A NEW WEEK...WELL NEEDED AND ANTICIPATED!

Last week was filled with great opportunities and great challenges. There were some mountain top moments and some deep valleys too! But I suppose that is what makes up life.

On Monday, one of our dear friends at church got the news that her 37 year old brother in law passed away. Steven was a great Christian man with two children, Pierce and Peyton, and a beautiful wife, Michelle. Less than a month ago he had aevere leg cramp and when he got up to 'walk it off'' he had a seizure. It was determined that he had a brain tumor. Two weeks ago he had a biopsy to determine the extent of it and treatment options. A blood clot from it hemmorhaged in his brain and he was gone. We attended his funeral on Thursday.

Friday night we attended the annual fundraiser for the Chattanooga Inner City Ministry with two close friends and had a wonderfu time. Saturday morning, I got a call and found out that Charles was in the hospital and ended up in ICU with panceatitis. And really painful! Thankfully it appeared last night that he was some better.

We are also going through the Hospice experience with Gary and his lovely wife, Betty. In the last two weeks, breast cancer has really taken it's toll on her. She lost tremendous amounts of weight and now has become less and less coherent. It is really hard to watch everyday, but she is a great reminder of God's promises. As a faithful Christian she has been a powerful example of faith and trust in God.

Of course, not only is it tough on Betty but Gary is one of my closest friends and to go through this with him and her children reminds every day of looking forward to a land of no pain and suffering and death........

One of my favorite ladies at church, Sister Carson, has been battling internal bleeding and AVM since last year and has recieved 30 pints of blood since March 3, 2009! She has a great attitude but is currently in Vanderbilt and has endured numerous procedures and continues to suffer.

Our prayers continue to be with these folks and thier families and I would ask you to also.

The one blessing that God gives that always seems to come at the right time is sunshine and a rainbow in our souls after a stormy period! While there were some storms last week, there were some brilliant periods of sunshine, too!

It was Mother's Day weekend and Louise and Leigh, along with Dirt and Nathan were in town for the weekend and having the kids in town just brings renewed life and joy to an empty nest! They were a joy to have home and next week Laurie is coming so she can help me cover 'The Best of Preps" banquet in Chattanooga. She is going to be my photogarapher (by the way, Michael Phelps is the guest speaker, so it was really hard to get her help :).

Last night just before church time, Mom and Dad came in and spent the night. Jamie had corsage for Mom and we have birthday party planned for Dad on the last weekend of the month as Samantha our neice graduates from high school.

So the weekend brought lots of family and ended an emotional week with positives and the promise of better things this week.

Dad will have follow up laser surgery on a cataract today and then they are heading on to Nashville to see their sisters.

We'll get our week started as we head toward our 29th annual Tri-State singing on Frinday night at Trenton. If you have never been, it is a wonderful singing and do our ladies ever put out a spread of food, so come on if you can!

Rainy Days and Quiet Saturdays

Yesterday was as relaxing a day as I have had in many a moon! Didn't go anywhere special or do anything dramatic. I just had a day with very little on my schedule and nothing until after lunch. So, no alarm was set and I woke up about 7:00 AM and heard the rain and said "I think I'll sleep a few more minutes." That turned out to be until 9:30 AM! For a lot of folks that is not a big deal but I can't remember the last time I slept that late except the days after returning from overseas! And it was wonderful! I don't advocate doing it every day, but an occasional Saturday for me was grand.
After getting up I heated up some cinnamon and blueberry biscuits and made a pot of coffee for Jamie and me. We had a leisurely paced breakfast and I sat down in the recliner and started reading and studying and didn't hardly move until 4 PM. I watched it rain and thought how much I liked these pajamas and the old shirt I had on!
Finally I felt motivated enough to shave and shower and we headed out to eat supper. We went to Brock's' Restaurant on the Square in Trenton and met Charles and Jackie Hill for supper. One of the greatest blessings on this side of eternity in the Lord's church is having friends who are brothers and sisters! We had planned to eat (and did) with them last night but tonight it just worked out and fellowship means so much! Charles is one of the people that if I ever need to talk with someone about that I will call.
After dinner we made a couple of visits to folks from church and got home and closed it down for the day. It really was a day I needed. Sometimes it is easy to think that if I'm not doing something every minute that I'm wasting time. I know better than that.....but a quiet rainy Saturday really helped to remind me to take a little more time every so often and "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

Sometimes you just find what you need.....

This has been a really roller coaster week for me. Early in the week I had the chance to visit with a group of old friends at Lipscomb and really have a great time. I returned to Trenton and home and to reality and several seriously ill friends.
Now I am dealing with a Bible study that has bogged down because the person I am studying with doesn't have any problem with the doctrines of the Bible but told me yesterday that the hangup was the way that some Christians that he knew were acting in a way that he would never be a part of a group like that.....Reminded me of the quote by Gandhi "I would be a Christian....if it weren't for Christians." I will continue to deal with this and certainly try and address this objection but man is it discouraging since just this week we were talking about obedience to the Bible and how his life would be changed. He made the comment that he would be the most committed Christian in that church. Now, it appears we are back at peg one and three years of work and Bible study are in jeopardy. I must confess, I am an incurable optimist, but at times, events like this discourage me, too.
But this morning at about 3:30, after I had gotten up and prayed and read my Bible before work, I saw this verse. I have several web sites and e-mails that feature their version of "verse of the day" and this one hit me today:
Be at peace again, my soul,because the LORD has been good to you.You saved me from death.You saved my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. Ps 116:7,8.
I must tell you, that came at pretty good time in my life. Besides letting me vent this morning, I would encourage you to spend time every day in quiet Bible study and prayer. It is amazing how it will arm you for the day. Even on days when you feel that something has gone sour and broken your heart, God is the answer....to all the questions and always will help you find the solutions you need in His Word. I'm glad I found this verse today!