Something to Think About...

I just read this statistic on Yahoo News: "FORTY PERCENT OF AMERICANS HAVE NEVER LIVED WHEN THERE WASN'T A BUSH OR A CLINTON IN THE WHITE HOUSE."

The article goes on to say: "And now, if Hillary Clinton were to be elected and re-elected, the nation could go 28 years in a row with the same two families governing the country. Add the elder Bush's terms as vice president, and that would be 36 years straight with a Bush or Clinton in the White House. Already, for 116 million Americans, there has never been a time when there wasn't a Bush or Clinton in the White House, either as president or vice president. Does a nation of 303 million people really have only two families qualified to run the show?"

Hmmm..... so what do you think?

Staying home this year...

Well, General Conference of the United Pentecostal Church International is kicking off in Tampa, Florida! We are not able to attend this year, but things should be more favorable next year. I could have had our church pay our way, but with our congregation growing as it is, I wanted to leave the funds to use in needed expansion. I am also trying to complete my Real Estate Licensing. (I just passed one more class, will test on one tomorrow, then take a two-day review class and the final test.)

We are praying for the services and business meetings at General Conference. The ministers of our organization need God's direction more than ever and His unifying Spirit. I believe He will keep His hand on all of it.

I guess the part that we will miss the most is seeing all of our friends that we only get to see at Conference each year! If you are there - have a great time and tell everyone we said "Hello!" LOL!

Drive-Thru Church

HT: Brian Eberly

This video brought back to mind the one I posted a few months ago, "Me Worship". It is a shame that many people are so consumer driven that they will not give God a chance. They are focused on everything THEY want. Their attitude demonstrates whether they are "hungry for God" or not. I do believe that we need to offer everything the best that we possibly can and make our churches "user-friendly," but we dare not do that to the exclusion of His presence. When God is in our services, needs will be met. It will happen whether we have the very latest technology, the most beautiful building, or whatever else (NO Veggietales!) the consumer-driven guests think they want. I have discovered in this past year that if we can offer the love of Jesus to the seeking soul, they will respond and overlook all that is not offered.

Those who have served the Lord for years have to be careful as "consumers." We can become picky (critical!) about God's House if we are not truly seeking His Kingdom. It becomes our kingdom and we want it our way! We are supposed to be serving Him, serving our brother and serving our neighbor. This tends to change our outlook.

The best way is His. Seek and you will find.

Another new record!

We were so excited to have 61 in service today! We had several guest families who were returning and 3 brand new guests. We had a great move of God and people were rededicating their lives all over the building during altar call. There is an excitement in the air! Thanks for all your prayers... keep remembering to pray for us that we will know how to lead and stay ahead of the growth.

A day without thinking about my back...

Today was finally a day without constantly being aware that my back was hurting. It is amazing how much we take for granted a pain-free existence. Maybe this is the first inklings of age!! Whatever the case, it feels so good not to be taking medication, putting a heating pad on my back and then putting ice on it, grimacing, moaning, etc. - smelling like Christmas potpourri! (the smell comes from using Tiger Balm®), being laughed at by my family and everything else that goes with it.
Amazingly, it seems that going bowling with our youth group on Tuesday night helped the pain. I thought for sure that it would make it worse! Starbucks (Pumpkin Spice Latte) didn't hurt it any either. We have received giftcards from several different occasions and it is always enjoyable to ME to go there without emptying my wallet. My family could really call it "Sixteenbucks!"

Well, I guess I better go mow the yard since (for the first time ever) I received notice that our yard was unacceptable to our Home Owner's Association! It is really not that high - but it is definitely higher than I normally let it get.

Thanks for those who prayed for me - it is so much better.

Where did she get this from?

If you go over to my Sister-in-law's blog, you will see an awesome picture of Scarlet (her granddaughter) at altar time. In the comments, people were speculating about where she got this kind of craziness! Well, I just happen to have proof that it could be from either side of her family.

Her mom, Brenda Elms.....

And her dad, Jonathan Elms.....

Who does she most resemble? You can be the judge!
(Sorry, Jon and Brenda....I couldn't resist!
They don't really look like this all of the time.
They are enhanced by my Mac PhotoBooth!)

