Pastor's Blog

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Steve Morris did very well during his surgery.  The doctor was pleased.  Here is the tough part for Steve at this point – he cannot have anything to eat or drink for five days.  He will most likely be in the hospital for seven days.  The good part is that all of this is about to be a thing of the past for Steve and he will be recovered.  Keep praying!

Larry Whitehurst should be just a few minutes away from receiving his twenty fifth and  final radiation treatment – hallelujah!  He and Judy will then be making their way home.  Pray that the radiation has done exactly what the doctors planned for it to do.

The visitation with the Ann Collins family takes place tomorrow, 9/22, from 11:00AM until the 1:00PM service time.  Visitation and service at Radney’s Funeral Home on Dauphin Street in Mobile.  Pray for the family.

If you are helping with the food for the Collins family please have it in the fellowship hall no later than noon tomorrow.  Thank you to Tina Wilkinson for coordinating this ministry.  Thank you to each person providing food.

Pot meet kettle – “U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, who told men to “just shut up and step up” in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, might have some explaining to do about her campaign cash.

Data show that Hawaii’s Hirono has taken money from a fellow Democrat who has admitted hitting his wife.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper’s First State PAC donated $1,000 to Hirono’s political campaign in June, despite the Delaware lawmaker’s confession of abuse.

Also receiving donations from Carper’s group was U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will decide if Kavanaugh is appointed to the nation’s highest court. Feinstein has received $5,000 from the PAC so far in 2018.

Other Democrats benefitting from Carper’s PAC include U.S. Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Bill Nelson of Florida and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who’ve received $10,000 each from the PAC this year.”

Copied and pasted from an article on Foxnews.com.

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

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

We were blessed with a good day in our services, morning and evening, yesterday.  Good attendance.  Great Spirit.  Thanks be unto God!

Someone mentioned Wednesday night meals to me this week.  I am all for them.  Just need a lead cook and helpers.

Steve Morris will have surgery this morning.  I am about to head to the hospital to pray with him before his surgery begins.  Pray that all goes well.

The visitation with the Ann Collins family takes place this Saturday, 9/22, from 11:00AM until the 1:00PM service time.  Visitation and service at Radney’s Funeral Home on Dauphin Street in Mobile.  Pray for the family.

The Friendship family is feeding the family following the service.  If you will help with this ministry please contact Tina Wilkinson.   Food will need to be in the fellowship hall by noon on Saturday.

Larry Whitehurst gets two radiation treatments today and then one in the morning before heading toward home.  Keep praying.

Interested in our mission work in Guatemala?  Check out aglimpseofgrace.com.  Soy has done a very nice job of updating that website.  Soy is the man!  (So says Deidra)

Daphne arrived safe and sound on GRACE Mountain yesterday afternoon.  We are thankful.

Pastor Joe David Bailey has called in the score for the A&M vs Bama game this Saturday.  I will let you know if he got close once the game is over.

I am disappointed that Bobby & the boys are not going to make the postseason.  The only bright side is that Bobby will be home earlier.  I was totally ok with not seeing Bobby back in Grand Bay until November.  I cannot make comment on my favorite MLB team for fear of a jinx.

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

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Miss Ann Collins passed from this life yesterday morning.  Arrangements are pending.  Pray for the family as they walk through this valley.

The visitation with the Victoria Collier family takes place today from 11:00AM until the 1:00PM service time.  Both take place at First Baptist Bayou La Batre.  Pray for the family and the service.

Steve Morris is scheduled to have surgery in the morning.  Pray that all goes as planned.

Keep praying for Larry Whitehurst.  Four more radiation treatments to go.

Regular schedule this morning and evening.

Made an early morning airport run today.  Daphne is flying down to Guatemala.  Audrey will celebrate her fourth birthday on Saturday, 9/22.  Neither Lisa or I can be there this year so Aunt Daphne stepped up and said she would go be with Audrey on her special day.  I appreciate Daphne doing this and the girls will be happy campers.

Ok, so I was in Lowe’s this past Saturday morning.  I saw one of our female church members whom I will let remain anonymous.  I hollered from a couple of aisles over and went my merry way.  When I got to the check out counter she had just finished checking out.  I said, “why are you in Lowes?”  Her reply, “my husband sent me to get some wood screws.”  My reply, “did you find them?”  Her reply, “no, they do not have any wooden screws here.  All of theirs are metal!”  True story! (More or less)

I am not a Braves fan.  Never have been.  Leslie Hacker is all about the Braves.  I wanted the Braves to win last night because it would help the Dodgers (best franchise in MLB!) but “no!” the Braves got blown out!  Killing me!

