A WORLD WITHOUT LIMITS

Good day dear friends.
As many of you have heard, our brother Allen Bates dies Tuesday night after a hardfought battle against a terrible disease. I do not have any funeral arrangements yet. Please hold the Bates family in your prayers. Allen was 51 and had two small children and a wife.
"As a man thinketh, so is he..." Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)
This was the verse we at Youth ultimately came to in a discussion about life and politics and elections. I was a bit saddened by how early negative thinking about oneself and ones future can creep into a child's life. Those present were all junior high kids and their negative notes reminded me of this verse. I tried to share with the kids that whatever fuels your thoughts fuels your life. If you think you can't do something, you won't. If you think you're limited in some things, you are. But if the opposite is true, then you can do more and accomplish more. God has given us free will and a mind with which to make decisions and we should apply it to the positive to get where God would have us get.
What limits have you placed on yourself today? Please don't be surprised if you don't get beyond those!
PRAYER: God of infinite possibilities, free my mind from negativity and set me free to dream Your dreams and to accomplish what You have shared with me. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
A free online copy of a classic book by the same title of that verse if available here: http://jamesallen.wwwhubs.com/think.htm.

LENTEN JOURNEY8/THE ROCK

Good day dear friends.
We continue to pray for Allen Bates of San Marcos and his special needs. We also lift up John Morriset who is to undergo a heart procedure this coming Friday. Please pray with faith in the Lord for the healing of these brothers.
David said, "The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation," 2 Samuel 22:47.
As I had lunch yesterday with a church member and a former church member, one of them said about our view over our beautiful river, "Is that rock new? It somehow looks out of place." The rock he was referring to was a huge rock that given its size sticks out about three feet above the water. I don't imagine that rock gets moved much without the assistance of mechanical devices of some kind.
Given the rugged natural area in which King David lived it was not unusual for him to notice the rocks of his area as well. These were not easily moved either and on this occasion as he ponders who God is, David calls God a rock. He's referring to the strength and immovability of God. He's also calling God "my rock," meaning David had a relationship with God and understood where he, David, stood, and more importantly, where God stands. He goes on to say that God is the "rock of (his) salvation."
David was saved. There, that pleased a lot of Baptists. And it should please you. David was a man of deep, strong faith most of his life, and yes, he did lose his salvation on some occasions (that didn't please our brethern of Baptist persuasion), but he came back to that salvation in his later years. David was sure of his relationship with God. He knew God had the power to forgive him of his sins and to restore him into the fullness of life; which are the fruits of being "saved." It's also an assurance that upon one's death, God is still there, unmoved, ready to receive us.
Do you know God as rock? Do you know God as your rock of salvation?
PRAYER: Loving God, my rock, speak to me words and thoughts of salvation. Let me have a relationship with You and let me model that relationship to others, so that they too, can come and ask about having a relationship with you as well. Be glorifed in my life, I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE

Good day dear friends.
We start a new sermon series on The Psalms. The series is called "Singing Your Way Through Life." Here is the study guide for this week:
Monday: Psalm 1, 2, 3 What are “the two ways” the Psalmist refers to in Psalm 1?
Tuesday: Psalm 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 What images of God do we find in Psalm 8? What image do you see of us as humans in that Psalm as well?
Wednesday: Psalm 18, 19 What message does the Psalmist try to convey to God about his feelings?
Thursday: Psalm 22, 23 There is a Lenten/Easter message in Psalm 22 and a hope/resurrection message in Psalm 23. What is it?
Friday: Day of Prayer Continue your Lenten prayers to the Lord. Reflect on your life and needs and ask God to bless you, your family, and others.
Saturday: Day of Action Write a prayer note to someone on your personal prayer list. Let them know you have been praying for them.
Sunday: Bring your Bible, family or friends with you to church!--------------------------------------------------------------------9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other; Eccl. 4 NRSV.
In August, 1974, I completed all my coursework for my undergraduate degree at Southwestern University (Go Pirates!) in Georgetown, Texas. My school required, they still may, you walk across the stage or you do not get your diploma and since there are no graduation ceremonies between August 74 and May 1975, my diploma says I graduated in 1975. My ring says '74. I had no thoughts about getting married for I knew no one that felt called to be my wife. In August 1974 I entered Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas. I think I finished SU on the second week of August, by the next week I'm on campus at SMU. I had been promised an apartment off campus due to the high number of Perkins students, but a last minute cancellation put me in a dorm where my roommate had already unpacked and I'm staring at a guy dressed in a Confederate uniform in front of a Confederate flag. Great. My roommate's Jethro Bodine, thinks I, and not a friendly one for he's probably more KKK and double-knot spy. Long story short, I had a great roommate who was not anything as I had prejudged him to be. To this day we're great friends and we stay in touch.
It wasn't until my internship year that I thought I would have fun in dating without a worry about marriage. I know my grandmother worried she would die without ever seeing her oldest grandchild hitched. She made sure to point out all the eligible young ladies from our church in Houston. No thanks, grandma, I would lovingly say. They're nice and everything but we're from different worlds. My prayer was simply, God lead me to the one, if it be Your will.
Yesterday was Nellie and my thirtieth anniversary. On February 25th at 2 p.m. we married at her home church of El Mesias UMC in Mission, Texas. One of the things I promised her was in marrying me she would live in most of Texas and New Mexico, the geographic area of our former annual conference. After our marriage we moved to Dallas in May for my last year in seminary. Upon graduation, we were assigned to Rio Grande City, which was really no Rio, no Grande, and no city; and we were thirty miles from Mission. It was while there that God blessed us with our first baby, Nellie Maria. Our next move was to Edinburg, which was now 13 miles from Mission. It was there that God blessed us with Sarai and Carli. After six years in Edinburg we moved to San Antonio where I was the conference council director for the Rio Grande Conference. It was a job that required my traveling about sixty percent of the time. It was hard on Nellie and the girls my being out so much. Sarai who was about six years old said, "Dad, you just come home to change suitcases." So, after one year we were assigned back to...you guessed it, Mission, where we served eleven years. While in Mission our fourth baby was born, yet another blessing from God in our Caitlin. From Mission to San Antonio and a new conference where I served six years, then assigned to here, where our first grandbaby was born.
Two are better than one, Scripture says, and it's true. My ministry thus far has been blessing after blessing, and challenge after challenge, all of which I could not have faced alone, but blessed with Nellie, I've enjoyed it all.
PRAYER: Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have shared with me. Let me see Your hand in all things. Continue to bless and use me in all things. I pray in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

AT HOME WITH GOD

Good day dear friends.
Our text today comes from The Book of Ruth:
1:16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried."
We don't know much about Ruth's religion other than being a Moabite. It is believed there were close similarities between the Jewish faith and that of the Moabites. However, they were different. There are close similarities between Baptists and United Methodists, but they are different. We can speculate that Ruth was raised a faithful devotee of her religion and lived a life that reflected that, but the day came when she married outside her religion and chose to stay in that faith. The above verse shows her devotion to her now ex-mother-in-law. Ruth's first husband had died, no other children around for her to marry to stay in the family, but her love said it matters not, I will stay with Naomi.
Ruth found a home in her new faith. And God blessed her. Look at the lineage of Jesus as found in The Gospel of Matthew. Her relationship with God blessed her with a new life.
Have you found a home? Are you in a loving, trusting relationship with God through Jesus Christ? These are the important questions to ask during this Lenten Journey. My prayer is that we are where we know God wants us to be, enjoying what God has prepared for us and that we are finding meaning and purpose for our lives.
PRAYER: Loving God, I thank You for Your love and how I've come to experience it. May You be always real to me in my faith. May this Lenten Journey reveal even more of Your greatness and love. I pray in Christ Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER

Good day dear friends.
Please keep the Daily family in prayer. Patti's dad, C.E. Godby died Sunday in Bryan, TX. Our prayers are with Patti, Mike, and their girls during this difficult time.
Please keep the Smith family in prayer as well as this morning at 10:30, Jennifer Smith will be laid to rest. Her funeral is at Thomason's Funeral Home on Ranch Road 12.
Our text for today is from Exodus 20, verse 12, "2 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you."
What a time I had with this commandment growing up. One of my Sunday school teachers had interpreted this commandment to "Obey your father and your mother." That was tough! Not that I was a disobedient child all of the time, but given some periods of feeling lazy, I didn't feel much like cleaning my room, or cutting the lawn or going to particular places. To disobey, according to my Sunday school teacher would mean a free trip straight down to the other place! Then as I grew and reflected on this and heard other teachers, I came to understand the power and impact of this commandment. To honor means to hold in the upmost respect the two who loved me, provided for me, and raised me. Honor is one of those words, like cherish, that we don't use much anymore. When was the last time you used in a sentence, and meant it, "I honor you?" We do have to say it in a courtroom setting, where our conversation with a judge should begin with Your Honor, though that language seems antiquated. In our thoughts, hearts and spirits, the two parents God shared with us should hold a special place, if they deserve it. Yes, I said "if they deserve it." I share that because there are those parents who have not in any sense of the word been parents. They've been abusive, threatening, harmful beings, whose ways of conducting themselves towards their children have been anything but parenting. They deserve not our honor.
After many years in ministry and counseling, I know these folks exist. You know these folks exist. And some of their children have been forced to make difficult decisions about where they are to live and work based on the strained and dangerous relationships they've had with their parents. We've heard of cases where a child has had to call the police because of the danger the child has been in because of actions or decisions one of the parents has taken. Not too long ago, a daughter refused to ride in a car with her drunken father and reported him. Others have had to remove their parents from their home because they have brought with them illegal substances and have placed the ownership of the house in danger because of that.
My prayer with these children of less-than-perfect parents has been that these will have learned from these experiences how to be a better parent. Those who have not learned love from parents, I pray will be the most loving fathers and mothers a child could possibly have. Those who have seen the damages drug use can inflict on a person, I pray will be the most sober and anti-drug parents they can. And so on.
Our prayer should be for God to help us know in our situations what honoring our parents looks like. For those wandering Hebrews in the desert, they knew. For our iPod and cellphone attached kids, many don't know. At the base of it all is the need to love. And to build on that love the trust that leads to respect and on respect that which follows which is honor.
PRAYER: Loving God, help me to know what it means to honor my parents. Help me as a parent know how to live a life of love that brings honor to my life from my children. Above all I pray to live a life that honors You. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

LENTEN JOURNEY 3/GET RICH QUICK!

Good day dear friends.
I shared word in worship as did Pastor Ryan about the death of Mrs. Jennifer Smith. She and husband Roger were members of the church in the 1980s, later moved to San Antonio where she died on Saturday. Her request was to have her funeral here in San Marcos. Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at Thomason's Funeral Home we will be worshiping God and thanking Him for Jennifer's life. The family invites those who know them to join them during this time.
Our text for today is from 1 Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
It was in Saturday's San Antonio paper, a small article about a WalMart employee in Valparaiso, Ind., who discovered one of his store's self-checkout cash registers had been incorrectly stocked with $20 bills in the $2 slot and vice-versa. This employee made a small purchase and discovered that he could make a significant return for his initial small investment. He seemed to forget that this is theft and that he was on video camera being recorded. It wasn't a sting operation, it was a review of an error, and after they discovered this man had stolen more than $600, he was arrested.
The lead article in the same paper read, "Buyers Like Pigs at A Trough," referring to the sale of improperly acquired flight vouchers on Southwest Airlines by a former employee of theirs, now associated with the Bexar County Courthouse. It seems this employee had access to stacks of these "Must Fly" vouchers and sold them for about $160. Depending on how these vouchers are used they could go as high as $600 in travel money. Most of the buyers were from the DA's office, other lawyers, clerks, and other employees there. The only ones charged were those who sold the tickets. The lawyers and company said they were duped. Southwest was taken for a ride.
Lastly, you've driven by the roadside signs of the millions available for the lucky one winner. The one more likely to be struck by lightning six times that win one lotto, but ah the thoughts of what one might or could do with the winnings.
Is it any wonder Jesus spoke more about money and material possessions than anything else? Jesus knew what was written to Timothy, "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
I've told the congregation that I've heard from dreamers who have said, "I'm going to win that jackpot and when I do, the church won't have any more worries about money!" I'm still waiting. And I'm wondering which of the big winners will not change their phone number, move away from family and friends, and hide for the rest of their lives holding on to that money like it was salvation itself.
This time of Lent should make us realize how truly rich we are right now. We may not have money, but friends, we are truly and wonderfully rich. One church here locally had on its sign, "Get Rich Quick: Count Your Blessings." I agree. We're rich indeed.
PRAYER: Lord God, I am truly and wonderfully rich. I may need some money here and there, as You're well aware, but I'm trusting You as I always have, for all things. Let me be among those whom You count as Your riches. In Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

