I gotta tell ya what happened around here last week!  Picture this… on Wednesday, I got to sit on the floor outside the 4th grade VBS room after four kids asked to stay behind to talk to their teacher.  They had questions and DaVonna Landrum had answers.  I then listened as she led them in a “sinners prayer” and I heard the sweet words of hope and courage as they prayed.  Earlier in the day we had two 5th Graders do the same thing in Joan Dotson’s class.  I asked myself what brought this about; especially since we hadn’t planned on bringing an invitation until Thursday.

     I could tell you it happened because the Holy Spirit was present and brought about conviction in their hearts; and I’d be correct.  I could tell you it was because we had over 100 volunteer teachers and youth making everything perfect; and I’d be correct.  I could tell you it’s because Beth Clark and Susan Kemp began months ago planning a perfect VBS; and I’d be correct.  You know what else would be correct?  It would be that we have a church family and a community of faith that loves Jesus and has a genuine desire to share his saving grace to a lost world and children in our community.  Truly exemplifying Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

     If you want to see proof about our church family caring about kids just look around.  Early on Sunday mornings, under the direction of Ann and Brett Walker our vans with volunteer drivers roll out of the garage to pick-up kids.  They arrive to class with teachers who have been praying for them all week long and who have a lesson plan ready.  We have adults all over the place who’ve agreed to sit with them in Worship.  Then, we watch them as they’re released to Kings Kids (our Children’s Church) where Gayla and Larry Hicks with a host of weekly volunteers are ready to reach them with the love of Jesus. 

     VBS would have not been possible without our average of 102 volunteers to greet the 170 plus children each day.  Aunt Lulu (Margo Tims) and Angel Patterson were awesome in Worship Rally and boy did our volunteers make positive things happen.  Betty Horn did double duty! She worked older crafts everyday and also prepared our open house meal with Bro Don and a host of helpers.  Time doesn’t permit me to list and thank everyone; I know one thing for sure… God knows each and everyone of them.

     I’m saving the best for last.  I gotta tell ya the most important thing about last week.  We had over 16 children make a profession of faith in Christ or a decision to follow Him in Baptism.  Please pray about the task before us as we follow-up, disciple them, and help them on their new journey of faith to become “Lifelong Learners of Jesus Christ.”  If your interested in helping us with this investment, please contact me. 

A Life Lesson from Oozing White Stuff in a Freezer in the Church Kitchen

Checking up on some popsicles in the freezer in the kitchen, Bonnie Ritchie and Tina Pollock experienced quite a surprise.  They opened the freezer door only to be greeted by a massive blob of white substance slowly oozing out of a box of once frozen bread dough.  After quickly shutting the door, they told Bro. Matt who in turn encouraged everyone to get in on the oozing bread dough by saying, “You gotta see what’s going on in the kitchen!”

            We eventually discovered that the freezer’s breaker had flipped during the storm, thus ruining all the food inside the freezer.  Sixty-degrees in the freezer transformed the frozen bread into an oozing, growing white blob of mushy, malleable muck.  We figured pulling this bread out of the freezer grill would be a meaningful ministry experience for our summer ministry intern, Josh Smith.  Cleaning oozing bread dough for the Kingdom….sounds meaningful enough, right?

            The Bible says a lot about bread.  When the children of Israel were taking their 40-year hike through wilderness they came to the Desert of Sin (Exodus 16).  They hadn’t made it past the first rest stop, when someone piped up— 

“Hey, Moses, I’m staaarrving!  When are we going to eat?”

“Is that your stomach? Or, is your camel growling?”
”I’m so hungry….ugh! I’m going to die if I don’t get a pot of chili?”

“Moses, did you bring us out here to starve or what? We need some snacks!”

Food is one of the best topics for complaining, but when your hungry, really hungry, even a saltine cracker or a carrot stick can be delicious.  God listened to the people and sent quail every evening and every morning, He sent a thin, wafer bread-like substance called manna.   God sent just enough manna for that day.  They were to gather just what they needed for that day, not make a run to the Supercenter and try to stock up the freezer or fill the ice chest for the road trip.  They were supposed to gather just enough manna for their family for that day.  Some tried to fill a few grocery bags and sock it away for a snack, but God’s expiration date was at the end of that day.  If they tried to store it up, it just turned to nasty maggots and began to smell.  How could something so sweet turn into something so disgusting?

