I enjoy the cold weather. Today isn’t all that cold but it’s better than it has been. I look forward to winter every year and while the fall and spring are nice, I’d like just a bit more winter than what we get around here.
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Two weeks from today I’ll be leaving for Brazil. I’m excited but not completely ready either. It’s a busy time of the year and a hard time to be gone. I’m looking forward to my time there though and ask for your prayers that it will be profitable time spent building up the kingdom and that we will have safe travels.

I come home Thanksgiving morning and know that I have, and will have, much to be thankful for.

We’ve been watching Dancing With The Stars and are cheering for Emmitt Smith to win the prized trophy. While some of the dances and costumes are a bit provocative, I get caught up in the effort and time these people are putting into this contest. It’s obviously no easy feat to perform one of these dance routines yet several of the contestants do so well week after week while still carrying on a somewhat norml routine for their lives.

I’m often impressed by people who display great dedication to something they are passionate about. Professional athletes are the easy example of people who have to spend time and effort perfecting themselves and their trade. One example works with some of the youngsters on our baseball team each week. He is up at 5:00 for his first workout of the day and has a second one mid-afternoon. He lifts weights, runs, does yoga and is careful about what he eats. It’s a 7 day-a-week process for him.

I hope, as a Christian, I can have the same focus and dedication.

Happy Halloween to all of you witches and goblins out there. Watching the news last night, they were interviewing a lady who was upset that her child was part of a Halloween program and felt it offended her religious beliefs. I’m not here to debate whether she is right or wrong but it got me to thinking about Halloween and my memories of it over the years.

1. Dad dressed up in football pads and helmet with a mask on sitting on our front porch scaring people.
2. Halloween at the Lott’s. The Lott’s had a farm outside of town. Some of our dear parents dressed up as witches and boiled body parts or babies. I never got too close to figure it out. Dad was in his costume hiding in the creek bottom chasing us just when we thought it was over. Another parent appearing to be hanging from a tree limb. The preachers wife falling into an open grave. Someone coming down a zip line at an old cemetary and one of our kids getting so scared he ran off down the road with parents chasing after him. Cooking hot dogs and roasting marshmallows around the fire when it was over.
3. Dressing up in costumes when I was little and trick-or-treating with Suzanne Kirby. I don’t remember the costumes but I’m sure they were cool.
4. Wondering how sick my kids would get trying to eat all the candy they collected and hearing “let me unwrap it first to make sure it’s OK” ringing in my head.

Halloween was always scary fun. It still is in many ways. Tonight we will stay home most of the night and give out candy to the little ghouls, warlocks, pirates and angels that come by. Maybe we’ll hide in the bushes and scare a few of them too. 🙂

We had a great class last night at church discussing the desire for “things”, for material goods and the danger that it leads to – pulling us away from our relationship with God. Keeping up with the Jones’ (easy enough for me) seems so prevalent in our society. After spending time in a foreign country, I could see how we looked in their eyes. It’s saddening in many ways and I hope I can stay focused on God and want less and less in the days to come.
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Along those lines, this was in a church bulletin I receive. I thought it was great.

Cell Phones vs The Bible
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around on our belts or in our purses?
What if we turned back if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t afford to live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as a gift?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?

I like the analogy. I am one of the few who thinks the world was a better place before cell phones and leave mine somewhere else as often as I can. Yet, the analogy it makes with the Bible is a good one in the sense that the Bible should be a focus point for living our lives.

We’ve recently added an employee benefit that will help people get help they need through Wise County Christian Counseling. I am aware of several couples and families going through difficult times in the last few years and I hope this will be an opportunity for them to get help.
An employee approached me yesterday and asked if relatives would qualify. She told me about her sister-in-law who is in remission from cancer but depressed and battling bulimia. She has a young son who wants attention from him mom but can’t get it because of the mental struggle she is in. The son is suffering also and is now acting out in different ways for attention. Our employee’s concern is that the sister-in-law won’t get help, that she will feel like those trying to encourage her are intruding, meddling.
There are so many people we are around each day that need help and we don’t even know it. I’m praying this morning that those people will seek and find the help they need. I know people are hurting and feel all alone. I hope they can find the hand of God and will follow Him, that they will find love and support among us to help them through the struggles and that they will know a loving and saving Christ who has given us all we will ever need. I hope that even in times of distress, they will find peace in the shadow of the cross. This is my prayer.

The Cowboy game had it’s bright spots last night but not many.
1. We sat four rows up from where Chris Berman, Steve Young, Michael Irvin and Tom Jackson were doing the pre-game and halftime shows on ESPN. Stuart Scott and Chris Mortenson were also there for Sports Center. ESPN was a great idea.
2. The QB switch at halftime had the crowd buzzing. It didn’t turn out so well but it’s all Cowboy fans can expect I suppose.
3. Red parking isn’t all bad. It’s just all the turns you have to make to finally get on the highway you want to be on.
4. The announcer noted that “football is a team sport” and “in that spirit, the Cowboys take the field as a team.” They did and all the hoopla was cool. Loud music, flames, fireworks. I was ready to go play until I saw Michael Strahan hit Drew Bledsoe. OUCH.
5. Once the team was on the field, all the cheers were for TO and Romo.
6. It’s amazing how many people will sit in the stands and cuss at players and coaches mistakes. I can’t imagine spending $80 or so a seat to let your anger out at people you don’t know. (I should have had a local counselor’s cards with me to hand out.)
7. Michael Irvin still gets the love. People were continually yelling his name hoping he would look up and wave at them. (Sidenote: People can be incredibly forgiving of athletes but harsh to people close to them. As Christians, we should be the very example of that. Sadly, it isn’t always the case.)
8. There were a lot of people drinking beer but surprisingly not as many as I would have expected.
9. The guy in front of me brought radio headphones and a little TV. Why come to the game?
10. We stood for almost the whole game. It was loud. I remember when people on TV talked about Texas Stadium as being quiet. It’s loud now.
11. Hank Williams Jr. was there to start things off in a really cool looking Ford truck.
12. Rayfield Wright and Troy Aikman were there to receive their Hall of Fame rings. Things have gone downhill since their playing days.
13. It’s just a little humorous to hear thunderous cheers for the backup QB coming in and then, on his first play, he throws an interception. He did good but made a number of mistakes along the way.
14. Two kids in front of us painted their upper bodies blue. One had a T, the other an O on their chest. I think they had dreams of TV that didn’t pan out for them. They were peeling it off by mid 4th quarter.
15. I wondered how many people stayed in the parking lot during the game at their own little party area.

It’s a sports fan heaven right now. The World Series, football and the start of basketball and hockey. I’m pulling for the Cardinals but won’t mind seeing the Tigers win (with stuff on their hands or not). I’m pulling for my fantasy football players instead of teams. The Chargers defensive problems are really bumming me out. I haven’t figured out hockey so I don’t watch it but enjoy the games live. Pro basketball doesn’t do much for me so I don’t watch until the playoffs come along. Lest I forget, the Chase for the Cup is winding down and the Byron Nelson and Colonial are only half a year away.

It’s been a good weekend for me. I’ve been able to spend time with Randy who is a missionary we support in Brazil. We have been able to pray and talk about the future. I was able to be with him in Lewisville last night as he spoke to the church there and saw the encouragement they give him.

Randy is a humble man when it comes to his needs yet a bold man when it comes to sharing the Good News. He is a servant and often overlooks his own well-being for the sake of others. As we discussed his budget needs for the coming years, he was ever hesitant to talk about his own salary, what he might need and want. I am hoping through our church and his other supporters, we can raise his salary 50% next year. To many of us, that seems like a big jump but that isn’t the case with Randy’ situation. After currency conversions, he actually receives less money in Brazil than he did when he started there 4 years ago. I hope to get him in a situation where a 50% raise equates to about a 10% increase in Brazilian funds over his 2002 salary.