Lord willing, I will travel to Tuscaloosa this Saturday to watch the Bama game.  I would love to see Bama hang another fifty plus points but really just want to see them win.  Auburn will bounce back nicely against the Razorbacks.  Mississippi may hang one hundred on Kent State.

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

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

I remind you again of the virus attached to any e-mails you receive from kittie@friendshipfamily.net that appear to be from me.  Do not open them!

Here are the arrangements for Victoria Collier – A Celebration of Victoria’s life will be held on Wednesday September 19, 2018 at First Baptist Church of Bayou la Batre located at 13500 Wintzell Avenue, Bayou la Batre Alabama. Viewing will begin for family and friends at 11:00AM and the funeral services will begin at 1:00PM. Interment will follow at Oddfellows Cemetary.  Keep praying for the family during this most difficult time.

Talked to Larry Whitehurst yesterday and he is doing well.  Had already received yesterday’s treatment so he is now down to five as he will receive two on Thursday.  Keep praying for Larry.

Steve Morris is scheduled to have surgery this Thursday morning.  Pray that all will go well.

I have communicated with the folks from First Baptist Wilmington, North Carolina.  They are in the early stages of the recovery from Hurricane Florence.  Still do not have electricity.  The Baptist Men’s relief will begin serving meals today and plans are to serve three thousand meals per day.  I have offered our assistance if needed.  Pray for these folks.

We will be on a regular schedule tomorrow morning and evening.

Already looking forward to the college football weekend.

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

I have been contacted by three or four folks who received an e-mail from me.  Problem is it was not from me.  One mentioned Bro. Robbie, one mentioned flowers in the church, et cetera.

The account listed as kittie@friendshipfamily.net has been infected by a virus.   The messages appear to come from me.  Please do not open such messages.

By the way, Miss Kittie does not use that address.

So, this is merely a FYI.  Take note.  Blessings!

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

You ever have one of those mornings where you think you have posted a blog entry and then it dawns on you that you have not?  Welcome to my world this morning!  Sorry for the late entry.

Happy forty second wedding anniversary to me older brother, Eddie, and his wife, Sue.  The thing I remember about their wedding ceremony is the closing prayer which was prayed by Curtis Stroup.  Longest closing prayer in the history of weddings.  Longer than the actual ceremony.  I had a high football game to get to so it was killing me!  LOL!  Anyway, happy anniversary Eddie & Sue!

What can I say about our services yesterday?  Well, the best thing would simply be “to God be the glory!”  Dr. Mike & Miss Dottie were a huge blessing to us in the morning services.  Thank you for supporting them with your prayers, attendance and financially. We were blessed with a good morning!

Our evening service was special!  It was one of those “you had to be there” to understand.  I believe God showed up and He showed out.  Immediately after the service I had three men come individually and embrace me while expressing their thankfulness for the service.  Others came to say “thank you” too.  E-mails and iMessages continued after I got home and through the night.  Again, to God be the glory.  I appreciate Jeanette Bates, Randall Broome and Brad Hutto for being so flexible.  Thanks to Levi Seymour for stepping up to the plate.  James Mareno once again had that “whatever it takes” attitude to help coordinate the service.  Raymond too.  I am a blessed pastor!

Miss Ann Collins is in the hospital and the medical folks are saying her time on earth is limited.  Pray for Miss Ann and her family.

Larry Whitehurst begins his last week of radiation treatments today.  Hallelujah!  Pray all goes well this week.  (He has already sent me a message asking if I can help with a little gas money in order to get home!  LOL!)

Leslie Hacker’s Braves are going to win the NL East.  I am not going to mention my favorite MLB team for fear of jinxing them!

I enjoyed the college football weekend.  Bill Kendrick was a realist going into the weekend and his predictions were spot on.  If I ever need someone to predict the outcome of games for me then I am going to use Pastor Joe David Bailey as my source.  He basically nailed the Alabama score last Monday.

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

First, some sad news.  Victoria Collier passed from this life early this afternoon.  Pray for her family.  I appreciate Raymond Wilkinson keeping me up to date today.

Now for some good news.  The medical folks apparently misdiagnosed Heather Baria.  They are now saying that she does not have a malignancy.  Heather and family are very much relieved.  Thank you for praying.  Keep praying as they try to determine her problem.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

As I am writing this entry, Hurricane Florence is making landfall in North Carolina.  Thankfully she did not come in as strong as original predicted but the storm surge seems to be pretty high.  Pray for all those being affected.  Luke Green is somewhere in that area with the Coast Guard so pray for him too.

Linda Green’s granddaughter, Victoria Collier, is in a Birmingham hospital fighting for her life.  I have not gotten an update this morning but it is literally touch and go with her.  Pray for Victoria and her family.

