While I am posting videos...

I ran across this from Pastor Brock's Blog. He relates that this is Roger Hardin, the son of COGOP pastor John Hardin, Greenwood COGOP, SC. This guy can jam!

Careful about your resolutions

OK, I found a video that warns you to be sure that you pick good new years resolutions. Debbie did not think it was funny. (Bailey and I did)

Apartment Explosion

We were celebrating the Birthdays of grandsons Alex and Axton when a call went out that there had been an apartment explosion. Reports were it was heard and felt for several miles. We transported 5 patients and had 9 others report to the area hospitals on their own. It was amazing to see the damage and not have anyone killed. I had the opportunity to talk with one of the residences of the second floor. She was at home with her children and said she looked up and the front of her apartment was gone. She and her children crawled out and down the wreckage to safety. She suffered only a cut lip, and cut foot. I asked her, "What mission do you and your children have, that is not finished yet, and what do you do with your second chance at life" She replied with emotion, "I don't know yet, but I am asking God to tell me"

How about you, what mission are you suppose to be accomplishing?


Channel 7 Video

Deep Thoughts

It is that time of year when I start to think about life, future you know just deep thoughts like:
Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
Why did Sally sell seashells on the seashore when you can just pick them up anyway?
Can you cry underwater?
Why do sleeping pills have warning labels that state :'Caution: May Cause Drowsiness?
When Atheists go to Court, they can't swear on the bible, can they?
Where do all the daylight savings hours go?
Why are elderly people often called "old people" but children are never called "new people"?
How young can you be, but still die of old age?
What would happen if you found a four-leaf-clover under a ladder?
Can a cross-eyed teacher control his pupils?
What happens if you get a paper cut from a Get Well card?
If you have a gun and you ask, "can I ask you a question?" and they say "fire away" should you shoot them?
Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?
Why is it that people duck in the rain, do they really think the rain won't hit them?
Can bald people get a hair line fracture?
Why do they put holes in crackers?
If a person suffered from amnesia and then was cured would they remember that they forgot?
Can someone have their head in the clouds and be down-to-earth at the same time?
Why is Joey short for Joe, when Joey has more letters?
If you were a pastor, and you were getting married, would you hire a pastor, or would you do the wedding yourself?

Just thoughts that run through my head all the time ;-)

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

4th Sunday of Advent

Today we celebrated the 4th Sunday of Advent. Billy Lawson who is stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso TX, did the honor of lighting the candles today. It was particularly appropriate to have a member of the military to represent all those who will not be with their families during this time of the year. Billy it was an honor to have you and Raven with us today.

We also had a special treat as our own Taylor Lawrence played, "Little Drummer Boy" and "Silent Night" on the trumpet, he did an outstanding job! It is such a joy to see one of our youth grow up and begin to use their talents in ministry.

We delivered the gifts that were given to our adopted family after services. The children were not home, as they were attending worship services with their aunt. The mother who has had two broken feet, keeping her from working, was very grateful for the generosity.

Mart Green makes donation to ORU

Recognize this guy? He is finding himself at the center of some of the ORU issues going on. He is Mart Green owner of Hobby Lobby and Mardels, former member of COGOP in Tulsa.

Full Story

Great news for me ;-)

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe.

And my english teacher said I needed to know how to spell, ha

Frank Smith passes away

OK, I was born on January 8 in Tupelo, Elvis was born January 8 in Tupelo. I play the guitar, he played the guitar. That is about as far as the similarities go, however I did have the opportunity to meet the man who taught him to play the guitar many years ago. Unfortunately he has passed away. Here is his obit, notice where he pastored.
Rev. Frank W. Smith
TUPELO – Frank Wilton Smith, 80, died Sunday, November 25, 2007 at Magnolia Manor-Tupelo.

He was born on February 5, 1927 in Meridian, Mississippi to the late Charlie Edward Smith and Hannah Elizabeth (Hitt) Smith. He was saved and born again on July 4, 1941.

On April 19, 1944 he married the late Reba Corene (Randall) Smith of East Tupelo and they were married for 61 years until her death in 2004. He felt the call of God upon his life to serve in the ministry as a young teen, and pastored his first church in 1947 at the East Tupelo Assembly of God Church, and went on to pastor fourteen churches with the Church of God of Prophecy until his retirement in the early 1990’s, after pastoring for 48 years. Although he retired from the leadership as a pastor, he never retired from ministering to others and continued to bless everyone he came in contact with.

