Brrrrr, it's cold!

This morning I found it especially hard to roll out of the bed. After I got up and looked at the thermostat, I understood why. It was 60 degrees in the apartment! During the night I had gotten cold and pulled up all the covers on the bed, which is unusual for me. I was all warm and snuggly in there so it was hard to roll out into the frigid apartment. The problem is that I have not yet learned how to properly set the thermostat. I'm going to have to learn quickly, though, because the weather reporter last night claimed that we could have snow flurries or a wintry mix by tomorrow and the low on Thursday is supposed to be in the upper 20's. But when I was in Arkansas last weekend their weather report was for several days of low temperatures in the lower 20's and I think I remember that the high temperature on Thursday is supposed to be below freezing in northwest Arkansas. All you who live up there be sure to bundle up!
Several folks have asked me recently about my hamstring injury. It is definitely doing better. I missed a couple of exercise sessions when we were traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday. That was probably not such a bad thing to have the extra rest. I got to go out yesterday afternoon to the Lion's Park here in Ennis. It was a beautiful afternoon; a little chilly so I wore my hooded sweat top but I was still able to go in shorts. The hamstring muscle is still just a little bit sore but there is no real pain. I will stick to jogging and fast walking for another 3-4 weeks to make sure it has time to heal properly before I start trying to work back into the sprinting segments. I've got to keep up the sprinting, though. Not long ago, I told the folks here at church about a piece I saw in Ripley's Believe It Or Not. It was about a fellow up north who set a world record for the 100 yard dash...his time was 43 seconds flat...but he was 100 years old! It is my plan to break his record so that's why I've got to keep up the training; it's only 44 years away!
Have a great day today!

A cheerful heart is a good medicine... (Proverbs 17:22)

Thanksgiving holiday 2009

I hope everyone had as good a Thanksgiving holiday as I had. My elders were very gracious in allowing me to go back to Springdale on Monday of last week so I could spend as much time as possible with Merilyn. It was great to have the extra time together and to be able to see Sarah and Blake more than I usually do. Adam stayed in College Station so he could attend the Texas A & M vs. Texas football game on Thursday evening so we missed him. On Tuesday evening I got to be with my Thursday evening Bible study group. That is always a great blessing to me. On Wednesday, Merilyn and I went to Cabot to spend the night with her Dad and then go to North Little Rock to aunt Joyce's house for the gathering of the Ballentine side of our family. We had one Thanksgiving feast for lunch and then went to Russellville to my Mom's home to have another Thanksgiving feast with the Frazier side of our family. Several were not able to be there this year but we enjoyed the gathering with all who were there. God has blessed us so abundantly in every way. It is good to take some time to stop and reflect upon that.
We spent Thursday night at Mom's then headed back to Springdale on Friday morning. The weather for the whole holiday time was just gorgeous with sunny skies and mild temperatures. On Friday afternoon I was able to get some yard work done and begin to get the outside Christmas decorations up. On Friday evening our good friends, Joe and Catherine, invited us to go to the Arkansas Razorback basketball game. It was fun and great to be with them, but the Hogs fell short in their effort. On Saturday I finished up the outside decorating. It took a bit longer than I expected and I left to come back to Ennis on Saturday around 2 p.m., a little later than usual, but I was glad to get the outside decorating done.

It was good to be back with the church family in Ennis yesterday. We had higher than usual attendance in the morning worship as several of our families had relatives visiting. In the afternoon I went out to the local hospital to see our oldest member, a 98 year old lady. She was having some breathing difficulty but was feeling better. She lives by herself and the best word I can use to describe her is "spunky." She is a real character and a wonderful Christian lady.

It's hard to believe it is the last day of November already. Yesterday afternoon a cold front came through. It brought a brief deluge of rain and dropped the temperatures by nearly 20 degrees in less than an hour, so that makes it a little more believable that it is late autumn. It is amazing, though, how quickly the time seems to fly. One great thing about that is that we are that much closer to Heaven! Have a great day and be sure to keep your focus on the Lord!

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Another surprise, family time and football!

There was nothing to indicate that yesterday morning was going to be different from any other Sunday morning. Everything was going according to plan. Bible class started with a larger than normal attendance which was nice. Then about halfway through class, the side door opened and in walked Bill and Judy Penick, a couple of our friends from the church in Springdale! That was a great surprise. They were in Ft. Worth taking care of some business and decided since they were this close they would come over for a visit. They stayed for worship and took me out to lunch. We had an excellent visit. They were very complimentary of the church family here and how friendly everyone is. It was great to see them and to enjoy another nice surprise from home. By the way, Merilyn knew about this one, too!
My elders are graciously allowing me to leave today to go home for the Thanksgiving holiday so I can spend as much time with Merilyn as possible. We will get to go to Cabot to stay with her Dad, A.C., on Wednesday night and have Thanksgiving lunch in North Little Rock with aunt Joyce and her bunch. Then we will go to Russellville to have Thanksgiving supper with my Mom and my side of the family and spend the night with her. It's going to be an excellent week!
There is good news to report from the football fields from the weekend. The Razorbacks, the Aggies and the Cowboys all won their games on Saturday and Sunday. The biggest football shocker for me was the Texas Tech-Oklahoma game which Tech won 55-21. The Sooners are reeling right now. They are Blake's favorite team and he was saying they have lost 6-7 starters to injury this year, including Sam Bradford, their Heisman winning quarterback. It's been a tough year for the Sooner nation.
I am going to wrap this up so I can get the things done that have to be done before I leave for Arkansas. It will probably be next Monday before I have another post. There's just one more thing to say before I go: Look at the graphic at the top of the page...I meant for it to go here but the pictures have a mind of their own when I load them. Anyway, have a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope each one gets to spend some quality time with your family and friends. Remember to pray for our military folks who cannot be with their loved ones. Always be grateful to God for the abundant blessings which He gives. Have a great week!