The first few days went well.  Roasting quail over the fire in the evenings, dipping quail hot wings in a little Head Country or honey mustard.  (I may have misinterpreted that just a little bit.)  In the mornings, all the sweet little families would gather their manna to make bamanna bread, manna waffles, manna French toast, manna crackers, manna this, manna that, manna all the time, manna every day, manna, manna….manna!  manna!  Enough with the mannnnnnnaa! 

That’s exactly what happened.  The people got fed up with God’s provision.  God met their need in response to their grumbling, but He was trying to teach them something—be grateful to God, and depend on Him not for tomorrow, or yesterday, but for today.  Today is all you’ve got.  And all you’ve got today is what God has given you for today. That which He has given you is just what you need, so enjoy it and be grateful.            

          I still can’t get my mind off of last weeks Children’s Camp.  We had 81 in our cabin and 15 of our kids made a decision for Christ.  How exciting to see God move in such a mighty way.  Making a difference was Colton and Abigail.  When I told them how great it was that they invited friends to hear about Christ and to accept him into their hearts, I was reminded of the sacrifice of our Church Family who sponsored bunks and gave of themselves so that Children could have a perfect place to hear about God and his redeeming plan! 

     You can be extremely proud of your sponsors; they made a difference this summer by praying, sharing personal experiences, and loving on everyone of the kids.  Our sponsors were George and Gina Cheves, Rhonda Coates, Hannah Dye, Steve Kean, Gary Pitson, Kim Parks, Paul and Josh Smith, and Margo Timms.    Can you believe our student sponsors Lauren Forgety, Janna Smith, and Emily Yates spent their first week of summer at a Children’s Camp?  I also have to give props to our student band consisting of Brittany Chambless, Dalton Coates, and Jordan Pollock.  They “rocked” and the kids loved ’em.  Under the direction of Bonnie Ritchie and her kitchen crew of Tina Pollock, Ashley and Rachel Cheves and Amelia Coates we ate like there was no tomorrow.

     Summertime is a great time for kids.  You might even say it’s made just for them.  Curfew is extended, more sleepovers and they go for days without shoes and maybe even a bath.  For many of us; summertime is a perfect time to rest and relax; after Vacation Bible School of course.  Speaking of VBS, it begins next Monday, June 9th thru 13th from 9am until noon.  All Children who have completed Kindergarten thru 6th grade are invited.  This year our kids will know, speak, and live God’s truth-aloha style.  “Teach me you way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth….” (Psalms 86:11)

     We need nearly 100 volunteers to make VBS happen.   Please contact Susan Kemp or Beth Clark if you have a few hours to spare in reaching kids for Christ.  I’m also looking for a few good men who can make a difference next Friday from 1-3 pm cleaning-up so our teachers won’t have to.  If your available please contact me at the office.  More people come to know Jesus Christ as Savior at VBS then any other single church event and 25 percent of Oklahoma baptisms are the result.  Come make a difference in the life of a child! 

     VBS, Youth Falls Creek, Mission Trips, Student Events,  whew!  We’ve got lots of activities, lots of events; and lots of opportunities for you to Make a Difference in the Good Old Summertime!

All the other graves were lined up in a row, but this one grave was crosswise or, as we used to say, ‘cattywampus.’  At that angle, it actually took up three burial plots.  I pondered that.  What a careless thing to do.  Why would they do that?
 Suddenly I became aware of another man walking around in the cemetery, perhaps for the same reason as I was.  I said to him, “Are you from around here?”
 “Yeah,” he said. “You’re looking at that grave, aren’t you?”
 “Yes.”
 “I knew that fellow.”  The grave marker recorded that the man had died in 1994 in his seventies.  “We were in the same church.  I knew him well.  Knew him all my life.”
 I said, “Why this burial at an angle?”
 “Well, the family wanted that, and the church agreed.”
 “But why?” I asked.
 “Because that’s the kind of guy he was.”
 I said, “What do you mean, ‘That’s the kind of guy he was’?”
 “He was crossways with everybody and everything.  We never knew him to be pleased about anything at home or at church.  ‘Well, why’s she doing that?’ he’d say, or ‘Why’d they ask him to do that?’ or ‘Well, he’s the wrong one to be doing this,’ or ‘Well, I wonder who decided to do that?’ He said that kind of stuff all the time, all the time, and the family decided they wouldn’t try to change him just because he was dead.  So they buried him crosswise.”
 “That was an awful thing to do,” I said.
 “They wanted it to be a witness.  The family said if God wants to straighten him out then God can straighten him out.  But he left here just like he lived.”

