CANCER

Sammy is my younger brother; he was diagnosed today with colon cancer. He faces surgery and chemo. Pray for his wife Joyce and their family.

I am the oldest of five. My mother and father, younger brother an younger sister died with cancer; my two remaining siblings now have cancer. Cancer is a dreaded word isn't it.

MARY JEAN REEVES

The other day we learned we had lost another friend.  Mary Jean Reeves lost her battle with liver disease.  When we came  to Second Baptist Church of Bessemer to pastor in 1982 we soon became friends with Charles and Mary Jean.  As I think about that I became aware that there are for too few folks we can count as 'close friends' in all the places we have served.  Who are they?  People who go out of their way to make you feel welcome, invite you into  their homes, and are not pretentious.  What you see is what you get.  They are real.

If you really want to know somebody, go camping together.  I remember so well how we enjoyed each other's company around a campfire on a cool fall evening.  Someone cooked a big pot of beans, another prepared mac and cheese, another cornbread, another slaw, etc, etc.

There are many others, like the Reeves, that we remain close friends; and many of them we never camped with.  Camping is not necessary; being real is.

I know there are some in the ministry who vow to never become close friends with the people in their Church.  To me that is sad.  Some in the Church may read something else into that kind of friendship and feel threatened, like maybe we are a part of some conspiracy.  I'll always be willing to take that chance.  Please join me in prayer for Charles, her daughter, Jennifer (Kyle)  and those three precious grandchildren, as well as the rest of her family.

Tomorrow I will participate in Mary Jean's Funeral Service.  It is my privilege to call her Friend.  The following is her obituary as it appeared in the paper:

Mary Jean Whisenant Reeves
REEVES, MARY JEAN WHISENANT, age 67, of Alabaster, passed away March 6, 2009. She was a school teacher for over 30 years in Bessemer City Schools. Mrs. Reeves played piano and organ at Second Baptist Church for 33 years. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at Bessemer Brown Service Funeral Home with burial at Highland Memorial Gardens. Rev. J.D. Davis and Rev. Max Youngblood officiating. Visitation will be held at the funeral home prior to the service from 1:00 pm until 2:00 pm. She is survived by her: husband, Charles W. Reeves; daughter, Jennifer Williams (Kyle); son adopted in love, Scott Pylant (Amy); grandchildren, Kelsey Reeves Williams, Kylie Christian Williams, Kole Barner Williams, Rebekah Eleanor Pylant and Scott Reeves Pylant. She is also survived by her family: Tommy and Susan Reeves, Glenda Parsons, Jesse and Sue Reeves, Christy and Alan Miller, Jacglen and Terry Poole, Jason and Jill Bowman, Glynn and Bum Reeves, Jonathan and Jordan Reeves, Terry Grimes and numerous great-nieces and nephews. The family would like to express special thanks to the staff at Meadowood Nursing Home for the wonderful love and care given to Mrs. Reeves. Bessemer Brown Service Funeral Home is honored to serve the Reeves family.

NEED TO BE PROPPED UP?

Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old deacon who always prayed, 'Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.' After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.  He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this... I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time; it's withstood a lot of weather; it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years.  It's still standing. But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit.  So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall. Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time. I've withstood a lot of life's storms. I've withstood a lot  Of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to t ime, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times. Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't . So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side, so we willstand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.'' ************* This is very cool!

If you stare at this barn for a second you will see who will help us stand straight and tall again. 

 