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

An excellent poem

This morning as I came into my office, I noticed this framed poem that I have had for many years. I don't remember where I got it and the author is not identified. It has been a source of encouragement to me many times. My primary application of the poem has always been to my own spiritual life and relationship with God, but it has a message for just about any worthy endeavor that one would undertake. I hope it will be a blessing and encouragement to you. Have a good day and a good weekend!

Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Electric blanket time!

I've been trying to tough it out, but last night I gave in and put the electric blanket on my bed. One time when I was home a month or so ago, Merilyn had been cleaning out some cabinets in the laundry room and came across this older blanket. We thought about putting it in a garage sale, but then she suggested that I bring it back to Texas with me. What a good wife! I wasn't really sure that I would need it. At least one thing I have learned after 35 years of being married to Merilyn is that I need to pay better attention to her thoughts and suggestions. When the weather reporter was talking about lows in the upper 20's and lower 30's, that was all I needed to make the decision to install the electric blanket. Whoever invented the electric blanket is a wonderful person! It is so nice to crawl into a nice, warm bed instead of one that is chilly. Our lives are filled with modern conveniences which people a hundred years ago would have never believed possible. It is a blessing to be living in America in 2009! Have a good day today!

Pictures from Lion's Park

Sunset across the lake at the park
Another sunset shot
Closer view of pavilion and lamp post lookout
Lamp post lookout over the lake
Lake view from part of the trail
Part of the trail and a white limestone bridge
Winding through a grove of trees
From the parking lot looking toward the pavilion

When I went out for my Monday afternoon exercise yesterday, I remembered my comment in the blog post about getting some pictures of the park. I took my camera along and here are some shots so you can see what it's like. The pictures loaded in reverse order from what I intended so start at the bottom and go up.
It was chilly yesterday! The high temp was about 55 and there was a 10-15 mph wind all day. I had to go to Wal-Mart and buy a sweat top before going out. Even then I was pretty cool during the exercise time but it was a beautiful afternoon as you can see from the pictures. I've had to scale back my exertion level considerably because of the pulled hamstring. I'm still able to do my regular four miles with fast walking and light jogging so I'm grateful for that. In some ways I suppose I'm an exercise addict...I don't always feel like doing it, but I sure miss it when I am not able to work out.
It is cold this morning...the church secretary came in a little while ago and said they had some frost out around their place in the country. The warmth will return quickly here, though, with high temps back in the 60's by tomorrow. Stay warm wherever you are and have a good day today!

Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths. Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

A normal weekend

I really don't have any excellent events or great news to share today. After last weekend and all the wonderful things that happened, this weekend was all about returning to normal. On Friday I spent several hours studying at the local library. It would seem to me that folks would realize that cell phones do not fit into proper library etiquette. While I was there, no fewer than three people had phones go off and then carried on a conversation. I say they "went off" instead of ringing because they all had obnoxious musical blasts. After the library I went out for my exercise at the park. That is always a nice experience. I need to take a few pictures of the park and post them so you can see what it's like. Although it's feeling better, I'm still having to nurse my pulled hamstring quite a bit but at least I can go out for fast walking and light jogging. After the afternoon exercise, I stopped at a local car wash to get the first few layers of dirt off the car and then Friday evening was laundry time. On Saturday morning I went over to Ft. Worth to take care of some business. While the car was sitting in a parking lot, several birds (or one with some gastrointestinal trouble) left deposits on the hood. When I returned to Ennis, it was time to run to the grocery store, clean up the apartment, and watch some football. Sunday was a good day. Again, nothing remarkable, but a good day. Our attendance at church was up a little and many of our members shared positive reports from their friends and neighbors who had visited with us last Sunday.

Like I say in the title of the post, pretty much a normal weekend. Fortunately for the majority of us who live in the United States, life is filled with normal days. Days when there are no major catastrophes. Days when we are not bothered by the threat of violence or war. Days when we have plenty of good food to eat, an abundance of creature comforts, and enjoy the blessing of being able to communicate with family and friends. It is especially nice when we have extraordinary days which come into our lives. When that happens for you, enjoy them to the fullest. In addition, always be aware of the blessings of the ordinary days and be truly grateful for them. Enjoy the blessings of God for your life today!

There is great gain in godliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)