Autumn in S. Texas

What a beautiful day in South Texas to cut the grass!

Teen Challenge

What a blessing it is to have a "Teen Challenge" in the Coastal Bend area. They recently purchased 90 acres in Driscoll, Texas and are already ministering to young adults and seeing awesome results. We were blessed to have some of the women with us last Sunday in our service. God's grace most definately was evident in the testimonies and lives of these young ladies. There is a verse that says, "translated out of darkness and into His light". That is the case for these ladies. Those of you who read my blog and live in the area having missed this service, shame on you. You missed out on a Big Blessing.

Trophies of Grace

On Sunday the 29th, a group of ladies from Teen Challenge in San Antonio will be visiting our morning service. You will not want to miss out on this special event. You will hear them sing, testify and share about Gods delivering power from Drugs and addictions. Bring a friend, come expecting to receive a miracle.

Anna Jewel

Here she is, Anna Jewel, she is about 8 weeks old and is here at grandpa's visiting for a few days. One thing about her is that she really is a sweetheart. She is going to be a singer by the sound of her voice. I was thinking about how bad we mess up by not caring for the new "spiritual" babies that come our way. This baby needs constant care, she consumes all of her mothers time both day and night. Momma doesn't have her life anymore, its been lost in service to her child. The amazing thing that I notice about momma is that she does all this work with out complaining about how this baby is consuming all her free time, about the inconvienences and all the work she demands. As cute as this baby is, she cries, dirties her diaper, eats on a regular basis. Let us pay the price for the new borns that come our way and be committed to them until Christ is formed in their lives.

Set Backs!

Last Friday, I went to a "returning to your roots" concert in San Antonio. Some of the Christian artists that were popular in the "70s" and "80s" were reunited to do a concert. It was great to see Barry Mcguire, Dallas Holm, Chuck Girard, Janny Grein and others perform their classic songs from the past. Leon Petillo participated, sang and did a comedy ruitine. Towards the end he said, there is something that all of us want you to know. "A set back, is a set up, for a come back". Those words exploded in my spirit. Then on Sunday, I was at the "Macedonia Baptist Church" in San Antonio to share a little about our mission work and the guest speaker as he was promoting one of his CD's said, this one is called, "A set back, is a set up, for a comeback"! It just about blew me away. Two times in three days in completely different arenas God spoke to me. It made sence as I thought about the set backs in my life and since then everywhere I go I find somebody who is going through some kind of set back. What about you? Remember, our setbacks of life are just preparing us for a comeback of somekind in the future.

Security Walls go up!

In spite of heavy rain and other obstacles, the walls have been erected for the security of the childrens home in India. These walls were built to last. Finances are slowly coming in and as soon as we have enough to do the foundation, we will begin. This is a faith project and as we use what we have, God will give more. It is exciting to see a vision take on shape and form. Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not yet seen. Heb 11:1. Here are a couple of pics for you to see and the evidence that God honors faith.

Still numb !!

A few days have passed since I heard the news about Babu. After trying to make some kind of sense from this tragedy, God has brought me a sence of peace and victory. I can't imagine the pain that Sudheera and her family feels with this loss. The children in the home really are "Sudheera's" kids. Her brother Bubli and herself are the only parents that these children have. Sudheera told me betwween sobs while we spoke on the phone that her heart feels very heavy and hurts. The secular authorities are investigating this situation and are trying to answer the question "why". Please pray for this family. They are facing a very dificult time and the trial is very hard. Society sometimes has a hard time understanding the motive and compassion that christians share with the less fortunate. They always look for an alterior motive. One thing remains true and will never change and that is "Jesus is Lord". Our plans to build a childrens home remains firm. We are raising finances to soon begin construction. As I write this the security wall is being built and progress is being made. Jesus said that in the world you would have tribulations but to be of good cheer for He has over come the world.

A Tribute to BABU!

Babu was found in the area of Chirala homeless. No father, mother or family to care for him. Sudheera found him one day and invited him to live at her childrens home. The last time that I was in India, I watched in amazement as Babu at the age of eleven do his algebra homework. I had to take it twice in high school and never really learned it. Babu wanted to be called "Luke" from the bible. He read that Luke was a doctor and he wanted to become a doctor so that he could help other homeless kids. On Saturday of last week, Babu went to school and was humiliated in front of his peers by his teacher because of some bad grades that he recieved. During school break he went to the home let himself in with his key and hung himself by the neck with a rope. A boy with such a wonderful future in this earth is now in the presence of Jesus in heaven. Babu loved Jesus and he knew him as his Lord and saviour. The question of why always arises in situations like this, I wish I knew that answer. To all of the Babu's living in the streets of India, homeless and with no one to care for them, I recommit myself to reach them with the love of Jesus. Babu, your life will not be in vain. May God give us a harvest of children who will rejoice with us together in heaven. Sometimes there is pain in serving others.

Pastors Appreciation Day

Today my congregation showed their appreciation to me their pastor. I enjoyed hearing some words from folks whose lives have been blessed by our ministry. Someone compiled a bunch of pictures from 30 years of ministry. Has it really been that long? There was a day according to the pictures that I actually looked young. I thought to myself, who is that guy? It has been an amazing run, God has shown himself to be faithful and to honor His word even though I haven't been all that faithful. We had a good South Texas Bar-b-que chicken dinner with alot of good fixings. It was a nice day and I was blessed by my congregation and felt loved and appreciated. It is a Joy to Serve Others!

The best daughter!

I'm blessed to have a wonderful daughter. I remember the day that she was born and the miracle that surrounded her birth. Now she is a wife and recently became a mom! Anna Jewel was born a few weeks ago and is a great blessing to our family. I know Patricia that you will be an excellent mom, because you are a great daughter. Sometimes we get so busy with life that we forget the many blessing in ones life. I just want to take a moment to let the blog world know how blessed I am to have such a wonderful daughter. I think that you can tell that I was proud of her when she was born, by calling her Patricia. So Trish, when things look cloudy and fuzzy, remember that we survived raising three kids, I have faith in you that you will be an excellent mom. Love you baby!!

Estate sales

Have you ever been to an estate sale? Everytime I go I am amazed at all the stuff that people collect over a life time. I was the executor of a friends estate and her house was literally jammed packed with junk from the floor to the ceiling. We dumped several tractor trailer sized containers of garbage that came out of her house. Also hidden amongst the garbage were some very valuable items. We americans think that we can't live without our precious possessions. It is next to impossible to part with items that we think we can't live without. I'm starting to streamline my life. I don't need a closet full of suits. Two or three are all I need. Don't need racks of shoes and dressers full of clothes that I seldom if ever use. No more "new" cars. The used one thats almost paid for will work just fine.

I've learned from estate sales that when people die they leave all of their stuff for the kids to fight over. What a mess! I have a suggestion, why not have your estate sale while you are still alive and invest that money into something that will be of eternal value. Sow into mission projects, women shelters, outreach endeavors, into something that will make a difference in people eternity. Just a thought!

50th Birthday

It's only by the grace of God and His faithfulness to me that I've come this far. Looking back I see some good, bad and ugly. Looking forward, I hope not to make the same mistakes as in the past and that with the wisdom learned have a life that is productive and fruitfull for Gods kingdom. The energy of the young man I used to be is forever gone. Hopefully I will be able to accomplish more with less. Thats kinda what Paul had in mind when he said, when I am weak, He is strong. Let your strenght energize me Oh Lord and raise up young men and woman to climb the mountains and do things that they are fit to do. Its time to pass on the baton to the younger generation, who will God raise up to send? Who will go for Him? Who is willing to pay the price? Isaiah said and responded, Here I am Lord, send me.