Friday, May 16, 2008
She's Here...
Mackenzie Joyce arrived yesterday morning at 9:44 a.m. Kenzie (as we will call her) weighed 7 lbs and 10 oz (exactly the same as Will) and was 20 in. long. She has lots of hair is is a healthy happy baby. Tammy did great and is doing so well since yesterday morning. Not sure how we got through the day yesterday because neither of us got sleep the night before. I counted before we went to bed last night and we had been up for 40 straight hours. Anyways, I'm in a hurry, I just wanted to post a few pics and then go back up to the hospital. Here they are...
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Almost There...UPDATED (At Bottom)
So the "busy" week is almost over. In fact, technically it is over since Friday and Saturday are my off days. I was able to get everything done, save some work on my Sunday night sermon which I will try and finish up tomorrow. Tomorrow will be just as busy around here, even though I'm off. I look forward to a peaceful and restful Saturday.
Of course, since I'm writing this, the baby has still not come. Part of our day tomorrow includes Tammy's 9:30 am doctors appt. Basically, from what we were told last time, they will be scheduling us tomorrow for a day to induce next week. I will try and post tomorrow an update on what day we will be going in the hospital. I also have to cut grass and finish cleaning house tomorrow. We have had to really keep up with the housework since we don't know when she might come and our families will be staying here when it happens. We also have a party tomorrow night for a girl at church who just graduated from Jacksonville University. Congrats Jayme! I really think of her like a sister because I like picking on her and annoying her so much. That's what I was best at as a brother growing up. Don't believe me? Just ask one of my 2 sisters.
God is good. What else can I say? I am blessed. I'm glad I can write for the few and far between that stumble their way on here from time to time. I enjoy reading everyone's blog, even if I don't always comment. It's a great way to keep up with old friends that we don't get to see much anymore.
I'm excited about preaching this Sunday. Of course it's Mother's Day, so I'm preaching my Mother's Day sermon. The title is, "Don't You Talk About My Momma!" If nothing else, it's peaked everyone's interest. I'll post a summary about it on Monday.
One more thing. The funeral that I mentioned this past Monday. Well, funerals are actually a good thing to attend. Solomon said in Ecc. 7:2, "Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart." In other words, we can learn from a funeral because we tend to reflect on our lives and it makes us really think about things and put them in perspective. Well, this gentleman had been married to his wife, who passed, for 64 years. 64 YEARS! That's a long time to be with someone. I watched him during the funeral and he was either in a daze (I don't blame him) or he was fixed on her in the casket. He and the family were the last ones out (I was still in there at this point) and I watched as he got up, went to the casket, and leaned over and kissed her one last time. That broke my heart. I teared up big time when I saw that. There is nothing more wonderful than to spend your life with someone you love. I'm very lucky to have a wonderful wife that loves me and I love her so that as Prov. 31:11 says, "The heart of her husband safely trusts her". I hope that I can one day say that I was with my wife for that many years! (Of course, I would be 92 years old)
**UPDATE**
So we went to the doctor this morning and we saw a different one today who seemed a lot more "with it" than the one last week. Neither last weeks or this weeks doc was her regular doctor. Anyways, she said she is really not much closer and that they don't really schedule to induce until she is at least a week late. Therefore, we wait another week and go back to the doctor next Friday and do this all over again. Oh well, at least that means I can get in a round of golf this week!
Of course, since I'm writing this, the baby has still not come. Part of our day tomorrow includes Tammy's 9:30 am doctors appt. Basically, from what we were told last time, they will be scheduling us tomorrow for a day to induce next week. I will try and post tomorrow an update on what day we will be going in the hospital. I also have to cut grass and finish cleaning house tomorrow. We have had to really keep up with the housework since we don't know when she might come and our families will be staying here when it happens. We also have a party tomorrow night for a girl at church who just graduated from Jacksonville University. Congrats Jayme! I really think of her like a sister because I like picking on her and annoying her so much. That's what I was best at as a brother growing up. Don't believe me? Just ask one of my 2 sisters.
