Thanksgiving 2013

Great day with all the family at our house.

So much to be thankful for.

FOLLOW THE GEEZERS

They like to refer to us as senior citizens, old fogies, geezers, and in some cases dinosaurs. Some of us are "Baby Boomers" getting ready to retire. Others have been retired for some time. We walk a little slower these days and our eyes and hearing are not what they once were. We have worked hard, raised our children, worshipped our God and grown old together. Yes, we are the ones some refer to as being over the hill, and that is probably true. But before writing us off completely, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration.

In school we studied English, history, math, and science which enabled us to lead America into the technological age. Most of us remember what outhouses were, many of us with firsthand experience. We remember the days of telephone party-lines, 25 cent gasoline, and milk and ice being delivered to our homes. For those of you who don't know what an icebox is, today they are electric and referred to as refrigerators. A few even remember when cars were started with a crank. Yes, we lived those days.

We are probably considered old fashioned and out-dated by many. But there are a few things you need to remember before completely writing us off. We won World War II, fought in Korea and Viet Nam . We can quote The Pledge of Allegiance, and know where to place our hand while doing so. We wore the uniform of our country with pride and lost many friends on the battlefield. We didn't fight for the Socialist States of America ; we fought for the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." We wore different uniforms but carried the same flag. We know the words to the Star Spangled Banner, America ,and America the Beautiful by heart, and you may even see some tears running down our cheeks as we sing. We have lived what many of you have only read in history books and we feel no obligation to apologize to anyone for America .

Yes, we are old and slow these days but rest assured, we have at least one good fight left in us. We have loved this country, fought for it, and died for it, and now we are going to save it. It is our country and nobody is going to take it away from us. We took oaths to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that is an oath we plan to keep. There are those who want to destroy this land we love but, like our founders, there is no way we are going to remain silent.

It was mostly the young people of this nation who elected Obama and the Democratic Congress. You fell for the "Hope and Change" which in reality was nothing but "Hype and Lies." You have tasted socialism and seen evil face to face, and have found you don't like it after all. You make a lot of noise, but most are all too interested in their careers or "Climbing the Social Ladder" to be involved in such mundane things as patriotism and voting. Many of those who fell for the "Great Lie" in 2008 are now having buyer's remorse. With all the education we gave you, you didn't have sense enough to see through the lies and instead drank the 'Kool-Aid.' Now you're paying the price and complaining about it. No jobs, lost mortgages, higher taxes, and less freedom. This is what you voted for and this is what you got. We entrusted you with the Torch of Liberty and you traded it for a paycheck and a fancy house.

Well, don't worry youngsters, the Geezers are here, and in 2012 we are going to take back our nation. We may drive a little slower than you would like but we get where we're going, and in 2012 we're going to the polls by the millions. This land does not belong to the man in the White House nor to the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. It belongs to "We the People" and "We the People" plan to reclaim our land and our freedom. We hope this time you will do a better job of preserving it and passing it along to our grandchildren.
.....copied Ann Coulter

Bible

TREVIN WAX|12:10 AM CT

7 Arrows for Bible Reading

Matt Rogers is the teaching pastor at The Church at Cherrydale in Greenville, SC. His church has developed an interesting way to help their people read and understand Scripture within their small groups. I asked Matt if he would share about their tool and how it lines up with their discipleship objectives.

There is often a vast disconnect between the awareness of the need for disciple-making and practical tools that actually aid in this work. Three factors are essential: Scripture, relationships, and time. Discipleship happens when the life-changing truth of Scripture is infused into genuine relationships over an extended period of time.

Our desire was to create a simple, reproducible strategy that would facilitate this process. This led us to develop a simply strategy for small clusters (2-3 people) to meet together regularly and talk about the Scriptures and apply them to their lives.

The seven arrows of Bible reading were an attempt at developing a tool for proper hermeneutics to power these relationships. We did not want our people to simply talk about the Bible. We wanted them to understand the Bible and know how to apply it to their lives. Each cluster would read a predetermined passage of Scripture and discuss it using these seven arrows.

The goal was for the clusters to start by summarizing the main point of the passage as succinctly as possible, ideally in one sentence.

Next, the clusters sought to discern authorial intent for the passage by asking what it meant to its original audience. Since a text of Scripture can never mean what it never meant, it is necessary to begin by discerning what the text meant. Often this may require the clusters to consult other study tools or cross-reference other Biblical texts to arrive at the meaning of the text.

Thirdly, we asked what the text tells us about the nature and character of God and specifically His work through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Fourthly, the text was analyzed to see what it tells us about humanity. Bryan Chappell refers to this as the “fallen condition focus” of the text. What does the text reveal about sin and mankind’s need for the gospel?

Then we moved the clusters to application. Since we had now rooted the clusters in the meaning of the text, they were now positioned to rightly apply it’s meaning to their lives.