WEEKEND REFLECTION

Good weekend dear friends.
I briefly mentioned it was "one of those weeks." We all have them. How we handle them is the questions that gets us either through them or they go straight through us.
Mine was because of a deadline. Around here it was like it was the week of April 15th. Our tax guy in Kentucky wants parents of university students who want to complete the FAFSA to have their taxes postmarked by Feb. 14th. So, my bride and I had a romantic evening completing our taxes, driving to the US Post Office at the SA airport and having those kind folks hand postmark the return Feb. 14th. That PO is open 24 hours every day.
Prior to that romantic evening I had been at Mt. Wesley in Kerrville with the conference board of ordained ministry. The spring meeting is both the most joyful and most painful. Candidates for full ordination are either welcomed, extended for another year, or told they are being discontinued in their process. It is a joy to visit with those whose hearts, minds, and spirits are ablaze with the understanding of God's call upon their lives and as they are asked questions they respond with full confidence and assurance. Others are not so sure or confident and they either don't interview well or just don't know the material they should have received in three years of seminary and then three years of probationary membership. The painful part is when someone is voted to be extended a year or discontinued, that puts a stop to their joyous plans of having family and friends present for their ordination service at annual conference. And as chair, it is my job to go outside and share with them the decision of the board.
What did David do? David, as king, was the commander-in-chief of his army and led each battle against his enemies. Many was the time he found himself in the valley of the battle, looking to the hills where his enemies were standing and awaiting the right time to attack. Could it have been those times that he wrote these words?
"I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore."
David and we should know from where our help comes. We, like David, should know the strength of the Lord and not only strength but diligence to our needs. Our God does not sleep! Peter said the devil never sleeps, but that's okay because we have a 24/7 God. David says our God will keeps us from "all evil; he will keep your life." In fact, our "going out and ...coming in" is under God's watchful eye.
PRAYER: Thank you, loving God for the promises of Your word to us. Our prayer is for those candidates that will be ordained this coming summer. We thank you for their lives and their faithful response to Your call into ordained ministry. We ask a special blessing as well on those either continued for another year in preparation as well as those discontinued. Their needs are great, their hearts are heavy, bring comfort and understanding to their lives. Help us all to trust You and walk with you. We pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed weekend in the Lord!
e.v.

