well, after 2+ long years of meetings and travels, the pastor search at CABC is over. (well, depending on the vote, but my part is over. if, heaven forbid, the vote is negative, they will be finding a new committee!)

after logging countless miles and hours, we merely traveled down ih-35 30 mins to salado to find God’s man, Brian Dunks. you can find out more on CABC’s Pastor Search page.

it was definitely a learning experience for us all, but we could see God’s hand all the way through. we received many good names of good preachers and good pastors, but God only pointed to one. if you had told me 2 years ago that we would take only one vote and that it would be unanimous, i would have laughed. but God, as only He can do, pulled a very diverse committee together early and encouraged us greatly. we met often, argued very little, wandered some, but stayed true to the task and God rewarded us. as always, God’s timing is perfect.

i am very happy with our choice and think that CABC is in store for many more years of serving God to the fullest. thanks to all of you who prayed us through this. unfortunately for Salado, they now begin the journey.

woohoo, i get my Sunday afternoons back! more naps!

on sunday we sat down around 8 to watch planet earth on the discovery channel. our friend griff had suggested watching it and i had heard good things elsewhere. griff’s main take on it was that it really shows how great God’s creation is and how everythng works together and works well.

it was not long before hannah’s bedtime, so she sat down to watch it with us. this segment was about the great plains on each continent and some of the animals that live there. it was really cool. there were tense moments where our first instinct was to change the channel, but they turned into teaching moments for hannah. the first was a fox who was trying to penetrate a colony of geese. for a while the geese handled him pretty well, but they left their nest vulnerable, so the fox either ran off with eggs or baby goslings. we had to explain that out of survival some animals had to kill other animals to eat them. they handled it well and hannah seemed to understand.

another situation was a night scene at a watering hole in africa. it seems that at night the elephants lose their upper hand. they showed how a pack of lions could attack an elephant, separate it from the herd, and take it down. again, it was not a violent scene, but nature at work. that elephant fed a pack of lions for a week. again, we had to teach hannah about survival of animals. i think she handled it well.

but the best part of the evening was as we were going to bed. you see, hannah sleeps with a stuffed elephant named ellie. ellie has been around since day one when aunt julie gave it to hannah. it is a rare night when we go to bed without ellie. hannah’s comment on this night was, “the lions can’t get my ellie because she is stuffed!” pretty cute! even cuter is that she constantly holds ellie by her tail so as to keep the rest of ellie’s body soft. it works in her mind.

when i was telling griff about this story, we then traveled down the road of what happened in the garden of eden. when everything was in perfect peace and harmony, did the animals eat each other? my initial thought was that God provided food for them through the garden where they didn’t have to attack others. there truly was peace. it wasn’t until the fall of man and the closing of the garden that the animal world became survival of the fittest. anybody have any other input? just a curiousity.

it’s been a few weeks since i last updated - partly b/c of a lack of time and partly b/c of a lack of things to say. two significant things have happened though on which i would like to share my thoughts.

the first is the cabc prison trip that we went on 10 days ago. last year was my first year and i had these comments: freedom in prison (march 8, 2006). b-hood has already left her thoughts on her blog: prison trip reflections (march 9, 2007).

i really enjoy these trips, especially doing the grunt work since i don’t sing. (well, technically i do sing, just from the back row. back there i’m free to do choreography and sing with emotion, or just take it all in.) a lot of work goes into planning and carrying out these trips (kudos to b-hood for doing it), and it really is a lot of trouble that the prisons go through to make it happen. BUT, the offenders really appreciate it and the ministry goes both ways as they indirectly minister to us.

i love the camaraderie that the group has while we ride busses, set up equipment, eat, etc. we rotate busses each day, so the group is never really the same. it’s really the way fellowship in the church should be.

it blows me away to think about all the offenders in the state of Texas. there are people of all color, all ages, and all sort of situations. you look at them and wonder what they could have done to be there. you talk to them and many have been in prison longer than they were free. i talked to one guy who easily was under 40 who had been in jail for 18 years. i saw old men with walkers and young men in wheelchairs. you see people filled with the Spirit and you see others who make you wonder if they are just filling their free time.

just being in the building as a visitor makes me glad to be free and reinforces the fact that i don’t want to ever be in there.

now, moving on to the most special time. the Sunday that we were on the prison trip dana received the news that her granddad in north carolina had passed away. it was expected and a blessing in a way b/c he had been going downhill for some time. it is still a loss. the situation made it so that she would travel to the funeral and i would stay home with the girls. i was actually quite excited about the challenge, though a little nervous, too. she decided the morning of her flight to take kaitlyn with her, which turned out to be a good thing for dana and even better for me. the upshot was that i got the awesome chance to spend 3 days one-on-one with hannah.

i love both my girls and try to spend as much time with them as i can. obviously working takes away much of their awake time. but three whole days with hannah was awesome for both of us. she got my undivided attention and i got her love in return. we mostly played outside since last week was so pretty. we ate at her favorite places, went to the ranch to hike, drive the tractor and throw rocks, we watched he movies, we read, and we played games. i pretty much wore her out each day and she did the same for me.

dana taking kaitlyn was a Godsend, as she was able to bond more with her and kaitlyn provided some major joy and stress relief. of course, she didn’t mind showing her off to family and friends, either!

there you have my two significant recent events. enjoy!

i’m usually a little behind on my reading, but by chance this last weekend i actually got to read my Newsweek not long after i got it in the mail. it was the Gerald Ford issue. there was one article in the periscope section that caught my attention. did you know that there is a website that is encouraging people to deny the existence of the Holy Spirit in return for a dvd.

AMAZING!

if you record yourself saying i deny the Holy Spirit” and post that on youtube with a reference to their site, they will send you a video entitled “the god who wasn’t there.”

they base it in the verse of Mark 3:29 that says blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an eternal sin. now, i don’t know about you, but i don’t think the interpretation of that verse is a “one and you’re done” type sin. now, if you take that blasphemy with you to your grave, then the fiery pits of hell are probably where you will end up. i tend to think that our God gives you plenty (more than enough) of chances to get it right. i might be wrong and am willing to be corrected.

of course, in this chapter of Mark Christ is specifically talking to the teachers of the law who recognize the work of the Holy Spirit, but attribute the power to satan. Earlier in the chapter it mentions that even the evil spirits bow down to Christ’s power, yet these great teachers refuse to recognize Him.

it just amazes me how lost our world is today and what great pain our Lord must have to see it as such.

Here’s the link to the article: Blasphemy Challenge

(you can find the other site on your own, as i don’t want to give it any more exposure than i already have!)

thanksgiving has come and gone. i have many things for which to be thankful. a wonderful wife who cares greatly for me, two beautiful daughters, great family, awesome friends, wonderful church, great job, etc. i could go on and on.

but most importantly i we have a almighty God who loves me us so much that he sent His Son to change the world forever. it is an overused cliche, but that is the reason for this season. everyone tends to love this time of year, but mostly because they enjoy the presents, candy, time off, etc. it’s easy to get caught up in the consumerism that surrounds Christmas. who doesn’t love santa claus???

we, who know the risen savior enjoy this season even more. yes, there are good things that come with families getting together and generosity being spread around, but to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ is something special. reading Luke 2 on Christmas Eve and haveing a candlelight worship. all this because a little baby was born in a tiny town called bethlehem.

i hope everyone who reads this (all two of you) and even those who don’t, have a wonderful Christmas. enjoy this time as we celebrate the coming of the King and we spread the word about His good news.

in the words of the angel to the shepherds: