Calling it a day...for now

Most of you are aware of the struggles that Merilyn has had with her health in the past month or so. She is still fighting the staph infection and is back in the hospital in Fayetteville. I have been traveling long distances every week either to be with her or to go to College Station to help Adam pack as he gets ready to enter his training for the Secret Service on June 7. With everything that is happening and other demands, I have decided to take a hiatus...that's what TV shows do when they have a break between seasons...and have a break from writing the blog. I'm grateful for those who have been readers and for the positive comments you have made. Please keep Merilyn in your prayers for a full and quick recovery. God bless you!

More Spring blessings

This past weekend was my time to go to Arkansas for my every other week visit. I have stopped at this rest area before. It is on I-40 going into Arkansas from Oklahoma just outside of Ft. Smith. If you are ever going that way, you should stop and check it out. It is one of the most attractive rest areas I have ever seen. It's built in kind of a log cabin style and the interior is especially beautiful with a huge stone fireplace at one end of the reception area. I took this picture mostly because of the gorgeous azaleas out front but the overall facility is pretty impressive, too.

It's amazing how much of a difference there was in the forest areas of northwest Arkansas from two weeks ago. Two weeks ago there were blooming trees like redbud, wild plum, and dogwood all over the place. Now the forests have filled out with leaves so much that most of the blooming trees are obscured or they have already lost their blooms. The hills are sure looking lush and green. I left Ennis at 5:45 a.m. on Thursday so I could get through Dallas before traffic got too congested and get home early enough to work on our lawn tractor. My farmer friend, Bob, in Ennis loaned me his impact driver which turned out to be just what I needed to get the frozen screw loose so I could replace the damaged part. The mower is fixed and I got nearly an acre of the yard mowed. Merilyn, Sarah, or Blake will now be able to finish it off this week sometime.

We had an excellent Bible study group meeting on Thursday evening. Our hosts had a cook-out for us with burgers, hot dogs, chicken and all the fixings. They even made chocolate cake and homemade ice cream for dessert. While all that was great, the best thing is that the lady of the house had returned from Philadelphia where she had fallen and received injuries that kept her away from home for nearly a month. She is still recuperating but at least she was able to come home. We followed up the feast of food with a spiritual feast of study from Luke 7. It was a wonderful evening.

The rest of my time at home was filled with doctor visits to my family doctor and chiropractor...all just routine stuff...and running various errands and tending to some other chores around the house. It's always a fast and furious time when I go home for a few days every two weeks to get caught up on everything, but I am surely grateful that I have the opportunity to do that. Even though the situations that you are facing in your life may not be exactly what you would like for them to be right now, you can make the best of it all and work toward better times with positive attitudes and faith in God.

We enjoyed an outstanding day at church yesterday. It was Friend's Day and our attendance was around 175, up over 40% of normal. We had ten families or couples visiting from the local area and several of them were former members. Most of them stayed for our fellowship meal and it was just a wonderful day. We will be following up with them through our new visitation ministry so perhaps God will bless our efforts and we will be able to add more members to the church family here.

I hope everyone has a great week. Enjoy God's beautiful Spring!

"Trust in the Lord and do good; so you will dwell in the land and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." (Psalm 37:3-5)

Bluebonnets Are Here!

As you can see, the bluebonnets have arrived on the bluebonnet trail in Ennis, Texas. This past weekend was the Annual Bluebonnet Festival in Ennis and there were thousands of extra people in town. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best (the NASCAR races up in Ft. Worth were canceled on Saturday and Sunday), and folks tell me the bluebonnets are not as nice as in some years but they are still beautiful. I'm not sure what the orange flowers are. Their structure is almost like a bluebonnet. They may be what I've heard called "Indian paintbrush." Most of these pictures are from a place called Sugar Ridge just north of the small town of Bristol. Bristol is about 10 miles northeast of Ennis. The drive out there is an enjoyable ride through the Texas countryside even without the gorgeous wildflowers. By the way, you can click on any of these pictures to get a larger view of them, then you can return to the blog by using your "back" button. The four pictures at the bottom are just about a mile away from the church building on a street going to the local hospital and a couple of schools. That is an intermediate school (5th-6th grades) in the background.
When I was back in Arkansas for a visit last time, I noticed the wild plum trees and red buds were in full bloom, and that the dogwoods were starting to come out. These are all excellent reminders of how much God loves us and of His power in Creation. Enjoy these blessings every day!