LENTEN JOURNEY 2

Good day dear friends.
Our prayers for Jennifer Smith who is in critical condition and hospice care at CTMC; and for Howard Yeargan who was awaiting a blood transfusion to help with a low blood count.
Our text comes from Matthew 4:1 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.' 4 But he answered, 'It is written, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
The second most important component of our Lenten Journey is to immerse ourselves in the Word of God. In the passage above after His forty days and nights of prayer and fasting, Jesus was tempted and tempted hard by the devil. The first place we get tempted is our weakest and Jesus was no exception. Jesus had not seen or tasted food for forty days and so as he comes out of the wilderness He is hungry. Satan knows the stones of the area look like the bread of the area and time and so asks, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." Jesus' response is our sustenance comes not just from bread only, but from the word of God.
Jesus knew the scriptures as did the devil. One knew it as truth and food, the other as ridicule and mockery. Jesus knew that from God's Word He received what He needed to continue onward. Satan saw it only as a stumbling stone for him and his evil ways. If we read it like Jesus, excited and hungry to learn and grow, we will be stronger and ready for whatever may come our way.
PRAYER: Thank You, Living God for your Living Word. May we immerse ourselves in Bible reading and prayer during these forty days so that You may speak to us Your truth and love. I pray in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

LENTEN JOURNEY 1

Good day dear friends.
Today is the day after Ash Wednesday and most of us are well on our Lenten Journey.
The foundation for a successful Lenten journey is prayer. Jesus put it this way: "5 And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matt. 6)
Jesus knew the power of prayer. Jesus was a man of prayer. He stayed connected with His father through His prayer life. Jesus knew that many prayed but some for the wrong reason. His reference to hypocrites and Gentiles, showed that while they knew the form of prayer, they didn't know the seriousness and power of prayer. These were using prayer just for show, and Jesus said if this is why they're doing it this way, they already have their reward. Prayer, according to Jesus was an intimate and personal thing between one and God. Let no disturbance or distraction keep you for sharing with God that which is in your heart, or from receiving from God that which is in His.
Let these forty days be ones filled with blessing, so start with taking up prayer and giving up those distractions that keep you from truly praying.
PRAYER: Loving God, in the quiet of this hour, speak to my heart. Let me speak from mine words that glorify You and your people. In Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

ASH WEDNESDAY 08

Good Ash Wednesday dear friends.
Today is the first day of a forty-day journey we call Lent. "Borrowed" from our Catholic brothers and sisters, we use the forty days as a journey of preparation for the "Super Bowl" of Christianity, Holy Week and all that Christ suffered and did for us.
At our church today from 11 until 1 we will be having Imposition of Ashes for those who come by Lowman Chapel. It will be a quiet time of prayer and reflection and if you so desire you can have ashes or oil imposed on your forehead.
At 5:30 this afternoon our Youth are meeting in the kitchen of the Activity Building. F.A.I.T.H. Pizza is on the menu and the kids and I will be making pizzas as we discuss Ash Wednesday and Lent.
Then at 7 p.m. in our Sanctuary we will have our Ash Wednesday worship service.
Please make plans to be with us during this time of preparation.
Here is today's text:
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Matthew 4:1-11
Lent is marked by most as a time to "give up" something. What we shoulde be doing is fasting. Fasting is abstaining from food or some physical nourishment and replacing it with a spiritual discipline such as prayer or Bible reading or devotional time. Fasting is used to show that we "do not live by bread alone" as Jesus modeled in today's text. Jesus fasted for forty days. That means that Jesus gave up food for forty days and nights. During that whole time Jesus was in prayer, reflection and preparation for his earthly ministry. Those forty days paved the way for Him to overcome all that would come against Him.
In the same way we should be abstaining in our own way for spiritual growth and good. Direct your prayers for God to reveal in your spirit what you should be doing for God's good in your life, your home, your workplace, and your church. Some do "fast" in giving up sweets, or Cokes, or cigarettes or drinking, etc. And that's good, but have you considered giving up criticism, gossip, tearing people down, and general all around negativity? I believe that would bless your life more especially if you think of something critical about someone, you give it up, and instead of saying anything to a friend you share a prayer in favor of that person asking God to bless that individual. Can you imagine what good would come your way and his/hers?
As you fast, also take up God in your life!
PRAYER: Loving God of the Journey, help me today start these forty days in a way that glorifies You. Help me to abstain from the bad and help me to take up the good. Let the physical side be nourished by the spiritual. This can only happen with Your help. I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