That’s what’ll happen to you and me.  We’re going to leave here just like we lived—Glad or grumpy.  Some people are just grumpy, and it’s sad and unfortunate that a lot of these unhappy people frequent one of the gladdest places on the planet—the place where Jesus-followers congregate.  Still, some people are just never glad about anything.  They live life cattywampus; they’ll be remembered as a cattywampus Christian—always crossways with everybody and everything.   Sad deal.

Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”  (Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV).  Next time you want to complain, gripe, or grumble about something or someone “you don’t like” in your family or in your church, may the Heavenly Father whop you on the head and remind you that the ONLY one in the universe who has any right to grumble about anything or anyone restrained His privilege to do so and instead lovingly and mercifully laid down His life to save all those living life…cattywampus.

We were at Betty’s house (Deriek’s mom) and had just finished dinner.  Ava needed a diaper change.  She and I headed to the car to get her a diaper, and I noticed that she had something in her mouth.  I looked to see what it was and decided that it was a peppermint, the “chalky” kind.  As usual, just the time it began to dissolve in her mouth, she decided that it was “yucky!” So she wanted to spit it out.  I, on the other hand, wanted her to keep it in her mouth because it was making a mess.  She spit some of it onto my fingers, and I flicked the substance onto the grass. 
Something….(God)…. made me taste to make sure it was a peppermint.  It was bitter; it was not a peppermint. It tasted more like medication.  I went inside and told Betty what was going on, and we quickly discovered it was her blood pressure medicine.  A pill was missing!   Immediately, I called Poison Control.  The operator told me that a child her size would be prescribed a 2 - 4 mg dosage and the capsule that she had consumed was 50 mg. She said this dosage could potentially cause her blood pressure and heart rate to drop to a dangerous level.  She said that we needed to get her to the ER as quickly, but as safely, as possible. 
We immediately left for the hospital with our hazard lights flashing and driving the “safe” speed of 110 mph.  We passed an OHP!  Not a good thing.  He chased us down!  So now, we were in a dilemma–do we stop and let our child die, or pull over and get thrown in jail?  We made the obvious choice and kept driving!  I called 911 and told them what was going on.  The dispatcher informed me that we HAVE to stop, so we pulled over.  I jumped out and told the officer what was going on and that we had to go!  Fortunately, he let us.  I think he could see my panic (or he might have thought I looked pretty tough and I could bestow harm to his body!) 
We got to the hospital and the waiting room was packed.  Poison control had already called, and they were prepared for us.  The staff immediately started evaluating her.   Long story short, they gave her a charcoal drink to absorb the medicine and monitored her for 6 hours.  She never had any side effects from the medicine, and is perfectly fine today.  And that makes this Momma wanna do a Hallelujah dance!
  What I thought would be a mother’s day of R&R turned into a day of appreciation for the blessings God has given me.  I sat in the ER staring at my baby girl.  My child.  My little Friend.  I sat and thought about her and the boys (Carter and Cooper), and how much I loved them.  How much I enjoy being their mother.  How much I take for granted the health and happiness that my family enjoys everyday.  How blessed I am to have children and get to argue with them on a daily basis.  How blessed I am to clean up all the toys they scatter throughout the house, and the countless messes they make.  How blessed I am to wash their clothes and cook them dinner–even when they don’t want to eat it!  How blessed I am to hear their little voices call me mommy…even though I hear it a gazillion times a day! How blessed I am to hug and kiss them everyday and tell them I love them.  How blessed I am….that on Mother’s Day 2008…in an ER in Ada, OK….I had God on my side and felt HIS hand of blessings on my life.

What Seniors Need to Take to College

Seniors, what are you going to take to college?  You’ll need bedding and a pillow.  For two and a half years at OBU, I slept on an old sleeping bag in my dorm room.  Then when I married Beth, I had to start making my bed!  Probably, you’ll need a computer these days.  Of course, if you buy it this month, by the time school starts in August or September, it will be out of date.  There are a lot of other things you will take to college to make your dorm room your own. 
The college campus is like a wilderness.  After leaving Egypt, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years on their way to the Promiseland.  If you look at a map, it should have just taken them two or three weeks, but it took 40 years!  Hopefully, it will not take any of you 40 years to graduate from college.  You are going to take a lot of things with you into the wilderness of college.  Here are five things that I want to encourage you to take with you to college if you are going to successfully maneuver the wilderness of college life.