Joe Sheffield, brother-in-law, to Rita Boutwell & Diane Trotti, passed from this life last Saturday night.  The visitation with his wife, Margie, and family takes place today from noon until the 2:00PM service.  Everything will be at Serenity Funeral Home in Theodore.  Pray for the family.

Rita shared with us in our service this past Wednesday morning that her husband, Greg, will have a procedure done on his lower legs next Friday.  It is my understanding this will take place in the doctor’s office.  Join me in praying that this works as it could greatly change Greg’s life.

Dr. Mike & Miss Dottie Clark will be with us this Sunday morning in both services.  Dr. Mike will be preaching.  I encourage the members of the Friendship family to be in attendance.  Lord willing, I will be in the pulpit on Sunday evening.  Translated – you want to hear good preaching then come Sunday morning!

Normal Friday for me as Lisa has already given me a punch list of things to do.  I have mowed every day this week and today will be no different.  Simply waiting on the break of day to get started.

Have to try and get finished with all of Lisa’s “demands” today as I want to watch college football tomorrow afternoon and evening.

Speaking of yesterday, it marked an anniversary for Lisa.  Wedding?  Nope.  It was one year ago yesterday that Lisa took a fall and broke both of her wrists.  Please do not remind me!  I just want to remind the owner of the gym that the statue of limitations has not gone into effect yet so do not be surprised to receive a phone call from Alexander!  Just saying!

I am about to have Lisa open a “pound cake” shop.  She had three orders yesterday for her cakes with folks offering to pay good money to get them.  A strawberry cake at Edgar’s is twenty seven dollars.  Lisa’s pound cakes are better than those strawberry cakes.  So, I set a cash price of thirty five dollars!  We can ship too but you have to cover the cost of shipping plus a handling fee.  Wait, if you call within in the next fifteen minutes we will add a second cake for a total of only seventy five dollars plus shipping and handling.  The girl can flat out cook a pound cake!  (Yes, I am biased but it is what it is!)

Coach Eric Collier and his Bobcats travel to Fairhope tonight.  Tough game.  Another shutout for the Bobcats?  I am going to say “no” but I do think the Bobcats will win a tight one.

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

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Really good day in our services yesterday.  God is good!

In our evening service Heather Baria shared that she has been diagnosed with a malignancy.  Not sure the type or the exact location but Heather needs our prayer support during this time.

Larry Whitehurst should received two radiation treatments today.  After today, he will only need seven more to complete this series of treatments.

Steve Morris’ surgery has been scheduled for one week from today.  Pray for Steve as he readies for this surgery.

Yesterday, Decker Terry sent me an encouraging update on Randy Alcorn’s wife.  Randy has written numerous books.  His wife is currently undergoing treatment for a malignancy.

It seems that Hurricane Florence is not going to be as powerful when she makes landfall as it was once thought.  However, she is still a very dangerous storm with the potential of huge storm surge.  Looks like she will linger either just offshore or slightly onshore which will cause plenty of water related problems.  Pray for the folks in the storm’s path.

Dr. Mike & Miss Dottie Clark will be our guests this Sunday, 9/16, in both of our morning services.  I pray that the members of the Friendship family will be faithful to attend.

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

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

We are on a regular schedule today – morning and evening.  I pray that the members of the Friendship family will be faithful to attend our services, classes, choirs, Bible studies, et cetera.

First Baptist Church of Wilmington, NC has been sending teams to stay in the L.G. Camp, Jr mission house on GRACE Mountain for years.  As a matter of fact, they send two teams annually.  Wilmington is one of those towns that is in the direct path of Hurricane Florence.  I have contacted the leader of the First Baptist mission teams and assured them of our prayer support and also told him that we are ready and willing to help beyond that, if needed.  So, join me in praying for all of those who will be affected by this hurricane.  By the way, I suspect the President is going to get blamed for this storm in some kind of way.

Dr. Mike & Dottie Clark will be our guests this Sunday morning in our two services.  I have asked Dr. Mike to preach to us.  I think we will also have a baptism in our 10:30AM service.  If so, it will be one of the men who attends our Hispanic service each Sunday.

I have never watched Mike Rowe on his television show “Dirty Jobs” (I think that is it).  I really know nothing about him.  However, I came across what he posted on social media yesterday and found myself agreeing with him.  So, I have copied and pasted that conversation.

“We’re Going to Do Something.”
You’ve been very quiet about the Kaepernick PR disaster at Nike. Any thoughts? – Sam Wilder

Hi Sam. Nike’s free to celebrate whomever they wish, and Kaepernick is entitled to his opinion – kneeling, standing, or lying down. But if I was going to put someone’s face on a billboard – someone who epitomized bravery and sacrifice – I might have gone another way, especially this time of year. I might have gone with this guy – Tom Burnett.