OPEN LETTER TO OUR PRESIDENT-ELECT

An Open Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama Dear President-elect Obama, First, congratulations on your successful campaign to become the 44th president of our beloved United States of America. This was a historic election in terms of the massive increase in voter participation as a percentage of the electorate. I hope you know that there are tens of millions of Americans who did not vote for you who are still very, very pleased that an African-American has been elected president of the United States. The fact that this could happen in a country with as tragic a racial past as America's says something noble and fine about the American experiment and the glorious "opportunity democracy" it has spawned. After much struggle, we as a nation have chosen together to live up to the promises of our founding document, the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." For those of us who came of age during the Civil Rights Era and were inspired by Dr. King, it is very gratifying to watch our nation elect a person of color to the highest political office in the land, even someone for whom they may not have voted because of serious policy differences. Mr. President-elect, the Bible exhorts us to pray for kings and all those who are in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). We, therefore, covenant to pray for you, your family, and your administration. We will pray that God will grant you godly wisdom in all your decision-making. We pray with faith and confidence that a king's heart is a water channel in the LORD's hand: He directs it wherever He chooses (Proverbs 21:1). On issues which involve moral and ethical values, we will both pray for you and exhort you to apply biblical principles and values as you make policy decisions which will impact the families of America and the world. We will also pray that God will bless you with safety, health, and all spiritual blessings. On issues where we agree, such as standing against genocide in Darfur and protecting basic human rights around the world, we will support you. On issues where we disagree with the approach your administration takes, we will do our best to persuade you to change your approach. When we are unsuccessful, we will stand by our convictions and will exercise our God-given responsibilities and Constitutionally-protected right to work for alternative solutions which are more in accord with our convictions. Southern Baptists remain unalterably committed to the protection of unborn human life. The vast majority of Southern Baptists believe that a pre-born baby is a distinct human life, according to both science and the Bible (Psalm 51:5; Psalm 139-13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41). The euphemism of "choice" or "reproductive freedom" cannot disguise or justify killing a baby. Government has a proper role in protecting lives, including the lives of the unborn. Southern Baptists, by national resolutions, have opposed abortion on demand, and have called for public policies which severely restrict abortion and which promote alternatives such as adoption. Mr. President-elect, you have said you want to unite us as a nation. An excellent place to work for such unity and consensus on the life issue would be for you to put your full and vigorous support behind the Democrats for Life House Caucus initiative known as the Pregnant Women Support Act or the 95-10 Initiative (because its goal is to reduce abortion by 95 percent over a ten-year period). This bill (H.R. 3192 and S. 2407), sponsored in the last Congress by Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN) and Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), would, among other things: • establish a toll-free number to direct women to places that will provide support during and following their pregnancy; • fund collection of accurate data on abortion; • provide child care to low-income and student parents; • provide parenting education in maternity group homes; • make the Adoption Tax Credits permanent; • ensure that pregnant women are not denied health care by insurance companies and that coverage is continued for newborns; • codify the regulation that extends coverage under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to low-income pregnant women and unborn children; • improve services for pregnant women who are victims of domestic violence; • provide services to parents receiving a positive test diagnosis for Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions; • increase funding for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program; • provide grants to institutions of high education to fund pregnant and parenting student services; and • provide new mothers with free home visits by registered nurses. All of these measures would help fulfill the pledge made in the 2008 Democratic Party platform, which "strongly supports a woman's decision to have a child by ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre- and post-natal health care, parenting skills, income support, and caring adoption programs." Mr. President-elect, America needs moral conviction, not moral neutrality. America's children need a model of leadership committed both to excellence and to virtue. May God help you, Mr. President-elect, and make you that leader. And may God bless America! Yours in His service, Richard Land Richard Land is a member of Clearview Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Copyright © 2009 Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee SBC Life is published by the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention 901 Commerce Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37203 Tel. 615.244.2355 Email us: jrevell@sbc.net

HUMOR

Give me a sense of humor, Lord, Give me the grace to see a joke, To get some humor out of life, And pass it on to other folk!

Leroy Yarbrough

Our friend Leroy Yarbrough went home to be with the Lord on Christmas Day (2008).  Pray for his wife Edwyna and all of the family.

Leroy and Edwyna

The photo that follows this entry is of Leroy and Edwyna Yarbrough of San Antonio, Texas.

Leroy and I started first  grade  together in Rome, Georgia.  Edwyna was our preacher's daughter and Carolyn's best friend; they were in nursing school at Georgia Baptist Hospital. 

They came back to Rome for our wedding.  Leroy went on to earn his Doctorate in Music and later was Proffesor of Muic at New Orleans Seminary.  We visited them on the campus there.