Take your Faith.
“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow His commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”  (Deuteronomy 28:1 NIV)

Take the Indwelling.
You are going to experiences much success and failure in life, and you need the power of the Holy Spirit to teach you, direct you, comfort you, and lead you in the decisions you make and the actions you take.  You will be making some of the most important decisions in life.  Whom will I marry?  What kind of work do I want to do?  Most importantly, what kind of person am I becoming?

Take your Relationships.
Moses had Aaron.  David had Jonathan.  Shadrach had Meshach and Abed-Nego.  Elijah had Elisha.  Paul had Silas, Barnabas, and Timothy.  You need Christ-centered relationships while wandering through the wilderness of college life.  These relationships will stabilize you when the storms of college break upon you.  These relationships will empower you when you are feeling weak.  These relationships will help you grow mature in Christ. 

Take your Sword.
You are going to read a lot of books while in college.  Or, at least you will be assigned a lot of books to read.  I want to encourage you to develop the good study habit of reading.  Learn to read well, and read good books.  There is one book that you need to make sure you read every day, and you know what book I am talking about—the Bible.  Remember the song you learned in Vacation Bible School.
 “The B.I.B.L.E.  That’s the book for me. 
I stand alone on the Word of God, the B.I.B.L.E.”

Take your Testimony.
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”  (I Peter 2:12 NIV)

Chiseling mucus crust from the nasal cavity of a three-year-old! Eek!  Washing smelly sheets because you wet the bed! Yuk!  Cleaning up diapers full of poo!  Nasty!  A few months ago, I watched Mike Rowe “discover” the process of transforming cow manure into flower pots.  Rowe called that a Dirty Job?!  That’s nothing compared to what Mothers do every day for no cash.  I wouldn’t do it.  Mothers “discover” poo in all kinds of ways and in all kinds of places, and it’s not poo from a bovine either! 
My mom, Jo Ann, had a really dirty job taking care of my brother Larry, my sister Vanessa, and me when we were little yard monkeys.  I figured, calculated, and number-crunched, and determined my Mom changed approximately 52,560 diapers between her three children.  That’s ridiculous!  Who in their right mind would do something like that?  It has to affect a person’s psychology.  I told you, only a Mother has the fortitude to do the dirty jobs to put us on the right path.  How would you like to be responsible for training toddlers how to control and manage their bodily functions so they don’t embarrass themselves in Kindergarten class? 
I don’t know how my mom endured the incessant whining of three little kids as a single mom, but she did.  I stand inspired and amazed.  In the middle of a world-class argument or fight over something really significant—like who gets to sit in the front seat, or who gets to wear the new pair of underwear—my mom would pronounce this blessing (or curse) on us—“I pray to God Almighty that He will bless you with two little boys who are just like you.”  I always thought, “Cool, Mom’s praying for my kids,” but I think she was calling down God’s big stick on us.  I love my mom because she did the dirty job of motherhood and I never heard her complain about it.  That’s what good moms do.   I mean I don’t know how she survived my little brother and sister—they were a real handful! Before she married my awesome step-dad Kenny, mom sacrificed time, money, sweat, and tears to make a life for three little rug rats, and I enjoy the beautiful life God’s given me today because of the dirty work my mom did for me. 
Instead of going to college, Mom chose the noble occupation of being a stay-at-home mother.  I know how to treat the hurting with compassion because of my mom.  I know how to endure difficult times because of my mom.  I know how to listen to people’s hearts because of my Mom.  I know how to cook pancakes because of my Mom.  I know how to wash and dry dishes because of my mom.  Most importantly, I know Jesus because of my Mom.  When God’s hand was on me as a little boy, I know that it was Mom’s prayers, encouragement, and influence that paved the way to Jesus.  There was a time in my life I got angry with Mom.  I had had enough.  She didn’t understand me.  She didn’t care.  She was always telling me what to do all the time, so I packed my bags and ran away—I was six-years old.  I was going to get as far away from her as possible.  I made it to the stop sign about a block away.  I’m sure she chuckled when my whole countenance changed when she asked if I wanted to get a pop at the Sonic.  What I really needed was a pop on the backside, but Mom handled me with gentleness and kindness.   Even when I ran away, I was still in Mom’s reach.  I suspect it’s the same way with our Heavenly Father.