What a WEEK!

Many things have happened since my last blog. My last Sunday at the Church on the Circle was last week. It was a very sad time as we said good-bye to all of our friends at the church. I know that God has great things ahead for everyone. We all must continue to seek God and be true to His will. Everyone at the Church has been, and will continue to be, a true blessing to Charlotte and me. Parrish and Holly had the church over to their house for a farewell lunch. We had a great time of fellowship.

Last Sunday night we had a great time at the ordination service for Slade Stinson at First Baptist Church of New Brockton. I believe that God is going to use Slade in a great and mighty way. I am so excited about what God is doing in Slade's life. I had the honor of preaching the ordination service. I went back to my old style of preaching. I had to - I was wearing a suit and a tie!

Last Saturday my lap-top crashed. No, I did not back up my files. All the work that I have done for the past 10 years is gone. On the positive side, I was able to get it fixed at the Apple store in Nashville. Apple took the MacBook, put a new hard drive in it and fixed the case all for free. I am a true believer in MAC. If you don't have a MAC you need to get one. It will change your life.

We have moved to Nashville to live with my parents until the end of the year. The kids will be able to go to school for nine weeks and they will get to see my parents before the big move. I have somewhere to preach until January allmost every Sunday. God is so good. We did not have a lot to move but it was one of our hardest moves. We loaded a U-haul trailor and the Expedition down. We could not fit another thing in either one of them. Wednesday was the day we drove up to Nashville. We unloaded on Thursday.

In Janaury we will move to Brewton, AL to spend time with Charlotte's parents. God has blessed Charlotte and me with good parents that are helping us during this time of transition. I believe that this time between Church on the Circle and the time we will go to Richmond for orientation will be a hard time of limbo. Pray for us as we are going through this time of adjustments.

It seems that our lives have been turned upside down. This is only the beginning. We will be going through much more change. I believe that God is using friends to help us get through it. On Thrusday Tommy and Robin Johnson came to Nashville to see Brent, their son, perform with his band "The Springs". We were able to spend about an hour and half with them. Today, Craig Lewis also from Enterprise, came to visit. We had dinner with him at my parents' home. It was a fun time.

I should be back into a regular rotinue of posting. Sorry for the time off. Pray for me tomorrow as I preach at Temple Baptist Church in White House, TN. I will be wearing a suit and a tie!

I Have Been Cleared!!!!

I have recieved notice today that I have been medically cleared. We are on our way to Costa Rica as Career Missionaries. Our next big event is the appointment service in Houston on November 11. We will be in Houston November 7-12. This will truly be an exciting time. Thanks to everyone for praying.

Prayer time for trip to Costa Rica

This morning I met with Gerry Davis and Jeff Fields. We had a prayer time for our trip to Costa Rica. We will be leaving in 18 days for a 7 day trip. I know this trip will be a great one because of what God is doing in our lives before we even leave. I also can't wait to see where Charlotte, the kids and I will be living and the work that we will be doing in San Jose, Costa Rica.

This Sunday evening I have the honor of being a part of the ordination of a good friend of mine, Slade Stinson. Slade will be ordained at First Baptist Church New Brockton. I will be presiding over the ordination council and preaching the ordination sermon. Slade and I have know each other since we were in first grade. He has always been a good friend. The ordination council will be at 4:00 pm and the service will be at 6:00 pm. I believe the service will be a time of revival because of what God has done in Slade's life. I want to encourage everyone to come and be at this very special service.

GOOD OLD FRIENDS

Last night we went out to eat with some friends that I have known all my life. We had a great time at McLin's in Daleville, AL. The food was so good. The friends that we met were: Roy and Judy Byrd, Scott and Sue Byrd, and their daughter Anna Beth, Mrs Mildred Hall, Andy and Karen Maxwell and their daughter Lydia. All of these people have had such a major part in my life. It was fun and sad at the same time as we had fellowship. It was fun seeing each other, and sad because we won't get to see each other for a long time. One thing I do know, they will be with us in Costa Rica because of their prayers for us.

Today Charlotte and I went and saw Dr. Andy Maxwell at his office for an eye exam. Charlotte is getting old. She needs reading glasses. She is 40! Andy took such great care of us. If you live in south Alabama and need your eyes checked - go and see Dr. Andy Maxwell at Denney Vision in Dothan, AL.

We also ran into Roger Stone at LifeWay bookstore. Roger is the pastor at First Baptist Church Pinckard, AL. We had a nice time talking with him about what God is doing in our lives. He invited us to speak at his church on December 7th in the evening service.

Enterprise has had another tornado. It went through the middle of town hitting the civic center, town hall and Wal Mart. No one was hurt, but their is a lot of damage. The damage is nothing like the last tornado. The schools released the kids at 2:00. Four of the school were without power. The tornado went about 3 blocks behind John Robert's school. They were without power, but had no damage. You can imaging that there are many people who are shaken up over it.

The Shack

Many people have asked me about the book "Shack" This video by Mark Driscoll is the best point of view that I have seen about the book.

Park Ave Baptist Church

Last night I had a great time speaking at Park Ave Baptist Church in Enterprise, AL.  Park Ave is the church that I accepted Christ and was baptized.  The people of this church have had such an important part of my life and ministry through out the years.  It was such a special time that I will remember forever.

I shared about my family's calling into international missions.  At the end of the service they all gathered around my family and prayed for us.  Park Ave agreed to be our prayer partners while we are on the field.  This means so much to me as we face the challenges ahead.  

I also want to express my gratefulness to Leon Adams the pastor at Park Ave.  He is a great man with a heart for missions.  Leon also serves the North American Mission Board as a chaplain to the Coffee County Sheriffs Department.  

All the test are done? - I Think!

As of today I have been cleared by the Cardiologist, Gastroenterologist, and the Hematologist.  Now all I have is to be cleared by the International Mission Board Doctors.  Since my last blog I have had my small bowel x-rayed and met with the Hematologist.  The x-ray is clear with no problems.  The Hematologist said  the day that I went that I was not anemic, but he did see there was a problem from the other reports.  He told me that he believed that the consumption of tea was hindering the absorption of iron into my body. He told me to stop drinking tea and wine and I should not have any more problems with low iron.  He cleared me.  Pray that I will be cleared by the IMB within the next week.