We received a 50th Anniversary Card from them and learned then that he had cancer.

His  two daughters have been posting updates on his condition.  I t is worsening each day.

Join us in prayer for them.

Click on their names for updates, etc. about them.

PRAYING FOR OUR PRESIDENT

This article reminds me of my civic duty as a Christian...

Praying for our president 
Curt Iles

Posted on Nov 24, 2008

DRY CREEK, La. (BP)--Since our recent presidential election, I've often thought of my deceased grandfather and an important lesson he modeled.

My maternal grandfather, Sidney Plott, taught me to pray for our president. In all of my years of memory -- from President Dwight Eisenhower to the end of George H.W. Bush's term -- he always prayed for the president. At every meal, he sincerely asked God's blessings and guidance on "Our President." It didn't matter who occupied the White House, "Grandpa Sid" believed Scripture mandated prayer and respect (Romans 13:1), and he faithfully prayed it until the very day of his death. 

Although in the 2008 election I didn't vote for Barak Obama, he will be my president. I do not need to explain, or apologize for, my vote for his opponent, John McCain.

All that matters is the present; the American people have spoken and we've elected a president. He is my president, and I'll give him my prayers, best wishes and support. This doesn't mean I'll agree with all of his decisions, but it signifies I'll show him the respect due our nation's highest office.

In the last decade, I've had the privilege of traveling in Africa, Asia, Europe and Central America. On each trip, I've realized with gratitude the many blessings we Americans enjoy. Anyone who has traveled this Earth knows what a blessed nation we are. 

However, I've often heard the scorn many residents of the world feel for our nation and its leaders. I've found this statement to be true: "The world dislikes America, but it likes Americans."

I've always personally been treated with respect in foreign places -- even in countries with divergent political and religious views from ours. Even so, my new friends have been quick to question and criticize our government.

I've tried to listen carefully, because every criticism presents us with a chance to learn. When I could, I've tried to explain or expand. 

However, if I could be with those friends now, I'd say, "Watch us. We'll show you the American way to change governments."

In these travels, I've read the varied history of the countries and continents. In most places, regime changes have been bloody and full of retaliation. I've just finished a book, "The Fate of Africa," that details the post-colonial history of this continent I've come to love. It contains tale after tale of violence, oppression, and military coups. 

But that's not how we do it in the United States of America.

A small news item from Nov. 5 illustrates this.

At 6 a.m. on the morning after our election, the Secret Service ended their protection of John McCain. Later that day, he and his wife Cindy drove home, without bodyguards or chauffeurs. Notice this -- John McCain drove himself home. He once again became citizen McCain.

This wouldn't happen in most areas of the world. The loser of an election often also loses their freedom, if not their life. But that's not the American way.

President-elect Obama and his wife Michelle visited the White House the other day, where President Bush and his wife Laura greeted them. All four of them exhibited dignity and class. It was symbolic of the peaceful transfer of power that is emblematic of our country. These two leaders, in spite of their past differences, were extremely gracious and helpful to each other in a transition of power befitting the United States of America.

I'm not sure what we should expect in our country's coming days. In my lifetime, there's never been more uncertainty as great challenges both at home and abroad confront us. But there is one thing I know: We are Americans and we'll get through this time together.

However, we move forward confidently knowing that God -- as He always has been -- is in control. Our job is pretty simple: Pray for our leaders and government to make good decisions.

New Motivation

I have been motivated by following ChadClem.com. Chad keeps his blog up to date. Also learned about Twitter through it. There is now a link to Twitter Updates on here. Twitter is free. You can post short comments only. You can do it thru your phone if you use text messaging. I don't.

Praying for Jimmy. He had chest pains; had a nuclear stress test yesterday. Waiting on results.

Praying for Ken Browning. (Virginia's husband) Through blood tests they noticed a possible liver problem; He had a liver biopsy yesterday.
As a resuslt of MRI's they also found a growth on his gall bladder. He will have to be hospitalized for that biopsy