amy Huhn’s mother, Gloria Morrison, was diagnosed with cancer last week and will see an oncologist this morning.  Miss Joyce Bosarge is some better in her battle with cancer and Carla Felps Kyser continues to take her treatments.   Pray for these folks. 

Carmen Reyer and Larry Thompson were in the 8:00AM service yesterday and Helen Ruth Brinkman was in the 10:30AM service – it was good to see these folks.  Continue to pray for them!

2009 – The Year of Renewal.  Our focus yesterday morning was on spiritual renewal and my prayer is that God will renew us personally and collectively in these days. 

I have joined Lottie’s Legion @ Friendship and invite you to join too!  Simply put, we need 100 folks to join which means a commitment to give $1 a day between February 1 and November 30 as we reach of 2009 LMCO goal of $30,000.  You will have the opportunity to join during the month of January.  BTW – our final total for our 2008 LMCO was $25,817.91!  Praise the Lord and to God be the glory! 

We are collecting vitamins, Tylenol, Motrin, Advil, et cetera for our Februray GRACE trip to Guatemala.  I made the announcement yesterday morning and received the first bag of these items last night.  You can bring these at any time between now and January 25.  Thank you! 

Faith Academy beckons!  I hope you will have a great Monday with Jesus! 

Another Christmas Day has now come and gone!  The Lord was good to the Turrentine family as we enjoyed a peaceful day.  My day consisted of breakfast, taking down the Christmas decorations (I know but we are leaving today and I didn’t want Lisa to face it upon our return home), taking the dog on a long walk, convincing myself it was a Sunday afternoon so I could take a nap, taking the dog for another walk, and supper at the in laws.  Yep, uneventful – just as I had prayed it would be! 

I did “find” the time to watch the Lakers dismantle the Celtics and stop their winning streak at 19 games.  Life is good when the Lakers win!  Phil Jackson won his 1,000th game as a coach and, in doing so, reached that milestone faster than any other NBA coach in history.  Go Lakers!

One of the advantage of having Vietnamese folks in your home is that their family members sometimes show up with goodies.  Such was the case last night as we received freshly cooked egg rolls and a bucket of fresh shrimp.  I enjoyed some of the egg rolls for supper and spent some time after supper removing the heads from the shrimp before freezing the bodies. 

My family and I will spend today and tomorrow in Hartselle before heading to Michigan late Saturday afternoon.  I will be gone until next Friday, 1/2, but Bro. Jerry & Bro. Kerry will be here in the event of an emergency.  The church office will be open from 8:00AM until noon and 1:00PM until 5:00PM Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. 

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

Mark Mast called me this morning to say that his maternal grandfather, Andrew Boeve, entered heaven around 12:30AM today.  God was gracious to allow Mark & his family the opportunity to spend this last week with Mr. Boeve.  Please pray for Mark’s mother and the entire family as they go through these next several days. 

Lisa, the girls, and I want to wish each of you a Merry Christmas!  We pray that you will have an awesome day celebrating Him! 

I hesitate to share this on Christmas Day but it is what it is.  As the Bush family was leaving the graveside yesterday afternoon, Phyllis Bush’s father-in-law walked to his truck and then had an apparent heart attack and passed away.  I talked to Katrina via the phone last night to verify the story as I had already left the graveside before this took place.  So, pray for the Bush family in a special way today! 

I really enjoy our Christmas Eve service and last night’s was no exception.  It was great to see Clint Landry & family, Pastor Travis Northcut & family, Gene & Gena Davis, and a host of other guests. 

It is good to have children who have reached the age that Christmas gifts can be given on Christmas Eve which allows the parents to sleep in on Christmas morning. 

We will have breakfast together as a family this morning and then begin making ready to leave tomorrow.  We will travel to Hartselle to celebrate with my extended family on Saturday before turning northward and bound for Michigan.  I will be preaching in the Friendship Christian Reformed Church on Sunday night.  Pray for us as we travel and then as I preach Sunday night.

I pray that you will have a great Christmas Day with Jesus! 

P.S. – Louise Mason, please check your e-mail today.  Thanks!

Merry Christmas!  I pray that you will have a great Christmas Eve!  I want to remind the members of the Friendship family of our service this afternoon at 5:00PM.  We will observe the Lord’s Supper, sing some carols, read the Word, and remember the Reason for the season. 

Please pray for the Bush family today as they will gather for Phyllis’ funeral service.  The visitation with the family is from 10:00AM until the service time at noon.  Thank you in advance to those who helped with the food for this family. 

