Cold and Wet

This morning we woke up to a cold, wet and rainy day. It's rained all weekend basically. My rain gage showed about 4 inches on Sunday morning, and we've gotten about 2 1/2 more since then. I was just out at Lake Murval, and it is over several piers and the creeks are way out of the banks. Thank God for the rain though. Lake Cherokee was really bad, but it is catching up fast. They are calling for freezing rain this afternoon and tonight, but I don't expect it to get as bad as it is north of here.
I had the opportunity to preach last night, and it was a blessing to be able to try again. The last time I preached was in October, and when you get out of practice of doing it, it becomes a struggle...at least for me. Have a great week folks.

Where did 2006 go?

An amazing thing just happened! 2006 went away....It seems that my mom was right. The older you get, the faster time flies. I can still remember what I was doing in the 8th grade, at a school that no longer exists. At the ripe old age of 13, when I thought mom didn't have a clue what life was all about. Wow! Was I wrong! How I wished that I still had her around to correct me, even when I knew for sure I was right. I guess that is why God allows us to have children, huh? So they can pretend to know everything and think we, as parents, don't have a clue to life's challenges.
I have come to the conclusion that making a New Year's resolution has to work eventually, doesn't it? Most people make New Year's resolutions to only break them within a week or two. We don't like commitment, do we? Becky and I are going on another diet. We did well with it the first 3 months of 2006. It was the last 9 months we dove off the deep end. Of course, Becky had her heart attack in July, and I began wondering about life being so short. Why not enjoy some of the flavors of life? Now, we go on a diet again. There were a lot of bad things that happened in 2006, but God still blessed us. I still have Becky, which is a great blessing to me. Thank you LORD for not taking her away. We were able to accomplish a few goals we set, but not all of them. Mark was saved, and I'm thankful for that.
My hopes for 2007? That my kids will do well in school and in life. Now that I have a daughter - in - law, things are looking up. Yes, Chase got married in November. Her name is Jill and they really seem happy. Other hopes are; that I get a job that I really enjoy, that we get our own house, and quit renting, and that I may be able to pastor a church again or that I may even get to be an associate Pastor somewhere. I would love the opportunity to make things right with God, by showing Him that I would try harder to be a better Pastor. I hope to get to finish school. That would be great, but it's not a priority. I'm really debating on whether I want to officiate sports anymore. I think that I need to try to slow my life down and really enjoy my family. I'm praying that Mark does well in school and in football at Corsicana. I want him to exceed all of my expectations with flying colors. I also pray that Ryan continues to do well with all of his schooling, and that he becomes a great basketball player. I pray that Aaron will get his life in order by graduating school and returning to AIT in the army. I think it will do him well. Of course I pray that Chase and Jill are able to fill their dreams. Becky and I both hope and pray that everything becomes positive in 2007 and that it won't be as bad as 2006 was.
Our prayers for you? That America will get back to the basics of life and forget about the negative things we choose to do. We pray that our kids get back home from Iraq and Afganastan, and that peace will come to America again. We hope that you have the best year of your life thus far, and that everything is a positive for you. We hope that we all remember that we can only have a good year by knowing that we must follow the best leader, Jesus Christ. May God richly bless you in the year 2007!