Pastor's Blog

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

Jack Davie was discharged from the hospital yesterday.  Keep praying for Mr. Jack, Brenda, Timber and the rest of the family.

When I visited with Miss Martez yesterday she had been cleared to go home after receiving two units of blood.  Not so fast my friend!  After giving her the blood they decided to keep her in the hospital.  So, keep praying for Miss Martez, Bro. Norman and the family.

As I left the hospital yesterday I was thinking that we would be hospital free beginning today – wrong.  Bro. Jerry Hovel was admitted to the hospital yesterday.  He continues to be a very sick man and needs our prayers.  It seems that the doctors cannot pinpoint the root of his physical problems.  So, please pray.

Miss Kittie Camp will have a pace maker implanted next Tuesday, 5/14.

Yancey Hall will have knee replacement surgery next Wednesday, 5/15.

Deidra posted a nice blog entry yesterday.  Good read.  shininglightabroad.com

Regular schedule this morning and tonight.

Yesterday, I was reading an article on al.com written by Ben Thomas (my favorite al.com writer) about the Mobile Christian baseball team.  He mentioned that they would play Wednesday night and, if needed, Thursday.  What?  What happened to Friday night and Saturday?  The games have been moved up due to the threat of rain.  So, I kind of have an obligation on Wednesdays that prevents me from traveling to tonight’s games.  Personally, I think MC will win both games tonight.

If JT & team make it to the state championship next week then I will not be able to attend.  First, they will play on Wednesday.  However, the bigger obstacle for me is that I will be in Guatemala next week and it is a long drive from Chimaltenango to Montgomery – just saying!  I am in hopes they can win it all.

For those who receive e-mail notifications of a blog entry – are you having any problems i.e. not receiving notification?  I had one person tell me they have not been receiving one.  Let me know via e-mail, please.  Thank you.

I have watched parts of The Voice for the past two nights – I must be getting weak!  Anyway, two Alabama boys have moved on to the final eight so good for them.  I am entering Randall & Brad in the next round.

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

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

Happy eighth birthday to our second oldest grandchild, Emmy.  I hope she has a wonderful day.  We will celebrate with a small gathering late this afternoon.

Jack Davie did well through his surgical procedure yesterday.  Not really sure how long he will remain in the hospital but do ask that you keep praying for him.

Miss Martez Richerson had another test done yesterday.  The results are not supposed to be available until two weeks from now.  Not sure when they will discharge her from the hospital.  Keep praying for Miss Martez.

Tony Creal’s mother-in-law, Elizabeth Tillman, passed from this life yesterday afternoon.  Arrangements pending.  Pray for the family as they walk through this valley.

Keep praying for Bro. Jerry Hovel as he recovers at home.

Yes, BJ Parson did spend the night in our home Sunday night.  Told me he would leave at 6:00AM.  I was in the bedroom at 5:30AM working on the blog entry when I heard a vehicle speeding down our driveway.  It was BJ.  He left without paying!  Imagine that!

Bobby & the boys are struggling a bit.  Hopefully they will be able to turn it around soon.  The Dodgers were able to beat Les Hacker’s Braves last night.

I had written a couple of days ago that JT & the MC Leopards would be hosting the semifinal games this weekend – wrong!  The AHSAA changed that and now MC will travel to Buhl, Alabama for those games.  (You win front pew seats in our next service if you know where Buhl is without looking it up!)  Best of luck to JT and the Leopards.

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

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

Jack Davie is scheduled to have surgery this morning.  This is related to a problem with kidney stones.  Pray that all goes well.

Miss Martez remains in the hospital.  I will visit with her this morning to get an update.

Dale Creal passed from this life last Wednesday.  The service for Dale will take place this afternoon beginning at 2:00PM from the chapel of Serenity Funeral Home.  Pray for the Creal family.

The Lord blessed us with a good day in our services yesterday.  What a joy to honor our senior adults.  Doug Seaver did a great job of ministering in song.  Randall & Rita did a very nice job of ministering to our seniors while they enjoyed their meal.  Katelyn Johnson and others did very well in setting things up for the meal, serving and cleaning up.  I am very grateful to each person who helped in any way.  Thank God for our senior adults.

Our Sunday was capped by the baptism of Edward by his father, Joseph.  That is good stuff!

Bro. Jerry continues to recover at home.  Keep praying.

BJ Parson showed up for our service last night.  It was great spending time with him in fellowship.