I pray that you will have a great Wednesday with Jesus.  O come let us adore Him! 

My heart goes out to the Bush family as those children, although adults, deal with the passing of their mother yesterday afternoon and will attend her funeral service on Christmas Eve.  Pray for them.  Phyllis Bush was a sweet lady and will be dearly missed by her family and friends.  Again, if you can help with the food preparation for this family, please call the church office today. 

The “unofficial” observation by the medical personnel is that Britan Gillespie’s situation may not be what the doctors originally thought.  I simply ask you to keep praying as the official word is scheduled to come in a couple of days. 

Gene Freeman asked me yesterday if we would continue to pray for him and Sandra.  They seemingly held up well during the funeral service but certainly need our prayers. 

Carla Felps Kyser takes her final radiation treatment today before getting a brief break in the routine.  Homer Perkins remains in a physical rehabilitation facility.  Shea Childress is still taking treatments and Joyce Bosarge remains at home awaiting some new medication. 

Our 2008 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering total is $25,000!  Praise the Lord!  We have actually received $22,300 plus but someone contacted me yesterday to say they would give whatever total was necessary to bring us to the $25,000 mark.  To God be the glory!   

T. Garrett, we appreciate the Christmas card from you and Johna as it actually said “Merry Christmas!”  However, it appears the check had fallen out of the card so you might want to stop payment on that one and send another one! 

Don’t forget our Christmas Eve service tomorrow from 5:00 – 6:00PM. 

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

Phyllis Bush entered heaven early this afternoon.  The arrangements have been made and are as follows:  the visitation take place on Wednesday, 12/24, from 10:00AM until the noon service time.  The visitation and service will take place from Serenity Funeral Home in Theodore. 

Members of the Friendship family who can help with food for the Bush family are asked to call the church office tomorrow during regular office hours. 

Pray for the Bush family.

The Lord blessed and we had an awesome day in our services yesterday!  Give Him praise!  First, He used you to give graciously and we exceeded our goal for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering – hallelujah!  To God be the glory!  Miss Edna will get the up to date total this morning but it appears we will be over the $22,000 mark which means you gave approximately $8,500 yesterday!  I will report an exact total in tomorrow’s post.  Again, to God be the glory! 

Our Girls In Action mission group and their leaders are to be commended for raising $1,020 through the GA post office.  Thank you for using that means to send cards within the church family. 

Bro. Kerry and the choir did a nice job of presenting the Gospel through song last night.  Sherry Lavelle and the hostess committee did a wonderful job of hosting the fellowship after the service.  Thanks to each choir member and to all of those who brought food and/or helped with the fellowship.

Pray for the John Freeman family today.  The visitation begins at 1:00PM and the service is at 2:00PM at Serenity.  Pray for Pastor John Womack as he ministers to this family. 

Britan Gillespie has a growth in her neck that the doctors do not like.  She will go for a needle biopsy today.  Miss Lenora Rivers has been diagnosed with cancer in her jaw area and will have a test today to determine if it is isolated.  Carla Felps Kyser receives her next to last radiation treatment today in her continuing battle against cancer.  Shea Childress continue to receive her treatments.  Phyllis Bush remains at home but needs our prayers.  Mark Mast’s maternal grandfather, Andrew Boeve, in Michigan is seemingly near death.  Mark and his family are en route to Michigan so pray for traveling mercy as they are driving through a pretty significant winter storm.  Larry Thompson continues to rehab at home from his hip surgery and Homer Perkins remains in a physical rehab facility.  Pray for all of these folks.

It was bad!  Curtis Taylor, father of our son-in-law, Michael, and his wife, Myrna “from Smyrna”, gave me a bright orange UT (we are not talking Texas either) cap yesterday as a Christmas gift!  Without a doubt, the ugliest Christmas gift I have ever received!  I was horrified and my girls have been scarred for life as they witnessed the opening of the “gift!”  Hey Bret Hart, what is your mailing address?  I will admit that it was nice having Michael in the family for sixteen months!  Our other son-in-law, Brad, is safe as his parents, Gary & Teresa, would never!  (The whole UT thing is actually the fault of Janice Moreland!)

Speaking of gifts, my family and I have received our fair share from the members of the Friendship family and we are extremely grateful!  The best gift I received from our church family was the reaching/exceeding of the LMCO goal!  Thank you for supporting our IMB missionaries! 

Bro. Jerry is on vacation this week so please don’t contact him for anything church related.  Don’t forget our Christmas Eve service at 5:00PM. 

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