DIARY OF A BIBLE

Good day dear friends.
We can see light because Jesus is light and in two Sundays we complete our sermon series, "The Grand Slam: Through the Bible in A Year." It has not been easy. To set such a lofty goal even in one's personal life is difficult, but for a whole church to be exposed to the Bible is even more difficult. With that in mind I share what I received from a friend of mine:
Diary Of A Bible
JANUARY: A busy time for me. Most of the family decided to read me through this year. They kept me busy for the first two weeks, but they have forgotten me now.
FEBRUARY: Clean-up time. I was dusted yesterday and put in my place. My owner did use me for a few minutes last week. He had been in an argument and was looking up some references to prove he was right.
MARCH: Had a busy day first of the month. My owner was elected president of the PTA and used me to prepare a speech.
APRIL: Grandpa visited us this month. He kept me on his lap for an hour reading I Corinthians 13. He seems to think more of me than do some people in my own household.
MAY: I have a few green stains on my pages. Some spring flowers werepressed in my pages.
JUNE: I look like a scrapbook. They have stuffed me full of newspaperclippings - one of the girls was married.
JULY: They put me in a suitcase today. I guess we are off on vacation. I wish I could stay home; I know I'll be closed up in this thing for at least two weeks.
AUGUST: Still in the suitcase.
SEPTEMBER: Back home at last and in my old familiar place. I have a lot of company. Two women's magazines and four comic books are stacked on top of me. I wish I could be read as much as they are.
OCTOBER: They read me a little bit today. One of them is very sick. Right now I am sitting in the center of the coffee table. I think the Pastor is coming by for a visit.
NOVEMBER: Back in my old place. Somebody asked today if I were a scrapbook.
DECEMBER: The family is busy getting ready for the holidays. I guess I'll be covered up under wrapping paper and packages again ... just as I am every Christmas.
~~Author Unknown~~
It is not too late to try and catch up! Two Sundays to go and we'll have covered the books of the Bible, with the exception of The Psalms and Proverbs. We will cover the Psalms in a four-week series immediately after we finish the series.
What is your Bible saying about you?
PRAYER: Living God, we thank You for Your living Word. Speak to me today as I read in the Bible. May each word in it speak truth, life, love, and hope to my life. And may my life speak that to those in need. I pray in Christ Jesus' precious Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

FIRST BLESSINGS AND FIRE

Good day dear friends.
(Nellie and Sarai some Easters ago. Nellie is on the left, Sarai on the left) Today is the birthday of our first born so Nellie and I are visiting with her. We were blessed four times with wonderful children and we're thankful to be with them, when possible, on their birthdays.
It was an adventure getting down here as we drove through very dry brush country. At a point south of San Antonio Nellie remarked how dangerous it would be if some person would throw out a cigarette butt. Sadly, we saw two examples of that on 281, one north of Alice, TX, and the other south of Alice in the little town of Ben Bolt, TX. In the Ben Bolt blaze traffic was allowed to continue south as the fire blazed on both sides of the highway. The fire north of Alice was smaller and detained us for about 20 minutes. But as we drove past the second blaze I got a nudge to turn back and help in whatever way I could. Nellie didn't complain she just said to be careful.
I ran to a home where an older man and his wife were trying to hook up their water hose to dampen the area. Once the water got going I started spraying the dry grass on the part of their property that was in the path of the coming blaze. In two minutes that area was covered with smoke and we left that area. All the while it was a period of prayer for those folks, their lives and their homes. As you can read or see in the below links, all turned out well. The only damage to me was that I smelled like I had been at a BBQ!
So, let today be a day of thanks for all we have and what God has shared with us. We thank Him for our daughter and her special day, and that we are able to be with her today.
Be thankful for your children today. Be thankful for life. Pray for rain and for one another.
PRAYER: Loving God, we thank you for all You share. I am thankful for life and I pray Your blessings upon us. We also ask for rain so that the parched earth may be renewed and refreshed. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.