During his life, he could always be found singing around the area at many gospel singings or revivals, or on local radio shows on the weekends singing with friends, as he was well known for his singing and playing the guitar.

He has received much recognition as he is known as “the man that taught Elvis Presley how to play the guitar”, as he was the pastor of East Tupelo Assembly of God church where the family of Vernon and Gladys Presley were members. He also taught Elvis the song “Old Shep” which he went on to record, and he is recognized in many books, documentaries, films and monuments for his relations with Elvis.

Although he remained a licensed minister with the Church of God of Prophecy until his death, he enjoyed attending church at West Jackson Street Baptist Church the last few years of his life.

Link to rest of story

Christmas Fellowship pictures

We had a great time at our Christmas Fellowship tonight. I kidded that we had some of the Wednesday night folks meet the Sunday Am folks. I told the church tonight, that if other pastors find out how great this group is, they will want to come an Pastor. What can I say, this is a great place!

Christmas Fellowship

Remember that tonight (Wednesday) we are haing our Christmas fellowship. We are meeting at 6:30 for snacks and fellowship.

HOT CHOCOLATE

Pastor Don Brock posted the following story:

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups. Then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate.

Gas Prices

Found a great site that helps find the lowest gas prices. Enter the zip code for where you are at and it will give you prices in that area. Every little bit helps.

Link

Santa, tough boss

911 calls

Dispatcher : 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller: I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the brown house on the corner.
Dispatcher: Do you have an address?

Caller: No, I have on a blouse and slacks, why?

_____________________________________________________________

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What's the nature of your emergency?
Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart.
Dispatcher: Is this her first child?

Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!

__________________________________________________________________

Dispatcher: 9-1-1
Caller: Yeah, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm all out of breath. Darn....I think I'm going to pass out.
Dispatcher: Sir, where are you calling from?
Caller: I'm at a pay phone. North and Foster.
Dispatcher: Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an asthmatic?
Caller: No .
Dispatcher: What were you doing before you started having trouble breathing?

Caller: Running from the Police

3rd Sunday of Advent

Today we celebrated Joy, it was our pleasure to have our own Maxine lite this Sunday's candles.

Golden Birthday

One of my grandsons, Ike had his golden Birthday he turned 8 on the 8th. He had at least two parties that were well attended, which is a big deal to me ;-) Ike Man is a great guy, I am proud to have him as my Grandson! Happy Birthday big man
Papa

How do you do that?

You ever wondered ho to:

1. How to Make Pizza Dough
2. How to Remove Hair Dye From Your Hair
3. How to Treat a Sprained Ankle
4. How to Do an Abdominal Crunch
5. How to Install a Bathtub
6. How to Gain Weight
7. How to Set Up an NFL Football Pool
8. How to Find the Perfect Fit in a Bra
9. How to Grow African American Hair: Natural Hair Growth Tips
10. How to Create a Ghost Costume

Well you are in luck I have found a web site for you, "how to do just about anything" Hope this solves all you problems

How to web site

Christmas shopping advice

I came across a great video that can be applied to Christmas shopping ;-)

Who do you vote for?

Who do you vote for for president in 2008? Here is a link to one of the web sites that have a quiz, answer a few questions and see which candidate matches your views the best.



Canidate Quiz

2 Fatal Shootings at Colorado Religious Sites

Please pray for those effected by the latest church shootings.

ARVADA, Colo., Dec. 9 — Shootings at an evangelical missionary training center here and a megachurch 70 miles away left three people and a gunman dead and several wounded on Sunday, and the police did not say whether they were connected.

The first shooting, about 12:30 a.m. in Arvada, about 15 miles northwest of Denver, occurred at the offices of Youth With a Mission, which trains missionaries. Two people were killed and two were injured.

About 12 hours later in Colorado Springs, at least three people were shot, one fatally, in the parking lot of the New Life Church, the 14,000-member evangelical megachurch



New York Times Story

Advent Celebration

Today we celebrated the second Sunday of Advent. Lori did an excellent job with the devotion, she seems to be a natural in front of the church. Justin lit the candles, Debbie and Bailey decorated the tree. It was a great day!

Merry Christmas, to our Christian friends. Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends. And to our atheist friends, good luck.

