A 10-day weekend

Have you ever heard of a 10 day weekend? Me either, but that's what it has felt like since last Wednesday. I drove home to Springdale on Wednesday evening, cleaned out our storage unit and loaded a U-Haul trailer on Thursday with the help of my son-in-law, Blake, finished loading the trailer and packed on Friday, came back to Ennis on Saturday with Merilyn following in my loaded car (and her new puppy, Mollie) and then unloaded at the office and my apartment on Saturday afternoon and evening with the help of our son, Adam, who came up from College Station and one of the elders from the church, and then got back to work on Sunday. I will be more regular in posting items to the blog, but that is my explanation why there has not been one for several days. Everything has gone very well, though, and it has been especially good to be able to spend some extra time with Merilyn and to get to see Adam.

We had another excellent worship assembly yesterday morning. Good attendance, several visitors, marvelous fellowship, and two outstanding young families placed membership. Everyone is excited about the progress that is already being seen. God is blessing us in wonderful ways!

Yesterday morning in my sermon I used the example of Aron Ralston, the young man who had to amputate his own arm in a mountaineering accident back in 2003. It still just amazes me that he was able to do that, but he got to the point that he had to do it in order to survive. There are all kinds of temptations and challenges that could trap us and lead to losing our spiritual lives. Be careful. Resist the urges to do wrong. Be faithful. Honor God and trust His way for your life. Do what you have to do in order to survive spiritually. God bless you!

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood around the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, establish and strengthen you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)