Pastor's Blog

The baby shower for Chris & Courtney Cavin takes place this morning from 10:30AM until noon at our house.  It is come and go.  Ladies, I hope you will support this fine young couple.

Bro. Jerry’s team arrived safely in Guatemala.  You can read the update on the GRACE blog.

Joe David Bailey and his team of students and chaperones are scheduled to arrive this afternoon.  Pray for their safety in travel.

We are on a regular schedule tomorrow morning and evening.  The students, 6th – 12th, will have a joint class in the CAB.  I encourage the members of the Friendship family to be faithful.

Soy killed another snake yesterday.  This one was in the barn and was a ground rattler.  The score for the summer now stands at Soy – 3, me 1.  That Soy is a snake killing machine!

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

Bob Henley’s surgery lasted about one hour and fifteen minutes.  The doctor told the family that it most likely a grade three or grade four tumor.  He suggested chemo and/or radiation.  Pray for Bob and his family as they have decisions to make.

Visited with Jack Love and family as they waited beside Tanya.  I do not have an update but do ask you to pray regardless.

Barbara Kelley’s sister, Brenda, was having surgery yesterday.  Bro. Kerry & Barbara were at the hospital with her.

Summer McGriff was scheduled to go home yesterday which basically means she was relocating to the Ronald McDonald House.  Keep praying for Abigail.

Laurie Chandler’s father, Jack Robertson, was taken to the hospital yesterday.  I do not have an update on his condition.

Ladies, please remember the baby shower for Chris & Courtney Cavin tomorrow morning from 10:30AM until noon.  It will take place at house and is “come and go.”

We are on a regular schedule this Sunday and will be joined by the students from Danville Baptist Church.  The students, 6th – 12th, will have a joint Sunday School class in the CAB.

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

Bob Henley has been diagnosed with a stage four brain tumor.  He is scheduled to have surgery today.  Those are pretty much all of the details I have at this point but will update once the surgery is complete.  Pray for Bob, Chris, Bobby, Billy and the rest of the family.

If all goes according to plan, the doctors will remove the life support from Tanya Love today.  Pray for her, Jack, and Tanya’s children.

Bro. Jerry and a team of thirty-five others leave for Guatemala this morning.  Pray for their safety in travel and for the ministry opportunities they will encounter in the coming eight days.

Summer McGriff and baby Abigail are doing good as far as I know.  I went to visit yesterday but did not get to see them.

The baby shower for Chris & Courtney takes place this Saturday, 7/13, from 10:30AM until noon.  It will take place at our house and is a come and go event.  Ladies, please come.

We had a good day in our services yesterday/last night.  Thank you to the members of the Friendship family for being faithful.

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

Summer McGriff gave birth to Abigail around 10:30AM yesterday morning.  Abigail checked in weighing 5 pounds 9 ounces.  She was taken to surgery and did well although they did not complete all they hoped to do.  Pray for mom and baby.

Christie Wynn had surgery yesterday afternoon.  I think she remains hospitalized.

We are on a regular schedule this morning and tonight.  I anticipate some of our regular morning attendees to miss in order to attend the visitation with the Von Kanel family.  I am good with that!  Remember our evening service begins at 6:30PM.  The menu for the 7:30PM Bible study is shrimp jambalaya.

The trip yesterday to New Orleans was a success.  Two young men were able to secure their passports without any problems.  I give God the thanks!

Still looking for senior adults needing work done by the Danville Baptist team next week.

The second GRACE Ministries team of the Summer departs for Guatemala tomorrow.  Pray for them.

It “appears” the modem was the problem with my computer.  I had to hire Soy to get it connected as there were some initial problems but he figured them out.  He is so smart.  Now I am beginning to see what Deidra sees in him!

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

Bro. Kerry has had a tough couple of days as he has been battling a kidney stone(s).  He went back to the hospital yesterday and a surgical procedure was mentioned.  However, when all was said and done, they sent him home thinking that he has passed at least part of a stone.

Margaret Davis had a heart cath yesterday.  Bro. Jerry visited her beforehand.  I do not know the outcome of that procedure.

Miss Kittie Camp got a good report from the doctor yesterday.  Her problem was not the replacement hip.  She has bursitis.  They gave her a shot and some medicines.

Randy Von Kanel’s father passed away.  The visitation with the family takes place tomorrow morning from 9:30AM until the 11:00AM service time.  Visitation and service at Arlington Heights Baptist Church in Pascagoula, MS.  Folks who normally attend our Wednesday morning service are excused to attend the visitation and/or service.  (You do not need to be excused but I wanted you to know that I am totally okay with it!)

Joe David Bailey and his team of students will arrive in Grand Bay this Saturday, 7/13, and will live in our CAB for one week.  If you are a senior adult, or know of a senior adult in South Mobile County, who could use some help i.e. yard work, paint jobs, cleaning out closets, et cetera then please contact Bro. Chris Taylor or me within the next day or two.  Helping someone who is not involved in a church could be a great ministry opportunity.

A team being led by Bro. Jerry Hovel leaves this Thursday, 7/11, headed to Guatemala.  Pray as they make last minute preparations and then as they travel.

