On my mind today

A father and son running a tri-athalon together. Did I mention the son is a quadrapledgic? Take a look.

Officially, I'm on sick leave today. After church yesterday morning, my fever began to shoot skyward. It finally topped out at about 8 PM at 104. Sometime last night, it finally broke. I feel much better today, but I'm not getting carried away. I'm home today - Julie and the children went to Tyler to do some shopping. It's the first quiet I've had at home since they arrived three weeks ago today. Pray for an end to all this sickness, won't you? I know I'm ready for it to end.

Okay - we hit the ground running this morning with the crank-up of our annual Vacation Bible School. This was the first major event I was here for last year, so it seems right to get it back up on it's feet this year! A special thanks is due to Katrina Holmans, our VBS Director. It's hard work to put all the pieces in place and then hope you've hit the right combination. We'll be posting pictures on our website so check there to find your kid!

I've always been told it's difficult to get an act of Congress done. While I've enormous respect for work our lawmakers do and the difficulties involved, I wonder if they've lost connection with those of us who live in the "real world." Little things, like the lightbulbs I use in my home, are now issues Congress wants to dictate. Hmmmmm. I'm not sure the framers of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence had this in mind. Watch the video below from Rep. Poe, proudly serving the state of Texas with a good health dose of common sense.

When I was a student at Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX, I was privileged to sit under the instruction of Dr. Jack MacGorman, longtime professor of New Testament. A man of passion for Christ and his kingdom, his class made me want to serve Christ more fully as opposed to some classes that just filled my head. He was a learned man with two earned Ph.D.'s. Why someone would need two, I don't know! Unfortunately, Dr. MacGorman informed us, he earned those degrees at the expense of family time. He was quite an old man by the time I knew him and here's what he told us - "Gentlemen, I would gladly trade both of my PhD's for the opportunity to go back and be a better D.a.D." I've thought often of Dr. MacGorman and his wisdom - and I appreciate it more now than I ever have. I've been blessed with the educational opportunities the Lord has provided me. I've been trained in 5 languages and picked up a couple more along the way. I spent more t...

Under the heading "Now THAT looks like fun" I present my Rangers at Shea Stadium in NYC. During a rain-out on Saturday afternoon, Ian Kinsler, Josh Rupe, Michael Young and Milton Bradley decided to have a little fun. Using the infield tarp for a giant slip-n-slide, they got down and soggy!

I'm a techno guy, in case you hadn't already figured that out. One of the things I enjoy about tech stuff is the constantly changing face of it. There's always something new coming out or a new way to think about things. That's almost always good - except when technology is used by the unscrupulous to carve deeper into your wallet. Take for example the recent decision by the Associated Press. You remember them - newspapers across the country have bought their stories and published them for decades. With the advent of the internet and technology, however, fewer people are purchasing newspapers since people now typically get their news online. The AP decided getting their slice isn't enough. Now, they desire to get paid if you link to their stories no matter of you're a news service or a blogger (like me! It's reminiscent of the Recording Industry and Movie Industry, but that's a blog for another post. )The Washington Post has a response to this...

My sisters, Karen Cotter and Winona Wood, are amazing ladies. Each quite successful in their fields - Karen in nursing and teaching and Winona as a medical trainer. I'm so proud of the lady each of them are and will be. Recently, Karen was honored for her teaching work at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK where she's an assistant professor of nursing working toward her PhD. Here's the link to the story . Congrats, Karen, and keep up the fine work! Winona, on the other hand, just returned from a medical conference in (get this) Hilton Head, SC. For those of you who aren't golfers, let me just tell that where golfers hope to go when they die. At least this golfer hopes Heaven is like that! Welcome home Winona and keep up the good work!

Sgt Morvant was deployed to Iraq this past Saturday - for the second time. His mother is a member of FBC and quite proud of her son. I'd like to honor him today for his service. There's a great article about him in this week's news. Here's the link.

I've reflected all week on the message I presented Sunday - about allowing the Calling of God to guide you, even if you don't think you're properly equipped. Moses certainly felt that way - ill-equipped for the calling God had placed before him. Aren't you glad it's not about you? Aren't you glad it's not about how qualified you are or how gifted? It's not a matter of performance as it is a willingness to be used by the Lord. This has been an interesting week for me, challenging me on a number of levels. It's funny when you commit to following the Lord's plan - you never know where he's going to take you. Pray for us as we seek the Lord's direction as a church.

Meet Adam Bender, an 8 yr old little leaguer from Lexington, Kentucky. Adam plays catcher and hits - all with only one leg. You've got to read the whole story for yourself. Here's the link to it . An unbelievable inspiration to all of us! I coached High school basketball for three season and I'm coaching T-Ball this season and I've enjoyed it throughly. But a few of the kids I've coached in the past have been a little weak in the work ethic or passion department. I'd take an army of Adams and whip the lot of you! If you're an FBC member, I can promise you this is a kid you'll be seeing as an illustration.

Generally speaking, I leave politics alone. I was always told growing up don't meddle in politics or religion and since my job is religion, I try to leave the other alone. BUT, this is too much! I read this morning an excerpt from Scott McLellan's book on the White House and President Bush. While I'll readily admit he's made more than his share of mistakes, the excerpts I read make him sound down-right treasonous (It looked all the world to me like someone trying to sell books!)! If there's information to make McLellan's charges true, then impeach Bush! If there isn't, then., at least by virtue of his office, respect him! While I'm singling out McLellan, I see it all over the place - comedians, political talking heads on TV, the news media. All of them ridiculing the President. You may not like him and may wish we had another president - I understand that. But according to Scripture, by virtue of his position, God has at least ALLOWED him to be...