Second Sunday of Advent

Sunday Dec. 9 we celebrate the second Sunday of Advent. This week we celebrate PEACE. The first candle will be lit again, and the second candle of the Advent Wreath will be lit, the candle of Bethlehem, reminding us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is also a purple candle reminding us that a King was born in that manger.
Lori Hearon will be bringing the devotion.

Duck Hunting

Quite the busy week. I wasn't going to write about it, but some have asked. I had the privilege of being the medic for Vice President Cheney as he duck hunted in Arkansas. I have already heard all the jokes about, "Who were you there for him, or the other hunters" etc..
My job has allowed me over the years to serve as medic for Presidents Clinton, Gore, Bush and Cheney on several occasions. Most of the time you never really get to speak to them, but on a rare occasion you get the privilege of at least saying something to them. This was one of those times. The camp was fairly small, but very nice. It was normal to see him cross the compound, or come into a room that you were already in. You dont really discuss anything of importance, really what do you say? Any rate it always amazes me to see the workings of his guard the Secret Service as well as what it takes to just move him from one location to the next. Our motorcade was 14 cars, one of the staff said that it takes at least 18 cars just to move the President a block.

By the way, the VP seems to be a great shot and looked like he took his limit both days, and I did fell very safe ;-)

=

:-)

The Big 40

Just got back from celebrating my "little" brothers 40th Birthday. Now what does it mean when the "baby" turns 40? I never really thought about it when it happened to me, but now....
I show up a little late and he had already gotten his piece of the cake. Tom for the record I am very proud to be your brother. Congratulations on your big day (actually the 4th) no matter what they tell you, I am finding that so far 40s have been some of the best years of life.

Advent Begins

Today we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent. Debbie read the devotion Alex (our youngest child today) along with his mom lit the first candle. Melba taught us an Advent song. The season has officially started! Well not really, my house was decorated a week before Thanksgiving Debbie loves Christmas ;-)

Youth Rally

Saturday night the youth of North Little Rock "Team 180" did a great job with their drama. I appreciate the amount of work that went into not only getting ready by getting to Cabot for the rally. I enjoyed hearing our own Robert bring the message. it makes me want to say, "Our youth group rocks!" (can I get by with that?)
The next rally is planned for January 11 at North Little Rock. I will keep you updated as the time gets closer.

Advent Begins This Sunday

For more than 10 years and probably closer to 15 the Church at North Little Rock has celebrated/observed Advent. We have discovered that in the past there were few Protestant churches who observed the celebration. We have found it to be a great way to put special emphasis on what this season is all about. It begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas. We share a devotion on each Sunday's theme and sing a Christmas carol that fits the lesson. We light the candle for that Sunday. Sounds simple, but the impact of stopping, reflecting and praying about what is all about is something I think we do better because of the observance of Advent.

I have provided a link to another web site that goes into a lot of detail about the celebration. We have "customized" (as most churches do) the celebration to fit our congregation.

In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live "between the times" and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the church celebrates God’s inbreaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which "all creation is groaning awaiting its redemption," it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."

Link

New Blogger

Many of you know Peggy Clements, here are her kids as pictured on her new blog. Peggy welcome to the community, we look forward to hearing from you!

Peggys Blog

Back from OK

We got back from Oklahoma Saturday night. It was great to spend some time with all the family. I hadn't seen my sister Sandy for almost 2 years. My brother Tom wrote about the trip in his blog and published a picture of the whole clan. I decided to post a picture of what I will remember and that is some very joyful, full of life youth of the next generation ;-) It was a great time, and one that comes way to seldom.

Here is a picture of Sandy and Rons two kids

Skinny Santa?

Just finishing Thanksgiving and now the news is that Santa is too fat, so there is a move on to slim him down. after all he is a role model. I don't know, but I think leave the jolly ole man alone!

Johnny Cash Thanksgiving prayer in song

The funny thing about Thanksgiving, or any huge meal, is that you spend 12 hours shopping for it and then chopping and cooking and braising and blanching. Then it takes 20 minutes to eat it and everybody sort of sits around in a food coma, and then it takes four hours to clean it up. ~Ted Allen












Yep, we did it, Thanksgiving at the Cracker Barrel. It was not a unanimous vote by any means, some of the family thought is was a fantastic idea, others thought we had totally lost our minds. Since I am not one of the cooks I was just glad to eat ;-) I had the uncle Hershel's favorite (breakfast) others had the traditional meal. The day to me is not about the meal, but about sharing time together. We left the restaurant the family headed to Lori's I headed to MEMS first to check on how the crews were being fed. At MEMS I visited with those souls that work the holidays so you and I can have the care we need "in case of emergency". I had the privilege of spending time with Ron, he is my friend who "died" a few weeks ago, that visit put the meaning of the day in focus for me.