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)

Bro. Jerry Hovel continues to be at home as he recovers.  Please continue to pray but respect his request for privacy at this time i.e. no visitors.

Miss Martez Richerson and Mr. Jack Davie both remain hospitalized.  Keep praying.

Looking forward to our senior adult day tomorrow.  Doug Seaver will be our special guest in our 10:30AM and 6:00PM services.  I will be using the same scripture passage in both morning services but preaching two different messages from it.  I am asking all of our senior adults to attend the 10:30AM service and, of course, then attend the 6:00PM service when Doug will be ministering in song.

Katelyn Johnson will be coordinating the meal tomorrow.  She can use help.  Anyone wishing to help must attend the 8:00AM service and Sunday School.  Contact Katelyn in you need information.

There is a tea for the ladies today from 2:00 – 4:00PM in the fellowship hall.  Pray for it to be a blessed time.

JT Lastorka pitched a gem yesterday and propelled his team into the semifinals.  He had seven strike outs.  So they will now host a semifinal best of three beginning Friday afternoon.  Way to go JT!

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

Bro. Jerry is home.  However, he is not feeling well and respectfully asks for no one to visit him for the time being.  Please honor this request and give him time.  Thank you for understanding and cooperating.  Please continue to pray.

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

Bro. Jerry sent me word via a text yesterday that was going to be discharged at 5:00PM.  Praise the Lord!  Pray for him as he continues to recover at home.

The thought was that Miss Martez would be discharged yesterday too.  However, that did not happen.  They are having to build her levels up through intravenous infusions.  Keep praying for Miss Martez.

Brenda Timberlake’s dad, Mr.  Jack Davie, remains hospitalized as far as I know.  Brenda really has a lot on her proverbial plate so pray for Mr. Jack and Brenda.

Our bus workers will meet for their weekly meeting in the morning at 8:30AM.  Pray for this ministry.

The last day of our exercise leagues takes place tomorrow beginning at 8:30AM too.  Pray for this final day of this season.

JT and the Leopards won their first game and lost the second one yesterday afternoon.  So, the rubber game of the series takes place today.  I think the Leopards will win based on having a bit more pitching depth.  A win today would put MC into the semifinals next week either at home or back in Montgomery.

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)

Brenda Timberlake’s father, Jack Davie, was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon.  Pray for Mr. Jack.  Pray for Brenda & Timber as they make decisions, provide support, et cetera.

Miss Martez got good reports from her various tests.  They now know what medicines to give her.  I “think” she may be discharged today.  Keep praying for Miss Martez, Mr. Norman and the family.

It was later in the afternoon before I visited Bro. Jerry yesterday.  He had eaten breakfast and was about to eat a late lunch.  He was not jumping fences but little by little improvement is being made.  He did ask the doctor about going home yesterday and the doctor shot that down quickly.  Keep praying!

We had a good day in our services yesterday morning and last night.  Thank you Jesus.

Where do I shop?  Sweet Tea Boutique on Highway 90 in Grand Bay.  They do not have any sweet tea in the store but they do have clothes and such.  Guys, gift cards to this boutique are the ticket to making your wife a happy camper!  Ladies, if you have not checked it out then do so this week.  Bibbi Bosarge is the owner.  She and her family are very active members of the Friendship family.

We have made a change in our online giving which is for the better.  I am told it is now much more user friendly.  Just follow the prompts on this website.  I think you have to register once but then you are set.  You can designate monies, set up a recurring gift, et cetera.

Side note – if you are giving to the Guatemala Relief And Compassion Effort to sponsor a child, help fund the school, give to the general operating budget of the feeding center, et cetera then it simplifies things if you give through the GRACE website.  However, you can give through either site and all is well.

Lord willing, I will travel to Montgomery to watch JT and the Leopards play in the AHSAA state baseball playoffs this afternoon.  Best wishes to JT & team.

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)

They will be doing more testing on Miss Martez today.  She seemed good and was in good spirits when I visited with her yesterday.  Keep praying.

Bro. Jerry was not feeling great when I visited with him yesterday morning.  They were going to be doing some things to hopefully help him.  It has been a long road for him.  Keep praying.

Regular schedule on our campus this morning and evening.

I need to hear from our senior adults regarding this Sunday, 5/5; our families regarding the dedication on 5/12; our class of 2019 regarding 5/19.  Folks, please call the church office to sign up for these various special services.