New Record

We're just a little excited to break our record again! We had 8 first time guests and one of them was in the altar repenting. We had to pull out some extra chairs to make room. Our church people were so excited to see the building so full.

We also now have a lady attending who does prison services each week in Lockhart, Texas. They had 3 filled with the Holy Ghost Friday night behind the prison walls.

Of course, we look forward to many more coming to the Lord, no matter whether they be in our services or some other ministry opportunity.

P.S. — We made some updates to our church website that you might be interested in. You can see it at: www.newlifepflugerville.org

Home Missions Retreat

Last night and today we had the privilege of being part of the Home Missions Retreat for the South Texas District. Gene is the Home Missions Director for the Austin Hill Country section. We had a great time.

Friday night we all met in Johnson City at Bro. Greg Steele's church. He is the district Home Missions Director. They had an awesome meal put together then we enjoyed some entertainment from Bro. Rob McKee. Bro. Travis Miller - UPCI Home Missions Secretary - was the special guest speaker for the evening. He spoke to us on "It SHALL Come to Pass." There was an awesome move of God after his message with tongues & interpretation to the ministers there. It was really good.

Today everyone met at the church for breakfast then headed to Lake Travis. Bro. Steele and his crew had set up a "tent" with tables and chairs, volleyball, horses, washers, a boat, fishing, bikes, etc. They brought a gas grill and fixed hamburgers and hot dogs. Everyone had a great time just enjoying being together.

Cameron and Chad went out on the boat to try their skills at wake-boarding. They had a blast and both were finally able to get on top of the water. They are definitely wanting to try it again!! (They're not too happy that no one in the family has a boat anymore!! LOL)

We kept the top down on the jeep all day and enjoyed being in the open-air. Out where we were was absolutely gorgeous!!! Several times throughout the day one of us would say, "This looks like California." It's hard to believe such beautiful country is less than an hour from our home.

We are now home and preparing for Sunday. We are expecting a great move of God tomorrow. Last Sunday, as Gene already told you, we had 3 first-time visitors. Wednesday night of this week we again had 3 first-time visitors. They've all said they'll be back - maybe tomorrow!!!

I love His great adventures...

We drove into Pflugerville at around 11:30pm on Saturday night and spent several hours getting ready for Sunday morning. Thanks to the Lord, our Sunday could not have gone better!

From the moment we began prayer before service, into our adult Sunday School class (where we spent 15-20 minutes worshipping) and continuing in the service - God was so strong in our midst! Our men are starting to step out into the aisles to sing and worship. I have not asked them to or even talked about it, but they are stepping out in unity. It is awesome. It is also making a difference in the atmosphere of worship.

We had 46 in service with 11 regular people out for one reason or another! We had 3 brand new guests from the city of Pflugerville, a couple and a single young man. The couple were in the altar at the end of service and she was refilled with the Holy Spirit. They live right around the corner from the church and they said they would definitely be back. The single gentleman is a friend of one of the young ladies in our church and he was touched. I stepped back to pray with him at the end. When I was about to walk away, he looked at me and said, "Thanks for the Word today. I really needed that! I will be back." That is what we are looking for. People who will continue to come and let God do a work in their life!

I received word last night that a land deal for us is in the works again--- YES! I received a call today from our VBS mother wanting to be put on the church cleaning schedule! You know what that means! She is feeling at home--- YES! My back is feeling much better--- YES! (There is nothing worse than wanting to get back to normal and your back is locked up.) God has provided a financial need for us and I am so thankful--- YES!

I don't think I have mentioned it on here, but we had a school bus donated to us several months ago. We have been working on getting it to pass the inspections and it looks like that might happen pretty soon! This means another ministry being birthed. Help us pray about it! We do have in-roads into a neighborhood where children are wanting to come. I will post pictures when we get the bus out on the road! Uhhh, we will need Sunday School rooms for the kids, but I am trusting God to provide that. If we bring them, He will provide. We already have teachers ready and willing to teach.

I love to be a part of His great adventures! The bottom line is.... it is His church, it is His work, and He is able.

