Settling Down

Boy! Did last week seem hectic. I had tests to get ready and lessons to post on my school website. Then the church had a camp out that I took Jedidiah to Friday night. It was cold but he loves camping. They had a campfire devotion and then we made smores. Saturday was Jedidiah's first soccer game. He doesn't have a very long attention span. After the game Jedidiah had to go to Alabama for a birthday party. I was going to go but felt I needed to do some work around the house so Trish and Jedi went without me. I did nine loads of laundry, cleaned the bathroom and still managed to watch some March Madness. The laundry room has a TV so that helps. Monday we looked at a two bedroom duplex for rent. I had my hopes up and they were dashed because the place was in pretty bad shape. So, we're still looking for that little bigger place to rent. One frustrating thing is that most places say no pets but they also say housing welcome. Are these people too stupid to realize that a family that needs housing assistance is going to trash their place a lot more than a good family with pets? I better stop there before the expletives start flying. Monday was a busy day at school too. But things are settling down now. Yesterday was pretty easy and today is not to bad. I look forward to my Wednesday night class at church tonight. Well, I better get to work on some other things. Have a great day.


Got Spurgeon?: "To whom belongest thou? Answer honestly before you give sleep to your eyes. If you are not Christ's you are in a hard service --Run away from your cruel master! Enter into the service of the Lord of Love, and you shall enjoy a life of blessedness. If you are Christ's let me advise you to do four things. You belong to Jesus --obey him; let his word be your law; let His wish be your will. You belong to the Beloved, then love Him; let your heart embrace Him; let your whole soul be filled with Him. You belong to the Son of God, then trust him; rest nowhere but on him. You belong to the King of kings , then be decided for Him. Thus, without your being branded upon the brow, all will know to whom you belong."

Spring Break

I just want to be clear that my spring break did not look like this one in the picture. My spring break involved driving long hours with a five year old. The trip to Fort Smith went pretty smooth. Jedidiah really enjoyed seeing Drew, Meridith, Alli and other kids at church. I got to see a lot of people Sunday morning at Grand Avenue Baptist Church. I enjoy keeping up with friends and we sure have some good ones there. I took care of some small business involving some stuff my friend Michael moved out of our rental house for me. Jedi played so hard he begged me to go to bed a couple of nights. On the return trip we split up the drive by staying in a motel at Carlyle, AR. I had Jedi ready to leave by 9am and Scooby Doo came on. I thought, no problem, that is a half hour show. Little did I know it was a two hour movie and Jedi's favorite with the Boo Brothers. We didn't check out until 11am and got home about 3:30pm. I taught my Wednesday night class at church and then came down with some strange 24 hour flu during the night. I was out of commission all day Thursday and didn't feel real good on Friday but came into the office to catch up on some things. The weather was so bad that even soccer practice was canceled. Sunday we had to leave church early because of a little accident (I wont go into details because it is a little embarrassing for one of us but just required a change of clothes). The week was not the party pictured above but I can't complain to much. Saturday I did attend a Sunday School training in Gallatin, TN. There was eight of us from our church. This conference had a poor turn out, which is a shame because the speaker had some great points and ideas. Well, it's back to work today. Have a great week everyone.


Got Spurgeon?: "He enquired, 'Shall I go up against them?' He waited until God's sign was given. Learn from David to take no step without God."

Fort Smith

Well, I made a little trip to Fort Smith with Jedidiah. It was great to see friends and go to Grand Avenue Baptist Church for a visit. Jedidiah played so hard he begged me to put him to bed and that's unheard of. He did obviously miss his computer though and that's all he's played with since we got back. The picture here is of the gallows in Fort Smith. Judge Parker was known as the hanging judge and Fort Smith was a base for Marshalls that went into the Oklahoma badlands looking for criminals and brought them back to justice. Things haven't changed much, Oklahoma is still the badlands, especially if you're a sooner fan. And if you root for Oklahoma State you really waste a lot of time and energy. I got back on Tuesday and taught my class at church on Wednesday night. During the night I woke up with horrible chills and eventually fever and just layed around all day Thursday. I feel much better today. Tomorrow I am going to a Sunday School training conference in Gallatin, TN. I look forward to getting to know some of our church leaders better. Spring break is almost over so I better get back to work. Take care everyone.

Got Spurgeon?: "Certain it is, that there is not a spot where that hallowed foot hath trodden -- there is not a word which those blessed lips have uttered -- nor a thought which His loving Word has revealed -- which is not to us precious beyond all price."

Baptist History

Well spring break is next week and I am wrapping up some exams before the break. I am excited to get back to my Wednesday night class this week. We missed last week with revival. There were about 167 decisions and approximately 35 were baptized Sunday evening. This felt so relevant because we have been discussing in my Baptist History class how believers baptism by immersion is a pivotal element of Baptist belief. I decided to play around at the Southern Baptist Convention website (http://www.sbc.net/) and found some great material. A book I'm reading mentioned a Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archive held in the headquarters building here in downtown Nashville. I thought, I need to get on their website( www.sbhla.org/) and see about visiting and taking a tour. My former pastor, Bill Blanchard, told me of a book called "The Conservative Resurgence in the SBC" that talks about how conservatives gained back power in 1979 after liberals had gradually infiltrated and were teaching evolution at schools like Baylor and publishing Bible Commentaries that said the first few chapters of Genesis are nothing but Babylonian mythology. This library link had a free online link to the book so I don't even have to go downtown. I've been reading it on my office computer. Well, I may not blog much over the next week. We are making a trip back to Fort Smith. I am going to study some more history now. The picture here is of Charles Spurgeon, whom I have been quoting so much in my blog. Take care and see y'all soon.

Got Spurgeon?: "Not only when thou wast born into the world did Christ love thee, but His delights were with the sons of men before there were any sons of men. Often did He think of them; from everlasting to everlasting He had set His affection upon them. What! my soul, has He been so long about thy salvation, and will not He accomplish it? Has he from everlasting been going forth to save me, and will He lose me now? What! has He carried me in His hand, as His precious jewel, and will He now let me slip from between His fingers? Did he choose me before the mountains were brought forth, or the channels of the deep were digged, and will He reject me now? Impossible! I m sure He wold not have loved me so long if He had not been a changeless Lover. If He could grow weary of me, He would have been tired of me long before now. If He had not loved me with a love as deep as hell, and as strong as death, He would have turned from me long ago."