New Blogger

A new Blogger joins the team. My brother Tom has started posting on his own Blog. Check it out!

http://baseballboys.blogspot.com/

Someday....

When you tough it out, hold the line, and stay the course, I promise you, there will soon come a day when you look back over your shoulder, shake your head in dismay, and seriously wonder what all the fuss was about.

Celebration

Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving as a church as well as the Birthday of Brad (sorry for the bad pictures, my camera had a bad day)
It was such a pleasure to share a meal together. We spent some time talking about the things we were thankful for in our lives and the things we sometimes take for granted. Let me say again, I am very happy to be a part of this community, I watched us yesterday I believe we sincerely enjoy each other's company. Again, one of those things we sometimes take for granted, may we no more.

“A friend is someone who understand your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Meal

Our Thanksgiving meal will be this Sunday @ 5PM. Come join us for a great time.

Shoes needed!

One of the NLR attenders has raised our awareness to a need in the Philippines. We have a group there trying to start sports programs but the children have no sports shoes. We are looking for children's tennis style shoes from size 4. If you have any and would like to donate, please bring them to church or drop me and e-mail and I will send the address to where they can be sent.
Thanks!

e-mail:
gthompson@metroems.com

Another heart break

The Razorbacks, along with Joe T Robinson Senators (Friday night 55-7) are not the only ones to face some heart breaks. You got to see this video.
On a cool evening in November of 1994, two high school football teams clashed in one of the most exciting games ever played. With 2:42 left in the game and down by 24 points to John Tyler, fans on the Plano East side of the field had given up hope. After all, how could their team score 4 touchdowns in two and a half minutes? And then their team pulls off the most amazing comeback in football history. There’s nothing left to say at this point but to let you watch this amazing video.

New NLR Blogger

Just noticed that another NLR church goer is Blogging (you have got to try this sometime) This new blogger is no stranger to writing she is just choosing a new venue. Oh by the way, this new writer just happens to be my mom. Check out her Blog.

http://livinglifeafter65.blogspot.com/

Some sick, sick humor...

You have to read "my explanation" first to get this one, but this is a copy of my work Blog post from today.

Jay, Stewart, Louis and myself had the privilege of eating lunch with Ron today. He got permission to put on street clothes remove his telemetry unit and go to the cafeteria for a bit. Honestly it was a strange feeling to be with him at first. I told him that he needed to get use to people staring at him, he laughed. We talked about a lot of things, as well as went over the events of "the day". Seems he doesn't remember anything about the day, only the day before. After the initial awkwardness of the moment we learn very quickly that his sense of humor is in tack and more wicked that ever.

Ron spoke about his eventual return to work:
Stewart said “No hurry. You’ve made it quite clear you don’t want to work radio.”
Ron replied “Oh no, I’m dying to!”

It went down hill from there, he started cracking one liners about his "near" death. When I asked him what I could Blog he gave permission to share some of our laughter, for example:

When a nurse saw Ron in the BMC cafeteria and went on and on with surprise to see him and how good he looked:
Stewart: “Ma’am, who are you talking to??” And Ron then gave his best ghost impression.
Added Louis: “Ma’am, you’re the only one who can actually see him.”

When nurses, seeing the rest of us in EMS uniform, asked Ron what he does:
“I’m a paramedic too,” he said.
Greg: “He’s been a medic a lo-o-ong time.”
Stewart: “Yeah! He was even a medic in his former life!”

After questions of whether he remembered anything from the experience (lights, long lost relatives, hovering above us watching us work, etc.)
Stewart: “To the dismay of so many who have hoped against hope, can you confirm that Elvis truly did die in 1977 ?”
Ron: “That I can! He did die in ’77 and he looks the same as he did then!”

Ron, on the suggestion of sharing his experience:
Ron: “What do I say? Hello-o-o-o! I couldn't’t remember anything for days, and they say I was dead, but hey! Here I am! Hi! I’m back!”

There were tons more that I have forgotten, he mentioned maybe a "Ron was dead" contest to see who could come up with the best one liner, and offer a dinner for the winner that he would chose. I don't know about that one, maybe that is a bit far...