God is good. What else can I say? I am blessed. I'm glad I can write for the few and far between that stumble their way on here from time to time. I enjoy reading everyone's blog, even if I don't always comment. It's a great way to keep up with old friends that we don't get to see much anymore.
I'm excited about preaching this Sunday. Of course it's Mother's Day, so I'm preaching my Mother's Day sermon. The title is, "Don't You Talk About My Momma!" If nothing else, it's peaked everyone's interest. I'll post a summary about it on Monday.
One more thing. The funeral that I mentioned this past Monday. Well, funerals are actually a good thing to attend. Solomon said in Ecc. 7:2, "Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart." In other words, we can learn from a funeral because we tend to reflect on our lives and it makes us really think about things and put them in perspective. Well, this gentleman had been married to his wife, who passed, for 64 years. 64 YEARS! That's a long time to be with someone. I watched him during the funeral and he was either in a daze (I don't blame him) or he was fixed on her in the casket. He and the family were the last ones out (I was still in there at this point) and I watched as he got up, went to the casket, and leaned over and kissed her one last time. That broke my heart. I teared up big time when I saw that. There is nothing more wonderful than to spend your life with someone you love. I'm very lucky to have a wonderful wife that loves me and I love her so that as Prov. 31:11 says, "The heart of her husband safely trusts her". I hope that I can one day say that I was with my wife for that many years! (Of course, I would be 92 years old)
**UPDATE**
So we went to the doctor this morning and we saw a different one today who seemed a lot more "with it" than the one last week. Neither last weeks or this weeks doc was her regular doctor. Anyways, she said she is really not much closer and that they don't really schedule to induce until she is at least a week late. Therefore, we wait another week and go back to the doctor next Friday and do this all over again. Oh well, at least that means I can get in a round of golf this week!
Monday, May 05, 2008
What A Week!!
Well, as I'm sure all of you know, my wife is now 39 weeks along. Basically that means that she could go at any time. However, I have already told her that if she can wait until next week (I know it's not up to her) that would be great! This is just one of those weeks where it seems like I have so much to do. It started today with a funeral being held at our church. The family received friends at 10 am at the building, and then the funeral was at 11 am. Thankfully, I only played a small part in it, since the lady was older. Our associate minister (who is also one of our elders) has been there for many years and knew the lady much better than I did, so he did it. After the burial and feeding the family my day was just about over.
Tomorrow I will be at the hospital all day. One of our members is having neck surgery, so I will be there with the family. On Wednesday, our associate minister teaches the Ladies Bible Class at 10 am. However, he is going out of town tomorrow, so I will teach that class for him, along with my normal class on Wednesday night. Throw in Sunday morning Bible class and 2 sermons, and I am not sure I'm going to make it to Sunday. If Kenzie decides she wants to come this week, I may be preaching someone else's sermon on Sunday (which I don't like doing). I'd rather them be my own, although I do like to get ideas and snippets from other sermons.
Of course, the way things are going, I'm not going to be surprised if Tammy is late and we end up inducing next week sometime. I can handle that. I'm the kind of guy that would rather be in control and schedule this thing so I can have everything in order.
Also, I thought I might start posting a summary of my lessons each Monday after I've preached them on Sunday. I'd rather do this after the fact than before, so my members won't know my sermon before I preach it. I read many blogs of fellow preachers and it seems like most of them only post about religious things. I certainly don't mind doing that, although I like posting things about my family and life in general. The only downside is that those preachers open themselves up to the negative comments of people constantly looking to find fault in others. I get very annoyed with the whole bickering thing, although I will never fail to stand for the truth.
Anyways, to quickly sum up my 2 sermons, my A.M. sermon was on our theme for this year, A.W.A.R.E. (Always Watching for Anyone who Requires Edification) In other words, being aware of the needs of others. I preached on the aspect of being aware of the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Although we should love everyone (Matt. 22:39), the Bible does place emphasis on how we treat the brethren (Gal. 6:10). There are times when our brothers and sisters need our help, they need encouragement, a kind word, a willing listener. My text came from I John 3:16-18 and my points from the 3 verses in succession were:
1. Willingness - We must be willing to help others, otherwise we will never see their needs. Verse 16 speaks of sacrifice. Are we willing to sacrifice for our brothers and sisters? The first century church was (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32-37).