Jeannie and Jeff

We took another trip back to Wichita Falls, but this time it was for a fun occasion! We are so proud for Jeannie Frazier— she has now become Mrs. Jeff Harris. Jeannie was our very first babysitter for Cameron when he was about 2 weeks old! She was 11 years old and the Fraziers lived down the street from us. Jeannie was always mature beyond her years and a very quick thinker. Karla asked her to come watch him for a few minutes while she ran to the store around the corner. The Fraziers have always been a blessing to our family. Ever so often a package of diapers would be left on our porch and so many other things since that time. So, it was our privilege to be able to help put the rehearsal and music together for them.

Jeannie told us at one point that she was waiting for Cameron to grow up and she almost did! He will be 16 in a few weeks. She is special to Cameron and Chad. She continued to come over and watch them for many years.

It was a beautiful and simple ceremony and everyone looked so nice.

LIFEalive, the youth group, from her time period all gathered together for a picture with the Elms and us. They are now all over the country and doing all kinds of things in the Kingdom of God. Thank the Lord for His blessings on this great group. They are SLOWLY getting married! LOL!

It was great being with family again and visiting for a little bit! This is Alayna and Savanna, two of our "great nieces" (in more ways than one!)

CONGRATULATIONS TO JEANNIE AND JEFF!
We love you and pray for God's very best in your life.

Special Friends

We enjoyed an eventful weekend with some very special friends, Kassie Dutton and Priscilla Venegas. We laughed and ate and talked and ate and walked and ate and shopped and drank and had church and ate and rested, went to church and ate!! You can tell that we crammed into our car just so we wouldn't have to fight the traffic trying to stay with one another.

We toured the Botanical Gardens. Of course, the last of the summer is not when you go to see beautiful flowers, but the grounds were very nice and it was free!

We also went to see the bats and were very disappointed. We waited and waited until sundown. It was also "Batfest" weekend, so there were hundreds of people there and the bridge was completely closed to vehicle traffic. In the picture below, it is hard to really see, but the dog has bat wings!

We left when it was dark without seeing any bats! After searching online, I came across this explanation....

Eventually, when it was fully dark, bats came out and flew in dizzying circles under the bridge, but they didn’t emerge in the big stream that I’ve always seen before. Even if they had, it might have been too dark to see. An explanation for the disappointing bat show that I overheard is that our rainy summer produced so many mosquitoes and other bugs that the bats are fat and happy. They aren’t as hungry, so they emerge later, and they can stay under the bridge and still find enough to eat.

So, we headed to the Mellow Mushroom and enjoyed some wonderful pizza on the UT campus just as the UT game was letting out! Karla loved the crowds! LOL!

We had so much fun and hated to see them go. Thanks for blessing our church with your song and testimony. It is always good times when you are with friends that you have known so well for so long!

Great Week-long Birthday!

Chad enjoyed a great 13th birthday that continued for a whole week! Mom and Dad came for our anniversary service and during that time, we celebrated Chad's birthday a little early. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for bringing him into the teenage years with an........ iPod and Madden 08!

Chad, being his normal "socialite" self, shared his gifts with whoever he could! It wasn't enough for him to just enjoy the music himself, but he connected Phil up and they walked around as Siamese Twins that Sunday!

He also shared his Madden 08 game with the Bernard's evangelist, Bro. Michael Easter. At church Sunday night, Bro. Easter just knew that he could beat Chad at Madden. So, on Labor Day, we received a call from the Bernard's saying that Bro. Easter would like for Chad and Cameron to come over and play!! Well, Cameron went first and lost. This made Bro. Easter a little proud, but Cameron doesn't play it that much. Well, as we all played Phase 10, we kept getting updates from the Chad vs. Bro. Easter game and he was not happy. The first game was 45 to 7.....Chad won. In fact, Chad won every game....all 6 or 7 of them. Even on Bro. Easter's PlayStation version! Bro. Easter came down at the end of it all with his shoulders tight, his legs sore and he was ready to go back to the evangelist's quarters!!! It was really neat for Chad because he already loved Bro. Easter and his preaching and got a really great touch following the message Sunday night. Chad also got to help pray with a young man as he received the Holy Ghost Sunday night - a new young man who had been making fun of the way we worship just a couple Sunday nights ago!

We went to Dave and Buster's on Chad's actual birthday and had a great time!

And school started this week..... Here they are (below) in the yearly first-day-of-school photo! Really, they are starting off well. Much better than last year when everything was new.