Bits and pieces

Here are some bits and pieces of what's happening now:

- Time of prayer tomorrow night
Remember that tomorrow from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. we will be meeting at my house (103 Thistledown Way, Taylors) for a time of prayer for Freedom. This is a great way for us to be sure we are in line with what God has for our church in the future. I'll post a list of the things we will pray about on here tomorrow for those of you who can't make it.

- Get ready for Super Bowl parties
On January 21st we'll have information about where you can gather with friends to watch the first half of the Super Bowl. This will be a great chance for you to invite some of your unchurched friends to hang out. My prediction for the teams that will be playing in the game: Eagles and Steelers in an all Pennsylvania showdown. Of course, last week at this time I was certain the Panthers would win it all.

- American Idol starts tonight......but I won't be watching.
I never watch until the tryouts are finished. Call me crazy but I don't enjoy seeing people with no singing ability, who have been told by the producers of the show that they can sing, get embarrassed on a national stage. There's a lot of things that are embarrassing that I find hilarious, but the crushing of people's dreams ain't one of them.

I want to formally apologize to Mrs. Harne my 12th grade English teacher for the use of the word ain't in the previous sentence.

Have a great day!

Grandbob's doing well

Thanks so much for praying for my Dad and Mom yesterday. The procedure went well and took less time than expected. Sherry and I were able to stay until about 4:00 yesterday afternoon, and we had plenty of time to visit with my Dad while he was recovering in CCU. Other than being uncomfortable and aggravated that he had to lay flat on his back for about seven hours he was doing great when we left.

I just got off the phone with my Mom about an hour ago, and they are at home now. The doctor released him as long as he would promise to be a couch potato for the next three days. My Dad assured him that would not be a problem!

Thanks again for praying, and please continue to pray that his heart will stay in rhythm, and that there won't be any future complications.

Before I log off here's a prediction for tonight's game: Oklahoma's offense won't be able to stop Tebow. He seems to play best when it matters most, and I don't expect anything different tonight. Of course it could be a Sooner blowout, what do I know?

Checking in

Sherry reminded me yesterday that it had been some time since I wrote anything on the ol' blog here. I won't make any excuse other than taking some time off for Christmas, and New Year's. Here's some stuff going on now that you might want to know about (or not).

- I'm really excited about the new series of messages we began this past Sunday. I was telling Donny and Blake today that it has been great planning these messages on Nehemiah, because the story of how God shaped His vision into Nehemiah's life is so clear in the scripture. All I have to do is tell the story and get out of the way. That's really the way preaching should be all the time isn't it?

- Pray for my Dad tomorrow. Sherry and I are heading to Columbia tomorrow to be with my parents while my Dad has a heart procedure. It isn't open heart surgery, but it's a pretty involved process to try and keep his heart from going in and out of rhythm. The procedure starts at 8:00, and can take anywhere from 4-6 hours to complete. I would appreciate your prayers for him and my Mom.

- Christmas was fun and busy and now that it's over I'm ready for Spring. The warm weather we had yesterday really made me have Spring fever. If it weren't for the NFL playoffs I would prefer to skip January and February altogether.

Keep checking in for new posts here. I will try and put a report about my Dad on here tomorrow night, and then I will get back in the regular habit of writing three to four times a week. Besides, American Idol will be starting soon, you know I'll have plenty to say about that.

What gets you in the Christmas spirit?

There are certain things that just fell like Christmastime to me. One is going to look at Christmas lights. Last night me, Sherry and the girls loaded up and rode through Greer checking out the light displays. The main thing we are looking for on those trips is excess. When it comes to Christmas lights you can never have too much as far as I'm concerned. The closer the house comes to looking like Clark Griswold decorated it the better. Last night we found a great display in Greer right off of Hwy 101 near Victor Baptist Church. If you live in town here you should check it out.

Another thing that feels like Christmas to me is eating lunch at the Beacon Drive-In. I know that's not a normal Christmas tradition but, I've been eating lunch the week of Christmas at the Beacon for about 14 years now. I just got back about an hour ago from eating a plenty plate, and now I'm remembering why I only eat there once a year. It's a great way to get my digestive tract greased up and ready for all the food I'll eat this Wednesday night and Thursday at lunch.

Those are two of my traditions that get me feeling all Christmasy. What are yours? Leave a comment, and let me know.

By the way for all of you out there who were complaining that the warm weather we had last week didn't feel enough like Christmas, I hope you're happy today. The single digit wind chill would have Santa himself running for cover.

Merry Christmas Gran & Grandbob!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A reminder of what matters

I was cleaning out my e-mail inbox today when I ran across this article someone sent me. It is written by Matt Chandler, a great bible teacher and pastor from Dallas, TX. This was something I needed today, maybe you need it as well.

Merry Christmas from an 80's guitar legend

If you grew up watching MTV in the 80's like I did, you might remember this bit of Christmas fun. Hope you enjoy it!