"Whenever I want to think hard, I need a river to help me lighten the load."

Sun Rise

This morning’s sunrise was one of the most spectacular that I have seen in a while. It was not bright like many are, but instead presented like a painting it was just amazing.

10 new members !

WOW,

This is the best description I can think of talking about Sunday.

10 people came forward to join the church. It was overwhelming to say the least.

After service we talked about the building off Counts Massie, the spirit was one of progression, unity and boldness. There was a unanimous decision to seek a lease and move the church at North Little Rock. I have since spoken with some of the members who were not there, so far I have not had anyone against the move.

I am so grateful to be a part of this period of time at the church.

;-)

“During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive canned food you buy for them; In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive food; and in a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat.” - unknown

A great story from, "the caffeinated priest"

facing fears

I stood, in blue gym shorts and the pale t-shirt, featuring the Clarke Middle School owl, on the grassy field that was, in 1982, the spot for gym class volleyball. Mrs. Cook had imparted all that she could to us--the way to hold your fist when serving the ball, how to bump, how to set, how to keep score. Now all that was left was actually playing. There were enough girls lining the court that it was a fairly safe bet that I wouldn't have to actually hit the ball, that if it came towards me, I could duck out of the way and let the more athletically inclined girls do the heavy hitting.

Dodging the ball, steering clear of it's fast descent into my personal space, was a skill I developed. And while I could usually serve the ball and even get it over the net on occasion, volleyball, like so many other sports in my life, stood as an icon of fear. Because unlike mini-golf, where failure to hit the ball where it belongs only impacts me, team sports such as volleyball, impact other people--people who have hopes and expectations that revolve around the concept of my being able to return a serve or get a ball over the net. And perhaps even worse, is that in volleyball, once the opposing team discovers that I suck, I become a target. Hit the ball to the pudgy one in pigtales--she can't hit it back they say. And suddenly ball, after ball, after ball comes flying over the net, right into my little corner of the world, while I stand, helplessly ducking.

You'd think I'd have remembered all this when I said yes. You'd think it would've stopped me. But when two of my favorite boys on the planet suggested that I join their beach volleyball team, I said yes before the floodgate of memories had the chance to surface. I paid for my team insurance and Ms. Cook's class never crossed my mind. I loaded up on tacos at our team fiesta before the start of the season and only noticed how great the team shirts were. No, memories of the 6th grade volleyball experience were buried deep in my unconscious...until yesterday.

Yesterday, I donned a new uniform--black sweats and a red t-shirt with a new logo: the Deviled Eggs. And I took my bare feet down to the beach and in the Chicago cold of May found myself playing volleyball. And I missed a lot of balls. And the boys on one team--they did target me. But this time it was different. Because my teammates cheered when I hit the ball, even when it went flying off the court. And because I served 5 serves that they couldn't return. And earned us a total of 6 points. Take that Clarke Middle School!

In the end, the Deviled Eggs won all 4 games we played. (Take that boys who targeted me!) And it was great fun. And I was still scared. But I did it. And next Friday I'll do it again. And step by step, volley by volley, those old voices, those old fears, grow quieter and move farther and farther away. Step by step, volley by volley, I find I'm less inclined to duck.

What is a need ???

I ran across a story from a Pastor in Ohio. People are funny......

A gentlemen stopped by the church needing help to make the brakes on his car safe. This played off of my mechanical interest, so I took a short and horrifying trip around the parking lot and decided for the good of the community that I would help this guy out. After $20 worth of brake pads and an hour of work, or maybe it was on the trip to the auto parts store that this guy asked me, "Can you help me with some money?" "For what?" I replied. "My landlord has cut my cable off, and I need $15. " (Apparently the landlord was splicing cable for his tenants) At this point in my life, I was making good money for a young pastor, and Jill was working as a nurse - we were not broke. WE DIDN'T HAVE CABLE - somewhat as a lifestyle choice, but mostly as a cost-saver. After telling him that our church tries to help with NEEDS- food, water, safety issues, etc - he tried to make the argument for cable TV being a neccesity. This continued even after I let him know that I wasn't currently enjoying cable tv. I think I probably laughed. I didn't change his mind - cable tv was on par with food/water. I'm sure I laughed.