Bluebonnets Are Coming!

Since I call this blog, "On The Bluebonnet Trail," I figured that I had better post some pictures since the season is upon us. These photos are just a few little patches of plants out behind the church building. There are huge fields of flowers in the area and I will get photos of them in the next week or so, but everyone tells me that the flowers are not at the peak yet so I'm going to wait a little longer. There will be more pictures coming soon.

I had a good trip to Arkansas over the weekend. We had an excellent Bible study group on Thursday evening. Our friend, Shirley, who was injured up in Philadelphia is supposed to be able to come back home this Thursday. I will be glad to see her next week. I'm sure she will be glad to be back home and I know for sure that her husband, Dick, is ready for her to return!

Merilyn, Sarah, and Blake are all doing well. Merilyn has had 2010-2011 student registration all last week and they have Benchmark testing all this week so it's been a pretty stressful time for her. It always is a tougher time of the year but after this week is over, it should be pretty smooth sailing for the rest of this school year. Sarah is looking into continuing her education with a Master's program in social work through the U of A. I hope everything will work out for her to do that. Blake has been in Kansas this weekend playing in a basketball tournament with some of his friends. He was a standout player in high school and even played some in college.

Adam is getting his ducks in a row as he prepares to enter his Secret Service training. He talked to his new boss in Oklahoma City and found out he can do his initial training in the Houston field office so he was really glad for that. If I understood him right, he will not report to Oklahoma City until about the first of February, 2011. Starting on June 7 (Sarah's birthday), he will be in training at several different locations until then.

I was able to get some yard and flower bed work done while at home this time. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the steering mechanism of the riding mower and I was not able to get it fixed before I left. Fortunately, one of our next door neighbors said he would help us keep the yard mowed until I can get back in two weeks to get it fixed. We have decided to list the house for sale with a new real estate agent. He comes highly recommended and we've been impressed in visiting with him. The problem is that the real estate market in northwest Arkansas is still in terrible shape and foreclosures continue to dump more and more properties on the market. But we're going to let him have a shot at it and just keep praying for God's guidance and blessing.

Enjoy the beautiful Spring season. Remember that God made it all. He is awesome!

Reason for delay this week

I usually try to write a new post on Monday morning each week but I did not do that this week because I was waiting for some news to share. Now I can go ahead and tell...our son, Adam, has been notified that he has been accepted into the U.S. Secret Service! Merilyn and I are extremely proud of him. He's worked hard to achieve this goal. I've never seen nor heard of such a process for screening applicants. It has taken 15 months and has included numerous face-to-face interviews, two grueling polygraph exams, writing pages and pages of answers to questions, an extensive background investigation, and a rigorous physical examination. Adam will report to the field office in Oklahoma City on June 7 for several days of orientation, then to Washington, D.C. headquarters for a few days, then to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GA for several months, then to the Secret Service training facility in Maryland for several more months, and then back to Oklahoma City around the first of February, 2011 to begin work. He's excited and we are all overjoyed that the process is complete and he has achieved his goal!

This has kind of overshadowed everything else that has been going on in the past week or so, but we have received many excellent blessings from God in this time. Merilyn and Sarah came down from Arkansas and Adam came up from College Station this past weekend so we got to spend some time together and celebrate his news. We had an excellent worship service for Easter Sunday with nearly a 50% increase in our attendance.

Sarah and Blake are doing well. He is on day shift now with his police patrol and likes it better. He had his picture in the Springdale paper recently with his police car in a story about how Ford is going to quit making the Crown Victoria, which has been one of the more popular police cruisers of the past 40 years. I think Ford is going to start outfitting their Taurus for police work now. Sarah is enjoying her work at Decision Point and is looking into getting into a Master's degree program in social work through the University of Arkansas.

This is my week to go to Arkansas for a few days. I will leave tomorrow morning, have our Bible study group tomorrow night, and enjoy some time with Merilyn before returning to Ennis on Saturday afternoon. By the way, the bluebonnets are just starting to come out nicely so I will try to get out into the countryside and take some pictures to post next week. Have a great day! God bless!