The exercise leagues went well late yesterday afternoon.  I was once again called into service as a game official.  I thought I was bad but then Bob Evans officiated the second game and I will leave it at that.  The leagues are scheduled to end this Saturday morning.  I am in hopes the rain will stay away until after noon.  We shall see.

According to my sources, they have moved the Mobile Christian state playoff baseball game up to tomorrow due to the threat of rain on Friday.  (I am not seeing that forecast but they did not contact me for an opinion)  So, Lord willing, I will drive to Montgomery and back tomorrow to watch JT and the boys take the field.  There is a Jim n Nick’s in Montgomery – hooray!

Bobby & the boys suffered another L last night as did Leslie’s beloved Braves.  However, the Dodgers beat those dreaded Giants.  The Dodgers lead the NL West while the Braves & Nationals are very much in the NL East race.

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

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

Visited with Bro. Jerry yesterday morning and he was in pain from his second surgery but was feeling much better otherwise.  Being the doctor that I am, I think the second surgery actually addressed and corrected his original problem.  Regardless, he is much better.  His body now needs to mend from the two hour surgery.  Keep praying.

Miss Martez Richerson was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon.  Kayla has done a nice job of keeping me updated.  I will visit with her later this morning.

Our exercise leagues went well late yesterday afternoon.  Things were pretty desperate as I was called into action to officiate one of the games – help me Rhonda!  Not only did I not have a clue but I was also carrying a one year old child for one of the four quarters!  Same format this afternoon as far as the games are concerned.

Regular schedule tomorrow morning and evening on our campus.

Where do I shop?  Thanks for asking.  I have already mentioned Grand Bay Auto Supply.  While I do not “shop” there I can also recommend Sweet Tea in Grand Bay.  It is owned by Bibbi Bosarge who has attended Friendship for months and became a member of the Friendship family on Easter Sunday.  Here is the deal – the name is misleading.  I have been in this store one time to get some half & half tea.  Folks, they have no tea!  Are you serious!  It is a boutique.  My wife loves it and while I have not been in the store my debit card has!  What I have found is that it is a great place for a man to purchase a gift card and give to his wife, grown daughters, et cetera and they are happy campers.  Personally, bath bombs are not for me – just saying!  It would be a great marketing strategy to have some “sweet tea” available for the customers as they browse through the store but Bibbi has not sought out my advice.  (By the way, I know Bibbi’s real name!  LOL!)

Hack’s Braves won last night while Bobby & the boys and the Dodgers took it on the chin.

I pray that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus.  Good bye April 2019!

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

Bro. Jerry Hovel underwent another surgery yesterday afternoon after having a test performed to see if there were any additional problems.  Obviously, they found one and were able to correct it by doing laparoscopic surgery.  So, prayerfully Bro. Jerry now is on his way to a complete healing.  Praise the Lord.  Keep praying.

We were blessed with a very good day in our services yesterday.  It was a joy to observe the ordinance of baptism in our first service.  Our attendance was good – not Easter Sunday good but still good.  We were missing a good number of our Friendship family members for various reasons.

Our exercise leagues will have four games this afternoon (two at 5:30PM and two at 6:30PM) and then repeat the process tomorrow afternoon.  This Saturday, 5/4, will bring this season to a close.

I need to hear from our senior adults regarding their attendance for our 10:30AM service and the meal this Sunday, May 5.  Please call the church office by Thursday noon.

Also need to hear from the families wishing to take part in the “parent/child” dedication service on May 12 at 10:30AM.  Please call the church office by this Thursday, 5/2.

We will recognize the high school class of 2019 on Sunday, May 19, during our 10:30AM service.  We need to hear from the graduates planning to participate in this service no later than Thursday, May 16.  Please call the church office.

Lisa and I had a wonderful Saturday.  We were able to spend some quality time with my parents and Eddie & Sue.  We then had a delightful visit with Mr. & Mrs Dendy along with one of their daughters and her husband.  Mr. & Mrs. Dendy recently celebrated their seventy fifth wedding anniversary – how about that!

Our day was capped as we had a wonderful time of fellowship with Decker & Martha Terry in Montgomery.  This is a most godly couple who love the Lord, His church, His ministries and His missions.  Martha is homebound but she is a prayer warrior.  If you need to be encouraged then just go visit Decker & Martha!

It is almost daybreak and Lisa has told me that I have to get the garden plowed before heading to the office today or else!

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