Pastor's Blog

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Pastor Terry spoke last night about our “trying hard” to live the Christian life.  That is us “leaning unto our own understanding” instead of trusting the Lord.  Ever been there?  Me too!   Lord, help me to more fully trust You! 

JB Kelley will have surgery on his eye today.  Pray for him as he is technically blind in his other eye so this surgery is important. 

Bill Goff’s surgery went well.  Miss Jackie claims his eye is black because of the surgery but those of us who know her know. . . . LOL!  Edna says that Sonni continues to be in a lot (my high school English teacher always cringed when one used the words a lot) of pain.  Pray for Sonni.  Evangelist David Miller’s brother, JB Miller suffered a severe stroke and is in an intensive care unit of a local hospital.  Of course, David & JB are Edna Holifield’s first cousins.  David is here with his brother so pray for the Miller family. 

Kathy Wadkins pulled a ligament in her back but that is basically something that happened due to her old age!  Personally, I think she is “milking it” to get Kevin to wait on her hand & foot!  Pray for Kevin!

Deidra posted an entry in the GRACE blog section last night.  Alisha & Pam arrived safely.  The rains have arrived in full force.  The Memphis folks are doing well although Ryan never updates his blog!  (He reminds me of Bret Hart & Donald Pennell)

We will not have our regular service this morning.  Also, our evening service will be in the auditorium from 6:00 – 8:00PM.  Pastor Terry should begin preaching/teaching around 7:00PM and everyone is invited to join us for that time in the Word. 

Our second day of VBS went very well.  We have had a few glitches during the first two days but Bro. Jerry & Miss Myrtle are doing a great job of adjusting on the fly.  I don’t have the exact numbers but we are somewhere in the 400 range as far as our attendance goes for these first two days. 

Wow, Pastor Jack Bailey used an entire blog entry to “vent” on me yesterday.  Can I help it that the Lakers are the most dominant team in professional sports and that Kobe is perhaps the greatest player of all time?  Yes, I too like Dwight Howard as I have already stated but the facts are the facts!  I was only joking when I said there were only two Celtics fans as I know Reb Nevin & Ethan McGath are in that number as well.  Now that Rex Looney knows that Miss June Bailey is a Celtics fan, he will probably join that club too.  Go Lakers! 

My bigger concern right now is that the Red Wings lost last night.  Also, I would have loved to have seen the SEC win the softball championship but I didn’t cry when the Florida Gatorettes got beat! (Sorry Amanda, the Bradleys, & traitor Sam!) 

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

“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:5)

I believe Bill Goff had outpatient surgery yesterday.  I will get an update today.  Pray for him.   

Our VBS got off to a really good start yesterday morning and continued with The Foundation last night.  The new “rotation” style seemed to go well.  We hit a couple of bumps with the end of the day rally but those can be corrected.  Pastor Rainey did a nice job with our students last night.  We are looking forward to a great week! 

Pam Landry Baker and Alisha Vice are scheduled to leave this morning bound for Guatemala.  If all goes well, they should arrive shortly before noon our time.  Pray for traveling mercies.  Deidra had an uneventful trip yesterday and we are thankful to the Lord for His protection.  So, our summer staff will be at full force beginning today.  Pray for all five of them as they minister alongside GRACE Ministries over these next eight weeks. 

Plans call for Deidra to begin keeping the GRACE blog updated.  Take a peek each day to see if she has posted anything new.  It may actually be Alisha or Pam but hopefully we will get regular updates on what is  happening with the Fab Five! 

My pastor friend, Jack Bailey, basically threw me under the bus in his post yesterday.  First, he put me in a category with Pastor Michael Mason – I am not worthy of such lofty status!  Second, he made some irreverent comments about the Lakers!  Celtic fans (both of them – Jack & Bruce) can be so jealous! 

The sad part is that all I have ever wanted in life is to be like Jack Bailey – I just don’t want to have someone like Hope for a daughter!  LOL!  I am wounded but will recover!

Forget the Lakers until Thursday night – how about those Red Wings!  Tim Mast and I are pretty excited! 

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

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” (Psalm 150)

God, and God alone, is worthy of our praise!  Take some time today just to praise Him for who He is and for all that He has done in your life!  God is great! 

We had a good day yesterday in our services.  Yes, the service last night was different but it was good!  Our VBS mission offering got a nice beginning boost.  Our missionaries this year are Jack & Carolyn Ciak from Guatemala.  They have been a blessing to Friendship Baptist & GRACE Ministries over the past four years and we are excited to be supporting them with this offering. 

VBS – those three letters bring joy to the hearts of some and strike fear in the hearts of others!  Depends on your perspective!  We begin at 9:00AM today and end the morning session at noon.  Our 6th – 12th grade students will meet from 6:00 – 8:00PM with Pastor Terry Rainey being the guest preacher.  Pray for our VBS. 

Nicole Taylor gave a good report on our AWANA ministry that concluded last night and will begin again in September.  What a blessing to hear the number of Bible verses those boys & girls learned over the course of the year.  Hannah Brock did a great job of reciting the books of the Bible.  Thanks to all who helped with the AWANA ministry this year! 

Mechanical problems on the plane in Mobile caused Alisha & Deidra to be delayed in their attempt to get to Guatemala.  (Soy & Brandon are having to work extra hard to make up for their absence)  Deidra will fly out this morning as she begins teaching a class at the seminary tomorrow morning.  Alisha will wait and join Pam Landry on a flight in the morning.  It is all good! 

The team presently in Guatemala is from Faith Baptist of Bartlett and is being led by Ryan Johnston.  They are blogging at www.teamguatemala2009.blogspot.com. 

My conspiracy theory has been blown out of the water!  I was sure that it was going to be the Cavs versus the Lakers in the NBA Finals even though the Cavs were down 3-1 to the Magic.  I had it all tied to the Kennedy assassination, global warming, and a few other things but now I will have to come up with a new theory.  Go Lakers!  (I am a Dwight Howard fan!)

Gotta get Deidra to the airport.  I pray that you will have a great Monday with Jesus!