If you know of a church that might add Randy to their missions support, please let me know. Also, I ask for your prayers that the Decatur church and his other supporters can rise up and meet the needs of an expanding Brazilian work that is gaining souls to the Kingdom. 77 baptisms in 3 years, 500+ people coming through the School of The Bible – the field is ripe for us to play our part in reaching the lost around the world.

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I’m headed to the Cowboy game tonight. I’ll be the one with my shirt off and these words painted on my chest, “TO, Rick’s pulling for you!”

There’s a group of us from church who play fantasy football each year. Typically, I have always finished high enough that I won back the money I paid to play. Things aren’t looking so good for me this year and I will be 3-4 after the weekend. Adding insult to injury, I lost this weekend to a previously winless team. Hopefully, tonight the Cowboys will win and our parking spot will be close and I can forget about the slackers on my fantasy team who let me down.

I’m so glad we are getting cold weather finally. Those who know me know I am not a hot-weather guy. I like it under 80 degrees and enjoy these bursts of cold weather. I started thinking about chili today on the way to work and am wishing I had a big bowl right now. What do you like to eat when it gets cold? (Sonic coneys don’t count since they are more for medicinal purposes.)

Last night at church was good for me. Our missionary from Brazil spoke and showed pictures from our trip there. I was reminded of some of the wonderful people I met and came to love. We saw one picture, a family of 10, and I noticed most of them were not wearing shoes. I saw a picture of Idasio and remembered he was always smiling, always laughing or you would find him playing his recorder or guitar and singing to us. So many great memories, so many wonderful blessings that we all experienced. I thank God for the way that trip has drawn me closer to Him.

Have a great (colder) day!

I’ve got to be at the airport at 6am in the morning and am looking for someone to take my place. Our missionary in Brazil is coming in for a few days and as much as I look forward to spending time with him, that’s awful early. I prefer to only have one 6:00 in my day and that would be close to supper.

As much as I dread the early rise, it will be a good day. He will speak to our church Wednesday night regarding the mission trip that 30 of us took to Aracaju and what that trip meant to their church. He will be making a presentation at the Lewisville church Sunday night in their effort to raise $50,000 in a special missions contribution.

There are not many people I hold in truly high regard. I know everyone has their faults (I only have to look in the mirror to know that so well) but he is someone who exudes Christ-likeness to me. He wants nothing but to share the Gospel. For someone living in Brazil, he makes a good salary and would be considered upper middle class at the least. Yet he lives in a very modest home, drives a very modest car, eats as native Brazilians eat and gives so much of what he has. He is extremely humble, extremely compassionate and loving. He cares about people, more importantly he cares about their souls. I am glad to know him and thankful to God that I have crossed paths with him, shared successes with him as well as fears. He encourages me to walk in Christ’s path and challenges me to know God better.

I will look forward to seeing him…even early in the morning.

We went to Abilene for the ACU Homecoming this past weekend. The campus has changed so much since I was a student in the late-80’s. Seeing the changes almost makes me wish I was a student now. I think back to my days and wonder what I didn’t appreciate having that people who had attended in the years before me would have thought was so wonderful. We drove by some of the places we lived, saw some old friends and watched ACU win a football game (another thing that didn’t happen much when I was in school).

On Friday, we had stopped in Eastland to watch Boyd play football. It was a funny little stadium and Boyd won easily. I spent much of the night watching my son avoid getting in another collision. He was quick to be on the move if a play started coming his way. I don’t think he wants another memory like that.

My next trip to Brazil is rapidly approaching. I’m looking forward to being back in Aracaju to help and learn with my brothers and sisters and work on planning for the coming years with our missionary and the team there. The things I experienced and learned on my previous trip still resonate loudly within me and I still remain thankful that I have had this opportunity. Please pray that this coming trip will be safe and profitable in expanding the Kingdom.