Before I type my intended post, I want to say that Sunday night was awesome! Some may say that we cancelled church, but in my eyes we just took church to the streets. It was unbelievably exciting to see hundreds of people leave Lavaca to be intentionally evangelistic. Thank you all for your dedication and commitment to seeing people come to faith in Jesus Christ.

And now my post: Last night I was standing at my bathroom sink, getting ready for bed and I looked into the mirror. What I saw took me back a little. Of course, I saw myself, but I also saw my dad, especially around my eyes. It has happened a couple of times over the past years. I guess the older I get the more I see glimpses of my father's appearance in my own appearance. I laughed quietly, then a question came to my mind. I wonder if other's see glimpses of my heavenly Father when they look at me? Admittedly, there are times when I fail. I say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, and even think the wrong thing. But I wonder if others see who Jesus is and what he does when they see me. I wonder if others see Jesus when they look at you. Philippians 1:27 begins by saying "Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ" O that my conduct would be worthy of the gospel of Christ!!!

Over the years, the Lord has given me some of my best sermon ideas while mowing grass. I have no idea why the Lord seems to speak to me on a lawn mower, but He does. Today, I learned a lesson about the church while mowing. May lawn mower is a 42 inches Cub Cadet. It is an excellent for a smaller yard, but is not nearly big enough or fast enough for my 3 acre lot. However, it is all I have so I got up this morning to mow. When I went to get gas, I met our chairman of deacons, Kenny Smithson. He was pulling a trailer with his lawn mower on it. He owns a monster mower. It is a 52 inch Grasshopper, zero turn. That mower is awesome! He said he would help me mow my yard. So there we went. My slow mower and his awesome mower. I mowed on mine as hard as I could go and he mowed as hard as he could go and we finished in less than an hour (Remember, I still have plenty of bare spots) Our mowers are kinda like spiritual gifts. Some people have many gifts, or very extravagant gifts, or very visible gifts. You might say they are the "Grasshopper Mowers." Others have gifts that are used behind the scenes. You might say they have the "Cub Cadet" gifts. It would be terrible for those with "Cub Cadet" gifts to say they won't they won't serve because they don't have "Grasshopper" gifts. We can't compare our gifts with the gifts of others. We must serve the Lord as hard and we can go with the gifts we have. Ultimately, we will give account on how faithfully we used the gifts we have been given.

Sunday Night caught me somewhat off-guard. Kristen publicly announced, to the church, her call to be a missionary. That is not new news to me, but I didn't know she was coming forward before the church. If you were there, you know that I was a basket case. I cried so hard, I was making noises. (In Tennessee, we call this "having a spell") As you can imagine, I am unbelievably proud of her. God has done such a marvelous work in her life over the past months. I think I realized last night that I was going to have to let her go. I know it is right, but the thought causes me to physically ache. May the Lord use her to reach the nations.

Enjoyed fishing when I went to Tennesee. This the first fish I caught on this very cold day.

This is my good friend, Larry Porter. He is the best bass fisherman I know.

Reverend Kenny Bailey is one of my dearest friends and my most loyal fishing buddy. This fish weighed about 5 lbs. The biggest fish I have seen him catch.

I preached Kenny's ordination service. It was very moving. Kenny is one of the finest men of God I know.

 
This is Josh with Jack Fleck. Jack won the 1955 U.S. Open by beating Ben Hogan in a playoff. I spoke with him about his relationship with the Lord. I happy to say that Jack loves the Lord and gives him glory for his success on tour. Meeting him was a real treat.

Last weekend was like a whirlwind. Edie and I had a wonderful time in Branson. Actually, we drove to Springfield and went to the biggest Bass Pro in the World. (Score) We didn't have nearly enough time there, but it was awesome for the couple of hours I wondered around. Edie enjoyed shopping and I bought her a Coach Purse for our anniversary. Honestly, I don't get those purses, but it sure made Edie happy. Therefore it was worth it.

I departed for Tennessee early Saturday morning (6 am). I had great flights. I sat by a young man name Andrew from Dallas to Knoxville. I began inquiring about his relationship with Christ and turned out he loves Jesus. We enjoyed sweet fellowship together.

After landing in Knoxville, Kenny and I met Larry Porter at the lake and spent the rest of the day fishing. We had a great day other than I almost froze to death. We caught fish pretty consistently all day long. All of us caught big fish. As difficult as it is for me to admit, Kenny caught the biggest fish (5 lbs) It is important to note however, that he didn't catch the most.

Sunday was awesome. The morning service at East Rogersville was very moving for me. I met the new pastor. His name is Steve Owenby and he is the real deal. God is already using him greatly. The choir sang my favorite song (Who can Satisfy) and did a wonderful job. It messed me up right before standing to preach. Sunday morning I preached on God's amazing Grace from 2 Samuel 9.

Sunday night was the real reason I went to Tennessee. Kenny Bailey was ordained to gospel ministry. What a service. Kenny had a spell from the first note to the last amen. I am proud of Kenny and his willingness to follow the Lord's leadership.

My travels were interesting on Monday. Storms were everywhere. My flight was Knoxville was quite late. However, God had a purpose. I was standing alone by the window and noticed a lady coming toward me with two young sons. As she approached, she fell to her knees in tears. The aunt that raised her had just died. God put me there to minister and pray with her.

My flight from Dallas to Fort Smith was cancelled so I got to spend about 9 hours in the airport. Boy, that was a blast. At one point, I got on the little train and just rode it around. Again, the Lord worked and I was able to meet many people and had the opportunity to share Christ several times. In fact, one lady assured me that she and her husband would come to our church. We'll see.

I will add some pictures of my trips soon.