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We Never Know ...

From time to time, I've mentioned to you the value of a legacy of faith. Eugene Petersen uses a phrase originally written by Friedrich Nietzche to describe perseverance in discipleship. He calls it, "a long obedience in the same direction." I've written about my family on this blog quite a bit. I'm more than a little proud of who they are and what they've accomplished. This week, my paternal grandfather "Papa" will celebrate his 39th year as the pastor of the Rio Hondo Baptist Church. He has faithfully stood in that pulpit and preached the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ week after week, "going, growing, and glowing" for Jesus. Unfortunately, when something becomes very familiar to us, there is a tendancy to take it for granted. Sometimes we forget that lives are being touched and even changed for all eternity because someone cares enough to stay and keep doing the same thing, the right thing, week after week.

Papa has a "cyber-ministry." He maintains a truly gigantic e-mail distribution list and faithfully sends out prayer requests and e-mails to a congregation that stretches around the world thanks to the Internet. Last week, he started sending out pictures of the Rio Hondo Baptist Church auditorium, the way it looked 30 years ago, and the way it looks today. I confess, I wasn't necessarily appreciative of having an inbox filled with emails of old pictures, and I even joked with my roommates that maybe someone should take Papa's scanner away. Well, I learned my lesson this morning. I want to share with you an e-mail that he received in response to those old pictures. ...

Bro. Gene,

Thank you so much for sending pics of the church and the aerial views of Rio Hondo. They bring back memories of the place where I was saved as a 9 year old girl in 1980. (I still have the picture of me being baptized.) Now 36 and with a family of my own, I share these with my boys. I can show them the exact seat I was sitting in the day I got saved. It gives me the opportunity to share my salvation experience with them and reenforces that God can save and change the life of a child. I got to lead my now 11 year old to the Lord a few years ago, and my husband lead our now 8 year old to the Lord last year. It all started as a result of your preaching. Again thanks for the pics and continue to be faithful in preaching the Word. I am sending you a pic - I am the girl on the top row in a yellow dress. My brother Robert is next to me.

Melissa C
Missouri

Only In Texas ...

Does anyone else find it amusing that DFW has highways named after LBJ ... George Bush ... Ronald Reagan ... and ... Tom Landry! It just seems like one of these things is not like the other. :-) I mean, I really liked and respected Tom Landry, but I do find it amusing that we'd have highways named for three presidents and a football coach!

Off to a Great Start!

When you go into the garage to leave for work (extra early because you have an appointment on the other side of town), and you notice a pumpkin has rolled away from the trash cans and ended up behind your roommate's back tire, it's always a great idea to kick it with your foot in the direction of the nearest pile of stuff, away from the tire. Just be extra careful to be sure that it bumps into the garage door motion sensor as it rolls, and that the little red light atop the sensor goes out, so that the garage door refuses to go down unless someone is physically holding the button down inside the garage. That way, neither you nor your roommate can use the garage door remotes to lower the door, and you'll both have to back your cars out of the garage, go inside and stand by the door and hold the button down before exiting through the back door and walking out the gate to your car which is now parked on the driveway. :-) See why this is such a great way to start your day?