Have you been alone with Jesus today? Take about ten minutes right now and find a bible. Turn to Romans 5 & 6 and silently read those chapters. Then, watch the video below and worship Him, thanking Him for grace! I wept and rejoiced as I viewed this powerful video. Let it be a blessing to you today.

I have posted videos of my nephew Jacob on here before leading worship in the youth services at his church, Boone Trail Baptist Church in Johnson City. Below is another from Sunday November 25 of Jake leading worship in the main services.

Boone Trail Sunday Morning

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Recognizing the Savior Isaiah 53:1-12

I recently returned to visit family in our hometown over the Thanksgiving holiday. One of the things that never cease to amaze me is how people change so rapidly. This was brought home to me by a chance encounter with some dear people who were instrumental in our lives as youth and a young married couple. We passed them entering a store as we were making our exit. I glanced over and noticed them, but was turning back when a flash of realization dawned. I looked back; they were looking at me. I looked away and looked back again. Could it be? They were still gazing at us, now with smiling faces. It was! How they had changed!

As we began to speak, it was evident that we had changed too! We each had a difficult time recognizing the other at the first. Hair was grayer than before (or in my case, scarce!), more wrinkles than I remembered; age was showing on us all. But there were still the tell-tale signs I remember: the same smile, the same intelligent eyes, the same hand motions. Some things were still readily recognizable.

How do people today recognize Jesus? How will they know who He is? Do our Christmas celebrations and traditions reveal Him, or hinder people's capabilities of recognizing Jesus? In the setting of the Christmas story, the Jews were looking for someone they called Messiah. But the Messiah God had promised and prophesied would be vastly different than what they expected!

Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station 89.3FM KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX. Logan called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf . His words have wisdom beyond his years. View the video and hear the phone call below.

We had a great trip back to East Tennessee to visit with our families and celebrate Thanksgiving. Becky and I were even able to spend a few days in Gatlinburg and relax. But the most unusual aspect of our Thanksgiving break was.......shoeboxes! Yes, shoeboxes. I'm sure almost everyone has heard of Operation Christmas Child, headed by Franklin Graham, son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham. Churches, schools, and civic organizations pack a shoebox with goodies and send it overseas to give to needy children who also hear the gospel story along with their gift. Our church packed our boxes and sent them along the pipeline as well. But this year, I was given the opportunity to contribute to the process in another way.

The church my parents and sister attend in Johnson City, Boone Trail Baptist Church, were taking a team of volunteers to an OCC Distribution Center in Boone, NC, after Thanksgiving to process shoeboxes for shipment overseas, and I was allowed to go along. Below are some pictures of the processing center and our team in action (none of me, I was taking the pictures!). It was a wonderful experience that I wish to repeat every year from now on. Volunteer teams are accepted at all 6 national centers during the months of November and December to sort items and pack boxes for shipment. The process is well streamlined and organized and every one of the OCC staff and other volunteers are extremely gracious and helpful. We worked with a will, knowing that our labor would result in children hearing the gospel around the world. We were told that the boxes we processed that night would be part of a shipment going to Madagascar and Malawi.



This is my mother removing donation monies from each shoebox before processing.


Workers praying over shoeboxes at their stations.


Workers processing and packing shoeboxes.


Shoeboxes in crates and ready for shipment overseas.

Thanksgiving is usually spent eating, visiting with family, eating, discussing the latest news, eating, catching up on old friends, eating, making Christmas plans, eating........ well, you get the picture. This year I was glad to have a unique opportunity to give back and in the process be truly thankful.

Possibly even the coming year. Yes, it was that profound; at least it was to me. Today as I was reading I came across a quote from John Maxwell. Read it a few times, and take a few moments to ponder its implications.

20/20 Vision      Matthew 7:1-12

Perhaps the most confusing thing in our world is relationships. A telling indicator of this quagmire is that we avoid them like the plague. We don't know our neighbors. We buy gas at the pump so we don't have to speak to anyone in the store. We use the self-checkout to avoid the cashier. We use the ATM because we don't have time to go in the bank and speak with a real person. Perhaps the saddest of all is that churches spend lots on advertising and little on training people how to share the gospel and build disciples. The Christian life and experience is a relational one; a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and relationships with fellow believers that in turn lead us into relationships with the lost. How is your relational vision?

Late-Breaking News: TBC, Belmont reach agreement
11/14/2007

KINGSPORT – The Tennessee Baptist Convention has accepted an $11 million settlement from Belmont University, putting an end to the struggle that was slated to end in a Nashville courtroom in May of 2008.

To read the full article go here.

Dollar's fall hits missionaries hard; meeting Lottie Moon goal crucial

11/5/2007

By Erich Bridges

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Suppose the dollars in your next paycheck lost almost half their value. Would you be able to pay the bills – much less buy anything extra?

That’s the discouraging reality some Southern Baptist missionaries face as the U.S. dollar continues its steep fall in value against overseas currencies.

***ALERT!!! Read the rest of this article and act! Our missionaries need our support now more than ever to continue their front-line work for the cause of Christ!***

There are special times in the life of a family that only happen once. One is the first child beginning to drive. Kristen, our oldest child, has obtained her TN Driver's Permit and is learning to drive. Becky and I feel old and proud at the same time, and of course, very nervous. But it's a good thing we are nervous......or else we would be scared to death!!

Another first in our family is our oldest son Andrew killed his first ever deer this past Friday night November 2. He and the prize are pictured below. It was a spike weighing about 100 lbs. He and his hunting partner and mentor, Kirby Webb, were hunting in a tree stand just behind our home on a neighbor's property. Andrew made a perfect 100-yard shot with a muzzle-loader to hit the deer just behind the left shoulder. We are having the antlers mounted, of course, and the meat processed. Deer steaks anyone?