We bid a sad farewell to our vacation and came home yesterday. We got home about 3 PM - 30 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time. That's never happened before! Honestly, Continental Airlines had lost me up till that point. I still don't think I'll fly with them again (their planes are just too small! Easily smaller than American or United with regard to leg room) but they did a great job in getting us home. I highly recommend Nashville as a "family-friendly" city to visit. We roamed the streets and saw some amazing sites, all in a quite clean city with loads of people who were helpful. We'll go back! I want to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry! Standing in Ryman Auditorium was really a thrill. They have a video loop that plays over and over with clips from their glory days with Roy Acuff, "Cousin" Minnie Pearl, Flatt and Scruggs (pictured) and the myriad of special performers. It made the Auditorium "ring" with their sounds, m...

After we left Asheville, we decided to go through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I've driven around them in the past, but I never (to the best of my knowledge - I don't remember all the routes we took when I was a kid) drove straight through it. It was unbelievable! The above pictures is a mountain stream we found - it was FREEZING but the water was so clean and fresh, we took some of our old empty water bottles and filled them with water from the streams. I loved it! To celebrate our recent anniversary, Julie and I agreed to wait until our trip to have our "special meal." Once we got to Nashville, we went to Opry Mills Mall - one of the biggest malls I've ever seen. There was a wonderful restaurant there - "The Aquarium." Here's a couple of shots from our anniversary meal last night. It was good food - if you like seafood. I'm not such a fan, but my wife definitely IS! She loved it and that was the point. Today (Saturday) we wen...

It's 10:00 AM our time, and we're about to leave Asheville. By 1 PM, we'll be on our way again, having enjoyed our conference and our golf. Read Julie's blog for info about the conference and you've already read my comments on the amazing golf. But as I got ready this morning, I couldn't help but think about home. To be honest, ever since we left, I've done considerable praying for our FBC family and where we're headed. I've thought about the last year and how crazy it all is that we came to Frankston at all. I've considered how the Lord's leadership, putting us together as he did, and what the Lord has in mind for us to do. I know those of you who read this are those who are those most interested (or tech savvy) - please know how much I covet you prayers.

I'm flipping through my latest "Golf Magazine" issue. I turn to the "Travel Golf" section just to dream a bit when I spot "Mt Mitchell Golf Resort - 1 hour from Asheville." I called and set a tee time as soon as I found out how much it cost (cheaper than a round at Pine Dunes back home). What the ad didn't say was the path to get there. It's not neccessarily hard to find - it's just that you have to cross three mountain ranges (one of them twice) to get there! I never gotten motion sick when I was doing the driving but I was near that today. It was like a stinkin' driving test. You know - the kind where they test your driving acumen: turning, braking, speed, etc. As I drove, I thought to myself "this had better be darn good." I wasn't disappointed. The picture you see here hardly does it justice. This was Hole #14, their signature hole. What you can't see are the mountains framing this hole. I gave up tryin...

I checked the weather yesterday and noticed it was hovering near triple digits. Sounds tough. I was gloating in the fact was 72 degrees and PERFECT here! I should've known I'd regret that. I got my work through this morning, so I snuck off to play golf at the same local place I played yesterday. While the temperate was just about the same, it was WINDY! Wow. My pants legs sounded like flags flapping in the breeze. There was a storm brewing somewhere and it did rain right around supper time - but I did get my round in! Shot a 90 today. Playing it twice helped enormously!

Today is a stunningly beautiful mountain Monday here. As such, I couldn't stand the thought of not playing golf today. So I slipped away and found a gorgeous little course hidden in the hills here - Black Mountain Golf Course. LOTS of hills and water on numerous holes. Their signature hole is #17; Par 6, it's 747 yards long. I got an 8 on that bad boy and I was proud to have it. I hit my longest drive of the day on that hole and a decent second shot and I was still more than 200 yards out! I didn't think I was ever going to get to the green! Fortunately for me, I played the back nine first (due to a senior men's tournament this morning) so that was #8 for me. I shot serviceably well - 96. For me, that's pretty good. If I could shoot that consistently, I would be delighted. I started to go another round, but then I remembered why I'd come, so back I came. We'll bring pictures back with us, but I don't think they'll do justice to the beauty ...

For the first time since I came to be pastor at FBC, I wasn't in the pulpit this morning. It always feels strange to not preach on Sunday morning - it's a part of me I can't turn off. Yet it is strangely refreshing to have the opportunity to take a short Sabbath rest - even the Lord rested (Genesis 2:1-3). But resting doesn't mean we didn't attend church today. We try to go to churches different than our own. We found one in Asheville that just fit the bill. "The Rock of Asheville" Church was where we attended today. In fact, because worship started at 10 AM our time (Eastern), we began worship before you began Sunday School and finished before you started worship! I firmly believe that taking a vacation OUGHT to include worship. Find a church, wherever you are. As I've been told, we've got branch offices all over the place! Vacations are coming soon for many of you - when they come, and if you can't get back to FBC before Sunday, fin...

Today we took a day to just rest. Our conference begins tomorrow - we'll have a schedule to keep. But today was all ours so we took it. After sleeping late, hanging out at the hotel and a leisurely breakfast (included in our room was the best "free" hot breakfast I've ever had a hotel!), I looked up the local municipal golf course and went to play! To describe it as "hilly" would be to denigrate the hills. The famed golf architect Donald Ross (designed of the famous Pinehurst #2 here in North Carolina) designed this municipal course in 1927 - it's still in use. It beat the hound out of me and fooled me a number of times with it's visual trickery - like #18, pictured here below. The tee box is on the same plane as the green but everything else is set at about 15 degrees. At 210 yards, it's not long - but I still made a 5 because I out-thunk myself. It was a great time and I made some memorable shots but mostly forgettable ones. I'll ...