From there we wanted our clusters to apply the Scripture to their relationships with others. Ideally, they would discuss how the text shaped both how they related to other believers and how they lived on mission in the world.

Finally, the clusters rooted their prayers in the Scriptures. Hopefully, the previous six arrows kindled the flames of passionate prayer in the lives of the clusters – both for their own sanctification and for their mission to the lost.

With these model, we touched on three important areas for discipleship:

• Scripture - Disciple-making was rooted in a rightful understanding of Scripture and not in simply doing life together, unpacking another sermon, or dependance on classroom instruction.
• Simplicity – Disciple-making was simple enough for everyone to get involved. All believers could take these principles, a Bible, and a relationship with a young Christian and get to work.
• Stickiness – Disciple-making through understanding and applying Scripture was etched in the minds of our young church. They could use these same arrows to not only guide their cluster discussions, but also their personal Bible Study, small group leadership, and comprehension of sermons.

To further encourage and aid our people, we gave them bookmarks with the seven arrows on them. These arrows have proven to be a unique tool in our disciple-making toolbox that the Lord is using to call and build faithful and fruitful followers of Jesus.

The WINTER of my life

AND THEN IT WAS WINTER (copied)

       
        You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.  It seems just yesterday that I  was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate.  Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the  years went.  I know that I lived them all.  I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams here are some pearls.

        But, here it is, the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did it get here so fast?  Where did the years go and where did my youth go?  I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

        But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now.  Some are in better and some worse shape than I am...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

        And  so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!!  But, at least I know that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it's not over.  A new adventure will begin!  Yes, I have regrets. There are  things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

        So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. Whatever you would like to accomplish in your life, please do it quickly!  Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly.  Do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not!  You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

        "Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after.  Make it a fantastic one.  LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY  TODAY!  DO SOMETHING FUN!  BE HAPPY!  HAVE A GREAT DAY! Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."  LIVE HAPPY IN 2013!  LASTLY, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER  BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER  BE. SO - ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.

        ~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!  ~Going out is good.. Coming home is better!  ~You forget names.... But it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!! ~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything.... Especially golf.  ~The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore. ~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".

        ~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..  ~You tend to use more 4 letter words... "what?"..."when?"... ~Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.  ~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!! ~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.  ~Everybody whispers. ~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet....2 of which you will never wear again. ~~~But Old is good in some things:  Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!

165th ANNIVERSARY OF PRUDE'S CREEK BAPTIST

165th ANNIVERSARY OF PRUDE'S CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH In October, 1989 I submitted my resignation as Pastor Of Second Baptist in Bessemer to be effective Jan 1, 1990. We had served there 9 years and were sure it was time for us to move on even though we had no idea what the Lord had in store. In His timing, we were able to acquire The Master's Shop ( a Christian book store) from Bill Phares in Februaary of 1990. The store was established in 1967. We would continue in that ministry for 15 years until we closed the store in May of 95 due to health reason. During this same period we continue serving churches bi-vocationally. In May of 1992 I preached as a supply at Prudes's Creek Baptist Church and, on May 31 became the pastor. We had 3 services weekly. We remained as pastor a little over 3 years, until 1995. We were so looking forward to being with you today but, once again my health would not allow it. Here a few of my Memories: * There was no easy way to get here. You don't JUST GO BY THERE UNLESS YOU ARE LOST. * The MudCreek International Airport. * Finding THE CREEK. * The beauty of the Church and the Cemetery. * The love and warmth of God's Family at PCBC. * Wendall and Nola Hyche. Wendall was the only deacon and most energetic Sr. Adult I have ever known. Nola was indeed his helpmeet and I loved her CANDIED sweet potatoes, among many other sweet memories. I WILL FORGET SOME IF I TRY TO REMEMBER ANY MORE NAMES. * The Annual Mother's Day Celebrations with dinner on the ground. * In early 1993 we sold her house, Carolyn retired from teaching and we moved into the Church's pastorium. This was our first time to live in the COUNTRY and it was a delight. We loved the quiet, the wildlife (except the pesky armadillos). Our home being burglarized was not too pleasant. Overall this was a great experience. * Saturday, March 1993 we woke up to THE BLIZZARD OF 93. Also called THE STORM OF THE CENTURY and THE 93 SUPERSTORM. I think we may have been the very last to have power restored. * The many WATER MEETINGS at the Church. * In 1995 we moved to LAKE VIEW and later that year we left Prude's Creek. But Prude's Creek has never left us. With Paul I would say "I THANK MY GOD UPON EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU" * I was thrilled to hear of Lord's increase at PCBC and that Bro Nolan Stinnett is your pastor Perhaps the Lord will allow us to meet together here once again. If not I will see you all in HEAVEN. ..............BE SURE YOU HAVE A RESERVATION. JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY, THE ONLY TRUTH AND THE ONLY LIFE.