As you can see it was very dark and sick humor, (that he initiated) but we laughed and enjoyed each others company and forgot the utter fear, panic, loss and sorrow that we had felt just a short week earlier.

For a medic, we get to tell these stories way too seldom, but I am so grateful we get to tell it about one of our own! Welcome back Ron!

My explanation

I have been slow this past week in posting, I want to give you a copy of what I posted on my work blog as an explanation. I realize you wont know all the players, but you will understand the story.



On Thursday Nov. 1, Ron was sitting at the dispatch position in Communications. It was known he had not been feeling well for the last few days, and in fact was up most of the night before with that he believed was heartburn. Because he had not been feeling well he almost did not come to work, but his wife Chris suggested he might feel better getting up and around, so Ron decided to go ahead and come to work.

Ron dispatched a call in Vilonia at 09:44, and sometime after that transmission, Ron laid his head down on his console. Jay came in to bring Ron some Halloween candy when he noticed Ron had his head down. No one thought much about it at first because he had not been feeling well, but when Jay could get no response, they knew then that something was really wrong. Jay felt for a pulse and found none. At that point Jay, Joe and David Turner got Ron out of his chair and laid him in the floor where Jay started immediate CPR. Joe then called out in the hallways for help. At this same time Ralph (just by chance!) walked into dispatch carrying a monitor. Jay asked if it worked, and Ralph answered yes, just needs batteries.

There was a meeting going on in Swanson’s office involving Stewart, Greg, Tammy, and Jon. At Joe’s calls for help, the group rushed to dispatch. Upon entering, we saw Jay doing CPR and knew that we needed equipment. Simultaneously, Greg ran to retrieve an ALS pack and returned to begin ventilations, while Stewart connected the monitor for a quick-look and subsequent shock. Louis and a host of others went to retrieving and setting up other necessary equipment. Then, as we all worked on Ron, Joe and Dana Burnett continued their duties at their dispatch positions and performed well with this all right there beside them!

Ron presented with V-Fib, and was shocked once, CPR was then continued, an IV was established etc., and within a short time, we saw occasional complexes on the monitor. These turned into a string of complexes with a pulse and respiratory effort. Ron’s efforts continued to increase as we traveled to BMC, where he was seen at the ER and diagnosed with an anterior MI. He was then sent to the cath lab where he received 3 stints. (From down time to cath. lab with vessels open @90 minutes or less)

He currently is in CCU at BCM in critical condition. This a.m. he did wake and follow some voice commands. His pressure is low but stable; his heart is a normal sinus currently. Long term looks good as long as he dose not develop any complications.

This is a brief overview of the events.

Please keep Ron and his family in your prayers during this time. I will be passing on updates as I get them.

Taking Membership to a New Level

I found a very interesting article on church membership.

Forget your Members Only jacket. At Vintage21, a church in Raleigh, North Carolina, it's Owners Only. The church is eliminating the concept of membership entirely in favor of what they believe is a more appropriate description for the body of Christ: ownership.

Gyms and clubs have members. Vintage21 contends that these memberships are "painless to obtain and even easier to discard." "Ownership," on the other hand, springs from the fact that followers of Christ are co-heirs of the Kingdom, and as such, possess a piece of the church. Vintage21 hopes each person will feel responsibility for the church and want to be more intimately involved, rather than just coming to services and taking off. They hope to ditch a consumer mindset and move into an investor's outlook.

"An owner makes the organization happen. Jesus wants his followers to make the church happen—go out and love people, nurture each other, and serve with your whole life. Ownership is a higher call than membership," Vintage21 explains.

Our only question is, will they call the offering a property tax?

Time Change

Remember to turn BACK your clocks one hour when you go to bed this Saturday night for Daylight Savings Time.

Pastor's Day

Sunday the church celebrated Pastor Appreciation Day. Deb and I were blown away by all you did. Receiving a thank you can be very difficult, Sunday this was especially true. Listening as you shared your love and told stories of our history together reminded me of how fortunate we are to have you as friends. I don't think I have ever been real good at thank you, but please know that we are grateful to have the privilege to serve as Pastor to such a wonderful group.


A church in town has a Pastor who commutes to church in his helicopter, the church wanted to buy us one;-)

Youth Service

Sunday was a great youth service. The "Human Videos" as well as the messages were very powerful. I especially enjoyed the time of prayer where anyone who was prayed for was encircled by our youth and received special encouragement from them. This is a wonderful group!