Pastor Shot and Killed in the Pulpit

Don Brock has a very informative Blog that I follow. For quite sometime he has written about church security. I wanted to share his blog on the most recent church shooting.

Church security has been addressed many times on this Blog. It is a growing concern regardless of the size of your church. For years, we have offered free security training materials upon request (DGBrock@aol.com), and church consulting services to teach or train onsite. After many incidences in America over the past five years, tragedy has struck again.

Yesterday a gunman walked down the aisle of an Illinois church during a Sunday service and killed the pastor, then stabbed himself and slashed two other people as congregants wrestled him to the ground, authorities said.

The local newspaper reported late Sunday a source close to the case confirmed the gunman as Terry Joe Sedlacek, 27, who developed mental illness after Lyme disease attacked his brain.


rest of article

Paul Harvey, Broadcaster for Six Decades, Dies at 90

Paul Harvey, a familiar radio voice for six decades who used long pauses to punctuate his delivery of news and observations, died today in Phoenix. He was 90.

Harvey’s death was announced in a statement by ABC Radio Networks where his “News and Comment” was a fixture aired from coast to coast since 1951. He had impressed network executives with high ratings in Chicago, where he’d been a newscaster at ABC affiliate WENR-AM since 1944.

Harvey died in a Phoenix area hospital with his family by his side, said Louis Adams, a spokesman for ABC Radio Networks. The broadcaster lived in Chicago during the summer and moved his production to Arizona in the winter months.

“My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news,” son Paul Harvey Jr. said in a statement on his father’s Web site. “So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend.”

Harvey’s wife, Angel, who produced his shows, died in May.

Rising at 3:30 a.m., Harvey would arrive early at his office and studio to check overnight wire-service stories. A staff of six helped cull small-town newspapers and readers’ suggestions for more material for “News and Comment” segments that aired six days a week.

Harvey’s plain language and distinctive pauses were highly effective. He also managed to convey a sense of fresh wonder.

“Let me say I can’t wait to get up every morning and watch the passing parade and call out to anybody who might be interested in the things that interest me,” he told the Chicago Tribune.

‘Trusted Friend’

At age 82, Harvey was still so productive that ABC Radio signed him to a 10-year contract valued at $100 million in November 2000. More than 1,200 radio stations and 400 Armed Forces Network stations aired his broadcasts, according to ABC.

“As he delivered the news each day with his own unique style and commentary, his voice became a trusted friend in American households,” Jim Robinson, president of ABC Radio Networks, said in the statement. “His career in radio spanned more than seven decades, during which time countless millions of listeners were both informed and entertained by his ‘News & Comment’ and ‘Rest of the Story’ features.”

Popular With Advertisers

His conservative views and sincerity made him popular with advertisers. Highly selective, Harvey required one-year commitments from program sponsors and only promoted products he and his wife used. He wrote the ad copy and read it with conviction. Bankers Life & Casualty was a sponsor for 30 years; Bose Corp. was another favorite.

Paul Harvey Aurandt was born September 4, 1918, to Harry Harrison and Anna Dagmar (Christensen) Aurandt in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father, a police officer, was killed when Harvey was three.

Harvey’s career was launched in 1933 when a speech teacher at Tulsa’s Central High School recognized his potential. She escorted the 14-year-old to local station KVOO-AM and told the station manager “This boy needs to be in radio,” the Tulsa World recounted in a 1997 article.

Harvey worked as an announcer, then as program director at KVOO-AM, according to the biography on his Web site.

He spent three years as a station manager in Salina, Kansas, followed by a stint as a newscaster in Oklahoma City. He then landed at WXOK-AM in St. Louis, working as a reporter and director of special events. In 1939, he met his future wife at the station.