Tom’s last act on earth was one of the most courageous things imaginable. And his last words to his wife, Deena, are among the most inspiring I’ve ever heard. Those exact words are at the top of this page, and the bottom. They were spoken seventeen years ago, under conditions I hope to never experience. I’ll never forget Tom’s last words. I hope you won’t either.

Transcript of Tom’s Last Calls to Deena
6:27 a.m.( pacific time) First cell phone call from Tom to Deena
Deena: Hello
Tom: Deena
Deena: Tom, are you O.K.?
Tom: No, I’m not. I’m on an airplane that has been hijacked.
Deena: Hijacked?
Tom: Yes, They just knifed a guy.
Deena: A passenger?
Tom: Yes.
Deena: Where are you? Are you in the air?
Tom: Yes, yes, just listen. Our airplane has been hijacked. It’s United Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco. We are in the air. The hijackers have already knifed a guy, one of them has a gun, they are telling us there is a bomb on board, please call the authorities. He hung up.
6:31 Deena calls 911

6:34 The phone rang in on call waiting, Tom’s second cell phone call.
Deena: Hello
Tom: They’re in the cockpit. The guy they knifed is dead.
Deena: He’s dead?
Tom: Yes. I tried to help him, but I couldn’t get a pulse.
Deena: Tom, they are hijacking planes all up and down the east coast. They are taking them and hitting designated targets. They’ve already hit both towers of the World Trade Center.
Tom: They’re talking about crashing this plane. (a pause) Oh my God. It’s a suicide mission…(he then tells people sitting around him)
Deena: Who are you talking to?
Tom: My seatmate. Do you know which airline is involved?
Deena: No, they don’t know if they’re commercial airlines or not. The newsreporters are speculating cargo planes, private planes and commercial. No one knows.
Tom: How many planes are there?
Deena: They’re not sure, at least three. Maybe more.
Tom: O.K….O.K….Do you know who is involved?
Deena: No.
Tom: We’re turning back toward New York. We’re going back to the World Trade Center. No, wait, we’re turning back the other way. We’re going south.
Deena: What do you see?
Tom: Just a minute, I’m looking. I don’t see anything, we’re over a rural area. It’s just fields. I’ve gotta go.

6:45 a.m. Third cell phone call from Tom to Deena
Tom: Deena
Deena: Tom, you’re O.K. (I thought at this point he had just survived the Pentagon plane crash).
Tom: No, I’m not.
Deena: They just hit the Pentagon.
Tom: (tells people sitting around him “They just hit the Pentagon.”)
Tom: O.K….O.K. What else can you tell me?
Deena: They think five airplanes have been hijacked. One is still on the ground. They believe all of them are commercial planes. I haven’t heard them say which airline, but all of them have originated on the east coast.
Tom: Do you know who is involved?
Deena: No
Tom: What is the probability of their having a bomb on board? I don’t think they have one. I think they’re just telling us that for crowd control.
Deena: A plane can survive a bomb if it’s in the right place.
Tom: Did you call the authorities?
Deena: Yes, they didn’t know anything about your plane.
Tom: They’re talking about crashing this plane into the ground. We have to do something. I’m putting a plan together.
Deena: Who’s helping you?
Tom: Different people. Several people. There’s a group of us. Don’t worry. I’ll call you back.

6:54 a.m. Fourth cell phone call to Tom to Deena
Deena: Tom?
Tom: Hi. Anything new?
Deena: No
Tom: Where are the kids?
Deena: They’re fine. They’re sitting at the table having breakfast. They’re asking to talk to you.
Tom: Tell them I’ll talk to them later.
Deena: I called your parents. They know your plane has been hijacked.
Tom: Oh…you shouldn’t have worried them. How are they doing?
Deena: They’re O.K.. Mary and Martha are with them.
Tom: Good.

(a long quiet pause)

Tom: We’re waiting until we’re over a rural area. We’re going to take back the airplane.
Deena: No! Sit down, be still, be quiet, and don’t draw attention to yourself! (The exact words taught to me by Delta Airlines Flight Attendant Training).
Tom: Deena! If they’re going to crash this plane into the ground, we’re going to have do something!
Deena: What about the authorities?
Tom: We can’t wait for the authorities. I don’t know what they could do anyway.
It’s up to us. I think we can do it.
Deena: What do you want me to do?
Tom: Pray, Deena, just pray.

(after a long pause)

Deena: I love you.
Tom: Don’t worry, we’re going to do something…