If you look up the word “stupid” in the dictionary, you will most likely find a picture of me!  I wrote about the baby shower for Chris & Courtney yesterday and totally misspelled their last name!  How stupid is that!  How can you misspell Cavin?  I am so aggravated at myself but not nearly as much as Courtney is at me!  Talk about venom!  I cannot print the things she has said about me – LOL!  My deepest apologies to Chris!  (If Courtney would have been in the service this past Sunday night then she would know that I am experiencing computer problems!  I will accept full blame for this error even though . . .  Just sayin’)

The shower will take place this Saturday, 7/13, from 10:30AM until noon.  It is a girl – Courtneyetta or something like that!  Come and go!  Again, Chris & Courtney are very faithful members of the Friendship family.  I think she is registered at Greer’s and Grand Bay Lumber!  Since I misspelled their name, we are not going to charge them for using our house.  Ladies, y’all come!

John Milton Ladnier showed up at our house late yesterday afternoon with a bucket full of tomatoes and three egg plants.  Only charged us $10 which Lisa and I felt was fair enough.  Deacons!

It is 3:15AM and I have to get ready to leave for New Orleans.  One of our young adults needs his passport in order to travel to Guatemala on 7/18.  It could be an all dayer (not misspelled just made up) but I hope not.  Actually, another participant on that trip will be in New Orleans for the same reason today.  Pray that they both get their passports today.

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

We were blessed with another good day in our services yesterday.  Our attendance figures were very close to where they were last Sunday.  I commend the members of the Friendship family for their faithfulness in attending the services on these two holiday weekends.  We thank God for His continued blessings!

Miss Kittie Camp was absent from our services yesterday and for good reason.  The hip she had replaced years ago is giving her problems which will result in her going to the doctor today.  It is severe enough that she has given up her spot on the team going to Guatemala later this week.  Pray for her.

Bro. Kerry spent some time in the ER this past Saturday night but not because of his recent heart surgery.  It is suspected that he is battling kidney stones.  Pray for him as well.

I ask the ladies from the Friendship family to remember the baby shower for Chris & Courtney Cavin.  It takes place this Saturday, 7/13, from 10:30AM until noon (come and go) at our house.  It is a girl!  Chris & Courtney are a very, very faithful young couple on Sunday mornings and evenings and Wednesday nights.

Sonny Bates, Jim Chinners, Tony Hacker, Jeff Holifield, Teddy Ray Jackson, TJ Vice, Jerry Whitmore and Raymond Wilkinson have been nominated to serve as a deacon for three years beginning on August 1, 2013.  The Friendship family will elect three of these men as a part of the evening service on Sunday, July 28.  Consider this matter prayerfully.

Cheryl Woodson was an active member of the Friendship family in years gone by before moving to French Camp, Mississippi.  She has been battling cancer for the past two years or so and passed away last week.  Her funeral service took place this past Saturday.

Brad’s dad, Gary, and his brother-in-law, Timothy, sent us four of the prettiest tomatoes you will ever see.  I am thankful.  I think the words “tomato sandwich” are in my vocabulary for today!

Speaking of sandwiches, Louis Reyer told me that his sister eats okra sandwiches!  Never heard of that before – have any of our eight readers?

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

We continue to be blessed that we presently have no one from the Friendship family in the hospital.  Tanya Love remains hospitalized and there is no change in her situation.

Summer McGriff remains at home.  The doctor says that, if everything goes as planned, the baby will be delivered the week of July 15.

We are on a regular schedule this Sunday morning and evening.  My prayer is that those members of the Friendship family who are in town will be in their rightful place at church.

The deacons are asked to remember their meeting at 4:00PM in my office.

I trust that your 4th was a good day.  I hope Bobby Stork enjoyed watching the rain.  My plans were to take it easy but Charles called about 6:00AM wanting to know when I planned on mowing his yard?  I told him that my plans were to do so on Friday and he began to share with me about all of the rain that was coming our way.  (Obviously, he and Bobby Stork watch the same weather forecast!) Long story short – I spent the day on the mower.  The weed eater is calling my name today.

Lisa’s brother, Michael, would have celebrated his 45th birthday today.  It is hard to imagine Michael being 45 – would he be married?  Would he have children?  Where would he work?  The best thing we can do is to thank God for the 18 years that he had on this earth and to cling to the hope that we will see him again in Heaven.

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

Happy 4th of July!  Thank God for our freedoms.  Thank Him for those who have served in the military in years gone by and those who are presently serving.  Thank Him for our forefathers who founded this country on a strong belief in God!

I pray you will have a great Thursday with Jesus!

This entry is late and, for that, I apologize.  Pam Landry had asked me to post a little later as she does not like to awaken so early!

David Miller did well through his surgery,  If all goes as planned, he will go home to Arkansas at some point today.

Bob Henley was discharged from the hospital yesterday.

Tanya Love remains hospitalized with no change.

We are on a regular schedule this morning and tonight.  I realize that we will be missing some folks but that does not mean the rest of us cannot get together for prayer and Bible study.  If you are in town, I hope you will attend one of our services.

The church office will be closed tomorrow.  It is always closed on Fridays so it will be open again on Monday morning at 8:00AM.

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

Bro. David was taken into surgery around 8:30AM today.  It is now 10:05AM and the only word we have received is that everything is going well.  The reason the surgery was delayed until today is because Bro. David is on blood thinner.  I will update again once the surgery is complete.