2. Awareness - We need to train our senses (Heb. 5:14) to be aware of the needs of others. Verse 17 speaks of seeing (being aware) a brother in need.
3. Business - This is the action part. Verse 18 says that we shouldn't love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth. Anyone can say "I Love You", but not everyone backs it up with action. Jesus talked about fulfilling the needs of others in Matt. 25 and said that even when we do it to the very least, we do it to Him.
Sunday night I preached on sin making us lose our senses. In the story of the Prodigal Son, we see that in Luke 15:17 the Bible says that he came to his senses. In other words, sin had desensitized him. He was able to get his senses back when he ran out of money and couldn't support his sin anymore. He found himself separated from that sin and then he came to himself. Also, David became desensitized in II Sam. 11 & 12 in his sin with Bathsheba. He knew it was wrong, but lost his senses. He had Nathan who basically called him out and made him come back to his senses and realize that he was in sin. II Tim. 2:25-26 also speaks of coming to our senses. It's downright scary when we see what Satan can do to even the most godly men through sin.
Tomorrow I will be at the hospital all day. One of our members is having neck surgery, so I will be there with the family. On Wednesday, our associate minister teaches the Ladies Bible Class at 10 am. However, he is going out of town tomorrow, so I will teach that class for him, along with my normal class on Wednesday night. Throw in Sunday morning Bible class and 2 sermons, and I am not sure I'm going to make it to Sunday. If Kenzie decides she wants to come this week, I may be preaching someone else's sermon on Sunday (which I don't like doing). I'd rather them be my own, although I do like to get ideas and snippets from other sermons.
Of course, the way things are going, I'm not going to be surprised if Tammy is late and we end up inducing next week sometime. I can handle that. I'm the kind of guy that would rather be in control and schedule this thing so I can have everything in order.
Also, I thought I might start posting a summary of my lessons each Monday after I've preached them on Sunday. I'd rather do this after the fact than before, so my members won't know my sermon before I preach it. I read many blogs of fellow preachers and it seems like most of them only post about religious things. I certainly don't mind doing that, although I like posting things about my family and life in general. The only downside is that those preachers open themselves up to the negative comments of people constantly looking to find fault in others. I get very annoyed with the whole bickering thing, although I will never fail to stand for the truth.
Anyways, to quickly sum up my 2 sermons, my A.M. sermon was on our theme for this year, A.W.A.R.E. (Always Watching for Anyone who Requires Edification) In other words, being aware of the needs of others. I preached on the aspect of being aware of the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Although we should love everyone (Matt. 22:39), the Bible does place emphasis on how we treat the brethren (Gal. 6:10). There are times when our brothers and sisters need our help, they need encouragement, a kind word, a willing listener. My text came from I John 3:16-18 and my points from the 3 verses in succession were:
1. Willingness - We must be willing to help others, otherwise we will never see their needs. Verse 16 speaks of sacrifice. Are we willing to sacrifice for our brothers and sisters? The first century church was (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32-37).
2. Awareness - We need to train our senses (Heb. 5:14) to be aware of the needs of others. Verse 17 speaks of seeing (being aware) a brother in need.
3. Business - This is the action part. Verse 18 says that we shouldn't love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth. Anyone can say "I Love You", but not everyone backs it up with action. Jesus talked about fulfilling the needs of others in Matt. 25 and said that even when we do it to the very least, we do it to Him.
Sunday night I preached on sin making us lose our senses. In the story of the Prodigal Son, we see that in Luke 15:17 the Bible says that he came to his senses. In other words, sin had desensitized him. He was able to get his senses back when he ran out of money and couldn't support his sin anymore. He found himself separated from that sin and then he came to himself. Also, David became desensitized in II Sam. 11 & 12 in his sin with Bathsheba. He knew it was wrong, but lost his senses. He had Nathan who basically called him out and made him come back to his senses and realize that he was in sin. II Tim. 2:25-26 also speaks of coming to our senses. It's downright scary when we see what Satan can do to even the most godly men through sin.
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