The Month That Roars!

Which month is it that they say comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb? I'm not sure but there was some lion-like weather over the past several days in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. I got to make a trip back to Springdale last Thursday for my every two week visit. The driving was fine from Dallas to the Texas-Oklahoma border at the Red River. Pretty soon after crossing the river there was a strong thunderstorm with heavy rains. It let up in intensity after 10-15 minutes but then it was rain all the rest of the way. Fortunately it moved out and the rest of the weekend was sunny. We had a good Bible study group meeting on Thursday evening but one of our ladies has had a tough time. Shirley Pate was visiting relatives in the Philadelphia area and took a fall down some stairs. She broke two ribs and fractured several vertebrae in her back. She's been hospitalized in severe pain and is now in a rehab facility in Philadelphia until she is well enough to return to Arkansas. Please remember her in your prayers.

It was a blessing to have such a beautiful day on Friday and again on Saturday morning. I was able to get the front part of the yard mowed, edges trimmed, and then sprayed for weeds. Sarah or Merilyn may have to come along this week and get the rest of the mowing done after the back part of the yard dries out better. I also got the knockout roses, crepe myrtles, and butterfly bush pruned for the new Spring growth.

I left Springdale to return to Ennis just after noon on Saturday. While it was a beautiful, sunny day, the winds were ferocious! From northwest Arkansas all the way to Ennis they never let up. On the weather report Saturday evening it said there were gusts as high as 46 mph throughout the area. Even though I am in a smaller car now since I traded, I was able to zoom-zoom right through the wind and traffic with no problems. "zoom-zoom"---Mazda---get it? Ha!

I've got to take a minute to brag about my son, Adam. He, along with several other military veterans, is on the cover of the Texas Aggie magazine which is published by the Texas A & M Association of Former Students. Also, there is a full-page picture of him inside the magazine as the lead-in to the story about Aggies who have served in the military and the long tradition and history of the connection between Texas A & M and the U.S. military. As you may imagine, Merilyn and I are very proud of him.

It is a gorgeous Monday morning in north Texas with sunshine and blue sky. It's a little nippy but it's going to warm into the upper 60's today. The coming of Spring just seems to invigorate and make everyone happier. The challenges and struggles of life will always be with us, but when we are in Christ we have good reason to rejoice in the Lord always as Paul writes in Philippians 4:4. I hope everyone has an excellent day today and a great week to come!

Spring is here?

While the calendar says Spring, it surely has not felt like it for the past few days! This has been quite the freak blast of winter, hasn't it? Last Thursday and Friday here in north Texas the temperatures were in the mid-60's with sunshine. Then that cold front came through on Friday night and into Saturday. We even had snow on the ground Sunday morning when I went to church. It was only 1/2" or so, but areas just to the north of Dallas got as much as 6-8". Of course, that's nothing compared to what northwest Arkansas got. Merilyn told me there was at least a foot of snow on the ground. Last night I went to eat at Whattaburger with some folks from church and saw a report on a TV they had tuned to the Weather Channel. Lo and behold, they had a weather reporter from Fayetteville! He said they had 13.5" on the ground so it must have been close to that in Springdale. The good thing is that it is supposed to warm up pretty quickly so there should not be huge problems with this snowfall.
I got to go to College Station this past weekend and spend a couple of nights with Adam. It's always good to be together. He was off work for a day or two since the students were out of school for Spring Break. He cooked us out some steaks one night and we spent a lot of time watching the March Madness NCAA basketball games. Boy, some of them were madness! Lots of top seeds went down, including the #1 ranked team in the country, Kansas. That loss was particularly hard for my son-in-law and daughter. They are both rabid KU fans. The losses of highly ranked teams has completely blown up my bracket picks, but I've got lots of company.
Merilyn is going to central Arkansas this week to spend some time with her Dad as he is going to be having hip replacement surgery soon. I think she may be going to spend a night with Mom in Russellville, too. This is my week to go to Springdale so she is planning to be back home by Thursday. She's going to be doing a lot of traveling for Spring Break.
Everyone's doing well, staying healthy, and plugging along. We've got lots of blessings for which to be thankful. Hope everyone has a good week. God bless!