‘Angel’s’ Advice

After marriage, Harvey worked as a reporter in Hawaii and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor. Discharged in 1944, he moved to Chicago at his wife’s urging.

“Since the first day of our marriage, we’ve worked side by side,” Harvey told the Chicago Tribune in 2002. Indeed, in 1997 his wife was the first producer inducted in the Hall of Fame of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.

According to the Chicago Tribune, his wife changed Harvey’s conservative views on the Equal Rights Amendment and the Vietnam War, leading up to his broadcast of May 1, 1970, when he addressed President Richard Nixon, saying, “I love you, Mr. President. But you’re wrong.”

Will you be Johnny today?

I came across this vidoe clip of a story that I had heard a while back. Little things do make a difference.
http://www.stservicemovie.com/

Look to this day for it is life,
For yesterday is already a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today, well lived, makes every yesterday
A dream of happiness and ever tomorrow,a vision of hope. -- Kalidasa

Facebook

OK, I admit, I have been busy, and what PC time I had I have been on facebook. I am amazed at all of the folks from my past that I have found. As with anything like this, you have to be careful. Here are a few news stories about the new fad:



A British man convicted of killing his wife after she changed her Facebook relationship status to “single” was sentenced to life in prison today, the Independent reports. Richardson, 41, flew into a “frenzied and brutal attack,” brutally stabbing his estranged spouse to death at her parents’ home and then attempting to take his own life

Websites streaming video of the inauguration reported record activity today, while a partnership between Facebook and CNN enabled thousands of people a minute to comment on the proceedings, Crain's reports. By late afternoon, CNN reported 21.3 million live video streams, while MSNBC had 9 million live streams and 5 million on-demand streams

Barack Obama is poised to be, by far, the most wired president ever, reports CNN. With more than a million MySpace friends, 3.7 million Facebook pals

Israel has strived mightily to win the information war around Gaza, launching its own YouTube channel and blogging program, keeping the international press off the battlefield and attacking Hamas websites. But they can’t control the wilds of Facebook, which has become a powerful way for the Arab world to protest the Israeli actions and raise money,

Burger King has launched a new Facebook application called “Whopper Sacrifice,” rewarding users who cull 10 people from their friends list with a free burger, Adweek reports.

With the help of the ACLU, a Florida high school grad is suing a former principal for violating her constitutional rights in suspending her for “cyber-bullying” a teacher, the Miami Herald reports. Katherine Evans created a Facebook page railing against her “worst teacher,” and asked classmates to contribute “feelings of hatred.” None did, and Evans took down the post, but she was still suspended

I think living openly, changing your status every few minutes has ups and downs, the ups you are living in front of people, that in itself should make you careful.
The downs- How do you know what is too much information.

Communicate, but be careful, I will be...

Old Friends

Facebook has become a great way to hook up with old friends. I have been amazed at who I have found, case in point David and Rita Baroni. David and Rita both have written books, check out their site. Keep up the great work you two!

http://www.davidbaroni.com/

From my other life

Lamar Pickens, MEMS patient suffered 3 gun shot wounds to his body after a man asked to use the phone in his business then turned and shot him. Mr. Pickens owns Lamar’s Auto Air and is very happy to be alive today. He attributes his life to Medics Jalana Braqnham and Allen Lawrence, but knows for certain that he was ultimately in God’s hands. Interesting, Mr. Pickens said, “the shooter pointed that gun at my head and I told him In the name of Jesus, don’t kill me…..” Strangely, the gun misfired and he only suffered powder burns to his face and “3-days of sulfur” in his mustache! He did take one bullet to the abdomen, one to his Left femur and one to his Right femur.

His book is called “Psalm 91:1”. He wants to name Jalana and Allen specifically in his book. Also, present on scene was Terry Henson (my old partner), who he said scooped him up and carried him to the ambulance by herself!!!

I thought this was an interesting note. He is in the process of getting his book published.